Our holiday to Mexico was just over a month ago now, but it certainly doesn't feel like it was only that long ago. This holiday was part of our multi centre trip this year. We went to New York for a few days and then finished up in Mexico for a more relaxing ending to our trip. I've already written a blog post about our trip to New York, if you haven't read that yet then you can check that out here.
We didn't get up to quite as much as what we did in New York, but Mexico was always going to be a bit more of a relaxing holiday, especially after all the walking we did. Just like my other travel posts I'll let you know what we got up to on our day by day and I'll also let you know all the details on where we stayed and my thoughts on the hotel.
Day 1
This was our travel day from New York to Mexico. Our flight from New York left around half 4 and it was only a 3 and a half hour flight to Mexico. It was around half 8 getting onto 9pm by the time we'd got off the plane and through customs. We were staying at the Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun resort, this was only a 30minute drive from Cancun airport so we didn't have too much longer to travel. When we arrived we were greeted by someone from the hotel who took our bags and gave us a cold towel to freshen ourselves up with. This is an all inclusive hotel, but we decided to pay that little bit more for the preferred club extras. This meant we got took to the preferred club lounge for a quick and more personalised check in, which was amazing as all we wanted was to get checked in quick, grab some food and get some sleep. We sat down in the lounge with a glass of Champagne each while the concierge checked us in to the hotel. Once we were checked in we hopped on a golf buggy with our luggage and was transported to our room. I don't think that was a preferred club extra, I think that's what they always do. But it was nice as there's nothing worse than trying to find your room in the dark.
Our room was a preferred club junior suite with a tropical view. It was very nice, clean and spacious. We had two double beds, a seating area, spacious bathroom, balcony, TV and a mini bar (which is restocked daily, its part of the all inclusive and if you go preferred club you get an upgrade on the mini bar) As part of the all inclusive you get 24hour room service. This made me extremely happy as it meant I could get my PJ's on ransack the mini bar and enjoy some food before exploring the resort tomorrow. We ended up ordering Buffalo wings to share, a pizza to share but we could have easily had one each and a dessert each. While we waited for our food to arrive I decided it would be a great idea to get unpacked now so we didn't have to waste time in the morning. As soon as our food came we devoured it and then fell to sleep.
Day 2
Our first real day in Mexico and what a beautiful day it was. We woke up to a bright blue sky and wonderful sunshine. As soon as we woke up we chucked some clothes on and headed to breakfast. We headed to the Market Cafe, this is an international buffet. There is so much to choose from for breakfast! There was pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausages, hash browns, scrambled egg, omelets, cheese and meat selection, lots of types of bread, fruit and cereals. There was also very weirdly some dishes that looked like they should be out for dinner and not breakfast, but whatever floats yours boat. Most days my breakfast consisted of French toast, bacon, hash browns and maple syrup. I would also grab a coffee every morning and a banana and strawberry smoothie most mornings too.
After the delicious breakfast we went back to the room and got ready for a day around the pool. I enjoyed being able to lay on the in pool loungers as well as the normal sun loungers. The in pool ones allowed you to stay cool while catching some rays, but you have to be careful as you don't realise your burning, which Paul didn't and ended up bright red on our first day! We both enjoyed a few cheeky strawberry daiquiri's around the pool, these were very refreshing. You don't even have to move off your sun lounger for a drink as there is pool and beach wait service.
There is plenty of entertainment going on constantly around the pool all day long, so its very hard to get bored. No one came round to pressure you into the activity, which was nice as other places I've been too they can be very pushy. Every evening there is a news letter posted through the door so you know all the activities, where they are and what times they are on that day. So you never miss out on anything that's going on and your not forced into anything.
For lunch we went to the barefoot grill. Which is a very causal eatery as the name would suggest. Its right next to the pool and most people just walk up in their bikini's and swim shorts. The barefoot grill serves burgers, hot dogs, chicken, rice, meatballs and of course everything to make your own nachos. There isn't much seating to this, its just a few picnic style tables. But a lot of people were just taking it back to their sunbeds. The food was tasty and there was more than enough to choose from.
Around 3pm me and Paul always get a little restless from laying down and have had enough of the heat. We decided to get changed and go to the Gym. You may think were crazy going to the Gym when were on holiday, but it just made us feel a little less lethargic and better about ourselves. We wasn't in there too long, only about 20-30 minutes. We did a quick treadmill HIIT followed by some weights. Then we'd go back to the room have a power nap before getting ready to go out for the evening.
For our evening meal we went to the Bluewater Grill, this specialises in seafood but it does also serve other things like steak and ribs. For starters I went for the Clam chowder and for my main I went for the steak. I would say that this was my least favourite meal of the whole holiday. The chowder was nice, but the steak was not great. I have no idea what cut of meat it was, but it had the biggest slab of fat on it and I couldn't cut through it with the steak knife they'd given me. I ended up giving up on it but I didn't leave with my stomach empty as I'd filled up on a lot of warm bread and melted butter. After our meal we went to the bar enjoyed some cocktails, enjoyed the evening entertainment and played card games. I may have also grabbed a cheeky cupcake from the CoCo Cafe. From here you can get sweet treats, proper barista coffee (even decaf), teas and deli snacks.
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| View from the Bluewater Grill |
Day 3
Today we decided to go to breakfast at Cibu, its a Mediterranean restaurant but it opens for breakfast to anyone that's paid for the preferred club. Its much more quieter in here, meaning you get service much quicker. There's still a buffet style breakfast available, there's not as much choice available on the buffet but there's also a menu that you can order off. So you can get a much fresher breakfast. I enjoyed the eggs Benedict, Paul enjoyed the Mexican omelet and so did I as he never finishes a meal so I always get to try his too!!
The rest of the day we followed the same routine as the day before. But for our evening meal we ended up going back to the restaurant that we had breakfast in the morning. For starters I order beef carpaccio, main was the glazed beef steak and for dessert I went for the Cannoli. This meal was a million times better than the meal we had the previous night. I may seem crazy going for another steak after the previous nights disaster but this meal redeemed it. I didn't even need a steak knife to cut through this steak, my normal knife was more than enough.
Day 4
After our breakfast today we decided to check out the preferred club adults only pool. We wanted something a little more quieter today and decided it would be a great day to check out this area. We were allowed in this pool as we'd paid for the preferred club, however we didn't feel very welcome when we arrived. In here there was a small pool, small bar, very comfy sun loungers and Bali beds. We were under the impression that if we wanted to use the Bali beds that we had to pre-book these the day before (this was what we were told upon check in) But the person that was overseeing this area said we needed to pre-book for any of the sunbeds in this pool, that they were all booked up and nothing was available. We both found this very hard to believe as there was a ridiculous amount of sunbeds empty and it was nearly 11pm by the time we got down as we'd had a very slow start to our day. He looked at his sheet again and said that actually he had a couple of sunbeds for us but it would be without an umbrella and we were fine with this. An hour later he came back over to us again and said that one of the many empty sunbeds with umbrellas had become available and we could move to that one if we wanted. Which we did as Paul needed some shade, as he'd got quite sun burnt in the first couple of days. I guess he was probably holding them for his regulars, but I feel like we could have ended up being some of his new regulars if we'd felt more welcome and of course we would have pre-booked if we'd known that we had to pre-book all sunbeds. But we were under the impression that this was just the Bali beds, as this was what we were told at check in. The sun loungers were very comfy in this area, the pool was nicer to get into as it was warmer due to it being smaller for the sun to heat. The downside to this area is that there is no food available near by, which is quite annoying with it being the preferred area. We never went back to this pool after this day, due to how unwelcome we felt when we came in. We decided to stick round the big pool for the rest of the holiday as there was always plenty of sunbeds available and you weren't made to feel out of place.
For lunch we decided to go to the Bluewater grill, this was the restaurant we went to on the first night. Its the only restaurant that opens for lunch where you can order food fresh from a menu. I had the mini burgers, they were delicious but it took a long time for me to decide as everything sounded good. This restaurant definitely redeemed itself with the lunch menu and we came back here for lunch quite a bit.
For the evening meal we went to try the Lemongrass restaurant, which is Asian cuisine. Unfortunately this was an hour wait when we got there and we were quite hungry so decided to just go to the main market cafe, which serves up an international cuisine buffet style. The food was ok from here, but it was very salty tasting and nothing really to write home about. I'd recommend sticking to this restaurant for breakfast and lunch. I'd recommend going to the restaurants were you can order fresh from the menu for your main evening meals.
Day 5
This day started just like the others had, breakfast, sun bathe, lunch, more sun bathing, workout and then nap and get ready for the evening. However today we did things a lot more earlier than other days and that was because we had the famous CoCo Bongos to attend. Before heading off to Coco Bongos we went to the lemongrass restaurant, we were hopeful that we would get in tonight with us being rather early. Second time was the charm and we managed to get a seat at the Asian restaurant. I went for the Vietnamese roll for my starter and for my main I had Teriyaki chicken with fried rice. This restaurant also serves up sushi so it gives you a great chance to try a few different types of sushi.
Once we'd eaten we got a taxi from our hotel to Coco Bongos, this was about 20 - 30 minutes away from our hotel. The taxi the hotel provided us with gave us a price for the journey and told us that he would wait in the car park for us to come out and would take us home. I was worried how much this would cost, but it was all included in the very decent taxi ride price. Its very strange for a taxi to wait for you with no meter running, but it was brilliant as it meant we knew we would get back to the hotel safely.
Coco Bongos is an amazing show that I would recommend to anyone going to Mexico. The tickets can be expensive, but totally worth it. If you go for the gold member like we did you get early entry to a bar where you get free drinks, you then get seating for the show with a great view of it and again all your drinks included. There was so many different little shows by spiderman, batman, Moulin rouge, Chicago, 300 and many more. There was also a special star wars event on while we were there too, which both me and Paul were very excited for. Paul and me had quite a lot to drink, especially Paul! We really enjoyed ourselves and didn't end up getting back to our hotel until around 3am.
Day 6
Its safe to say there was a couple of sore heads this morning, especially Paul after the amount of drink he consumed at Coco Bongos. We ended up ordering room service for breakfast, well I did Paul couldn't quite face food just yet. Unfortunately the weather took a turn today at it was thunderstorms all day, so we ended up hibernating in our room for most of the day nursing our hangovers. We did however make it our for our evening meal. We went back to the lemongrass restaurant but tonight we were booked into the Teppanyaki part of the restaurant. Were you get to sit and watch the chef cook your meal in front of you. This meal was basic but it was a very fun experience and it was great to pick up some cooking tips.
Day 7
There was no sunshine again today, but it was just dull and no rain like the day before. This meant that we could at least chill on the sun lounger and I could read my book. It was still warm it just wasn't sunbathing weather. For lunch we went to the coffee shop, grabbed a deli sandwich, a Cookie and a coffee. I would recommanded checking out the little coffee shop, there's always cute pastries, cakes and sandwich's. Great for keeping the sugar levels boosted. This was our last night here so we decided to go to the Paramour restaurant, which is a French restaurant and is the only restaurant that men have to wear full trousers to. I didn't go for a starter here as I wasn't too keen on any of them but the bread they brought out was delicious. For my main I went for duck breast which was cooked perfectly and was so tasty. My only gripe was that the portion was way too small! Which led to us asking if we could order three desserts. We both went for the chocolate coulant and got a creme brulee to share between us. This was the best decision ever! This restaurant is probably the most fancy out of them all, but there its also only restaurant to give out such tiny portions.
Day 8
We woke up to a massive thunderstorm this morning, the rain was crazy! But it made us quite glad that we were leaving. We packed our bags, grabbed some breakfast and then made our way to the airport to catch our long flight home.
Summary
Overall I would recommanded this hotel to anyone coming to Mexico. It was clean and other than that one moment in the preferred club pool area all the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Its the first all inclusive I've been to that's had a lot of restaurants to choose from. This has seven restaurants and the little cafe. You only have to book into the Teppanyaki at the Lemongrass, the rest of the restaurants you can just walk into or have a small wait. We visited all of these but one of the restaurants. The one we didn't go to was Fresco, which is the Mexican cuisine. We didn't go to here because it never seemed to be open. It was shut off quite a few times for weddings and its awkward getting to it as you have to walk all the way through the Market cafe to get to it. My favourite restaurant was the Cibu which was the Mediterranean and Lemongrass which was the Asian cuisine. I thought Bluewater Grill was the best for lunch and the Market Cafe was brilliant for breakfast. Of course I loved the little coffee shop where I could get all my sweet treats!!
Although this is an all inclusive hotel, you don't need to wear a wristband!!! Everyone is on an all inclusive basis so there really is no need for any wristbands, which is great as it means no silly tan lines. All you have to do is give your room number when entering the restaurants.
This hotel is going green and is doing what they can to reduce their impact on the environment. One of the things I really noticed was that they had removed straws. Apparently it takes 100years for a plastic straw to decompose in the ocean, I was shocked by this and I'm all for getting rid of single use straws. However it did make it slightly annoying when trying to drink certain drinks, especially the ice cocktails. I wish I'd read up on this before as I would have brought my own reusable straws with me.
Would I recommend the preferred club? Well if like us you get a great deal and it didn't really cost you too much more to upgrade to it, then why not. But I wouldn't recommend it if its going to cost you a lot. As I don't think its really worth it. Yes you get access to areas that other hotel guests don't. But in our time in this hotel we didn't use the preferred club lounge at all, only when we checked in and our key card wouldn't work to get the quick check out. So we ended up waiting at reception as we couldn't be bothered with the hassle of getting our card sorted. We also didn't enjoy the vibe of the adults only pool, however if you want something a bit more peaceful away from all the noise of the main pool. This area would be great or just go to the beach. The preferred club tropical room doesn't look too much different from the normal guest rooms. But you can get better preferred club rooms, we just didnt want to pay the price.
In your all inclusive package, which is outlined on the hotel website. It says that all taxes and gratuities are included in the package price. However I'd recommend just bringing a few extra Peso's for tips. As a lot of people were handing out tips, which I think is to do with the main visitors being American. Its already in their culture/habit to tip. If you tip little every now and then, it helps them remember your name and your drink order. Meaning you never have an empty glass and you looked after even better.
Little extra tip if your planning on getting out of your hotel more than what we did and are going to be using taxi's. Bring Peso's as its cheaper to pay in Peso's for a taxi than it is in dollars.
Have you been to Mexico? Have you got any extra tips that you could share with anyone planning on going in the future.
If you would like any more info, drop me a comment and I'll get back to you.
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