Trip Report... Luna Blue... March 8-13,2006

Snowbirds · 03-15-2006

Background: Hi, everyone! We have lurked here for quite a while but haven't posted because we didn't feel that we had much to contribute. Thank you all for your time and passion... your suggestions had an enormously positive impact on our vacation.

We are a married couple in our 30s with four young children at home (that's why we need these couple-only vacations!). This was our fifth trip to the region... the first time was May, 2002, when we told our travel agent/neighbor that we wanted to go somewhere warm, so how about that Cancun place we've heard mentioned? Our neighbor booked us into the Iberostar Paraiso and we were blown away by the gorgeous Caribbean Sea, the beautiful beach and the amazing resort.

Hubby decided that he wanted to visit the nearby town of Playa del Carmen, but I opted to stay at the resort. Why go into town when there is such a great pool to enjoy??

The next year we went in March, rather than May, and stayed for five nights, rather than four, so we couldn't afford the Iberostar. We had a lovely stay at the Barcelo. This time hubby convinced me to go visit Playa del Carmen for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was a gray, drizzly day and I was a little intimidated by the festival shopping atmosphere, so I did not appreciate Playa's charm that day. One highlight of the day, though, was having the best lunch of my life at a tiny little bar on the beach, La Pirata.

When it was time to plan our third trip I was researching what other all-inclusive we should try. We were leaning towards the Copacabana, when I stumbled upon a post at a message board that changed our travel plans forever. This particular message board is primarily frequented by those who prefer all-inclusive resorts, but this post was written by a man who owns a boutique hotel in the town of Playa del Carmen. He was telling all the many ways to visit Playa without spending a lot of money.

The picture he painted of quaint hotels... local, yummy restuarants... quiet beaches... and strolling through town was so charming that I couldn't stop thinking about it. Hubby was very surprised when I suggested that we stay in the actual town of Playa del Carmen, instead of at an all-inclusive. Previously, the closest I was interested in getting to PdC was staying in Playacar! But now I wanted to try it per Steve's suggestions.

So we spent 5 nights in the spring of 2004 at the Riviera del Sol and then in 2005 at the Riviera Caribe Maya. (We had delayed too long in planning our trips to be able to get into the Playa Maya.) Both hotels were darling and we enjoyed our time in Playa del Carmen very much. Last year's trip wasn't so great, however. The day we left Michigan we both had sinus infections, pink eye and it was the day of Pope John Paul's funeral. So throughout our stay we were feeling miserable on several accounts. Hubby got so sick midweek that I thought he had contracted dengue fever!

That brings us to this year's trip. Wow, I've been writing and writing and I haven't even started our trip report yet! If you're still interested, go make yourself a cup of coffee and settle into a comfy chair. We're pretty quiet in person, but when I get to talking and reminiscing... it's hard to get me to stop!

Hubby and me at the Barcelo...

**TeeZet** · 03-15-2006

Nice start!

Banzoomba · 03-15-2006

Hello and welcome........love the report so far

Snowbirds · 03-15-2006

Day 1, 3/08: We can already tell that this trip is going to be better than last year's. Neither of us have pink eye, for one thing. Plus, Pope Benedict is looking well... so off we go with out spirits high! I had the brilliant idea of packing lightly, so that we wouldn't have to check any luggage. Upon arriving at Cancun, we grabbed our carry-ons, breezed through customs and were able to make the 11:00am bus to Playa. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we went to Playa's Paraiso Beach Club to sit on the beach and enjoy a couple of cold Coronas.

This year we thought we'd be a little more adventurous and stay at a small condominium complex, rather than an actual hotel. I'm sure that could work out well, but we made the mistake of booking a place based on a nice website with a few pretty photographs. The reality didn't quite match up, however. After checking in and freshening up, we strolled about town looking for two things... a place to eat dinner and a new hotel. It was so pleasant outside... no humidity at all... so we walked and walked and walked until we ended up with blisters and shin splints the next day.

We stopped at a little bar outside of Treetops hotel for a pre-dinner drink. We met two couples from Minnesota who told us that they were staying at Treetops and really liked it. We checked with the hotel clerk and she told us that she did have a room available and showed it to us. It looked nicer than what we had, so we decided to come back the next day to book it. A little voice warned me that it might be booked by then, but I ignored it. Bad idea.

We had dinner at Caprichoza's and it was wonderful! We had never even heard of this restuarant but our feet gave out in front of it, with only enough energy left to climb the stairs and collapse at a table. I had the shrimp bisque and the flautas with pulled chicken. Soo yummy! Hubby had some sort of Mexican combination that he said was great.

It's funny... just before we left home I had told my mother-in-law that we don't go to Mexico for the food, but rather for the beautiful scenery and the friendly people. Every other year that we've visited, the food has only been so-so. This trip every meal we had was fabulous! We just must have had some random bad luck before.

We had the best coffee every morning for breakfast at Los Tulipanes. I called it magic coffee because it tasted so incredible. I loved the mural on a wall in front of the restaurant. See how they painted tree trunks to match up with the actual trees?

After our great dinner at La Caprichoza, we went back to our room and tried to get some sleep. The next day we would book with Treetops, where we knew that we'd be more comfortable.

Snowbirds · 03-15-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowbirds

The next day we would book with Treetops, where we knew that we'd be more comfortable.

Ah..hahahaha... that's what I thought! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Day 2, 3/09: Our first full day in Paradise! We had an early breakfast at Los Tulipanes with the magic coffee and then headed to the beach. We like to get to Mamitas early and get a front row palapa. Something was different this trip, though... I couldn't quite put my finger on it... I was COLD! We sat at Mamitas and watched thick clouds roll in. They didn't exactly "roll" in... rather they were blown in by the gale force winds that we experienced all week.

At one point I sat huddled under my towel, trying to keep a positive outlook, while keeping an eye out for any funnel clouds as I was being pummeled by shrapnel sand. I said to hubby, "Ya know... some women spend a lot of money on professional micro-dermabrasion. Here I am getting it for free!". :p

It looked as though a lot of people were leaving the beach, but we are nothing, if not determined. We stayed huddled under our towels for hours, until the sun finally came out around noon. We strolled along the beach and stopped for shrimp tacos at the Paraiso. A few more hours under our palapa and it was time to go get cleaned up for dinner. We told our condo manager that we would be checking out the next day and then we went to Treetops to book our room.

Boy, were we naive to think that one available room would still be available the next day during high season! 'Cause it wasn't! We walked over to Playa Maya. No vacancy. We walked all the way down to the other part of town to inquire at the two hotels we have stayed at previously. No vacancy. At this point I couldn't help it... I stood in the street and cried. Poor hubby felt so bad! He said, "Don't cry, honey! People are going to think that I'm beating you!".

I pulled myself together and then had my one great idea of the trip (not including my great idea not to check any luggage)... I remembered reading about all these Peep gatherings and how a major party had been held at a hotel owned by a Playa Board couple, Tony and Cheri. Let's go check out the Luna Blue! We whipped out our handy dandy Mapchick map and found where to go.

Good fortune was on our side and Tony happened to be there when we strolled down that pretty path to the front desk. I get choked up when I remember this part... he was so friendly and calm and reassuring AND he had a room available! We felt like we had walked into our good friend's living room and we could relax. We booked it right away and said we would be back tomorrow.

We headed back to our other place for one last night, but we had smiles on our faces because we had found a great place to stay. Our trip was about to improve immensely!

btodd · 03-15-2006

Great report so far, thanks for taking the time to write it............looking forward to the next installment..........

W8N4Summer · 03-15-2006

I'm loving your trip report, can't wait to read more!

**TeeZet** · 03-16-2006

Me likey the way you're telling your unfolding story!

Ali · 03-16-2006

I love it when things work out!

I notice you haven't named the place you had originally booked, which has me scared it might be somehwere I'm looking into for our next trip!!

ZAEM · 03-16-2006

So glad Luna Blue came through for you. I like your writing style. Very interesting and made me feel like I was there. I could actually picture you in the street crying. Stressful but worked out for you.

Can't wait to read the rest!

DavidB · 03-16-2006

Welcome to the board. We need more Michiganders here. We were at the Luna Blue untill March 10th. Looks like we just missed you.

Snowbirds · 03-16-2006

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I'm glad the sheer number of words hasn't made your eyes fall out... yet.

I told hubby... a perfect vacation makes for some happy memories, but a vacation in which things go wrong makes for better stories and it is a bonding experience.

Someday we'll look back and say, "Remember that time when you stood sobbing in the streets of Playa because we were homeless in paradise and you were imagining that we'd have to sleep on a hammock on the beach, which would be fine except that the gale force winds would have blown off ten layers of skin by morning?"

Ultimately, though, it turned out to be a great trip!

**TeeZet** · 03-16-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowbirds

...I'm glad the sheer number of words hasn't made your eyes fall out... yet.
...

Almost...

bighairgrl7 · 03-16-2006

Thank you for sharing & I agree with everyone, you have a way with words. Its easy to read and very easy to imagine being there, more! more!

Snowbirds · 03-16-2006

Day 3, 3/10: Friday morning and we're once again awake at 6:00am. That's 7:00am Michigan time, which doesn't sound quite so extreme. I have gained some insights into myself during this trip. Before we arrived I declared that this year we would not be asleep by 9:00pm... by golly, we would stay out, drinking and socializing! But you know what? We both prefer to be early risers and early retirers. By 9:00pm, we're tired! I think the latest we ever stayed out was 10:00pm. Sad, I know, but it worked for us.Even though we had paid for three nights at the condo place, we decided to leave after two and just forfeit the cost of that third night. So we left before anyone else was awake and walked with our belongings to Los Tulipanes again for more magic coffee and the best hashbrown cakes ever! I know it's silly to be excited about potato cakes, but these were even better than McDonald's.

The upside of all this wind and unusually cooler temperatures is that it made being in town very pleasant. Whether it was an outdoor breakfast, a midday lunch or a lingering dinner (all the way till 10:00pm, one night!) we were never hot and sticky. We really had a chance to explore and enjoy the town this year, which was wonderful.

A little after 7:00am we strolled over to the Luna Blue to drop off our luggage and get passes and towels for Mamitas. The night before we hadn't even had to ask Tony if we could do that... he just volunteered, "Tomorrow morning come by and drop off your luggage. We'll give you passes and towels to Mamitas and when you return, your room will be ready.". That worked out just wonderfully!

By 8:00am we were huddled up under our towels at our front row palapa... debating whether it was raining or if that was just spray from the ocean. We amused ourselves by quoting from various television shows/movies... "The sea was rough that day, my friend!" (Seinfeld)... "I'm from Krakozia... unacceptable!" (The Terminal)... "This is all going into my report!" (The Out-of-Towners).

We learned another important lesson... don't bring along library books for your beach reading material. Between the blowing sand and the blowing mist and/or rain, we will be buying some new books for the library.

Finally the sun came out and we soaked it up like lizards. I was concerned that we'd arrive back home as pale as when we had left! Since the weather wasn't sweltering this year, I suggested that we walk into town for lunch. We went to the Crepe Factory where I had the yummiest spinach/gargonzola crepe and a refreshing melon juice. It was so good that we had the same lunch two days later.

As we were sitting at the Crepe Factory enjoying our lunch, a man on a bicycle rode by... heading south on 5th. He wore a bucket hat and had a darling blonde toddler in the baby seat on the back of his bike. I thought... Was that James and baby Elsa?? This was Friday, March 10th around noonish. Did we just have a rare James sighting? Whoever it was, he sure had a cute baby!

After desperately trying to soak in more sun on the beach, we headed to the Luna Blue around 4:00pm to check in. Our room was ready, so we went up the stairs and into our room. It was neat as a pin, but one thing was missing... where was the television? Now, we're not addicted to television, but we liked to watch a little when we return from our late night dinners at 9:00pm. Ooh... but what's this?? A lovely balcony that overlooks the gardens! Maybe we could sit here and actually talk to one another, instead of watching television? Interesting idea!

Here is the entrance to the Luna Blue and a picture of our balcony...

Since this was a Friday during Lent, we needed to have a meatless dinner. That was just fine by me, but hubby was a little less than thrilled. We went to Babe's and had delicious crab rolls with peach sauce, cheese rolls with mint sauce and we split a salmon entree. It was way too good to be a Lenten sacrifice! I'm certain that the enormous blueberry margarita I had wasn't in the Lenten spirit, either. I decided that being pummeled by wind and sand at the beach had made up for any indulgences at dinner.

Hubby said that the next night we should have a meat-heavy dinner, did I know of any places? I said that I had heard of El Fogon... it was highly recommended by the Playa board. I didn't know much about it... we would ask Tony later... but I imagined that it was a cozy, romantic restaurant a little north of town. But that was for tomorrow... right now it was after 9:00pm, so surely it was time to end this day!

03-15-2006	#1 (permalink)
Snowbirds way into it Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 152	Trip Report... Luna Blue... March 8-13,2006 Background: Hi, everyone! We have lurked here for quite a while but haven't posted because we didn't feel that we had much to contribute. Thank you all for your time and passion... your suggestions had an enormously positive impact on our vacation. We are a married couple in our 30s with four young children at home (that's why we need these couple-only vacations!). This was our fifth trip to the region... the first time was May, 2002, when we told our travel agent/neighbor that we wanted to go somewhere warm, so how about that Cancun place we've heard mentioned? Our neighbor booked us into the Iberostar Paraiso and we were blown away by the gorgeous Caribbean Sea, the beautiful beach and the amazing resort. Hubby decided that he wanted to visit the nearby town of Playa del Carmen, but I opted to stay at the resort. Why go into town when there is such a great pool to enjoy?? The next year we went in March, rather than May, and stayed for five nights, rather than four, so we couldn't afford the Iberostar. We had a lovely stay at the Barcelo. This time hubby convinced me to go visit Playa del Carmen for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was a gray, drizzly day and I was a little intimidated by the festival shopping atmosphere, so I did not appreciate Playa's charm that day. One highlight of the day, though, was having the best lunch of my life at a tiny little bar on the beach, La Pirata. When it was time to plan our third trip I was researching what other all-inclusive we should try. We were leaning towards the Copacabana, when I stumbled upon a post at a message board that changed our travel plans forever. This particular message board is primarily frequented by those who prefer all-inclusive resorts, but this post was written by a man who owns a boutique hotel in the town of Playa del Carmen. He was telling all the many ways to visit Playa without spending a lot of money. The picture he painted of quaint hotels... local, yummy restuarants... quiet beaches... and strolling through town was so charming that I couldn't stop thinking about it. Hubby was very surprised when I suggested that we stay in the actual town of Playa del Carmen, instead of at an all-inclusive. Previously, the closest I was interested in getting to PdC was staying in Playacar! But now I wanted to try it per Steve's suggestions. So we spent 5 nights in the spring of 2004 at the Riviera del Sol and then in 2005 at the Riviera Caribe Maya. (We had delayed too long in planning our trips to be able to get into the Playa Maya.) Both hotels were darling and we enjoyed our time in Playa del Carmen very much. Last year's trip wasn't so great, however. The day we left Michigan we both had sinus infections, pink eye and it was the day of Pope John Paul's funeral. So throughout our stay we were feeling miserable on several accounts. Hubby got so sick midweek that I thought he had contracted dengue fever! That brings us to this year's trip. Wow, I've been writing and writing and I haven't even started our trip report yet! If you're still interested, go make yourself a cup of coffee and settle into a comfy chair. We're pretty quiet in person, but when I get to talking and reminiscing... it's hard to get me to stop! Hubby and me at the Barcelo... Last edited by Snowbirds; 03-15-2006 at 06:41 PM..

03-15-2006	#2 (permalink)
TeeZet Non-aggressive Dutch dude Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 8,167	Nice start!

03-15-2006	#3 (permalink)
Banzoomba big sexy speedo guy Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Top of the Chesapeake Bay, Md Posts: 9,691	Hello and welcome........love the report so far

03-15-2006	#4 (permalink)
Snowbirds way into it Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 152	Day 1, 3/08: We can already tell that this trip is going to be better than last year's. Neither of us have pink eye, for one thing. Plus, Pope Benedict is looking well... so off we go with out spirits high! I had the brilliant idea of packing lightly, so that we wouldn't have to check any luggage. Upon arriving at Cancun, we grabbed our carry-ons, breezed through customs and were able to make the 11:00am bus to Playa. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we went to Playa's Paraiso Beach Club to sit on the beach and enjoy a couple of cold Coronas. This year we thought we'd be a little more adventurous and stay at a small condominium complex, rather than an actual hotel. I'm sure that could work out well, but we made the mistake of booking a place based on a nice website with a few pretty photographs. The reality didn't quite match up, however. After checking in and freshening up, we strolled about town looking for two things... a place to eat dinner and a new hotel. It was so pleasant outside... no humidity at all... so we walked and walked and walked until we ended up with blisters and shin splints the next day. We stopped at a little bar outside of Treetops hotel for a pre-dinner drink. We met two couples from Minnesota who told us that they were staying at Treetops and really liked it. We checked with the hotel clerk and she told us that she did have a room available and showed it to us. It looked nicer than what we had, so we decided to come back the next day to book it. A little voice warned me that it might be booked by then, but I ignored it. Bad idea. We had dinner at Caprichoza's and it was wonderful! We had never even heard of this restuarant but our feet gave out in front of it, with only enough energy left to climb the stairs and collapse at a table. I had the shrimp bisque and the flautas with pulled chicken. Soo yummy! Hubby had some sort of Mexican combination that he said was great. It's funny... just before we left home I had told my mother-in-law that we don't go to Mexico for the food, but rather for the beautiful scenery and the friendly people. Every other year that we've visited, the food has only been so-so. This trip every meal we had was fabulous! We just must have had some random bad luck before. We had the best coffee every morning for breakfast at Los Tulipanes. I called it magic coffee because it tasted so incredible. I loved the mural on a wall in front of the restaurant. See how they painted tree trunks to match up with the actual trees? After our great dinner at La Caprichoza, we went back to our room and tried to get some sleep. The next day we would book with Treetops, where we knew that we'd be more comfortable.

03-15-2006	#6 (permalink)
btodd añejo Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada Posts: 2,358	Great report so far, thanks for taking the time to write it............looking forward to the next installment..........

03-15-2006	#7 (permalink)
W8N4Summer beachaholic Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Waukesha, WI Posts: 302	I'm loving your trip report, can't wait to read more!

03-16-2006	#8 (permalink)
TeeZet Non-aggressive Dutch dude Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 8,167	Me likey the way you're telling your unfolding story!

03-16-2006	#9 (permalink)
Ali life=playa Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: London, UK Posts: 715	I love it when things work out! I notice you haven't named the place you had originally booked, which has me scared it might be somehwere I'm looking into for our next trip!!

03-16-2006	#10 (permalink)
ZAEM life=playa Join Date: May 2004 Location: Northern Massachusetts Posts: 662	So glad Luna Blue came through for you. I like your writing style. Very interesting and made me feel like I was there. I could actually picture you in the street crying. Stressful but worked out for you. Can't wait to read the rest!

03-16-2006	#11 (permalink)
DavidB añejo Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Mid Mich Posts: 4,250	Welcome to the board. We need more Michiganders here. We were at the Luna Blue untill March 10th. Looks like we just missed you.

03-16-2006	#12 (permalink)
Snowbirds way into it Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 152	Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I'm glad the sheer number of words hasn't made your eyes fall out... yet. I told hubby... a perfect vacation makes for some happy memories, but a vacation in which things go wrong makes for better stories and it is a bonding experience. Someday we'll look back and say, "Remember that time when you stood sobbing in the streets of Playa because we were homeless in paradise and you were imagining that we'd have to sleep on a hammock on the beach, which would be fine except that the gale force winds would have blown off ten layers of skin by morning?" Ultimately, though, it turned out to be a great trip!

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03-16-2006	#14 (permalink)
bighairgrl7 very sparkly Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 38	Thank you for sharing & I agree with everyone, you have a way with words. Its easy to read and very easy to imagine being there, more! more!

03-16-2006	#15 (permalink)
Snowbirds way into it Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 152	Day 3, 3/10: Friday morning and we're once again awake at 6:00am. That's 7:00am Michigan time, which doesn't sound quite so extreme. I have gained some insights into myself during this trip. Before we arrived I declared that this year we would not be asleep by 9:00pm... by golly, we would stay out, drinking and socializing! But you know what? We both prefer to be early risers and early retirers. By 9:00pm, we're tired! I think the latest we ever stayed out was 10:00pm. Sad, I know, but it worked for us.Even though we had paid for three nights at the condo place, we decided to leave after two and just forfeit the cost of that third night. So we left before anyone else was awake and walked with our belongings to Los Tulipanes again for more magic coffee and the best hashbrown cakes ever! I know it's silly to be excited about potato cakes, but these were even better than McDonald's. The upside of all this wind and unusually cooler temperatures is that it made being in town very pleasant. Whether it was an outdoor breakfast, a midday lunch or a lingering dinner (all the way till 10:00pm, one night!) we were never hot and sticky. We really had a chance to explore and enjoy the town this year, which was wonderful. A little after 7:00am we strolled over to the Luna Blue to drop off our luggage and get passes and towels for Mamitas. The night before we hadn't even had to ask Tony if we could do that... he just volunteered, "Tomorrow morning come by and drop off your luggage. We'll give you passes and towels to Mamitas and when you return, your room will be ready.". That worked out just wonderfully! By 8:00am we were huddled up under our towels at our front row palapa... debating whether it was raining or if that was just spray from the ocean. We amused ourselves by quoting from various television shows/movies... "The sea was rough that day, my friend!" (Seinfeld)... "I'm from Krakozia... unacceptable!" (The Terminal)... "This is all going into my report!" (The Out-of-Towners). We learned another important lesson... don't bring along library books for your beach reading material. Between the blowing sand and the blowing mist and/or rain, we will be buying some new books for the library. Finally the sun came out and we soaked it up like lizards. I was concerned that we'd arrive back home as pale as when we had left! Since the weather wasn't sweltering this year, I suggested that we walk into town for lunch. We went to the Crepe Factory where I had the yummiest spinach/gargonzola crepe and a refreshing melon juice. It was so good that we had the same lunch two days later. As we were sitting at the Crepe Factory enjoying our lunch, a man on a bicycle rode by... heading south on 5th. He wore a bucket hat and had a darling blonde toddler in the baby seat on the back of his bike. I thought... Was that James and baby Elsa?? This was Friday, March 10th around noonish. Did we just have a rare James sighting? Whoever it was, he sure had a cute baby! After desperately trying to soak in more sun on the beach, we headed to the Luna Blue around 4:00pm to check in. Our room was ready, so we went up the stairs and into our room. It was neat as a pin, but one thing was missing... where was the television? Now, we're not addicted to television, but we liked to watch a little when we return from our late night dinners at 9:00pm. Ooh... but what's this?? A lovely balcony that overlooks the gardens! Maybe we could sit here and actually talk to one another, instead of watching television? Interesting idea! Here is the entrance to the Luna Blue and a picture of our balcony... Since this was a Friday during Lent, we needed to have a meatless dinner. That was just fine by me, but hubby was a little less than thrilled. We went to Babe's and had delicious crab rolls with peach sauce, cheese rolls with mint sauce and we split a salmon entree. It was way too good to be a Lenten sacrifice! I'm certain that the enormous blueberry margarita I had wasn't in the Lenten spirit, either. I decided that being pummeled by wind and sand at the beach had made up for any indulgences at dinner. Hubby said that the next night we should have a meat-heavy dinner, did I know of any places? I said that I had heard of El Fogon... it was highly recommended by the Playa board. I didn't know much about it... we would ask Tony later... but I imagined that it was a cozy, romantic restaurant a little north of town. But that was for tomorrow... right now it was after 9:00pm, so surely it was time to end this day!