I Heart Our Honeymoon Options
January 3rd, 2008 @ 9:33 am by Mrs. Peacock
Mr. Peacock’s job has had him traveling all over the place in the past year. It has been tough on us as it means lots of time apart and trying to maintain our relationship via phone calls and emails. Whenever we start feeling down about it, we remember all the American Airlines and Marriott points that he is racking up and we feel a little better. He was smart to become loyal to an airline and hotel early on rather than having points all over the place. Mr. Peacock realized a few months ago that Marriott has a few all-inclusive resorts, which means that we can use his points for the hotel, the food and the mai tais. Yes, we will be going on a virtually free honeymoon.
Winter has hit Chicago hard, so what better time to start fantasizing about tropical locations? Due to our school schedules, we will be taking our honeymoon one year from now- a few months after the wedding. Here are our favorite options:
Aruba
We would stay at the Renaissance Aruba at the Marina. The Marina and its pool are kid-free which, although we love kids, is kinda nice when you’re on your honeymoon. The Renaissance also has a private island off of Aruba which is supposed to be gorgeous… although several reviewers on TripAdvisor mentioned that there is a bit of a lizard problem. Mr. Peacock’s sister and brother-in-law are going there in April so we are looking forward to their review.
Curacao
I’m sorry, I know I am missing the pretty little swoosh under the c, but I don’t know how to type it! This was Mrs. Onion’s honeymoon spot. We would stay at the Renaissance Curacao, which is still under construction. I don’t know a lot about it, but Mrs. Onion gave the island a great review and the photos are gorgeous. It’s also kind of unique in that it doesn’t attract a ton of US tourists.
St. Kitts
The St. Kitts Marriott Resort had the best reviews on TripAdvisor out of all our favorites. This is your typical Caribbean resort. It seems to have lots of yummy restaurants and fun activities. We probably wouldn’t need to leave the resort… which sounds very nice.
Costa Rica
This is the Los Suenos Marriott. I love that picture. I can’t stop staring at it. I have always wanted to go to Costa Rica. It seems like there is so much to do with all the wildlife and gorgeous land. A friend of mine spent the summer in Costa Rica (traveling rotation for med school, luck girl) and she raved about it.
Did anyone else go the all-inclusive route? Did you enjoy it or did you want to get out on the town? Also, has anyone stayed at any of these resorts?
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14 Responses to “I Heart Our Honeymoon Options”
When Mr. Lovebird took me to Le Blanc, we didn’t want to leave! Even though tours were included in our stay, there was no way we were stepping off the property. I think all-inclusive is great if you are going to an unfamiliar place because then you don’t have to worry about getting lost on the island trying to find a good place to eat. Although, that can be fun because you never know what gem you’ll stumble upon. You can’t go wrong either way.
We went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon - though we stayed in Tamarindo at a B&B and flew in and out of Liberia - which is a much smaller International airport - and a breeze to fly in an out of.
Anyways - my Costa Rica advice. WE LOVED IT. Though in hindsight wish we would have made it a two week vacation and not stayed in one spot. Granted I loved Tamarindo - and we did excursion after excursion - spas, surfing, canopy tour, sunset catamaran/snorkling etc. What we didn’t get to do - go to the cloud forest, volcano, visit a coffee plantation (coffee plantations are all on the West coast). Anyways - we feel to have fully experienced Costa Rica driving would have to be involved - there was lots we didn’t get to see. And there’s so many countries/places we want to visit - I doubt we’ll be going back to Costa Rica soon - so you kinda gotta do it all at once 
So my advice - stay at the Los Suenos for the first week, relax, eat, enjoy the ocean. Then rent a car and explore for the next week! Or make sure your stay is long enough that you are willing to take the 2 day excursions to places like the Cloud Forest or Volcano without feeling like it’s going to take up too much of your beach time
Pura Vida!!
Also - Costa Rica was a fun ‘not Carribean’ place that is still easy to get to. The flights don’t eat away at your vacation!
I have actually been to all four of the islands you mentioned, and Aruba is, by FAR, my absolute favorite. If you want a relaxing honeymoon with perfect beaches and ideal weather, Aruba it is. Seriously.
It’s the only one of the bunch that I’ve loved enough to go back — and I’ve been there 6 times now. We always stay at the Westin (fantastic) on Palm Beach, so I can’t vouch for the Renaissance, though it looks lovely just from walking through. The difference is that it’s not actually ON a beach, as in you can’t stumble out of bed, walk outside, and collapse in a beach chair, but it’s definitely closer to the nightlife, shopping, etc. which is a bonus if that’s what you’re looking for. I’ve heard the private island is gorgeous, and it’s not like it’s going to take a long time to get there — you just hop on a boat that goes right into the lobby.
If you do wind up going to Aruba, I would suggest jumping in a cab or taking a bus down to Palm Beach one day, because the beach is SPECTACULAR. I’m fortunate enough to have traveled all over the Caribbean/Hawaii/Bermuda, and Palm Beach is one of the most beautiful.
I’ve been to Costa Rica before (Tamarindo/Liberia, same as jilian) and am actually going back with my husband and another couple this April. My girlfriend and I went the B&B route when we were there and we both love CR (in fact, she’s one of the people coming on the trip in April with us — it’ll be her 4th time there and her husband’s 5th!). Costa Rica is GREAT, but I’m with Jilian — if you do the all-inclusive, make sure you add a driving/exploring component to your trip. There’s too much to see there to not take advantage of it all.
I also just got back from Aruba — DH and I went on our honeymoon. We stayed in the low-rise area so I can’t vouch for your resort, and we actually didn’t do the all-inclusive route b/c we’d heard so much about Aruba’s great restaurants (but since your HM is going to be almost-free, you could probably afford to go out to eat a couple of times, no?). The resort is pretty from the outside and I haven’t heard a bad word about it. Aruba is a GREAT HM place if you just want to relax and do a lot of nothing — the occasional snorkel or jeep expedition notwithstanding.
One thing to note, CR is much, MUCH cheaper as a whole than Aruba — just something to think about. Aruba is also a lot more touristy/fashioned for tourists — that’s their main source of income, so they have it down pat (not that CR doesn’t, b/c they definitely have a lot of tourists, but there are still tons of places you can go to get away from all of that — if that’s what you want).
we went to costa rica for our 2nd anniversary last year and i have to say we had so much fun. it was the perfect combination of relaxation plus tons of fun things to do. and the wildlife - amazing! it’s one place i’d definitely go back (you can search for costa rica on wb if you’d like to see my posts on them).
i’m so glad you are inspired to look into curacao because of our review/experience. my favorite part was there were hardly ANY american tourists — it’s a dutch colony so almost all the tourists are from holland.
i’d be happy to tell you more about our experience (i’ve been there twice actually — one with my mother 3+ years ago and then again in september with mr. onion). feel free to email me — onion at weddingbee dot come — and we’ll chat more.
Ms. P, I’m all for Kitts, that’s where Mrs. Lemon and I went for our honeymoon…but if you do choose the Marriott there, I’d make sure that you get out from the resort a bit.
We rented a car for three days (~65 bucks) and drove south over the hill from the Marriott to the southern beaches where you can (at least when we went) have a three-mile stretch of beach to yourself. Also, the main town of Basseterre is an old Caribbean town with a lot of character…and the islanders are really very friendly…avoid the bus system though…it’s basically glorified mini-vans and their schedules are way too sporadic.
(warning - anti-Marriott at St. Kitts sentiments in this paragraph) Things to know about the Marriott on St. Kitts…you can’t really swim at their beaches…it’s on the Atlantic side and the water is considerably rougher than the opposite shore…and also, the Marriott at St. Kitts isn’t exactly helping the country. They basically give nothing back to the country (they maintain their own utilities and service systems)…sure they’ve created jobs but they pay the some of the lowest wages on the island, they pay no taxes and contribute nothing to the economy of Kitts other than the tourists who escape the resort. Also, the prices that you encounter at the Marriott resort are between 10-50% higher than the remainder of the island.
Beaches to go to: White House, Turtle Beach (not many turtles though sadly - although the main bar there has a huge pig that’s super friendly), and Frigate and South Friars Bay. The restaurant at Ottleys is rated as the best on the island…a bit pricey but damn good.
A bunch of Mrs Lemon’s old posts have some of the honeymoon pics from Kitts…It’s a great place and they have about the best rum that I’ve ever tasted (Brinley Gold Vanilla). Alright, this is way too long, and I’m not trying to be negative about going to the Marriott on St. Kitts but make sure you explore a bit of the island. If you want any more info on the island, drop Mrs. Lemon or me a line and we’ll probably give you way more than you need.
My fiance and I are hoping to stay at Los Suenos with Marriott points too! You have GREAT options here!
I am getting married on The Renaissance Island’s private island in July, so I can tell you it’s gorgeous! We have been to Aruba twice before, once we stayed in the low rises, and the second time to plan the wedding we stayed at The Renaissance. The no-kids pool is great, with cabanas and a bar right there. The rooms aren’t anything to brag about, but it is definately in a good area. If you don’t mind not being directly on the beach then you’ll love it. The private island is exclusive to the guests and it’s only a 5 minute boat trip from the resort. (The boat actually leaves directly from the lobby of the hotel, so convenient) There’s also a private spa cove where you guys can get massages on Renaissance Island. If you have any more questions, let me know!
Sadly (VERY sadly!) I haven’t been to any of these destinations and can’t weigh in. But I just had to say that “bit of a lizard problem” cracked me up! 
Thank you for all the great tips, everyone! This is AWESOME! I am still confused, but I feel more informed. These all sound like great options. It sounds like Costa Rica has the most off the resort stuff to do.
Mr. Lemon- thanks for the details on St. Kitts. I just looked through your photos on WB, it looks gorgeous. I hear what you are saying on the resort not contributing to the community… its definitely something that I hadn’t thought about before.
I stayed at Los Suenos for my honeymoon in October and it was amazing! It is gorgeous and the staff there were all so nice and restaurants all yummy. The pool is so incredible - it’s more of a place where you swim in the pool and not the ocean, fyi. We were there in the rainy season and expected some rain… but there was a long storm that came through and a lot of the activities we signed up for had to be cancelled but even so, I totally suggest going there!!! I hope to go back someday. Also, the picture you posted is the same picture as on the room key which is currently in my scrapbook! All great options though. No matter what, you’ll have a great trip.
[...] realized today that I started the honeymoon conversation a long time ago, but I never let you all know where we were going. It turns out that [...]
Miss Peacock, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Internet Whiz
Engagement Date: December 5, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2008
Blogging Since: December 13, 2007
Venue: St. Clement Church, Cafe Brauer (or a big church wedding and a fancy party at a cafe in Lincoln Park.
About Me: I am a grad student with a secret obsession for all things wedding related. I also love to read, travel, drink champagne and go for walks with our dog, Maisy, and Mr. Peacock. We are planning our very vintage wedding in the greatest city in the world, our hometown of Chicago. I am so proud to be a Bee!
We are staying at Los Suenos for our first week of our HM! My friend also went there for hers, absolutely loved it. My FI has been there before (family owns condos there). Costa Rica is so different from the typical all inclusives, there is so much to do….but from what they say Los Suenos is incredible. I cannot wait to go!!! I have done all-inclusive before, by the way. It is definitely a lot easier, knowing beforehand what you will be spending and not having to worry about extro money for food and drinks. the only downside is a lot if it is buffets, and not really a lot of the “local cuisines”.