Some resorts have it all in terms of luxury but some, for various reasons, lack in intimacy so if that’s what your looking for, without compromising on the luxury factor, you should consider The Caves, in Negril, Jamaica.

Island Outpost’s resort has been designed by Greer-Ann and Bertram Saulter to deliver an organic interpretation of romance — and intimacy.

The ten handcrafted cottages are planted in a garden, on the edge of the sea making it a fine choice for guests who value spirituality, romance, privacy and verdant beauty.

The Caves’ two seafront acres hide many secrets such as sundecks and nooks and even grottos, in the cliff itself. One of these grottos is designed for dining. Just imagine the lit candles and the whole place strewn with flowers. This original offering should please even the most demanding couples looking to spend unforgettable moments together.

The Aveda Mini-Spa looks out on deep blue ocean water and it’s a wonderful place to be with friends to reinvent the world. The high-ceilinged cottages are made of wood and stone while also being roofed in thatch. If you’ve never stayed in such amenities, you’ll likely find it quite enjoyable.

Set in lush indigenous tropical gardens, every cottage has its own name like Blue Dolphin, Butterfly, Blue Hole, Sea Turtle, Bird’s Nest, Sun Dancer, One Drop, Macka Tree, Moonshadow and Clandestino. It just adds to the uniqueness of this resort’s offering. Furthermore, all accommodations underwent a complete refurbishment in 2007, including air conditioning for all downstairs suites.

For the ultimate naturally ventilated private cliffside villas experience, in sunny Jamaica, The Caves delivers a distinctive take on the Caribbean life.

Tags: the caves, resort, island outport, negril, jamaica, cottages, deep blue ocean, accomodations, tropical gardens, cliffside villas, mini-spa, amenities

Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri make chocolate but saying it like that wouldn’t translate their passion for their work that has brought them to travel the world in search of the best cocoa beans for their Amadei chocolate collection.

Based in Italy’s beautiful Tuscany, in the communal city of Pisa, these driven chocolate makers and their employees spare no effort to produce some of the most tantalizing chocolates you can find. Although Amadei isn’t a major brand like Nestle, Mars or Hershey’s, chocolate lovers from the world over have developed a taste for their unique chocolate blends.

This smaller chocolate factory produces roughly 20,000 bars every year and some, like the 450-gram format of “Porcelana”, costs a cool US$90 — but rest assured, it’s worth it. In the case of Porcelana, the chocolate is made from porcelain-looking white cocoa and yes, it’s their most expensive brand.

In the late 80s, Alessio and his sister, Cecilia, took their first steps towards discovering the cocoa routes which happened to be less traveled. Over time, this very hands-on approach to finding the finest cocoa beans yielded tremedous results as their chocolate’s taste was as unique as their beans.

Together, the Italian chocolate makers experimented with new ideas which gave life to exclusive chocolate brands which have been made available worldwide. With passion and enthusiasm, they made their dream a reality and broke the homology of tastes to become the artificers of true and proper Renaissance taste.

Their chocolate collection is based on the belief that with each taste, a different emotion should emerge.

The brands you’re invited to sink your teeth into have Italian-sounding names like Toscano Black, Toscano Brown, Toscano Red e Blond, I Neri, Toscano White, I Cru, I Frutti, Le Praline, Le Barre and some lesser know ones, like the “9″ which is made of a unique blend of nine different cocoa bens.

The later also happens to be Cecilia Tessieri’s favorite pick.

High-cocoa-content dark chocolate, featuring unmatched purity and alleged medicinal qualities, enjoys a vogue among afficionados who are drawn to first quality chocolates. Italy takes pride in being home to companies like Amadei and a wide variety of specialty chocolate makers who create their sweet (and sometimes bittersweet) masterpieces exclusively from cocoa butter.

Amadei believes in the transparent sourcing of cocoa beans from the plantations and afterwards, their transformation in socially fair and environmentally undamaging conditions so that’s an approach bigger chocolate makers should emulate because more consumers will be requiring it, in the near future.

The Amadei chocolate brands are selectively made available in top 4-star and 5-star hotels, restaurants and luxury retailers, in both Europe and America. Of course, if you search a little, you can find online retailers selling various brands of Amadei chocolates — so more people can enjoy them.

Tags: amadei, amadei chocolates, cocoa beans, cocoa butter, fine chocolates, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hazelnuts, toscano, chocolatiers, piza, tuscany, italy