Staycation in a dream house - Vacasa

Disclaimer- Thank you Vacasa for hosting my family at this dream destination. All opinions are my own.

I have stayed near Smokies all of 6 times now but never stayed at such luxury. I would always go the traditional route of a hotel or a cabin. But this time around I wanted to try out something different and hence booked our stay with Vacasa. And OH MY GOD. This was a dream vacation for us.

Firstly totally socially distant. No hassle of a hotel room. The entire house to ourselves. Plus you have the flexibility and comfort of staying at a home.

Vacasa is a vacation rental company which handles the property. You book a property you like on their website. They have numerous options starting from cabins, to lake houses, oceanfront properties and monthly vacation rentals as well which makes it super convinient you get what you like.

Vacasa is a full service vacation rental management company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It provides property management services for over 25,000 vacation rentals throughout North America, as well as Belize and Costa Rica.  

I stayed at one of their lake front property and it was nothing less then a dream come true. The house was a 4 bedroom house with a basement with a pool table, arcades, dartboard, basketball ring and lots and lots of board games. Not only was it spacious but also quite secluded from other homes around which made it a perfect getaway.

With the COVID protocols they are taking extra cleaning measures and many of their homes also have gate locks for which you receive the code the day of arrival. So it is contact free. 

We made the most out of our trip. We bought an inflatable boat (also customized it with motor and shade) and explored the lake surrounding the house. The lake provided option for fishing and we managed to catch a catfish. 

We spent our chilly night cozying upto the fireplace and warm barbeque dinner which was so relaxing.

We spent hours playing in the basement. It was a perfect luxury getaway.

I would definitely rent from vacasa and stay in a convinient home at any of the states when on a vacation and spend time with friends and families.

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Christmas at Gaylord Palms

Disclaimer- Thank you Gaylord Palms for hosting me and my family at your breathtaking property. All opinions here are my own.

When does Christmas start for you? 

Well the day after Halloween is when it starts for me. And now you can celebrate and be festive about it as early as November at Christmas at Gaylords.

First of all no matter what day of the year it is, Gaylord resorts are BEAUTIFUL. The rooms facing the atriums and waking up to thise views is simply breathtaking. But this time around I was waking up to a sparkly, fully ornamented Christmas tree which made it so much more festive. 

Christmas at Gaylord Palms starts Nov 13 to Jan 3rd 2021. You can explore acres of twinkling lights & decorations and exciting holiday activities, shows, and events, from Cirque Dreams Unwrapped and Feast with The Grinch to their all-new I Love Christmas Movies™ pop-up and Snow Factory experiences!

Gaylord Palms is well known for its ICE! display where they create ice sculptures, but they decided to not do it this year due to COVID. But instead they had I love Christmas movies where scenes from your favorite Christmas movies were recreated and it was equally beautiful. You could experience the following movie scenes-

• THE POLAR EXPRESS™
• A CHRISTMAS STORY™
• ELF™
• NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION™
• THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS™

The Snow flow mountain was one of my favorite. They had 2 different types of slides. In the Snow factory you could experience snow flurries and even throw snowballs. 

We had an amazing time decorating the gingerbread house. They had options for a house, ginger man and ugly sweaters. 

In the Elf academy you could decorate your own ornament and take it home. The kids had an adorable time with Mrs Santa and her stories. 

And to top it all we completed the Grinch scavenger hunt and got adorable plushies too. 

Oh and not to forget the seat grabbing Cirque show which had our hearts in our hands. The cast are very talented and do amazing stunts. 

In bullet points the major attractions were as follows.

• Experience the I Love Christmas Movies. 
• Meet Santa for pictures and Mrs. Claus for a story time.
• Decorate a Gingerbread house, man or ugly sweaters. 
• Build-a-Bear with unique some very cute options to choose from.
• Have a fun and interactive brunch at The Grinch Character Breakfast at Villa de Flora with Grinch himself where you can meet him and also kids get to decorate cupcakes.
• Decorate your own ornament at the Elf academy. 
• A holiday-themed scavenger hunt called the The Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt where you help grow Grinch's heart three sizes.
• Play snowball, enjoy some flurries and go snow sliding.

The entire aura was superb and we had something to do every minute of the day. 

Not to forget the huge Christmas tree decorated and lighted up right in the middle of the atrium. 

You can click this link to book your Christmas at Gaylord palms.

And here is the highlight of the resort. The beautiful Emerald bay atrium facing room.

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Stay at a timeshare resort? Worth it or not? Wyndham properties

Disclaimer- Thank you Club Wyndham for hosting me and my family at your resort. The opinions in this post are completely my own.

Time share property? Really? I mean isn't it just a waste of time and so much hard selling that you would rather empty your bank account then stay at their property?

Is it really even worth buying into time share?

The answer? Well a 100 times over YES.

No I dont sell time share LOL . I just stayed at a few hundred hotels and then experienced a week at a time share resort and I was blown away with the amenities and convenience of it all.

I had the opportunity to stay at the Club Wyndham bonnet creek in Orlando and the stay was nothing short of amazing. The property is HUGE. I had an entire week to stay at Orlando and out of that few at Disney and few in between days to relax. Now staying at hotel would have been way too expensive, plus eating out everyday and then searching for food for my picky eaters. And a bunch load of clothes to carry since all hotels do not have laundry.

But Club Wyndham was the perfect solution to all my questions. They have bedroom suites depending on the no of people staying. We stayed at their 1 bedroom suites which had a full sized kitchen with all the utensils and cutlery and every single thing you would need in a house, plus a living room, toilet with washer and dryer and a bedroom. Both the bedroom and living room had TV. So while my husband was taking office calls from the room, me and my kids were waiting out in luxury in the living room and munching on our food to our hearts desire.

Our private balcony had an amazing view of the elaborate pool and lazy river just below us and the various buildings and trails on the property, also overlooking was Disneyworld. 

I was surprised when I went down for a walk. The property had a separate kind of pool below each building all of which was joined by a walking trail so accessible to each other. Some had a lazy river, some with splash pad and some with a slide. There was mini golf, a few party areas with benches to sit with gas grills and a nice big pond right in the middle. 

They provide shuttle to and fro Disney, Universal and Seaworld.  They are also authorized ticket sellers who sit in the front lobby giving you easy access to booking tickets to your favorite theme parks. 

A European inspired vacation resort, Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort is conveniently adjacent to the Walt Disney World ® Resort. These spacious one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom resort suites comfortably sleep four to twelve 

guests and range from 902 to 2,510 square feet. Whether you're traveling with extended family or a smaller party, you will appreciate the privacy of separate bedrooms, the economy of a fully equipped modern kitchen and a washer/dryer in each suite. Plus, a whirlpool tub, full dining area, living area and televisions throughout are many conveniences that are hard to find with the average hotel room.

Timeshare has evolved to suit the needs of today’s traveler; timeshare no longer means visiting the same beach resort, the same week every year, and staying in the exact same room. Wyndham evolved from that type of vacation years ago and continues to evolve, offering a flexible points system that allows travelers to book stays at 220 Wyndham vacation club resorts or exchange at 4,300 affiliated resorts in 110 countries with the RCI exchange network. Timeshare owners aren’t buying fixed weeks in one location, but rather points that allow them to travel the world.

This was the most convinient way to stay for my family since I had to option to reheat food, or even cook a meal. I had easy access to every tourist spot and I felt right at home. We had so much space that we never felt cramped up. What's better is that even if we traveled with bigger family or friends, we could stay in a bigger suite and yet all could enjoy the vacation under one roof.

I would definitely stay at this property in a heartbeat and have also done my research for another Wyndham time share property for my next destination. Trust me when I say that this is the most convinient way to stay when you are traveling with family. 

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Hilton Bonnet creek - the perfect stop at Orlando

Disclaimer- Thank you Hilton Bonnet Creek for hosting my family at your beautiful property. All opinions here are my own.

Orlando = Disneyworld. Who is on the same page with me?

And when we go to Orlando I love a hotel where I feel the Disney magic. I was so happy to have found a hotel with all the luxuries and comfort with a Disney feel too. 

Hilton Bonnet Creek sits on Disney property and is an official Walt Disney World resort making it conveniently close to the parks. It offers shuttles to and fro the park. If you stay at this resort, you can also book fastpasses 60 days prior (when fastpasses are back on). And the cherry on the cake is the Disney view rooms, which I was lucky to experience. 

The hotel is beautiful. It has three-acre lazy river pool, waterslide, 12 dining options and direct transportation to Walt Disney World® Theme Parks and Disney Springs®. It rests just off the 18-hole championship golf course. You may also pamper yourself with a spa treatment at the adjacent Waldorf Astoria® Orlando.

We felt really safe staying at Hilton because of its new Hilton CleanStay program where they have partnered with brands to keep the hotel, it's staff and guests safe with the new safety precautions and cleaning and sanitization procedures. You can read about the Hilton CleanStay program here. 

Our room didn't just face Disney but also overlooked the vast pool area and the golf course.  The view was spectacular. We must have spent most of our day at the pool since it was very clean and had so much to do. They had 2 spa pools, 1 lazy river, and a small pool with a splash pad. The pool chairs were regularly cleaned and there were flags put up on the chairs to indicate if they are sanitized. 

The hotel had an small arcade which was pretty fun. 

I particularly loved the decor of the hotel with a modern feel. The ceilings had paintings on it. Every corner of the hotel was well decorated and had a picture perfect place. The rooms were quite spacious and comfortable. 

I would definitely stay here again if I visit Orlando especially with all the added amenities I am getting with the stay.

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Legoland Pirate Island Hotel - we could stay here forever

Disclaimer- Thank you Legoland for hosting me and my family at your amazing property and inviting us to your parks.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. 

If the life I get is what is inside of the new Legoland Pirate Island Hotel then I am all for it. This is was hands down one of the best trips we had in this year.

As soon you enter the premises you will be transported to a different era. The hotel is so immersive with all the wall paintings and Lego statues that we must have clicked a million pictures just outside of the hotel. 

The Legoland Pirates hotel did a great job of social distancing measures and precautions. We were checked for temperatures at the entrance. Since I had already checked in online, all I had to do was pick up the keys at the kiosk which was super cool to see. Lego character meet from a distance was also available right next to the front desk (they had timings).

The elevator took us singing to the pirates tunes. As soon as I entered the room, my kids decided this is what they want for their rooms at home. The kids had their own bunk beds with a pull out bed below. A television showing a cctv view of the notorious acts of the Lego characters in the elevator (making it super real for the kids). And there was a desk below with lego pieces for the kiddos to enjoy.

The toilet had minute details which was a nice touch. There was a smaller seat cover for the little kids, Q tips, small sewing kit and shower cap on the sink. 

The master bed was super adorable too with a map showing the way to the treasure as our head rest. Absolutely picture perfect. We had our own tv too. 

The most fun part was a treasure chest in the room which had a puzzle to solve to open the chest. And inside was a bunch of goodies for the kids. The kids really loved this and could not forget the treasure finding even after days. 

Though the room didnt have a microwave inbuilt, but if you let them know at the front desk, they have it sent to your room. This is super important to me since with 2 toddlers, having to heat milk is a 3-times-a-day task.

If all this wasn't enough, we were super blown away by the food there. Breakfast is included with your stay at the resort and they give you a feast. We had breakfast and dinner at their Shipwreck restaurant and the food was one of the best. It was full of flavor and the quantity was ALOT.

Since I had to have halal/kosher option, the chef informed us that they have an entire plant based menu option. The plant based substitute tasted DELICIOUS. The chef's name was Air and she was a darling. She was visiting each table personally and greeting everyone and making us feel right at home. Knowing we could eat seafood, she even sent a plate to taste it. 

Our dinner started with freshly made buns with butter. I am still drooling remembering it. Then we had the yummiest fruit veggie salad with all the right combinations. Then came the main course. It was a platter full of goodies. Plant based meatloaf, grilled cauliflower steaks, vegetable dumplings and crispy teriyaki tofu and veggies. Some creamy mashed potatoes made the dinner complete. We also had a delectable dessert with vegan marshmallows, fruits and chocolate dipping. 

The breakfast next day was as elaborate with waffles, biscuits, roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs and plant based sausage. Stuffed would be an understatement. 

The Legoland resort park being a minute walk away, we didnt feel hurried and could walk to the park at our own pace. The park itself has done a commendable job of maintaining sanitization and social distancing. The most wanted rides were given virtual lines which you could access via the Legoland app making it super convinient to reach your ride without any wait times. The other smaller rides had little or no wait time either. 

Since we were there at their Brick or treating weekend, we had so much fun collecting candies. They had set up stations where the staff would put candies through a pipe from one end and you can collect it directly in your bags in the other end. It made us feel pretty safe and yet allowed us to enjoy the Halloween spirit.

There were character meets from a distance too where you could take selfies with them afar.

 With the hot Florida weather, we enjoyed the water park to the fullest as well. It was amazing with all the water slides, waves and lazy river.

Since we were super tired by the end of the day, we didn't have to worry about driving back anywhere. Out of the gate and into the hotel we went. 

The Legoland Pirates hotel has 3 restaurants and you need to make prior reservations before dining. So make sure you put your reservations down even for the breakfast. They so have some fun activities like a Lego building workshop and Lego play area after every few spaces.

There were all happy faces and smiles during our entire stay. I don't think you can have a minute of boredom in this place. We had so much fun the entire time that it was hands down one of our highlights of this year. I would definitely suggest all you readers to check out this new hotel and make some amazing memories with your families. 

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