Bermuda with my Father

[ragwing]

OK, please bear with me.

 

I have an 86 year old father living with us. Good health, reasonably ambulatory but needs assistance from time to time.

 

Linda and I would like to take him on a short, maybe three day (max) trip to Bermuda for some sunshine, warmth, blue water and fresh air. Frankly, also a change of scenery.

 

We'd fly right from Newark NJ so the transit would be pretty dang short.

 

I checked with The Reefs and they have a 5 night minimum which with Dad's energy levels, might prove to be too long.

 

The Elbow Beach resort may be a good alternative as they advertise four night minimums. But during the summer season, I'm betting short stays may prove hard to come by.

 

1) Has anyone, either CC Host or posters, ever taken an elderly parent on a trip of this nature? I'd be interested in your experiences either on on the boards or via email.

 

2) Though we love the Reefs, does anyone have any other suggestions for a short stay? Water view, salt air, and a nice veranda/lanai for whiling away a few hours would be our wishes here.

 

 

-Jim (lookin' out for his father)

[herb]

your best bet would be to log on to tripadvisor.com and then go to Bermuda forums.

 

Tripadvisor deals with hotels, what they do and do not offer etc. We've gotten many good hints on where to stay and not to stay using tripadvisor when we planned a land vacation.

[ragwing]

Thanks Herb!

Hadn't heard of tripadvisor.com before so I really appreciate the input.

This little excursion has gotten tougher than I thought it would be.

 

-Jim

[herb]

Thanks Herb!

Hadn't heard of tripadvisor.com before so I really appreciate the input.

This little excursion has gotten tougher than I thought it would be.

 

-Jim

 

 

Tripadvisor to me is like the cruisecritic for hotels IMHO :D

[iheartbda]

Grotto Bay might be another consideration. I have not stayed there but know of other people who have and were very happy. They also have meal plans.

 

http://www.grottobay.com/

 

Personally, I stay away from Trip Advisor. I've stayed at places or eaten at a restaurant and found nothing wrong with them but others said it was the worst food, worst hotel...worst everything. If you read reviews, take them with a grain of sand since they are soooo subjective.;)

[Charles4515]

Grotto Bay might be another consideration. I have not stayed there but know of other people who have and were very happy. They also have meal plans.

 

http://www.grottobay.com/

 

Personally, I stay away from Trip Advisor. I've stayed at places or eaten at a restaurant and found nothing wrong with them but others said it was the worst food, worst hotel...worst everything. If you read reviews, take them with a grain of sand since they are soooo subjective.;)

 

Also the really overly positive reviews can't be trusted either. I find TripAdvisor useful and do check all hotels on there but I do take the reviews with a grain of salt and not as gospel. By the way TripAdvisor is the owner of Cruise Critic.....

[iheartbda]

Also the really overly positive reviews can't be trusted either. I find TripAdvisor useful and do check all hotels on there but I do take the reviews with a grain of salt and not as gospel. By the way TripAdvisor is the owner of Cruise Critic.....

 

Yes, and I also said take reviews with a grain of sand meaning negative OR positive.:)

[Got2Cruise]

My father is 86 and takes two cruises a year with my mom. Wouldn't your father enjoy a cruise to Bermuda? It really is less stressful because you don't need to deal with flying. (okay this is CC, someone has to ask :) )

[Charles4515]

Yes, and I also said take reviews with a grain of sand meaning negative OR positive.:)

 

I figured that you did probably did mean negative or positive. It is known that some hotels have been caught using shills to send positive reviews. But also I wanted to get into the thread the TripAdvisor/Cruise Critic connection so it was convenient to reply to your post ;)

[iheartbda]

I figured that you did probably did mean negative or positive. It is known that some hotels have been caught using shills to send positive reviews. But also I wanted to get into the thread the TripAdvisor/Cruise Critic connection so it was convenient to reply to your post ;)

 

Guess I'm in the dark because I never knew that so the reverse could be true as well.;)

We were looking for a REALLY nice restaurant in Williamsburg, Va. for Christmas day dinner. I picked what I thought we would like and checked Trip Advisor. Despite some of the negative reviews, we decided to "go for it". It turned out to be exactly what we were looking for and it ended up among some of our nicest dining experiences.

 

Sometimes you have to "throw caution to the wind" and try something for yourself.:)

[Shipshape7]

I find that with both CC and tripadvisor, you really have to try to "take it from where it comes". I try to read between the lines and try to detect how alike to or dissimilar from the poster/reviewer I am. It seems to me that an awful lot of people choose vacations that they end up not liking. Some of it is attributable to unrealistic expections. Most times it just sounds like they did not think it through or understand what they were buying. Example; You know you hate heat and crowds but you choose a Disney World vacation in July??? When it comes to cruises, doesn't it just amaze you when your friends and relatives do not even know the name of the ship they are already booked on??? Much of the general public simply does not seem to understand that the ship is the "product" you are buying and, like hotels, there are different levels of luxury. If you got what you paid for, you can't complain that the Super 8 Motel wasn't as nice as The Four Seasons for goodness sake.

[ragwing]

Grotto Bay might be another consideration. I have not stayed there but know of other people who have and were very happy. They also have meal plans.

 

http://www.grottobay.com/

 

;)

 

 

I've contacted Grotto Bay and anxiously await their return call!!

Never stayed there so this would be an adventure for us as well as my father!! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

-Jim:)