Birthday at St. Regis!

June 4, 2010

Alisha has waited about a year for this day. Ever since she learned about the butterfly release and story time during the summer at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Danapoint, she has not stopped asking to be part of the adventure. We cannot say enough great things about the hotel and it's generous staff as it catered to Alisha's every whim by starting with an upgrade to a St. Regis Suite with a queen pull-out sofa bed and two bathrooms. We were greeted with a small birthday dessert with balloons at the room after taking a dip in the pool. During dinner, the kids were presented with a fresh fruit/yogurt smoothie, which tasted divine and Alisha's chair was decorated with more balloons. Since the kids' buffet was not available as offered during reservation, the kids' dinner was comped. To top it off, Alisha was given a rich chocolate souffle topped with vanilla ice cream to celebrate her 7th birthday at the restaurant.

Afterwards, we went to story time for the kids where the dressed character would read a story about him, her or itself (Snow White was the first night and the Cat in the Hat was the second night). S'mores time followed immediately and all the kids couldn't wait to roast their marshmallows. We swung by the jazz musicians, enjoyed the ambience and chatted with the musicians. The following morning, the kids had hot cocoa w/ more marshmallows and I had my tea with lemon. We inhaled the fresh air from the balcony and had breakfast at there. At Noon, we ventured out to the private beach and I sat with towels around me while the kids dug up sand. Since Uncle Craig advertised Alisha's condition to several of the staff during story time the night before, we got our check-out time extended to 9pm from Noon. When we came back from the pool in the afternoon, one of the bellman delivered a basket full of LA Angels' items to Alisha. Apparently, one of the Concierge (season ticket holder and a fan) at the hotel heard that Alisha is an Angels fan and had her kids pack up what they had and brought them to the hotel to deliver it to Alisha. As for the butterflies, it was new and different for the kids and they actually had a few butterflies that stayed on their fingers forever, so I was able to take many pictures. The adults were offered champagne and the kids had sparkling apple cider to toast to the monarch butterflies being released as part of the hotel's Saturday evening ritual during the summer.

Alisha was very sad when we had to leave and announced that she wished she could stay at the hotel for a month...who wouldn't! By the way, we had butler service, so the kids were provided with a bathrobe, my shoes were shined and a pair of pants pressed for free. Both of the girls cannot wait to return and experience the Kid's Club while the adults can enjoy the spa and hotel amenities!!! Alisha was so in love with this hotel that she did a school project the following week to share her special and wonderful experience at the St. Regis (Mom is loved for pulling this off).