Here are some of the pics from my website.....enjoy!

TB :)

Since we were never in St Martin before we were not sure what to expect. What I can say now, is we will most surely go back.
One key point was the island is definitely on the upswing. Lots of development and construction everywhere. The sites are clean and we always felt safe. Unlike many Caribbean places, where you feel ill at ease outside the "compounds", in St Martin we could go anywhere. 

Rather than talk some more, have a look at our video travel log:
http://blip.tv/file/127395]St Martin Overview

(If the link fails, paste "http://blip.tv/file/127395" into your browser)

Here are the pics of the Glory accomodation (balcony cabin) and a few "around the ship" shots....more to follow

Pic 1 - shot of Glory from the back of a tendering vessel at Belize where it is too shallow to dock at a pier

Pic 2 - water slide on Glory - deck 10 and 11 aft

Pic 3 - shot of lobby floor and some of stair case which leads to one of dining rooms

Pic 4 - one of our balcony cabins - looking towards balcony window/door (which is behind curtain as sun was too bright).

Pic 5 - desk and closet space in same cabin as pic 4 - what is missing is shot of bathroom which is really meant for single person use though there is toilet, sink, counter and shower.

TB  :)

Hi folks,

Well we are just back from our month at Calabogie Lodge.  In fact we cut the trip short (left 4 nights before our last week was up) as I made a reservation at the Ice Hotel in Quebec City to surprise my wife and kids for Valentines Day.  So we are off to sip Vodka from glasses made of ice, in our room made of ice, in the building made of ice - and when we are tired, we get to sleep in our fur lined ice bed(s).

I booked a Theme Suite that sleep 5 people so there should be room for us all.

This time I will remember to pack the digicam as I am sure there will be plenty of pictures worth posting on the site for others to see (or at least I am hopeful that there will be).  After a couple of nights at the hotel, we are going to stay a night in the Old City (Quebec).  Carnivale is over (last weekend) so we should only catch the tail-end of the crowds.

In any event, more pics to follow (if I can remember the camera!)

Later,

TB  :)

We have been members since 2006. Enjoyed the Jockey Club and Imperial Lakes last year. Looking forward to Wales and Scotland in 2008.

:) My sister in law, My husband & myself have just returned from a week's vacation in GEO's Guana Bay Beach VIllas.  This was our 6th time there, but what a difference in Phillipsburg!!  The tiny island is waking up.  The long bumpy road up the mountain to Guana Bay is 95% paved now and with street lights.  The Villas are still the best.  Out of curiosity, we went to Bellair Beach Club and asked to see one of their units. (It's RCI)  Very nice 2 bedroom, kitchen, 2 baths etc, but it would have fit into the downstairs of Guana Bay.
There is a restaurant/bar right on the beach and "John" the proprietor, has lounge chairs and umbrellas.  He lives just behind the restaurant.
I see big changes soon for Guana Bay.  The 21 st Century has arrived.  Over in Dawn Beach (the next beach over ) The Hilton Hotel & Casino has been built.  And sure enough, right beside unit 2 and I do mean right beside (there must be all of a 2 foot gap ) a new hotel & casino is being built.  So if you're going any time soon, make sure and ask for a unit AWAY from the constuction.  We were not bothered one bit with the construction, minimal noise, no dust, but there is a unit just across from unit 2 and upper level unit and the couple in it said they were awakened each morning at 8 am.
Max is still the Manager and his  son Max is very helpful in setting air conditioning etc.  There is a Manager's bar b q on Monday nights with chicken, ribs and tossed salad.  Cost is $10 per person U.S.  Most people at the complex join and mingle, very interesting.
The best value we found in excursions was The Lambada Catamaran excursion leaving from Pelican Resort.  It was a full day - over to Sandy Island for snorkeling, swimming or just relaxing in  the water.  Then over to Anguilla for a delicious lunch of Chicken, ribs, fish, cole slaw, pasta salad,  all you want.  Drinks and hors d"ouvres were served all the time on the catamaran.  We had a blast.  It's a full day from about 9 am to 4:30 PM so take lots of sunblock and a hat, a beach coverup.  About $72.U.S. per person
We're very happy we went back to St Maarten, and will definitley go again.
Tom & Mauri
Toronto, Canada

Hello Fellow GEO Club Members and Guests to the Forum…..

I have been remiss in my travel updates, partly cause I never here from you (Mauri excluded), partly just cause it has been so busy lately – both girls are playing touch football this year so that is consuming 2-3 night a week for practice and games.  Season finished tonight though, so more traveling to arrange….

Back at the end of April, my wife and I took off to Phoenix for a little adult get-away.  We were away for slightly less than a week but soooo enjoyed ourselves that we are heading back FOR SURE.  This trip we had a car rental from the airport so drove up to Sedona and took a 3 hour jeep tour of the Red Mountains – what a beautiful part of the country!  We may just have to trade in going to Florida so often and start to head out West!  Phoenix is a beautiful part of the desert….Next time we are going to bring the girls and do the Grand Canyon too.

For those of you who took advantage of the offer to join ICE, you can get to the resort that we stayed at through your ICE membership.  The resort is named the Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa and it is a garden oasis in the middle of the Arizona desert.  There is lots of lush greenery, giant palms, 3 championship golf courses, fine dining, top-shelf service at this resort.  The Wigwam is part of the Sheraton Luxury Collection of Hotels/Resorts and lives up to the classification from our perspective.

The heat is dry (desert) – one of the days it was 104 degrees but it felt like it was in the 80s using Florida and the Floridian humidity as a guide.  It was neat to see all the cacti too – and we experienced our first dust storm – what a doosie!  But it blew through in a matter of minutes.  Though we were not far from the Camelback Resort (club location), we never found the time to go see it - made it to Camelback Rd on the way to Sedona, but that is it.  Next time!

In terms of confirmed plans coming up, at the end of June we are off to NFLD for my brother’s wedding, we are booked into a club resort in July so will report on that later and the better half and I are off on a 9 night Southern Caribbean cruise in November.  We have also booked an Alaska cruise for my father in August (I will get him to take some pics so I can post to my site) and I just booked him into the Cypress Palms (Orlando) resort for the last 3 weeks of October.

That is all for now – will report on the trips as they occur and post photos to my site….

Get out there and use the plan!

TB  :)

Hello fellow Geo-travellers!

Isn't this a well managed club? Boy, we joined in 1998, I believe, and have travelled to several of our owned & associated resorts (including a couple through RCI) and every one of them have been a blast!  I am just sorry that I did not communicate our experiences but hope to change that in the future.

For starters, my favourite place has been the Guana Bay Villas in St. Maarten I have great memories of the wonderful 2-bedroom place that was just loaded with features to make our stay on beautiful St. Maarten (heck, I have been talking about settling there for years now).  Max, the resort manager was the best (when we went in '98/'99) and he was still there when we dropped in to see him off a cruise that included St. Maarten! 

Recently we visited Pueblo Real In Costa Rica,and except for our nightmare drive (because we got lost and ended up driving late evening with no street lights and crazy drivers, trying to avoid potholes (craters??) and people sitting on the side of the road, talk about white knuckle driving!!!!!!!!!!!!)

But the resort itself was grand, once we got there (not easy to find at night, so watch out!)  Cecelia and the Manager from Montreal (great guy, but I am sorry I forget his name) certainly helped make our stay fantastic!

I have a story to share. My wife and I left behind out storm jackets when we left and I contacted Cecilia at the resort.  Would you believe, they not only found it but it was shipped to me via a visitor from Toronto (who mailed it to us) a year later!!!  Talk about great people. WOW!:) :)

Anyway, folks, would like to hear about your experience and resorts you would reccommend as well as any tips for attractions, sightseeing, currency exchange, transportation etc. etc.

We are heading to Geo's Crete, Greece resort in Ocober so let's hear it if anyone as been there.  Happy travelling and kudos to Geo's Betty and gang for a great job of keeping us vacationing!

Ciao!

JK

We just returned from a stay at the Calypso Plaza from Jan 10 to Jan 17, 2009. Getting there was easy. From Brisbane we took the train and a bus that let us off right in front of the resort. The Gold Coast airport is also on the bus line or is just a $15.00 taxi ride. The rail and bus system in Australia is so easy to use. We also used the bus system to visit many local attractions (Surfers Paradise, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, etc).

Check in on Saturday was smooth. Our unit was not yet ready so we relaxed by the pool.  With this being the summer time in Australia and the kids are off school, the pool was a popular spot for the many, many kids. In fact we couldn’t get near the hot- tub for the entire week as it was always full of 8-10 kids. There really was no quiet time in or around the pool. This was not a huge issue since a beautiful beach was just across the street.

Our 1 bedroom unit was very nice, equipped with a microwave, 2 element cook-top, a toaster, a kettle, a dishwasher, 2 TVs , a clothes washer and a dryer. Contrary to the GEO literature there was no VCR. Our 3rd floor balcony overlooked the main street. Although the 1 bedroom is to sleep 4 people, the sofa bed was unusable. Our 2 guests opted to sleep on the floor after the first sleepless night.  We brought this to the attention of the resort staff but there was little they could do since they are not responsible for the GEO units. On Monday I was directed to talk to someone from HMI. She did have record of our reservation but did not know anything about GEO. She changed the mattress on the sofa bed but it was not much better. After 2 more nights of little sleep our guests checked into a local hotel for the rest of the week.

The bar and restaurant at the resort did not seem well used. This may be because there are numerous bars and restaurants within a few blocks of the resort. These offer a wide variety of menus (Japanese, Italian, Mexican, seafood etc, etc.).  The Twin Towns resort, a block away, is open to the public and has a casino (slots only), live entertainment and many restaurants and lounges. Well worth a visit.

The indoor shopping mall, also a block away, includes a grocery store, a fruit/vegetable store and a liquor/beer/wine store. There is also a great little ice cream store right outside the front door of the Calypso.

We just returned from a stay at the Calypso Plaza from Jan 10 to Jan 17, 2009. Getting there was easy. From Brisbane we took the train and a bus that let us off right in front of the resort. The Gold Coast airport is also on the bus line or is just a $15.00 taxi ride. The rail and bus system in Australia is so easy to use. We also used the bus system to visit many local attractions (Surfers Paradise, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, etc).

Check in on Saturday was smooth. Our unit was not yet ready so we relaxed by the pool.  With this being the summer time in Australia and the kids are off school, the pool was a popular spot for the many, many kids. In fact we couldn’t get near the hot- tub for the entire week as it was always full of 8-10 kids. There really was no quiet time in or around the pool. This was not a huge issue since a beautiful beach was just across the street.

Our 1 bedroom unit was very nice, equipped with a microwave, 2 element cook-top, a toaster, a kettle, a dishwasher, 2 TVs , a clothes washer and a dryer. Contrary to the GEO literature there was no VCR. Our 3rd floor balcony overlooked the main street. Although the 1 bedroom is to sleep 4 people, the sofa bed was unusable. Our 2 guests opted to sleep on the floor after the first sleepless night.  We brought this to the attention of the resort staff but there was little they could do since they are not responsible for the GEO units. On Monday I was directed to talk to someone from HMI. She did have record of our reservation but did not know anything about GEO. She changed the mattress on the sofa bed but it was not much better. After 2 more nights of little sleep our guests checked into a local hotel for the rest of the week.

The bar and restaurant at the resort did not seem well used. This may be because there are numerous bars and restaurants within a few blocks of the resort. These offer a wide variety of menus (Japanese, Italian, Mexican, seafood etc, etc.).  The Twin Towns resort, a block away, is open to the public and has a casino (slots only), live entertainment and many restaurants and lounges. Well worth a visit.

The indoor shopping mall, also a block away, includes a grocery store, a fruit/vegetable store and a liquor/beer/wine store. There is also a great little ice cream store right outside the front door of the Calypso.