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What to Do – Vacation at The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, NY

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The Sagamore Resort is located on Lake George in Bolton Landing, NY.  We chose the Sagamore because it offered 8 different dining options, it looked like it had beautiful grounds including a pool, and it was near our main destination which was Lake Placed, NY.

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We searched reviews on Trip Advisor and read that the resort hosted many children in the summer, and they had a distinction between restaurants which were child friendly, and adult only.
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The resort itself has many gorgeous views of Lake George.  Our son is 1 1/2 and he loved running around the grounds.  The resort has boat rentals, an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis courts, a basketball court, playground, a spa, and nature trails.
Room-wise there are condos, lodges, the main hotel, and even a castle to choose from.  We chose to stay in one of the lodges.  The room was much larger than a regular room, and had recently been refurbished.  We actually tried to get a larger room with a adjoining section for our son to sleep in but they were full.  We travelled in September during their slower season, but the resort was still very busy.
We were worried about which restaurant to take our son for dinner, and were advised by the staff that La Bella Vita would be fine.  They had plenty of high chairs, and we soon realized our son was the only child likely at the whole resort!  We didn’t see one other child during our stay there, so he was a kind of celebrity amount the guests.  They had a kids menu, crayons and a colouring placemat even though it was a higher end restaurant.  The food was excellent for dinner as well.
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The resort offered 24 hour room service which we took advantage of!  We weren’t ready to go to bed when our son was, so we ordered drinks and dessert to the room which worked out great.
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We would definitely visit this resort again.  Our son loved it because of all of the open space to run around, there was lots of selection for food, the pool offered drink service, and the main hotel was beautiful.  Bolton Landing itself had a few shops in its downtown, but otherwise it’s a very small town with beautiful views and was very relaxing.
www.thesagamore.com

What to Do – Go on Vacation to Hard Rock Punta Cana

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I’ve found that many people have mixed feelings regarding Punta Cana.  Most people say that the beaches are amazing, but the resort was ok, or the food was so-so wherever they went.  I decided to try a resort that no one else I knew had gone to.  This can often be a very bad idea without a referral, but in this case we were lucky that this resort was exactly what we were looking for.

The Hard Rock Punta Cana is like putting a giant Americanised resort on a tropical island.  Some people would love this idea, and some would absolutely hate it.  I loved it because it felt like I was staying at a clean and modern hotel, but I still had the island experience.

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Our room was bigger than any other resort room we have had before.  There was previously a resort where the Hard Rock stands today, but all of the buildings were completed renovated so there was no trace of what was there before it.  The rooms very modern and ours included a Jacuzzi tub right in the middle.

The size of the resort was overwhelming.  There was a shuttle service to take people from building to building, to the beach, to the restaurants, ect.  The resort is all-inclusive with 15 pools and 9 restaurants.

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The spa was a cannot miss at this resort.  It basically had every amenity you could think of including a hydrotherapy centre, whirlpools, steam rooms, a clay steam room, sauna, hydro-reflexology, a sensory expertise pool and an ice room.  It was 60,000 square feet and was so expansive you felt like you were alone the whole time you were there.  I was scheduled for a couples massage and couldn’t actually find my partner!

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We spent most of our time at the Eden pool which we found to be the most relaxing.  There were no children allowed at this pool, and the chairs surrounding it were covered with cushions.  Sushi was made on site and delivered to your chair, and staff would periodically come around to spritz you with cool water and to bring you fresh fruit on a skewer.

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We did not travel with children on this trip, but one side of the resort seemed to be where they were placing families with children.  There was a children’s splash pad and pool, a children’s lazy river, and many different activities on site like an arcade and a babysitting service located in a central location.

If you wanted to travel to a resort without children, and wanted to avoid children as well this resort would be a great choice.  The resort is so large it’s easy to choose what you want to do and avoid what you want to avoid.   There were plenty of adult activities such as the casino, nightclubs, bars, and an upscale restaurant.

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It also seemed like a great place to bring children because it felt like having children at the resort was very much accepted due to all of the family focused amenities located on one side of the resort.  Basically they seemed to segregate the families with children on one side of the resort, and they placed couples on the other side of the resort in terms of accommodations, and the resort was so large you could make the trip what you wanted.  Overall I thought it was a great place to stay in Punta Cana, and a great all-inclusive resort.

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www.hardrockpuntacana.com

 

 

 

 

Where to Eat – El Catrin

El Catrin is located in the Distillery District in the former location that housed The Boiler House.
Walking up to the restaurant you can miss the amazing 5000 square foot patio decorated with bright yellow tables and chairs.  A large fire cauldron is based in the centre of the patio.
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We visited on a Saturday without a reservation but only had to wait 5 minutes for a table.  There were quite a few toddlers at tables throughout the patio so we let out a sigh of relief!  They seemed to have lots of high chairs, and they even had a children’s menu.
The menu is authentic traditional and modern Mexican cuisine.  We went during brunch so the kids menu included Pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream, Quesadillas, Pescaditos (crispy fish fingers with corn tortilla chips, and Torreja con Jarabe de Arce y Crema Batida (24 hr soaked vanilla brioche, maple syrup and whipped cream.
Our toddler isn’t saying much yet, but he had the pancakes and judging by the fact he ate every last bit he seemed to approve.
We had two of their margaritas (mine was watermelon flavoured) and they were two of the best margaritas we have ever had!  We ordered guacamole and chips as well and the guacamole was made fresh at our table and was excellent.
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We tried the Ensalada El Catrin ($16 almost their version of a cobb salad) which had peppers, cucumbers, chicken, black beans, avocado, tomatoes, queso fresco and a pumpkin seed vinaigrette.  All of the ingredients were very fresh and the portion was huge.  We also tried the Tacos Pastor ($14) with shaved pork and I LOVED this.  The tacos were amazing.
Overall the food was excellent, fresh, and we liked the tapas style of the menu.  Kids were defiantly welcomed for lunch, and judging by the fact there was a kids menu they would be welcomed for dinner as well.
Dinner is served Monday to Friday, but lunch is only Thursday and Friday, and brunch is Saturday and Sunday 10:30-5pm.
55 Mill Street, Toronto – Distillery District
www.elcatrin.com
416.203.2121