Dear Jeff & Mindi,

I'm leaving for the BPA in 19 days & have lots of questions.

1. Did you request a specific building & did you receive it? If so, how did you ask?

2. Which restaurants did you dine at? My plans are to dine at the Arlequin & the Asian restaurant at the Hacienda Dona Isabela. I'm leaving the 3rd choice free in case I love the Arlequin.

3. Any difficulties reserving a palapa at the beach?

4. Did you utilize the collectivos for travel? Were they easy to use?

5. BPA's web site advertises horseback riding. Is it on premises?

6. What type of tours does the BPA offer? I don't mean to Chitchen Itza, Tulum, etc but rather bike jungle tours, snorkeing, releasing sea turtles. I've heard people mention these in passing but no details.

Thank you for your help. I'm sure I'll have more questions as our vacation date gets closer.

Dorothy

I was wondering if you took the tour to to Xel-Ha from the resort. We are leaving on November 8th, I don't know if I shoulkd buy the tickets online or wait till we get to the resort? The internet price is 55 usd per person. Thanks.

How is the night life there? Any recommendations as to where to go and what to drink? I am going in May 2005! So excited!

Hi myself, husband and 2 boys are going to BPA for spring break 2005. I would like to know what you thought of the hotel, was it to big? were the rooms nice and able to fit 4 people? what was the food like? were there to many people, could you book tours, did you think it was to busy, my children are 10 and 14 years. Thank you for your input! Mary.

Dear Jeff and Mindie,Our group of 13 family members is going to the BPA November 18-25th in honor of my parent's 50th anniversary. I have been reading the reviews for this resort for some time. I noticed some of the reviewers mentioned that when they tried to eat at the BPT resturants they were told by the staff at those resturant that they could not enter since they were from the Akumal side. I thought we had complete exchange priveleges with the sister hotel. Did you experience such a problem?Anna

Hi Dorothy, I went to the BPA with my Fiance (actually we got engaged on the beach there :] ) from 9/27 - 10/04 and I'll try to answer your questions here, hope it helps!!

I'm leaving for the BPA in 19 days & have lots of questions.

1. Did you request a specific building & did you receive it? If so, how did you ask? No we didn't request a specific room, but we did book a junior suite. When we checked in we were not given one, but we were charged for one, so I went to the lobby and cordially complained about this and they were SO appologetic and they upgraded us to a suite with an ocean view, it was awesome!

2. Which restaurants did you dine at? My plans are to dine at the Arlequin & the Asian restaurant at the Hacienda Dona Isabela. I'm leaving the 3rd choice free in case I love the Arlequin.

Our first Ala carte was at Arlequin, we enjoyed it a lot, our second was at Dolce Vita, which was ok, a downer about it was i kept getting bitten by bugs while we ate inside, but the food was nothing special either. for our third we went back to Arlequin, the service there is outstanding, it is air conditioned and the food is pretty good, a quick tip on arlequin: After desert when they ask you if you want coffee/tea, ask for the flaming coffee, it is awesome, I won't spoil the show for you but if you like coffee and booze and to be entertained, you'll love it!

3. Any difficulties reserving a palapa at the beach? No, we got to the beach no later than 10 everyday and had no problems getting a nice palapa whereever we wanted. Infact most days we could change spots in the afternoon, to follow the sun, or to go to the tulum side, which was better for swimming. Exception: sunday, we got a palapa but it was on a part of the beach where you couldn't swim, on the upside it was next to the bar.

4. Did you utilize the collectivos for travel? Were they easy to use? Yes, and kind of. We took the collectivo to Playa Del Carmen which was simple, you wait out in front of the hotel and when the white van pulls up, you hop in give the driver $2 and off you go, they drop you off right in town and it is about a 4 block walk to the shopping area, which is called 5th Ave. It is a shopping area closed off to cars and trucks, so the only traffic you have to worry aobut is foot. Neat area, Exchange your USD for pesos here they have commission free exchange places that give you a MUCH better rate than the hotel, also be careful in some of the shops, some of the merchants are out to play you for a fool. when you are done go back to where you got off the Colectivo and it's $2usd or 20 pesos for the trip back to the hotel, just make sure you yell out to the driver when your stop is coming up, or they will go by it. Also remember this is mexico's public transportation in the area so you will probably be riding with some locals, I had a Mexican Fella fall asleep on my shoulder, it was pretty funny!

5. BPA's web site advertises horseback riding. Is it on premises?

Looked for it, really wanted to do it, never found it.

6. What type of tours does the BPA offer? I don't mean to Chitchen Itza, Tulum, etc but rather bike jungle tours, snorkeing, releasing sea turtles. I've heard people mention these in passing but no details. Don't know much about these, we didn't do any, there is a long story behind this trip and why we were there when we were, which I will spare you, but it was an absolutely awesome trip. My only other thoughts for you would be to BRING BUG SPRAY! and not just Off in the aresol can either, that doesn't work, bring some thing with a 50% DEET conventration or higher, these usually come in an oil form, otherwise you WILL get eaten alive especially at the Hacienda. My Fiance got bitten all over the ankles by something out there one night, we think it might have been fire ants, but they swelled up and looked like blisters on the sides and top of her foot, so please do be careful, but if you do use the spray, you'll be ok. Also beware of Olympus Tours, if you are travelling with apple vacations this should not be a problem, but if you are going on your own, use caution with dealing with them, they aren't theifs they will provide you with what you pay for, but they are really hard to get in touch with, and you DO NOT want to be relying on them for much. I hope you have as much fun as we did, it is really an awesome place and an absolute blast! if you want any more info you can email me at jmewing@gmail.com I have pictures i can send you, as well as just about anything else you might want to know, have a great trip!

Thank you for your help. I'm sure I'll have more questions as our vacation date gets closer.

Dorothy

hey Tren;

If you are looking for nightlife there is some stuff going on, it depnds on what you want... They have it pretty well laid out for you if you follow what they setup. after dinner and what not like around 9 i think, they have a show in the theater, usually kind of amaturish, but it's amuzing and something to do, usually a musical, or a talent show something along those lines. Then after that you go out to the Hacienda where there is a band playing Mexican music, as well as some well know american songs, and if you went to the activites pool during the day a took the dance class, you can do the dances that they are leading in front, they have a few bars right there with table service as well as shops and some artists doing things, a lot of fun. When the band finishes up there is Disco that opens up and is open til 2 or 3 am and they play regular club type music, a lot of fun to dance there. As for drink recommendations, I would have to go with the strawberry flavored tequilla, becareful, it tastes really good but it will put you flat on your butt if you have too much, which is really easy to do, if you order on the waiter stands there while you drink it then when you're done he says "mas tequilla?" and they will bring it to you all night if you want. Other good drinks: tequilla sunrise, mimosa, the Bahia Principe (this will hit you hard and fast too!), the miami vice, and strawberry daquari. Have a great trip and have fun! let me know if you have anyother questions!

How is the night life there? Any recommendations as to where to go and what to drink? I am going in May 2005! So excited!

We are staying thene Dec. 5-11th. We are thinking of renting a car in Cancun and driving there, instead of paying for a transfer. Is having a car any problem at the resort? (i.e. is there parking?)We like the idea that having a car lets us drive to any site we want to see on our schedule, and not worry about a tour bus.

We are staying thene Dec. 5-11th. We are thinking of renting a car in Cancun and driving there, instead of paying for a transfer. Is having a car any problem at the resort? (i.e. is there parking?)

We like the idea that having a car lets us drive to any site we want to see on our schedule, and not worry about a tour bus.

We are going to the BPA December 12-19th. There is a new section called "Club Golden". Does anyone know where this new section is (the Akumal side, or the Tulum side)?If anyone knows more about the "Club Golden" portion of the BPA, I'd really like to hear about it.Thanks! This is our first "exotic" vacation in 23 years, so we really want to make the best of it!