Just to set the stage, we're brand new to this forum, but I've read it on occasion for information and reviews of TTR. This was our 3rd trip to TTR. The last two have been in May of 2015 and 2016. This time we were there from October 22 - 28. We're both 28, and while we've been some of the youngest there by far on the last two trips, we have always really enjoyed ourselves. I've been keeping a close eye on the renovations, and it became pretty obvious that many of the changes were meant to attract exactly our demographic. They made it sleek and contemporary, which really appealed to us. For all of the complaints about it looking cold, fancy, and uncomfortable both on here and elsewhere, we were pretty excited about the new look leading up to the trip. To make a long story short: We have met people the last two times that have been going for 10, 20, 30 years and I always think, what hooked you like that? Now I know. A week like this hooks you like that. We left having had the single best week of our lives with some of the most amazing people we've ever met. The resort is nicer than ever before. We'll be back, and we'll bring friends. Day 1 (October 22nd) We landed around 1:30 pm and breezed through customs. USA Transfers was waiting for us and we were probably at the hotel by 2. Easy as always. Even driving up to the hotel, the renovation is incredible. You can see it as soon as you turn into the hotel zone. The lobby itself was huge and so much nicer than before. Checkin was fast, but our room wasn't ready. No big deal. Also, there is a "water feature" pouring from the ceiling above the checkin desk. The leaks seem to bother some people. I just found it funny. We always like to be in what was the 5000 building. There are different numbers now, so it was confusing to determine where our room would be, but it turns out thats exactly where we were. At this point, we changed into swim suits in the bathroom and headed to the pool while we waited for our room. We were meeting some friends this trip (that we had met the previous year) and found them right away. It really is so much easier to get going when you already know people there. They introduced us to some new friends (who happen to live near us at home) and the party issued. At this point, we're realizing that the resort is really young this time. Like really young. Basic pool day continues and we end up with dinner plans with 10 or 11 people. We go back to the room around 5 and nap quick before heading to Flame with everyone. Flame was lackluster, but not awful. I don't want to spend much time with complaints, as the trip was just too good for that, but in the future, I'd probably skip eating there. After dinner, we went back to the room to change (PJ night) and head to Bash. It was packed. We were introduced around to a bunch more people, who would end up being a crew for the rest of the week. The party that night was great, even through some pretty serious rain. Everyone just embraced it and kept going. At this point we again looking around and thinking "wow, it really is a lot younger this time". That was good for us, and even better that everyone seemed as crazy as ever. At the end of the night we ended up hitting the hot tub (something we would do virtually every night). Day 2 (October 23rd) We woke up early with the intention of catching the Boobs Cruise, but unfortunately, I had the worst hangover of my life. There was no way. Oh well. Hopefully someone grabbed our spot since it was sold out. We'll make it next time. We hit breakfast at the buffet, then headed to the pool, surprised our friends (we could spend the day with them since we didn't make it to the cruise), and ultimately, had a great pool party day. I don't think anything of note happen during the day, but it is starting to get fuzzy now. Same MO as the previous day, we headed back to the room around 5 ti nap and get ready for dinner. We went to the Italian place for dinner with a couple of friends (table for 4) and the wait was a bit long, but not too bad. The Italian was good just like before. No complaints. We didn't have anything in particular for the Mexican night, so were were ready to go to Bash right after dinner. Once again, Bash was packed. We went pretty hard that night (shots and more shots). It seems like everyone in our group decided to get up on the bar with the entertainment staff to dance. No complaints there. After a full night of drinking, dancing, and meeting more friends, we hit the hot tub again to wind down. At this point we realized we were totally exhausted. We'd been up until 6 am from the previous night and only slept until 8 am in our attempt to catch the cruise. We hung around in the hot tub for a while and then went to sleep. Day 3 (October 24th) We had the great idea of scheduling room service for the morning the night before. Genius. Ate in the room and then hit the pool with friends for their last partial day. Ended up making dinner plans with some new friends, napping, and then hitting the asian restaurant. At the point, its pouring rain, and I mean pouring. We were climbing on walls and jumping along planters to get over flooded pathways between buildings. The Asian restaurant was good. Probably not our top three, but good. As we passed through the lobby after dinner, JJ let us know the party would be in Score that night. It was Heaven and Hell night, so we went back to the room to change before grabbing a drink at the lobby bar and meeting up with all of our new friends. Its funny how everyone just finds each other every night at TTR. The party at Score was great. Its was packed, but I don't think everyone knew it was there. None the less, it was a great rainy night spot. So much better than the old sports bar. At some point, I ended up talking to one of the entertainment staff, who said this was the youngest and craziest they had seen the resort since they opened. Thats what were were hoping for with the renovations, and from the sounds of it, thats exactly what the owners wanted as well. It was raining even late at night, so we had to skip the hot tub, but we had plenty of fun anyway. Day 4 (October 25th) We woke up pretty late and just barely caught breakfast at the buffet. We watched the pool games, and I think may have played some giant Jenga. The pool party was great, and plenty more bar dancing ensued. Ultimately, we tried to hit Sea Flirt with 8 people, but were told no. We said we could split into 2 table of 4, and they were able to accommodate us no problem. Sea flirt was good, especially if you're generally a big fan of seafood like us. From there, we headed back to the room to get changed for lingerie night. As we were walking up that giant ramp to Bash, I started to get worried that other people weren't in there underwear. Since its not really mandatory anymore, participation was a little lower than usual, but not too bad. We met up with all of our new friends at the lobby bar and started on what would probably be the best Bash party of our stay. We danced all night and tried to hit the hot tube to cool down. Unfortunately, it wasn't just cool, it was downright cold. No heat. Oh well. Day 5 (October 26th) We woke up a little late and completely missed breakfast. We were able to get coffee and a quick bite at the coffee shop. Its a great addition to the resort. After that, we just hit the pool and it seems like all of our friends had the same idea. Its always someone's last full day, so we're always trying to party hard for them. This was no exception. We watched the pool games, and then came the foam party. We'd never been in a foam party and were prepared to be utterly suffocated by it (which were were), but had no idea that everyone's inhibitions seem to get even lower when there's a bit of foam obscuring everyone's view. This would start the craziest afternoon I have ever experienced at TTR. I'll spare everyone the details, but the party moved from the foamy pool up to the hot tub. If you were in there (and there were a lot of people in there), I'm sorry ..... or maybe you're welcome. It was a bit late by the time we left the hot tub, so we just got dressed quickly in the room and headed to the Italian restaurant again. We didn't have costumes for Throw Back night, so headed to Bash right after dinner. It was kind of empty. The music wasn't great. It just wasn't our kind of night. It reminded me of the rockstar night they used to have. It always seemed like a really party killer to me, but maybe its just music preference. Were all about the Spanish club music. We ended up bailing a little early and heading to the hot tub where Lindsey promptly feel sound asleep on one of our new friends. Haha. Day 6 (October 27th) We finally made it up in time to try Sea Flirt for breakfast and it was awesome. Some people have mentioned that its for Premier only, but there was no mention of that there. We weren't Premier. The food really was heads above the buffet options. Definitely worth a visit. From there, we just hit the pool again. It was our last full day, so were were determined, once again to party pretty hard. Lindsey ended up competing in the Iron Woman and pole dancing games. Maybe it was the games, or just the copious drinking, but that afternoon really went nuts. Apparently Lindsey is a pro at getting people up on the bar with her. Our whole crew was going nuts. At some point the whip cream came out, then there was honey being poured all over everyone, then a whole bottle of Baileys? It was crazy and great and generally just an unbelievably fun time. This is the point where I'll really hand it to the entertainment staff. They definitely have a new style compared to before, and it works. They are all amazing. We headed back to the room a bit early this night since we had a reservation at She at 7:30. We napped, got ready and headed over to what would ultimately be our favorite meal. I'll say, we do consider ourselves major foodies. we like fine dining and eat a lot of it at home, so our expectations for She weren't high. When the first course hit the table, everything changed. Every course was unbelievably good. One after another with very sophisticated, complex flavors. Had we known it would be so good, we would have gone more. Its was our last night. Oh well. After dinner, we went to Bash for white night. It was packed again, albeit noticeably older than it had been all week. Not a bad thing, just noticeably different. I say this only because people are always asking what the age range is and its so hard to answer. For most of the time we were there, we couldn't believe how many people in their 20s and early 30s there were. Later on, it seemed more similar to past years. Either way, its always a great time. We danced all night and bounced from group to group chatting with people. It seemed like a lot of people we usually see in may cam in for Halloween, so it was great to see more familiar faces. Ultimately, we hit the hot tub again with some friends and ended up back at Bash later for burgers. Not a bad last night. Day 7 (October 28th) It was our last day and we had until 1:30 to make the most of it. We hit Sea flirt again fro breakfast and then tried to soak up the sun as much as possible. It was a pretty calm morning and as always was so difficult to say goodbye to the amazing people we met, but we left knowing we'd be back. To address some specifics that everyone seems to have questions about: Furniture Its very hard lined contemporary furniture. We liked the look of it and didn't find it uncomfortable, but we are also into contemporary design, and our furniture in our own place isn't dis-similar. If you're expecting anything to feel like an easy chair, it won't, but it no different than the furniture in any modern restaurant or nightclub. Food Better than before, but lets be real, thats not why we go. Vibe Frankly, better than ever for us. Like I mentioned, the resort seemed younger and crazier than we have ever seen it. This was echoed by some of the staff I spoke to, who also confirmed that that is exactly what they wanted to happen after the renovation. I was worried that with the more contemporary design, it might attract a younger crowd that was more conservative. It seemed completely the opposite. From our vantage point, everyone we met was there to party hard and have a great time. As far as the swing crowd, I'll say that it seemed a lot more common than in the past. Especially among our age group. That Cosmo article wasn't about us (it was the week before us I think), but it probably could have been.
Hey guys, welcome to forum! (even though I know you said you have been creepily watching us from the bushes for a long time). Glad to hear a different perspective, and I like to hear things from the younger angle also. Elyse and I are 34 and 35, and we typically end up on the younger end. Not that it matters, and we hang with everyone, but it is certainly nice to have a lager demographic of people closer to ones age group (and when we started going, Elyse was still in her 20s...but somehow she has turned 25 down there twice, so that's pretty confusing). Agree with so many points related to the furniture, food, modern/club feel, and vibe. Made me a little jealous I didn't spend much time in the hot tub though. I will be remedying that next trip for sure. Thanks again for taking the time to write it up. Your pictures look great as well, and it's hard to not mention that Lindsey is very attractive!!!
Well, I guess I may officially be in the 'old' range now, after hitting the big 40 this year!!! Don't think it yet though.... hope I don't look it either!!! Excellent trip report!
Question for someone that has been at TTR since the reopening. Are there black lights at Bash on glow night? We have a bunch of florescent body paint that is only visible in black light.
No, there isn't necessarily black lights. Some of the lighting does make the florescent clothing and paint glow more, but you are in a pretty wide open space and there are lots of different light sources, so it isn't like you are in a concentrated black light room or area of a clubs.
There are definitely some black lights at Bash. While we were there plenty of people had glow paint or otherwise glowing clothes, but its not a total black light atmosphere by any means. I don't want the age thing to be the important point here. Its just an interesting observation. Like I said, this was our third trip and we have always had an amazing time with everyone there. Age seems to be one of the most frequent questions from people going for the first time (especially young couples) and it really can vary so much from week to week. Once you go once, you also realize it doesn't really matter, but I do think the hotel is trying trying pretty hard to cater to a younger crowd. I'm just glad the vibe is still the same and we really hope it stays that way.
