Quote:
Originally Posted by kristens4
Hi, I am going in two weeks. Can you tell me more about your trip? Was it hard to get the palapa at the pool? How was the shuttle to Playa? How much was it? Did you take any tours thru the resort? Did you go to Xcaret?
Thanks,
Kristen
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Hi Kristen! We really did love the resort. The grounds were beautiful, the rooms were awesome, and the service was excellent. All the food we had at the resort was very good. We can't stop talking about how nice the resort was.
We did not get a palapa, but our friends did. They were able to get one same day because if people don't claim them by a certain time, they reassign them. So she didn't actually reserve one. She was just there at the right time to claim one. I think it was about 11am that they gave it to her. She did have to go to the front desk and show that she spent $30 on food and drinks to have the charge removed, but it was no big deal. They readily removed the charge.
The shuttle was good. It is a good sized bus. It is $6 round trip, but they do let you buy a one way ticket for $3. You don't have to make a reservation. Just show up at the pickup place at the appropriate time. It ran about every 2 hours. The last one returns from Playa at 8 or 9 pm. I am sorry I don't have exact times for you. I didn't bring the schedule home with me. Also, we only used it once. Several times we caught a bus or van at the highway for $1.50. It was really easy to do! You just stand there quite obvious and they stop
You can catch a return trip at the ADO bus station on 5th, but the last one leaves at 1am, I believe. A taxi to or from Playa is $20 and that is how we usually returned to the resort because I didn't want to wait for the bus and just wanted to get back!
We did the snorkel trip at the resort and it was great! They do it at 1pm every day. Reserve your spot the day before because it is popular and does fill up. To reserve, go to the water activities hut on the beach. This is where you reserve parasailing, waverunners, scuba, and snorkeling. They take you to two different areas of the reef for snorkeling and then to a very nice beach for about 30 minutes of just relaxing. Beer, soda, and water is provided. We were back about 4pm. The cost was $46 and they guys running it did a great job!
Our friends did an excursion thru the resort that included ziplining, mountain biking, and swimming in a cenote. It think it was $65. It included lunch and drinks. I think it was 10am-3pm. They loved it and highly suggest it! I was afraid of the mountain biking part so didn't go
, but they said it was only 1 mile there and 1 mile back and if you didn't want to do that part, they will take you in the van.
Yes, we did go to Xcaret and we might be the only people on this board that can say they were disappointed. We purchased regular admission for $69 and the evening dinner for $45. We wore our clothes and took our swimsuits and intended to do the "dry stuff" first. We got there about 2pm and it was sooooo hot. We visited all the exhibits and loved the aquairum, manatees, giant sea turtles, and butterfly exhibit. We also did the Paradise River boat ride which was just hot and boring. The walkways are a bit closed in and hot and the signage is confusing. By 4:30 pm we had seen most everything and were so hot we thought we would die. We went back to the main pavilion because that was the only place we could find ala carte food. Every other place was buffet. So we got food and drinks and sat in a breezy place and tried to recover. By then we didn't even want to bother with putting on our swimsuits and doing the water activities (underground river and snorkeling). So we just rested until about 6pm then went to the revolving observation tower, which was pretty neat. The tower is next to the dinner theater. So then we headed to the theater for the evening show and dinner. That is when things got good! We enjoyed our reserved seats for the show. They had backs and had a great view. The food was very good. It wasn't a $45 meal, but was worth the price for the seats and the dinner really was very good. The show was outstanding! If we had arrived after 4pm, it would have only cost us $49 admission instead of $69, but we didn't know that we would see everything so quick and that we would feel too ill from the heat to even put on our swimsuits. So I have mixed thoughts about Xcaret. There just isn't enough to do for the $69 admission but the evening show is fabulous!
Whew, that was a long reply
Please let me know if there are any other questions I can answer!