The Date Envelope:
Mock room keys that I made up (printed off some images from the web and then laminated then)
Brochure for Sabaya Ridges (formally Ridges Reef Resort, where we stayed for our honeymoon)
Information brochures on things to do in Port Douglas
The Plan:
Little Spring was picked up by some dear friends of ours, so that we were able to have our first ever night away since she came into our lives!
We then drove up the coast to have a romantic night away to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary... at the same place where we went for our honeymoon!
On the way, we stopped off at a beautiful place called Thala Lodge for lunch. We'd been planning on going there since moving up here, but just hadn't had the chance, so thought this would be the perfect opportunity! We had a delicious lunch and then headed on our way up to Port Douglas.
After checking in, we enjoyed some complimentary champagne and dessert bites (I'd arranged for wine and chocolate dipped fruit on arrival, but there had been some confusion, so they brought this up last minute... no complaints from either of us!).
We then went and explored the Resort. A lot had changed since we'd been there 10 years ago, but there were some very familiar things as well. We made a reservation for dinner and discovered that that night was the grand opening of their newly branded Ridges "QT". We were going to be one of the first to eat in the restaurant!
While we waited for our reservation, we sat in the lounge bar and enjoyed a cocktail and coffee (guess who had which drink?!). It was lovely and relaxing!
Just before dinner, we went back to the room to get changed and came down to discover a feast before us. It was a buffet with almost everything you could think of and Big Spring got his fill of fresh seafood! We felt like VIP with all the waiting staff constantly checking to see how everything was, plus all the managers etc striking up conversations to get feedback on the meal etc. We couldn't express highly enough how wonderful it all was!
The next morning, we were the second people seated to enjoy their brand new breakfast menu. We felt a bit special. After discovering our check out was at 11am instead of 10am (as originally thought) we were able to take our time a little more, enjoying all that breakfast had to offer!
It felt like we'd eaten nonstop since starting on our romantic night away, so decided not to stop for lunch somewhere on the way home, and instead, drove straight to our friends' house to pick up Little Spring. As much as we really enjoyed our time together, we missed our little girl and were looking forward to seeing her again after 24 hours!
On a side note, when were checking out, there is a little quaint shop with old fashion games and trinkets for sale. I couldn't resist buying a box of jacks to take home. My best memory of that game, is sitting on my cousin's kitchen floor, playing it with my family in 1988/89 on our trip to the States.
The Memories:
Lunch at Thala Lodge, with a gorgeous view!
Chillaxing in our room when we first arrived. The sweets were samples of the dessert on offer for dinner that night.
More chillaxing at the lounge bar... Delicious Hibiscus Martini... some of the water running through the resort and the breathtaking sunset view from our balcony in our room
Dinner in the Bazaar Restaurant (new QT Brand). Sorry for the dark photos but I didn't want to put the flash on and ruin anyone's intimate night!
The section of the resort where we stayed on our honeymoon had been sold off to another hotel chain, but we took a walk down memory lane anyway. This path hasn't changed a bit since we were there and I took this picture because this is where, at night, Big Spring stepped on what he thought was a piece of bark, which turned out to be a snake which uncoiled and struck him on the heel... thankfully it hit the strap of his sandal and not skin!
No snakes this time?
ReplyDeleteThankfully no snakes!
Deletewhat a wonderful date! An overnight getaway sound absolutely awesome right now.
ReplyDelete