All posts tagged: luxury

FOUR SEASONS BALI EXPERIENCE

Published by Nicole Isaacs

FOUR SEASONS SAYAN I couldn’t leave Ubud without experiencing the Four Seasons Sayan. It came highly recommended and is another great choice when looking into luxury accommodations in Ubud. Also located in the middle of the rainforest and alongside the Ayung River, the Four Seasons exudes complete tranquility surrounded by the beauty of mother nature. It’s unique architecture was built from the inspiration of Ubud’s signature rice terraces, staying true to traditional Balinese design. The resort’s main entrance is breathtaking, with a vast circular lily pond on top of the main lobby, signifying the center of a large rice bowl. The lush property is surrounded by tropical palms, rice farms, lily ponds and scattered gardens of fruit trees, medicinal and spice plants, all of which are labeled by name. The Four Seasons put together a personalized itinerary of Sayan Signature Experiences which allowed me to really get the full resort experience. I practiced Power and Anti Gravity Yoga in the amazing open air bamboo studio overlooking their own rice terraces. Anti Gravity Yoga uses a …

BALI, INDONESIA | FIRST STOP: UBUD

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I am breaking up my Bali posts because there is just so much to write about! I am going to write a post for each resort I stayed at in Bali along with all the activities I did at each. I’m also going to share some information about Ubud in this post. My first stop in Bali was the Ritz Carlton Mandapa Reserve. UBUD The town of Ubud is an hour and a half drive from Bali’s international airport, Denpasar. Ubud represents traditional Bali, you can really feel the authentic Balinese culture. It’s in the uplands and surrounded by rainforest, rice terraces, Hindu temples and shrines– Bali’s most iconic landscapes. Ubud is also known for the center of Balinese crafts and dance. It feels very far removed from the hustle and bustle of the populated town of Kuta and Bali’s beach party scene in Seminyak. It is the ultimate place for serenity and relaxation, and the perfect place to practice yoga and mediation. If visiting a spiritual healer interests you (like the healer Ketut in …

CAYO ESPANTO RESORT, BELIZE

Published by Nicole Isaacs

For the ultimate luxury experience, I spent the last two nights of my trip at Cayo Espanto, a 5-star, world-class resort nestled on its own small private island off Ambergris Caye. I was picked up by boat from San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye, and pulled right up to the dock of my own 2 bedroom villa, Casa Estrella. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the full staff and their signature cocktail, “The Espanto Wave.” From that moment on, I experienced hospitality at its finest and was blown away by the exceptional service and hospitality. There were two house butlers on call, day and night. The two bedroom duplex villa was absolute heaven– each bedroom had an ocean view, there was an open living area with panoramic ocean views, two spacious bathrooms, two private decks, and a heated private plunge pool on top of the water. During the day, our villa was open so I could take in the beautiful views and fresh ocean breeze, and the house butlers closed the walls and doors each …

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I finished up my Tanzania trip in Zanzibar. It was the perfect end to our incredible experience in Africa. Many people don’t know that the Eastern Coast of Africa lies on the Indian Ocean and has beautiful beaches. Zanzibar is an island right off the coast of Tanzania. We explored the main island of Zanzibar first. We went to a slave site where they used to auction and sell Africans as slaves and transported them by boat to the United States on slave ships in the 1800’s. It was really intense to see the slave quarters where they held them and the areas where they auctioned them off.  They used to keep around 60 slaves underground in a tiny holding quarter with barely any light. There were no toilets and they were chained by their hands and feet. It felt very eery to be standing in the slave chambers where people were being enslaved and treated like animals because of the color of their skin. As hard as it was to be there, it was important to learn more …

SERENGETI, TANZANIA | FOUR SEASONS HOTEL

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’ve been meaning to post the 2nd half of my Africa trip and I’m finally getting around to it.  Our second leg of the trip we spent in the Serengeti and Zanzibar. I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from the Serengeti. It was an unforgettable experience. We stayed at the Four Seasons Safari lodge which is located in the middle of the Serengeti. We saw every animal from the view of our hotel room balcony. It felt like we were in the middle of a zoo, but we were the animals and the animals were the onlookers looking at us…we were in their home. We spent most of the day relaxing on our hotel balcony looking at elephants, zebras, giraffes walk by. It was unreal. The Four Seasons resort was beautiful and I highly recommend staying there if you ever take a trip to the Serengeti. We saw so many animals driving from the air strip to the Four Seasons. We didn’t even need to do an actual safari. We also did …