St. Lucia gets its first Secrets resort

St. Lucia has welcomed the Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa, an adults-only all-inclusive resort, the first Secrets-branded property to open on the island. Located in Castries on the northwest coast, the resort has 355 rooms, each with furnished balconies, 24-hour room service and daily refreshed minibar. Swim-out suites are available in every building, as well. Preferred Club room categories have extra amenities like personalized check-in; access to the Preferred Club with daily continental breakfast; and hors d'oeuvres.
• Related: Why are Caribbean and Mexican all-inclusives thriving?
The resort has five a la carte restaurants, one buffet and a creperie as well as seven bars and lounges. Programming includes tennis and pickleball courts, beach volleyball, yoga, a jogging trail, windsurfing, sailboats and kayaking. There's also a pool as well as a separate pool for Preferred Guests. The Secrets Spa has couples' and single treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room, salon, and hydrotherapy circuit.

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Forbes

39 minutes ago

• Forbes

El Mangroove Hotel: A Serene Sanctuary On Costa Rica's Popular Gulf Of Papagayo

El Mangroove, Autograph Collection in Guanacaste, Costa Rica Courtesy of El Mangroove With its pristine beaches, 17 lush acres of coastal forests and mangroves, rainbow-hued birds, and howler monkeys leaping across the tree canopy, El Mangroove, Autograph Collection is everything a traveler could want when dreaming up a trip to Costa Rica's 'Gold Coast.' El Mangroove's family-friendly pools Courtesy of El Mangroove The contemporary resort is ideally located on many levels: just a 20-minute drive from Liberia International Airport, visitors can transition from the baggage claim to having their toes in the sand with a cocktail in hand in record time. Yet, the convenient location feels a world away, with a sleek and quiet, adult-only pool oasis with private cabanas overlooking the beach. Relaxing hammocks, loungers, hanging chairs, and firepits beckon, with massive Guanacaste, centennial, and cenizaro trees overhead offering shade. El Mangroove's pools Courtesy of El Mangroove Although the location feels secluded, word is definitely out about how idyllic the Gulf of Papagayo is: new, ultra-luxe resorts have been popping up regularly on the Gulf. El Mangroove is in very good company, with top luxury resorts including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Waldorf Astoria, Secrets, and Andaz resorts as neighbors (but at a fraction of these brands' nightly rates). Read on to learn more about why the resort is a top choice for a Costa Rican beach vacation. Gulf of Papagayo Courtesy of El Mangroove Panama Beach Courtesy of El Mangroove El Mangroove sits steps from Panama Beach in Guanacaste, on Costa Rica's North Pacific Coast. It's just 12 miles from Liberia International Airport, making it the closest beachfront resort to the transportation hub. The spa's outdoor massage cabanas Courtesy of El Mangroove Adults-only pool Courtesy of El Mangroove All-suite guest accommodations give guests ample room to spread out — including 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom villas 3 on-site restaurant options, plus a cocktail bar Serene and elegant adults-only pool oasis just steps from the beach, with sunbeds and private cabanas — plus a family-friendly 'activity zone' with several pools Resort fee includes valet parking, kayaks and bikes on loan, yoga classes, and access to the spa's relaxation room and steam room Spa with beautiful outdoor massage cabanas nestled in the forest and mangroves Gym equipped with treadmills, stationary bikes, free weights, and Precor machines In-room coffee/tea makers and mini fridges On-site watersports center gives guests seamless access to snorkeling, paddle boarding, jet skiing, and boat tours for whale watching and beach hopping tours. Convenient location 12 miles from Liberia International Airport Guest suite Courtesy of El Mangroove Oceanfront suite with private plunge pool Courtesy of El Mangroove Guest villa surrounded by lush coastal forest Courtesy of El Mangroove There are 121 suites, ranging from King suites to 4-bedroom villas that are ideal for big families or friend groups. The decor is clean and contemporary, with neutral light-and-bright whites and tans accented by natural wood and stone. Whether the suites look out onto the beach, gardens, or resort, they are all designed to take in the surrounding flora and fauna, and some offer balconies, terraces, and private plunge pools. Matiss beachfront Latin American restaurant and bar Courtesy of El Mangroove Makoko restaurant Courtesy of El Mangroove Dining Malú is the resort's all-day Mediterranean dining option, and El Shack bar is the place to sip the resort's signature craft cocktails. The beachside Matiss serves Latin American cuisine from its casual, thatched-roof hut, with wood tables and chairs sitting right on the sand. The refined indoor-outdoor Makoko is open in the morning for leisurely breakfasts, then reopens for dinners showcasing creative and contemporary Costa Rican fare. Firepit at sunset Courtesy of El Mangroove Family-friendly pools Courtesy of El Mangroove El Mangroove is a family-friendly resort Courtesy of El Mangroove Who It's Best For Couples Families Solo travelers For more information or to book a stay, visit El Mangroove, Autograph Collection.

Business Insider

44 minutes ago

• Business Insider

I've lived in Seattle for 22 years. If you want to have a good time in my city, there are 6 things you need to know.

Perched on the edge of the Puget Sound, surrounded by sparkling water, snow-capped mountains, and lush, evergreen forests, it's easy to see why Seattle is nicknamed the "Emerald City." It's also well-known for its diverse music scene, coffee culture, and thriving tech industry. After living in Seattle for more than two decades, I've learned a lot about how to enjoy the city and make the most of all it has to offer. If you want to have the best time on your trip, here are a few things I recommend keeping in mind. Seattle has 78 distinct neighborhoods To really experience the "Emerald City," I recommend expanding your travels beyond the downtown corridor and immersing yourself in some of the city's unique neighborhoods. For example, the Alki neighborhood in West Seattle is a great place for a walk on the beach on a nice day. In addition to the stunning views of the water, it's possible to spot some whales or other sea life depending on the time of year. Meanwhile, the historic Columbia City neighborhood is where you'll find plenty of diverse food choices, including Mexican, Caribbean, Ethiopian, and Vietnamese cuisines. There's also a farmers market every Wednesday from May to October. Other neighborhoods I recommend include Queen Anne, which is home to the Museum of Pop Culture, and Capitol Hill, which has a variety of LGBTQ+ bars, clubs, and community events. The weather probably isn't as bad as you think, but it's good to dress in layers Although Seattle's weather is best known for providing gray skies and plenty of rain, it's nice to know that this doesn't last all year long. In my experience, most of the city's heavy rain is concentrated between November and April. The spring and fall seasons can be gray and drizzly, but they're also filled with incredible sun breaks that seemingly come from nowhere. July and August are typically the sunniest, driest months of the year. The unpredictability of Seattle's weather has taught me it's best to dress in warm, water-resistant layers that can be easily removed, stored, and put on again whenever the weather changes. There are plenty of opportunities to get out on the water Instead of driving, I recommend taking a water taxi from downtown Seattle to West Seattle. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes and the fare costs just $5.75 for adults ages 19 to 64. There's also a 35-minute ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and an hour-long ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton. Both are perfect for taking a day trip to explore different parts of the state. In line with its "Emerald City" nickname, there are acres of parkland worth exploring Whatever you do in Seattle, don't miss Seward Park. With 300 acres of forest, a 2.4 mile bike and walking path, and miles of shoreline and beaches, I think it's one of the best parks in the area to connect with nature and learn about local wildlife. Another place I love is Seattle's expansive new Waterfront Park. Although it's not complete yet, the area has already been transformed to include public piers, a promenade, playgrounds, and artwork, with more to come. Speaking of artwork, there are thousands of pieces of public art in Seattle In the 70s, Seattle became one of the first cities in the US to mandate that 1% of eligible city capital improvement project funds be dedicated to art. As a result, the city has thousands of pieces of public artwork, including both permanent and temporary structures. You can see the work of local artists everywhere from libraries and parks to bridges and lampposts, and even while riding trains underground. There's always something to celebrate No matter what your interests are, Seattle offers dozens of festivals related to art, culture, food, film, and more. From the Northwest Folklife Festival to the Capitol Hill Block Party and the Seattle International Film Festival, be sure to consult an event calendar before planning your trip so you can book accommodations accordingly.

Android Authority

2 hours ago

• Android Authority

3 tips I use every time I travel to avoid exorbitant roaming fees

Ryan Haines / Android Authority I still remember when my husband got slapped with an exorbitant €70 extra fee on his €10 basic mobile plan because he mistakenly went online for a few minutes during a layover in Turkey. Since then, avoiding roaming fees has been our personal crusade, especially since we like travelling and our basic local data plans have ridiculously expensive fees when we step outside of Europe. Over the years, I've put together a three-prong strategy to avoid paying for roaming fees, and while these work very well for me when traveling out of France, they should also apply to you, no matter where you come from. If you're in the US, my colleague Andrew Grush has specifically added a section at the end to help you make better decisions about using roaming plans versus eSIMs. Just buy a good travel eSIM Rita El Khoury / Android Authority The best way of avoiding roaming fees is to have a local SIM, but that's not always the most practical solution. This is why I've been singing the praises of eSIMs — or electronic SIMs — for four years now, and I'll keep on doing that. Instead of spending hours researching the best prepaid operators and SIM plans in the country (or countries) I'm traveling to, finding a store that sells them near my airport or hotel, going there in person and waiting to buy a physical SIM while often providing ID documents, and then waiting for it to activate or figuring out how to do it in a bunch of foreign language messages or apps, I just buy a digital eSIM. The benefit of travel eSIMs is immense. For starters, research is quick: I usually go to aggregators like Mobimatter, eSIMdb, or SimSurf to find the best plan for my trip in terms of days and gigabytes of data. I often gravitate towards Airalo for short stays or multi-country stops, Holafly when I need unlimited data to do some real work, and a few other carriers like GlobaleSIM or eSIMgo in different contexts. But if the provider or operator with the best offer is unknown to me, I'll do a quick search to see what people say about their service and decide accordingly. When I find the one I want, I buy the eSIM, install it on my phone in a few minutes, and activate it. All of this is done in about half an hour tops, from the comfort of my couch and before even leaving my home country. An eSIM is almost as cheap as buying a local SIM and almost as convenient as using a roaming plan on your current SIM. That ensures I'm ready the moment my train drives into a new country or my plane lands in a foreign airport. My new eSIM usually goes online in less than a few minutes, letting me coordinate Uber pickups, research my public transport routes, or simply tell my loved ones I've landed safely over WhatsApp or Google Messages. There's no beating the simplicity, efficiency, and convenience of buying an eSIM versus getting a local SIM to avoid roaming. People used to accept the burn of roaming fees because it was more convenient than figuring out the entire process of buying a local SIM, but with eSIMs, this whole ordeal is distilled to a few simple steps. The convenience excuse is moot. The only thing to remember is that many eSIMs are data-only, so they won't let you make phone calls. If you want to be able to call restaurants for reservations or your Airbnb host to coordinate logistics, then you should make sure that the eSIM you buy allows phone calls, too. Luckily, though, most businesses nowadays offer email or instant messaging alternatives to phone calls, and I've never really felt the need to have a calling eSIM with me in the dozens of countries I've been to in recent years. That's why I just stick to cheaper, data-only eSIMs, but your needs might be different. Turn off roaming on my main SIM before traveling The one mistake I often made and that cost me extra when I first started traveling and using eSIMs was that I forgot to turn off roaming on my primary SIM at the right time. See, Android doesn't let you turn off roaming if you're disconnected from the network or the SIM is disabled. My mistake was that I always switched into Airplane mode on my Pixel before going on a plane, only to discover when I landed that I couldn't disable roaming on my primary SIM without going online with it for a few seconds to enable the SIM menu. In some cases (eSIM not fully set up yet as the default data provider or when using a physical travel SIM I had bought years ago), this raked up dozens of Euros as my phone would roam during those short seconds while apps caught up and thus syphon several expensive megabytes of data in a split second. Sometimes you can get away with it, but it's always safer to disable roaming on your home SIM before you travel. The other option would be to keep my primary SIM deactivated for the entirety of the trip, thus risking missing critical incoming calls or messages. SIMs menu greyed out in Airplane mode SIM settings inaccessible when SIM is inactive Roaming option shows up when SIM is active To avoid all this, I started following these steps religiously on every trip: I go to Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > pick my primary SIM and then disable Roaming, all before turning on Airplane mode or disconnecting. This ensures that even if I mistakenly turn on my main SIM later, it won't use roaming data. And if I choose to turn it on to keep access to my incoming phone calls and messages, then there's still no risk of incurring exorbitant fees due to app and data updates. Use a VPN on hotel and public Wi-Fi Data, whether on a travel-friendly eSIM or a local plan, is often not as cheap as Wi-Fi. When traveling, I often go for 5GB or 10GB plans that are enough for Google Maps directions and searches, messaging, browsing, and various app usage for the duration of my trip. But that's sometimes not enough if I need to do some work, stream a football game, or back up my Google Photos. For a few years, I avoided doing any of that on public Wi-Fi networks, then I decided that it was time to adopt the VPN life. I still don't connect to too many public networks at cafés, airports, and hotels during my trips, but when I do, it's always with a VPN to keep my data encrypted and as private as possible. This ensures that other users or admins on the same public network can't snoop in on me, track my browsing, or access my personal data. Since I'm often touting a Google Pixel, I activate the built-in and free VPN by Google. It's a no-fuss solution for my needs, especially since I only need a temporary VPN for my trip. On other phones, I mostly resort to ProtonVPN, which is also free. If you need a more powerful VPN that gives you faster speeds and lets you choose the country you're tunneling through to stream your Netflix or sports as if you're still in the same country, there are plenty of good VPN choices between NordVPN, SurfShark, ExpressVPN, and others. (If your home router allows it, you may also be able to set up a VPN for free that tunnels you directly to your home network. Synology, Ubiquiti, ASUS, TP-Link, and other brands offer this on their routers.) Just pick the VPN you want, and know that you can connect to any free Wi-Fi network nearby with more ease of mind. No need to roam to keep your security, and no need to buy a super big and expensive eSIM plan to make sure you can do your most data-heavy activities on it. I call this a win-win and the best balance between convenience and security. The best roaming-friendly plans in the US: When to use and when to avoid them Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Most of Rita's tips above definitely still apply to the US. For instance, services like Airalo can be an excellent choice for those already using one of the big three providers and seeking supplemental coverage while traveling abroad. In my experience, using eSIM is the most convenient way to access these plans as well. However, the US market also offers some great prepaid plans that can cover your travel needs without additional costs. While most prepaid plans are designed to replace your main carrier, what if you're simply looking for a temporary solution during your travels? It honestly depends on your intended length of stay abroad and whether you'll be visiting a single country or multiple destinations. For short, single-destination trips, travel eSIM services such as Airalo or Holafly are likely your most cost-effective option. For example, a brief trip of a few weeks to Japan costs around $18 for 10GB of data valid for 30 days. A service like Google Fi would cost you significantly more. If your travel plans include extended stays or visits to multiple countries, Google Fi becomes a valuable alternative. Its Flexible plan is $20 per month plus $10 per gigabyte of data used. While this can accumulate quickly, Google Fi conveniently and instantly works in over 200 countries. So, if you're embarking on a long, multi-country business trip, Google Fi's ease of use may justify the higher cost. For frequent travelers, whether for business or leisure, another appealing option is switching permanently to prepaid. Prepaid plans often offer more affordable services and, in some cases, match or exceed the international travel perks provided by major carriers. Here are two standout recommendations: For shorter trips, Visible is an excellent choice . The Visible Plus plan costs just $30 per month and includes one free Global Pass travel day each month, which can accumulate up to 12 days. For an extra $10 per month, the Plus Pro plan adds an additional Global Pass travel day per month. . The Visible Plus plan costs just $30 per month and includes one free Global Pass travel day each month, which can accumulate up to 12 days. For an extra $10 per month, the Plus Pro plan adds an additional Global Pass travel day per month. For longer stays, Google Fi is unmatched. Although the Unlimited Premium plan is pricier at $65 per month, it mirrors the features of major carriers and surpasses them by providing 50GB of high-speed data per month in over 200 destinations. Moreover, with multiple lines, the price per line can decrease to as low as $40. While Visible and Google Fi are two of the best prepaid carriers when it comes to international features, you'll find that even providers like US Mobile and Mint provide at least some level of international access in 2025. For even more options, be sure to check out our guide to the best phone service providers in the US.