My fiance and I are in search of a destination for a honeymoon. We have been really thinking of Royal Hideaway. Is there any others that you would recommend with budget in mind? Looking to keep the trip in the neighborhood of $2500 - $3000.

Dion,

The Royal Hideaway is an amazing resort property and you should have an amazing time here. It's one of the nicest properties in the Mayan Riviera.

Other than Mexico, I personally think St. Lucia is one of the most "romantic" islands in the Caribbean. - It's lush, tropical with beach and mountains. Check out these properties Anse Chastanet, Ladera Resort or Stonefield Estate Villa Resort.

My husband and I went to Jamaica for our honeymoon (July 2004). We stayed at Sandals Ocho Rios. It was great -- lots of activities, or if you want they have plenty of room to just relax. We initially planned to get married there, but decided to do it in the states. Sandals, has a package called the weddingmoon package. They provide the cake, champaign,and food for you and two guests. I used a travel coordinator for our trip, because she allowed us to pay a deposit up front and then scheduled payments (all paid in full before departure date). The package includes your room, all the food you can eat and beverages (liquor and mixed drinks included). You can log onto the Sandals. You can log on to the Sandals website for more information.

By the way, airfare is also included in the Sandals package as well as transfers. The package costs about $3,500

Look into the Palace resorts. They have 2 resorts south of Playa del Carmen that offer destination weddings for free if you stay a minimum of 4 nites. The hotels are the Adventura/Spa Palace (adults only, with no beach but manmade lagoon on the ocean) & the Xpu-Ha Palace (unique resort built in egological park). Also the Moon Palace, south of Cancun, huge resort (2,000 rms., but a stinky, seaweedy beach) has probably the most destination weddings. They get booked up fast, look at www.palace.rom. There are time restrictions when you get married in Mexico, blood test & so forth. For more info, you can email me. Oh, the Royal Hideaway is expensive, but great service & Sandals is expensive this year. I'd go with Couples Swept Away or Couples (both in Negril, less expensive & more highly rated than Sandals) and St. Lucia is expensive for guests to get to.

This will be our third time at the Royal and think it is the best. They pamper you and make you feel like your their favorite guest. The food is fabulas. Good luck