[wtwo3]

I figured I'd create a thread where people can share places they've stayed (hotels/airbnb etc), pros/cons, and if they'd recommend the area.

I'm always looking for fun/unique spots. Sometimes I'll resort to the typical hotel if there's nothing else nice or reasonably priced.

I know... I can easily just lookup reviews for places, but I think it'd fun to see what types of places fellow forum members have stayed in and would recommend.

So here are my thoughts on what info to share:

Area of the world
Accommodation Info (Is it a hotel/airbnb/something else)
Cost
Pros/Cons
Additional comments/recommendations
Pictures (let's keep it to less than 5)

[wtwo3]

I'll go first. I just got back from a short little trip in South Haven, Michigan.

Area of the world: South Haven, Michigan
Accommodation Info: Booked an Airbnb
Cost: It was roughly $2,100 for 3 nights (~$700/night)
Pros/Cons:

Pros:
It was a beautiful property on a big 1.77 acre lot, directly on the lake Michigan lakefront. Incredible views, very quiet area, and the property itself was updated and decorated nicely.
It was also a short 10 minute drive to the town center.
South Haven itself is a nice charming little town that we wished we had more of an opportunity to explore (temperatures were frigid)

Cons:
I'm not sure if it's because we went during off-season, but holy crap the food in South Haven sucked. If you ever decide to stay here... I'd recommend just cooking your own food. After trying a few local spots, for our last meal we gave up and ordered some Pizza Hut. Sad to say that was the best meal of our trip.
Another issue was there just wasn't much to do in the cold. If you just want to lounge around at the house all day, that's fine, but if you're the type who likes to go out and see things, then winter is not a good time to go.
If you want internet, it's extremely spotty there. Cell phone coverage is also spotty. So it'll be tough to even play Netflix if you ever find yourself wanting to watch a movie.

[Tommy-G]

Secrets the Vine
Cancun Mexico
2012 I think
Pros, the resort was fairly new and geared towards amazing food and great wines. It was right next door to The Hard Rock and out of the nightclub district so it was quiet and peaceful.
Cons, the water was pretty rough the week we were there.

Highly recommend bc it def was not my perception of what Cancun was about. Great experience but unlikely we will ever go back to Cancun/Mexico these days.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

Secrets the Vine
Cancun Mexico
2012 I think
Pros, the resort was fairly new and geared towards amazing food and great wines. It was right next door to The Hard Rock and out of the nightclub district so it was quiet and peaceful.
Cons, the water was pretty rough the week we were there.

Highly recommend bc it def was not my perception of what Cancun was about. Great experience but unlikely we will ever go back to Cancun/Mexico these days.

I have yet to visit Cancun. We visited Puerto Vallarta and that was really nice, but the waters definitely aren't as blue as Cancun.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I have yet to visit Cancun. We visited Puerto Vallarta and that was really nice, but the waters definitely aren't as blue as Cancun.

We did Puerto Vallarta for a business conference and agreed, the water wasn’t as nice but the town felt safer and more touristy.
Cancun was awesome, great shopping mall but protected by guards with AR-15’s and the downtown area was fun but at night gets real wild. It def was not what I expected. I was thinking more Spring Break everywhere but it was not at all….

[Germanauto]

Lived half my life in Michigan, never heard of South Haven.

[infinitekidM2C]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

Secrets the Vine
Cancun Mexico
2012 I think
Pros, the resort was fairly new and geared towards amazing food and great wines. It was right next door to The Hard Rock and out of the nightclub district so it was quiet and peaceful.
Cons, the water was pretty rough the week we were there.

Highly recommend bc it def was not my perception of what Cancun was about. Great experience but unlikely we will ever go back to Cancun/Mexico these days.

The water is way different than what i'm used to. Over here the water is cold, but you can get used to it in the summer, or if you have a wetsuit. In Cancun, it is pretty choppy but the water is actually warm. You almost don't feel it. If you want a serene and not too cold water, then you have to go to the caribbean.

[Joe T]

few years ago my wife took me to Ireland for my 50th birthday, we stayed a couple days in Dublin and stayed at the Westin. GREAT location for Dublin nightlife, being right at the top of Grafton street.

but the highlight was we drove cross country and stayed at the Ashford Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_Castle

Beautiful old castle, very accommodating staff, really first rate stay. We ate a couple meals at the castle, good, but nothing crazy. A couple of the staff we got friendly with suggested some restaurants in the town a short walk away in Cong. We actually met up with staff a couple nights as they would head to town after shift to unwind.

Rooms were a little small, vintage and had some quirks you's expect from an almost 800 year old castle. I think it was about $2k a night

We did some falconry, shot some trap, rode some horses... and every morning my wife would take the Irish Wolfhounds for a walk



Side note, my wife did some pre planning and got me on the very land my fathers family farmed before immigrating to the US.

[floridaorange]

Punta Cana, DR

Pros: beautiful and close to florida
Cons: none

Tenerife, Spain

Pros: beautiful
Cons: can't think of any

Paris

Pro's: It's beautiful and we found the people to be kind and helpful.
Cons: Food is kinda meh unless you really want to spend alot of $ every meal.

Rome

Pro's: historic and unforgettable
Cons: tough to have any idea what anyone there is saying - complicated italian dialect

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Joe T

Side note, my wife did some pre planning and got me on the very land my fathers family farmed before immigrating to the US.

That’s insane…sounds amazing. My wife wants to go to Ireland and maybe Scotland

[M_Six]

Back in 2009 we drove from Munich to Salzburg for a planned one night stay. We stayed 4 and regretted not having more time there . Amazing city. Totally walkable. We didn't touch the car for the entire stay. Highly recommended.

View of the Fortress Hohensalzburg from the city and Wifey enjoying a latte at the cafe up in the fortress.

[chassis]

Chateau St. Gerlach
Valkenburg, Netherlands

Pros: laid back 5 star chateau, food, landscape
Cons: none

Strong recommend.

[Fast.F10]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Lived half my life in Michigan, never heard of South Haven.

Born in Grosse Pointe...same. That place would of been a tad nicer in the summer time. Used to play hockey on Lake St.Clair growing up...burrrr! Nice to visit, but Fl is much more bearable lol.

Last few vacation have been to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina...on the hunt for a cabin to turn into a rental.

[tcphoto]

Tulum, Mexico
Pros: It’s a laidback resort spot with great food, Hartwood is recognized as a top restaurant according to the NYT. I have been twice and stayed at Coco Tulum in a beachside cabana. The drive from the Cancun airport is 90-120 minutes.
Cons: There seems to be gang wars recently and I would be cautious about returning.

A week for two people will cost about $2K to $2500 for everything.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by Fast.F10

Born in Grosse Pointe...same. That place would of been a tad nicer in the summer time. Used to play hockey on Lake St.Clair growing up...burrrr! Nice to visit, but Fl is much more bearable lol.

Last few vacation have been to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina...on the hunt for a cabin to turn into a rental.

Now Traverse City, that's a really nice spot. A couple years ago I went for a long weekend getaway with some of my boys. We rented out a lakefront house, did a lot of kayaking, saw the Sleeping Bear Dunes, made bonfires, hit the local bars at night. Can't forget all the twisty roads either. Great time!

[Fast.F10]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Now Traverse City, that's a really nice spot. A couple years ago I went for a long weekend getaway with some of my boys. We rented out a lakefront house, did a lot of kayaking, saw the Sleeping Bear Dunes, made bonfires, hit the local bars at night. Can't forget all the twisty roads either. Great time!

Agreed. Best to go around Cherry Festival time. Took son to sleeping bear dunes when he was like 4yrs old....trooper made it up the big hill. Nice little area up there. Have family in Mi still so we go "home" quite often. Son was born in Fl and we took him to Mt.Holly to experience snow and snowboarding. White out the day after our arrival in town and all melted 2 weeks after we left. He was sad to see his snowman melt away from pics family sent us.

#MittenMade

[M_Six]

For those who haven't been there. Sleeping Bear Dunes.

[bvrider1]

South Haven is pretty much a summer town.

Gingerman Raceway is located in that area too.

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Lived half my life in Michigan, never heard of South Haven.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by M_Six

For those who haven't been there. Sleeping Bear Dunes.

I recall an episode of Top Gear where they visited the Namib desert, which is unique in that it meets the ocean. The Dunes looked so much like that. There's nothing else like it in North America.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I recall an episode of Top Gear where they visited the Namib desert, which is unique in that it meets the ocean. The Dunes looked so much like that. There's nothing else like it in North America.

The drop from the top of the dune to the water was like a black diamond ski slope. There were warning signs that if you went down to the water, the only way back was to climb that steep, steep dune. With sand like that, climbing is two steps up and one step sliding back down. Takes a lot of effort to get back up. The day we were there, it was close to 100F. No way I was going any closer to the edge of that and risking a slide down.

[Topcarbon]

I live
Most of my year in Mexico so a lot of what my wife and I do is explore non beach spots here and when we go to other places those vacations are typically cold weather destinations. Imagine all year sunny and warm and at the beach.
We like something different from everyday.
Here are some examples
San Miguel de Allende (5 year anniversary photo shoot)
Iceland
Puebla
Peru

[Tommy-G]

Topcarbon those look amazing!