I feel pretty

Puerto Rico!

The idea of getting away somewhere warm – beautiful beaches, the ocean, luxury – sounds fabulous in winter. And Puerto Rico appeals to me as a more budget-friendly destination – we haven’t gotten passports (yet).

Via Funjet.

Departure flight – Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Air Tran Airways #489 / #5 Coach | 1 Stop Connecting in Atlanta
05:40 AM (MKE) to 01:57 PM (SJU) Return flight – Sunday, February 07, 2010
Air Tran Airways #8 / #674 Coach | 1 Stop Connecting in Orlando
08:00 AM (SJU) to 05:24 PM (MKE)

Las Casitas Village & Spa, Waldorf Collection – EP
Room # 1- 2 Adults 3 Children
2Bdrm Garden Casita

El Conquistador/Las Casitas Round Trip Transfers
Date and price – February 03 2 Adults $79.00 ea. 2 Children $58.00 ea. = $274.00

Complete Coverage: Cancel Any Reason & Protect Price
Date and price – February 03 2 Adults $89.99 ea. 3 Children $69.99 ea. = $389.95

Are you sure you want to remove this feature? Travel protection can only be added when making your reservation and gives you the following benefits for one low price:
* Cancel ANY time for ANY reason – no questions asked and receive a full refund (minus the cost of the Complete Coverage travel protection)
* Lowest Price Guarantee*
* Hurricane Interruption Coverage*
* Medical expense reimbursement while traveling
* Reimbursement for lost or delayed baggage
* Travel delay reimbursement
* And More!

Flights & Hotel Package Price (includes certain taxes and services) $5,508.69
Options $663.95
Total Price $6,172.64
Price Per Person $1,234.53

El Conquistador sounds absolutely lovely. The Funjet offer books us into the villa resort. Larger rooms, able to accomodate the 5 of us. But $6K? Wow, for a long weekend? Can I even list this on this project? So I decided to check out Costco.

If Costco travel has a flaw, it is the flaw of online travel. And perhaps this sort of things will drive people back to travel agents. While Funjet didn’t flinch at 5 people, Costco laid down and cried. 4 people in 1 room. 5 people cannot be in 1 room. Even if the fifth person is a small 1 year old. So my pricing:

$2718.67 4 people, 1 room

$4494.50 5 people, 2 rooms

That means the baby would add $1775.83 to our vacation. WTF?

Plan B – what fi we take my parents along? So we’d have 7 people and 2 rooms:

$4981.47 7 people, 2 rooms

By this logic,my parents could spend 4 nights in PR for $486.97. Because the baby cost $1700!

The craziness of this aside, I still like the idea of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico: El Conquistador Resort Package
No Passport Required
Coqui Water Park for the Kids
Full-Service Sp

El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa, The Waldorf Astoria Collection (Deluxe)
Room One Category: Garden-View
Room Two Category: Garden-View
Check In: 01/14/2010 Check Out: 01/18/2010

US Airways    Milwaukee (MKE) to San Juan (SJU)    Connect    Arrive: 01/14/2010 02:44 PM    Economy(E)
San Juan (SJU) to Milwaukee (MKE)    Connect    Depart: 01/18/2010 03:55 PM    Economy(E)
Airport Transfer(s) Included.

Flight:     US 7329
Operated by:    United Airlines
Depart:    Thu, 01/14/2010 06:00 AM     Milwaukee (MKE)
Arrive:    Thu, 01/14/2010 06:50 AM     Chicago (ORD)
Flight Time:    50 mins | Economy(E)
Connection time: 01 hr(s) 15 mins

US Airways     Flight:    US 6299
Operated by:    United Airlines
Depart:    Thu, 01/14/2010 08:05 AM     Chicago (ORD)
Arrive:    Thu, 01/14/2010 02:44 PM     San Juan (SJU)
Flight Time:    04 hr(s) 39 mins | Economy(E)
Total Travel Time: 06 hr(s) 44 mins

And then home:

US Airways     Flight:    US 6120
Depart:    Mon, 01/18/2010 03:55 PM     San Juan (SJU)
Arrive:    Mon, 01/18/2010 07:20 PM     Chicago (ORD)
Flight Time:    05 hr(s) 25 mins | Economy(E)
Connection time: 02 hr(s) 20 mins

US Airways     Flight:    US 7337
Depart:    Mon, 01/18/2010 09:40 PM     Chicago (ORD)
Arrive:    Mon, 01/18/2010 10:26 PM     Milwaukee (MKE)
Flight Time:    46 mins | Economy(E)
Total Travel Time: 08 hr(s) 31 mins

El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa, The Waldorf Astoria Collection Thumbnail
1000 El Conquistador Ave. Fajardo,  Puerto Rico

Room One Category Occupancy: 2 Adults, 2 Children
Included in Package Price    Garden-View     2 Adults, 2 Child

Room Two Category Occupancy: 2 Adults, 1 Children
Included in Package Price    Garden-View     2 Adults, 1 Child
For an Ocean view,   Add $255.69 per room

$4981.47 7 people, 2 rooms

or

$6,172.64, 5 people, 1 suite

bon voyage