Trip Reviews from MEXICO

REVIEWS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS FROM RIVIERA MAYA (Aventura Spa Palace and Xpu Ha Palace) by Knottie Kaelin2B: MEXICO (RIVIERA MAYA)

REVIEW AND PHOTOS FROM RIVIERA MAYA (Aventura Spa Palace) by Knottie blondbride2003: MEXICO (RIVIERA MAYA)

PHOTOS FROM RIVIERA MAYA (Maroma Resort, Playa Del Carmen) by Knottie maybmaybride: MEXICO (RIVIERA MAYA)

PHOTOS AND INFO FROM RIVIERA MAYA (Aventura Spa Resort) by Knottie mandy57: MEXICO (RIVIERA MAYA)

PHOTOS FROM PUERTO VALLARTA (Playa del Sol Grand ) by Knottie hthr: MEXICO (PUERTO VALLARTA)

RIVIERIA MAYA: NEW AVENTURA SPA PALACE REVIEW...7/25
From: sedona74 Date: 7/27/2004 at 4:17 pm

we went to aventura based on the amazing reviews here on the knot. they were about 50% right.

I. the good...

GROUNDS & SWIMMING
gorgeous setting on the carribean sea, with breathtaking views. lagoon is beautiful, cool and refreshing, with fishies every now again which you get used to. the palapas and the breeze keep you cool when you've had enough sun. swim-up bar is great, people lounge on chairs IN the pool all day long. lagoon is better than having a beach, since all beaches in mexico are public, and the one we saw at xpu-ha was like a new york city beach, body-to-body.

ROOM
perfection: top floor on spa side, quiet and private but not too far. piano/trumpet buldings. full ocean views. amazing. hot tub in room, cool idea, but we only used it twice, and we got tired of being in it after 10 minutes.

THE 2ND HALF OF THE TULUM EXCURSION
cool to walk through the ruins, but the view from the top takes your breath away...green and turquoise carribean sea over the cliffs as far as the eye can see.

MEXICAN FIESTA NIGHT
phenomenal authentic mexican food...the real deal. if you love mexican food you better eat as much as you can this one night, cause it's the only time you're going to get it. cheesy and fun mexican show with costumes and dancing, everybody goes, a great time.

THE SPA
top notch. i had a wax there, and we had massages in the huts on the lagoon. facilities are impressive. don't miss it. this is their specialty; they are very nice here and the services are that of a high class new york spa. only you're in a tropical paradise!

II. the bad...

THE FOOD
the food tastes like those dishes nobody orders off the menu at the local diner. we are from new york and we are very into eating and restaurants. but everyone was saying the same thing. 6 restaurants, only one mexican, only you can't get mexican food there. dominating meals at all 6 restaurants: boring steak and boring fish. macdonald's salads RULE over the salads here. they think that if they decorate the plate with an impressive presentation, that will cover up the fact that it sucks. breakfast buffets not bad, but not good.

SERVICE
people are for the most part friendly and nice, but they are not helpful in any way. they smile and point or tell you something in mumbled english, but they always give the wrong information or none at all. they don't really care whether you find what you need or not. they just smile. at check-in, we were given a cool washcloth but no champagne like you read about. the main lobbies are not air conditioned, so everyone is sweating while they are checking you in. i imagine that's why they gave so many honeymooners the wrong bracelet, which allows you access to discounts in the gift shop and a special honeymoon dinner. it also is probably why they didn't tell us where anything was, or that we were supposed to go pick up a welcome package with info on the restaurants, the activities, etc. when half our honeymoon was over we went to book tulum, and that's when they gave us this welcome package. of course, this was long after the evening where we went to one place for dinner and my husband was told he had to go back to the room and put on pants. it also told about different theme nights at the bar, and when activities were scheduled. my husband wanted to do the rock climbing wall, and i wanted to do the salsa dancing lessons, but we both missed out due to not knowing about them. ahh, the welcome package had all this info! would have been helpful...at our WELCOMING!

THE 1ST HALF OF THE TULUM EXCURSION
hot, sweaty, disgusting experience...xpu-ha was a nightmare. after walking for what seemed like an eternity and following signs that pointed us in the wrong direction, we finally found the only air conditioned place, bambu, to eat breakfast. afterwards we found the snorkeling "shack," and that was a comedy routine. the gear didn't fit, it smelled, and the snorkeling sucked there, no plant life, only a few boring fish.

NIGHTLIFE
we are NOT partiers, but we wanted to go dancing, do a little latin, a little club. we found one dark smoky "disco" which was only hopping on the night of karaoke. that was actually fun to watch. people do like to get dressed up though, and walk around the resort at night, and sit in the open air lobbies. it's just so hot there. what they call "bars" are actually just tables set up in the lobbies.

THE LAGOON--THE DARK SIDE
about 50% of ladies go topless in the lagoon, fine, that's cool, but we had to watch people having sex in it with very animated faces. that ruined it for me. my husband and i were actually having a fight when we spotted it, and we started laughing, so it was good for something. i just was so skivved out, i could not go back in the water. it was the pool for me for the rest of the time. i'm sorry to sound so prude, but i'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks it's gross.

THE SIZE
this resort is really too big. it's nice that you have options, like if you get bored in one part, you can go somewhere else for a change of scenery. but people wait so long to take buses from one side to the other, or you can walk, but it's a pain when you're tired or hot or hungry. and god help you if you forget something in your room. sometimes the buses never come.

all in all...aventura is a great value. we would have spent almost $6000 had we gone to royal hideaway. but we maybe would have had better food and better service? we chose a $3500 honeymoon. we love the american southwest, and wanted a real mexican experience. we actually felt the resort tried to downplay this cultural side. they tried very hard to make all of us non-mexicans feel "at home" with their chinese food and cheeseburgers. but we went to mexico to experience mexico. i would have loved to have heard more mexian music, had more mexican food, etc. but, we definitely got what was most important to us: we wanted to constantly be looking around and at each other going, "oh my god, this place is so beautiful," awestruck. and we were. at night you get dressed up and walk around, take pictures, see other couples, have a drink. all the honeymooners are super nice and friendly. aventura will not give you everything, but it is a gorgeous and romantic place to honeymoon.

My review of Aventura Spa Palace (May 23-30)
From: orange14 Date: 6/9/2004 at 12:34 am

Most of the reviews that I have read about Aventura Spa Palace (ASP) seem to be either very positive or very negative, and I sometimes have to wonder whether they were written by public relations reps for Palace Resorts or another competitor. Because of this, I will try to keep my review at least *somewhat* objective.

Here are some of my (and my husband's) biases:

1. I had been to Mexico twice before: to a small, poorer region, on a Habitat for Humanity - type of excursion, and also to Puerto Vallarta. I think I had a fairly good idea of what to expect in terms of the surroundings outside the resort. I also took four years of Spanish in high school and two semesters in College. I'm not fluent, but I'd like to think I can understand some aspect of the language.
2. The resort I stayed at in Puerto Vallarta was also all inclusive (can't remember the name), so I was expecting ASP to be a bit similar in terms of food.
3. I'm a vegetarian.
4. DH is a meat eater.
5. DH had never been to Mexico before.
6. I had been experiencing problems with my eyes being dry and irritated about a week before departure.
7. DH and I experienced sore throughts, colds, headaches, and I got a fever and felt disoriented. I'm guessing this is the result of our nervous systems being worn out and/or the result of some people being overly friendly on the day of the wedding and spreading germs - don't let them guests kiss you even though it's traditional!!

I booked online at applevacations.com, and chose a local travel agent from the list in Apple Vacation's website. I received the travel documents three weeks before the departure date. I called the local agency three days before departure, and they told me that if any changes had been made to the reservations, they would have let me know by that point.

When we arrived at the Cancun airport, had gone through customs, and claimed our luggage, an individual approched us almost right away and asked us which hotel we were staying at. We told him, and he directed us to another person, who in turn, directed us to an Apple Vacations van that took us to ASP at no additional charge.

When we arrived at ASP, the person at the reception desk did not ask to see our marriage certificate - although they reccommend that you have this - gave us pink bracelets to designate us as honeymooners, and directed us to a man who drove us in a gold cart to our room, and who carried our luggage to our room. They did not ask if we wanted the Spa side or the Aventura side, as I had read in other reviews. We were placed in the South building, or the Aventura side. We also did not automatically have a bottle of champaign and a fruit basket, as I had read in a few other reviews - you are given a note to speak to a representative and confirm that you are on your honeymoon. At this point, we also made reservations for the dinner that the resort hostes for honeymooners.

I had heard in some reviews that every room has an ocean view. This is not the case. Our room, and several others did not have hammocks, which was something I had heard from another review. The Spa side is supposed to be more quiet than the Aventura side. The only time I ever heard any music from the events in the South building was if I opened the door to the balcony.

I had read reviews in which people complained about noisy echo chamber rooms, safes that not work, screatcing cats, and cockroaches. The room was not noisy, and the only other sound I heard from the room next to us was a very faint sound of the TV. The safe worked fine. I saw the cats, but they usually only showed up around dusk, they didn't really make any sounds unless you tried to pet them and then they might meow. We did, however, see a cockroach in our room one morning. Thankfully, it didn't try to move, and DH got it with his shoe.

Another common complaint I had heard was that people couldn't find chairs by the pool. I did notice that there were quite a few chairs that already had towels on them, and that never seemed to have anyone sitting in them. Strangely enough, we were always able to two unoccupied chairs that were either next to each other, or than we could set up to be next to each other.

I knew that the beach is more of a lagoon before arriving, so this did not surprise me. I am a big fan of traditional beaches, so this might have disappointed me if I had not known about it. However, because of the problem with my eyes mentioned above, the fact that salt water waves weren't crashing in my face eased whatever dissapointment may have been left over. The water, which is filtered in from the ocean, and has fish in it, which did surprise me. The pool at the South building beautiful, and is more substantial than the pool at the North building. There are ledges that you can sit on or lay on, whirl pools, a swim up bar, and a few people were usually playing volleyball.

Most drinks by the pool aren't as strong as they could be. I guess this makes sence because its not a good idea to get drunk, fall asleep in the sun, and pass out. The kamakasies were stronger than the other drinks that we got by the pool. The resort I had stayed in at Puerto Vallarta also had less strong drinks by the pool and beach. The restarants - especially those that had a dress code - made much stronger drinks.

And now, the food. A lot of people who wrote reviews on theknot and other websites seemed to have problems with the food, so I've tried to be somewhat detailed.

There are nachos, french fies, pizza, burgers, and other food by the pool. I highly recommend the nachos, salsa, and guacamole.

Las Ventanas (Italian) - This was the first restaurant we ate at after arriving, and it was about 10:00 p.m. I didn't think that any of the food was nearly as bad as some people have reviewed. I thought the food was good, but not gourmet. Being partly Italian, I've been priviledged to eat a lot of really good Italian food, and while the food wasn't bad, it wasn't quite as good as what I'm familiar with. Maybe that had a smaller selection available because it was 10:00. We did eat there for breakfast once, and everything was very good.

Mo No Hana (Did I get the name right?) (Asian) - This was the second restarant that we ate dinner at. Being a vegetarian, the only options for me were chow mein, which I didn't feel like eating that day, miso soup, and a fried cheese and banana appetizer. I got the miso soup (which was good), the cheese/banana appetiser (good for an appetiser), and midori flan (good). It seemed like a lot of the food had been Mexicanized, as opposed to Americanized, and therefore seemed a little less appealing that what we are familiar with. Then again, why should we expect to find Americanized food in Mexico?? It also would have helped (from my point of view) if they had more vegetarian options.

La Huerta (Califonia style/health food, dress code) - This was my favorite of all of the restarants. They make the salad dressing in front of you. I got the vegetable consume (extremely good) and the tofu lasagne (unusual sounding, but unbelievably good). If this is not gourmet, I don't know what is. DH got turkey and a ceasar salad and loved both.

La Hacienda (Mexican, dress code) - This was a close second favorite, even considering that there were not any main courses on the menu that I could eat!! DH asked the waiter if they could make anything vegetarian. In addition to the salad, which was very good, the main course was three carrot and zuchini burritos - in FRESH CORN TORTILLAS, guacamole, rice, and lentils. I loved it, and the corn tortillas were excellent and unlike anything I had eaten in any Americanized Mexican restaurant. We got margaritas which were very strong. DH got steak which he also thought was excellent. Their chocolate cake is also very good. Again, if this is not gourmet, I don't know what is.

Mundaca (International, steak house) - DH had gotten a horrible sunburn that day. I went to Mundaca by myself without realizing it was a steak house. I got a very good salad, very good asparagus soup, and the "chocolate cup" for desert which I recommend. We ate breakfast here on several occasions, and I was happy with the selection.

Room service - DH got the filet mignon on several occasions and said this was one of best things he had eaten at the resort, along with the steak from hacienda and turkey from La Huerta.

Honeymooner night - I should have specified that I'm a vegetarian. We ate a salad that consisted of lettuce, tomato, and mozzerla wich I liked, but many seemed disappointed with. Soup was a kind of Mexicanized vegetarian hot and sour soup that I really liked, but a lot of people had a problem with this too. The main plate was chicken, vegetables, and rice. I traded my chicken for DH's vegetables and rice. The chocolate cake was very good, and the same as Hacienda.

Other people that we talked to either didn't have a problem with the food, or they commented that it wasn't bad - just different than what they expected. One person told us that if you order a steak, to make sure the waiters understand exactly how you want it done, and in this situation, to be aware of the language barrier.

All of the staff were very friendly and helpful. On one day when I had a fever and annoying headache, we asked house keeping to not clean the room. When we went to Chichen Itza the next day, the room was a wreck. The housekeeping staff did a wonderful job of cleaning and rearranging everything. The waitresses also did a good job of walking around the pool taking drink orders. We didn't tip anyone other than those who carried our bags.

Two tours are included for guests. We chose the Chichen Itza Light and Sound tour and the Islas Mujeres excursion.

There is a 2.5 hour ride to get to and from Chichen Itza. The tour guide for Chichen Itza was very knowledgeable and friendly. It seemed to be much more hot at that location. The guide showed us the more "major" aspects of the ruins. He said that it would take three days to see everything. We climbed up and down the main pyramid - climbing back down is much more difficult because it's so steap, and you are looking down. At the evening light show, the park had run out of English translation headsets, so I nearly fell asleap. Even so, I enjoyed the tour because I had wanted to see Chichen Itza for some time.

The Islas Mujeres excursion was nearly an all day event. DH wanted to swim with the dolphins. We were told that only a limited number of people could sign up for this. DH was amoung the last people to sign up, and we were "wait listed", meaning that we did not get to swim the same distance with dolphins as those who weren't wait listed. We did get to swim a little with a dolphin. The dolphin positions herself so that her head and bottom two fins are out of the water, and you hold on to her bottom to fins, and she swims with you on her belly. We also went to a point in the water and held onto a "boogie board", held our legs straight, and the dolphin pushes the back of your feet.

All in all, my least favorite experiences were: being sick, which probably couldn't be helped; DH being sunburned (that was a bad day to be in the sun - stay out if it is bright and yet still a little overcast); lack of vegetarian food at some locations (maybe I should have spoken up more), and our reaction to Mexicanized versions of Italian and Asian food (could this be a cultural difference?)

Overall, I think we had a good time. We tried to make the most of what we could, although being sick was quite lousy.

review of ASP(long) very poor
From: july2004Girl Date: 7/29/2004 at 12:14 pm

my husband and I travel often and we were disappointed with the ASP: we stayed for ten days. the resort was FULL, we tried to move to another hotel but they were all full as well. i sure we wouldnt have so many complaints if the resort was not so full.I will just write everything in pros and cons and you can ask questions if you have any.

Pros: the resort is beautiful, the hotel, spa area and the landscaping are breathtaking.
-the resort is huge(almost too big)
-pools are beautiful and large
-variety of food at restaurants
-entertainment at night
-spa treatments are excellent, worth every penny -golf cart service to rooms upon check-in and check-out
-hammocks on the balcony(more comfortable than the beds)see below

CONS:Beds are HARD! not firm, HARD
-Ants in the bathroom and sink area
-dirty shower floors
-we had blood on the comforter of the bed (gross)
-very loud in the AM when people are in the hallways, we were awoke by 6:45 every morning
-The resort was full so service for everything was slow
-room service was always 1 hour or more
-it took 5 phone calls to get our mini bar stocked
-pool was always full, we had to reserve chairs by 7:30am-8:00am to get a spot at the pool.
-pool area was very roudy and noisy on the spa side and advertura side, they played tecno music and games all day. not exactly what we had in mind for our honeymoon.
-the lagoon area is quiet and a little more private but the lagoon is all rocks and cement, there was not very much sand around, we both cut our feet a couple times. It look like they may have been redoing parts of the lagoon because parts were closed off. The lagoon is a sad comparison to a beach, although you can still hear the waves.
-there are also water fountains and water falls on the spa side which look beautiful but the smell is AWFUL, we took some photos in front of them and i was ready to gag
-I have been to mexico 4 times and this was the first place that was noisy during "siesta"(sp?) most people nap around 4:00pm not at ASP. Our room was next to an obstacle course which they had competitions at around 4:00pm
-there were a group of swingers staying in the presidential suite on our floor and they invited us to come "party with them a night" NOOOO thanks br> -there are cats all over the resort but they are very friendly i didnt mind them
-My BIGGEST COMPLAINT WAS THAT WE BOTH HAD FOOD POISIONING!!!!!! we got sick our fifth day there and spent the last 5 days in our room. It ruiened our honeymoon. It cost $90 to see the doctor. We will never return to ASP. Before we got sick we were tring to move to another resort but the manager was no help. We even had our travel agent contact him. our travel agent is now sending a written complaint to the resort.

~~~~~Aventura Spa Palace Review~~~~~
From: lucyred Date: 6/29/2004 at 11:24 am

We were there from June 7 thru the 17th and after reading all the review on here (good and bad) and on trip advisor, I feel that we both had a good idea of what to expect.

When we arrived at the resort at 2 we were pleased to find out that our room was ready even though check in time is at 3.

GOUNDS/RESORT
The grounds are absolutely beautiful and very well maintained. The resort is rather large. I think we walked it from one end to the other in about 20 minute though.

OUR ROOM
Very Nice and Clean!! We were in the 4th wing on the 3rd floor. Our room # was 3423. We had a beautiful view of the ocean from our doorwall.

RESTAURANTS

LA HUERTA ~~ This the California cuisine. We didn't really care for this restaurant. The food that we did have was good, it just wasn't our tastes.

MO MO NO HANA ~~ DH LOVED THIS PLACE!! We ate there twice for dinner. He loves chinese, thai, sushi, etc. He loved the sushi that you get for an appitizer. I thought it was good too. I would recommend the fried ice cream for dessert, it was my favorite.

MUNDACA
This was the first place we ate at and we both loved it. I think we ate there twice for dinner. DH loved the fish and my filet was cooked perfectly, I like it well done but it was still very tender. Here I recommend the chocolate mousse cup for dessert.

EL GRECO
We ate here everyday for breakfast. DH loved the omlettes and I loved the french toast. We also ate dinner here and although I don't remember any specifics, we both liked what we ordered. For dessert, the chocolate cake, very good.

THE MEXICAN RESTAURANT (can't remember the name) WAS EXCELLANT!! We both love Mexican food and liked this place. The Tortilla Soup was VERY GOOD!! I don't remember what I had for dessert here but I do remember that I liked it. DH had the key lime pie and liked it but he has never had key lime pie before so he had nothing to compare it to.

THE ITALIAN PLACE (can't remember this name either) This was probably our least favorite restaurant. DH and I both LOVE Italian food and it just wasn't what we expected or though Italian food should taste like. I think we ended up orering room service later that night after eatting here. They do have a nice dessert table though.

SNACK BARS
They have the BEST chips and guacamole. We had it everyday with lunch. DH and I both miss having it :(

**Please note that Mexician chocolate is different the US chocolate, its not as sweet, but I still liked it.**

XPU-HA
We did visit Xpu-Ha for a couple of hours on one of the tours that was going to Tulum but I ended up getting heat exhaustion that afternoon so we didn't go to Tulum (until later) and just went back to the resort. Xpu-Ha is really nice and different from ASP. I wish we would have gotten to see more but I wasn't feeling good. The only thing about this resort is that there are kids, and lots of them.

TULUM
We did visit Tulum, which was really neat and extremely HOT. They recommended this trip because it not that far from the resort and we were glad that we did it. We wanted to go to Chichen Itza but its 2 1/2 hours away and I was afraid that I would get heat exhaustion again.

ROOM SERVICE/MAID SERVICE/BAR SERIVICE
I think we ordered room service twice at night. Both time it arraived before they said they would and the food was good. If you get the chocolate cake, refriderate it for awhile, its a lot better chilled.

The maid service was EXCELLANT!! They came everyday at about the same time everyday to clean the room and to turn down the bed. VERY GOOD!!

The bar service for the room was ok. I think DH had to call and get more beer for the fridge once. Other then that it was fine.

DRINKS
DH and I are moderate drinkers and we both though the drinks were good no matter what you ordered. I will tell you this though, a tip will go a long way with the servers though. While at the bar one night, we tipped the waitress a couple of singles and we had drinks waiting for us, we couldn't keep up with her. They will take care of you if you tip them, even a dollar.

MISCELLANEOUS

There are cats around the resort but they don't come out until dusk. Its absolutely too hot for them to be out during the day. There are a couple of spots that you can see them at but they won't come up to you. There was one time when we heard two cats fighting in the hallway (for like two seconds) at night and its only because people leave their room service plates and dishes in the hallway with food on them.

We also saw one in Mundacas but the only reason I think we saw it was becuase it had been raining for 4 days and the restaurant was not open for 2 days at all so I think the cat was in there for shelter from the rain. In the same evening, we saw a little baby crab in the restaurant too. It was funny to see him scurry across the floor.

The lounge chairs do seem to go fast by the pool but we didn't have a hard time finding any chairs at all, by the pool or lagoon.

OVERALL
DH and I both had a great time, even though it rained for 4 days, its a great resort. There are A TON of HMers there though. The reason that I think we had a great time is because we are very easy going laid back kind of people and we really enjoyed each others company and made the best of our HM. We treated it as a getting to know you again vacation. We plan on going back.

If you have any questions about our trip, you can email me lucyred2004@yahoo.com

Aventura Spa Palace (May 23-30)
From: ArcherGirl Date: 3/27/2004

I think it all depends on what your priorities are, and what you are looking for in a honeymoon.

If you are looking for a soft sandy beach and gentle ocean waves; privacy, quiet, and seclusion; great food; a true sense of local culture or five star service ... then ASP is not for you.

If you want to hang out with others and other couples; drink a lot without worrying about your wallet; are the "go, go, go" type and enjoy dance music at 11: 00 am by the pool and activities all day and night long ... then ASP could be a great choice.

Most of my comments here have little to do with it being Spring Break, so I don't think it is a seasonal issue. There were few college age spring breakers around. ASP is enormous, they need to book large groups to keep their occupancy rates high enough to cover their capital expenditures. It is much easier and more profitable to meet those occupancy targets by booking one group of 500 KFC store owners, then to book 500 separate HM couples from who knows how many different travel agencies. Their meeting rooms are cavernous (we checked them out) and their convention center is huge ... ASP clearly prioritizes large groups and conventions.

Also, I do think that when several Knotties went last May or even during last year, the resort had just opened. (They were celebrating their one year anniversary, or so they said to us, while we were there last week.) You would expect occupancy rates to be low in the first few months or even the first year or two, and ASP may in fact be a wonderfully uncrowded experience when it is at 58% capacity. But resorts cannot make money that way, and I fear that the crowds have little to do with the seasons and more to do with the natural life cycle of any business.

ASP is ENORMOUS: 85 acres, 1250 rooms. Think Vegas in Playa del Carmen but without the real beach and obviously no casinos - huge buffets, free alcohol, nighttime Karaoke shows, fighting with others for chairs in the shade by the pool, little in the way of true local flavor but rather a comfortable generic middle ground to keep the majority of large groups happy.

FOOD: Quantity on a scale like ASP will obviously lead to some reduction in quality. We did not expect the food to rival Le Bec Fin. That being said, I've had buffets in Vegas that were much better, and frankly, the food at ASP is worse than what I remember from college dining halls. The fish is inedible (dry and tough like rubber) at two different places (Mundaca and El Greco) at two different times, which is too bad, as the seafood in the Playa del Carmen area is supposed to be outstanding. There was a cat running between my legs at El Greco, which was disconcerting as I am highly allergic to cats.

If you're already going, I would advise you to eat anything made to order (omelettes at breakfast, pasta station at Ventanas) even if the line is very long. There is a reason for that. Being half Japanese, I am on firm ground claiming that the three available types of sushi rolls at Mo Mo no Hana are terrible, and the miso soup is not in fact miso ... I think it was a beef broth with green onions and tofu. We would have loved to partake of the Juice Bar which for some reason was not open the entire time we were there.

We drank from the taps in our room sink with no problems. Which was good, as we went through a service nightmare trying to get our room minibar stocked with anything but beer and tequila. Long story, don't want to revisit it.

Also, for some reason, the two restaurants that are open for lunch do not open until 12:30 pm.

SERVICE: Bottom line is that the service is very bad. And it was not a language or culture issue; my husband is fluent in Spanish and grew up in the border towns of Texas. Quite simply, most staff exhibit the antithesis of a "can do" attitude. Whatever question or issue we had, it was someone else's problem. The exception to this were the maids and wait staff who are wonderful, warm and friendly, and even though it is an AI, we did tip them appropriately.

Ignore the class schedule or the restaurant schedules or any marketing materials. Reality is different. For days, I was looking forward to the Water Polo class in the Aventura side pool. When I showed up, it had apparently been cancelled without notice, and there were no staff at the Activity Center to ask questions of. We waited maybe half an hour before the dance music just gave me a headache and we gave up. Some brochures stated that the Ventanas (Italian) restaurant was open for lunch ... not true.

ROOMS: I thought the beds were fine. Then again, I have a bad back and *love* firm beds, so if I think they're fine, they in fact might be quite hard for most people.

We had the brown scum issue in the tub as well. It is NOT a function of the bubble bath, but rather could be the plumbing, the water quality, or the lack of cleaning or maintenance. I definitely think the concept of a two person Jacuzzi in each room is very cool, but the resort has to understand that these devices require a lot of upkeep and I am not sure they are up to it over time. The shower was fantastic, better than many I've enjoyed at true five star properties. Only issue is the hot and cold water is mislabeled in the shower, so we had some scalding going on at first but laughed it off.

The hallways are incredibly noisy, no matter what floor you're on (we were on the second) ... do not expect to sleep in very late, unless you are both heavy sleepers. Besides, the music gets going on the Aventura side anyway around 9:00 am I think. We did have the loud cats issue on the first night. My husband loved the hammock on each room's deck.

SPA: Truly wonderful, luxurious but expensive, especially considering that this is Mexico. A basic back only 25 minute massage is $44, a 50 minute aromatherapy massage is $98.

BEACH: The fine particle cement is a poor substitute for the expanses of sugar like sand that one usually imagines in their tropical dreams. The beach at Xpu-Ha is better, but frankly, my husband and I needed a break from the food and "ambience" of Palace Resorts and escaped to Playa del Carmen for the day, which was wonderful. One way taxi is $12. The beaches there were much more like the real Riviera in Europe, and the food authentic, cheap, and delicious. (This was where my husband's Spanish came in very handy! We asked our taxi driver in Spanish where the locals eat, and he dropped us off somewhere several blocks from the beach but where I enjoyed a delicious fish ceviche for $5!)

POOL: There are not enough chairs in the shade for the size of the resort. Period. The pools themselves are incredible, especially the free form pools which seem to go forever.

LANDSCAPING and MAINTENANCE: The landscaping was beautiful, and everywhere we went, someone was cleaning a glass door or sweeping a walkway. Like Vegas, I believe ASP is very focused on first visual impressions, and their hard work and prioritization shows.

SUMMARY: I am glad I went to an AI, to ASP, and to the "Mayan Riveria" so that I could experience first hand what all the talk was about. After our experience, while I am certain we will return to this part of the world where there are beautiful beaches, stunning scenery and archeology, warm friendly people, and fabulous fresh local cuisine ... we will most likely never return to an AI and most certainly will not return to ASP. I cannot recommend ASP, even for budget travelers. There are many ways to travel to this part of the world which are in fact much cheaper. I hope this review is helpful to those still considering their HM plans ... have fun, and good luck whatever you decide!

Review of Adventura Spa Palace (caution, very long!)
From: Mrs.JC Date: 7/7/2004 at 9:16 pm

This is a little late, but I see so many people inquiring about ASP that I thought I would post my review. Hope it helps:

CANCUN AIRPORT: We arrived on a Monday and it was not busy, which was nice. We got through customs quickly with our birth certificate and driver's license. Once we picked up our bags, someone immediately came over and asked what travel agency we were with. He then grabbed our bags and took us to Lomas Travel. We had to wait for about 15-20 minutes for everyone else that was supposed to be on our shuttle bus with us. The driver was very nice and had a cooler full of Corunnas :) It took about an hour to get to ASP.

CHECK IN: Once there, you have to check your bags in with the gentleman outisde and then go in to check in. This made us a little worried, but everything was fine. Once inside, the lobby is gorgeous! There was a person at the front doors with champagne! (It was a little dry for me ;) Check in went smoothly and then we went back out to collect our bags. A gentleman loaded our bags into a golf cart and took us to our room. He was incredibly nice and explained the property to us on our way to the room. He carried our bags up for us and we tipped him $5. He was hesistant to take the money, but we absolutely insisted. He was so nice!

THE ROOMS: All the rooms are the same except the Presidential Suites. We stayed in the 3000 building on the 3rd floor. We had a corner room which meant no hammock, but we had a huge, open balcony that looked right towards the ocean. Our room was sparkling clean!! The bed was firm, but we have a firm mattress on our bed now and it was not much difference. The pillows are flat, but there are extras in the closet if you need more. The two person glass shower is awesome!! It also has a clothes line in it for swim suits :) The jacuzzi was awesome!! I soo loved it. We spent almost every night in there (I got a little intoxicated the second night there and fell asleep at 7:45! No jacuzzi that night!) They provide bubble bath, but we also brought our own. BRING CANDLES!! It makes the jacuzzi so much better :) The fridge was loaded with Pepsi products, (we are Coke drinkers) Dos Equis, juice, bottled water and we also had wine in ours. There is also a mini-bar in the room. It is on the wall and holds four fifths. There is barcardi, Tequila, asome kind of Rum and some kind of whiskey. We only drank the Tequila and Bacardi. Our room was spotless everyday when we got back and we always had a neat towel formation on our bed or by the jacuzzi. We had a swan, a heart and even an eskimo! Very cool. We also had somoene come to our door almost every night around 9:00ish to bring us fruit and wine or chocolates and champagne. That was wonderful. We had so much alcohol in our room, we did not know what to do with it!! (so we just drank it all *wink wink)

THE GROUNDS: Are sooo well maintained! Everything is gorgeous and kept up. I never heard them doing it either! There is two side to ASP. The North and South side. We stayed on the North side everyday. It is a bit busier, but still not overly loud. They play some soft music most the day and then for about an hour or so, they play light techno, dance or salsa music. They have an activity pool where they do volleyball or basketball in the water. They also play Mexican Bingo (fun!) and water aerobics everyday. We played Mexican Bingo (and won!) almost everyday and water aerobics once. They do not try to make you do anything, they just offer it to you. We never had a problem finding a chair at the pool, but had to search sometimes. The waist staff will always keep your cup full and will bring your lunch right to you if you would like. We did that everyday. I always got chips, salsa and frech fries and DH got cheeseburgers or hotdogs. The wais staff will wait on you hand and and foot and they are always so pleasant. We could not believe it. I can't say much about the South side atmosphere during the day since we did not spend out time over there, but it is definately more low key. I would have gotten bored over there (just my opinion!)

LAGOON: We went down to the Lagoon once. It was pretty and there were people swimming and suba diving in it. We could see some pretty fish swimming around. We did not acually swim in it, just stood in it a minute :) It was very warm. We are not big fans of swimming in salt water, so we chose not to go in.

FOOD: The food was wonderful. The first night we went to La Hacienda which is authentic Mexican food. I did not enjoy what I ordered, so I did not eat much the first night. Their rolls are delicious though! The second night we went to Mundaca which was so good. This was the night I got a little tipsy :) I had the chicken fajitas, whic were sooo delicious and again lots of bread. DH got steak every night. Third night we went to Ventanas, where I got a pasta dish. Again, it was delicious. Fouth night we went La Huerta which is very formal and excellent food. Get the cucumber appetizer! To die for!!! Their caesar salads are made from scratch right at your table. We ordered cheesecake after dinner, but desserts in Mexico are not sweet at all! I did not eat the cheesecake. Our last night we went back to Mundaca and I got fajitas again :) Breakfast we went to Mundaca for the buffet. Pretty much all the restaraunts have the same buffet. They have strange things to eat for breakfast, but also some of the normal things we have here in US. I had French Toast and mimosas every morning. MMMMM

WHAT TO PACK: I packed way too much!! I wore a swimsuit all day and a sundress every night. The day we went horseback riding, I actually wore some regular clothes :) DH wore swimwuit all day and long pants and short sleeve dress shirt at night. We were someo f the better dressed people at the resort (not saying that in a conceited way!) A little bit more casual at night is ok. RECOMMENDATION! Have your DH buy some swimming trunks that have pockets with zippers!! I cannot tell you how wonderful this way. We put our room keys, towel card and safe key in their everyday and he swam with them with no trouble. Then we did not have to worry about someone taking our stuff at the pool. (I doubt they would, but it was a good safety precaution)

TOURS: We went horseback riding our third day there. It was a lot of fun! It was about a 30 minute drive to the ranch, and our driver was crazy! It was very hot hoseback riding, so wear something light. BRING SUNSCREEN! You are out in the sun the whole time. We also signed up to do the Chichen Itza and Playa Del Carmen tour, butthe morning of, we decided not to go. We took a taxi to Xpu-Ha and then went into Playa Del Carmen. I would suggest doing both of these on your own. It was nice not having to worry about time. Xpu-Ha was very nice and the beach was beautiful. We enjoyed being there for the day, but we are glad that we stayed at ASP and not there. There were lots of loud kids (don't get me wrong, I love kids! Just not on the HM) Playa Del Carmen is a great place to get some authentic Mexican souvenirs. We got a Mexican blanket, bracelets and a beautiful carved plate. Make sure you bargain- A LOT!! They went down on the price of the plate by more than 2/3's!

I have some pics in my bio and you can see some more at http://my.voyager.net/~jessica.christmas/ There may be some wedding pics mixed in. We have not yet put all our pics up yet. Sorry! We are selling our house and we have recently discovered we are having a little ASP honeymoon baby! :)

Please feel free to page me if you have any quesions, or you can email me at jessicaxmas@voyager.net

Honeymooners BE AWARE - Aventura Spa Palace in Maya Riviera
From: notimebride Date: 6/8/2004 at 11:12 pm

Hi everyone~

We just got back from Aventura Spa Palace in Maya Riviera last night, and thought it would be helpful for those brides to share our experience:

PROS
** Place was Pretty
** Wait staff were very nice & friendly
** Jacuzzi in every room

CONS
** Food's average @ best, even the ones w/dress codes
** Not much of a beach, so called lagoon's very tiny, could't do much
** Rooms were not kept up, old
** Beds were hard as cement, people were sleeping on top of the lined up pillows to avoid backaches
** All the tours included shopping, took all day from 8 to 6 or 7 @ night. Half a day of the activity you actually signed up & the other half being dragged to shopping
** 2 days to fill mini bar - 7 phone calls
** 10 hrs to fix toilet, another 2 hrs to get it cleaned, he completely took the toilet apart & set it in the shower and &*#@ everywhere - 5 phone calls
** No confirmation on HM dinner until 1/2 hr before it started - 3 phone calls
** $160 out of pocket money for a Dr's note for a Bronchitis diagnosis to cancel the spa. Otherwise, no refund
** 1 1/2 hr VIP tour, like time share @ the ASP where they give you $100 voucher to use @ ASP, but turned out to be 4 1/2 hrs
** Tour to Xpu-Ha & Tulum, lunch was suppose to be provided @ Xpu-Ha wasn't ready, restaurant didn't open on time, chips & soda for lunch, didn't get back until 5:30pm

Thank God, Cozumel was close, we spent just about everyday @ Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen enjoying the sights and activities, had a great time. I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm going to spend my hard earned money especially for my HM, I would like to enjoy the time I'm there and get the most basic, which is the customer service. We've spent many hrs on the phone & talking to the managers, public relations reps, AM Exp rep, our rep for the ASP w/no avail. Never had such hideous service, never been treated so poorly for something we paid for. No one cared, only thing they did was to send us a bottle of champagne which was a joke since it was all inclusive. On top of that, we weren't the only ones having problems, everyone we talked to had similar experience and they would never come back again. I felt it was my obligation to let all the brides to have all the information before making the right choice for one of the most important events you'll have. Please let me know, if anyone else needs more info. Good Luck~

My review of Aventura Spa Palace (LONG)
From: BBTheriot Date: 5/13/2004 at 4:19 pm

I have decided to write my own review, even though my HM was almost a year ago! We had a fabulous time! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to e-mail me!

Aventura Spa Palace- May 31, 2003- June 5, 2003

We booked through a travel agent and paid $2,600 for 5 nights including roundtrip airfare from New Orleans. We also pre-paid for the Lobster dinner cruise (more about that later).

We arrived in Mexico around 2:00 on Saturday and were met by a rep from the tour group we booked through. We were put on a bus and ended up at the resort about an hour later. There were guests for other resorts that we stopped to drop off.

When arriving at ASP, the resort was beautiful. We got off the bus and claimed our bags and they were grabbed out of our hands and we were given champagne and escorted to the front desk to check in. We got pink bracelets because we were honeymooners. The desk person answered all of our questions and assigned us a room. We got in the golf cart and went to our room. The guy carried our bags and showed us in.

Our room was beautiful. We had a huge king sized bed, a 2 person Jacuzzi tub with jets, a liquor dispenser, a fridge stocked with beer, soda and water, a large bathroom and a balcony with a hammock and a great view. Bring some bubble bath with you if you plan to use your Jacuzzi tub. I did not think to bring any but my mom snuck a big bottle in my bag and we used all of it! There were also 2 bottles of wine, a fruit basket and a cheese tray. They had lots of towels and all the soaps and nice amenities you get everywhere else.

We decided to go for a walk and explore a little. They gave us maps at the front desk, but the resort is really big. We did not think we would ever figure it out, but we did. Then we were really tired by 6:00, so we decided to go back to our room and order room service for dinner. We got cream of asparagus soup, filet mignons with mushroom sauce, veggies, bread and desserts. They set it up for us and poured us some wine. It was wonderful! Then we relaxed in our Jacuzzi and fell asleep by 9:00!

The next morning we went to breakfast at the restaurant on the Spa side between the pool and the beach. I forgot the name ( I think it may be Mundaca), but you will know exactly what I am talking about. We ate there for breakfast every morning because it was so good. It was just a buffet, but so good. We got made-to-order French toast, fresh fruit and all kinds of goodies. They also have any kind of fresh squeezed juice you can imagine. The watermelon juice was so good. We often wore our swim suits with cover-ups or towels and sandals. Dress code was not an issue here. It was a very casual atmoshphere.

After that we went to the pool, it was close to noon by this time. We had no problem finding chairs with an umbrella, they also had a towel station if you did not bring your own beach towel. We just relaxed and had a few cocktails. There were servers that brought you drinks. There was also a nice little pool bar with burgers, pizza, chips, salsa, French fries and other snacks like that. That afternoon we had an appointment with a travel guide. He called us in our room on the first day to schedule the appointment. I think they do this for everyone, thought it may depend on your tour group. He told us what was available and answered any questions we had. We booked our tour through him as well. They were very helpful and will help you with anything you need. He gave us all kinds of literature.

That night we dressed up and went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was yummy. Reservations are recommended.

The next day we scheduled to take a tour of the Mayan Ruins. A bus picked us up fairly early and we headed out. If you choose to take a tour, bring sunblock and a hat. It is very hot. Well, it was when we went in June. Anyway, we first had to make a stop at some jewelry store, that was boring. I am not too sure why we had to go there?? Then we went to the ruins. They were kind of cool, we had about 2 hours there, you could take a guided tour or choose to walk around on your own. Then we headed to Xpu-Ha palace for the rest of the trip. We ate lunch, all included because Xpu-Ha is also a palace resort. Then we had to rent a locker and we went snorkeling. It was a lot of fun, but very tiring. We were supposed to be there for 4 hours or so, but we ended up taking a cab back to the resort a little early. It was not expensive, only $12 or so. Later that night, we dressed up for dinner and went to the Italian restaurant for dinner. It was a buffet, but very yummy. When I say dress up, I mean khakis and a light shirt for DH and a sundress or skirt and tank top for me. They just ask that you don’t wear shorts or sandals in some of the restaurants. Don’t worry about being too formal.

The next day we took a cab into Playa del Carmen to go shopping. I did not enjoy this at all. There were people trying to pull us into their shops and it was very annoying. We felt very harassed. So we hurried and got what we wanted and got out of there. The cab ride was very inexpensive as well. So we headed back to the resort and went to the pool again and then took a nap! That night we went to the lobby for karaoke night. That was a lot of fun.

The next day we just hung around the resort in the morning. We were scheduled to take the Lobster dinner cruise that night. This was not included and was $70 a person. We pre-booked through our travel agent, but you can book when you meet with your travel guide when you arrive. A bus picked us up and drove us into Cancun. We boarded the boat and had cocktails and enjoyed the ride to the lagoon. When we arrived, we had a wonderful meal. You could have either lobster, steak or a combo. It also came with salad, veggies, potatoes, bread and dessert. On the way back there was a saxaphone player and we got to dance on the boat. It was really romantic. I highly recommend it. You can find information when you get to the resort. That night was also Honeymoon night, but we missed it. The resort has a nice romantic dinner and takes your picture for you. I heard it was really nice.

The next day was our massages. We spend about 1 hour there and the rest of the day relaxing by the pool. We tried the vegetarian place for dinner and it was very good.

We really spent a lot of time relaxing and sleeping. We were so exhausted after the wedding and everything that came with it. We loved the resort and we felt very pampered. The service was excellent, we tipped extra. The food and drinks were good, and we enjoyed the pool. We did not visit the beach though. I am not a big fan of sand. There were always people there to help us and answer questions.

I know that some other knotties have not had great experiences with ASP, but we did not encounter any noise problems or anything like that. I feel bad for those who did not have a good time. We had an amazing experience and can’t wait to go back. I hope this review helps you. If you have ANY questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me and ask. I love talking about our HM and helping others. If you do book ASP, I hope you have a wonderful time!!!

Review of HM at Royal Hideaway
From: olivejuice Date: 5/31/2004 at 7:24 pm

We just got back on Friday and had a wonderful honeymoon! I would recommend this resort to anyone and we can’t wait to go back!

We booked our trip through Funjet. We arrived at RH on 5/23 (Sunday). It was about an hour away from the Cancun airport (we dropped off other couples at their resorts first).

The grounds were beautiful (just as I’d heard). The bellboy showed us into the main lobby and we were given a cool towel and champagne. Check-in was fast and we were shown to our room and met our concierge, Raul. He showed us our room and helped us set up our dinner reservations for the week. **Note – I emailed ahead and made a reservation for our first night. Our room was really nice, bed was a little hard, but it wasn’t bad. Our villa was on one edge of the resort and we did hear some music from the resort next door – it was kind of annoying but usually died down around 11ish. I had heard that RH had an “older” crowd, there were some, but we saw a lot of honeymooners. That said, it is not a wild and crazy crowd, there isn’t really much nightlife other than the Allegria bar, which was pretty mellow.

The food was awesome. There is Spices – which is Mexican/Caribbean – we ate dinner on the first and last night because we enjoyed the food and service so much. Additionally, it looks out to the ocean, which was great. This restaurant also has a spectacular breakfast buffet. This is the ONLY buffet at the resort, but the food was fresh, plentiful and delicious. They also offer lunch, but we didn’t go. There is Ventanas – which is “international cuisine” – they offer breakfast too, it was good but I liked choosing my own at the buffet. They also offer dinner – we never ate there. Azia is their asian/thai restaurant. We really enjoyed our dinner here. Palazzo is the Italian restaurant – we never ate there, but it looked beautiful. The Grille is the last restaurant. It is right by the beach (below Spices) – it’s a snack bar during the day and steak/fish at night. The snack bar food was good, not great. Dinner there was beautiful, great atmosphere by the beach, once again, good food. And even though it was all-inclusive, those waiters still work their tails off – the service was awesome and we ended up leaving extra tips for them each night at dinner.

The beach was beautiful. There is quite a bit of beach seating and they have tons of palm trees and cabanas that they will come and set up for you. The only negative is that if you are close to the water or on the outlying chairs, you get people trying to sell you parasailing, jetski, jewelry, scuba lessons, etc. We moved inland a little and they didn’t bother us. The beach pool was our favorite! It is right next to the beach, has great views, great padded beach chairs and umbrellas. The main pool is right next to it as well. The only problem is the seats by these two pools are very popular and chances are you won’t get one past 9am. Many of the best ones were gone by 7am. The best thing by far was that there were a bunch of waiters on the beach and by the pools that would bring you your drinks. I must have had a hundred pina coladas :) We didn’t ever use the relaxation or spa pools, mainly because there was no bar around.

I had an aromatherapy massage in the spa and it was great! Unfortunately there was some miscommunication and I ended up waiting an extra 45 minutes before they came to get me for my treatment. They were very apologetic and discounted the price of my massage.

There was a little shopping center across the street from the resort with souvenir shops, very touristy stuff, but nice to look at. We went on one excursion through Alltournative that our Concierge recommended. It was called Nohoch and it included a jungle tour in a 4x4 jeep (huge mosquitoes), we went swimming and snorkeling in freshwater underground Cenotes (caves) that were beautiful. They also took us to small beach where we were able to kayak out to some coral reefs and went snorkeling again. It was fun, but a really long day. That evening we went into Playa and had dinner and walked around. Very cute town, lots of bars and restaurants and more souvenir shops.

We had a great time and felt like we were pampered at RH. They wait on you hand and foot and we definitely be back.

Mexico Honeymoon Review (with review of El Dorado Royale)
From: mizzrachie Date: 5/28/2004 at 12:14 pm

Just got back from our Mexico honeymoon and it was FABULOUS! Thought I'd share my thoughts in case Mexico is your destination.

El Dorado Royale Spa and Resort- There are good points and bad points about the resort, but mostly good. First, the staff is great, and they all know English, so if you butcher Spanish, they are kind enough to help you out without seeming put out. The nightlife is pretty good, as they have a pretty happening bar and movies. (Although most people seem to take the nightly shuttle out to Cancun). The restaraunts are good, if you are okay with experimenting with food. I'm a comfort food girl, so I found it difficult to order at some of the restaraunts. And the portions are very small, so chances are really good that you will be snacking late at night. (Which is okay because they have 24 hour room service). The resort is literally right on the beach, but only swim in the sea on the side out past the dock where the kayaks are, or take swim shoes. (The side closest to the rooms is rocky and has coral reefs that cut up your feet). The free honeymooners package was very cool. We got a room decoration every day, a free lesson at the spa on couples massage, and a candlelight dinner on the beach. The only real negatives (which are subjective and other people may not mind) is that they allow smoking IN THE POOLS and the outdoor showers in the casitas (which they advertise as being for romantic things) has only cold water coming from it, and I for one can not be romantic in cold water. That said however, if you are looking for a Riviera Maya all- inclusive, I would recommend the El Dorado Royale.

Funjet- we booked the whole vacation through Funjet.com. Everything went off without a hitch. They were there on time to pick us up from the airport, took us back to the airport, booked all our excursions, picked us up for all excursions on time, provided English guides, etc. I will defintely use them again.

Where to go- Definitly go to Xel-ha. It'a a natural waterpark where they have snorkling and a river for intertubing. Only thing- don't waste money on sunscreen before you go. They make you buy their brand at the park because you can only use biodegradable sunscreen so you do not kill the fish. Also, if you want to swim with the dolphins, you need to book well in advance, since people who went there thinking they would do it day of were rejected because you needed to book early.

Definitely go to Chichen-Itza and climb the temple. It is exhilerating, if somewhat terrifying. Also, the Mayan civilization is far more interesting that I ever would have suspected.

If you're the type that likes a big drunken party with strangers and likes to dance and be a bit foolish, take the Captain Hook pirate dinner cruise out of Cancun. I, being the type to party as aforesaid, liked it alot. My husband, who is the quite type, did not really like it as much. However, if you go, get the lobster...the steak is not so great and leads to stomach issues.

The best place for money is Playa Del Carmen. There is a Bank right beside the mall where all the buses drop people off where you can get either dollars or pesos from your ATM (many ATMS in cancun dispense only pesos). Also, there is an American express exhange booth down the street and around the corner from the bank with good exchange rates.

Anyway, hoped that gives you some ideas...enjoy Mexico- I Did!

Secrets Capri review & pictures and some comments about ASP!
From: sms53004 Date: 6/24/2004 at 9:58 am

Secrets Capri, Riviera Mayan, Mexico –

AMAZING! We loved it here. We read a bunch of complaints about the resort before we went and we didn’t find any of them to be true in our case. We arrived and took the Apple Vacations transportation to the hotel and were greeted with a welcome drink and checked-in within 5 minutes. Our concierge took us to our room where there were rose pedals from the door all the way up on the bed and a huge flower arrangement waiting for us. Within 5 minutes champagne was set up. Our room (3rd floor ocean view) was great with an excellent view). Definitely get the ocean view if you go because the garden view looks like a bunch of weeds. Also, the higher up the better. We thought the food at all the restaurants was excellent. The steak is a bit chewy, but no big deal. All the restaurants were ala carte and one of the five also has a huge breakfast and dinner buffet which was extremely high quality (and always had mimosa and blood mary stations!). They don’t have a ton of salad options, but are you surprised? Mexico is in the desert. They had top shelf alcohol which we were very happy about and the drinks were always in nice big cups as opposed to little plastic ones at other all inclusives. Unfortunately, the wine list was just ok. The service was always excellent and I never thought they were “looking” for a tip. We tipped usually for dinner and for drinks, but they work hard and we didn’t mind. We never had to wait longer than 20 minutes for dinner and never longer than 2 minutes for a drink. The pool is excellent – the beach ok. We were happy when we were there, although reading other people’s complaints, I could kind of see where they were coming from, but to us it wasn’t a big deal and we didn’t let it deter our vacation. It was still beautiful to us and although the water wasn’t as blue as it is in other areas, it was still WAY better than San Diego or Jersey beaches which is what we’re used to. But always, plenty of chairs and umbrellas and the chairs were very nice as opposed to the plastic ones that aren’t so nice. The tile around the pool never got hot so you didn’t have to worry about burning the bottom of your feet. The wait staff at the beach and pool was hit or miss, but there are bars right there, so I didn’t mind getting up for a drink. The nightlife isn’t that great which is our only complaint, but we ate and drank and laid in the sun all day we didn’t really care (and we usually go out all the time back home). The hotel is gorgeous – marble, spacious, etc. The maids for the room always came day and night and we were very happy with them. We took advantage of room service a few times throughout our stay. We also scuba dived with Aqua World, the resorts excursion company and it was awesome and very safe. The instructors took EXCELLENT care of us. I would 100% recommend this place. P.S. Playboy is on channel 23 after 8pm!!

Also, I wanted to mention that we spent a day at the Aventura Spa Palace. Now maybe we are bias because we spent 1 day here vs. 8 days in Secrets, but we definitely would NEVER stay at ASP over Secrets. The spa is amazing (I got an EXCELLENT massage) and the hotel is pretty and I’m sure that if you stayed there not knowing about other resorts, you would be happy and have a great time. However, there were many things that we did not like. First of all, ASP is SO huge. You literally have a 15-20 minute walk to the other resort or you take a shuttle. The beach is so small and not great. The pool is sectioned off into a bunch of little pools as opposed to one giant pool. The pool chairs were plastic white ones which you could buy at Walmart and people saved them and its nearly impossible to find 2 chairs by themselves at 11am. The floor area around the pool is HOT so always have flip-flops with you at all times. The drinks come in these little plastic white cups that are about 8 ounces. I personally think the Jacuzzi right next to the bed is a tad weird, but no big deal. The hotel is decorated with advertisements of their spa all over the place and the placemats were all paper and again had advertisements on them, not what I would expect from a 5*. We wanted to watch the horserace, so we were told to go to the “Sports bar” which is a huge joke. There was a TV about 21 inches in Spanish in an open, not a/c area. The hotel only has Spanish speaking channels. They did not have top-shelf alcohol such as Tangueray, Captain Morgan or Jack Daniels and the room service is only until midnight. Now like I said before if you stayed here I’m sure you would be happy, but we would NEVER stay there after being at Secrets. One cool thing that we liked was that they had alcohol in the rooms which Secrets did not.

Feel free to check out our Secrets pictures:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=8e6sa93.3hsxrawn&x=1& y=m30zer

HM to PDC review inside!!! long
From: ErnestsGirl Date: 6/29/2004 at 1:40 am

I'll start off by saying we almost didn't make it. We left the Tuesday after the wedding. We pulled an all nighter Sunday night so come Monday night we were exhausted. Luckily we packed everything that night because we slept through the alarm on Tuesday morning. I wanted to drop my truck off at my parents house and be at the airport 2 hours before our 7:40am flight. Well my mom called us at 5:30am, the time we wanted to be at our parents house. We ended up meeting my dad and BIL at the airport and they took my car back with them. Whew!

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Day 1: We arrived in Cancun at noon and We hadn't decided how to get to the hotel, so we went strait to the shuttle counter and purchased our tickets. A nice guy volunteered to show us where the shuttles were located of course, I quickly learned EVERYONE wants a tip!! We got to Hotel La Tortuga in Playa Del Carmen. It was what I expected. It had a Spanish villa feel. We decided not to go the Resort route, we definatly wanted to experience the local cuisine, we did. We were two blocks from the beach and right off 5th avenue (the main tourist road). It was perfect. Our room was set up with a heart and swans made of towels and rose petals on the bed. We also had a bottle of wine (tasted bad). Our jacuzzi was on the balcony. The view of the pool was great. We had the Junior Suite. We Went to 5th ave. for dinner...there are so many resaurants to choose from (this street is blocked off from most traffic, so you can walk for about 10-15 blocks of restaurants, bars and shops down the middle of the street). After dinner we took a dip in the pool, It was cool, but refreshing.

Day 2: We hit the beach! The reception desk gave us vouchers to the beach club for two chairs, and a umbrella that we could get every day and use all day. The beach club was a little walk, but no problem. The ocean was beautiful! We soon learned it was possible to get burned in the shade with the reflection from the sand and water. Vendors were walking around selling cups of Mango, Watermelon, Coconut, and Pinapple. The Beach club also had a bar and restaurant and served you on the beach at your chairs...very nice. When we got back to the beach we made our first tour arrangement at the reception desk. We had towel elephants waiting on our bed for us.

Day 3: Chichen-Itza
We were picked up at the Grand Porto Real Resort (5 minute walk) at 7:30am. On the bus we were fed breakfast of juice, coffee, friut, and pastries. We first stopped at a Mayan village which included a stop to go inside a Mayan house and see how thay still live. We went on to Chichen Itza...the pyramids were amazing. It was very hot, well over 100 degress and at least 80-90% humidity. But it was all worth it, we did climb the main pyramid temple. We had a tour guide and were able to off on our own. We even had our wedding date written in Mayan on bark paper (touristy I know). On our way back we stopped at a Mayan Resarant for some lunch. We got back to the hotel around 6:30pm. I should add that all the tours we took, everything but souveniers were included with the tour price (including food). We then ate dinner in town and booked our Saturday tour. We had towel peacocks awaiting us on our bed this time.

Day 4: Beach and a Look around.
We spent most of the day at the beach. It was so relaxing to do nothing every once in a while. We went down 5th ave. in the afternoon and window shopped in all the stores. We found a another tour in town and booked our Sunday tour, we were so excited (more later). We then even went to the local grocery store for some snacks and drinks. It was a little bit of a walk but we felt very safe in this town. There were towel llamas on the bed when we got back to the room.

Day 5: Tulum and Xel-Ha
We got picked up at the same place and time and headed for Tulum. This time we didn't get breakfast?. Some people didn't get the Tulum tour so we dropped them off first. at Xel-Ha which was on the way. Tulum is an amazing ruin. It is built right off a cliff overlooking the ocean. And there were Iguanas everywhere! Here was also hot, but a bit more tropical than Chichen Itza. More palm trees and foliage. We could not climb any of these, but still enjoyed the history. We went to Xel-Ha, which is a eco-water park. It is basically a inlet from the cocean (natural) that has a concentration of fish feeding. Included in the tour price was snorkle, mask, life vest and fin rental (you keep the snorkel), locker rental, towel rental, and all the food you want. We snorkled and took many pictures with our underwater camera. It park was breath taking. We ended up back at the hotel close to 7pm. This day we had more towel hearts on the bed with flowers. When we got to the room we decided to try the jacuzzi. I forgot the lavender oil I had bought for it. So I used my bodywas. Well the jets were first angled in a way that when we turned them on the water sprayed us in the face, when we got that right we noticed we began to be under attack by a massive amount of bubbles. It was more amuzing than anything else. It was a moment we will remember.

Day 6: Coba and Chimuch We got picked up close to 7am a block from the hotel. We went on a tour of 12 people. This was a very adventureous day for us. First we went to Coba. This is another Mayan ruin city but, this one has hardly been touched by archaeologists. There were still trees growing on alot of the buildings. It was very much within the jungle. The mosquitos were very noticed here. Once we saw a few of the buildings we got on bicyles and biked for about a mile to the big one. This one was twice the size of the one in Chichen Itza. It was great. We got to climb up this one too. We biked back and on to the bus. We then went on to Chimuch. We left the van and got in to two person canoes and made our way across a lagoon to the other side. DH and I were first to lead the group and had no clue where we were going (the grass was tall) and made it across without anyone else really knowing we had no clue. The lagoon had 12inch alligators (that we didn't see) and nearby spider monkeys (we saw the trees move, but no monkeys). When we got to the other side we hiked a while up a trail to a Cenote, which is a cave like pool with stalagtites. We were to go swiming in here but, the water is considered sacred to the Mayan people so were were purified by the Mayan Shaman before we could go in. It was too, dark for pictures in there. It was nice to take a dip in a pool of water in a cave. We continued on to where the Mayan women made us lunch. The food was really good. We then went to an area where we zip-lined over an open cenote (pool of water) and then rappeled down into the cenote. On the way back to the hotel our tour guide stopped for a congratulations tequilla shot for doing the tour. We got back to the hotel with more towel swans on the bed.

Day 7: In Town On this day we stayed in town to buy whatever souveniers we wanted for us and family. We had unidetifiable towel animals that day.

Day 8: Left for Home early in the morning

Everyone we came in contact with were so friendly. We enjoyed eating at Aca Los Tacos and La Palapa Hemingway.

I can honestly say that if I go to Playa Del Carmen again I would not do the Resort. We felt free to do whatever we wnted and the food price was comparable to the US. There was so much local food to choos from that we really didn't have a problem deciding where we were going to eat. When we went on our tours and picked up people from the resorts, I knew we made the right choice. The resorts were so secluded that if you wanted to go off the resort you had to get a taxi, becuse there really was not much else closeby because the resorts are so large. There are a few close by the town of Playa, Grand Porto Real seemed like the only one within walking distance. Now, If you need the spa there was one next door to our hotel...this isn't what we needed. And if you need the luxury atmosphere, then go for the resort. We wanted the cultural experience and that is what we got.

Note:we had no problems traveling. A birth certificate is fine and didn't slow us down at all at the airport.

I could not complain about a single thing on our HM!

I'll post pics soon.
here are some sites to hotel and tours we took:
http://www.hotellatortuga.com/
http://www.mysteriousplaces.com/mayan/TourEntrance .html
http://www.cancunsouth.com/cit_tulum_ruin.html
http://www.xel-ha.com.mx/default.asp?com_id=0&idio ma=1
http://www.alltournative.com/content/79577f51-89c6 -475a-ae93-674104eeed5f

Playa del Carmen- Viva Maya- Honeymoon Review
From: HighlandsBride Date: 7/9/2004 at 7:29 pm

My hubby and I just got back from spending a week at Wyndham Viva Maya for our honeymoon from June 28-July 5. We enjoyed it and the location was great. Playacar (the resort area where the Viva Maya is located- there are about 8-10 resorts there) is very safe and I even went running one day around the area alone. For the money our resort probably can't be beat, but at times i wished i had spent more to stay at a nicer place with no kids. But since I just bought a house and we paid for the $20k wedding entirely we opted for a budget honeymoon. We spent $2300 for airfare from San Francisco, transportation, and 7 nights at the AI. While there we spend about $300- $190 on the Alltournative jungle crossing, $33 for the ferry to cozumel, and about $40 on souvenirs. We never even got pesos as most touristy places take american dollars.

Our resort was near other resorts and about 500 feet from a little shopping center. The development with the resorts (Playacar) was gated, and there was a wide sidewalk that went by other homes, resorts, little ruin sites, and a golf course. It was about a 30 minute walk to Playa del Carmen. We rode bikes there once and another time we walked there to take the ferry to Cozumel. I liked being in a town and not totally isolated from everything.

We got upgraded to a junior suite on the third floor of the closest building to the beach. I didn't even have to beg for this- we just checked in and it was all arranged. We were three from the end and our balcony had a great ocean view. They gave us two t-shirts, a bottle of champagne, photo (missed it), and fruit on a place when we checked in. The room was the best we could have asked for. Since it was on the third floor it had vaulted ceilings, so it felt really roomy.

We booked the trip through Apple Vacations and that was great because they picked us up at the airport and took us back there. My only complaint with them is that there representatives aren't very helpful. We just booked our excursion through the hotel desk. The hotel gave us a sheet when we checked in with the cost of all the excursions, and Apple wouldn't give us the prices until we sat down to book them. The resort seemed to know more about the excursions. Also, they were 45 minutes late to pick us up and then there were 2 seats on the bus. My hubby got stuck next to someone who ended up barfing all over himself which was really gross! We got to the airport late and almost missed our plane.

Lastly, here are some things to bring:
1) neck lanyard, wrist keychain bracelet, or safety pin to carry your key around when you're in a bikini in the pool.
2) old t-shirt, magazine, or beach towel to throw on your beach chair to reserve it. You can put your blue resort beach towel there too but you want to make it look like you're there. Nothing of ours got stolen but if your resort towel gets stolen it's $20.
3) bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner. The provide us with none of this! Bring a bar for the sink and the tub.
4) woolite to wash your swim suit in after swimming to get the chlorine and salt out. There is a clotheline in the tub for drying. I pretty much wore my bikinis every day, with light shorts and tank tops. About half the clothes i brought i didn't even use. My resort didn't have a strict dress code, but lots of women dressed up for dinner.
5) American snacks- With all the drinking, i was craving salty snack foods like pretzels, chips (probably wouldn't survive the plane) or wheat thins. The deserts there were also not sweet, so i was glad i bought a bag of chocolate and truffles.

Honeymoon review- Fiesta American Condesa Cancun
From: nancyanderik Date: 7/14/2004 at 3:52 pm

Wow- What a great place! My DH and I just returned from the FAC for our honeymoon, and we could have not had a better time!

We booked through classicvacations.com and arranged for a transfer from the airport before our departure from the US. We highly recommend this since there are people swarming the airport, trying to get you to ride with them. They were, however, more than willing to direct us to where we needed to meet our driver. On the way to our van, we got pulled over by a timeshare person. We listened to him because he also gave us a map of all the great places to go and made notes for us. We tipped him a US dollar (which goes a long way in Mexico) for his info.

At the hotel the first thing we did was oggle the beautiful lobby and entrance way to the hotel. It is set far from the street so it is very quiet. As you drive up you see a HUGE palapa which shelters the entrance to the open-air lobby. There are lots of palm trees and healthy vegetation all over the resort. When we got out of the van a bellman escorted us to the front desk, then to our room. He then brought us our luggage. The floors of the resort have polished tile that shine like glass, and the rooms have huge tile floors, that might have been in the marble family. The exterior of the hotel is painted yellow and orance and has a traditional hacienda look to it. After looking at the rows of many of the "American" hotels on the island with white paint and plain terraces, we are glad we chose FAC for its ambiance.

The first thing we did in our room was turn the AC down. Even at the lowest setting, it was still cold and we slept with all the blankets every night. Our AC never broke down. We tried to keep our sliding glass door open to let in some heat, but the humidity made the floor wet. (We heard one woman tried the same thing and slipped and fell.) The AC was tolerable and once you get over the initial shock when you enter the room, it's fine. Our room was in the Sun Tower and had a partial ocean view and a pool view as well. We didn't think the bathroom was small. Behind a door is the toilet and tub/shower with glass doors, and the sink and vanity area is in the room next to the bath door. We had plenty of room to get ready each day.

As for the resort as a whole- the pools were clean and the water was warm. The lounge chairs were well-kept and we only had a problem once with finding chairs to put our stuff on. The swim-up bar is fabulous, though we personally would have liked if it was in the sun since we spent so much time there! The beach is heavenly and the ocean water was warm and inviting. There were red warning flags all week, but that didn't stop us from going in the water. The sand doesn't get too hot, though since it is so fine, it really sticks to you, even if you rinse yourself off at the shower station. A good shower with soap and water in your room remedies that situation.

The restaraunts on the resort had good food, but I would have liked a little more variety, since I am a picky eater. Two offered buffets, but they were a bit too pricey. You're better off with sticking to the regular menu. The drinks were always strong and tasted great. We didn't go All-Inclusive since we wanted to explore the island. We also ate at Iguana Grill, which is a walk from the hotel, Carlos and Charlies (best Tortilla soup EVER! ask for the habanero sauce on the side if you like spicy food), and La Casa de Las Margaritas in the La Isla Mall (our overall favorite- with the ambiance, food, and entertainment).

We went on two separate Bar Crawls. We prefered the one that took us to Come n' Eat, Senor Frogs, Carlos and Charlies, and Coco Bongo. Memo (pronounced May-mo) was our guide and brought us all our drinks and shots and took pictures for us. He was the best! We also went to Margaritaville, which is pretty fun. You can write your name or whatever you want on a dollar and tape it to the ceiling. Most bars have "shot girls" who walk around with whistles and offer shots for $2 plus tip. They feed you the shot and then shake your head, pinch your nipples, jiggle your shoulders, etc. Most are pretty good if you say "No" if you don't want any. The shot girls at Dady Rock were a pain! They forced us to do shots then made us pay for them. If I wasn't afraid of being thrown in a Mexican jail I would have spit them out in their faces. We lost $30 at that place alone. We'll never go to that place again.

If you are on a budget, avoid the taxis. They don't have set rates and one may charge $7 while another $10 for the same trip. The buses run every minute and are an easy way to get around. The exchange rate while we were in Cancun averaged around 11 pesos per US dollar. Our hotel had the best exchange rate at 11.6 pesos. The bars have the worst rates and exchange houses are in-between.

For shopping, La Isla Mall was the best. They had a Mexican craft shop that we thought had great prices so we bought a bunch of souveneirs. When we stopped at a local bartering shop on the way to Tulum, their prices were almost half of the craft shop! Either way, we managed to buy plenty of gifts for ourselves and our families for less than $400.

We recommend the Caribbean Carnival (aka Booze Cruise) which takes you to Isla Mujeres for an all-inclusive buffet and drinks with an interactive show. We also went on the all-inclusive tour to Tulum and Xel-Ha. We booked all our tours through the hotel, to avoid timeshare people. If you want to swim with the dolphins, book before you leave. All appoinments were booked and we didn't get to do it. :-(

FAC has enough things to do at the resort if you have a family, or just want to stay there your entire vacation. They have a spa, tennis, Fiesta Kids Club, and nightly entertainment (though it was very low-key). There is a rep from Aqua World who is stationed next to the towel counter that sells parasailing, jet-skis, wind riders, and Banana boat rides right there by the ocean. We didn't have enough money to do those, but we are definitely going next time.

All in all, I would recommend this resort to anyone. FAC and Cancun are beautiful and we can't wait to go back!

:-) Nancy a.k.a. Mrs. Benson

REVIEW: Cancun's Riu Palace Las Americas (VERY long!)
From: howleyshell Date: 7/19/2004 at 1:22 pm

Hotel Riu Palace Las Americas Review

(e-mail me at walkershel@yahoo.com if you'd like me to e-mail you the link to our honeymoon pics so you can see the resort or if you have any questions)

First, we booked our trip thru www.discount-all-inclusive.com and could not have been happier. We paid $1780 for 7 nights land only (we did our air via frequent flyer miles). They were the cheapest by far.

Upon arrival at the airport be prepared to be bombarded by people wanting to help you. Many of them are time-share. Know who you need to speak to to get your transfer and continue to say their name (for us it was Fun Jet). Do not stop to get free maps or heaven only knows where youll end up!

You can't miss the Riu Las Americas when you're driving up to it. The locals call it the wedding cake. Appropriate for a honeymoon, don't you think? The architecture is beautiful.

The lobby of this hotel is amazing. It has a HUGE oval stained glass ceiling with an amazing matching rug underneath. It's open, bright, and super classy. (the Riu Cancun next door is a bit darker with a lower ceiling). The view from the front entry is thru the lobby, out the doors, past the pool, and into the ocean! It was a breath taking first impression!! We were greeted by a bellhop who took our bags from us and set them behind us as we checked in. We were also greeted by someone wanting to meet with us to give us a tour of the hotel and let us know about our excursion options. We declined. He told us to come meet with him the next a.m.. We never did. Perhaps we were a bit paranoid of timeshare people but we were never approached again.

Check in: The staff was super friendly and explained how dinner reservations work as well as an over view of the resort. They gave us our towel cards and safe lock and sent us on our way to our room. Our view was AWFUL. It over looked an alleyway and the resort next door. We immediately went back downstairs and asked for a better room. She said she'd *work on it! but they were sold out. She then explained they had a room with a better view but no king sized beds. We changed rooms immediately. Having stayed in Cancun several times now I suspect that putting people in less than the most desirable room first is a standard practice. That way if you don't object they can fill those rooms and save the best rooms for people who pay full price (we booked discount) and for those who complain. My word of wisdom--don't let them take your bags to your room until you check it out. We ended up tipping for bag service twice (as I'm sure most people do). If you're unhappy with your room..ASK FOR A BETTER ONE! We ended up in room 519 and were very happy with the view.

The room: The room was AMAZING. The detailed woodwork and tile made this room VERY classy and upscale. We had a bath room with toilet, 2 sinks, granite countertops, 1600 watt hair dryer, and an oddly skinny, long tub with shower (not suitable for a bubble bath for 2 darn!). There's a good sized drying rack in the shower but we found the one on the balcony (you have to pull it out from the wall) to be a bit more effective. The 2 double beds (pushed together) were probably better than a king as we had LOTS of play room but could sleep without disturbing each other every time we rolled over. We also enjoyed having a love seat sofa and coffee table at our disposal. The iron and ironing board also came in handy. There was a bar in the room that included bottles of sherry, vodka, tequila, and rum suspended from the wall as well as a refrigerator stocked with corona, 7-up, pepsi, and HUGE bottles of water (not really conducive to carrying around so bring a couple of small ones to refill if you like to tote water with you). One more note we brought a bunch of tea lights with us and they were great for setting the moodThe maid service never bothered them and we left them out all week.

Water situation: Don't forget to brush your teeth with the bottled water (we left a bottle on the bathroom counter to remind us). I brushed with tap water twice and while I didn't get sick I did notice that I needed the facilities close by after my first couple of meals could have been coincidence. It wasn't debilitating in any way and I didn't even use the pepto.

Maid service: If you want new towels, put your old ones on the floor (standard at most hotels these days). The one thing that annoyed me was the lack of a washcloth. Plenty of hand towels and I ended up using a smaller one as a washcloth. Were I to return I would take my own. (or perhaps ask for one? Hmmm never thought of that!) We were AMAZED at the maid service. We forgot to leave a tip our first day and came back to our room to find it cleaned. I mean. I left my makeup and stuff all over the bathroom counter and it was neatly organized by the maid during her visit! She also left us our first towel swan with flower petals and the game began. We left tips daily (usually a dollar) and were delighted by each new surprise (see pics). We were asked often if we needed our bar refreshed and even saw the management coming thru to double check the rooms to see if maid service was acceptable. They are VERY proud of how nice they keep this resort.

Pools: There are 2 pools. First, the one in the center of the resort that you see from the lobby. It has sculptures (all the décor is very Greco-roman/neo-classical) IN the pool. There are a couple of shallow (knee deep) areas surrounding the sculptures. I think it's called an infinity design when the pool has the illusion of ending in the ocean. It's so nice to sit in the pool (the infinity; edge has a long seat) and look out at the ocean! There are also 2 gazebos at either edge that have small fountains that run only at night. This pool has these neat bed type built in loungers next to the pool. I'd never seen anything like this before. This was the quieter pool as there was no bar service near it. We liked this pool for its peaceful and luxurious feeling.
The second pool is a short walk away. There are LOTS of lounge chairs, some with umbrellas. We never had a problem finding a place to park our stuff. We didn't spend any time laying out as we're not sun worshipers. There's a regular bar that backs to the pool (with waterfalls into the pool) and the swim up bar in the pool. This pool has a hot tub (not hot but has jets) built in as well as the infinity; effect on the beach side. This pool also has a couple (8 I think?) of lounge chairs built in (made of tile) to a shallow area of the pool. Very nice for lying out and keeping cool! There were usually more people in this pool. They usually had some music playing but nothing too obnoxious or loud just enough to make you feel like you were on vacation!

Bars: There are 3 outdoor bars and 2 indoor bars. We never tipped at these bars but we weren't too concerned about our drinks being strong as we're not big drinkers. If you are a big drinker, ask for your liquor straight up or ask them to make your mixed drinks strong. They only had Corona when you order cervesa (sp?) and DH was a bit bummed about that as he prefers XX. They could make ANY froofy fruity drink you can imagine and they were all YUM IMO.
The swim up bar is a must just so you can say you've done it. It's also a great place to meet other vacationers if you're in the mood to socialize. The outdoor pool by the Japanese restaurant seems to be a nice hang out for folks before dinner. We didn't spend much time at the indoor bars as we can hang out at indoor bars at home. We did spend an hour or so at the big one (just off the lobby) the night DH had a sunburn and wanted some AC. They serve a snack mix at the tables with your drinks. The other indoor bar is in the show theatre area.

Shows: We only went to one- Grease. It sucked. They were lip-synching the songs and it was just silly. I've read that the Michael Jackson show is the best but we preferred to spend our time after dinner walking on the beach, lying out under the stars, or heading back to our room to do what honeymooners do.

Restaurants: Eating was the highlight of our trip (ok that may be a small exaggeration- we were on our honeymoon after all)! The reason we chose AI was so we would not have to reach for our wallets at every meal. It was SO nice! You DO need to make reservations to eat at any restaurant other than the buffet for dinner. They start taking reservations at 7 (I think) at the breakfast place. We didn't make a special effort to get downstairs at the crack of dawn and never had a problem getting reservations. Saturday and Sunday we noticed lines for reservations but we had no problem during week days (and we sometimes got down to breakfast as late as 9). Here's the breakdown:
Don Roberto: This is the large Buffet place. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner here. If you do not get a reservation (and you can't on your first night because you check in too late) you still have PLENTY of choices at the buffet. DH even preferred the buffet a couple of nights. A TON of variety including salad bar every night as well as about 5 different meat or main course options, a pasta bar, TONZ of vegetable options, TONZ of fresh fruit, and a lot of desserts (just keep in mind that desserts are not as sweet almost ANYWHERE in the world as they are in the states). We loved the breakfasts be adventurous and try some of the Mexican traditional dishes. I warned DH I would be eating guacamole for every meal but he was still shocked that I could get guac at breakfast! At breakfast they have a lot of fruit smoothies. Flavors like banana milk, cantaloupe, watermelon, orange banana, etc. It was fun to try all of them! You can sit inside or out and we often chose to sit outside for breakfast since we were already in our suits and found the indoor seating to be a bit cold when scantily clad. Men must have on shirts (cover up) but for women almost anything goes. (I often wore a bikini top and shorts or a wrap) We did go to the Riu Cancun for lunch one day and we missed home (Las Americas) as it was the first time we stood in any kind of line for food.
El Romero: This was the steak house and a coveted reservation. It is the only restaurant that is outdoors. We watched an amazing sunset over the ocean during our steak dinner. It's not Emeril';s but it was nice.
Sir Arthur: This is the Gourmet restaurant and the service was impeccable (as it was at ALL of the restaurants). We had our first bottle of champagne at this restaurant (ice bucket stand at table side-the works!) I had the lamb and DH had the swordfish. Smaller portions but more than enough food. Very good. We were also serenaded by a soloist with a guitar. Very romantic and not over done.
Los Arcos: This is the Brazilian or Rodizio restaurant. No ordering necessary. A trip to the salad bar, then they bring you a heated tray of veggies waffle potatoes, cooked spinach, bananas wrapped in bacon (sounds weird but they were YUM) and something else I can't remember now. THEN the meat starts coming. The sausage (1st ) was GREAT (and I don't like sausage), beef, turkey, chicken, and more beef. DH was in heaven. Neither of us had any room left when the last beef came (and it was the best of all of them) so save room! Oh yeah another bottle of champagne here and our waiter offered to bring us one to take to our room.
Sakura: This is the Japanese restaurant. We did not eat here.
Tio Pepe: This is the tapas restaurant. Odd as it sounds, it was interesting and I'm glad we went. Nothing to order. They just bring you appetizers in waves. First appetizers, then vegetables, then meats (i.e.: sausage, shrimp, etc), then deserts

We gained 8 and 10 lbs respectively on this trip! On our last night we did a dinner cruise and ran into a couple staying at the Las Americas. They were complaining about the food at Las Americas. We thought the food was good. Not the best we'd ever had but above average. I guess everyone has their own opinions! (keep in mind though that they were saying they were ready for a McDonalds, not a gourmet meal once they got home)

Activities: Kayaking, catamaran sailing, and paddleboats are all included at the resort. You'll find them on the beach in between the Las Americas and the Cancun. You have to pay $2 for a park pass. It's a bracelet you wear (just like your resort bracelet). The fee helps pay to maintain the reefs in the area. I HIGHLY recommend the sailing. They wont let you take one out if you don@%8217;t know how to sail so read a quick primer before you go. These boats are rigged to be VERY slow so don't worry if you're not that experienced. We wished we'd taken a catamaran out more. It was great to be alone on the ocean (oh!! if those fish could talk!) They also had snorkel gear but I have no idea if they charged for it as we had our own gear.

Beach: The beach in front of the Las Americas was great. I've stayed in the hotel zone in Cancun and had read that the north end (where Las Americas is located) has much calmer surf. We spent more time in the ocean that I ever had before in Cancun because we were not being beat to death by waves coming in. (Don't worry, you can still hear the surf from your room) We were pleasantly surprised at the fish life off the beach. The snorkeling was better off the Riu Cancun beach (a 1 minute walk from the Las Americas beach). We saw starfish, most normal reef fish (even though there's very little live coral), tarpin, and barracuda (don't worry, they're more afraid of you than you are of them and they swim away quickly). There was one day they set up speakers and hosted some activities on the beach. We were glad it was only one day as we were more in our own world.

Excursions: In case you haven't heard about him yet, a guy named Charlie (an American) runs a tiny shop across the street from the Las Americas (it's to the right of the porn shop- can't miss him). We used Charlie to book Xcaret and pd $55 including bus transport to and from the park. (I told him all about theknot.com so tell him you heard about him here!) We booked a snorkel excursion thru Aqua World. They had a stand down the beach (opposite direction from the Riu Cancun). I've used them before and felt comfortable with them so we used them instead of the company that runs dive and snorkel tours on site at the Rius. We did book our Captain Hook dinner cruise thru the guys at the resort. We saw it off the shore every night at the resort and decided it would be our one loud and rowdy booze cruise experience for the trip. It was fun!

All in all, I would recommend the Las Americas for a honeymoon. It was very luxurious and we didn't want to leave!!

One last note for those that say Cancun is too much of a party place for a honeymoon;.we did not see one visibly drunk person (even on the booze cruise where everyone was partying). I think it depends more on were you stay (some resorts are VERY party oriented) and what time of year you go (I would avoid spring break like the plague!) We had a very luxurious and appropriate honeymoon!

Good luck and happy honeymoon hunting!

HM Review of ASP...finally posted!!!
From: JusNKris Date: 7/20/2004 at 12:34 am

Sorry my review of Adventura Spa Palace is a little late, but I see so many knotties asking about this location for their HM, so here is the 411.

Location - Adventura Spa Palace, Riviera Maya, Mexico – A+

First of all, my DH and I both had a WONDERFUL 9 night/10 day stay at ASP (minus a few little mishaps, I’ll get to those later). When we arrived at the Cancun airport, it didn’t take as long as I thought to get through immigration and customs. We got our bags and before we were out the door, a gentleman saw our Apple tags and took us immediately to the Apple Vacations vans. From there it only took an hour or so to get to ASP.

Once we got to ASP and checked-in, a gentleman took us and our bags, on a golf cart to our room. He even carried our heavy bags up to our room (third floor) in the heat. We also had him take a picture of us in the room, so we tipped him. The rooms were very clean, almost spotless. There is a huge shower, built-in mini-bar, Jacuzzi tub (awesome), and a refrigerator filled with bottled water, Pepsi, 7-Up, and beer in the room. Most of the rooms also have hammocks on the balconies. Everyday the maids would make the towels into figures (swans, hearts, bunnies…) with flowers on them. There is a safe in the room as well.

The grounds were just as well maintained. The landscaping is so beautiful there. There are so many things to do while at ASP. Of course you can hang out at one of the many pools and swim. There is a lagoon (not a beach) which you can swim, snorkel, and kayak in. We did enjoy snorkeling (practicing for a future adventure), even though there wasn’t a ton of fish. There is a rock climbing wall. I would recommend giving it a try. It was hard, but we both made it to the top. We borrowed bikes one day and rode to Puerto Adventuras (about 1 mile away). There is also a gym, dance club, and spa. At night, there is always some type of show going on (dancing, singing, or comedy). The food at all the restaurants was fabulous. Mundaca was our favorite for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their fajitas were so good I had them three nights in a row. We also requested the same waiter all three nights, Gilberto. He was so funny and energetic. We did some tours outside of ASP. We took the bus to Playa Del Carmen and went shopping, met another couple and hung out, and we shared a taxi back to ASP, to make it more affordable. We went to Xcaret (an ecological park) and had a great time. The underground river was fun. We went to Xpu-Ha and Tulum. Xpu-Ha’s beach is really nice and we borrowed water bikes, those were fun. Tulum was very interesting, just very humid, lots of walking, and there are bugs. We went on a Mayan Adventure (snorkeling). It took us to three different locations (open cenote, underground cavern, and a river). We also went swimming with the dolphins. This was the highlight of our honeymoon. I wanted to do it again the next day.

With regards to the mishaps we encountered, don’t forget to have the tour booking agent go over dates and times with you. We scheduled a tour on Monday 21st, but the receipt said Monday 20th, so basically we missed the bus, we rescheduled for the next day. Also do not take a shuttle to Dolphin Discovery from ASP, its less than 1 mile away, bike ride over there. The agent never said that Dolphin Discovery was so close, otherwise we would have taken the bike ride. We would highly recommend ASP for any couple for a very romantic getaway!
If you would like more info or have questions, please page me. I have some HM pics in my bio.

Kristin 6/12/04
PHOTOS: ASP HONEYMOON

Honeymoon: Occidental Royal Hideaway, Playacar, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
From: relax

A fabulous 5-star all-inclusive resort 30 minutes south of Cancun. Absolutely the best of everything. The rooms are laid out in villas, about 15 rooms in each, and each villa has it’s own concierge. So the place feels small and not crowded at all. The rooms, including the bathrooms, are beautiful and spacious: stone floors, jetted tub and separate shower, large windows, balconies, and all amenities expected. There is water flowing through the center of the property in manmade streams, with lots of lush landscaping.

The beach is gorgeous, green water, gentle waves, white sand, palm trees for some shade. They have cloth chairs set out, and sunshades available too. There are 2 large pools by the beach (one is saltwater), and several smaller “relax” pools around the property which are more private (feels like having your own personal pool). There are 5 restaurants, including 2 right on the beach. The upper level one has a wonderful breakfast buffet every morning, and the lower level one is open to the beach and pool, with lunch and dinner served. This has a bar where you can walk up any time and get a drink, the fresh juices are delicious. The other 3 restaurants are at the front of the property by the lobby. The ones on the upper levels have sweeping views across the property and over the ocean, looking out toward Cozumel, where you can see the lights at night, very romantic. The hotel has a spa, tennis, workout room, internet computers, and videos, with shopping and golf nearby. They also have a dinner theater with a Mexican fiesta buffet and show once a week.

We talked with some other guests who have visited several other all-inclusive resorts, such as Sandals Negril, some Beaches and Breezes places. They said Royal Hideaway blew them all away, especially in terms of the service, which is amazing. You could spend more money at other places, and not get as much for it.

Nearby attractions include: Mayan ruins at Tulum, very dramatic on the coast; ruins at Chichen Itza, a 2 ½ hour drive but stunning; Xcaret ecological park, where you can swim the underground (partly) rivers, swim with dolphins, see tropical birds and sea turtles; Xel Ha ecological park, with the best snorkeling in a freshwater river that meets the ocean (amazing and huge fish, stingrays, even saw a manta ray once); note both Xcaret and Xel Ha have several restaurants; Cozumel island reached by ferry for snorkeling and scuba diving, also has lots of jewelry stores and other shops; town of Playa del Carmen is adjacent to the Playacar development and has some shops and bars. There are tour agents on the property who can set up your trips. There are also rental bikes, and Playacar is quite extensive with sidewalks, many hotels, condos and homes, good place for a bike ride or a walk.

Aventura Spa Palace/Xpu Ha Review: 7/10/04-7/21/04 LONG :)
From: t-revsgirl Date: 7/27/2004 at 11:32 am

First of all, thank you SO much to all of you who helped me in planning my honeymoon! Your assistance was greatly appreciated. :)

We decided on ASP and Xpu Ha because they were affordable. We had initially planned on a honeymoon in another location, but eventually decided we'd rather have a long honeymoon (12 days total - 8 @ ASP and 4 @ Xpu-Ha) rather than spend the same amount for a much shorter trip.

Aventura Spa Palace:

Arrival at ASP was fairly easy. They have recently remodeled the Cancun airport, and I must say it was much nicer than previous visits. Our transfer to the resort was provided by Chaza Travel, and we arrived at ASP in about 45-50 minutes. We tipped the driver because he was very nice, gave us a lot of information about the area, and worked hard to get all our luggage in the van.

Our travel agent had requested a room for us in building 4 on the 3rd floor, which is in the middle of the resort. Instead, we ended up in building 0 on the 2nd floor. This is honestly the LAST building on the south side. At first we were a little unhappy about how far we had to walk from our room, but we did have an ocean view, unlike many others. Also, it was easy to step right out of our building and be at the pool. I must say that the hallways are fairly noisy at night. There are carts that the employees use to deliver room service, and there were also some loud people that come in talking very loudly at all hours. However, we brought earplugs in case of this and slept quite well. I think if people were a little more considerate of others sleeping nearby, this wouldn't be as big of an issue.

The room itself was clean and well-kept. The shower was large, which was nice. There was a mini-bar stocked with bottles (I don't know what they were - I hate hard alcohol!) and a little fridge with Pepsi, 7-Up, water, and 2 different Mexican beers (Dox Equis and Tecate). The beds were a little hard, but after one or two nights we were completely used to them and had no trouble. I LOVED the hammock on the porch, and sat out there a lot in the evenings reading. We used the two person jacuzzi a few times too - no trouble with any sort of brown ring or anything. I actually brought along a bottle of laundry detergent and did a load of laundry in it one night too! =)

The pools were nice, and I loved the way they were shaped. Some sort of filter broke in the pool while we were there, which was a little yucky. The top of the water, expecially in the shallow areas where you can set the chairs in the water, was covered in sunscreen, alcohol, and who knows what else! We just went along with the flow and tried to avoid those areas. You will see some topless women around the pools and the lagoons - it didn't seem like that big of a deal. I would avoid the areas directly around the bars on a honeymoon since that's where the loud and drunk people usually hang out. We also found a few people there to be quite rude, actually - most likely from drinking. We sat near the lagoon one day, and went snorkeling. There weren't a ton of fish, but we did see the best ones near the entrance where the fresh water enters the lagoons. At both the pool and the lagoon, the wait staff works hard to keep guests happy. We tipped a few of them who were extra friendly.

We used the spa on two occasions - it was wonderful. Our package included a back massage, manicure, and pedicure for both of us. We also both had a scalp massage. Definitely use the hydrotherapy rooms before your spa treatment! (I would say for about an hour to be able to do everything) It was totally relaxing and all the spa employees were really great.

We did the Tulum tour, which lasted from about 9am-2pm. It's only about 40 minutes from ASP, and is the only Mayan city built on the ocean. We found it to be fascinating and loved hearing about the history from our tour guide. The water here is beautiful, too. On the way back from the tour, our bus stopped at a Mayan shop where you could supposedly buy "authentic" gifts rather than reproductions. We did buy a few things for our family here. We also went swimming with the dolphins, which was great. We had planned on booking our trip through ASP, but we biked to Puerto Aventuras (where the Dolphin Discovery is located) and happened to run into the manager of the place. He and DH really hit it off talking, and he actually asked us if we'd like to swim with the dolphins right then and there! It was great; we helped him train a new dolphin and her baby dophin that had to get used to people being in the water with her. I would definitely have paid to do this if we hadn't ended up doing it for free!

I suggest that you go into Playa Del Carmen one night also - it was $12 to take a taxi there. We ate out at a nice seafood place and did some shopping in the little stores. It was fun to be out and about from the resort for one night. If you do go, be sure to only eat at nice, reputable places and only drink bottled drinks, though!

The food at Aventura was average to good. Of course, it's important to remember that you're in a different country and the way food is prepared is pretty different from the United States. We really liked the Californian restaurant (try the cucumber feta dip, it was awesome!) I ate a lot of fish during the time we were there too. My husband loves sushi and really enjoyed Mo Mo No Hana's menu. Basically, we could always find something we liked at the restaurants - BUT, the selections could have been better. I do also have to say that our stomachs were pretty upset by the last four or five days we were there. I think eating food strange to our bodies for so long took it's toll after awhile!

For the most part, the staff at ASP were generally kind and helpful. Like any other place, you will occasionally find some bad apples serving in restaurants, etc. The most stressful event of our trip, however, was that we had $100 stolen from my DH's wallet. (He had all the other money in the safe, but had that money left over from being in Playa Del Carmen the night before. It was zipped in the bottom compartment of his suitcase, which took four zippers to get to - so someone obviously was looking through it). In this situation, the staff and management were horrible. It was a hassle to even get ahold of anyone when we first realized the incident. Then, they said that they had to "investigate" and would get back to us in 24 hours. Nobody called, so we finally did, and were told that the "investigation" wasn't finished, and they would call us when it was done. After four days, we still hadn't heard anything...it was such an ordeal. We had to track down all these people to find out anything. In the end, we did not end up getting our money back, receiving any compensation, or even an apology from the management. This was disheartening, but we were determined not to let it ruin our honeymoon. We figured that hopefully whoever took the money really needs it for their children, etc.

A word to brides getting married at ASP in the coming weeks:
I don't want to be an alarmist, and you might have already been informed of this by your wedding consultant there, but the grounds staff is doing contstruction on the lagoon area adjacent to the wedding gazebo right now. They are constructing concrete steps that go down into the water rather than just a gradual decline into the lagoon. Anyway, I met one bride who simply requested that all their equipment, concrete bags, debris, etc. be removed for the time of her wedding. She told me the staff handled this fairly well. So...if that is a concern for you, I would suggest you request the same thing.

Xpu-Ha:

Totally different from ASP! We didn't have a top floor room with the thatched roof, but our hut was right on the ocean between the pool and the snorkeling area. We LOVED this room, even better than our room at ASP. It had a lot of charm. The porch was huge - it had a hammock, two person lounger, and a small glass table and two chairs. Jacuzzi in the room as well. (We were in the Reptile area, if you want to try to request - I'm not sure how much good it will do you though!)

The snorkeling here was great, much better than ASP. There were more colorful fish in the inlet, and larger fish in the estuary. There are also actually two manatees that live in the estuary if you are lucky enough to see them. We went kayaking back in the estuary too, and that was really fun. The beach is very pretty here. They provide boogie boards and mats to float on too, if that's your thing. Just a short walk down the beach you can also sign up to rent jet skis or go parasailing.

We had fun looking at the animal exhibits, especially the deer. You could actually walk in the area with them and they weren't frightened away. I would suggest you do this in the morning or in the evening, however, because it is really hot in the inland part of the resort during midday. The food here was quite similar to ASP. The Mexican restaurant actually has an identical menu!

Overall, we had a good time at these resorts. Mostly we were concentrating on enjoying eachother and celebrating our marriage, so it was hard to stay negative about anything during the trip! We also consider ourselves pretty laid-back as well, so it's pretty hard to get us worked up about things when we're on vacation as well.

We booked through Normanne Gibson, who is a Palace Resorts member. While at ASP, we had the honeymooners pink bracelet, but at Xpu-Ha, we were able to wear the grey member's bracelets. We were continually being asked by the waitstaff if they could help us, etc. Also, you get a special discount in the gift shop, as well as other perks. Let me know if you'd like her contact information.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask me about anything I may have left out. Happy honeymoon planning! =)

Iberostar Paraiso Lindo, Riviera Maya, Mexico
From: Abear

We loved this resort and would stay at it again, no question! The rooms were very nice, tile floor, marble bathrooms, we got a regular room and not a suite because we knew we wouldn’t be in there much, and we weren’t. It had a TV, hair dryer, magnifying mirror and stocked fridge with beer, wine, pop and bottled water, which they refilled every other day. They had a concierge service where you booked all your dinner reservations and could ask any questions. The grounds and the pools were gorgeous. They had a wave pool, a lazy river, a sports pool and 2 big pools, one with the swim up bar. They had tons of activities all day, including dance lessons, ping pong table and tournaments, water basketball and water polo games, etc. You could be very active or not, whatever you wanted. The staff was wonderful, always got you what you needed very quickly and they were always working, I swear! We’d go to bed and there would be people working outside and we’d wakeup and they’d be there again. We were right off of the beach, you just had to walk through a little pathway to get there. This stretch of beach is perfect! While a lot of the area has reef on the beach, there was no reef here, just white sand and teal blue water. They had a beach bar and little shade umbrellas with beach chairs all over the beach. You could go wind-surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. for free, (although you had to know how to do these things ahead of time or take a lesson, which was about $30. But after one lesson you could do it as much as you wanted.)

The food was really good. They 2 places for buffets for breakfast and lunch, where almost everything was freshly made (donuts made right there, fresh fish fried right in front of you, etc.) They had 5-6 different dinner restaurants and you could also put your name on a waiting list for the Iberostar’s 2 sister resorts right next door (Paraiso Del Mar and Paraiso Beach.) They had some great restaurants over there too. You also had privileges at both of the sister resorts to eat, drink, swim, etc., BUT, the sister resorts didn’t have privileges at our resort (Paraiso Lindo) which kept our resort from getting too crowded.

We only took 1 day trip, to Chichen Itza, the Mayan Ruins, which was FABULOUS!!! It was VERY hot, but well worth it. Our tour was great because our guide really explained all about the history and the culture without boring you (and I get bored easily). We also visited a sink hole and a Mayan village. Overall, we had a fantastic time and I would highly recommend going here, as you get a lot of bang for your buck. The outside excursions can get very expensive though, so you’ll pay a lot more if you want to do a lot. We just hung out most of the time and it was just perfect for that.
PHOTOS: MEXICO

Moon Palace, Mayan Riviera review
From: pavbride Date: 8/12/2004 at 12:40 pm

I don't usually post on this board but thought I would give a brief honeymoon review.

The honeymoon was perfect, except for the first day. We went to the Mayan Riviera and booked the Moon Palace. When we got to the resort they totally screwed us over. They told us that they got our reservation but didn't have a room for us because of computer error. Big mistake on their part because I work and have a university degree in computers. I asked them to explain this "computer error" to me and they couldn't. Obviously, because it was a total lie. The Moon Palace, we found out, over books 60% and sends couples to other resorts as a common practice. I thought it was fishy, because they had paperwork all ready, like they make this mistake all the time. We ended up going to the Adventura Spa Palace which was wonderful and probably better for us in the long run, because it is adults only. They also gave us a $200US gift certificate that we used at the gift shop, which wasn't that bad. But, we spent alot of time the first day moving from one hotel to the other. Plus, we were LUCKY we ended up in such a great hotel. We could have been stuck with something else. In the end the ASP was great. The service was great. The room was comfortable. It was quiet (no kids). The food was ok, but my husband and I are picky eaters, so I think others would find the food to be great. Everything was all inclusive. We even got 2 free tours with our package. We went to the Mayan ruins (Tulum) and snorkling off of an island (Isla Mujares). We weren't ready to come home.

I can be paged on the Canada local board.

Aventura Spa Palace Review--VERY LONG!
From: KristinNG Date: 8/17/2004 at 4:49 pm

We just got back from ASP and LOVED IT!!! It was 90's and sunny all week; we got just a half hour of rain one day. I found all of the knottie reviews so helpful in my planning; I hope you find my review equally helpful. Page me on the Boston board if you have any questions!
Kristin :)

We booked through Normanne Gibson of Palace Travel Professionals. E-mail her at info@PalaceTravelProfessionals.com
We paid $783 (for 2) for airfare…..direct flight from Boston. We paid about $2210 for 7 nights. Roundtrip airport transfers were included in our package. We also each got a manicure, pedicure, and 25 min. back massage included. We also had unlimited tours (about 8 to choose from) included.

Arrival
We arrived in Cancun and had to wait about an hour collectively in the immigration and customs line (not fun). Once we got through customs, we found our transfer easily. It was about a 50 minute ride from the airport to ASP. When we arrived, we were really impressed. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. The place is huge, but every square inch is impeccable. We checked in at the convention center. They gave us champagne and our pink honeymoon bracelets. Make sure they give you the pink ones! We then were taken to our room. We were in room 3520, which means we were in building 5 (spa side), on the third floor. We had a view of the pool (to the left) and the ocean (on the right). There was a cheese plate, fruit basket, and wine in the room when we arrived. Our room was very comfortable. I’d heard that the beds were horribly hard, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. Firm, yes, but I slept like a baby every night. Being on the third floor and on the spa side ensured us a pretty quiet stay. I think if you stay on the first floor and near the Aventura side, it’s going to be a little more hectic.

Pools/Lagoon
There were two pools—one on the Spa Side and one on the Aventura side. Both have swim up bars, snack bars, and towel huts. The spa pool was smaller and fairly mellow. We spent our first day there, but then switched to the Aventura pool, which was more lively. They have contests, and music, and we met quite a few other honeymooning couples over there. The Aventura pool is also much larger. We never had a problem finding chairs, but they do go faster on the Spa side since it’s smaller. There are also chairs on the sand by the lagoon is you want to be away from the pool action. The drinks are good, but not so strong. It’s amazing how much more booze a little tip to the bartender will get you, however.

We knew going in that there wasn’t an actual beach, so it didn’t bother us too much. The lagoons are very pretty and there are some fish in them, but don’t expect to do any major snorkeling here. The ocean is just behind the lagoon, so you can see it from your room and the restaurants, and the pool. You can hear the waves crashing, so it’s not like your miles removed from a beach.

What I would suggest if you want to stay at Aventura but also want beach action is to head over to Xpu-Ha. It’s about a 5 minute cab ride ($6.50). They have a beautiful beach there and much better snorkeling. Since it’s a palace resort, you still get all the drinks and food and equipment included. After visiting there, I’m glad we decided to stay there. It’s a complete 180 from Aventura…..very jungle like and spread out.

The Food
The food was good. Not fantastic, but good. We ate breakfast most mornings at the buffet at El Greco. They had the same buffet at Mundaca. Mo Mo No Hana also served breakfast. It’s quite an extensive buffet. You can get omelets, pancackes, French toast, fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon, cereal, sausages, etc. The only restaurant that serves lunch (I think) is Mundaca, and it’s a buffet. We never ate lunch there. We always just ate at the snack bars. The chips, salsa, and guacamole were homemade and very good. They also have pizza and sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. El Greco—we ate here the first night because it was right near our room. Not air conditioned, but if you sit outside, you’re right on the water. They have live music playing. The service was very slow, and the food was so-so.

Mo Mo No Hana—This is a popular restaurant; there was about a 20 minute wait the night we went. The service here was very good. I love sushi, and the sushi was actually quite good. The spring rolls were also good. We both had chop suey, which was tasty, but not great.

La Huerta—California style restaurant. This was one of the restaurants where men need to wear pants. The service here was excellent, very attentive. The atmosphere is a little more formal. They make the ceaser salad at your table, and it is very good.

Ventanas—This was an “Italian” buffet. You could find pretty much anything you wanted to eat here. DH is a big pasta fan and liked the pasta station where you could pick out your ingredients, sauce, and pasta and have the chef cook it for you. They had a nice salad bar and you could also get steak, chicken, or fish grilled to order. The atmosphere wasn’t that great---felt a bit like a college cafeteria, but the food was good. Yummy deserts, although definitely not as sweet as in the U.S.

La Hacienda—This is a popular restaurant; there was about a half-hour wait the night we went. This is a Mexican style restaurant, and the food here was the most beautifully presented out of any of the restaurants. It’s not fajita/taco/burrito Mexican, but more grilled meats Mexican. I had the tuna steak, and it was truly excellent.

Mundaca—Mundaca looks almost exactly the same as El Greco. It’s also right on the water. The menu here is mainly steak/fish/chicken. Nothing really special about it, but a good place to go if you just want steak.

The Spa
Aventura has an absolutely beautiful spa facility. I would definitely encourage you to take advantage of it at least once while you’re there. We had a 25 min back massage included in our package, and we upgraded it to a 50 minute holistic massage. It was fantastic. Even DH, who is leery of massages, enjoyed it. We wanted to do a couples massage, but the couples services fill up really fast. I would encourage you to book ASAP if you want to do a couples service. It is really worth the money.

Tours
The only tour we did was Chichen Itza. We left at 8:15am. It was about a 2.5 hour ride to Chichen Itza. We stopped at some shops on the way for about a half-hour, which I kind of found annoying because the ride was long enough; I just wanted to get there! Once we got to Chichen Itza, it was SO HOT. There was very little shade, and the guided tour lasted about 1.5 hours. Fortunately, we had a great tour guide. It was very fun to climb the ruins and hear about the history. After the tour, we went to lunch (at 3:00), and then we finally got back to the resort about 7:00. The tour itself was great, but I don’t know if 5 hours on the bus, and all the waiting around we had to do in between was worth it.

I heard the Tulum/Xpu-Ha tour was good. We tried to do Isles Mujeures (sp?), but it was all booked up. My advice is to book your tours early!!! Also, check out some of the tours that are not included. We heard about a bar hopping activity in Playa Del Carmen and a Cozumel trip that sounded like a lot of fun. I would also recommend Xcaret, which we went to a couple of years ago. It’s a beautiful eco-archeological park where you can snorkel, swim with the dolphins, etc.

Other Stuff

The Disco---really fun. It’s on the second floor of the Aventura (South) lobby. They played great music. They had a Karoke night on Sunday night, which was fun to watch.

The Gym—If you’re one of those people who can’t live without the gym, they have a gorgeous gym in the North (Spa) Lobby. About 10 treadmills, 10 eliptical machines, full nautilus equipment, aerobics studio, spinning studio, etc. They also have a smaller gym in the Aventura (South) Lobby. It makes eating all that guacamole a lot less guilt-inducing!

The Honeymoon Dinner—After you get settled, be sure to go see the Honeymoon lady on the second floor in the Aventura (South) lobby and reserve a space at the Honeymoon Dinner. The food is pretty bland, but you get your picture taken, and it’s fun to meet other honeymoon couples (about 50% of the resort was honeymooners when were there).

What to Bring
Clothes
The resort is casual. Swimsuits, cover ups, flip flops are the norm. Shorts and tank tops for the tours are good. For dinner, sundresses for the ladies, kahki pants or shorts for the men and polo shirts. I would have liked to have brought a little black dress and some cute shoes for the honeymoon dinner as people tended to be more dressed up there. Bring plenty of sunblock! It seemed that 30 worked the best. You don’t need to bring beach towels. They give you towel cards that you turn in exchange for towels. You can take the towels wherever as long as you eventually get towel cards back.

Money
We brought $150 in $1 bills, as these come in handy for tips and small purchases. You only get change back in pesos, so small denominations are better. There is no need to change your money into pesos. We spent about $420 total because we got a couple other non-included spa treatments. We brought about $500 in cash, so we didn’t have to put anything on the credit card.

The Service
The service was unbelievable. Any time you passed a worker in the hall, they always said hello or asked how you were. The waiters were always refilling our wine glasses and seemed to enjoy making conversation with us when we showed them our limited knowledge of Spanish. The spa staff was incredible---they had people to take you to your locker, people to show you around the hydrotherapy area, people to take you to the couch to wait for your therapist, etc.

REVIEW OF MAYAN RIVIERA/COZUMEL HONEYMOON!
From: angela8704 Date: 8/23/2004 at 10:22 am

Just thought I'd share these reviews with you ladies in case anyone is interested in exploring non-all-inclusive options in the Mayan Riviera and Cozumel--if you have any questions, just page me. Happy planning!

Angela

THE HONEYMOON: Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Cozumel, Mexico

We didn't stay at any all-inclusive resorts because we wanted to make sure we were able to explore the towns we stayed in and see as much of the authentic culture as we could. Here are the small hotels we found that mostly helped us achieve that goal. And we also saved a ton of money by not going all-inclusive: food and drink are so cheap in Mexico that it usually behooves you not to.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN: We stayed in a room overlooking the sea at the Blue Parrot Hotel (www.blueparrot.com) right on the beach, and this was our favorite of the three towns/hotels on our trip. It’s awesome. The town is funky and fun, the beaches are gorgeous, and everything is so darn cheap, especially to us two New Yorkers! Highly recommended that you get a Playa Deal Card (www.playadelcarmeninfo.com) before you go--you save a lot on food, shopping, etc. by using it at participating vendors. Also recommended are these restaurants in town: La Parilla, Palapa Hemingway, Cafe Sasta, Babe's Noodles, and Da Bruno. And the bar at the Blue Parrot is very cool and has swings. Who needs more?

TULUM: We stayed at Azulik (www.azulik.com), a couples-only eco-tourism spa right on the sea. However, it being August we also most died of heat during the night--no electricity at all in the resort as part of the eco-tourism ethic! Doh! We only stayed for one night (we were supposed to stay 2). If you are planning to be there in the winter, I am it's fine--it was seriously gorgeous and very romantic, just too damn hot in August!

COZUMEL: We stayed at Playa Azul (www.playa-azul.com), a small resort in the island's Northern Hotel Zone. It was nice--we had a suite overlooking the ocean that had a jacuzzi on the balcony in a "honeymoon package." The breakfasts at the hotel were terrific, as were the lunches we had at the beach club next door overlooking the ocean. But the dinners we had via room service were dreadful--plan on eating out at night if you stay there! Also, if you stay here you golf for free at Cozumel Country Club, so that can save you a bunch of money if you're into the sport. Another observation: it's hard to get around on Cozumel without a car so it's best to rent one for at least part of your stay.

Trip Review: Cabo San Lucas
From: mam725 , 8/27/2004 at 8:34 am

Married on 7/31/04

We went to Cabos San Lucas, Mexico. We flew there from Detroit and we had to change flights once in Phoenix. The flight wasn't longer then we expected, about 3.5 hrs to Phoenix and then 1.5 hrs. to Cabos from there.

We stayed at the Fiesta Americana Grand. The room we had there was great. It had a full bathroom, two double beds, TV w/video games, small kitchenette that had a microwave,fridge, and sink. The view of the ocean from our room was spectacular! The service we received was grade "A". Room service always did a good job and the rest of the staff was always accomodating!

There are many different activities to do in Cabos San Lucas. My favorite was parasailing. My husband and I rode a double and we got to go up in one together, it was such an awesome view and so peaceful. Another activity we enjoyed was snorkeling. We did a cruise type of deal where the boat takes you to a public beach to snorkel, you can swim to shore after you snorkle and then they serve a barbequed lunch on the boat. We also enjoyed the sunset cruise, in which you pay for all you can drink and the catamarand takes you on a tour of the Sea of Cortez while they play music. We seen Sea Lions and even caught a glimpse of some dolphins!

I would absolutely recommend Cabos San Lucas and our hotel as well. Both were beautiful places to vacation. Downtown there is some great shopping and if you know the game you can "talk down" the prices for a lot of great souvenires! (Such as silver bracelets for $5.00, when they were selling them for $15!)We seen lots of other great hotels in the area and it was very safe where we stayed. Downtown is pretty modernized with lots of restaurants and a mall.

We booked our flights through the internet and my husband's aunt booked us our room at the Fiesta Americana Grand. There's not one change I would've made to our HM, it was awesome!

Michelle
Chesterfield, Michigan

ASP Review - non HM, just a vacation....
From: smoo72 Date: 9/7/2004 at 3:10 pm

Dates there: 9/1/04-9/6/04
Prior AI experience: Sandals Royal Bahamian and Breezes Runaway Bay – so I was comparing a lot of stuff to them. Summary of those, didn’t like Sandals, loved Breezes.

The room: We were on the Spa side. DH and I LOVED the room. Granted, it’s a bit small, but I think it’s actually a normal size room they shoved a Jacuzzi tub in. And I’ll take the tub over the floorspace any day. That thing got USED! And it was a two seater and each side has it’s own control on how intense you want the jets. We really had no room problems at all. Yeah, there were some tiny little ants, but ya know what, I’ve now been to the Bahamas, Jamaica and Mexico and you simply are not going to be able to avoid bugs if you choose to go to a tropical climate. It comes with the territory. The maid service was great, got our room cleaned every day and turndown service with chocolates on the bed and a new towel creation at night. Our fridge was restocked in a timely manner as well…maybe because we tipped? I don’t know..we just didn’t have any problems. I also loved the shower – it was roomy enough for two and it even had a seat in it!

The food: Surprisingly good. We have now been to Sandals Royal Bahamian, Breezes Runaway Bay (which I loved, so I’m not knocking it here) and ASP and ASP by far had the best food. Some of the choices at breakfast brunch were a little suspect, but I was more into having an omelet made for me anyway. The nachos at the snack bar were our lunch standard and the salsa was awesome. With that said, I did not avoid getting sick on our third day. I don’t know for sure what did it, but I suspect the tomatillo salsa at breakfast buffet. It lasted about 24 hours and after taking an Ammodium, I was good to go. DH got the same thing. But as far as taste and quality, this resort’s food is the best we have had so far.

The drinks: Also surprisingly good. And surprisingly strong. They didn’t water them down. This is the first AI I have been to where I have actually caught a buzz!

The service: Top notch. The service we got here was what we THOUGHT we would get at Sandals and didn’t. They have people going around when you are at the pool or at the lagoon getting you drinks. It doesn’t take hours to get through a meal like it has at other AI’s. The bartenders are very personable and fun. I just can’t say enough good things about the service.

The grounds: Gorgeous. Very well manicured. They have little “theme” gardens, which was neat. A Japanese garden, an English maze, a desert garden (cacti and the like).

The buildings: Also very well kept. I remember someone mentioning something about an odor in one of the lobby’s and we did smell it. We found it in the North lobby by the golf shop (which of course was the route back to our room!). It smelled like sewage or garbage or something. I think I saw some garbage area by there and in that heat, what can you do?!

The critters: Like I said above, you are in the tropics. If you can’t handle seeing some bugs, don’t go there. Just like where I live, there are deer and in the southwest, there are snakes. It comes with the territory. We also saw the cats, but being a cat lover, it didn’t bother me. I thought they were cute and they didn’t bother you. It’s not like they were rubbing up on our legs while we were eating.

The pools: Gorgeous. My only complaint was on our last day it seemed as though the pool we were in didn’t get filtered properly and there was a funk along the edges, hairballs and dead bugs. It did clear a bit as the day went on. But then I saw a guy hock a big lugie into the pool and I couldn’t go in there anymore. I started to think about what else people were depositing and it skeeved me out. Prior to this though, the pool was perfect – no floaties. And they are HUGE.

The lagoon: I liked to lay by it. Loved the palapas. Not a big fan of swimming in it. It was pretty clear most days. The day we went snorkeling though it wasn’t, unfortunately. It was murky and there really wasn’t much to see in the areas that weren’t. The Kayaking was fun, however. The “sand” is just concrete covered with a very thin layer of crushed rock. Please don’t go there expecting to sink your toes into sand.

Tours: We only did the Tulum/Xpu-Ha tour. I, personally, wasn’t a big fan of Xpu-Ha. It was pretty, but getting around was a pain in the azz – maybe because we were just visiting and didn’t have bikes. Maybe because we didn’t know the lay of the land and kept going in circles trying to find stuff. I also found it to be a bit buggy for my taste – but again, that comes with the territory when you are at such a lush resort. Just not for me. I can deal with the standard amount of tropical bugs. But when I can’t even get my snorkel mask on because I can’t get it up to my face fast enough to not get a new bug in it….I had issues with that. Tulum was awesome and I HIGHLY recommend it though. Word of advice: They do Xpu-Ha prior to Tulum, which I didn’t like. I wanted to go to Tulum first and not be all wet from snorkeling at Xpu-Ha. Also, the only restaurant open for lunch prior to the bus leaving for Tulum was the buffet and I didn’t like their buffet much. Word of advice #2: One thing they don’t publicize much, or try to gloss over, is that after Tulum and Xpu-Ha…when you are just tired like crazy…they then make you go to this market thing so you can shop. A “special” market that Palace Resorts has some agreement with. I was soooo not in a shopping mood and especially at a place where you HAVE to haggle as there are no prices on anything. I’m not a haggler and this is why I never come back with souvenirs – just tell me the dang price. Anyway, I felt a bit trapped/conned and that was a bummer. Were I to do it again, I would do the “Tulum only” tour. OH, and we went through Chaza and our tourguide was great!!

Overall good/bad:

Good: Food was good, service was great, room was awesome, grounds were beautiful. Honestly, ASP would be perfect if they had a beach.

Bad:
1) No beach. I know, I know, I knew this going into it and was fine with it UNTIL I got there and realized how much I missed it. I didn’t think I would miss it with the lagoon and the pools, but I did. I wanted to jump in the waves. If you aren’t into having a beach, if it’s not something that is important to you, then I really don’t see how you can go wrong with ASP.
2) The sales people. We actually avoided them pretty well. Didn’t go to the timeshare pitch. Luckily, I had read enough to know that was what they were trying to get us to do. They dress it up as “Guest Services” and tell you you have to come get your “packet” and then tell you that they would love for you to let them tell you about their 15th anniversary or some crap and try to book you for that. We took our packet with our restaurant info and told her we would let her know when we would book the presentation. We never did. However, they called our room every 15 minutes or so while we were in there. I swear they had some monitor letting them know when we swiped our key because the phone would always ring about 2 minutes after we got to the room. They persisted for 3 days. We never did go – screw ‘em. Sorry, but I’m on vacation and I don’t want to try to be sold a timeshare and if I were interested, then I wouldn’t be the DAY AFTER I get to the resort and don’t even know if I like it yet. And if I am interested, I will come find them. So that bit bothered me.
3) Cancun Airport (which has nothing to do with ASP). It’s nicely done, clean, lots of shops. But just WAY to much of a mass of humanity for me. Made me long for the Montego Bay airport!!! Which wasn’t nearly as nice but had fewer people, specifically, less screaming children and annoying teenagers.

Would I go back?
Though I really liked it, the dealbreaker for DH and me is the beach. I really don’t think I would go back without a beach. And again, I knew about no beach going into it, I just didn’t know it was so important to me. I learned something about myself, as did DH. We would go to Moon Palace as it looks just as nice as ASP but with a beach. Though I do think that we are both more Caribbean folks. Just less crowded. Seems more layed back. But I would still go back. I would still like to check out Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen, which we didn’t get a chance to do. I would still like to check out other Palace resorts, as they really impressed me. But I think my heart is in the islands.

My Review of ASP (very long!)
From: springtime2003 Date: 9/9/2004 at 11:03 am

My new husband and I spent 9 days at ASP in August. It was overall a great honeymoon. Here are the highs and lows:

our room was in building 4, 3rd floor. not a great ocean view but we were in the middle of everything so it was fine with us. also no hammock on the baclony which i would have liked. the resort is definitely big but unless you have a physical disability, i don't know why you'd take a shuttle - IT'S NOT THAT FAR from one lobby to another. seemed ridiculous to us, but many people do it.

the grounds are gorgeous, most days we layed by the pool. chairs in the water go quickly, but we managed to snag one every day. I suggest this b/c it is VERY HOT and the sun is very strong. We used SPF 30 the whole week and we were tan when we got there...waiter service by the pool is excellent - the drinks were not that strong but we weren't looking to get drunk anyway. it's just nice to enjoy a few pina coladas in the sun!

We went to Puerto Aventuras one day, it's a $5 cab ride, right down the road. it has some cute shops and the dolphin cove where you can swim with them, or just watch as we did. we went to the REAL beach here, (the lagoons at ASP are pretty, but the sand was very rocky)just through the omni hotel - this was one of the nicest beaches i've ever seen and very quiet. you should defiitely check it out! just remember to bring your own towel...

another day we went to Xpu-Ha. it's cool to check out the animals here, but it is SO hot here, ten times worse than at ASP. We snorkeled here which was awesome, the water was nice and cold and gorgeous and there were a ton of fish! and it's free! after snorkeling we went to the beach here, which was nice but crowded and very busy!

We went to Playa one night for dinner and drinks - so fun! There are so many cool restaurants and bars here, you can't go wrong!

The food at ASP varied alot. I enjoyed breakfast, they have a huge variety of food, everything you could want!

Dinner was also good, not 5-star, but i was able to find something i liked every night so I was satisfied. Lunch was difficult, the snack bars at the pools are terrible, I wouldn't bother. Burgers/Fries in the restaurants are the only thing decent I found, not a great selection at lunch but I got by b/c I ate a huge breakfast instead! oh and desserts are terrible, do not bother with these either.

The Spa is fantastic, you should definitely go! The hydrotherapy services are free, we also had a couples massage and i got a facial as well. Expensive, but well worth it.

The people are so nice and friendly! We loved it and would definitely recommend it. My only other complaint would be the loud music at the pools. I couldn't stand it. It's off and on during the day, I'd cringe everytime it would start up again! although it wasn't so bad on the spa side near the swim up bar. You can avoid this by hanging out at the lagoon, although we prefered the pools.

Review of El Dorado Royale, Riviera Maya
From: Roxy22 Date: 9/14/2004 at 12:31 am

Ok, here is my review of EDR in the Riviera Maya.

First of all, when we arrived at the airport in Cancun we were a little overwhelmed with all the people yelling at us trying to get us to take their taxi's etc. and guys trying to grab your bags to take you to where you need to go so they could get a tip. We finally ended up finding Funjet, you need to go outside then turn to the left. Some of the people had Funjet attire on and some had Lomas Travel attire on. Those are the people you need to find if you are going through Funjet. They then took 3 couples to the resort in a van.

Once we arrived at the resort a Funjet representative met with us at the door, took us in the lobby, we were served champagne. The Funjet rep. (Oscar) then gave us a booklet explaining the resort layout, restaurants, tours that you can take etc. He also made sure our rooms were ready and took our departure times so he could set up our transfer back to the airport. Our room was not ready until 3:30 (We got there around 2:00) so we just went to La Isla to eat lunch then came back to the lobby.

We were taken to our casita on a golf cart and given a little tour. The casitas are very nice! We had the heart towel arrangement, rose petals around the jacuzzi, champagne, etc. The casita concierge called us to tell us we could come and book our dinner reservations. We went over there and booked for 3 nights. The newest info. I have for you is that you now need reservations for El Cocotal as well, they just changed that 2 weeks ago, you didn't need reservations for that restaurant before and now you do.

The restaurants we ate at were La Isla, El Cocotal, La Carreta, D'Italia, and the Pizza Cabana. They were all very good! I actually only had one item that I didn't like and that was the salad on our beach dinner from our honeymoon package. It had some kind of seafood creature on it (I'm not even sure what it was). Anyway, I don't even like lobster so I skipped that salad but the rest of everything was great! I definitely think you get enough food, I was overly stuffed by the end of every meal! Don't be afraid to order an appetizer, soup, etc. All the desserts were delicious! I think I gained about 10 pounds on the trip. We also ordered room service twice, it took about 45 minutes for delivery.

All the waiters we had were very friendly. I just think if you treat them like humans and not slaves or servants they will treat you very well. I could not believe how hard everyone worked there. From the time you get up from the time you go to bed you can see people cleaning, serving drinks, working on the landscaping, etc. The grounds are very well maintained.

As for the smell, we didn't really smell anything near our casita. There was a letter in our room stating the sulfur smell is due to the change in water level in the mangrove ecosystem. If you would like me to e-mail you a copy of this letter...just let me know.

We took two tours during our stay. One to Xel-ha and Tulum and the other to do the ATV/Speed Boat tour. They were both a lot of fun. The Xel-ha/Tulum tour lasts most of the day. We got back to the resort at about 6:30 PM and we left at 8:40 AM that day. When you book your tours a bus will pick you up at the front of the lobby, but you have to make several stops at other resorts to pick up more people, so that makes the day longer. Our tour guide for Xel-ha/Tulum was Alberto...one of the nicest guys you'll every meet, and a very good tour guide! The ATV/Speed Boat tour was only a 1/2 day, they do go pretty fast on the ATV's so be ready to keep up! It was a lot of fun though!

Don't forget things like Band-aids or anything simple like that. I got some blisters on my feet from my shoes and I had to buy a box of band-aids from the gift shop for $4.00! I'm sure I could have gotten some from the medical service area, but I didn't feel like looking.

Internet service is available there for a charge. WE paid $8 for 30 minutes.

We came with $200 in singles and left with $50. We did give quite a few tips, because I felt they deserved it. But we also bought some things with the singles, because if you use large bills outside the resort you are probably going to get your change back in pesos.

All in all I loved the resort and would go back in a second, well maybe after Ivan is over!! I loved the beach, the food, the casita, the swim up bars, everything!

As for the outdoor shower, the only time I went in there was to rinse off the sand from the beach. The water was not the warmest and it kind of smelled musty...but it was kind of neat. It's true the door is not sealed the best so a small lizard could make its way into your room. We didn't have any problems. Just don't leave any food or dirty glasses lying around or you will have a swarm of ants in your room in about 20 minutes.

If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me. slee22@att.net

Cancun honeymoon review!
From: ALib211 Date: 9/30/2004 at 6:56 pm

Hi!
Just got back from our 8 day honeymoon in Cancun...we had a blast!

We got married in Vegas so by the time we got to Cancun we were spent...very tired...but it was the BEST place to relax and sit in the sun and regroup!

JW Marriott: A. This place was AMAZING! The service was excellent, the food in every restuarunt was great, the rooms were amazing, the pool was the best pool I've ever been in, and the beach was great! We were so happy with everything at this hotel...DH fell first day there and needed stitches, we had a dr. there in 20 minutes and they stiched him up right in our room! They were great and we'll stay here everytime we go to Cancun.

Jungle Tour, AquaWolrd: A! OMG this was the best thing we did! It was so fun! You jet ski to the reef to snorkle...the best snorkling I've ever done. There are hundreds of fish swimming all around you! It was amazing and well worth the trip. It's also only 2 hours, so we went at 9 am and had the rest of the afternoon left!

Garrafon, Isla Mujeres: C. We wanted to go to Isla Mujeres to get scooters around the island and see the downtown. Somehow we got suckered on this trip and it was pretty bad. They had snorkling and kiayaking, all inclusive food and drink, and the ferry over, but the snorkling was horrible, the area to kaiak was small, the food was good but we had to taxi to downtown...when we go again, we'll just take a regular ferry over to the island and do our own thing.

The food every where was great! Downtown was fun, although we did feel a little "old" with all of the nightclubs etc. We pretty much stuck with bars and we were fine...we had a great time and cannot wait to go back!

Amber

Adventura Spa Palace Review
From: JenLouis Date: 10/2/2004 at 12:49 pm

We stayed at Adventura Spa Palace from 09/19 - 09/26. We had the most amazing time ever. I can not even describe how incredible our honeymoon was. We arrived in Cancun and took the shuttle to the hotel. We had booked our honeymoon through Apple Vacations and so they had shuttles waiting outside and everyone’s names on a list. They pointed us to the right shuttle, and off we went. The hotel is about one and a half hours away from Cancun so we had a great time getting to know people in the shuttle, some of whom were staying at our hotel too.

Check In – As soon as we stepped out of the shuttle we were treated with exceptional guest service. They got our bags and we went inside to check in. Right away when you walk in they tell you to grab a drink and have a seat. We were there for two min. and my husband was already having a free beer. We told the guy that we were on our honeymoon and REALLY wanted a room with a hammock on the balcony and an ocean view, since we had read that not all rooms came the same. He said no problem, and when he came back he told us that our room was right in the middle of the resort and had both the hammock and the ocean view. He gave us our pink honeymooners bracelets, a map of the hotel, and all kinds of other info. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we decided to walk around the resort. Oh my God!!!! We had never seen anything more beautiful in all of our lives. The ocean, the pools, the lagoon, the little lake with the waterfall, the architecture, everything. We looked like complete tourists exclaiming how beautiful everything was and taking pictures. We ate lunch and then returned to check in. They had a bellman take us to our room on a little scooter. It was on the third floor, and there was no elevator. The bellman insisted that we not help with the bags and that he would be right up. He carried ALL of our bags at one time up the stairs in the heat. We couldn’t believe it. Unfortunately, when we got to our room we noticed that it had no hammock and no ocean view. I mean not even an inch of ocean could be seen from our room. The bellman called down to the lobby for us and requested a room transfer, which we got the very next morning. This guy was amazing, and needless to say we gave him a nice tip for his exceptional service.

The Room – The rooms are amazing! We got transferred to a room that was way on the other side of the resort in the last building (building 9). But we’re not 97, and we don’t weigh 697 pounds, so we enjoyed the walks, and we were not that far away from anything. The rooms look just like the pictures do on line. There is a huge bed and a huge tub that is right in front of the sliding glass door to the balcony. You can sit and relax in the tub with a gorgeous view of the ocean. Our new room had a spectacular view of the ocean and a hammock. They gave us champagne, wine, and a fruit and cheese plate as part of the honeymooners package. There is also a fully stocked fridge with beer, bottled water, and soda and four alcohol bottles turned upside down that you can take shots from. The maids really do make different things out of the towels every day.

The Food – The food was really good, and there was plenty of it. I am a very picky eater, and I didn’t starve, let me tell you. You can eat anything and anywhere you go. There are snacks 24 hours a day at both lobbies (North and South), there are more snacks and a grill where you can have hamburgers and hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, etc. at all of the pools. There are a total of six restaurants, but some of them are only open for dinner. Some are buffet and some are sit down dinners where you order off of a menu. The only restaurant that we personally didn’t care for, was La Huerta which ironically is supposed to be a “California” themed restaurant. Neither one of us thought that the food was very good. But, we both loved all of the other restaurants. Our two favorites for dinner were Ventanas which was Italian and Mundaca which had a little bit of everything. You can also order room service, which we only did once, but it was very good. A warning though, everything there is fattening and filled with yummy carbs. Don’t go expecting to stay on your diet. The good news is that you get so much exercise that you don’t gain a lot. Scott and I thought that we had gained 5-10 pounds each, but I gained two and he gained three. And drinks, you can have anything you want. There are the restaurants, the lobby bars, swim up bars. You name it and you can drink it!

The Service – We can not say enough about the service. Every single person, literally, was very nice and polite. Hotel staff that just happened to walk by us ANYWHERE in the resort would stop and tell us hello. When I would call for a wake up call they would call me by name and ask how our stay was so far. The maid called us to see how we liked our room. At the restaurants, they would not let the ladies carry their food back from the buffet, they would rush up to carry it for them. They always pulled out my chair anywhere we went. They refilled our drinks when they were only half gone. The maids came by every night to give us chocolates and ask if we wanted our bed turned down. These people put American service to shame. We have never in our lives been treated like that, we felt like royalty. One thing that I want to say, is that tips are included, but these people bent over backwards to please us. I am sure that the hotel pays them well (as far as Cancun hotel salaries go), but does not pay them what they deserve considering all that they do. We could not believe how many people did not tip at all. It’s up to you, but we would have felt bad to not leave a tip. The service we received was above excellent, and we wanted to reward them for it.

The Night Life – One warning, EVERYONE gets dressed up at night. All day long people are in their bathing suits and then bam, it gets dark and people look completely different. I wore sundresses or skirts with nice tops. Scott wore Dickies and collared shirts. Our first night, we were unaware of this, and walked into one of the restaurants in jeans and t-shirts. Nobody said anything, but we felt so out of place. They have two lobbies, North and South. The North is the more quiet side. It has bars too, but the people are a lot more laid back in that lobby. The South is where all of the young honeymooners hang out and drink, and have fun. They have shows there every night that were actually pretty cool and then they have a disco upstairs after the show is over. The shows that we saw were a Mexican Fiesta, a Hollywood show, and a Mayan show. They were all really good. They also have a karaoke night, and a casino night.

Cancun – We took the hotel shuttle into Cancun one day. It drops you off at The Beach Palace. This was so freaking amazing. Our hotel is a million times better, but there beach alone was worth the bus ride. The only down side is that there is one bus per day. It leaves in the morning and then comes back at night. You need to line up 30-45 min. before the bus leaves from ASP. We got there 30 min. before to line up and were way at the back of the bus. We almost didn’t make it on. The water was crystal clear at The Beach Palace and the sand was completely white. It was by far the most beautiful beach we had ever seen. The water temperature was perfect and so inviting on the hot day. You can parasail there and play in the water all day. We also walked around the city and had a great time. We found a little shopping area that had a Quicksilver/Roxy store. We bought a pair of board shorts for him, and five shirts for the both of us and paid $60 USD. You can’t do that over here! We had lots of fun exploring the city, but we loved the beach the best.

Snorkeling – There is an Apple desk in the South Lobby where you can book tours through, even if you didn’t book your honeymoon through them. We booked a snorkeling tour which was $152 USD. We did that stupid time share thing that took 90 min., but they gave us $100 in palace money that we used towards the snorkeling. That was by far our best tour. We got to go snorkeling in the ocean, snorkeling in a freezing cold underwater cave, and then afterwards, cliff jumping. They also provided lunch for us out in the middle of the jungle where a Mayan woman prepared it. We bought one of those underwater cameras and I can’t wait to see how the pictures turned out. We saw tons of fish, sting rays, and a sea turtle. It was a lot of fun, but my butt got sunburned during the snorkeling. Wear your sunblock!

Chichen Itza – We had a really great time during this tour too. This one was included in the hotel cost. All that we had to pay was $3 to take our video camera into the park. It was really awesome to see all of those old ruins and we did climb the Temple of Kukulcan. We heard rumors that because guests are not treating the temple very well, they are going to stop allowing people to climb it, so we were very glad that we had the chance. The only down side, was that it was so freaking hot!!! We were running late that morning and didn’t have a chance to eat breakfast. It had to have been 90+ degrees with 90% humidity. We were dripping in sweat. They also provided lunch on that tour, but you need money for drinks.

Playa Del Carmen – You can take the same hotel bus that you take to get to Cancun to get to Playa Del Carmen. But then you have to go with their scheduled departure in the morning and/or return time at night. We thought of taking the bus one way and a cab the other so that we didn’t have to stay all day, but just decided to take a cab both ways. It cost $12 each way. It was fun, and we were glad that we saw it, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. It’s just a bunch of restaurants/bars and a bunch of shops. One thing that I did like was that the guard at the gate to the hotel stopped the cab on the way out and got our room number and then did it again on the way in. Since we were venturing out on our own, they made sure that they knew who left and that they made it back safely.

Weather – It rained almost every day, but only for a short amount of time. We had a fantastic lightning and thunder show one evening. We laid out on our hammock on the balcony and just looked out onto the ocean and watched the show. It was spectacular!

What To Bring – sunblock, bug spray (I forgot to bring some and had to buy it there), Calamine lotion for after the bugs get you, and nothing but bathing suits, sundresses, flip flops, etc. I way over packed and brought three pairs of long pants that I never wore and a million pairs of shoes that I never wore.

Calling Cards – We bought one ahead of time to call our families when we got there. The hotel charges a $5 connect fee to make any calls even the (800) number calls for the calling card. If you go to the Apple desk they will sell you a calling card for $10 that you can use at their desk with no connect fee.

Check Out – The check out process was not as easy as the check in process. We were hoping to check out and have time to eat breakfast before leaving. The bellman came and got our bags and said that he would take them down after he got some other people’s bags. No problem, we went to check out. Well, they needed our room keys and towel cards which we had left inside the luggage that the bellman had. So, Scott went to go eat because he was starving while I waited for the bellman. He came and I had to dig through our luggage in the middle of the lobby to find them. Then I gave them to her and she needed to cut our bracelets. I had to go get Scott out of the restaurant so that she could cut our bracelets and let us check out. It was a process let me tell you!

Overall, we had the best time! I wish that we could have stayed another week. We are already talking about coming back for our 5 year anniversary. The hotel was so beautiful and the service was so exceptional that I don’t know how you could not have a great time.

Honeymoon Review Royal Hideaway Playacar...LONG
From: sawhite Date: 10/2/2004 at 11:38 am

Hi. I don't post on the knot very often, but I wanted to let everyone know about our wonderful expereince at the Royal Hideaway. My fi and I have been to Mexico several times, but we've never been anywhere like the RH. It's an all-inclusive which I am usually very skeptical about because the food is usually medicore at best. Not the case at the RH. They have 5 restaurants on site with different types of cuisine and they were all wonderful. Some are more casual and others are white tablecloths, fine dining. The RH offers room service 24 hours a day and serves all top shelf liquor. The resort itself is gorgeous with a beatiful beach and pools everywhere. The staff truly treats you like royalty. The town of Playa del Carmen is about a 10-15 minute walk away or $4 cab ride. Playa is very quaint and more European looking than Cancun. There are neat restaurants, shops and some nightlife. The RH guest are mostly honeymooners and older couples. They don't allow kids under 13. When we arrived they offered us cool scented towels and a glass of champagne. That set the tone for the week. It was perfect. I shopped around and found the cheapest rate on cheaptickets.com. Sorry this got so long. If anyone has questions, page me.

Riu Palace Mexico - HONEYMOON REVIEW!
From: Calliope Date: 10/5/2004 at 11:28 am

I just got back from my 1 week honeymoon at Riu Palace Mexico!

It was absolutely fabulous! If you are booked to go there, do not worry you will have a great time! The service is excellent. It is what made the whole trip for us.

We went with Apple Vacations. Everything with them was perfect. The flights were on time, the shuttle was ready to go on time. We got to the hotel and were just loving it right away! The lobby was beautiful! The people were welcoming. We got a room on the second floor over looking the courtyard/fountains. The beds were a little hard, but I called for a mattress pad on the second day and it was put on immediately. We then received a call to make sure it was satisfactory. :-) On the first day we got towel swans and hearts with fresh flowers. We got the tequila and fruit platter. Our room was always completely clean! The beach was gorgeous! Pretty crowded at times, but not a problem. We tried all of the restaurants... Sir Edwards and La Bodega were the best, but Don Julian, the main buffet was fabulous. Just tons of food and choices!

The pool bar was great! Our weather was perfect except for the last day was a bit overcast. We never left except to go into playa del carmen. We just were addictecd to relaxing on the beach and at the pool. We checked out the other Riu's... they were great but we loved the palace the best! :-) The pool at the Tequila was more lively and fun for a change.

There were A LOT of Europeans. It was nice. Meeting different people etc. There were very few kids at the palace. And the ones that were there were well behaved.

I highly reccomend!

Just back from ASP..review inside!
From: gonersgirl Date: 10/7/2004 at 4:09 pm

We just got back on yesterday after spending 10 days at ASP and I wanted to give everyone a quick review!

We arrived around 4:00 on September 27th- as we suspected from all of the pictures we had seen, the place was beautiful. They met us at the desk with cool, scented towels and champagne. Everyone at the front desk was wonderful- they all spoke perfect English and they couldn’t have been any nicer. The bellboy took us to our room and, again, he was great.

Room. We were in Room 1927 on the Spa and we loved it. It was quiet and not too far of a walk from the North lobby and the pool. The room was spacious and we had more than enough room in the closet to hang up all of our clothes. The room had a really large shower- with great water pressure. We used the Jacuzzi twice (and it was awesome!) and didn’t have any problem with the brown ring people have mentioned seeing in the tub.

Food. I thought the food was pretty good. I think people who say the food is horrible really have to keep in mind that you’re going to a place that has to feed hundreds, if not thousands, of people on a daily basis and because of that the food has to be plain enough to satisfy everyone. I spent 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago and the food was fairly similar. I suppose if you’re looking for 5 star meals you should honeymoon the United States! DH and I both loved the Italian restaurant- it was buffet style and the food was really good. I didn’t care for the Mexican restaurant all that much- it wasn’t Mexican food as we think of it at all. DH loved the Chinese restaurant- I didn’t care for the dinner all that much (but I’m a sweet and sour and chicken girl and that’s about it). However, their spring rolls and their appetizers were delicious. We didn’t eat at La Huerta which was the California cuisine restaurant. El Greco and Mundca (the restaurants near the pools) had a really yummy filet- one of the best I’ve ever had. We had breakfast every morning in the Chinese restaurant and it’s served buffet style. You can have just about anything you want. Most mornings I had pancakes or French toast and it was delicious. All in all, it would be impossible not to find something good to eat while you’re there.

Staff. I have to say that the staff was excellent. I mean really top notch. You couldn’t pass a single employee without them greeting you. We even had a man mowing the lawn yell “hola” to us as we walked by. Everyone spoke almost perfect English- and most of the employees spoke French and Italian as well. We loved the turn down service. It was really nice to come back from dinner and find your bed turned down- it was just a wonderful touch. We found everyone to be really helpful if we had questions. It was a wonderful environment.

ASP doesn’t have an actual beach, but DH and I didn’t miss it at all. We’re more pool people, so not having the ocean to swim in didn’t bother us at all. You could still hear the crashing waves and that was enough for us. We noticed a couple of cats around, but we didn’t find them to be at all annoying- they didn’t make any noise and they never seemed to be in the way.

We did the Xpu-Ha/Tulum tour. Xpu-Ha was really beautiful, but I don’t know that I’d stay there. Everything seemed much to spread out for us, but the beach was gorgeous. Tulum was also really interesting to see. It was only about 30 minutes from the resort, so it’s a ruin tour that I would recommend if you’re not interested in spending 5 hours traveling.

We also paid to do a ATV/snorkeling tour through our agency. We went about 20 minutes from the resort and went 4-wheeling and ended up at Dos Ojos- which was two absolutely stunning fresh water caves for snorkeling. There wasn’t really fish to see, but what you were actually looking at were all the formations of the rocks below you and the stalagmites and stalagtites all around you. It was really breathtaking to be in such an amazing location.

On Wednesday night the resort had a honeymooners’ cocktail party on the beach with a mariachi band, light food and drinks. We met a really great couple from England that we plan on keeping in touch with.

Playa del Carmen is a $12.00 cab ride from the resort, so DH and I went in for a morning and did some shopping. It reminded us a bit of Key West with open air restaurants and bars all down the main strip. The beach was really stunning..white powder sand and blue water. On Sunday night we went back into town with our friends from England and bar hopped and it was a ton of fun! We just wandered from bar to bar having a drink in each one, finally ending up at Senor Frogs. We got back to the resort around 1:00 am- and it was a blast!

The staff, the service, the grounds..everthing was top notch. If you’re looking for a place to party hard into the night, this probably isn’t the right choice, but if you’re looking for a relaxing vacation/honeymoon location we would recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone and everyone. We’re already talking about going back in the Spring with a couple of sets of our friends!

I’ll post some pictures in my bio tonight! If you have any questions, please just page me and I’ll answer them for you!

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 7 Days
From: AIMS312 Date: 10/12/2004 at 10:18 am

We booked our HM through Discount-All-Inclusive.com. Bob was our travel agent. We booked and paid to go to Jamaica, but two weeks before the wedding, Ivan hit. We decided to change and glad we did. Bob was great to work with. The only money we lost was the insurance from the Jamaica trip. About $ 150.00 for both of us.

The only draw back was that our seats on the plane were one in front of the other. This was Nathan’s first time flying, and he was a little nervous. We got to DFW Airport at 7:45 am on Sunday morning. Checked in, and asked the lady at the ticket counter if she could find seats for us together. We came back later to find out that they had bumped us up to first class! We had to ask a guy to switch with us, so we could sit together. It was nice.

Once we landed in Puerto Vallarta, we got off the plane, found our bags, and were told that we would have to ride a bus with other people and drop them off at their hotels. But when we walked outside, Eduardo with American Express Services called our name, grabbed our bags, and put us in a car that took us directly to our resort, Premiere Villas. From the time we got off the plane, the whole experience took less than 15 minutes. It was only getting better! Eduardo told us he could meet with us at our resort Sunday or Monday to discuss excursions, only if we wanted him to. We felt no pressure, but asked him to come Monday morning.

Our cab ride was about 15 minutes, and when we first pulled up I was a little worried because there was a house or something between the hotel and the road that looked run down. But the hotel was nice, all open air. We were greeted with a smile, “hola”, cool, great scented towels, and a melon ball drink. Very refreshing. We asked for an upgrade, but were told the hotel was full. They still let us choose between two different rooms. Isidro, the man that took our bags was SUPER helpful. He took our bags to the different rooms to see which one we liked, then brought our champagne and fruit down to the one we chose. The whole week, Isidro, as well as many others, were very nice and helpful.

We settled in to our room, changed into our swimsuits, and went down to the pool bar, where we stayed most of the time. It was right on the beach. We met some great couples there on their honeymoons, and a few celebrating 5 and 10 years.

The hotel itself:
The only negative things I can say about the hotel are that rooms were a little musty. But, being by the beach, I guess all were like that. We were used to it after the first few days. It wasn’t horrible, though. One restaurant at the hotel, (I can’t remember the name), the one to the left of the check in desk was supposed to be very nice. So Nathan, myself, and two other couples made reservations, dressed up, and went down to eat. The service was very slow. But the food was good. They do not get in a hurry down there, but this time it took us 45 minutes to an hour to get our food.

All of the rooms face the beach, have tile floors in them, are decorated nicely, and have terry cloth robes for each guest in them. Ours had a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, and the floor above ours had them on the balconies. We got to see a suite that had two balconies, a Jacuzzi on one of them, a Jacuzzi tub with a picture window facing the beach, and tons of space. It was very nice.

There were three restaurants on premises, but if you went with all inclusive, they gave you cards to go next door to their “sister” hotel, eat, and drink all you wanted there, too. We only had drinks there. The bartender was super nice at their pool bar, also. He brought our drinks to us on the beach. One restaurant is under a huge palapa right by the beach. They are open for breakfast, and lunch. You can have dinner out there also, but I think most people ate in one of the restaurants or had room service. The two restaurants on either side of the front desk entrance, alternated evenings in which they were open. One of them has a bar you can sit at. The inside restaurants are only open for dinner.

There is a small store that sales film, suntan lotion, sundries, etc. They have a spa on floor two, and a gym on floor three. There are two pools beside each other. The main pool is a little higher up, away form the beach. Then the pool with a swim up bar. You can also sit at that bar on the other side if you don’t want to get wet.

The food: Breakfast was always great. We tried the fresh fruit plate, eggs ranchero, omelets, smoothies, muffins, pancakes, and a few other egg dishes. They always served breakfast with coffee, toast, and fresh fruit jelly. I tried the mango, strawberry, and kiwi jelly. They were all delicious. My favorite breakfast foods were the fresh fruit plate, and the muffins. You have to try this muffin. I could not eat it all by myself. Nathan loved the eggs ranchero.

Lunch was great, too. We normally had chips, salsa (their salsa is pico de gallo to us), and guacamole. Everything is fresh. We also had the sampler appetizer platter, which had taquito’s, quesadilla’s, and something with octopus on it. Those were my favorite. One thing to remember is that even if they do not have it on the menu, you can still get it. Nathan ordered a cheeseburger and fries a couple of times. It was no problem for them. I asked for shrimp quesadilla’s. Again, not on the menu, but they whipped it right up for me. The first several days, they would serve us at the pool bar. But they asked some people to walk over to the palapa restaurant and order, and then they could bring it over of they wanted to.

Dinner: We only ate once at the restaurant that was slow on the service, then either ordered room service, or ate out in Puerto Vallarta. The last night we were there I had the shrimp ceviche salad. I really wish I had ordered that earlier. It was my favorite. We had lunch at Carlos O’ Brian’s downtown. That was a lot of fun, and the shrimp kabob type dish we shared was excellent. They had a very fun atmosphere. We also went out with two other couples to a place called Barcelona Tapa’s for dinner one evening. They are in the downtown area, you have to walk up about 4 flights of stairs, and then you can sit in the open-air deck to eat. You get a spectacular view of the city and Banderas Bay. There was also a pirate ship that came out into the bay and set off fireworks, so we got another show with that. The food is all served appetizer style, and it is wonderful. They suggest you order two or three dishes per couple and share. I had a dish like chicken salad, and a grilled steak. Nathan had a strip steak. One of the couples with us had a spicy shrimp. We tried a lot of different things, and they were all delicious. They give you a complimentary drink after dinner. It’s kahlua and tequila, and is pretty good. We were so stuffed, it was tough to enjoy! All in all, the food was great.

We are used to Tex-Mex, but this was more authentic Mexican food. They don’t use a lot of grease, creams, butter, etc., so it’s not as rich. I actually loved the more authentic style food over the tex-mex we get here. We even had cheesecake in the room. It was good, but nothing like you get in the states.

The drinks: They are good, plentiful, and strong. I had smoothies at breakfast, the coffee was good, and we always ordered bottled water. We were told the water at the resorts were more than ok to drink, but it was just easier to keep up with the bottles if we wanted to put them in our backpack or take them up to the room. They had any kind of juice you might want. Plus coke, diet coke, and I think Mr. Pibb or something.
Liquor: We like to drink, so we tried quite a few things. The melon balls were cool and refreshing. I also had a dirty monkey (which I suggest if you like banana’s), margarita, gin and tonic, sangria (very good), Sol (which is the main beer there), and tequila. I also saw other people ordering all kinds of different drinks. The bartender at the pool bar, Omar, was great. He seemed to take his job pretty seriously.

Excursions:
We booked all of our excursions with Eduardo. He was very great to work with. Very knowledgeable, and had been on most of the excursions we asked about. We found that he was a little cheaper than the hotel on some things. He even helped us sort out some Mexican coins we brought from home. Some were too old to use. I highly recommend him. We have his card with work and cell #.

Canopy Tour: We took a 15-minute taxi ride to “old town” where we waited on a bus to pick us up. We then rode another 40 minutes up in the mountains to get to this tour. They put you in a lower body harness with two heavy-duty metal hooks. You climb a spiral staircase up into the trees of the jungle, they hook you to a cable, and you “zip” out over the jungle and river, from one tree to the next. It was so much fun. We were about 160 feet up on some of the lines. It is beautiful up there, a little scary at first, but exciting. The guides were great and kept us entertained. You have to climb and walk quite a bit, but it is totally worth it.

Horseback Riding: We took a 40 to 45 minute ride out of town to another set of mountains on the opposite end of the island. Once we got to the Las Palmas ranch, they had fruit and Mexican cookies waiting for us. The guides then talked everyone through getting on the horse, guiding with reigns, and everything else. They picked a horse out for each person, and then we were off. We ride for about 15 minutes until we came to the jungle part. We started down the mountain, and that was a little scary! The trails are narrow, steep, and have pretty big rocks in the way. The horses did fine, but slipped a few times. And you are going down the side of a mountain, where one side was straight down. Once we got down by the river, we let the horses rest, and hiked 15 minutes to a beautiful waterfall. Bring your bathing suits (Eduardo told us, but we forgot ours). Once we got back to the horse, we rode in and out of the river. Then back up to the stables. It was about 2 hours worth of riding. The horses have done it so much, that we really didn’t have to guide them. They just followed in behind each other. Once we got back to the ranch, they had lunch for us. We were all hungry! They give three choices of fajita’s, chicken, or chili rellenos. We also got chips, salsa, beer, tequila, or any other drink we wanted. It was a fun ride, but we were beat when we got back to the room.

Pachanga Night: We booked this the same day as the horse back riding. We got back to the room at 4:30 or 5:00pm, took a nap, and had to be up and at the lobby by 9:15pm. This was a lot of fun if you like the club scene. The guides take you to four different bars. We went to Carlos O’ Brian’s first. It was still early and a little dead. We then went to the Zoo bar, which was just getting started when we had to leave. The décor at the Zoo was very cool. We then went to the Hilo. That was more techno, but they played a mix of everything. We then went to J & B’s where they only had salsa and true Mexican dancing and music. We learned how to salsa a little, but were so tired and hot, we mostly sat at the table. We got “home” at 2:30am. And promptly passed out.

Yelapa Tour: We booked this for the very next morning (the only other time we could go on it) at 8:30am. We got to the marina on time, then waited, and waited. Needless to say, we had to take a smaller boat 5 minutes out to catch the big boat that had already left. Long story. This tour stopped off at Majuhuitas, a part of the island about 30 minutes away. We could snorkel, kayak, etc. for about an hour. Then we loaded up and went another 15- 20 minutes to Yelapa. This town is very primitive, but had an old Mexico feel to it. You could either stay on the beach or hike about 15 minutes through the city and up a mountain to a waterfall. We chose the hike. It was beautiful and the water was very cold. Once we came back, we walked through a different part of the city, saw where they make all of the tortillas homemade, for all of Yelapa, and talked with some young kids getting out of school. The town is very simple, but you could tell the people that lived there had little or no stress. We met the rest of the people at the beach. Got something to drink and a snack at a palapa covered restaurant, and made it back on the boat. They had sub sandwiches, pasta salad, tuna salad, and fresh fruit waiting for us. We had a dance contest and a lot more fun on the way back.

We also took a taxi downtown (only 6 or 8 blocks from our hotel), to the Malecon and shopped. Some people told us to go to the flea market at the East end of the Malecon because things were cheaper. But I found different prices everywhere. You can definitely talk the vendors down off of the original price. I also suggest shopping on the days that the cruise boats aren’t in. They were in port on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. That may change at different times of the year.

We loved Puerto Vallarta and the Premiere Villas. We would definitely consider going back again. The only thing DH didn't like was that the vendors were right by our pool at the hotel trying to sale us something. If you were in the middle of a conversation, you had to stop and tell the vendors "no". It did get annoying, but they weren't overly-pushy. They were everywhere downtown, too. It was very hot and humid from 11:00 am to 4:00pm, almost everyday. And this was at the first of October. The city is beautiful, and there is so much to see and do. Or just doing nothing and relaxing on the beach was wonderful, too. If you have any questions or want any info, you can page me.

Here is the link to our hotel.
http://www.villapremierehotelspa.com/pages/1/index .htm
Some of the web site is in spanish, but you can navigate around to see pics of the resort, rooms, etc.

PHOTOS: : PUERTO VALLARTA

Quick Review of Apple Vacations trip to RIU Cancun. . .
From: That_girl_lola Date: 10/13/2004 at 1:55 pm

I know a lot of you are going to Cancun, so I just thought I'd share some info/reviews. We had a great time and went all-inclusive through Applevacations.com at the RIU Cancun. The hotel was very nice and clean and the food was good and service very great. It's a really good location in Cancun- right on the bus line, across from the mall and a gorgeous resort beach. ALL rooms face the ocean, not lagoon, side. Apple did a great job of transport to and from the airport and guiding us with chosing excursions we wanted to do. I found them to be really professional and helpful.

Beware of the time-share trolls in the airport- don't stop and talk to ANYONE after you get out of customs/immigration until you are outside, or you'll get trapped- we were stupid and lost $40 this way. You can get your money back if you mess up, it's just a process.

As far as excursions- we went horseback riding on the beach at La Loma Bonita ranch and the tour of the Mayan ruins at Tulum and the ecological waterpark at Xel-Ha. All 3 of those were VERY worth the money, and if you do the Xel-Ha tour- it is a better deal to do the all-inclusive for a little more- food/drinks are included. The one trip we didn't like was the Columbus dinner cruise with lobster/steak dinner- it was a waste of money and time. If it wasn't for the other really nice couple we met there, it would have been just awful.

Of course, these are all just my opinions- but I wanted to share- if you have any questions, page me on the Indiana NW board.
Thanks and have fun!!

* Acapulco & Puerto Vallarta HM Review! *
From: aprild2003 , 10/11/2004 at 7:31 pm

Part 1: 5 days in Acalpulco, Villas Vera Spa and Tennis Resort
We went to 2 places in Mexico for our hm: 1st place for 5 days Acapulco and 2nd place in Puerto Vallarta for 7 days.

-- How long was the flight/ drive to get there?
Not too bad - we live in CA – flight was only a few hrs from SFO to Mexico City – then to Acapulco

-- What was your room like?
Nice – I would give it a 3 or 3.5 star – it had a great pool that overlooks the city of Acapulco very pretty – pool 4 star

-- How was the service at the resort?
Good and very friendly

-- What sort of activities did you do in the area? What was your favorite?
We spent most of our time at the pool during the day – we did go to the beach a few times, city tours and shopping in the markets. We did allot of walking around the town in the evenings and out to dinner.

-- Would you recommend this location/resort to other Knotties? What else should they know?
Acapulco is very fast paced and somewhat hectic… if you are looking for a relaxing get away – this is most likely “not” the place for you.. it’s a rather large city with allot of night life – we were going from here to Puerto Vallarta – and knew the next location would be our laid back, romantic destination and relaxing place...

-- Did you use a travel agent or book on your own?
We own a time share and got a 5 day vacation added on to our “main” hm (7 days in PV – see below)

Part 2-- 7 days in Puerto Vallarta at the Grand Vellas Resort & Spa in Nuevo Vallarta

-- How long was the flight/ drive to get there?
Direct flight from San Francisco 3.25 hrs (We flew from Acalpulco - 1.25 hrs)

-- What was your room like?
AMAZING! All the rooms are 900 + square feet with full ocean views – pillow menus, 24 room service and because they knew it was our HM they had fresh flowers in the room for us one night, champagne another night, rose petals in the tub, etc…

-- How was the service at the resort?
More than 5 star! The resort was so incredible! It was even more beautiful than the pictures on line – if there was a 6 star rating they would be in that class! Everything was absolutely amazing!

What sort of activities did you do in the area? What was your favorite?
We spent allot of time at the resort – they have the most incredible spa, 2 five star gourmet restaurants, nice beach with sea kayaks, boogie boards, water aerobics, yoga, Pilates, full gym with personal training, incredible wine list everything you can imagine… We went on a canopy tour in the jungles and it was so cool! Afterwards, we ate at the restaurant there and swam in the river. We went shopping in Old town PV

Would you recommend this location/resort to other Knotties? What else should they know?
YES - It was incredible! We have traveled allot and this resort was so amazing!!! We loved it so much DH tried to surprise me with a long weekend get-a-way for our 3 month anniv. (It fell over Labor Day) and we tried to go back to the Grand Vellas – however, we were unable to get a reservation and ended up going with their sister property – it is not the same – sad to say… we are so spoiled now!! =)

-- Did you use a travel agent or book on your own?
No, we own a time share and this came up as a trade about 8 months before our wedding –we were looking for a 5 star resort in any of the following: Thailand, Spain, Hawaii or Mexico – I am SO happy we booked this place!!)

april 7/3/04

HM Review-- Iberostar Paraisio Lindo
From: DaRach , 10/11/2004 at 9:21 pm

We went to the Iberostar Paraisio Lindo resort in Cancun Mexico. We left on Monday, 8/16 and came back 8/23. Our resort was part of three, Parasio Playa and Del Mar I believe. It was nice becasue we were able to visit the other two resorts and visit the restaurants.

The flight was only 3.5 hours or so, not too bad Our room was gorgeous we had a huge patio, the bathroom was beautiful. It was better than what I expected

The service was o.k. being this is the first all-inclusive resort we've ever visited. We met other people and they said the service there was not so good since it was so huge. We thought it was o.k.; it wasn't like we were waited on hand and foot though. ONe night we watched the evening show and one of the dancers sat with us and kept us company the whole evening~that was very nice

We went to Xel-Ha, which was about 25 minutes outside of the resort, where we went snorkeling, tubing and walked on the bottom of the ocean! It was a lot of fun! We went to Playa del Carmen to do some shopping and we also went on a sunset cruise where we had surf&turf. We spent time in the ocean snorkeling and kayaking-all included in our resort package. We also spent a lot of time by the pool sipping drinks. Our favorite was the walking under the water at Xel-Ha.

I would definitely recommend this resort to other knotties; the food was good, the drinks were good and the weather was awesome. It is a newer resort and very pretty. We did have to make reservations for dinner each night and men had to wear slacks. We had 24-hour room service and it was great! I can't say enough good things about this facility.

We booked through a travel agent here in Milwaukee; we had such a hard time deciding where we wanted to go. Rachel
8.14.04

Secrets Capri Riveria Maya review
From: sroby Date: 10/18/2004 at 1:41 pm

I highly recomend this resort to anyone! We had so much fun on our honeymoon and liked the resort so much we are planning on going back in a year. We were upgraded to an ocean view room that had a king sized bed (not bad bed, but not soft like home) with a nice little present the night you get in, they had a bottle of champagne on ice, the bathroom was nice sized and very clean and yes we found out that channel #23 is porn at night- yuck inless your into this type of thing. The main area is gorgeous with water fall(s) and a marble staircase. The ocean itself in this area isn't the greatest, but it is still nice. The beach part was very clean. The pool was awesome! We went on one excursion to Xcaret where we swam with the Dolphins- do this if you can- it is the neatest thing! The restraunts were to die for- our favorite was Oceana (seafood), then Seaside Grill, Himatsi and then Capri. We never ate at the buffet. The wait staff was a very nice and spoke fairly good english. The spa is also very nice (swedish massage was so relaxing!). If you like a more relax, adult only, all inclusive resort this is the one to go to! :)

Cabo HM Review
From: sldinlv Date: 10/21/2004 at 12:14 pm

DH and I were in Los Cabos last week. We chose it because I wanted beach, he wanted activities and we both wanted something close by (we live in Las Vegas). We really enjoyed our time there.

Hotel: Casa del Mar
CDM is in the “hotel corridor” between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. We chose the resort corridor because we wanted to be away from the action and someplace quiet. You definitely need a car if you stay here.

CDM was quiet and beautiful. We had a Deluxe Suite, which was HUGE (it was the smaller of two room types) and had a great view of the pools and ocean. The staff was helpful and efficient. We only ate at the hotel twice. The food was good, but very pricey. Room service is the same price as eating in the restaurant. We went to Costco the first day of our trip and bought some water, beer, limes and snacks to keep in the room (small mini bar fridge). This worked well. CDM has an “adults only” pool on the beach. There were not many children there when we were there, but it was still nice to have this option if we wanted something quieter.

Dinners:
The best food I had while there was at El Patio in Cabo San Lucas. It is on Hidalgo. We caught a dorado (mahi mahi) while fishing that day and the owner grilled some of it for us and also made ceviche. The menu is simple and reasonably priced. I highly recommend it.

The “best atmosphere” restaurant was when we ate at “The Mesquite Grill” at Casa del Mar. Th-Sat nights they have tables right on the beach and grill food there. It was very romantic: crashing waves, sand between your toes, candle-light and tiki torches. Meal for two (plenty of food) with a bottle of wine will run about $100-150. A great “special dinner.”

Another nice meal was our roof-top dinner at La Cenaduria on Zaragoza in San Jose del Cabo. The town is very cute; much quieter than Cabo San Lucas. The view from the restaurant was overlooking the old church and square. Reasonably priced.

DH’s favorite meal was at the Old Trailer Park Restaurant. I don’t remember exactly where it is, but it is in Cabo San Lucas and kind of away from stuff. The lobsters were massive.

Activities:
We did a 4-hour ATV tour to a beach on the Pacific (starts with an “M”). It was a 45 min bus ride to the place. The company we used (Baja something, I think) did three tours a day. We chose the 12-4pm tour and were the only ones on it, so we got a private tour. Lots of fun, but four hours was enough.

We went sport fishing two days. One day we went with Solmar and the other with Lands End. Both were comparably priced and we did not share the boat. We enjoyed the outing with Lands End better, but Solmar was also very good. If your package does not include a lunch, you can get a decent box lunch from Early Bird Café (on the sportfishing docks); order the day before and it is $8 instead of $11. We ended up catching quite a bit of fish so we had it vacuum-packed and frozen, and packed it in a cooler to take home.

We went snorkeling at Santa Maria Bay twice. It was only 5km from the hotel. We bought our gear at one of the supermarkets on the way out of Cabo San Lucas. There was no space in our bags to bring it home, so we just left it for the maids.

We drove to Todos Santos one day. Cute old town, worth the drive. Bought a few souvenirs there and had a good taco cart lunch.

We drove up the east coast one day as well. Kind of boring. Buena Vista was nice, but probably would only go again if we were taking a fishing charter from there.

Any questions, feel free to email me at sdaquila@yahoo.com

Aventura Spa Palace Review
From: 10-04Bride Date: 10/26/2004 at 4:16 pm

Honeymoon: Aventura Spa Palace, Playa del Carmen, Mexico: A+++++ This is long - sorry! We had the best time. We went for 10 days and every minute was great. The grounds are very well manicured and beautiful. Every building is really nice and upscale. Be careful walking though b/c the marble floor (which is everywhere) can be slippery, especially in flip flops. There is sooo much staff and they all are dying to say "hola" with a big smile and find any way to help you, get you something. They bring you wine, cheese & crackers, chocolates and more to the room throughout the stay. The service was really unbelievably, probably the best thing. They made you feel so pampered. They clean the room extensively. Everything in this resort is very clean. The walls are thick, but the doors are not so sometimes you can hear people in the hallway, but it wasn't a big deal. The room is like a very large hotel room and was really nice. Our fridge was constantly stocked. We had a large balcony with a hammock and an ocean view. We also had trees next to our building so one direction was the ocean and the rest was trees which created a lot of privacy and we loved that. The Jacuzzi tub, the biggest I have ever seen, was awesome. It has two seats in it and is so comfortable, relaxing.

The food was excellent, especially for an all-inclusive. Breakfast and lunch were buffets, which were good. Not four star, but buffets never are. So for a buffet, I thought it was very good. I did not like Ventanas, the Italian place and only buffet dinner place. We loved La Hacienda, the food is four star. You have to go to La Huerta, the vegetarian place. We didn't care for the entrees, but the soup, salad and coffee is excellent. We would actually eat that there and then go somewhere else for our entrée. It was great! At La Huerta, you have to order the Cesar Salad, the make it at your table and it's very cool. Also, it's not on the menu, but at La Huerta they will make you a Mayan Coffee at your table with fire and whatnot; one of the coolest things I've seen. We also really liked MoMo NoHanna the Chinese place and Mundaca, which had a lot of steaks and whatnot. The snack bar was also good for a sandwich or burger, but the service was slow. Room service was great and very quick.

We did get ants once b/c we left our dishes in our room for a few hours (you should bring them out to someone in the hallway, there is always staff around). We called and they immediately came and sprayed, never saw an ant again. Not a big deal though, b/c even though I Hate bugs, it's the Caribbean, so what can I expect.

The pools were great and I loved the chairs in the water. We liked the spa side better for our honeymoon b/c it was quieter. I also loved the lagoon. It looked so beautiful and was clean. The spa side is less rocky and calmer. We went snorkeling and kayaking, which was fun. The adventure side was rockier and I actually cut my foot on a rock. I recommend wearing water shoes in the lagoon. The waiters/waitresses were great about being around to get you drinks. The drinks were great, always tasted awesome. My DH husband said the beer was much better with a lime in it.

The nighttime shows were entertaining. The nightclub was totally lame. After the main shows in the South Lobby a band would play and they were great. We usually played pool and stayed to listen to the band. But also, after a long day in the sun and drinking, we usually went to sleep early.

We stayed in room 3539. Just so you know, the first three is the floor (3rd floor), I recommend that b/c it's a great view. The 5 is for building 5, which is basically in the middle towards the spa side. It was a really convenient building to everything. The 39 is the room. The rooms go 0-50 (I believe). The closer you are to 0, the closer you are to the water. We were in 39 and even though it seems far, we were still pretty close and had a great view.

When you get to the Cancun airport, after you get through customs, there are lots of men in white shirts and blue ties that look official and will try and get your attention. Had someone not told me, I would have assumed these are employees. Ignore them, they are not. Also ignore all the people trying to take your bags and talk to you. Look for the guy holding the palace resorts sign and go to him. He should have your name on a list.

We took two tours. We went to Xpu-Ha/Tulum. Xpu-Ha was great for a half-day trip. We aren't really into the jungle theme and it was very hot, but we got to go to the beach, which was great. Tulum was really great. If you can request Eric as your tour guide, try. He is a social anthropologist and is awesome! We also paid to drive ATVs and speed boats. This was SOOOO MUCH FUN! Most girls rode as a passenger, but I drove my own. I'm not really in to that stuff, but it really was so much fun. We also took a cab into Playa del Carmen and did some shopping. It's really cool there and you should try and make it.

The spa is great too. We got a massage, manicure, pedicure and loved it! We did not go to the honeymoon dinner b/c we really wanted to stay by ourselves and not hang with other people on our honeymoon. However, if you go see the honeymoon person you will get a TShirt and I didn't realize this til when we were leaving and it was too late, so make sure to go get your Tshirt.

All in all, this was an AWESOME honeymoon and I highly recommend it.

Aventura Spa Palace Review
From: jesidoll Date: 10/28/2004 at 7:01 pm

The grounds were beautiful. Our flight was late so, we got to the resort around 9:30. When we got to the desk, they brought us drinks and checked us in quickly. Everyone at the resort was extremely friendly. We had a new towel animal everyday.

The Food: I thought the food was good. Mundaca was closed, they were putting on a new roof. El Greco was great, we ate there 3 nights. Mo No Hana was good as well, we ate there for breakfast and dinner. We didn't try La Huerta or Hacienda just because we didn't feel like dressing up. Room service was great, you must try it....it's free.

Our room was on the North side, the Spa side. We did have an ocean view if you walked out on the balcony. Most people complain that it doesn't have a beach, but the lagoon was nice. We hung out at the pool most of the time. Must try drinks: Banana Monkey, Miami Vice.

We only went on one tour, Tulum and Xpu-Ha. Xpu-Ha was nice, really big. We did snorkel there, the fish were really cool. Tulum was very cool, and also very hot. Our tour guide Louis was awsome. Being of Mayan decent himself, he was very informative.

We went into Playa 2 days to go shopping. Just remember, you can get them to bring down the price.

All and all, I would say our trip was great. Not a single complaint about the resort. I would definatly recommend it.

Jesica

Topic: Info for you about the El Dorado Royale
From: hoots2004 Date: 11/4/2004 at 11:05 am

There are two El Dorado's. The one I am talking about is the Royale "a Spa Resort". The El Dorado Royale- a spa resort in the Maya Rivera was the absolute perfect honeymoon. It is an adults only all inclusive resort. When we arrived we were greeted with glasses of champagne while we checked in. We had upgraded to the honeymoon package and it was worth it. We walked into the room and we had fresh flower petals on our bed. Each room has a Jacuzzi and a hammock on the balcony or patio. With the honeymoon package we were given a moonlight dinner on the beach. The beach was lit my tiki torches and the tables were spaces about 8-10 feet apart so it was pretty private. A saxophonist played love songs walking up and down the beach, table to table. The El Dorado has several restaurants that require reservations for dinner and have a dress casual dress code. They also have 24 hour room service and they have a burger/pizza hut by the mail pool everyday for lunch. All of the employees there were wonderful, always smiling and very friendly. They want to be sure you have fun and you find it romantic. There are activities at the pool everyday including water aerobics and volleyball. They also offer bike tours, jungle tours and a lot of other stuff. There is a bar with swings where they have a different show/contest every night and then live music too. The spa at the resort is very nice. We had a moonlight massage! We were side by side on the beach lit by tiki torches and the package includes a bottle of chilled champagne. The best part was being able to chose to meet other people, just lay around together or get out and go on a tour. It was the most amazing vacation ever! We are already planning on returning for our 5 year anniversary. Older couples that were staying at the resort said they stay at all inclusive places often and the Royale was by far at the top of the list. We were very impressed. The prices look high on the web site but you can get a package deal for a great price.
http://www.eldorado-resort.com/

Topic: my review of our vacation - Secrets Capri - Mexico (long)
From: Hartley Date: 11/8/2004 at 11:08 am

sorry for the length of the review! but if you want the short version of it - we LOVED our vacation and had an excellent time - i highly recommend it.

for the long version - read on:

Secrets Capri – Riviera Maya, Mexico 10/28/04-11/06/04

First of all, at times during this review, I MIGHT compare this resort, Secrets Capri (SC) to the Secrets Excellence (SE) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic since I have now been to both.

Overall review of SC: LOVED IT!!!! 5 stars all the way. It was truly a wonderful resort and I’d highly recommend it to everyone I know.

The staff: very very wonderful. Whenever there was anything we needed – they were right there helping us out. Our mini refrigerator wasn’t restocked for two days – so we mentioned it to the front desk on our way down to dinner, by the time we got back to our room after dinner – the refrigerator was stocked. We asked for an extra pillow – we got it within 15 minutes. Whenever we had any questions or needed help with anything, everyone was very willing to go out of their way to help. It was great.

The rooms: we stayed in the basic of basic of rooms. The deluxe garden view room. First of all, we were facing what actually was a swamp area. But if we looked to our left – we could see the water and the beach, so that wasn’t too bad. We thought for sure with swamp waters right near our room, we’d end up with lots of bugs – but none! They sprayed around the swamp area with some fog stuff. Not sure what it was, but we seen the guy doing it. so that was nice to see – I mean, to see that they were keeping the bugs in line. The room compared to the basic room we had at SE – was smaller, but still very nice. The hot tub, was a single person tub with jets in it. we never used it, it didn’t seem worth it if we weren’t able to fit two people in there. But we enjoyed everything else about the room. The shower stalls at SC were definitely larger than the shower at SE. that’s for sure. We had a top floor room – and it was very pleasant.

The food: all excellent. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend to someone who is a picky eater – is the romantic dinner offered at the Riviera restaurant. It’s a set up of dishes that’s been preselected by the chefs, and I barely ate a thing. The first thing was some salmon mouse stuff – ICK, I mean, I like salmon, but this stuff was weird. Than was something with shrimp in it – I’m not a fan of shrimp. I tried eating it, but I ended up giving the rest to my husband. There was a soup – carrot, orange soup. ICKY! I love carrots – and I like oranges, so I thought, how bad could it be – right? Well, I tried to eat some of that since I was starving, but it just had a taste I couldn’t handle. My husband, how isn’t a picky eater, also didn’t enjoy the soup. The main dish was good – beef and shrimp. I again gave my shrimp to my husband. The beef was okay – I prefer my beef well done though, and with the lights down low for romance, I had a hard time being able to tell if it was to my liking. But I ate a good portion of it because I was hungry. The dessert however was excellent – I ate the entire thing.

Other than the romantic dinner – I was able to find something to eat on every menu – and it was all VERY VERY yummy.

The pool: we aren’t pool people, we go for the beach – but it looked like it was a very nice area. The wooden chairs that were around the pool were very nice – and they had nice cushions on them.

The beach: it isn’t a very big beach, but there is always a seat available. The water was wonderful. I must say the conditions of the water and the beach changed daily. Every day there was a constant breeze that was blowing. That was very nice!! Without that constant breeze, I think it would have been too hot. At times the breeze turned more into a heavy wind. Other times it was very light. The water, one day there was very little seaweed, and very little rocks. Two days there was SOOOOO much seaweed it was terrible, I wouldn’t go in the water, but that went away after 2 days. One day there were TONS of rocks in the water – but the following day they had locals (I think they were locals) in the water fishing out the rocks and they collected them in a truck and got rid of them. so we were rock free after that.

Good things I’d like to mention: this resort does not have wrist bands nor do they have towel cards. My husband took two towels each day, I took 3. it didn’t matter how many you took. It was great.

The weather: fantastic. In the 90’s every day. We only had a day that was ruined from rain. But out of 10 days there, one day of rain is okay.

Golly, what else can I say about this resort. There wasn’t one single thing that we didn’t like about this resort. It was only 30 minutes from the cancun airport too. you can’t beat that. my DH and I – neither of us wore any bug repellant – and had NO problems. Neither of us got any bug bites – it was amazing.

I highly recommend this resort. Don’t get me wrong, we also enjoyed our vacation at the SE in punta cana – however, I liked SC better.

Karen

Honeymoon Review Xpu Ha & ASP
From: debfife Date: 11/15/2004 at 7:52 am

Honeymoon – Riviera Maya, Mexico

Xpu Ha Palace
We loved Mexico and Xpu Ha. We didn’t want to stay at your standard run of the mill resort. Xpu Ha was so unique. It’s in the jungle & on the beach. We stayed in a 2nd floor hut in Reef Village which was a great location. We probably walked 3-5 miles a day (everything is VERY spread out) which we enjoyed. We went scuba diving in the estuary there which was so cool. It’s brackish water which is part salt and part fresh water. On the surface it’s very cold (freshwater) at the bottom it’s very warm (saltwater). We also went through a couple of caves on that dive. The beach there was awesome! Service is remarkable. Anything we desired we received. The food was also very good. The resort would be perfect if it had 1 or 2 more places to eat. It would have been fine if we were there for a week but after 2 weeks eating in the 4 places became repetitive. The staff was also extremely friendly. We’d go back in a heartbeat.

ASP –
Your typical mega resort. We weren’t impressed. Staff was not friendly nor did they go out of their way for you. Food was good; there are more places to eat than at Xpu Ha. Even the guests there were not as friendly as they were at Xpu Ha. I can see how a certain type of person would like this place but it wasn’t for us. We’re more laid back, causal type people. This was more for the yuppie crowd. Oh and the lagoon didn’t look nice at all. The water was very murky. I’d much rather stay somewhere with a real beach.

Travel Agent – Lori Light from www.resortquote.com Lori beat everyone’s prices by over $500. She did forget to tell the resort that it was a honeymoon so we missed out on a couple of things they do there for honeymooners. It would have been nice to have the extras but it didn’t effect our trip either way.

Dive Shop – Dive Aventuras
We got our scuba certification while we were there and dove with them 3 times in addition to our course. The course was great. Much harder than we thought. It took 2 ½ days we 3 hours of homework per night! They are an excellent dive operation. They were so nice and so patient with us. They are a very large dive shop. All of their staff speaks both English & Spanish which was also helpful. All of our dives were great. We saw many sea turtles, two sharks, lots of other fish, amazing corals. They have very nice reefs in Riviera Maya; much better than we ever expected.

Back from Dreams Los Cabos
From: CrJames569 Date: 11/23/2004 at 3:21 pm

We just got back from our vacation on Saturday and it was good. It was very relaxing! As far as the hotel itself went, it was ok. We walked down the beach to the Hilton and Las Venatanas (i think thats what it was called) and those hotels seemed more honeymoon like hotels that were more peaceful and quiet. At our hotel it seemed like a lot of older couples who went in big groups. We only saw like 3 other couples by themselves there the whole time, alot of families too. It was pretty loud during the day, b/c at the pool they blasted music all day(70's/80's music) and at night were the activities they had planned which were pretty loud, they could be heard perfectly from our room keeping us awake when we tried to sleep. The grounds there were beautiful and the rooms were decorated nicely. Lots of marble everywhere and nice bright colors. The lobby was really nice and open as well. We were disappointed with the front desk service, b/c when we checked in we were given a smoking room that smelled of mildew and had nno view at all, so we complained and finally the next day we got a great room looking over the pool directly in the middle of the hotel. But they seemed to tell you anything just to get you off their back and not follow through with it later.

The food was edible. For each meal of the day we had only one choice, or we could have room service which was basically the same thing offered at the restaurant. On the last day we were there 3 new restaurants opened at the hotel that looked really nice. They have a really nice upscale Italian restaurant that we ate at the last night, that was excellent with lots to chose from. They also have a japanese steakhouse/sushi place that we didn't get a chance to go to but looked nice inside. They also added a seafood grill restaurant which was on the other side of the hotel by the smaller second pool. It looked like the same poolside grill type atmosphere as at the main pool. For breakfast there is the buffet, which was ok. We ate pancakes everyday for breakfast basically. For lunch we ate at the poolside grill (really only option) which was good b/c it was very easy and you could just throw a cover up on and leave your stuff by the pool at your chairs. They had a decent selection, but it got old after a few days. The dinners we did have there were pretty good. We did go out to eat most nights. We went to Edith's, which we didn't think was all that great. It cost us $150 (U.S. and we split) for dinner and we didn't think it was worth the money. We also ate at La Dolce which we both loved. It was inexpensive ($30 and we each got our own meal) and really good. We also ate at the restaurant at the Hilton called La Hacienda, which was really good. Not too expensive and very good, different dishes. We also did the ATV tour. It was fun. We chose the 2 1/2 hr tour, it was through Baja Activities. It was nice but I wouldn't want to go when it is a lot hotter there. Overall I would go back to Los Cabo, but I wouldn't stay at Dreams again. Hope this helps anyone adn feel free to email me with any questions: CrJames569@hotmail.com

HM REVIEW .. Secrets Excellence Riviera (VERY LONG)
From: bab13 Date: 11/30/2004 at 9:33 am

We just returned from our 8 day/7 night honeymoon at this new resort. I will start by saying that while our honeymoon was not "flawless", we had a wonderful time! To start, the service at this resort is amazing! We were wondering how we were going to possibly do anything for ourselves when we returned. For this reason, although it is not mandatory, we did tip some. You will see how hard these people work for such little money. The restaurants were all good. The only one we did not try was Himitsu, which is a Japanese restaurant. I am an extremely picky eater and at times things weren't done the way I normally would have liked, but I also realized I was in Mexico and expected that. My husband, on the other hand, would eat anything and though the food was fantastic!

The rooms at this resort are beatiful and spacious. There is a king size four post bed, a two person hydro massage tub, a double sink vanity, huge marble shower, and seperate room with toilet (with a door that does NOT go all the way to the floor). We had a spa/pool view and unless you are paying for oceanfront .. I personally would not pay the extra for the swimout suite. To me, they did not seem that private and there is a grassy area between the patios and the pools so you cannot literally swim out of your suite. To use your jacuzzi on the patio, I would think alot of people could see you.

The pools at this resort are also beautiful but pretty cold. We did swim but not as much as we would have. There are six pools and they do meander throughout the property. They are very pretty and lit up at night. If you are going to this resort for the beach or blue water, you will probably be disappointed. The upper part of the sand, closest to the resort was fine but closer to the water, there was alot of seaweed. The water is not clear like in Cancun.

One more thing ... this resort is very casual during the day but we did notice that almost everyone really dressed up at night. There was not that much entertainment at night. But we were so tired from day activities, we didn't mind.

We did do one tour through Aquaworld, which is located at the resort. We did the Jungle Tour w/snorkeling and also the Skyrider, which is a two person parasail. I would recommend using them as they provide free transportation and it is not that expensive. They have alot to offer. We booked a tour through our Apple Rep. at this resort, paid in cash, and when we were in the lobby waiting for our van .. the van driver informed us he had no record of our names. So we received a full cash refund. We were not too happy but overall is saved us money :)

I could probably keep going on and on so I hope this is helpful to anyone deciding on this resort. Overall, I would say its a great honeymoon destination.

I probably would not return because I would like to stay somewhere with a nicer beach and better water. But if you are booked here, you will definitely be treated like royalty. The service is that great! One more thing .. there were a few "projects" still going on, such as the pier out to the ocean. It personally did not bother us though. Any questions, feel free to ask!

Aventura Spa Palace Review - I LOVED IT!
From: ArcticFox Date: 12/1/2004 at 1:13 pm

I got married at Aventura Spa Palace on 11.23, and spent 11 days there honeymooning. I absolutely loved it.

Sorry the link is on another site - it's a site where you write opinions on pretty much anything. So it might be helpful if you're looking for other info too. http://www.epinions.com/content_163589099140

If anyone has any questions or ideas of info to add, please let me know! I'd like to make the review as good as possible. I will have Honeymoon Bio post my review after I get any feedback/make updates.

Thanks again to everyone for their help! My knotties here are the ones I based my decision on where to go. I had never even heard of ASP before!

I loved the resort, it was a fabulous time. We already want to go back, and I looked at nearby 5-star resorts that I wouldn't have liked nearly as much as ASP. We had a perfect wedding and perfect honeymoon.

If anyone wants to see pics, like I say in my review, drop me a line, I'd be happy to share them once I get my album up. I'll also be adding more pics to my bio.

Marysa :)

My Royal Hideaway HM review
From: Truly04 Date: 12/7/2004 at 4:45 pm

Royal Treatment at the Royal Hideaway Playacar

We booked a private transfer to the resort (just so we wouldn’t make any stops), the rep was waiting with cold bottles of water in hand. We were driven in an SUV straight to the resort, which is breathtakingly beautiful, much better than pictures can even capture. We were greeted by friendly staff members with champagne and cool lavender scented towels. Check-in was quick (less than five minutes) and professional. Rather than standing at a counter you sit at one of two beautiful desks. The resort was decorated for Christmas, a nice touch. The main building is beautiful with marble floors, high ceilings, and many cozy, comfy places to sit.

We were escorted to villa 27 (one of the closest to the beach and main pool area). They wanted to put us in a first floor room, however kindly gave us a second floor room when I said I was disappointed with the view. The view from the second floor was awesome; we could see the beach which was partially blocked by many palm trees. The room was very nice, marble floors, vaulted ceilings, quality furnishings and a pretty patio. The bathroom was very large with a whirlpool tub (we used that several times). Maid service came twice a day, which is an added bonus. The maid often left us animal-shaped towels - very cute. In the evening they turned down the bed, left mints, turned the lights down low and left romantic music playing (this I have to say, really sets a nice mood). They do this while you’re at dinner, so its great to come home to. The room had a television, a stereo, a coffee maker and mini refrigerator. It was nice to have cold drinks in the room. The beds were hard in comparison to my pillow top at home but had nice, soft linens. Each villa has its own concierge who makes your dinner reservations for the week and anything else you ask of them.

The grounds were very lush and well kept. There are lots of meandering little paths with cushioned benches, a gazebo, 3 relaxation pools and fountains. The property is very pretty and has the feeling of being big and small at the same time. The landscaping is such that you can’t see other villas so the resort is intimate. The lounge chairs are wooden with thick, comfy cushions that are taken in each evening (I hate plastic chairs, so I was thrilled). Big and absorbent beach towels were always within an arm’s reach. There are several (about 5) beds on the beach. They are about the size of queen bed and are appointed with thick cushions and tons of pillows. For privacy you can close the curtains on them. We hoped into one every chance we got. Right off the beach there were two other pools – one big and one smaller (the first was more beachy feeling the other more relaxing) Overall, they take excellent care of the property and it seems the every blade of grass is in perfect position.

Much of what we liked so much about this resort was the service. I cannot stress enough how helpful the staff is. They do everything in their power to make your stay memorable and relaxing. The wait staff was quick to ask you if you needed a drink, food, a cool towel, anything your heart’s desire; all without expecting an extra tip. The dinner service was spectacular with an extremely professional staff. The bartenders were super friendly and always quick with a drink (which by the way was never watered down unless you requested it). We thought the activities staff was great, very funny, energetic, and articulate without being overly enthusiastic/annoying.

I saved the best for last…the food. We were both pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of food. Presentation enhanced, but did not overpower the food. We loved every bite. There were two choices for breakfast – an ala carte restaurant and a breakfast buffet. We tried the buffet at Spices the first full day and stuck with it because it was EXCELLENT and very convenient. The buffet included a huge assortment of fruit, cereals, pastries, juices, cheeses, an omlette station, and hot foods like bacon, potatoes, waffles, etc. It was nice too that they switched up the hot menu so you didn’t get bored with the food. Also the view from this restaurant was great as it overlooks the beach. For lunch there are two options as well – the snack bar (where you can dine in your bathing suit) and Spices, both are a la carte. The snack bar has a decent variety of salads, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, ice cream and other munchies. Here we were surprised that we could eat healthy. We looked forward to lunch there in the shade with an amazing view of the vivid blue ocean that literally looked painted. For dinner there were four choices – we tried them all and loved them all. Dinner provided great variety. There’s a Mexican/Caribbean restaurant, Italian restaurant, a Grille and an Intercontinental restaurant. Each had excellent choices of fish, chicken, beef, sometimes pork and lamb. The proportions are comparable to any typical 4 or 5 course meal (not huge, but not small either). We almost always had a salad, appetizer, dinner and dessert. It was fun to sample different things. We also sampled different wines and had fun drinks. Although it isn’t necessary to tip, we always did at dinner because the service was so great. They were formal without being stuffy, warm without being intrusive and always professional. The waiters are definitely professional and well trained and never left a glass unfilled or a dirty plate or utensil for more than a minute. We were absolutely thrilled by this because we love food and really enjoy intimate dinners together which is what we got each and every night at the Royal Hideaway.

Feel free to page me with questions or e-mail me at henryandsarah04@yahoo.com.

Cabo San Lucas Honeymoon Review (pics in bio too!)
From: MrsRossIsMe Date: 12/8/2004 at 12:47 pm

Hi Ladies!

I hope this helps anyone considering Cabo for their HM. This board and a few specific knotties were really helpful in determining some of our choices... Here you are!

Great honeymoon. NICE hotel for the money... We stayed at the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar after doing some online research and the recommendation of knottie jan2004. We got an excellent rate of $159 per night, and were supposed to have a garden view room. After seeing the first room we were to stay in, and the HOLES in the door to the room, I complained and we immediately got switched into a partial ocean view, which was MUCH better than I was expecting.

The rooms are comfortable, large, with nice patios, jacuzzi tubs, double sinks (bonus) and really powerful showers. The beds were deliciously comfortable!

We rented a small car from Budget, again, because of research and hearing that it cost $$$$ to get cabs into town. We rented from Budget and paid only $177 for 8 days, unlimited miles, all inclusive price. We liked that the parking was free at the Sheraton and that we were able to leave at will... Budget gets 5 stars!

We stayed in what is referrred to as the Tourist Corridor. It's the beachfront that goes from San Jose Del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas. We were at the 1/2 way point between both, but decided to spend much of our time in Cabo San Lucas. It's a nice town, think a mini-mini NYC. Tons of little shops with the same stuff in them. TONS of silver jewlery and t-shirts. It was fun to walk around, haggle, etc.

We went to Todos Santos for the day, but unfortunately left a little later on in the day, so by the time we got there, people were making their way back to the city. We walked around for about an hour or so, didn't buy anything, then went home. I wish we had more time there, but it was a scary road we had to travel on with stray dogs, cows and goats! Not something we wanted to do after sundown.

Food was good, but expensive. FYI... GO TO COSTCO! We were advised to do this and we bought bottled water, soda and snacks. They were charging about $6.50 a bottle (water) at the hotel!!!

We had breakfast daily at "The Office on the Beach". Excellent food and service. Sitting on the beach under umbrellas with your feet buried in the sand is the way it should be every morning! If you give in 5 receipts, you get a free t-shirt and hat (BONUS!)

Every day for lunch we ordered either chicken fingers (yum) or quesadillas (double yum) poolside. The poolside food was good, but of course, slow. They are hurried to get you drinking, though!

Every night we tried different restaruants that I'd heard about, researched, etc.
Edith's= Delicious but VERY expensive. Not worth the $180 we spent on dinner, but still good eating. Cafe Ole Ole= On the strip by the marina. Good, fair prices, and free bottle of wine with 2 dinners. Doug's meal was so spicy he almost hit the floor. Mine was good and oh so filling!
Trailer Park (LaGolondria)= Excellent food. The pic in the bio of the food is from that meal. Pretty good value. Great ambiance considering the name! El Patio= We stumbled upon this small streetside restaurant while walking around Cabo. We ate there twice because of the excellent service, food quality and price. For $4.00 you got either salad or soup, three tacos, rice, beans and soda or a beer. Can't beat that!
Restaurante DaGiorgio= Breathtaking views of the Arch, romantic, and their drinks are STRONG! We had just appetizers and what we had was excellent. Mi Casa= Again, large portions, we couldn't finish. Seafood was excellent and the price was moderate. Tomatoes (at the hotel)=The all you can eat lobster buffet was disappointing. They grill the lobster and it gets all charcoal tasting. The butter helped!!!

For anyone considering a trip to Cabo, it's really a nice place., although expensive. I liked that it was different than an island trip. Instead of the lush tropics, it was a desert. Dry sunny days and cool nights made for excellent outdoor conditions. I hear it gets HOT in the summer, but this time of year was perfect.

Hope this is helpful!
Amy
PHOTOS: CABO SAN LUCAS

Topic: Xpu Ha Palace Review...(long)
From: jess80 Date: 12/10/2004 at 9:46 pm

My husband and I just spent our honeymoon at Xpu Ha Palace (12-1 to 12-8) and we have so many great things to say about our time there!

We booked the trip through allinclusiveoutlet.com and Natalie was the travel agent. We looked on several different websites for price quotes and this one was by far the cheapest. Natalie was very helpful and everything worked smoothly. Our transportation from the airport, reservations, tours...everything was taken care of.

We got to Xpu Ha around noon and I wasn't expecting our room to be ready, but we got to go to our room right away. The bellman gave us a ride to our room and did a great job of pointing things out to us along the way. We noticed right away how friendly and accomodating the staff were. They always greeted you and always had a smile on thier faces. We had hoped for a second level room, but ended up with a bottom floor room. We decided that we would see how it was and if we wanted to we were told we could be put on a waiting list to move to an upper level room. Our room was in the Bird section which was really close to the north pool and 2 restaraunts. We ended up staying in that room the whole week because we enjoyed the privacy, location, and we weren't too disappointed not having a thatched roof. I don't know if we were lucky or what, but we had heard of people getting bug bites at night or having geckos in there rooms. But we didn't get bit once and never had any creatures in our room. We saw some iguanas and geckos on a couple sidewalks and a couple of racoons at night but didn't see any other creatures besides the animals and birds they have in cages there (spider monkeys, deer, crocodiles, flamingos...which was pretty neat also). We brought along some Fabreeze as we had heard the rooms smelled musty. We used it once...they weren't that bad. And maybe they are worse as you get closer to the water and beach, but we didn't have a problem with it. The whirlpool was GREAT! We made sure to use it as much as we could.

The food was pretty good. We especially liked the oriental restaraunt. There is a lot of seafood, and the portions for the most part were about just right for us. We were always full when we left the restaraunts. I think some people complain about the portion sizes because we have such huge portion sizes in the U.S.

The bikes: If you can get one they are a great way to get around. The first couple of days we were there we were lucky and found 2 bikes that worked. But sometimes there weren't any bikes left or the ones that were left didn't have working breaks or had other broken parts. It would be nice to assign each guest a bike for the time they stay there. That way you know you'll always have a bike. The walk to the beach or other places can be long depending on where your room is. We saw the shuttle go around quite a bit and we were able to use that a few times, but we didn't mind walking either.

The beach was AWESOME!!! We never had a problem getting a chair. The pool areas were also nice, but we spent most of our time at the beach or the snorkeling inlet. The snorkeling was fun. It was the first time for both of us, so we really enjoyed it. At night there are theme parties or shows to go to. We only took in one show, but we heard many good things about the other shows from other people.

We took a day trip into Cancun one day and after seeing the rat race of traffic and people, we were definitely happy that we stayed where we stayed. Xpu Ha Palace is the place to go if you want a quiet and relaxing honeymoon or vacation. If going to night clubs or partying is more your thing, you'd probably enjoy staying somewhere on the strip in Cancun. We have so many great memories from our time at Xpu-Ha and we are looking forward to visiting it again sometime in the future!!

Review of HM at Palladium Grand in Riviera Maya Mexico
From: LeftwichLady Date: 12/13/2004 at 3:06 pm

My DH and I went on our honeymoon from November 8 - 14 at the Palladium Grand in Riviera Maya Mexico. We found no bad information on it on the knot or anywhere else we looked. When we got down there, we understood why. The Palladium Grand is a PERFECT getaway!

THE RESORT
The resort itself is beautiful, with fountains and flamingoes right out front. It is made up of two hotels, so everything is split down the middle. There is a huge fountain, the disco, two specialty restaurants, and a buffet restaurant on the colonial side, and the colonial is also where all the pickups for excursions are and the colonial lobby is where all the sellers from town come and set up to sell their souvenirs. The kantenah also has two specialty restaurants, a buffet restaurant, and a fountain with flamingoes. But it also boasts the gift shop, the tequilaria, and an alligator pen. There are some other shops on that side that I just can't seem to remember at the moment. There are bars all over the place on the resort, and since this is an all-inclusive resort, everything is free. The drinks seemed pretty good to me. I didn't feel like anything was watered down, but I don't drink often so I guess I wouldn't really be able to tell. The hotel was also spotless. There was always someone cleaning something and you could see your reflection in just about everything. There were also little ponds of fish all through the main hotel areas (from the both lobbies back to the El Gran Azul beffet restaurant which is in the middle of both sides of the resort) and even they are kept clean.

OUR ROOM
Our room, like every part of the resort, was spotless. It had marble or granite or some kind of hard, smooth surface everywhere. It was beautiful and I've never seen any place like it. The stone was mostly rose-colored. Our room was decorated in bright colors and our balcony overlooked a jungle-type area. I felt like we were in Eden. Our room had a tv and a minibar that was stocked with 2 Pepsis, 2 7-Ups, 2 of some kind of an orange pop, 2 Double X beers, 2 Superior beers, and 2 large bottles of water. The minibar was restocked every other day free of charge. It cost $20 if you asked them to stock it again before then, but with all the bars and restaurants on the resort grounds, there shouldn't really be a need for that.

BEACH & POOLS
The resort is right on a beautiful beach (and there are at least three pools if you don't like ocean water). The ocean was beautiful, at least three different shades of blue. The beach seemed fine, though DH and I didn't get to spend much time out there. We did discover the 24-hour snack bar out there, though. They had really good food and a bar stocked just as well as the ones in the hotels. You could hardly go walking on the resort without finding a pool, and at least one of them looked like it had a swim-up bar. One was adults-only and one was related to the spa, and there was at least one more. Renting towels is a free service, so I recommend renting one at the towel place for swimming in the pools or on the beach. It's also convenient to take one with you on any excursions where you might get wet and then returning it the next day if you decide not to take your own (or forget your towels like we did).

SERVICE
The service at the resort was wonderful! They brought our complimentary honeymooners fruit basket and bottle of tequila to our room the first night. The maid was a busy woman, apparently, because whenever we came back to our room there was a new origami towel sculpture on our bed. The first night was a bridal couple of swans which formed a heart with their necks, another night was a mermaid, etc. Whenever you needed to ask a question, people were more than happy to help. No one at the hotel was rude or asked for a tip. In fact, I don't think they were allowed to get tips. If you really wanted to tip someone, you needed to do it carefully when no one else was around.

FOOD
There are at least seven restaurants on the resort, not counting the 24-hour snack bar on the beach. Four of them you have to have reservations for, and depending on how long you stay you get vouchers so you can make those reservations. We stayed for a week so we got two vouchers. We ate at the steak restaurant and the Mediteranean (sp?) restaurant. Both were wonderful, with great service and excellent food. I highly recommend the cheesecake for dessert and DH recommends the pancakes flambe for dessert. We didn't get to try the other two reservations-only restaurants, but the other three restaurants are buffet-style and we ate at all three of them. There's a huge selection and I can guarantee that you can find something that you will like. And if you go to this resort on your honeymoon, you will be invited to a special honeymooners-only dinner on one night. I must say that even though I am a very picky eater, I actually loved the food at this resort.

EXCURSIONS
There is no resort in the world so great that you don't leave your hotel for some sightseeing or something. We booked our excursions through Apple Vacations in the hotel lobby. We went to Chichen Itza, Xcaret, and the romantic sunset dinner cruise. By doing only one of the excursions offered, you also got to go on the shopping trip to Playa del Carmen and Lapis, the jewelry store on the way, for free. We took this offer as well. I don't know if I would recommend Chichen Itza after this year since you won't get the chance to climb it anymore, but it was fun. I don't think I'd climb inside the pyramid again, but it was an interesting experience that I'll be able to tell my kids about someday (you know, once DH and I have kids to tell it to).

Xcaret was absolutely beautiful! DH and I swam the Mayan river through a cavern with amazing stained glass at the top and through lots of other caves. The water was wonderful, and we got our picture taken at the mouth of one of the caves. When we got out of the water, there were beautiful animals everywhere and at one point in the day there was a show at one end of the park featuring a Mayan ritual of some kind (I think, DH and I got there kind of in the middle of it, but it was in the Mayan village). There was also a show at the end of the day (technically that night) that was beyond amazing. Everything that you wanted to see during the day, but didn't necessarily have time for was featured in the show, and you got to see how the game they told you about at Chichen Itza was played as well as a game with a flaming ball. There was singing, dancing, and history and it was indescribable to be honest.

The romantic sunset dinner cruise was something I wish I could have done every night. It was not only romantic being under the stars with my DH out on the water, but the food was wonderful. We were served steak and lobster. I'm not crazy about seafood, but this lobster was great. And the steak was some of the best I've ever had. We were served Rum Punch, Pina Coladas, and Beer when we got on the boat, but later it seemed like we could get other beverages. We also met some really nice people on the boat. Our guide was really funny and our entertainer (a saxophonist from Cuba) was really talented. It was a perfect night.

As you can probably tell, DH and I had a great time on our HM. If you want any other information on this resort, email me at krazy_4_g@yahoo.com and I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Riviera Maya - Grand Flamenco Xcaret - vacation review (long)
From: Jen12573 Date: 12/13/2004 at 6:22 pm

DH and I just returned on Saturday from a week at the Grand Flamenco Xcaret and it was incredible. We weren't on our honeymoon, but my birthday was last weekend, and our anniversary is a month away, which is why we went. We ended up getting upgraded to the Royal Club, which is usually for members only or honeymooners, so tell them you're on your honeymoon, they'll likely upgrade you if they have the space. The resort had 7 restaurants, 5 bars, 9 restaurants for dinner, and the Royal Club gave us an extra restaurant, pool, jacuzzi (cool water, not hot, but it's warmed by the sun and the perfect temp) and a small beach. We had a suite and it was awesome, separate bedroom, huge bathroom with jacuzzi, and a living room and dining room - oh and two decks over looking the ocean. Incredible. The food, we have to say, was really, really good! Though we were able to eat at the Royal Club, a la carte anytime, we only ate there once for lunch (first day) and every day for breakfast. We had room service for dinner twice, and that was perfect. Mainly we ate dinner at Le Buffet in the main building. We were going to try the specialty restaurants, but never got around to it (we heard the steak place and the seafood place were awesome though) - when we were hungry we wanted to eat, not be stuck waiting for our reservation. The food at the buffet changes nightly, and it was all incredible - yes, you heard that right, an all-inclusive resort with awesome food - WOW! Oh, and lunch at The Beach Club (which at night turns into the seafood a la carte place) was awesome, definitely eat there if you stay at the resort.

Riviera Maya isn't really known for it's luxurious beaches, as it has a very rocky shoreline, unlike Cancun which has sandy beaches - but the lagoon the hotel created is very good (so is the bar at the beach), the snorkeling was incredible.

The resort also has the eco-waterpark next to it, Xcaret. During your stay, you receive one day pass to go to the park, it's terrific. We swam with the dolphins (extra $) and went snorkeling in the reefs and swam in the underground river. We also took two excursions (sort of). One night we went to Playa del Carmen. The shopping and nightlife there was terrific, definitely go there - but make sure you have more than 3 hours there's so much to do. We took a cab from the hotel, it was about $10 USD. Our main excursion was the Mayan Snorkeling Adventure which lasts from 9am-4pm. They take you for a long swim out into the ocean over amazing coral reefs, about 1-1/2 miles round trip. We saw sea turtles, tons of fish, huge parrot fish and an eel. Then we went to an underground river which was amazing, and finally to a cenote (natural swimming hole) where you can jump off a huge rock into the cenote - and the snorkeling there was great too.

If you want more info about the resort, please let me know (page me). I could go on, but it will be very, very, very long as we had such a wonderful time. If you're looking to go to Riviera Maya, check out Grand Flamenco Xcaret by Occidental, you won't be disappointed!!! :)

Riviera Maya-Grand Xcaret honeymoon review (warning: VERY LONG!!!!)
From: bellastella227 Date: 12/29/2004 at 12:07 pm

DH and I just returned from our honeymoon to the Riviera Maya. We stayed for 7 nights at the Grand Xcaret by Occidental Hotels. From Mpls, this vacation cost us $2800 including airfare and transfers. This is an amazing all-inclusive resort! It is impressive from the moment you drive up to it. We were greeted with a delicious tropical drink---yummy! We arrived before check-in time but we were lucky enough to get into our room right away. We did hit our first glitch here, though…the hotel was not aware that it was our honeymoon. I checked with my travel agent three times to make sure it was noted in our reservation. I don’t know where to lay the blame but due to this fact we did not get any of the honeymoon amenities. We could have gotten them to give them to us but they were not anything we necessarily needed (flower arrangement in the room, discount at spa, announcement at shows, etc.). Breakfast in bed was one of the amenities and we made sure to receive that one! Our refrigerator was refilled every day with all the beverages, although their literature states it would only be refilled every other day.

We stayed in room 12347, near the lobby and tennis courts. It had a balcony and a king-sized bed. It was very clean and had a wonderful shower in the bathroom (very spacious, good water pressure). The maids left us a few of the “towel sculptures” and we had fresh flowers and petals in our room on some days. We found that the number of towels we received was not consistent…sometimes we only had one hand towel or we didn’t even get a foot towel for the shower. I assume that it would have been promptly taken care of if we brought it to their attention. There was a safe in the room that we used for our valuables. One night, as we were getting ready to go out, it would not lock. We called and had someone there in 15 minutes to help us and then we were on our way.

The resort itself was beautiful! The grounds are kept immaculately clean and everything is so spread out that nothing ever seems crowded (this does call for more walking, though, or waiting for the golf carts). There were plenty of pools with different atmospheres. The beach was more of a lagoon but beautiful nonetheless. Beyond the Beach Club there was also an “adult beach” where topless sunbathing is permitted. We mostly spent our time there because it was right on the edge of the ocean, it was more quiet, and it kids were not allowed. There was plenty of wildlife to be found on the resort grounds. We saw animals that we didn’t even know what they were! During our week there, we saw: many lizards, a snake, monkeys, macaws (in the wild!) and other beautiful birds, cereques, coati-mundis, peacocks, and bats. Our resort also kept a few animals on their property like flamingos, deer, and other monkeys. A nature lover would be in Heaven!

The food was good but not great. I loved the breakfast buffet at first but grew tired of it by the end of the week. The fresh juices were wonderful! Lunch buffet was only OK. There were many options for dinner. We ate at four of the specialty restaurants: La Hacienda (Mexican gourmet) was excellent; Sonora Grill (steakhouse) was good; Los Olivos (Italian/Meditteranean) was good; and El Pescador (seafood) would probably be good for seafood lovers. At La Hacienda we enjoyed chicken enchiladas with a cheese sauce and a delicious Surf & Turf with beef skirt and shrimp. At the Sonora, we both had filet mignon. It was OK, but you can’t find better meat than in America. We didn’t have high expectations anyway. It was my birthday and the waiter brought us out champagne and they made me a little birthday cake as well. At Los Olivos, we had chicken marsala and shrimp scampi. The chicken was OK but the shrimp was excellent. At El Pescador, we mainly went for the atmosphere. It is located in the beach club and overlooks the ocean at night. It was beautiful but neither of us like seafood and there were no other options on the menu. We both had shrimp and scallops in a lobster sauce. It was OK but would not have been my first choice. There were olives and oysters on the sides and it was more like a stew. You could also eat dinner at Le Buffet which had a different theme every night. I could usually find some good food but a lot was the same as other buffets. There was also a pizzeria and taco place that you could eat dinner at without reservations. We didn’t eat the pizza but the taco place was great! We went there still hungry after eating at El Pescador.

Drinks were to be found everywhere! We enjoyed a variety of options, I think we tried almost all the specialty drinks on their menus. Our favorites were the sangria and the chi chi. Delicious! We enjoyed stopping at the lobby bar for a cocktail on our way to dinner. They also gave you popcorn and spicy peanuts.

We didn’t take advantage of much of the entertainment. We didn’t sit and watch a show in the theater, although we saw parts as we walked by after dinner. We were always so tired and ready to retire fairly early. We did take a bike ride one morning and DH played tennis a few times. There were other classes we were interested in but when it came down to it we were all about relaxing and it was the perfect place to do it. I even read three books during the week! Here was a typical day: Wake up, head down to breakfast, go down to the adult beach for a few hours, head up to the Beach Club for lunch, go back to the room to take a nap, take showers and get ready for the night, stop at the lobby bar for a drink, eat dinner, slowly make our way back to our room to sleep and do it all over again the next day. It was the perfect honeymoon!

We did not have to spend one dollar all week if we didn’t want to. We didn’t spend any money at the resort as all the tips are included. We worried that we wouldn’t get as good of service as some of the other Americans that would tip, but there was no noticeable difference. We really didn’t see that many others tipping anyway. We went to Xcaret Park on my birthday. It is an eco-park located next to the resort and one day’s admission is included in your stay. I had been there before 8 years ago but there seemed to be many new things. We had a great time there! There was lots of wildlife, education, and beautiful water to go snorkel in. We went into Playa del Carmen one night to check it out. We had dinner at Senor Frogs and walked up and down 5th Avenue. It was OK. We were going to spend all day and night Thursday there but we decided we had had enough. It was a cute area but it seemed to be all tourist shops. Thursday night we ended up booking a sunset sail and dinner on the beach. Of course, it was a beautiful day but on the way there we were hit with the rain. We were greeted in Maroma with champagne and waited for the other guests to arrive. By the time we went on the boat, the rain had pretty much stopped. There were only two other couples there so it was very intimate and romantic. There were drinks and appetizers on the boat and then we headed back to the beach to eat under a Palapa hut. It was a delicious five-course meal. We chose steak and lobster. The steak was OK again but the lobster was delicious! We got two tails and a large piece of meat. There was also Caesar salad, black bean soup, baked potato, vegetables, and dessert. There was live music which consisted of a man at the keyboard. He seemed to be having fun but his attempt at comedy really ruined the romantic mood. Being that there were only three couples in attendance, we all received a lot of attention. It was a wonderful night all-in-all, perfect for a honeymoon excursion.

Soon enough it was time to head back to our cold home of Minnesota. We had no trouble setting up our transportation. It was also easy to check out. It felt like the week flew by and we wish we were still in the sunshine of Mexico enjoying a pina colada. If anyone has any questions, feel free to page me or send me an email at bellastella227@yahoo.com

Jennifer

Honeymoon review: El Dorado Royale, Riveria Maya
From: shesteki Date: 1/8/2005 at 4:27 pm

We stayed at EDR January 2-7 for our honeymoon.

ROOM
The Casita suite was definitely worth the money. Be sure to ask for one on the 2nd floor. The first night we were on the ground floor right in front of the bar. Our view wasn't that great, so we asked for a transfer. The Casita concierge accomodated our request and moved us up for the rest of our trip. The view from this room was amazing. The room was like nothing I've ever seen before. The balcony was huge, with a table and chairs, a hammock, and 2 lounge chairs. We had breakfast there almost every day.

The outdoor shower was fun and the water was warm. We could see the ocean from the jacuzzi. The shower/bathtub was fine, although the shower head seemed to be positioned for someone under 5 feet tall.

Our maid left a towel sculpture on the bed every day with fresh flower petals.

The swim up Casitas didn't seem worth the extra money from what we could tell.

BEACH
The beach was great. We never had trouble finding a place to sit. A couple days we laid in a beach bed. People seemed to hang out by the pools more than the beach, but this could be attributed to the weather. While we were there, the winds on the beach were pretty strong. Some days were worse than others. The water was also rough so we didn't do much swimming in the ocean.

The beach by the Casitas was not rocky. There was no need for water shoes. Some areas near the other part of the hotel were a little rocky, but we didn't think it was too bad.

BARS
We ordered most of our drinks from the swim up bar at the 2600 Casitas. The service was mostly good. Someone came by the beach every half hour to take drink orders. We tipped a couple bucks every few drinks.

We went to the main bar a couple nights. The entertainment was ok. The swings were fun. If you're looking for night life, EDR is not the place for you. The Casita bar by our room was open until 11 pm every night. This was very convenient for us!

RESTAURANTS
We had no problem getting reservations. We ate at JoJo's, the asian, and Italian places for dinner. All were excellent, but our favorite was the Asian. We also had a complimentary candlelight dinner on the beach. This meal was the worst of them because of the wind. The service at the Italian was great. Someone noticed I was cold and brought me a shawl to wear while I was there. I wore dresses to dinner most of the time. Other people were not as dressed up. My husband wore shorts a couple times and was not out of place.

There was a noticable lack of snacks at EDR. We expected chips and salsa, nachos, quesidillas, etc at the pool. To get these, we had to eat at JoJo's. Room service was good. We loved eating breakfast on our balcony.

SIDE TRIPS
We took 2 side trips during our stay. We went on a half day snorkeling trip to Puerto Moralos called "Reef Experience." We highly recommend this activity. It cost $55/person and included transportation and lunch. We saw an eel, a baracuda, and tons of tropical fish and coral.

The last night we were there we took the free shuttle to Playa del Carmen. We ate before we left because we didn't know how the food would be there. From what we could see, the restaurants looked good. We wish we would have known that before we went.

MISC.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday you can get your picture taken with parrots and an iguana. You don't have to pay up front, just if you want to take a picture home. We purchased one of the parrot shots for $9.

Smell? What smell? We wouldn't have noticed anything if people on this site hadn't complained so much about it.

TRAVEL AGENT
www.discount-all-inclusive.com. We payed $3300 for airfare, 5 nights, and airport transfers. We dealt with Katya entirely via email. She was quick to respond to our questions. They had the best price compared to several other online all inclusive discounters.

AIRLINE
US Airways lost our luggage on the way home. They were not surprised. I'm amazed that our luggage made it to Mexico. I would avoid them if I were you.

OVERALL
This vacation was our first experience with an all inclusive. We were very impressed and highly recommend EDR.

Aventura Spa Palace Review 1/10/05-1/16/05
From: erinkate86 Date: 1/20/2005 at 4:33 pm

We just returned from our Honeymoon at ASP on Sunday afternoon. We spent 6 nights and 7 days at the resort. We booked the resort through Irina at discountallinclusives.com, and the airfare through 1800cheapseats.com. The short story is that it was wonderful and I have very few complaints (except I will NEVER fly Delta airlines again!). The following is the (extremely) long version:

We flew into Cancun at about 10:00AM on Monday morning. We were able to find the transportation that Irina had arranged for us without any trouble. A van was ready for us and drove us directly to the hotel. Once we arrived, we were greeted with champagne and given our famous pink Honeymooner bracelets. We were driven to our room on a golf cart and everyone we encountered was extremely friendly. Our room was on the third floor and we were a little closer to the Aventura side, but not much. The room was nice and clean, and the fridge and bar were stocked and I was really excited to see the towel animal on the bed (it was a swan). We used the two-person Jacuzzi tub several times when we were there and it was great. On Wednesday we had a spa treatment, which was possibly the best thing we did. It was quite expensive to us (although I don’t know how much spa treatments normally run) but it was worth it. I think it was called the Anniversary package or something, and it was $426 for the two of us. We were driven by golf cart to a private enclosed palapa that had a view of the ocean. There were two women waiting outside to drop rose petals in our path as we walked. When we went in they gave us some special little panties to wear (we are fairly modest, so it was a little embarrassing but not a big deal) and some bathrobes. Everything inside was so nice. It smelled wonderful and relaxing and there was nice soothing background music. We sat down in some chairs and they did a foot washing ritual which was very relaxing. Then we did a series of water therapies which consisted of a steam room, a cold shower, and a sauna. In the sauna we received some drinks. Then we were led to a giant bubble bath and given champagne while our heads were massaged. They left us alone for about 15 minutes and then returned. The best part was the full body massage with hot river stones. It sounds strange but it was wonderful. It last for 1.5 hours, and then we both got facials. They left us alone again after everything was over and we had some green tea and a fruit basket. We were both so relaxed that it took us forever to walk back to our room for a nap.

While we were there we ate at every restaurant and I wouldn’t complain about any of them. My husband’s favorite was MoMoNoHana because of the sushi (it was fabulous!), but I liked La Hacienda the best because I LOVE Mexican food. I’m normally not a fan of buffets, but that is the only option for breakfast and lunch (other than room service). There were so many choices and everything was great in my opinion. Also, the guacamole was some of the best I’ve ever had. Drinks were never hard to find, but sometimes the amount of alcohol was overpowering (and I can drink!). One of my margaritas tasted like straight tequila. Usually drinks were great though. Other things that we enjoyed at ASP were our Honeymooners dinner at Mundaca, the pool on the Aventura side (it was less busy than the spa side), the nightly shows in the South Lobby, and snorkeling and kayaking in the lagoon. We also spent a lot of time just walking around the resort because there is a lot to see and it was just nice to relax. There were a number of trips included and we decided to go on two of them. We went to Tulum and Xpu-Ha on Thursday, and to Isla Mujeres on Friday. I really enjoyed both trips, but wished for more time everywhere! Xpu-Ha was beautiful and we snorkled in the estuary and in the bay. We saw a manta ray in the estuary, plus tons of fish, and there were also lots of colorful fish in the bay. They also had the option of kayaking the estuary, going on a tour to see the animals (its sort of like a zoo), or just hanging out by the pool. After snorkeling we went to the pool area to relax and there was a buffet lunch set up for everyone. Drinks and food were included just like at ASP. We are thinking about splitting our next vacation to the area between Xpu-Ha and ASP. The afternoon portion of the trip was spent in Tulum. We had a great guide and he spent about 45 minutes taking us around the ruins. We then had 45 minutes to look around ourselves and take pictures. I don’t think it was long enough, plus there was a nice little beach below the ruins where people were swimming and I would have liked to have joined them. It was very hot in the afternoon and I would recommend taking lots of water. Also, when we were leaving Tulum, there was one couple who didn’t get to the bus on time. We waited about 15 minutes and then the bus driver took off. Luckily they appeared before we made it out of the parking lot. Just a warning that these tours will leave you behind if you aren’t on time. On the way back to the resort we stopped at a Mayan market. The prices were more expensive than in the hotel gift shop! It was pretty ridiculous. We did buy a customized painting of our wedding date in Mayan writing, which is really nice, but I wouldn’t bother with the jewelry or other items because you can find them cheaper elsewhere. Overall it was a fun trip, and I liked that there were less people at Tulum than there would be at a larger ruin like Chichen Itza.

The Isla Mujeres trip was fun. The bus ride was longer and people were a little stir crazy when we arrived at the dock in Cancun. We boarded a large catamaran and were very entertained by the boat staff on the ride to the island. When we got to Isla Mujeres we had four options. We chose the snorkeling tour which was $20 per person. The others were to swim with dolphins, to take a boat ride around the island, or to SCUBA dive. Some people also just hung out at the private beach club. For the snorkeling tour we had to get on a speedboat to get over to the coral reefs. We took our own snorkel gear, but they also had some you could borrow, although I would recommend bringing your own snorkel if you have a good one. We snorkeled quite a ways and saw a lot of colorful fish and some barracudas. I had fun, but I would say that I enjoyed snorkeling at Xpu-Ha more. Afterwards we went back to the beach club and had lunch and laid on the beach. Then we all got back on the catamaran and docked downtown. We were allotted only ½ hour to shop and they had recommended 3 or 4 shops to us. We bought some jewelry which wasn’t priced to badly, some Cuban cigars, and some t-shirts for friends back home. We smoked our cigars in Mexico, but if you want to bring them home the shop will “alter” them for you for a small fee. I wish we had more time to explore the town but that is what you sacrifice on a guided tour. We loved ASP and felt that everything was wonderful!

Review of El Dorado Royale - GARDEN VIEW ROOM (very long)
From: aleatha7 Date: 1/26/2005 at 4:03 pm

When I was looking for info on EDR, all I could find was info about the Casitas. The Casitas were nice, but I thought I would give a review about the resort from the garden view perspective. We stayed at EDR for our honeymoon on 1/12-1/19, and had a great time.

CHECK-IN: We arrived at 2:30pm. There was champagne available if you wanted to get it yourself, but we were not offered any. We decided to go to the front desk ourselves instead of waiting, since there was a crowd in the lobby. Our room was not ready, but we went to have lunch and were given a room when get got back.

ROOM: Our garden view room was very spacious, comfortable, and clean. We were in room 912 (second floor) and were close to everything. It was very quiet, and the view was of the gardens, as promised. We even had a resident peacock visit us every night on our balcony. There was always a full fridge, too.

FOOD/DRINK: The fact that EDR was known for its food (and that it had no buffets) were major factors in picking the resort, and generally we weren’t left disappointed. During our stay, we had the opportunity to try every restaurant except La Cabana. We usually had breakfast or lunch La Isla, and there was plenty to choose from. Lunch at JoJo’s was excellent, as was their dinner selection. We went there our first night and loved it! D’Italia and Kampai were our favorite restaurants, with JoJo’s a close 3rd. Cocotal had good food, although I didn’t like the atmosphere as much as the others. Lobster nights are Tuesday and Saturday at Cocotal. We went on our last night, and although it was good I would have preferred another night at D’Italia or Kampai. Even though I had heard lots of so-so reviews about the Mexican restaurant, we still gave it a shot. I have to say I agree with other reviews on this. It is a decent restaurant, but compared to the other four it is lacking. We only ordered Room Service once and had a Club and chicken sandwiches with dessert. It came in 45 minutes, as promised, and it was pretty good. The drinks were very good and had plenty of alcohol. The health bar was a nice touch, although we both had a Dorado smoothie there our last day and ended up a little sick.

DINNER RESERVATIONS: The rumors are true. If you are not in a casita, you have to make reservations 3 days in advance or you have very few times left. I had heard about this in advance, so anticipated it, and it wasn’t too bad of a problem. One thing I learned later in our stay is they have a waiting list for reservations but will only put you down if you ask for it. Usually if I got there at 8am there was not much of a line but people started showing up 8:15 or so and it could get long. If you are in the Casitas, though, they have a separate concierge that you make reservations with. I heard after we were there that no matter what room you are in, you can email the resort directly and make reservations for your first 3 nights before hand. That would have been handy to know in advance!

SHOWS/NIGHTLIFE: There is not much nightlife here but that was fine with is. Guacamayas was a comfortable bar to relax in. We never actually watched a full show since our dinner reservations conflicted but the parts we watched were funny. There is no actual “disco” – they use the stage from the show and it serves the purpose but isn't quite the same.

EXCURSIONS: I went to Rancho Loma Bonita horseback riding while my husband watched the football game, and had a great time! It is 5 minutes from the hotel and you get to ride horses on the beach and in the water. It was gorgeous. We also went to Chichen Itza. It was a great trip, but it took 12 hours. We knew it in advance though so was prepared. I would recommend both excursions.

MISC: Football fans, no worries! They can play NFL games in the Martini Lounge in the main lobby – Make sure you let them know a few hours in advance you want to watch the game, though. My husband missed the first half of the Vikings game since they had trouble setting up. I was a little disappointed that nothing was done to celebrate our honeymoon. I realize it was almost full so I understand why we weren’t upgraded. However it was a disappointing to learn that if you pay extra for an ocean front room or casita you get a special package for "free" if it is your honeymoon. Oh well. Other tips: the gift shop is VERY expensive. We signed up for the free shuttle to Playa (sign up one day in advance) and shopped there. We got up early one morning to watch the sunrise – it was gorgeous, romantic, and we had the beach to ourselves. Get your lounger reserved early – I usually did it around 8am, the same time I made dinner reservations. I am an early riser, though, so it was not a problem for me.

Bottom line, we had a great trip. Just do your research – the staff will tell you about things like lobster night and that you can make reservations 3 days in advance if you ask them, but will not volunteer the info to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at aleatha7@hotmail.com.

honeymoon at riu palace in cabo san lucas
From: janbridetobe Date: 2/1/2005 at 5:10 pm

we stayed at the riu palace in cabo san lucas. it was great. we travel a lot and we really enjoyed it. the resort just opened in dec 04 so everything was new and very clean. The rooms were nice sized and the bathrooms were huge and all marble. the food was really good, there were 4 restraunts and a buffett. the mini bar was stocked every other day(unless we asked and then they came up). there were 6 bars and lots of snacks. the service was great for an all inclusive. the pools and the grounds were imaculate. overall we would give it a 9 out of 10. if you need any other info just let me know!

PHOTOS: MEXICO (CABO SAN LUCAS)

TOPIC: Honeymoon at Iberostar in Cozumel Mexico
FROM: Runsalotbride Date: 3/22/2005 at 10:04 am

Honeymoon Review. First of all we waited 5 months because August in WI is nice and we knew we were going to want to get away from WI in January. Plus we were able to save more money and pay for it in cash which is a nice relief!

We were very flexible with our dates and waited until December to book the trip which saved us about $800 - $900. I finally decided that I wanted to book through Apple Vacations and visited their website daily for their specials. That paid off. We knew which resorts we were interested in and what kind of “apple rating” we wanted to go with. I found the deal, printed out the page and took it to Kelly at East Town Travel (Milwaukee) and booked it. It took 30 minutes. She rocked. Our documents came right away.

I will say Apple was awesome. If you are looking to do a package deal go with them. We arrived at the airport, were escorted right to the Apple line and went through with no problems. The flight was on time – thank God. We left on the Friday of the snowstorm. As we were flying out the black clouds were rolling in! Apple just bought out an entire plane and it was a direct flight into Cozumel. So nice! We were met at the Cozumel airport by 2 Apple reps and swept away to our resort – Iberostar Cozumel. We got to the resort at about 10 pm, check it right away, and arrived to a beautiful room with a bottle of wine and a fruit plate waiting for us. Plus everyday the two reps – Ruben and Rosa were there for 4 hours in the morning and a couple hours in the evening to help you book trips, answer questions and get transportation for you. Plus they make traveling back to the States very easy. Again, picked up at hotel, taken right to the airport, all Apple vacationers on one flight, the taxes back in are included and they made customs very easy.

Our room was spectacular. The Iberostar’s rooms were Mexican-style bungalows. We had a second level room so the roof was “straw.” It was so neat. The floors were marble and the shower had two shower heads!!! The entire resort sits in a “rain forest.” So every morning we woke up to flamingos, parakeets, cockatoos, peacocks and other birds singing. There were Iguanas hanging out everywhere, lizards and geckos. The maids were very good to us. We left them some money every morning and then stocked our bar everyday, gave us extra beer, extra towels and fresh flowers everyday. The room was always so clean. The bed was a little hard and we knew that this may be the case by reading reviews on trip advisor. After the first 2 nights we asked for an extra blanket and they brought us a “foam” mattress and redid our bed with that. It was great – it really made a difference.

The resort had 2 main dining areas for breakfast and lunch and 3 for dinner. We enjoyed all the food. There was so much food and so many different varieties to please all types of eaters. We feasted on everything! There was the same food every meal plus a couple different main dishes. Always had cheeses, antipastos, tacos, made to order omelets for breakfast, fresh hot bread, mussels, shrimp, steak, chicken, pork, seafood, salads, fruit, pizza, French fries, stir fries, hamburgers and on and on!!! Plus you can’t complain about the drinks. Our favorites were the margaritas on the rocks, pina coladas and the dirty monkey. YUMMY!

We worked out almost everyday. They had a workout room with weights, stair steppers, treadmills and stationary bikes. Plus we played beach volleyball everyday. We also kayaked in the ocean and snorkeled off the pier. The reefs were beautiful and there were so many fish. If you dive, this is the place to go as there were boats picking up guests all the time to dive. If you are interested in diving, get certified locally. The diving is amazing and we heard was real inexpensive.

The staff was the best part. We got real close to some of them. They work their butts off. Some were there from 8 am - midnight. We learned so much about them, their cultures, and their families, where they came from and on and on. Try to speak Spanish to them if you know any. They love it. We were able to speak minimal Spanish and carry on conversations with them. They also helped us out and we learned so much.

The worse part of the trip was the guests! Well, not all of them. The Europeans smoked like crazy. That would probably be my only complaint. They didn’t have designated smoking and non smoking areas. We were sitting at a couch one night with after dinner drinks and some people asked if they could sit by us and there was room, so sure. Well, the all busted out cigarettes and cigars! They didn’t even ask if we mind if they smoke. Also, the old people were terrible for some reason. They were so rude to other guests and the staff. I couldn’t believe how many people wouldn’t even try to speak Spanish – come on, we all know hola! Our thought is if you travel to a foreign country you should try to know some basic language. I will have to say, they people from WI were awesome and so were the Canadians.

The only “trip” we did was on our own. We got a cab to downtown Cozumel, jumped on a Ferry and went to Playa del Carmen for the day. What a great little city. We loved it. We pretty much ate and drank our way through the town. If we go back we’d stay there and just hop from hotel to hotel there. Not the resorts, the little hotels. It was very European style but so authentic Mexican. We had a blast there. We were thinking about doing some other day trips but got so caught up in our resort we didn’t go anywhere else.

That’s about it. If you have any questions let me know. We loved Iberostar and our next “dream” vacation will be to the Ibeorstar in Brazil.

PHOTOS: MEXICO (Cozumel)

El Dorado Royale - Awesome Honeymoon!!!
From: geauxtigers, 4/4/2005 at 9:41 pm

My DH and I spent one whole week in the Riviera Maya, Mexico and it was so wonderful and would recommend this hm to anyone. I have read many trip reports on this website and tripadvisor but now I have my own.

I'd like to start by saying that the staff at El Dorado Royale was so nice and I'm still saying "Hola" and "Gracias" everywhere I go!!

From the minute you arrive you go through customs which was crazy when we were there, but it was spring break time. Have your passport. Much faster than your birth certificate. Also, I brought my bouquet. Don't do it, they confiscated it in Mexico and I as so upset! You can not bring any live plants or flowers into Mexico. We easily found the American Express guide and he drove us to our resort which only took about 30 minutes. Be prepared to tip the driver and the man who brings your bags to the van. They pretty much expect it. Once we entered the resort it was breathtaking!!! The marble flooring of the lobby and champagne, the chairs and couches......the bathrooms. Everything was so nice! Make a reservation when you arrive for dinner that night. The rest of the time you can go to the Casita concierge if your staying in a casita. You can not check in till 3 so if you arrive early wear something beachy so you can walk around the resort while you wait for your room. Went to lunch at Jo Jo's. This was our favorite place for lunch! Loved the quesedillas and also the fried cheese and El Dorado Nachos as appetizer. Also, drink Dos Equis with big fat lime's in them. Soooo Good!!! We learned our first day that a lot of the portions are small but it's great because it allows you to order a variety of things. It was so strange sitting down and ordering an appetizer, soup, salad, entree and dessert. The wait staff encourages you to order all you can!

*** All Husbands beware*** My DH lost his wedding band the first day we were there snorkeling in the ocean. It was very rough and he got caught in a wave and lost his ring! We were so upset. Went to the jewelry shop in the front lobby to get him a replacement ring for the rest of the hm. Worked out fine and we do have a story to tell. Just be careful since most men aren't used to wearing jewelry, his finger will shrink when in the water and his ring can easily slip off.

We stayed in a casita - 2600 section - it was wonderful! We had a new towel sculpture every morning which was so neat. When you first arrive make sure you get ice to put your champagne in and drink it as soon as you can. We had a problem trying to get ice and by the time we'd get it......3 days later......it was at 9:00 at night and to late. We never even drank it. It was o.k. b/c had plenty the first day we got there. The jacuzzi tub was wonderful. They have candles and bring your own bubble bath if you want, but they have some. Also, the outdoor shower was warm, but just not so romantic for me, buy my DH liked it. If you want a good shower just take one inside. Still worth trying once. There is bottled water everywhere and we were never short on these. They restock all drinks daily which was so nice. There is a DVD player in the room and you can rent movies at the concierge. We rented a couple of movies a couple nights. Enjoyed that.

Restaurants - We enjoyed all restaurants in their own way. The only one we didn't care for was the El Cocatal "Gourmet night" (Mond.) Don't go then. El Cocatal has a huge breakfast buffet in the morning that was so good. You can stuff yourselves, which is what we did and glad we didn't discover the place till Thursday. Also, La Isla has a good breakfast. We really enjoyed D'Italia. We also really liked the Mexican. Really enjoyed Kampai too. Those three I guess where the highlight for us. Would go back to any of those. Also, our moonlight dinner was so wonderful and romantic. It was also a great meal. They had a saxaphonist come and play at everyone's table. It was really romantic. We had the fondue for two and it was my DH favorite meal while we were there and probably mine too. The whole night was just magical, we loved it! Only suggestion is that you have to build a little fort around the fondue flame since its so windy on the beach to make the cheese heat up evenly. After DH rigged it up it was so good!!! Also, our favorite dessert that they serve at almost all the places was ice cream! Try the strawberry or vanilla or coconut! It's served in this waffle thing that you just have to try. I'm not a big ice cream person but absolutely loved this dessert at every meal!!! Also, Cabana pizza is great for an anytime snack!

We loved playing ping pong at the main pool. They have a lot of fun activities there during the day but you don't have to do any of them if you don't want. We kind of enjoyed going there around lunch time to have a little fun! There are unlimited things you can do there, so never got bored!

We went to the Mexican show which we really enjoyed. Try and make at least one show, they are fun.

Our days mostly consisted of waking up around 7:00 b/c the sun rises there at like 5:00a.m. So you naturally wake up kind of early. We would venture on down to eat breakfast and then to the beach for 2 or 3 hours then to our casita pool for some drinks. Then we'd make our way to the main pool to play ping pong and eat pizza or whatever else we wanted. Hang out and swim there for a while then head back around 5 or 6 to get washed up for dinner. It's amazing how quickly a week can go by!!

The only trip we took was to Puerto Morelos for snorkeling (half day) It was pretty good but I do hear Xel Ha is the place to go. We just didn't want to be gone all day from the resort. But if you don't mind this.....then go.

I could go on forever, but I'll stop for now. I would highly recommend this place for anyone's hm!!! We enjoyed it so much and look forward to going back some day. Everyone there was so nice to us!

Please page me on the Baton Rouge Board if you have any questions
geauxtigers
becky