Itโs starting to get COLD here in Tennessee, so some girlfriends and I decided to go south and enjoy some warmer temps by the beach in December.
After a bit of searching, we found a great deal online for the DiamondHead Resort, Fort Myers Beach, and it looked like the perfect spot! Beachfront, white sand, warm weatherโฆ ahhh. Not to mention great food, girl friends & lots of wine. ๐
Iโm a big fan of the Pacific Ocean by the way, whether itโs southern California or Melbourne Australia, and I love the Gulf area too. The Atlantic, not so much.
Anyway, I mentioned we found a deal on the rooms โ which was on Orbitz. I decided to do a little research though, and see if I could get an even better deal. I tried combining flight & hotel. No dice. And can I just stop here and sayโฆ booking travel plans can be a royal pain sometimes! ๐ Next, I checked the actual website for the resort, and found we could get an even better deal there. Cool!
On a whim, I decided to call them on the phone. And guess what? Yup, an even BETTER deal! It turns out they currently have a special going on, which ended up saving us more than $60/night!
Flights were another story altogether. Try coordinating 3 flights from 3 different places to arrive around the same time -LOL. And itโs near impossible to get anything direct out of Nashville.
I ended up paying close to $350 for a flight with stops, which is just ridiculous โ but I literally searched every option on and off for three days. *sheesh* In the end I just said whatever โ booked it and was done with it. ๐
Another cool thing I discovered over the phone is that you can purchase $50 restaurant vouchers (for their on-site restaurant) at the front desk for only $25. Sweet deal, right? Of course, that gave me the idea to check on Restaurant.com where you can often get $25 restaurant gift certificates for $2-$3. Bingo! I found the same restaurant there, and using the specials & coupon codes they send out I can grab super cheap restaurant vouchers for any of the restaurants at or near the Diamondhead Resort.
Nothing like fine dining on the cheap. ๐ Especially when you have an ocean view!
I first discovered Restaurant.com in August, while at a conference in Atlanta. It was amazing how much money we saved on meals at that event! Just this morning I popped the Fort Myers Beach zip code in and found tons of participating restaurants within walking distance of the resort. Should make for some fun restaurant hopping!
(And make up for that stupid flight rate -LOL)
I am SO looking forward to the trip, and a long weekend on the beach with great girl friends. Of course, weโll be brainstorming and masterminding our work together no doubt, but Iโm sure there will be plenty of wine and laughter and girl talk in between. ๐
What about you? Have any fun travel plans for the winter??
Really looking forward to the trip to Fort Myers Beach. I have never been there so it will be a nice new experience. And I love that itโs a business expense! Even better.
Kev and I just returned from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands where we blogged for Marriott (we won the trip in a contest) and that was pure Heaven. Other than those two beach destinations, nothing else planned for this year. We usually go to Jamaica but sad to say that wonโt happen in 2011.
Now 2012 is a whole other story. Busy travel year and we are still debating on where we want to go to celebrate our 40th and 50th birthdays in the Spring. It was going to be Greece but we have decided against that for now. Might be a cruise to Italy or an all inclusive somewhere in Central America like Costa Rica. Oh the decisions lol
Looking forward to staying at DiamondHead. Looks very nice!
Decisions indeed! Sounds like it will be fun weighing out all those options though. ๐ Super excited about our trip, and checking out DiamondHead! See you in a few weeks. ๐
Oooh, youโre going there together! Now I envy you even more than I envied when I saw the picture with the pool and the ocean.
To top it off, the ad within the post shows me a groupon deal for winter boots!! Gaa.
And Trish Lindemood too! All three of us are heading to the beach for a girls weekend โ full of wine & brainstorming (and plenty of laughs, no doubt!). I am really looking forward to it. ๐
Now youโre rubbing salt in my wounds, Lynn! ๐ Iโd love to see Trish tooโฆ
It would be SO cool to meet up with you. Hopefully we can make that happen one of these days!!