ME by Melia Blog

It would take more than a pair of hands to count the number of friends and acquaintances who say that the key to achieving the most memorable vacations is by splurging.  

Do not believe the hype.

Their definition of splurging, we can only imagine, is making that jump from one scoop of icecream to two; buying a tv the size of a buick on a whim.  It’s nice to exercise this style of reckless spending, only if your finances allow it.  

But then where’s the fun, the excitement?

It’s all in the confidence in knowing that a particular purchase won’t have you cutting corners or starving further down the road; its about having a plan.  

Save to splurge.

A good guideline to go by is, first, create a well-planned guesstimate as to how much your vacations might set you back.  Multiply that number by 2 and now you have a solid financial goal to reach before you take that trip.

Once that exact number is in your bank account, you can blow half of it on the vacation and keep the other half invested.  The idea behind this method can elevate your travels from sporadic to something of a trend.  

For every dollar you’ll spend on travel, you’ll have another stowed away for the next.

The idea, in theory, sounds too good to be true and for anyone that has ever traveled, unforeseen expenses, it is.  But a word of advice…  

Stay optimistic.

Already save a comfortable wad of change?  Ready to invest it in a lush vacation south of the border or across the pond?  Be sure to stay updated on the latest packages and promotions we have, located on the profile, in the blogs, in the bulletins and, particularly at:

http://www.MEbyMelia.com/book/

- ME by Melia

It’s strange, really, that despite all the downward economic trends, the hospitality industry is still strong as an ox and lively as ever. What’s especially surprising is a trend that sees vacationers gravitating toward the luxury resorts which may or may not include our ME Hotels—It does.

So who’s booking the suites and penthouse lofts and soaking in the decadence that is lavish resort life? Chiefly the younger, twenty to thirty-somethings with a penchant for chic, European style and with faster, streamlined intentions.

USA Today says they’re attracted to luxe resorts, such as ME, like moths to a flame because of the experience—bigger beds, bigger TVs, heightened integration of technologies such as IPods and wifi, and, more importantly, the one-on-one, all-for-you treatment they receive over the course of their stay.

Another factor is the low percentage of children. What used to be hotspots for babies and toddlers yammering on in nonsensical blather, have been upgraded to luxury hotels to ensure a more identifiable and older crowd.

As Boston.com reports, vacationing surrounded by children is just “not appealing.”

Some vacationers even go as far as abstaining from resorts that cater to older children. You know, the college spring break crowd.

“Nothing breaks your relaxation quicker than noise,” says Philip Ghorabegian, a “busy” Los Angelan Lawyer.

But we couldn’t agree more; which is why we always suggest booking for the off-seasons, or now as we’re running some great specials for ME Cabo and ME Cancun:

Make sure you book now, or very soon, and before May 28th. Fudge your future travel plans a bit if you have to, but whatever you do, don’t let this special slip from your grasp.

Event Updates Be↓ow

• ME CABO – May 24 – Nikki Beach VIP Party – VIP Party at Nikki Beach for VIPS Dress Code: Orange

• ME CANCUN – May 23 – Beach Party – Come and enjoy the Beach Party at Rose Bar with DJ Bass Romero.
• ME CANCUN – May 24 – Local DJ Beach Party – Beach Party at the Rose bar featuring our best local DJs.

• ME MADRID – May 20-25 – Czech Days – During these days, famous chefs from Czech Republic come to propose menus made with products from their country.

-ME by Melia

With all of this glum and sappy news—the state of airline food, weddings on the cheap, the world’s oceans are running out of fish—we though it about time to lighten the atmosphere of things a bit with a May calendar packed with ME events and parties, and a limited-time offer—from now until the 26th, to be precise—at ME Cabo.
Running until the 16th, ME Madrid slashes its prices… But only temporarily… So Book!

Parties and Events and…

ME Cancun

May 15 – Thursday – SILK & SALT – The introduction of a new menu with a Cocktail, and a presentation of the new sales team with ME Cancun GM Raul Petraglia as host.

May 16 & 23 – Beach Party – ME Cancun’s infamous Beach Party at Rose Bar with DJ Bass Romero on the 1s and 2s.

May 17 & 24 – Local DJ Beach Party – Kind of like the other beach parties, but with even more local DJs.

ME Cabo Hotel

May 16th – 2nd Annual Masquerade Party – Celebrate what has already become tradition at ME Cabo with guest DJ Derrick Carter.  * Great prizes will be given to winners of the Masquerade contest.

May 24th – Nikkie Beach VIP Party – VIP Party @ Nikki Beach.  * Dress Code = Orange.

ME Madrid

Every Sunday through Wednesday ME Madrid serves free drinks to guests (one per person) when they visit the Midnight Rose.

May 20 – 25 are Czech Days at ME Madrid.  Over that course of time, famous chefs from the Czech Republic visit the hotel to propose menus made with products native to their country.

One way we can gauge how well our ME hotels will perform for any given travel season is by doing a little homework; scanning the travel wires, monitoring conversion rates, planning mock round-trip airflights to worldly destinations, even driving over to the petrol to see what a gallon of gas will cost.  All these variables can usually condense down into numbers, and numbers into guesstimations.

A source of ours, the Washington Post, recently posted an epic of a transcript that compiled some of the best Q&A travel information that we have ever come across.

After reading it—all 25 pages—we have come to two conclusions.

1. Most foreign travel is staying within continent of origin.  Meaning, people in the United States are off to Mexico and Canada.  People in the United Kingdom are flying to France and Spain.

2. People are fed up with the pathetic state of airline food and entertainment.  It went from full meals and in-flight movies to a packet of peanuts and entertainment of your own device.

You can the Post’s travel-novella at their ‘Travel Post’.

Below we’ve quoted a few snippets of advice that really stood out.

  On the topic of duty-free shops…

“You can buy airside duty-free liquids at any airport in the EU and carry it through security onto your connecting flight provided you maintain it in the sealed bag from the duty-free shop and you carry your receipt proving that the purchase was made within the last 24 hours. (Thus, if you buy liquor in Copenhagen, you are supposed to be able to carry it through security at Flight Connections at Heathrow and onto your flight to the USA. I think it’s easier just to go to the whisky shop in T3 or T4…..) HOWEVER, when you arrive in the USA, you’ll be forced to check it.”

  On the topic of later checkout times…

“Get what you want — from a more relaxing day to more soda on the plane — simply by asking for it. At hotels, I always request a ridiculously late check-out time of 4 or 5 p.m. That way, I can enjoy a day of exploring then come back to take a shower or simply catch a blast of A/C in bed. The front desk often compromises and offers 2 or 3 p.m. — still much better than the way-too-early listed checkout times.”

  And a little Q&A…

Sterling, Va.: A group of us are trying to plan a trip over Thanksgiving to some place beachy and warm. We were thinking of Costa Rica but the airfares are running around $700 and we were hoping for something under $500. Do you have any other destination suggestions? Thanks.

Cindy Loose [WashingtonPost.com]: Don’t know flight prices offhand for Thanksgiving–prices do tend to skyrocket over holidays. However, I can tell you some beachy destinations that tend to be cheaper from the D.C. area for you to check out: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cancun, Mexico and sometimes Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. I’d also consider the Bahamas.