March 24, 2012

After a one and a half hour delay due to inclement weather on the West Coast, we entered our Alaska Airlines plane and took off. Three and a half hours later, touch down. Into the airport, to the luggage round, to Miller Transportation, off to the Grand Luxxe and into our Jr. Villa for the week. We left rain behind to find sun, wind and warmth!

We were warmly greeted by the Miller Transportation representative at the airport, Estephan at the Grand Bliss, Christian at the Grand Luxxe and Katheryn and Cindy of the International Sales department. The ladies at the Reception Desk efficiently opened our account and sent us on our way.

It seemed the personnel were happy to see us. They all said "welcome home" to us. We felt welcome. The interior of the Grand Luxxe I Tower seemed warmer; the view from the Grand Luxxe Tower I lobby extended all the way through the Grand Luxxe Punta lobby to the ocean, giving us a feeling of openness; it was warm outside and we arrived.

Dinner....what would we do for dinner? A Chowhound review of the Grand Luxxe restaurants said the Punta Area Sea Food Restaurant was outstanding. We called at about 8 PM to inquire about space. Jaime, who was the Assistant Manager of Havana Moon, was the Manager of Gong, was the Supervisor of Housekeeping and, to our surprise, is now the Manager of the Punta Arena Seafood Restaurant, answered the phone and recognized us. "Of course we have space, Mr. Jones. Your table is waiting." Wow, what a great surprise!

We arrive and our waiter is Dario. He served us at the Havana Moon in 2009, along with Jaime. He recognized us and welcomed us home. What fun! And, our lettuce wrap and Red Snapper stuffed with vegetables was great. We finished with char broiled fresh pineapple, topped with coconut ice cream, strawberries, raspberries and a delicate honey sauce. Wow!

On our way back to our unit, we wandered throughout the Punta pools. Wow! We were blown away. The lobby area, the beach facilities, and the pools were all beautiful. What a place to stay! Yes, the water was cool, but not cold.

That's it for the first seven hours of our vacation. Stay tuned....we are about to have a great week in a fabulous place!