My husband, another couple, and I just returned from ASP today. I wanted to get my thoughts down so I wouldn't forget any details. The hotel is amazing. If you count the Cove as a part of the complex, it is absolutely huge. There is plenty to keep everyone busy.

The week that we were there (November 28-December 5), the Spa side was only at about 40% occupancy. Someone told us that the Cove was at 20%, but when we walked to the pool on the Cove side, there were maybe 10 other people there. We did not see a large number of children, and by the middle of the week, we were walking over to the Cove for the relaxation of their pool. The restaraunts were never busy in the evening, and there were alot of empty tables.

My favorite restaurant was La Hacienda (Mexican). Make sure to ask for Juan, and order the Mayan Coffee, he makes a show of preparing it at your table. All of the restaurants were good, but the others I enjoyed were Venetta's (Pizza and Pasta), and La Trattoria. We ate breakfast at MoMoNoHana each morning, but in the evening we were quite disappointed in the service. I don't know if it was just an off evening for the staff, but the service was very bad.

We only took one of the hotel provided tours, the trip to Tulum. What an incredible place, my only complaint was that we did not have enough time. The tour included lunch and a brief stay for swimming at Xpu-Ha. I could have easily done without that part of the trip in favor of staying at Tulum. Neither the food nor the pool at Xpu-Ha compared to ASP.

I had two spa treatments, the first day we arrived I had a terrible headache. Mario, in Guest Relations, quickly arranged for me to have an Accupressure treatment. What a great way to get rid of a headache! Then as a part of the membership tour, I received a 2,000 peso coupon for the spa. With that, I had a hot rock massage...pure heaven! The membership tour was not high pressure, and the spa coupon was well worth the 1 1/2 we spent.

We only have two complaints from the entire week . First is the beds, they were terribly hard, it was like sleeping on a board. My friend has a bad back, and it was very difficult for her to sleep. She was even contemplating stealing a cushion from the beach chairs and taking it to her room! Second is the gift shops, they will not accept cash, it is either credit card or it gets charged to your room. That's not a huge issue, but if you just want a candy bar, or a pack of gum, it's ridiculous that you can't pay cash for small purchases.

Overall, neither of those complaints would stop us from going back. In fact, we did purchase a membership, and plan on going back several more times! I can't wait for our next trip.