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HIDDEN SECRETS and PERSONAL FAVORITES - An Insider's Viewpoint - Best Resorts For The Money -
WHAT MAKES A RESORT A GREAT VALUE? ... or ... ONE OF THE BEST RESORTS FOR THE MONEY? DETERMINE YOUR VALUE QUOTIENT – take the time to THINK about your vacation and DETERMINE what is “worthwhile” and what is of lesser or little importance to you … THEN look for the resorts that you believe most closely fit into your measure of importance and worth with as few trade-offs as possible.
VALUE can be defined “worth as
measured in usefulness or importance” – to get the most out of your
vacation (or honeymoon), your task is to, first, ask yourself “what do we want” and then to find out what resort or resorts will provide you with your wants.
There will likely be some trade-offs,
but the fewer the trade-offs you have the better
value you will have for your vacation. DETERMINE YOUR PASSIONS and then
work through some basic guidelines:
1.
Determine
“what we want on this vacation” … it constantly surprises us how many people
haven’t really made this determination … do you want “warm & fuzzy”? …
quiet sophistication or an all-out party atmosphere? … maybe a combination of
the two? … is a GREAT beach the key to your happiness or is it OUTSTANDING
service? … Is golf, scuba, tennis, water skiing or sightseeing a primary factor
in your travel plans? … or is it the “chill factor” (as in we just want to
chill-out and veg…)? How about excellent food and drinks … or a large room with
a view? In MOST instances it will be a combination of many of the above factors
… put them in your order of importance THEN go to step #2;
2.
Determine
your budget … and how long you want to stay on vacation. More often than not,
these two items will go hand-in-hand because your budget (coupled to your
choices in #1) may not let you stay as long as you’d like to stay! (or,
happily, let you stay a few extra nights) … or … you may want to switch a few
of your priorities around to help you find a resort which meets MOST of your
“we wants” and is priced to let you stay longer.
3.
The
trade-offs may have already begun … and now you can start determining where the
“best value” may be for your trip … for example:
a.
Is it worth
$500 to $1000 more to have an oceanview?
b.
Can you be
happy with a few less primary “wants” for a nicer vacation resort?
c.
Is “the
room” not as important as the other included offerings or is the room more
important than those inclusions? 4. Now, consider something very few people think about … who are you going to be vacationing with? Sometimes a great vacation experience is determined by the people you meet, the interaction you have and the “comfort level” you have on that vacation. As an example, a fun-loving, party-hardy couple with a rather limited budget may not feel completely at home (and at ease) in a low-key, quiet and high-end sophisticated environment … or … the couple wanting to just get away from it all may not be terribly happy with a resort catering to the “action set”, or a resort with a lot of families and children! NOT ALL RESORTS ARE FOR EVERYBODY … and the last thing you want to do is to feel “a bit out of place” when you are on vacation!!!
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