Our Hotel

Before I start posting all of the fun pictures from our vacation, I have to write about our hotel because it was amazing! There is a strip of hotels on a 2 mile stretch of Palm Beach where all of the high rise hotels are. They literally call it The Strip because this is where all of the tourist stay & across the street from the hotels are restaurants & shopping. Our hotel was only built less than 2 years ago & it was on the end, so not only was it nice & new, but it was also a little more private.

 

Bryan is the king of negotiating & he is never afraid to ask so somehow he talked them into upgrading our room to an Executive Suite. It was beautiful & spacious! This is the living room & dining room when you walk in:

 

We converted the couch into a bed & that became Sadie's room:

 

 

She thought she was such a big girl in her own bed in her own room :)

 

Technically Sophie had her own room too:

 

 

There was a half bathroom on this side of the suite so we put her in there. It was really dark & we turned on the sound machine so she couldn't hear or see any of us which really helped come nap & bed time! She slept so hard that we had to wake her up most mornings, thus the disgruntled look above :)

 

Bryan & I had our own separate bedroom:

 

 

This is the first time we have had a suite since we have had children & let me tell you, it was prefect! We could put the girls to bed every night & we could actually stay up. We never even turned the tv on, but we got to hang out on the balcony, read, talk - whatever we wanted without having to worry about keeping them up. It even allowed me to sneak out at 6:30 every morning & have a few hours to myself before the girls woke up :)

 

Our bathroom was ridiculous:

 

 

The bathtub was heavenly & I took a hot bath every night reading my book because that was the only time it was quiet enough for me to read! The girls thought the shower was a playground:

 

 

I am telling you, I have definitely learned from Bryan that there is no shame in asking! He called several times before we went to ask for an upgrade & then he asked at registration when we checked in. Of course it always helps that we have these 2 adorable girls standing there smiling while he asks :)

 

Our balcony was huge & it was the size of our entire rooms combined with doors from our room & the living room. I don't know why I didn't really take any pictures on the balcony because the girls played out there a lot & Bryan liked to sit our there & read. I did get a picture of Palm Beach & the strips of hotels from our balcony:

 

 

First glimpse of the white beaches & Caribbean Sea - isn't it beautiful?!

 

We also had access to the club lounge which was on the top floor. We spent a lot of time of up there because they had food served most of the day & I got great pictures of the resort. This first picture shows the adult pool:

 

 

And the next picture shows the family pool:

 

 

Besides the beach, this is where we spent most of our time :)

 

The Club Lounge was amazing & I'm not gonna lie, we kind of cheated the system to get access to it & it was worth it! We ate breakfast there every morning, went up for snacks in the afternoon, appetizers before dinner & dessert every night. We really got to know the staff & they took care of our little family. They brought balloons & rubber duckies for the girls. Made Bryan & I special drinks every night:

 

 

And they even treated us to parting gifts on Saturday when we left. They gave the girls stuffed animals - a pink lobster & a purple octopus, which they love! Bryan & I got dri-fit hats which we also loved!

 

Another perk of  the resort? Children 3 & under ate free anywhere on the resort any time. Needless to say, I took advantage of this & ordered 2 meals for them every chance I could! They even got free milk, apple juice, smoothies, fruit, etc. any time. We mostly took advantage of this during the day around lunchtime when we didn't want to go up to the club.

 

They even provided sunscreen & swim diapers:

 

 

What?! Sadie doesn't need a swim diaper, but I had brought a lot for Sophie. Needless to say I kept mine to take home & used the ones provided. Saved me some money :) The service at the pool & beach were exceptional - they provided towel service, offered snacks throughout the day, had fresh water everywhere & they even kept floats & water toys for the children to use free of charge. But one of the coolest things was this:

 

 

The waiters had Segways that they rode around on to provide faster service. I have never seen this & was totally impressed! It's not easy carrying a tray full of drinks around:

 

 

especially in the sand!

 

I can go on & on about the resort, but I am sure most of you don't care. I always write the details down for myself because I have a horrible memory. But if you are interested in Aruba, the resort we stayed at or how we "cheat" the system for flights & accommodations, just ask. Bryan is always ready to spill his credit card secrets :)