Palladium - PArt Two

[capecodann]

We unpacked quickly and made our way to the beach. The girls headed to the beach bar where they discovered a new menu. There is also limited waitservice. The waiters were very friendly and good natured. While the waitservice is nice, it is quite a bit faster to order your own food.

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The new menu offers cooked to order:

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• Nachos with beef, beans & cheese
• Chicken, beef or cheese quesadillas
• Chicken or beef tacos
• Spicy stuffed jalapenos
• Beef steak on French bread
• Hawaiian burger

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There is also a beach bar buffet that is replenished from lunchtime until late afternoon consisting of guacamole, fruit, chicken nuggets, fries, hotdogs and hamburgers. A self-serve drink station has fruity drinks, soft drinks and water.

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Note the beach bar is opened 24 hours per day. They only serve beer and soft drinks after 10 pm.

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My hubby and I wandered to the beach and easily found a spot away from the beach bar.

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During the week it was fairly easy to get a spot at most any time of day with the exception of the shady area right near the beach bar, which filled up by about 8 am.

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The beach has improved significantly since last year. The area in front of the beach bar where a belt of coral existed is now pure white sand. Any rocks and coral that exist now are located in one area sort of between the two sides, giving each side a white sand beach.It really is quite a phenomenon. None of us used beach shoes. They’re really not needed unless you plan to snorkel in the area of the coral.

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We plopped ourselves down, not quite believing we were back. With clients calling me on my way to the airport, I really hadn’t had the luxury of prep time for the pre-trip excitement. It was beginning to sink in. We decided to celebrate with a little sparkling wine. The Palladium now serves a sparkling wine bottled in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region></st1:place> by freixenet.It was quite good and certainly acted as a vacation balm. Add a taste of guacamole and I began to think I was in heaven.<o:p></o:p>

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Once the sun started setting we dragged ourselves from the beach, not wanting the day to end, through the pool area.<o:p></o:p>

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We ate in the main buffet that evening. The theme was Mexican, which was excellent with plenty of variety. In addition there were three kinds of grilled fish to order, shish kebab, BBQ chicken, and the standard pizzas and pasta station. For those of you who have read previous reports of mine, you will note there is a pattern in my family’s food preferences. I almost always opt for the grilled fish, cave man hubby for the meats, my daughter’s friend Katy for BBQ chicken and my daughter for the pizza and/or custom pasta. Everyone also tried something Mexican. The girls couldn’t wait to have a much beloved crepe. They were beginning to get giddy with excitement of being back.<o:p></o:p>

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All of us were satiated. Katy, who had recently returned from the IB* Punta Cana commented that she liked the food better at Palladium. We decided to waddle up to the Kantenah bar where a nice band was playing. That early vacation exhaustion was beginning to set in. The girls went their own way to sample the evening show.<o:p></o:p>

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Hubby and I were happy to note that the wine has also improved from last year. The Palladium now serves a white wine made from <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> grapes and bottled in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>.The name on the bottle was “Calafia”. This was the name on the white and red. Another red served which hubby enjoyed was a Carlo Rossi Reserve. Hubby commented that is was like a nice cabernet. The liquor in all the bars has been upgraded to “call” liquors like Smirnoff, Jim Beam, Bacardi, Canadian Club, Kahlua, Campari.<o:p></o:p>

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The wine flowed while the music played on. We met a large group that was part of a wedding party of 60 people. All were happy and delighted with the choice of the Palladium. My favorite new friend that night was a little two year old German girl who came to dance. She befriended me and by the end of the week I began to look forward to our dance together. <o:p></o:p>

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A good weariness set in and hubby and I made our way through the familiar jungle paths to our room, one ear opened for the sounds of the jungle and the other for the return of the girls. They had bargained for a curfew time of 11. We chuckled when were heard them return at 10:30. We fell asleep instantly, eagerly awaiting a new day.<o:p></o:p>

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Glad to here that your vacation to the Palladium went so well. As we are heading down there shortly, I am looking forward to the rest of the trip report.
Very nice to hear the wine is decent....I enjoy a nice glass of good wine now and again (currently savoring a 1999 Chateau St. Jean Merlot at home).

dave

[babs31]

Aaannddd?:d

[capecodann]

I awoke too late for the sunrise, vowing to catch one during the week. Made some good Mexican coffee in the coffee pot provided and sat on balcony with hubby watching the wonderful variety of colorful birds. Then I decided to walk down to the beach bar for a cappuccino. I love the mornings and the morning stillness. The only sounds were that of the animals and the soft waves crashing on the beach. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>


Richard at the bar was singing a Latin tune. He happily produced an excellent cappuccino. One area that the Palladium has improved in is that of music, both volume and quality, live and otherwise.<o:p></o:p>

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There were work crews everywhere, cleaning the pools, the beach, raking, picking up empty cups and cigs left by guests. This is kind of a pet peeve – how anyone could litter on this beautiful piece of earth is beyond my imagination. The Palladium has added small clay pots for smokers in addition to more large clay pots for cups but people litter nevertheless. The workers work non-stop cleaning up in an attempt to keep the property pristine.<o:p></o:p>

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Cleaning the pool in the morning<o:p></o:p>

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After a peaceful morning cappuccino hubby and I went to breakfast. The girls tended to sleep late most mornings. They had their ice cold room. They had cleverly removed the mattresses from the two pull-out sofas. They piled these on top of each other and then secured a thick foam mattress from housekeeping. As a result they had a very comfy bed that our maid happily made up every day.<o:p></o:p>

In the buffet, the adorable Ivan de Jesus was concocting a never ending supply of custom eggs and omelettes. He never stopped smiling. I wish I had asked him for a pic.<o:p></o:p>

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Outside of the buffet, the Palladium has added signage that makes it easier to determine menus, activities, etc.<o:p></o:p>

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The themes in the evening buffet for the week we were there are as follows:<o:p></o:p>

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• Monday – Mexican<o:p></o:p>
• Tuesday – French<o:p></o:p>
• Wednesday – Campesina (seafood) or Marinara<o:p></o:p>
• Thursday – Worldwide<o:p></o:p>
• Friday – Gala<o:p></o:p>
• Saturday – Asian<o:p></o:p>
• Sunday – Spanish<o:p></o:p>

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They have added a Catholic mass in the conference room on Saturdays at 5:30. In addition to 4pm tournaments on the beach they now offer 10:30 pm tournaments, i.e. basketballs, volleyball on some evenings.<o:p></o:p>

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The beach BBQ is usually on Fridays. This is not counted as an ala carte but reservations are required. They open the reservations on Tuesdays. There are two sittings.<o:p></o:p>

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Hubby and I wandered down to the beach. The girls more or less did their own thing, checking in occasionally. This worked very well for all involved. I highly recommend bringing a friend for your teen, providing it’s a friend that everyone has a good relationship with. Katy is the perfect choice. She is happy and easy-going.<o:p></o:p>

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The massage hut looked very welcoming with views of the aqua sea.<o:p></o:p>

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We hung out all morning. This was pretty standard for most of the week. Lunch was either taken in La Hacienda (1pm – 3:30pm) which is AC. Lunch there is very similar in content to the lunch in El Grand Azul above the main pool. The difference is the AC and the fact that you must have on dry clothing. That day we were lazy and wandered up to El Gran Azul around noon. Our server, Lida, was excellent. I must admit that on most days the service in El Gran Azul has improved from last year. The luncheon selections included stuffed chicken breast (quite yummy), moist, roast chicken, pork chops, beef pepper steaks, beef vegetable soup and the normal assortment of pizzas, pastas and salads. There is soft serve available.<o:p></o:p>

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After hanging out all afternoon we were headed to the Mexican ala carte for dinner. (I promised not to post the pic taken of us in sombreros so we’ll skip that.) A review of the new menu in La Adelita will be reviewed in the next chapter. You won’t be disappointed!<o:p></o:p>

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[Manitoban]

Very nice to hear the wine is decent....I enjoy a nice glass of good wine now and again (currently savoring a 1999 Chateau St. Jean Merlot at home).

That sounds truly wonderful! I'm now 'sampling' a 2002 Baron Phillipe de Rothschild. It's pretty good, but probably not near as good as what you've got on the go!!