Little Passports - USA edition

My husband and I love to travel and we always look at different ways to share that passion with our children.

I was looking for some inspiration on Pinterest when I came across "Little Passports" a company started by to friends, both mothers, that was offering a monthly subscription promising to: "Inspire a love and understanding of the world as your child learns about geography, history, culture, and language in a fun and memorable way." Exactly what I wanted.

They offer two different subscriptions: USA and worldwide (wish the would do a Canada by province edition). We ordered both.

The USA package arrived first and my daughter was very puzzled and excited to open the relatively large UPS package that had her name on it. I did not know how long package will take to arrive so I never mentioned it to her.

A letter from Sofia introduces both Sofia and Sam and their magic scooter and invites the kid reading the letter to join them on their future adventures.

The disposable camera is a cute touch...I was amused at my daughter "discovering" how it works and trying to grasp the whole film processing concept....like it was 100 years ago that we all used these cameras....so we agreed to save the 24 shots for something very important and she could use her camera for now.

The field guide has a few pages that can be filled while waiting for the next month package. The questions make learning fun and I do not think my daughter even realized how much she learned already.
Some of my favourite questions: "What's your favourite thing about living in your city?" and " What state do you most want to visit?"
Also in the field guide are 2 scavenger hunt type exercises. The first one requires the use of the map to learn about the boarders, neighbours and some of the major attractions. The second one is a photo scavenger hunt in which your child can use the included camera to capture as many of the suggested images as they can.

The Scratch book is another fun activity for kids.

The map is a nice large wall size map featuring Sam and Sofia and some of the major USA attractions like: Mount Rushmore, the Hoover Dam, and the Liberty Bell

The last item in the box was a plastic pocket folder with Sofia and Sam on their magic scooter featuring a few of the attractions and future destinations on the front. This pocket folder fits all the items in neatly with plenty of space for future items.

My only complaint about this package as it was for the worldwide edition is that there was no rush option on the initial packages. I would have gladly paid a premium to have the first packages delivered "rush" and not have to wonder for weeks when will arrive...if I would have mentioned it to my daughter she would have lost interest in the package or would have driven me crazy with the same question every day (is it here yet?) for 3 weeks.

Now...we are impatiently waiting for the next package. Yes, WE....because if you order this for your child you will definitely get exited as well.

Until next time,
Happy Travels

Reading reviews...how to and how much to believe

We all want the best value for our money no matter what we are looking to pay for, but what is best for some it may not always be OK for us....so how do you decide if you never been to that place?

Sites or apps like TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Google Now - Places are great tools when it comes to finding out what is in the area and what are the most popular places, and what are some of the bonuses or issues with the places you are interested in.

After years of researching for our vacations and other trips I developed my own way to read the Trip Advisor (or any other) reviews. Funny enough I always read the worst first...why you may ask?....well, I wanna know what is the worst thing about the place, wouldn't you?

If the worst review is about mosquitoes, children splashing in the pool, coffee machine plugged in the bathroom, a person that is reviewing the place before they stay there....I completely disregard them.
Keep in mind that there are some stuff that are out of the control of any establishment and should never be held against them. If you can not control the mosquito population in your backyard you can not expect a hotel to have that power over them...can you? If the place has a pool that is available to children you should expect children to be children and play (I may hold it against the parents/guardians if the children get out of hand...but not the hotel staff).

Trip Adviser is full of bad reviews that really have no value, but sadly they impact the star rating of a very good place and if all you look at is the star rating you may lose on some nice experiences.

The list of bad reviews that in my opinion should be disregarded can go on, and on, and on for many pages. There will always be some people that will find something to complain regardless on how good they felt. Not all the bad reviews are from actual customers....some are from disgruntled employees or the competition so take everything with a grain of salt.

Now...to me it is just as important to see in the event that the management replied to the bad review,,,how they replied and what is their tone. If the complaint is about rude staff or poor conditions of the place and the reply is rude or in any way insinuates the "If you don't like it don't come back" I would side with the customer and will not give the place a chance. If the reply is polite and professional even if they disagree with the customer I will further consider.

A perfect example is the response I got to my only bad review so far (http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g47990-d254818-r215786032-Super_8_Kenmore_Buffalo_Niagara_Falls_Area-Kenmore_New_York.html). The owner/manager replied shortly after the review was published. His response was short polite and to the point...apologised for my inconvenience and taking my complaints as constructive criticism, he informed me that plans are in place to correct some of the areas I found less them appealing, and more important then everything he expressed his "hope" that we may give them another chance when in the area....

This response not only makes me consider giving them a second chance, but if I were just researching the place...I may consider going in and seeing if they changed and maybe stay there.

Now we talked about the bad...what about the good?....well sadly plenty of the good is sometimes fake....how can you tell? well, you can never be sure but here are some that could definitely be questioned: someone from the same town/village saying they were in that town for the first time...yeah I saw that, or someone contradicts all the other reviews (place was spotless clean and friendly staff when 10 other people say the opposite in the same month)...not a lot of people writing reviews will use elaborate or correct industry terms (unless they have some kind of background in that industry...or have been reviewing for a longer time)...if it is from someone with a lot of reviews I may believe it but I question it from someone that only writes one review that sounds like the Food Network (no way of knowing...but I question them)

I also look at the number of reviews and read some of the other reviews that person wrote...you can not be unsatisfied with every place you go...and you can not believe that every place you go to is 5 stars....even with all the research we do sometimes something may just go wrong, or nothing ever pleased you and all the reviews are of 1-2 stars.

Knowing where to go to make sure you receive the standard you expect is getting easier every day with the use of these blog and review sites....as long as we learn just as fast how to read and review the reviews available, sounds funny but it's true.

I hope this will be of some use to you in the time you spend researching your next destination and keep in mind that glitches are just part of the adventure.

Until next time
happy travels

Nottawasaga Inn Resort - Wedding

Our big day has come and went faster then I realized...and here I am know trying to put it all in writing.

There is no perfect wedding...each wedding will have some glitches and the success of the celebration depends a lot on how you can adapt and if you have competent staff around you to solve the problems that arise.

Through the entire planning process, I was very impressed with the resort's co-ordinator, Sarah Webb. She was always professional, friendly and very knowledgeable. If I had a problem Sarah had a solution and that was never more true that on the wedding day.

My wedding was supposed to be in the garden with a cocktail hour in the garden and a reception in room 10a.

I spent the previous night in resort with my 2 bridesmaids (room 436) and had a wonderful late dinner. Even with us being the second last group walking into the restaurant the food came out hot and delicious. The daily soup was a Chicken noodle and it was as good if not better then the one my grandma makes (please do not tell her that). I had the salmon and the girls had the seafood pasta...the portions are big and the food just like the one at the tasting was absolutely delicious, giving me confidence in the following night's reception dinner. We had a very nice waitress (feel so bad that I did not take down her name) attentive and courteous. The fact that even if we were the last ones to walk out of the restaurant probably past the closing time we were never rushed with a bill..she patiently waited for us to ask for it (and not at the table next to us as some waitresses do when they want to rush you)...meant a lot to me even if I felt bad when I realized how late it got...

I received my bridal room (433) before noon and it was beautiful. Very modern and elegant with a huge window perfect for some wonderful shots and a jacuzzi that was very inviting just steps from the bed.

After a good night sleep we ran off to the Tim Hortons just down the road...a girl must keep some kind of routine....a Starbucks would have been much appreciated but it was to far. 

Now the one thing I must mention is that just 2 minutes drive from the resort you will find a Tims, a Walmart and a Dollarama...this came in hand as I was able to buy some stuff I forgot home and did not have to drive 2-3 hours to get them.

Once we returned to the resort the "fun" started...when I went to check if my decorator arrived a strong sewer smell hit me as soon as I walked into the room. It took less then 30 seconds for someone to notice my presents in the room and when I mentioned that I am the bride and that the room stinks the staff member immediately reassured me that they are aware and that both cleaning and maintenance staff were looking into the issue (and the 4-5 people roaming around like busy bees were a reassuring sign) the door leading to the patio were also propped open to help air out the room...so I walked away a bit worried but trying to remind myself that it was only 10am and the wedding was at 5.

An hour later the smell was less pungent, but not gone and I was getting scared...all I could think about was my guests trying to enjoy dinner with that smell...and by the time I made my way to the front desk I worked myself up pretty bad, and I had to take a big breath when I was told that Sarah is in a meeting and they can not reach her...but they will tell her to call me as soon as she is out. Some very long 10 minutes later (long because time moves so slow when you are stressed) Sarah met me in the lobby and her smile and positive attitude just calmed me down. She knew my concerns and requirement for the reception room and before I could even say one word she already apologised for the issue with the room (not that anyone could have foreseen this...but apologising shows that she/they care) and moved on to the solution. Her solution?...an upgrade to room #41 a much bigger and elegant room then the one I initially booked.

I tend to be a pretty realistic person and far from the age of temper tantrums...I know that problems can always arise and there are always issues that are out of anyones control (like the plumbing issue) so it is more important to me how the staff reacts when faced with a problem and how they deal and respond to a less then happy client. Sarah Webb, is a perfect example of how staff should react. Acknowledge the issue as soon as brought to her attention and how serious is to the client, apologies (even if not in her control, apologising for the inconvenience caused to the client does not mean that she accepts blame but that she is aware of how this situation affects the client/bride), and more importantly then anything have a solution for the problem. Doing this not only removes any of my reasons to complain, but made me feel taken care of...in very good, capable and professional hands.

My next issue was when the weather outside turned for the worst and instead of clearing up it started to rain and the temperature dropped even lower...it was 3:30 by now and I had to make a quick decision where do I want the wedding. There was a room on standby just for this kind of glitch but when Sarah mentioned that we could just as easily use the Chapel, I had to go with that knowing how much it will mean to my grandma....and when I walked into the Chapel and saw the fresco of blue sky with pillowy white clouds and rolling green hills made me feel (with a bit of imagination) that I am outside...it was a perfect compromise between my dream garden ceremony and my grandma's traditional church wedding

Frankie Emerson, the food and beverage manager was the staff member that took care of us from the moment the celebration was to start...he was the one that called my room to tell me when all my guest have made it to the Chapel and it was time for me and my bridesmaids to come downstairs. The fact that the elevator took me from the floor that my room was on straight to the floor were the Chapel is located was an added bonus. 

Frankie was careful to ensure that every person walked in at the right time (we had La Vie En Rose playing for the girls and Vivo per Lei as the bride song).

After the ceremony Frankie was again there to help....gathering everyone for the group shot and when I mentioned wanting to take a golfing type shot he immediately suggested the small course (sorry not a golfer so I have no idea when it comes to the different terms) that was located next to the parking are at the begging of the Wedding Garden.

Because we were running late I was very concerned about the food and not messing with the kitchen time...and even when Frankie kept on reassuring me, I was adamant about being seated at the time we have previously agreed on....so the time we spent taking photos in the garden was cut short...to the happiness of my daughter and the bridesmaids that were freezing (I was running on adrenaline).

Somehow we managed to make it back in time and be seated only about 5-10 minutes late....As soon as we sat down Frankie had all his staff organized and the dinner started without anyone knowing that we are not on schedule. 

Our waitresses name was also Sarah and she was very pleasant and friendly....there were a few extra things I requested from her over the course of the evening and she was always happy to accommodate me. 

Having an European background I tend to drink my wine as a Spritz (a mixture of wine and pop ...pepsi for red and soda or ginger ale for white), Sarah knew exactly what I was talking about and quickly retuned with a perfectly balanced Spritz of red and pepsi. I also asked her not to remove my plate, but go ahead with the dessert for the other guests....this is definitely not how a dinner is served, but it was what I asked and the fact that I was accommodated counts a lot. I wanted to finish my food and the speeches and other things kept me from being able to enjoy my meal uninterrupted...Sarah, promptly covered my meal when I was not at the table to keep it from cooling off.

Sarah was very pleasant and impressed the other guests at the main table just by doing what we all expected of her...serving us with a smile and being professional.

Our bartender was Jordan, a young man full of energy and charm that knew his job very well. I am not a big drinker and as a result I do not know the name of all the mixed drinks so when I went and asked him for something not too strong but a bit sweet he nailed it.

By the end of the night we had heard a lot of compliments from our guests about how professional and friendly the staff was but more importantly how good the food was. 

Food at a wedding is very important...it is the one thing that people will remember especially if it was not good. It is hard to please so many different pallets, but they did it...We did not hear one complaint and our family and very close friends would have no issue wording any concern to us.

By the end of the night I was over the moon. I knew that even if the weather was not on my side the resort has pulled through and made this wedding one to be talked about....so much that some of our friends are now seriously considering this venue for their next celebration and one of them may have their wedding there.

our room was arranged to offer us a nice welcome 

Even if it was not part of the usual services offered by the hotel Frankie went out of his way and helped us by storing the rest of our cake in a fridge until morning when he brought it up to us in person with some plates and utensils so the guests that had stayed over night can enjoy some cake after breakfast.

We met our overnight guest for breakfast and opted for the buffet as it offered the usual stuff that we would have, but if a buffet breakfast is not what you prefer the resort also offers a A La Carte menu. This 2 option breakfast made it easy to have everyone at the same table even if some of our breakfast meals were from different menus. 

Ok...I could stay here and write about how impressed I was for ages but I will tell you that we would recommend this place in a heart bit to any friend, relative, or acquaintance.

Until next time

Happy travels