BeachBumpkin's Catalonia Riviera Maya Report (Part 1)

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

We returned on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:date Month="2" Day="20" Year="2005">2/20/2005</st1:date> from a week's stay at the Catalonia Riviera Maya. I appreciate all the information from the other reviews and hope this helps someone else.<O:p</O:p

Arriving at the airport in <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p was smooth for the number of people they had to manage. The immigration and customs procedures went well; we got a "green light" and made our way to baggage claim. When we got our luggage from the belt and made our way to the Apple Vacations area "outside" the terminal area I warned my wife to keep her eyes on the exit door and not to stop for anybody or anything. The timeshare hawks were waiting for us and asking if we had a transportation voucher; we just told them "No Gracias" and kept moving towards the doors, to the left and down the walkway outside to our waiting transportation. <O:p</O:p

We were assigned to a 15 passenger van for the trip down to Puerto Aventuras, earlier arrivals got to ride on a large tour bus. I thought the van was the better of the two since we only made one stop between the airport and hotel. The trip took about 45 minutes and we had a nice ride chatting with the other vacationers about their plans and itineraries.<O:p</O:p

At check in I met the desk staff and was treated to a Pina Colada. The bellman brought our bags to the room and showed us the accommodations. We had room 240 overlooking the shuffleboard courts on the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side; quite possibly the worst view in the entire hotel, we were offered another room on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side's ground floor but decided we were happy enough with the room and unpacked. It turned out to be a good location, very quiet and convenient to the lobby and upstairs Abuelo Bar. Another plus was that the room was shaded from the afternoon sun so it was nice and cool in the evenings. The TV and control worked fine with a good selection of programming in Spanish, English, French, Italian and German. I got a kick out of watching the <st1:City><ST1:pDetroit</ST1:p</st1:City> local news and weather; while we were enjoying the warm sunny beaches, they were shoveling snow back home. Ha-ha.<O:p</O:p

The bed and linens were pretty good. They have plenty of pillows for reading or lounging. The beds are hard by most comparisons but not unbearable. I didn't have a backache all week and thought they were pretty comfortable for no more time than we spent in them. The room itself was quite large and well kept. The bathroom had a standard size tub and shower with the shower head mounted up high for the taller folks. A hair dryer, soap, shampoo, and lotion were included. <O:p</O:p

I know; no mini bar, no Jacuzzi tub, no room service, no turn down service, but hey, we were here and that was enough for me. <O:p</O:p

Thanks for reading,

BB

Beachnutt719 · 02-22-2005

Eagerly waiting for more. We are booked into Catalonia 5/14-5/21.

Ali · 02-22-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeachBumpkin

I know; no mini bar, no Jacuzzi tub, no room service, no turn down service, but hey, we were here and that was enough for me. <O:p</O:p

BB

Pah! What's the point of a turndown service if, like me, you tend to fall on the bed fully clothed and wake up next day with your face stuck to the pillow and wondering where you are!!

Keep writing! (my trip report is still half done on my pc at work...I WILL finish it!)

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

I know what you mean. Once I woke up with no sheets on the bed but found them outside the room in the hallway. I never figured out how that happened.

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

We got unpacked and headed down to the pool area. Along the way I noticed the landscaping and plants. Nice green spaces and palm trees, bougainvillea abound. Very nice and well watered. The groundskeepers were always trimming and cutting to keep things looking nice. My wife has stayed at the <ST1:p<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PlaceName>Moon</st1:PlaceName><st1:PlaceType>Palace </st1:PlaceType></ST1:pand Ritz Carlton before and she was even impressed, we liked the smallish size of the resort.<O:p</O:p

Our first stop was the Bamboleo Snack Bar, it’s a nice place to have a beverage or snack. The staff was attentive and helpful. The food was OK and ranged from pizza to hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, fish and a few hot or cold vegetable choices. The bar service was decent but a little bit slow. I think they could use another barman to help out during the lunch rush. They did run out of Dos Equis Ambar by Tuesday but I don’t think I’m solely responsible for that.

The <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia </ST1:p</st1:State>beach/lagoon area is where we spent most of our time so we ate there most afternoons. Never had a problem finding something to eat and it was a comfortable place to get out of the sun for a bit. In the evenings it is used as the Steak House ala carte. You can make your reservations for the other ala cartes there as well. Just bring the reservation slips they give you at check in to the lady at the hostess station in the mornings and she will set you up with a seating time. <O:p</O:p

The beach areas are nice on both the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> and <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> sides. I thought the beach on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side was a little quieter with fewer kids; nothing against kids, they need vacations too. The lagoon area is nice for cooling off and I would take a few laps around the island each day to cool off. We brought beach shoes but never used them. There are areas with both sand and rock but you can get in the water on both sides no trouble. You will need them or sandals to walk out past the lagoon to water’s edge across the old coral bank however. I liked the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side for beach access and the service at the Looky bar is definitely faster than Bamboleo.<O:p</O:p

Don’t expect non-stop, in your face service here. The staff will ask if you would like anything from the bar but not with the same regularity that you would find on a cruise ship. I think they did a fine job once we got to know each other after a couple of days. Tipping is certainly appreciated but I don’t think that in itself guarantees good service, so I laid back on the gratuities until making some friends among the staff. Never had a bad experience with any of the staff; even when we had a problem with transportation that required the hotel to pay for taxi’s after their shuttle broke down, they settled it to the side of the guests.<O:p</O:p

The buffets are buffets and that’s all that I’m going to say. We had breakfast there each day without peril.<O:p</O:p

We visited all three ala cartes and enjoyed them all with the Italian being our favorite.<O:p</O:p

We felt the food very good and the service was excellent. I really liked the coconut ice cream they served for dessert. The Steak House at the Bamboleo was pretty good but certainly not what a Midwestern fellow would rate top flight. Our waiter, Hector, more than made up for the cow’s shortcomings and was nice enough to tell us how they make the green steak sauce-good stuff. They have a good Chilean house wine and the vegetables come to the table on a fajita platter atop a warmer made from a ceramic pig. I can’t decide if we had too much sun the day we visited, but the Mexican ala carte didn’t impress me much. It was bland to us and I wasn’t very patient as the A/C wasn’t working well and it was quite warm that evening. Maybe under better circumstances we would have enjoyed it more.<O:p</O:p

The pools are nicely arranged with two on the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side and two on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan </ST1:p</st1:State>side. Each set of pools has a swim up bar, it wasn’t as busy on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan </ST1:p</st1:State>side and looked like a good place to be as it faces the beach from the pool seats. The <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side gets the prize for being the loudest; I said prize here, I’m really not complaining. We spent an afternoon there and had a pretty much wasted day after visiting Tulum that morning.

More about Tulum next,

BB<O:p</O:p

Teal · 02-22-2005

My partner and I were at the Catalonia for 5 night last November. We miss it so much and talk about it all the time! We were all set to go to Cabo this Fall but we don't know if we will be able to resist the pull of the Catalonia.

Glad you enjoyed this gem of a place!

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

Hola Gang, I promised myself I would finish this today

On Tulum, I would suggest going in the morning before <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Minute="0" Hour="10">10AM</st1:time> because it gets pretty hot. Take you swim suit to enjoy the beach following your tour. It is a breathtaking stretch of beach that must have been a very special place to the Mayans who built the structures there. $21USD gets you a taxi each way. Admission to Tulum is $3.80 p/p and 2 or 3 dollars p/p for the tram from the taxi stand area if you don’t want to walk the mile or so to get to the ruins. Once inside you can go on an escorted tour or stroll around at your leisure.<O:p</O:p

After the visit to the ruins we took the tram up to the entrance area and watched the “Mayan Flyers” do their ceremonial dance and aerobatic demonstration. It was a good time. The only downer was that one of our group needed to use the facilities at the shopping “strip mall” area. She was told it would be $2.50 to go to the washroom. Needless to say that didn’t fly and we left, looking for a taxi to shouts of “Happy Byacashun Meezes Wet Panz”! We laughed all the way back to the hotel.<O:p</O:p

The hotel offers a free shuttle service into Playa del Carmen so we scheduled a trip for the day. The shuttles, on that day at least, were running twice a day. One departing <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="9">9AM</st1:time> / returning <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="17">5PM</st1:time> and a second departing <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="18">6PM</st1:time> / returning <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="23">11PM</st1:time>. They leave from the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> lobby area and Drop off/Pick up at the intersection of 5th and Constituyentes.<O:p</O:p

We had a great time exploring the shops and practicing our Spanish. Even the timeshare guys were happy to see us. We walked south on 5th from the drop off point and made the obligatory stop at Carlos & Charlie’s by the ferry ship terminal. Then we turned around heading back stopping at La Tarraya, Captain Tutix and Palapa Hemingway for food and drinks. La Tarraya was my favorite. It seems like we had stepped back in time. Sitting on the patio, looking out trough the palms at the azure sea while being gently serenaded. Did I mention they had $1.30 beer? Man, I love that place. Good food and prices.<O:p</O:p

We made our way back up 5th to Constituyentes and had a few more cervezas at a rooftop bar near the pick up area where we could watch for the bus. The bus never showed up but we didn’t care. We decided we would get a cab and present the bill to the hotel, (since it was them that got us into this mess to begin with), we managed to find a really nice cabbie who said he would be happy to give us a ride back to the hotel and provide us with a receipt to present to the hotel. We had to make a stop by the taxi company office to secure a receipt, a seemingly scarce request in an all cash business.<O:p</O:p

As we left the taxi office we rounded a corner wide and met the grill of a rather large Dodge pickup truck. The strangest thing was that the truck was already crushed from the roof down to the door handles-Wow! I had never seen a vehicle with such extensive damage still being driven around. We pulled along side the crushed truck and laughed as the taxi driver and got an explanation of what had happened out of the other driver. It turns out that they are friends and we all had a big laugh before heading back to the hotel as the driver, pen in hand, tries to complete the receipt while driving at a high rate of speed through traffic, topas and other obstacles. At one point I asked him “Do you want me to drive?” we all get another good laugh.<O:p</O:p

When we get back to the hotel we find out that the bus is still broken so we give them the receipt for the taxi. The lady in guest services gives us our money and apologizes for the inconvenience. The Catalonia Riviera Maya impressed me here by showing “Guest Services” is not just a departmental title but a way of doing business. We went to the bar to recount the day’s experiences. Life is good.<O:p</O:p

Saturday arrived and we decided that we should work on our tans some more since it was our last day. We were all a bit quieter that day, looking out over the water, knowing that we would be leaving in the morning. Sunday came and we had breakfast then packed. We were sad and didn’t want to leave. Oftentimes I’m ready to come home after 3 or 4 days but this wasn’t the case. We gathered in the lobby for our bus back to the <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p airport and took a few last minute pictures with our new friends, shared e-mail addresses and said farewell.<O:p</O:p

The ride back to the airport was quite a bit longer as we on a tour bus rather than the van that brought us in. I think we left the hotel at <st1:time Minute="50" Hour="9">9:50</st1:time> and arrived at the airport about <st1:time Minute="10" Hour="12">12:10</st1:time>. We made check in with USA3000; located all the way down on your right as you enter the airport ticketing area. I only mentioned this because there were no Apple Rep.s to be found after we tipped them and got off the bus. The lobby area was a circus and I could tell for my wife at least that our vacation was over.<O:p</O:p

We went through security and made our way out to the gate area. I stopped in duty free and picked up a couple bottles of Herradura Reposado; 1 for me and 1 for the probation officer who stayed with our kids while we were gone. Had one last <st1:country-region><ST1:pLeon </ST1:p</st1:country-region>cerveza and got in line to board the plane. Our flight was pretty good, leaving only twenty minutes or so behind schedule. The pilot wasted no time in getting us home; we looked out the windows and talked about our next trip, wondering if it could be as much fun as this was.<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

I think it will be,<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

BB<O:p</O:p

fellman · 02-22-2005

Hola.
Thanks for the great review, BeachBumpkin.
Sounds as though you had a wonderful time.
Can't wait to go the Catalonia in April.
Couple of questions for you:
1. Did you drink the coffee?
If so, was the milk/creamer awful tasting?

2. We are also flying USA3000 / Apple Vacation out of
Baltimore - any tips or advice, anything we should be
aware of (never flown USA3000 or used Apple before)?

Thanks!!!

Susan M. a/k/a mcsp

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

Hola Susan,

I liked the coffee. It was more similar to the coffees in Europe than the US. I tried it with cream and it tasted fine to me. They also have a couple of espresso machines and a really nice Franke "Super Automatic" machine if you'd like to make your own. I really liked the Franke because it makes a nice cup with the crema on top. For after dinner I'd have a couple coffees with kaluha. I didn't try the milk by itself so I can't say how it was.

The USA3000 flight we had was great. New Airbus 320 jet with mimosa's after takeoff. Lunch was free and the movie was only $3. You can plug your own headset it and watch for free. Be sure and ask for a exit row seat to get a little more leg room.

I'm sure that y'all will have a great time.

BB

TAPPY · 02-22-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali

Pah! What's the point of a turndown service if, like me, you tend to fall on the bed fully clothed and wake up next day with your face stuck to the pillow and wondering where you are!!

Keep writing! (my trip report is still half done on my pc at work...I WILL finish it!)

So true...

Great report BB !!!!

BeachBumpkin · 02-22-2005

Thank you Tappy.

Beachnutt719 · 02-22-2005

Great report! Thanks. Looking forward to being there in May. It sounds like you had a great trip!

Nerak936 · 02-23-2005

BB: Great trip report!! Sounds like you guys will definitely be making a return trip in the future. Seems you carried a nice laid-back attitude about it all which certainly makes it even more enjoyable. Pics?? Pics???

02-22-2005	#1 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	BeachBumpkin's Catalonia Riviera Maya Report We returned on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:date Month="2" Day="20" Year="2005">2/20/2005</st1:date> from a week's stay at the Catalonia Riviera Maya. I appreciate all the information from the other reviews and hope this helps someone else.<O:p</O:p Arriving at the airport in <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p was smooth for the number of people they had to manage. The immigration and customs procedures went well; we got a "green light" and made our way to baggage claim. When we got our luggage from the belt and made our way to the Apple Vacations area "outside" the terminal area I warned my wife to keep her eyes on the exit door and not to stop for anybody or anything. The timeshare hawks were waiting for us and asking if we had a transportation voucher; we just told them "No Gracias" and kept moving towards the doors, to the left and down the walkway outside to our waiting transportation. <O:p</O:p We were assigned to a 15 passenger van for the trip down to Puerto Aventuras, earlier arrivals got to ride on a large tour bus. I thought the van was the better of the two since we only made one stop between the airport and hotel. The trip took about 45 minutes and we had a nice ride chatting with the other vacationers about their plans and itineraries.<O:p</O:p At check in I met the desk staff and was treated to a Pina Colada. The bellman brought our bags to the room and showed us the accommodations. We had room 240 overlooking the shuffleboard courts on the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side; quite possibly the worst view in the entire hotel, we were offered another room on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side's ground floor but decided we were happy enough with the room and unpacked. It turned out to be a good location, very quiet and convenient to the lobby and upstairs Abuelo Bar. Another plus was that the room was shaded from the afternoon sun so it was nice and cool in the evenings. The TV and control worked fine with a good selection of programming in Spanish, English, French, Italian and German. I got a kick out of watching the <st1:City><ST1:pDetroit</ST1:p</st1:City> local news and weather; while we were enjoying the warm sunny beaches, they were shoveling snow back home. Ha-ha.<O:p</O:p The bed and linens were pretty good. They have plenty of pillows for reading or lounging. The beds are hard by most comparisons but not unbearable. I didn't have a backache all week and thought they were pretty comfortable for no more time than we spent in them. The room itself was quite large and well kept. The bathroom had a standard size tub and shower with the shower head mounted up high for the taller folks. A hair dryer, soap, shampoo, and lotion were included. <O:p</O:p I know; no mini bar, no Jacuzzi tub, no room service, no turn down service, but hey, we were here and that was enough for me. <O:p</O:p Thanks for reading, BB __________________ "Ambitiously Lazy" Last edited by BeachBumpkin; 02-22-2005 at 02:57 PM. Reason: Formatting

02-22-2005	#5 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	BeachBumpkin's Catalonia Riviera Maya Part 2 We got unpacked and headed down to the pool area. Along the way I noticed the landscaping and plants. Nice green spaces and palm trees, bougainvillea abound. Very nice and well watered. The groundskeepers were always trimming and cutting to keep things looking nice. My wife has stayed at the <ST1:p<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PlaceName>Moon</st1:PlaceName><st1:PlaceType>Palace </st1:PlaceType></ST1:pand Ritz Carlton before and she was even impressed, we liked the smallish size of the resort.<O:p</O:p Our first stop was the Bamboleo Snack Bar, it’s a nice place to have a beverage or snack. The staff was attentive and helpful. The food was OK and ranged from pizza to hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, fish and a few hot or cold vegetable choices. The bar service was decent but a little bit slow. I think they could use another barman to help out during the lunch rush. They did run out of Dos Equis Ambar by Tuesday but I don’t think I’m solely responsible for that. The <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia </ST1:p</st1:State>beach/lagoon area is where we spent most of our time so we ate there most afternoons. Never had a problem finding something to eat and it was a comfortable place to get out of the sun for a bit. In the evenings it is used as the Steak House ala carte. You can make your reservations for the other ala cartes there as well. Just bring the reservation slips they give you at check in to the lady at the hostess station in the mornings and she will set you up with a seating time. <O:p</O:p The beach areas are nice on both the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> and <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> sides. I thought the beach on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side was a little quieter with fewer kids; nothing against kids, they need vacations too. The lagoon area is nice for cooling off and I would take a few laps around the island each day to cool off. We brought beach shoes but never used them. There are areas with both sand and rock but you can get in the water on both sides no trouble. You will need them or sandals to walk out past the lagoon to water’s edge across the old coral bank however. I liked the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan</ST1:p</st1:State> side for beach access and the service at the Looky bar is definitely faster than Bamboleo.<O:p</O:p Don’t expect non-stop, in your face service here. The staff will ask if you would like anything from the bar but not with the same regularity that you would find on a cruise ship. I think they did a fine job once we got to know each other after a couple of days. Tipping is certainly appreciated but I don’t think that in itself guarantees good service, so I laid back on the gratuities until making some friends among the staff. Never had a bad experience with any of the staff; even when we had a problem with transportation that required the hotel to pay for taxi’s after their shuttle broke down, they settled it to the side of the guests.<O:p</O:p The buffets are buffets and that’s all that I’m going to say. We had breakfast there each day without peril.<O:p</O:p We visited all three ala cartes and enjoyed them all with the Italian being our favorite.<O:p</O:p We felt the food very good and the service was excellent. I really liked the coconut ice cream they served for dessert. The Steak House at the Bamboleo was pretty good but certainly not what a Midwestern fellow would rate top flight. Our waiter, Hector, more than made up for the cow’s shortcomings and was nice enough to tell us how they make the green steak sauce-good stuff. They have a good Chilean house wine and the vegetables come to the table on a fajita platter atop a warmer made from a ceramic pig. I can’t decide if we had too much sun the day we visited, but the Mexican ala carte didn’t impress me much. It was bland to us and I wasn’t very patient as the A/C wasn’t working well and it was quite warm that evening. Maybe under better circumstances we would have enjoyed it more.<O:p</O:p The pools are nicely arranged with two on the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side and two on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan </ST1:p</st1:State>side. Each set of pools has a swim up bar, it wasn’t as busy on the <st1:State><ST1:pYucatan </ST1:p</st1:State>side and looked like a good place to be as it faces the beach from the pool seats. The <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> side gets the prize for being the loudest; I said prize here, I’m really not complaining. We spent an afternoon there and had a pretty much wasted day after visiting Tulum that morning. More about Tulum next, BB<O:p</O:p Last edited by BeachBumpkin; 02-22-2005 at 03:16 PM. Reason: Formatting

02-22-2005	#7 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	BeachBumpkin's Catalonia Riviera Maya Part 3 Hola Gang, I promised myself I would finish this today On Tulum, I would suggest going in the morning before <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Minute="0" Hour="10">10AM</st1:time> because it gets pretty hot. Take you swim suit to enjoy the beach following your tour. It is a breathtaking stretch of beach that must have been a very special place to the Mayans who built the structures there. $21USD gets you a taxi each way. Admission to Tulum is $3.80 p/p and 2 or 3 dollars p/p for the tram from the taxi stand area if you don’t want to walk the mile or so to get to the ruins. Once inside you can go on an escorted tour or stroll around at your leisure.<O:p</O:p After the visit to the ruins we took the tram up to the entrance area and watched the “Mayan Flyers” do their ceremonial dance and aerobatic demonstration. It was a good time. The only downer was that one of our group needed to use the facilities at the shopping “strip mall” area. She was told it would be $2.50 to go to the washroom. Needless to say that didn’t fly and we left, looking for a taxi to shouts of “Happy Byacashun Meezes Wet Panz”! We laughed all the way back to the hotel.<O:p</O:p The hotel offers a free shuttle service into Playa del Carmen so we scheduled a trip for the day. The shuttles, on that day at least, were running twice a day. One departing <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="9">9AM</st1:time> / returning <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="17">5PM</st1:time> and a second departing <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="18">6PM</st1:time> / returning <st1:time Minute="0" Hour="23">11PM</st1:time>. They leave from the <st1:State><ST1:pCatalonia</ST1:p</st1:State> lobby area and Drop off/Pick up at the intersection of 5<SUP>th</SUP> and Constituyentes.<O:p</O:p We had a great time exploring the shops and practicing our Spanish. Even the timeshare guys were happy to see us. We walked south on 5<SUP>th</SUP> from the drop off point and made the obligatory stop at Carlos & Charlie’s by the ferry ship terminal. Then we turned around heading back stopping at La Tarraya, Captain Tutix and Palapa Hemingway for food and drinks. La Tarraya was my favorite. It seems like we had stepped back in time. Sitting on the patio, looking out trough the palms at the azure sea while being gently serenaded. Did I mention they had $1.30 beer? Man, I love that place. Good food and prices.<O:p</O:p We made our way back up 5<SUP>th</SUP> to Constituyentes and had a few more cervezas at a rooftop bar near the pick up area where we could watch for the bus. The bus never showed up but we didn’t care. We decided we would get a cab and present the bill to the hotel, (since it was them that got us into this mess to begin with), we managed to find a really nice cabbie who said he would be happy to give us a ride back to the hotel and provide us with a receipt to present to the hotel. We had to make a stop by the taxi company office to secure a receipt, a seemingly scarce request in an all cash business.<O:p</O:p As we left the taxi office we rounded a corner wide and met the grill of a rather large Dodge pickup truck. The strangest thing was that the truck was already crushed from the roof down to the door handles-Wow! I had never seen a vehicle with such extensive damage still being driven around. We pulled along side the crushed truck and laughed as the taxi driver and got an explanation of what had happened out of the other driver. It turns out that they are friends and we all had a big laugh before heading back to the hotel as the driver, pen in hand, tries to complete the receipt while driving at a high rate of speed through traffic, topas and other obstacles. At one point I asked him “Do you want me to drive?” we all get another good laugh.<O:p</O:p When we get back to the hotel we find out that the bus is still broken so we give them the receipt for the taxi. The lady in guest services gives us our money and apologizes for the inconvenience. The Catalonia Riviera Maya impressed me here by showing “Guest Services” is not just a departmental title but a way of doing business. We went to the bar to recount the day’s experiences. Life is good.<O:p</O:p Saturday arrived and we decided that we should work on our tans some more since it was our last day. We were all a bit quieter that day, looking out over the water, knowing that we would be leaving in the morning. Sunday came and we had breakfast then packed. We were sad and didn’t want to leave. Oftentimes I’m ready to come home after 3 or 4 days but this wasn’t the case. We gathered in the lobby for our bus back to the <ST1:pCancun</ST1:p airport and took a few last minute pictures with our new friends, shared e-mail addresses and said farewell.<O:p</O:p The ride back to the airport was quite a bit longer as we on a tour bus rather than the van that brought us in. I think we left the hotel at <st1:time Minute="50" Hour="9">9:50</st1:time> and arrived at the airport about <st1:time Minute="10" Hour="12">12:10</st1:time>. We made check in with USA3000; located all the way down on your right as you enter the airport ticketing area. I only mentioned this because there were no Apple Rep.s to be found after we tipped them and got off the bus. The lobby area was a circus and I could tell for my wife at least that our vacation was over.<O:p</O:p We went through security and made our way out to the gate area. I stopped in duty free and picked up a couple bottles of Herradura Reposado; 1 for me and 1 for the probation officer who stayed with our kids while we were gone. Had one last <st1:country-region><ST1:pLeon </ST1:p</st1:country-region>cerveza and got in line to board the plane. Our flight was pretty good, leaving only twenty minutes or so behind schedule. The pilot wasted no time in getting us home; we looked out the windows and talked about our next trip, wondering if it could be as much fun as this was.<O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p I think it will be,<O:p</O:p <O:p</O:p BB<O:p</O:p Last edited by BeachBumpkin; 02-22-2005 at 03:53 PM. Reason: Formatting

02-22-2005	#2 (permalink)
Beachnutt719 añejo Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,972	Eagerly waiting for more. We are booked into Catalonia 5/14-5/21.

02-22-2005	#4 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	I know what you mean. Once I woke up with no sheets on the bed but found them outside the room in the hallway. I never figured out how that happened.

02-22-2005	#6 (permalink)
Teal sandflea Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 5	My partner and I were at the Catalonia for 5 night last November. We miss it so much and talk about it all the time! We were all set to go to Cabo this Fall but we don't know if we will be able to resist the pull of the Catalonia. Glad you enjoyed this gem of a place!

02-22-2005	#8 (permalink)
fellman lost on fifth Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 18	Hola. Thanks for the great review, BeachBumpkin. Sounds as though you had a wonderful time. Can't wait to go the Catalonia in April. Couple of questions for you: 1. Did you drink the coffee? If so, was the milk/creamer awful tasting? 2. We are also flying USA3000 / Apple Vacation out of Baltimore - any tips or advice, anything we should be aware of (never flown USA3000 or used Apple before)? Thanks!!! Susan M. a/k/a mcsp

02-22-2005	#9 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	Hola Susan, I liked the coffee. It was more similar to the coffees in Europe than the US. I tried it with cream and it tasted fine to me. They also have a couple of espresso machines and a really nice Franke "Super Automatic" machine if you'd like to make your own. I really liked the Franke because it makes a nice cup with the crema on top. For after dinner I'd have a couple coffees with kaluha. I didn't try the milk by itself so I can't say how it was. The USA3000 flight we had was great. New Airbus 320 jet with mimosa's after takeoff. Lunch was free and the movie was only $3. You can plug your own headset it and watch for free. Be sure and ask for a exit row seat to get a little more leg room. I'm sure that y'all will have a great time. BB

02-22-2005	#11 (permalink)
BeachBumpkin toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Lima, OH Posts: 54	Thank you Tappy.

02-22-2005	#12 (permalink)
Beachnutt719 añejo Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,972	Great report! Thanks. Looking forward to being there in May. It sounds like you had a great trip!

02-23-2005	#13 (permalink)
Nerak936 añejo Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 18,645	BB: Great trip report!! Sounds like you guys will definitely be making a return trip in the future. Seems you carried a nice laid-back attitude about it all which certainly makes it even more enjoyable. Pics?? Pics???

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