Guess the Luxury Resort: Tropical Adventure

Can you guess this luxury resort, where tropical adventure is on the menu? This resort, which opened in 2004 but was renovated in 2017, remains a favorite for clients seeking a combination of adventurous activities and relaxation, all via a nonstop flight from Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago ORD, Dallas DFW, Denver, NYC-JFK, Houston, Los Angeles LAX, Miami, and seasonally, Boston, San Francisco and Minneapolis MSP.

The lobby is already tastefully decorated for the holidays:

We appreciated the welcome with cool towels and refreshing coconut water:

Rooms are all 603 square feet, and vary only by placement and view. The lower category rooms have jungle views or very partial ocean view, while our room on the third floor enjoyed partial ocean views through the tropical forest, from the furnished balcony:

Furnished Balcony, Guess the Luxury Resort

View from Private Balcony, Guess the Luxury Resort

The room's bathroom is well equipped, with its double sinks, separate toilet, walk-in shower, and a soaking tub with slidable panels that open the bathroom up to the bedroom:

Even with the lure of a bountiful breakfast buffet, it was difficult to rouse my family in the morning, so comfortably ensconced they were in the superbly comfortable beds.

Once at breakfast, however, they savored the full range of options, from made-to-order omelets and roasted asparagus to beet-cured smoked salmon with herbed goat cheese, a local fruit similar to a passion fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, pastries, flan, and more:

Buffet Breakfast with Made-to-Order Omelet

A highly for my husband was the expertly prepared drip coffee. He even attended a coffee class, where in addition to tasting a variety of coffees, he learned that light roast coffees retain the most caffeine, and dark roasted coffees have comparatively less caffeine. Higher altitudes, with their humidity and fog, tend to produce better tasting coffee.

But what about relaxation and adventure, you say? For those inclined more towards relaxation, there are three swimming pools to enjoy, as well as two beaches.

There's also golf, a full service spa, and a hot tub jacuzzi with waterfalls to relax sore muscles:

On the adventure side of things, there are hikes, a plethora of running trails, zip lining, horseback riding, ATV riding, and a variety of water sports such as kayaking, surfing, and fishing.

On the hike with the above view, we saw a couple of the following animal, which admittedly is a poor shot on my iPhone, but you can get a sense of just how camouflaged these animals are in their surroundings. Extra points for correctly naming the animal!

Don't forget culinary adventures, too: we enjoyed an excellent cooking demonstration with one of the resort's chefs, who not only gave us tips on improving our knife skills, but also used a couple secret ingredients in this ceviche preparation (which was fantastic; I'm hoping my teen will make this for us at home):