Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Five Days in Puerto Rico

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

Do you know that moment when you pull up to a hotel for the first time,
holding your breath, hoping it's going to live up to your expectations?
After days -- sometimes months -- of scrutinizing photos online,
and reading every single Tripadvisor review,
sometimes you are relieved...
sometimes you are disappointed...
and sometimes you are ecstatic.

This time?
I'm pretty sure the hotel's video cameras caught me doing 

a happy jig as I walked into the lobby.

I had super-high expectations for our stay last week in Puerto Rico.
We had booked the St. Regis Bahia Beach, 
a AAA 5-diamond resort in the Rio Grande area
and it did not disappoint.
If you have read some of my other travel posts
you may know that more often than not, we don't pay for hotel rooms. 
Huh, you say?
We've been Starwood Hotel members for 10 years,
which means that we accumulate hotel points, 
and use them for free hotel stays. 

For our Christmas week vacation,
we had just enough points for five nights at the St. Regis.
The hotel is about 35 minutes from San Juan, 
near the El Yunque national rain forest.
Translation?
Kind of in the middle of nowhere,
meaning that we'd pretty much be at the hotel 24/7.
It had better be good.  


We had a 7:00am flight on Christmas morning.
By the time we arrived in Rio Grande, we were good and tired,  
but the approach road had our eyes popping out of our heads. 
The resort is spread over 483 acres, which scared me a little. 
I mean, too big could feel, well, TOO BIG,
especially in high-heeled sandals.

The resort abuts the rain forest, and the entrance had a lush, tropical feel.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

An enormous fountain greeted us.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

It felt like a long ride from the entrance to the Plantation House, 
the hotel's main building.
Heck, it was a long ride. 

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
Plantation House at night.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
Koi pond at Plantation House at night.

The porter took our luggage into the lobby, 
and offered us a welcome cocktail.
"Would you like it strong, or not so much?"
Hell, yeah, I wanted it strong, but didn't think a tipsy mommy before lunch

would set a good example in front of the teenager, 
so I compromised, and said "medium."

Always the blogger, I was tempted to fluff up the pillows and clear away 
the cup and water bottle before taking my picture,
but I restrained myself.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
Hotel lobby
I had to sneak a peak at what was outside all of those doors.
Ahhhh...the veranda.
Siri, take a note: 
Sit here in the morning with a cup of coffee... 

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

...and savor that view!

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

The fact that we didn't have enough points to upgrade to ocean or pool view, 
meant that our room was in East Jabib, overlooking the golf course. 
It was pretty, but seemed far from everything.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
Did you spot Junior Goo Shoes?


St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
View from our room

 Actually, once we got our bearings, 
it was only about a 2-minute walk to the Plantation House,
and five minutes to the pool and beach.
Oh, and that walk?
Boardwalks through the tropical foliage with soft music playing on speakers 

hidden in the trees isn't a bad way to commute.

The foliage was so spectacular,
that I'm saving it for a separate post.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

The hotel grounds were immaculately groomed.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

There was a beautiful golf course...

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

 ...and a lake with slides, kayaks, and paddle boards.
We didn't do anything. 
We were just beach slugs.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

There were many fine spots for morning coffee...
or afternoon cocktails.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

The beach was spectacular. 
It was just how we like it - lots of room to spread out.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

"The Spot" was a cute place to have a bite to eat, or a tropical cocktail.

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis


St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

When it got too windy at the beach, we went to the pool.
And by pool, I mean POOL.
It was huge!

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

So many pictures, but it was just so photogenic :)

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis
St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico - One of the nicest hotels we've been to! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes #puertorico #stregis

The St. Regis in Puerto Rico was definitely one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in.
As soon as I left, I wanted to go back.

We better start saving up those hotel points. 



Linking with:

19 comments:

  1. Oh my Amy, what to say about these gorgeous photos. Everyone is beautiful from that HUGE fountain in the beginning to all the secret spots to grab coffee or a cocktail. The spot on the Veranda the curtain covered areas are right up my alley for a nice cocktail hour.

    I noticed Junior Goo Shoes lounging in bed. I can only imagine the food had to be as fantastic as the grounds.

    Loved the shot of the golf course with that lake. John and I would have had intentions of using the paddle boats you mentioned but the areas to lounge around and have the cocktail and read would have made us forget, LOL

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  2. It looks heavenly Amy, and the perfect place to veg out.

    Many years ago we went to palmas del mar, located on the south east section of Puerto Rico. It was soooooo quiet, that one day I didn't see not one person on the grounds, including the hotel lobby. It was kind of eerie, and I wonder if it's still like that. Probably not.

    How was it traveling Christmas Day? Rumor has it the airports aren't as busy.

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well Amy you have my mind working overtime. Puerto Rico is soooo on our list, has been for years. We are not members of the Starwood Hotel rewards point system... We need to be. We travel and stay usually at smaller boutique chic hotels... Ya know me with that design minded spoiled mind!!!! But OMGosh this place is gorgeous and gotta say strong or not so much???? Gotta smile as I would say strong please!!!!
    St. Regis is beautiful and Jr, Goo Shoes with his mouth open must be admiring and enjoying the luxurious feel and comfort of the bedding!
    Happy 2016 and may it be an adventurous and pampered year for you!!!
    xoxo,
    Vera

    ReplyDelete
  4. Y'all go on the best trips and how nice to use your points to stay at a fabulous resort. We too, stayed at a super nice resort on Puerto Rico years ago and we stayed put at the resort, too except to do a little sightseeing in San Juan one day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am sharing this asap with my husband. He has been to Puerto Rico a few times and raves about it. He would probably love to stay at this resort. We don't have any hotel points but we could re-mortgage the house:-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow - what a beautiful place. You just upped the A rating by this review! Looking forward to seeing the rest of your pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful! We love using our Starwood points too and this place is going on the list!!! I sincerely hope that you ate dinner out at least one night at Marmalade and had the "life-changing" white bean soup!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow - how gorgeous Amy!! I definitely want to get to PR some day. Not sure if I knew you were traveling again but what a perfect time to go! We were back on a cruise for New Year's and got home yesterday. Guess I should write something that resembles a blog post this week. haha
    Happy New Year to you and your family!! xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! How spectacular! You go to the best places, I swear! I'm assuming that place was an all inclusive resort? That way you don't have to leave to get your meals or anything? That looked so nice. My husband and I are trying to decide where to go for our 30th wedding anniversary next year. We want to go somewhere like that. I'll have to share this with him. I loved the little drink hut that you shared. It would be dreamy to be able to buy a drink while you're sitting on the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks a truly lovely stay, your photo's are just wonderful.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  11. hello Amy and happy new year! Wow lucky you. What a beautiful place to visit and have a vacation. Thanks for sharing thiese amazing photos. The pool looks so nice. Have a nice weekend. Julie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well hello, beach slug! I missed this while I was on my blog break. It sounds and looks heavenly, Amy! I bet you all came home with roses in your cheeks. I chuckled seeing the water bottle, thinking about you dearly wanting to play maid first before you snapped a picture.

    Love to you,
    Dewena

    ReplyDelete
  13. whoa. looks amazing. even though we have travel planned and booked for the summer, i am jonesing for a winter getaway somewhere tropical!
    b

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amy! Happy New Year! I love this post. I have a friend who is moving to PR next month and of course I will be going to visit. I just might have to lie about how long I'm on the island so I can check this place out. Gorgeous! What a great way to spend Christmas week! Thanks for linking up with Weekend Travel Inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've heard for many years that this is a lovely destination and your photos prove it! Great shots.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Such incredible foliage! I wish I could be there right now!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I meant to comment yesterday but accidentally hit "Sign Out" instead of "Publish." The St. Regis in Puerto Rico looks like such a fabulously relaxing place to retreat. It's much nicer than the motel-like place I stayed at when we visited PR. I was not aware of the St. Regis chain before I stayed in the one in Tibet with the gold tiled pool. Now, I'm beginning to realize that it must be synonymous with top of the line luxury.

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a gorgeous place! I am from Puerto Rico and I know this is one of the top hotels in the island. There is no way to go wrong with this choice.

    ReplyDelete

PRIVACY POLICY: I will never share your email information with others. I use your email to respond to your comments on my blog, or to interact socially with you.