I think most all travelers are familiar with the star system for rating hotels. We first learned about it traveling around Italy years ago. And it is certainly more commonly used in Europe than North America, but it seems to be catching on most everywhere now.
I’m not sure if we have ever stayed in a 1 Star, but no doubt some of the motels we’ve stopped in along the way would probably qualify. We have found that often a 2 Star is just fine for a short stay or while going from one place to another. In fact, sometimes they are quite nice and, in our experience, the difference between 2 Stars and 3 Stars can sometimes be hard to tell. So, by far the most of our nights spent in hotels have been in 2 or 3 Star accommodations.
But we have noticed a very big difference between 3 Star hotels and 4 Stars. That seems to be where the jump between common, decent, just fine, OK accommodations and luxury, high-end, lavish, first class lodging takes place.
Just in case anyone is wondering, I don’t think that we have ever stayed in a 5 Star. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to try it sometime, it’s just that we really can’t see spending what would amount to a house payment for one night in a hotel. And honestly, how much better than this great 4 star hotel in Puerto Rico could it be?
And rest assured, unlike those fancy five stars, The Marina Bayview Hotel in Puerto Rico on Gran Canaria will not break the budget. Sure, we could find a cheaper hotel in the Canary Islands, but not a nicer one. So why not splurge a little?
They have absolutely everything that we look for when we planning a vacation getaway. More than just rooms, Marina Bayview offers outfitted luxury apartments with secluded balconies that are more like a vacation home than a hotel. This means that there is a fully functional kitchen, a well appointed bathroom, and plenty of living space to spread out and relax.
Like most people, we love hanging out in a hot tub by the sea… or almost anywhere else. But hot tubbing at Bayview is definitely a big step up because we can have our own exclusive, private jacuzzi with amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Puerto Rico marina. That sounds pretty five star to us.
We can also always count on a first rate gastronomic experience that tastefully combines local island ingredients with cuisines from all around the world. Best of all, we can have it all without ever leaving the hotel grounds.
With all of that luxury and indulgence, we can almost hear lots of you asking the question… “How can we possibly afford this?”
Well, we have an answer, by taking advantage of fantastic hotel offers in Gran Canaria.
The Marina Bayview’s BemyGuest program can save a bunch of money starting with the very first booking. Just sign up for BemyGuest Classic before you book your room and receive a 5% discount for all of your stays, including your first visit! Then, get an additional 5% special discount for your birthday.
The savings keep building up the more you use them so that after a few nights you can be getting fifteen percent off on every booking, plus another ten percent off for your birthday.
Hey, I think I might have a pretty good idea for where we might be spending some of our upcoming birthdays…
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
The stretch along the bay ran over and through large sand dunes that have been covered with grassy growth so that the seemingly solid ground beneath our feet was actually continually shifting.
Before long we came to the enduring little Saint Enodoc Church. This stone chapel became known as Sinking Neddy because it looks as though it has sunk into the ground. But looks can be deceiving, actually it has been battling the relentless encroachment of the dunes that have continually conspired to cover it for nearly nine centuries.
We have always been fascinated with cemeteries, the older the better, and St. Enodoc’s was mesmerizing. Not only for the markers, some of which date back to the sixteen hundreds, but for the scenic placement overlooking the bay.
Another interesting feature of the church, which was new to us but that we would encounter many more times again on this trip, was the lychgate we passed through to enter the yard.
Leaving the flora and fauna behind we returned to human habitat in the pastoral village of Pityme. The name is said to come from a tragic tale of loss at sea.
Entering the town along the beach we could see some of the namesake stones along the shoreline, even with the tide rising rapidly. Clearly, we didn’t have time to dawdle or we would be the ones asking for pity while we washed away to sea.
As we set out through the outskirts of 
History came alive as we climbed up to Richard the Lionheart’s Château Gaillard built in 1196, stood where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and rode right through the center of the D-day invasion at Omaha Beach.
We even had the energy left to climb 396 steps up to the top of the tower at Château de La Roche Guyon, where Field Marshal Rommel commanded the Axis forces as they fought to hold off the allied invasion.
By the time we made it to the garden that inspired many of Monet’s most notable paintings, and Vincent van Gogh’s last home just outside of Paris, we were firm believers in assisted living, or should we say pedaling.
Another cool feature of the system that we grew to seriously appreciate was the ability to use the charging mode as a braking device on downhill stretches.
The next day found us crossing the bay to the town of 
As Padstow disappeared behind us, we came to a Celtic Cross overlooking the city. This was erected as a monument to the soldiers lost in The Great War, or what became known later as World War I. The poignant tribute stands in a beautiful setting, and we learned as we traveled across Cornwall that nearly every town has one.
The crew of NCI Stepper Point Lookout Station was glad to explain their mission of watching over the entrance to the Camel estuary and the port of Padstow and, perhaps most importantly, keeping an eye on the notorious Doom Bar. This sandbar that blocks the entrance at low tide has caused over six hundred vessels to wreck or run aground so a close watch is of primary importance.
No matter the folklore, navigation has been tricky in these parts for quite a while, as evidenced by the stone tower near the coast guard station. Known simply as the Daymark, this navigation tower was built centuries ago to help guide ships around this treacherous point. It was originally lime-washed white to make it visible out to sea, but most of that has long since faded away.
This characteristic is why this coastline is so craggy and, in the case at Gunver, the crashing surf has created sharp peaks that stand like sentries along the shore.
In Cornwall the classic British afternoon ritual is called cream tea, because clotted cream is a star of the show. This butter-like whipped cream is liberally laid out on scones that are lighter than most, in fact they reminded us of good ole southern biscuits.
The steep coastline gave way to a sandy beach at Harlyn Bay while the sky once again took on an ominous tone. The threatening skies didn’t discourage the handful of surfers and small crowd of beachcombers though, still we made the call to proceed on to our final destination by bus.
Entering on the high road, for a better view, we came to the first of many encounters we would have with the works of Barbara Hepworth. Her bronze sculpture, Epidauros II, adorns the Malakoff overlooking the harbor, so we stopped for a look at both the art and the panorama.
Heading down to the waterfront, we made the church dedicated to St. Ia our first stop. The church was built during the reign of King Henry V from 1410 and 1434 as a 
Leaving Saint Ia’s we made a loop around the town, beginning and ending at the waterfront. Among the myriad of shops, inns, and restaurants along the water, The Sloop Inn stood out. Dating back to 1312, this classic fisherman’s pub lays claim to being one of the oldest inns in Cornwall.
From there we walked along the coast of what the locals refer to as The Island, but it is really a peninsula. The point is crowned by the St Nicholas Chapel, which is thought to predate St. Ia’s, but no records survive giving the history of the old stone church. What is known is that it was often used to keep watch for smugglers and for storage by the War Office over the.
Our circular route took us onward to Porthmeor Beach along the way to the Tate Gallery. As a hub for artists form more than a century, St Ives seemed the perfect location for second of the Tate’s regional galleries. Opening in 1993, now nearly half a million people visit each year.
A few blocks through the narrow streets we stopped off for one more encounter with Barbara Hepworth’s work at her Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Tailor-Made Itineraries
See an example: 