GRAND VELAS RIVIERA MAYA

Travel With (Healthy) Confidence

June 23, 2020
Words by Jennifer Stein
Photos courtesy of

What Resorts are Doing to Keep You Safe

For many, the spring of 2020 meant postponed weddings and uncertainty about the future of travel. We all waited with bated breath to see what would happen with the spread of Covid-19 and the shelter-in-place rules for many states and countries. But now, in the summer of 2020, things are opening back up and countless destinations are back to (socially distanced) business. While we all try to navigate this new sense of normal, with mandatory masks and getting groups of loved ones back together again, one thing we can all agree on – safety and health is a top priority. 

Hotels and resorts all around the U.S. and beyond are working hard to make sure their wedding groups and honeymooners feel comfortable and safe when they visit. Below are just a sampling of what some of our partners are doing to ensure healthy travel and a safe stay.

Hygiene Programs / Protocols

Cleanliness should be paramount wherever you go when it comes to your hotel room, but with the current pandemic we’re faced with, the usual clean floors and sparkling bathroom mirrors aren’t the only must, other precautions need to be made. Many hotel chains are ensuring their rooms are sanitized thoroughly so you can sleep easy.

Velas Resorts is one that has a great program that includes PPE for staff members along with daily shift temperature checks, so you know everyone who is serving you is healthy. Guests will be given a personal protection kit at check-in and countless areas are disinfected and steam cleaned to sterilize common areas and transportation vehicles.

Safe Spaces

Operating in six countries, Palladium Hotel Group is offering a program that leans on direction from the World Health Organization and expert authorities in the countries in which they operate. Beyond their normal policies of cleanliness and safety, Palladium is taking things a step further by expanding medical services on-site for any concerns a guest might have. Social distancing and capacity control is another way to keep guests healthy. The distancing (between groups traveling together) will be monitored and maintained. They also are employing strict use of reservations throughout their resorts to ensure families and travelers have plenty of space. 

Peace of Mind

For those who have one toe in the water when it comes to travel, Palace Resorts has flexible booking options to give you peace of mind. Their program gives you the flexibility to modify dates of all existing and new reservations at any of their resorts for and during June 2020 to any other date before December 15, 2020. The same rates and conditions will apply with no penalties to change. They are also allowing reservations to be rebooked to 2021, however there could be a difference in rate if you choose to reschedule into next year.

Enhanced Technology

Many resorts are stepping up their game not only in making sure their resorts are glistening clean to halt the spread of germs, but they are also employing new technology to take the social distancing a step further (pun intended). Umaya Resort Belize (part of STEM Hotels) is using QR codes to lessen the number of touch points used by guests. The QR codes allow guests to access dining options, resort information and cleaning protocols from their own mobile device vs. in-room menus and informative brochures.

Electrostatic sprayers are also part of their “enhanced technology” protocols to help keep patrons healthy. These sprayers are used to clean and disinfect entire areas and contact surfaces that are commonly used throughout the resorts.

An Entire Floor – Just for You

Opening June 26th, Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como, Italy is opening only one-third of the resort to keep guests at arms length. And for groups who want to celebrate an intimate wedding – they are offering an entire floor to groups traveling together.  Take advantage of “your very own private corner of the palace – accommodating two to forty of your guests – at a very special rate.”

Clean Room Surfaces and Common Areas

Many resorts are doing everything from steam cleaning to using enhanced sanitation techniques to ensure common areas are germ-free. From the aforementioned “electrostatic sprayers” and the use of PPE by housekeeping to health certification guarantees in rooms and crowd control in public areas – all the resorts we’ve listed above are going above and beyond to ensure cleanliness and safety at their properties.

As the world begins to settle back into this new normal, we hope you travel safely. And no matter what your wedding looks like – rescheduled or smaller than before – remember what you’re celebrating and why you’re celebrating.

PHOTO CREDIT – top to bottom: Velas Resorts, image by Jeremy Chou, Palladium Hotel Group, Palace Resorts, STEM Hotels, Grand Hotel Tremezzo

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