I just love being ahead of my time - I started using this 'horizontal' hotel two years ago - now it's featured in National Geographic Traveler.

Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita
An 'Albergo Diffuso ' , I predict this to be the new wave in hospitality where you can truly feel the heart beat of the land. Part house, part hotel this new concept is a step ahead of all other hotel forms including the now popular boutique hotels. Call it a horizontal hotel if you will, made up of independant structures in the same village where a traveler can be at one with the local villagers rather than other tourists.
This concept restores old buildings to their former selves without modern day trimings while updating the essentials. It honors the local villagers , serves local cuisine and restores an otherwise derelect building.
The village of Matera is a Unesco Heritage site, where newly renovated caves from former trogolyte lives offer a traveler his own opportunity to explore that path less traveled. It took ten years to turn these historic caves into bedrooms and the result is an amazingly peaceful candlelit bed and bathroom.
It's an excellent ecological way to restore and bring life back to a village .
Other horizontal hotels are popping up all over Italy, as yet no other is formed from caves.
www.legrottedellacivita.com

Paradisus Palma Real - Just say 'Yes, I'm going'. You'll not find a whiter beach. ...

View from my table having lunch at Gabi Beach

Gabi Beach Club

Royal Service Pool

Royal Service beach

My welcome gifts

My helicopter rIde

Secrets Sanctuary at Cap Cana

As I've mentioned previously - I love being ahead of my time - I grew up with bucket showers in Africa - clients have balked at the thought of a hot bucket shower while on safari (of course when there they've loved them ) ..and now? Deemed as the latest spa innovation - the bucket spa shower.

Three areas to the Santuary - the fort, the colonial era and the caribbean influence .

The to-die for infinity pool overlooking the best beach - Juanillo Beach.

Private honeymoon islands - just two of them - the rooms are 5000 sq feet.

Six Senses Spa - Tortuga Bay - The only Six Senses Spa in the western hemisphere - based upon Thai treatments .

Welcome ginger tea - it was delicious

The day salon

The pool

Tortuga Bay Villas

Red Snapper BBQ lunch

A truly special part of the country - a little bit of heaven hidden in a corner of the Dominican Republic.

These villas made the inspection trip more than worthwhile. The rich and famous or just plain famous vacation here.

Sheila - I see a site inspection trip for your family.

Ooops !

This is what happens when you have more than one blog. Posted gardening news on the travel blog - now you know what I do when neither working nor travelling. If you'd like to see more visit http://www.hyronslanding.blogspot.com/
Called Hyrons Landing as I was born in Hyrons Manor, grew up in Hyrons Pardon and have 'landed' in a little piece of heaven where creative designs in live and dead mud take place at Hyrons Landing .