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The Lone Star on the Beach, Barbados
Thank you Lone Star for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
The Lone Star is one of the best known and beloved restaurants in Barbados. Once we arrived to this beautiful Caribbean island and whenever we asked others about which restaurants to go to, the name Lone Star would come up repeatedly: “you got to go to Lone Star”, “Lone Star is the must-go restaurant in Barbados”, “the best breakfast on the island”. The Lone Star has a lot of word-of-mouth fame. Our hotel happened to be right next to the restaurant, and just walking along the beach every day I got to observe how busy and popular the beachfront Lone Star tends to get at all times of day: breakfast, lunch, dinner. It’s a really popular spot on the island.
The Lone Star is not only a famous restaurant, it’s also a boutique hotel with 5 or 6 suites or rooms, very popular with tourists. It has an interesting history – the whole building used to be a garage back in the 1950’s, and these days each suite is named after cars, which just adds to the charm of the place.
Lone Star is a popular dinner spot, but it is also loved for its breakfast.
The beach strip by the Lone Star is nothing short of stunning.
The restaurant has an open-air setting and is located right on the beach. In fact, when we went to the Lone Star for dinner, I just walked barefoot on the sand from our hotel, climbed up their wooden stairs, and, once I was in the restaurant, put my shoes back! I like this kind of commute!
In the evening, the Lone Star transforms from the cozy, family-oriented and inviting breakfast and lunch spot into a sophisticated and trendy restaurant.
We started our dinner by getting a couple of drinks from their cocktail menu. And do they have lots of unique and interesting cocktails to choose from:
Delicious Lonestar Punch:
Stingray – a cocktail with Grey Goose Vodka and Banana Liquor.
Lonestar Sour:
Lone Star has an amazing ambience at night. The restaurant’s open-air setting allows you to fully enjoy the night views of the Caribbean Sea, hear the sound of waves, and feel the cool breeze. Just what you want with a great dinner.
The dinner menu is a combination of European food with the Caribbean flavors.
We started with a couple of appetizers. Seared Scallops with Pepper and Almond Puree and Black Olive Tapenade were amazing! I miss them to this day.
Perfectly prepared, delicious scallops they were! We finished them pretty fast.
Next, we ordered Boston Lump Crab Cake with Grain Mustard Remoulade.
It was very good!
Crispy Coconut Prawns with Mango Sweet Chili Sauce and Herb Salad:
For the main dish, I ordered grilled Mahi Mahi with veggies. Perfectly prepared.
For another main course, we ordered one of Lone Star Classics – Shredded Aromatic Duck with Pancakes, Cucumber, Local Spring Onions, Hoisin Sauce. An excellent dish, worth to be called a classic!
We also enjoyed a Fresh Maine Lobster & Prawn Risotto. It was finger-licking good!
We loved the food, and I wish we would’ve gone back to Lone Star a few more times. There were so many other unique cocktails, appetizers, and main dishes that I wanted to try. But since it was our first time in Barbados, we had only so much time on our hands and had to explore other restaurants on the island as well. However, if I come back to Barbados, I am definitely going back to Lone Star, just like many other visitors who keep coming back to this amazing beachfront restaurant with delicious food and amazing views.
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5 Romantic Things To Do in Koh Samui
Thank you Vana Belle Resort for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
Koh Samui Island in Thailand is a great vacation spot for everybody: couples, families with kids, friends traveling together, young adults. There are so many things to do for everybody! Beautiful, exotic landscape, lush greenery, sandy beaches, blue water, and coral reefs. This island has been destined to be a Paradise.
The island is abundant with tourist resources, and the best resorts on the island offer so many amazing activities WITHIN the resort, that you can literally stay at the resort for a week or two, without ever leaving it, and not feel bored or like you’re missing anything. One of such resorts is Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort.
My husband and I stayed at Vana Belle in March, and honestly we hardly ever left the resort, which was unusual for us as we like to explore the areas around us when we travel. Vana Belle lures you in with its secluded and picturesque location, the beautiful beach with soft sand, great resort amenities, amazing service staff, and the abundance of activities offered right at the resort.
I found that these activities are very romantic in nature which is perfect for couples and honeymooners. Vana Belle is a great romantic getaway for couples and honeymooners, as well as an amazing wedding destination.
Before I continue with my list of 5 Romantic Things To Do in Ko Samui (without ever leaving the resort), I want to share 2 images of the view we had from our suite. Our suite was on the 3rd (top) floor, which allowed us to have a nice vantage point to overlook the beauty around the island. Here is what I saw every morning from our terrace:
I could even see the other portion of the island from our terrace which had with a private pool. I would sit in our pool on the terrace and just enjoy the views and the tranquility:
5 Romantic Things To Do in Koh Samui (without leaving the resort):
1. Saturday Brunch at Kiree Restaurant
This is not just a regular breakfast food or regular buffet hotel food – the menu choices at Vana Belle’s Saturday Brunch are so exquisite that you will have a really special afternoon as a couple. The brunch includes an extensive selection of fresh seafood (lobster, mussels, tiger prawn, crab); a huge variety of cured meats (including duck and 18-months aged parma ham), foie gras, unique cocktails, and a separate a la carte menu with more items to choose from. Of course, you can have wine, cocktails, or soft drinks with your food.
Add to that the secludedness of the location, the luxurious setting in which the brunch takes place, the fact that the beach is right there, waiting for you after you’re done eating, the lush jungle-like greenery all around – and you forget about everything, the time loses its count – it’s a great way to spend a lazy afternoon with your loved one.
2. Jib Nam Cha – Signature High Tea (Bird Cage Afternoon Tea)
Bird Cage Afternoon Tea at Vana Belle is another romantic way to spend an afternoon in Ko Samui, snacking on great food and enjoying stunning views of the Gulf of Thailand. The food is different from what you normally get at the traditional British style high tea, which makes it only more interesting and more authentic to Thailand.
Since the afternoon tea is served right by the beach, when you’re done with the tea, you can take a leisurely walk along the beach, enjoy the sea breeze and the views. A great way to slow the passing of time and actually enjoy the present moment as a couple.
3. Beachfront Dining at Panali Restaurant
What could be better than enjoying a perfect lunch (or dinner) surrounded by perfect landscaping and lush greenery, without crowds, while overlooking the Gulf of Thailand to a rhythmic sound of waves hitting the beach? Then, prepare to be impressed by Panali Restaurant that serves Italian, Thai, and International cuisine right above the beach.
The food is top notch, the service staff is very sweet and attentive. Having a lunch or dinner out in the open air with the view of the beach is a very special romantic experience.
At any time during your lunch or dinner, you can take just a few steps away from the restaurant and see the beautiful Gulf of Thailand, without crowds. The restaurant itself has a style of a bungalow, which creates a cozy and romantic ambience, especially at dusk:
4. Breeze BBQ Dinner by the Beach
Thailand is famous for its seafood, and enjoying fresh seafood when sitting outside, next to the beach is definitely one of my top things to do. That’s exactly what Vana Belle offers during their Breeze BBQ nights. You get an amazing BBQ of fresh seafood, prime cuts of meat (chicken, pork, and beef), and the delicious buffet selection of salads, side dishes and desserts right by the beach. No wonder they call it the Breeze BBQ.
When on a vacation (especially as a couple), the view at the dinner is just as important as the dinner itself, and you get an unparalleled view of the Gulf of Thailand at Breeze BBQ at Vana Belle Resort while sitting right by the beach, at dusk, with the sun setting and the gentle breeze coming from water:
You get to eat fresh lobster:
And whole bunch of other amazing seafood, such as mussels, scallops and squid:
5. Enjoy Spa treatment and ritual together as a couple at Vana Spa
Vana Spa offers several Signature Rituals that you can experience together as a couple as well as all kinds of massages and treatments. Pretty good and romantic way to spend several hours, don’t you think?
The spa itself is located in a beautiful spot, with lush greenery and gorgeous landscaping. You feel like you are in a jungle, and can even see little elephants peeking through the bushes.
The spa staff is super friendly just like everybody else at Vana Belle: the spa is located right next to the gym which I used a lot during my stay at Vana Belle, and I couldn’t walk to the gym without being sweetly greeted by the girls at the spa who just happened to see me passing by. And it happened every day, every time I went to the gym – makes you feel welcome and at home at wonderful Vana Belle Resort.
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