Ola!

I must say we picked this hotel due to all of the positive comments on this site - so I'm wondering a little bit if I'm plum loco with some of my experiences. As with any vacation I believe "It's what you make it!" and I'm not a fusspot. We had a great week and made some new friends! So...

Arrival - we arrived at 11:30 pm on a Sunday - I've never seen a more 'dead' resort. The lobby was dark and empty. After checking in we were told the 'Sports Bar' was open and had some food - it's a joke and the food is some taco chips or frozen sandwiches you can nuke. Our last trip to Cuba we were met with Champagne and the place was 'alive' so this was an immediate bummer.

Going to our rooms we discovered that our ocean view room was really a first floor room looking into the back of a garden - sigh. I went back to reception to join a line of other travelers who also didn't see the ocean from their 'ocean view rooms'. We were all told that they couldn't help us until the following day at 2:00 pm - after other folks had checked out. When I went down to reception the list of room change requests was at least 30 people long. We were moved to the same general area but up to the 3rd floor - got to see the ocean from the side. This kind of detail can really sour your first impressions - still, I thought - how long are we even in the room so what the heck. We did have problems with the card lock doors - most everybody did - as they didn't lock after you left the room. Generally if you waited 10 seconds and got lucky it would engage - but we had to call maint a few times. Bummer when you’re on the way to the beach!

The rooms were very clean and complete, our first bed was hard (we like a hard bed) and the second room was soft so we had a bit of both. Shower had great water pressure and aside from a lousy selection of tv channels the maids did a fantastic job.

Be warned - this hotel is in the wind - none of the room doors have hydraulic closers so when the wind gets them it sounds like a shotgun. I had several great sleeps interrupted by 'gun shots'. Also, watch out for the AC switch - it was hidden behind an end table with a flower on it - first night I couldn't find it to turn the darn thing off and it can be noisy! Safe key is just fine - bring one of those wrist springy things and it's not hard to keep track of. The big end stays in the safe!! (Some folks thought it stayed with the key?????)

Staff - overall were very good and just nice to engage with - I got the impression they liked working there, which is always a good sign.

Food - was excellent - again I'm not fussy but I was often impressed by the selection and quality. You do have to book the other restaurants way in advance as they do fill up (though I had lots of folks tell me they crashed them for a some US bills). Be warned - after 10:00 the buffet is closed and the only food is in the cheesy sports bar. I think this really kind of stupid as the buffet has tons of food that gets tossed out - if they let the guests polish it off there be less waste and some happier guests. *The sports guy staff (one bartender) can help you order a pizza............. jeesh.

Coffee in the rooms - there is none - as a ‘Tim Horton’s’ guy I've learned to start my day with one. This meant a trip to the lobby as the buffet only opens at 7:00 am (lined up everyday). It shouldn't matter but I really love that first cup!

Pools - were great but need some service - some of the actual pool lights were falling apart and you would hit them as you made your way around. The wet bar area is dangerous as most of the different elevations have a change of colour tile - but not there! I cracked my ankle at least 6 times - after a few drinks the colour change would help!

There are limited organized pool sports and I could tell lots of folks were craving for more than twice a day. *Some folks need a hand to make vacation friends. I noticed more folks being taken away on stretchers with foot injuries or being drunk than in previous resorts - watch yourselves! A guest at a wedding apparently got drunk and ended up in hospital, I heard that - as it was self-induced (he got drunk and fell down) his insurance didn't cover the $1,800.00 bill! Pools close at 9:00 I think so they can hit them with chemicals. I don’t want to know!

Beach - was awesome but I missed the beach staff we had in Cuba - makes a big difference. No bar service on the beach either which is a bummer - you have to hike back to the pool area to get a drink. Hobie cat was fun but the staff don't help with advice so be warned - the wind comes across the beach towards the swimming area so your tacking immediately. The sailing area they allow is small so if you don't take one out you’re not missing much. Jet ski’s are always fun but imagine going back and forth in one kilometer – folks looked bored. There’s lots of para sailing – looked fun but aside from the height we got that view from the jet boat excursion. Red flags were up most of the time.

Entertainment - pretty good but disappointing, the place is missing two things:

1) Piano bar for adults

2) Disco/any type of dancing for adults

After the 9:00 shows (in house and local talent) they only have a small music offering in the main lounge until 11:00. BORING! I could tell that all of the adults were craving to dance but unless you left the resort - you have to make your own party.

The resort sports and entertainment staff do a valiant job but much of it is so repetitive it begins to wear on you. Each time they do the "Which country are you from?' intro you re-discover that the place is 80% US, 10% Canadian, 5% English and 5% others. If I lived that close I'd be there every month as well! The lead MC is Italian and he talks so fast it gives you a headache. But they do try hard and we enjoyed each event - sometimes if the audience isn't into it there's not much the entertainers can do. Every night they try to sell a trip to a club downtown – they open 10:30 pm to 5:30 am but most folks told me it wasn’t worth it. We didn’t try as the full days at the beach and the wet bar had us asleep by 11:00 pm! (I’m not that old but the fresh air and sun takes some getting used too!)

Hotel - nice all round but there's never paper towel in the main bathrooms and the hand dryers don't work. Lots of times in the main lounge they were short staffed - so some drinking waited. Mostly middle age to older vacationers in this resort but some families with kids - those parents looked miserable, as there isn't anything setup for kids during the evenings. They would be sitting in the lounge with them before bedtime.

Transportation - bus was cheap and easy but full! For $2.00 more we took a wonderful taxi. Leaving the airport we didn't see any vendors - must have been the time of day. But after hearing about how pushy they could be it was a shock to not see a single one!

Cancun airport - slow, big lines, you go through immigration and then customs so two lines before you get to the luggage (almost 2 hours!). I kept asking myself - "does anyone smuggle anything into Mexico?" Naive I know but our return journey at YVR (Vancouver) was a brisk 45 minutes!

Excursions - did the jet boat snorkeling (Jungle Tour) thing ($65 USD) - it was a blast but try to be the end boat. The snorkeling is lame so don't go just for that.

For our second excursion we went to a huge natural lagoon named Xel-ha and it's about 2 hours there and back - no beer on board the bus! This excursion also sells a trip to Tulum but it cuts your day in half so I wouldn't recommend it. Xel-ha is like a huge PNE fair in nature - huge lagoon they say is the largest natural aquarium in the world. The food at the restaurants there (all inclusive for $120.00 USD each) are amazing and I admit I ate too much!! We started with the snorkeling - the best place to find the fish is at a water fall at one of the main entrances to the lagoon - some folks say it's deep in the lagoon but they're nuts! We found a huge variety of sizes and types of fish and did some swimming with them - best snorkeling for fish experience ever! There’s a small cycling bit - short and cute that leads to a tubing area. This is funny; you get in the tube and realize that there are no mountains there so you have to paddle to move through the mangrove trees. Two hours later you’re at the end and there's a cool cliff jumping area (only 10' deep so no diving! - hit my butt on the bottom every time!). From there you tube for a good long time (paddling with your hands and feet) to the main lagoon. There are some other activities but they cost extra (dolphins, SNUBA diving, etc). They charge a $20.00 USD deposit for the snorkeling gear, which you get back of course. A good idea is to take the snorkeling stuff with you on the tubes so that you can do whatever you want during the long slow float. Watch out for the jellyfish – I got a huge sting from one and it’s still black (yes I’m whining). Towels are everywhere and free to use. Be warned - you have to use bio sunscreen so they flog it on the bus and at the resort - much cheaper to buy at your hotel gift shop before you leave. We had a great day there - it's like a huge tourist trap but it's so big and beautiful that I must say they couldn't do a better job.

Tipping – honestly not sure if it helped in the resort or not – everyone is so nice. You could give a nice tip and still wait or not. Most common tips were in the $2 – $3 USD range. We tipped $5.00 for our maid as the room was always first class! At the Jungle Adventure jet boat be warned that they do a free photo for you (it’s actually very nice!) but the photo guys are the last ones and if you tip everyone else they get nothing. At the Xel-ha excursion the bus driver needs a tip and you probably tip the waiters (really good food!). When you leave Xel-ha you’ll discover a huge set of photo racks taken throughout the day. A print here costs $12.00 USD – I bought one! In general bring lots of singles or $1.00 bills (USD) as they’re hard to get once you’re down there. *No beer on the return bus but you can buy an expensive six-pack in the gift shop.

ATM’s – not hard to find but they all only give out Paso’s! The closest one to the Riu Caribe is across the street in another resort?

Internet and games in the lame sports bar – aren’t free or cheap (so much for ‘all inclusive’).

Bugs – didn’t really see a lot, some mosquito’s (but not enough to warrant bug juice) and zero cockroaches. They do have the odd lizard running around but heck we have squirrels! I think the general rule of never being on the main floor works! Jellyfish didn’t count as I ran into it!

Shopping – ok folks, it’s a male dominated culture; men barter with men, woman fight with men. So if your going to the flea market both of you should both go – let the guy do the final deal and all is well! If you don’t like bartering – walk away and they will drop the price as you walk. They can be very, very pushy but I found they all respected seeing my back. My lady is tough as nails but the difference was – I enjoyed the bartering and she wanted to kill them. That’s not fun!

Departure – no beer on the bus again! I always suggest buying the Options Plus or any upgrade that bypasses the main lines. *HUGE TIP – you will all owe me a drink for this one!! At the Cancun airport you don’t have to pour out your drinks! I took 4 canned Coronas and some Tequila through security and they said drinks are ‘A Okay!’ I stopped lots of folks that were pouring out their drinks in front of security – the guard thought they were nuts!

Ok so if you understand what this means – it means you can bring your own booze on board the plane! No wait, no fuss, no big mark up! Heck people were even emptying water bottles!

So all in all, we had a great time but this resort has a lot of work to do. I would only rate it as 2 star resort given our experience. In May we stayed in Cuba and the resort there was a real 4 star one. PS we visited the RIU Cancun and Palace and wouldn’t recommend them either. Too downtown and too tight. The RIU Cancun is a party palace for young folks and the Palace is a graveyard for old ones. The beach front there is about 20’ deep vs 100’ at the Caribe. Of the 3 I would rate the Caribe highest if your looking for a quiet resort.

Hope I wasn’t too negative – just want to be as clear as possible to help make your trip even better!