A couple of weeks ago, Vishnu and I, along with 18 other people, headed down to Naples, FL to celebrate a bunch of people in the group turning 40 this year. This trip was like a year in the making and the celebration definitely exceeded any expectations any of us had.

Here’s a snapshot of where we stayed, what we did, and where we ate!

P.S. This may look like a really simple vacay, but that was by design. The goal was to spend time together and just have fun. Our good friend Naveen planned the entire thing…down to the beautiful personalized menus at every dinner. If you need a party planner, I know an amazing one!

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Everything about this property was on point. From the clean and spacious rooms, to the breakfast restaurant, to the accommodating staff. It was truly a luxurious three nights!

And if you’re a beach person, there’s a shuttle that departs every hour on the hour that takes people to the Ritz beach resort.

What we did

For two out of the three mornings we were there, my best friend Roshni and I got up and worked out. The gym was nice and included everything we needed to do a couple of sweaty workouts.

Then, after a leisurely breakfast the hotel restaurant with a larger group of people, we would all head to our rooms to get ready for the pool. We literally spent 5-6 hours at the pool on both Friday and Saturday. There are plenty of pool chairs for guests, but we had a couple of cabanas, so it worked out well.

Then, we would go back to relax, shower, and get ready for dinner.

On our second night (dinner was at the Beach resort), we had a dance party that lasted until 2 am! It was THE best. One of our friends was the DJ, and we danced to everything from pop, R&B, rap, hip hop to garba and Bollywood. IT WAS A BLAST!

And on our last night, we played Empire in the hotel lobby for a couple of hours. SO fun!

Where we ate

Ria – delicious Latin American food; restaurant located on property

Lemonia – where we started every morning…with a delicious breakfast. You can order a la carte or opt for the buffet.

We had dinner at the beach resort, but it was more of a special event than a restaurant. If you’re going with a large party, I highly recommend contacting the hotel to see if they can arrange a special meal just for your party. It was quite the dining experience with multiple courses and wine pairings too. And as delicious as everything was, the dessert was the MOST delicious. A small trio of chocolate desserts – right up my alley!

Sails – our last dinner was at Sails. Naveen organized the menu ahead of time, and all of the options were delicious. The food had a blended European vibe, and the ambiance was very elegant. A lovely way to end our trip

And that is our trip to Naples in a nutshell. An amazing celebration of turning 40 and lifelong friendships!