Playa del Carmen or Bust (my swimsuit)

scott8paint · 03-08-2009

Arena Blanca
2/9/2009 – 2/19/2009

Imagine my distress to receive the following e-mail the day before we were to fly out: “Scott, I screwed up & overbooked my condo”. What does this mean? It means we have no place to stay our 1st 2 nights in Playa. So I swing into damage control mode in order to keep my wife (Dianne) from losing her mind. I calmly consult the interwebs & am lucky to find a small hotel just around the corner from Arena Blanca called Casa Ticul. While perfectly acceptable, it was nothing more than a basic hotel room, so no pictures taken.

Day One
Arrived at the airport & waited almost an hour to clear customs. 2 green lights & off to find our private transfer provided by Playa.Info. (highly recommended). Checked in at Casa Ticul & off to P.G.’s for our 1st shrimp tacos & cervesas of the trip. Cruised around town for awhile & ended up at Tequila Barrel for some prime people watching. Dinner was at Mandarina’s (recommended by staff at Casa Ticul – not recommended by us). The 10% service charge was added in with the note “tip NOT included”. After an impassioned explanation by the waiter, we paid an additional 10% tip & called it a day.

Day Two
The day was spent at Mamitas with free passes courtesy of Casa Ticul. Great weather, but sorry no photos. Tango Taco was the ticket for dinner – we always make at least one visit here each trip. Fantastic arrachera con queso and the lovely condiment/salsa plate with the hottest habanero sautéed onions you will ever eat.

After dinner we went by Luna Blue where we met Lenny, Rick & Judy Blue Eyes even though we have no photographic evidence to support that fact.

Day Three – Moving Day
Ate the complimentary breakfast provided at Casa Ticul, then we packed up our stuff and headed to Bric International to pick up our keys to Arena Blanca #10. Since the unit wasn’t ready, we went to Karma Bagel for lunch (this became our favorite place for lunch this trip). Photos do an accurate representation of the yummyness we encountered there.

We then moved a world away around the corner to Arena Blanca (finally)! This place is da BOMB!

Then it was off to Mega to get the essentials.

Later that night we went to Pummarola for dinner where we had a wonderful pizza and salad. Sorry no photos this night.

**Susie Q Roo** · 03-08-2009

Whoa! Nice place! You sure weren't kidding when you told me about it.

scott8paint · 03-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susie Q Roo

Whoa! Nice place! You sure weren't kidding when you told me about it.

Hey, sweet Susie! It was great meeting you & you are right, we could have moved in & stayed forever! What a pleasure meeting you, Dianne was truly in awe!!

boxi · 03-08-2009

The place looks gorgeous!

**Susie Q Roo** · 03-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott8paint

Hey, sweet Susie! It was great meeting you & you are right, we could have moved in & stayed forever! What a pleasure meeting you, Dianne was truly in awe!!

I think she made my year! I'm so glad I got to meet you both and spend a little time with you.

Looking forward to the rest of your report!

boxi · 03-08-2009

The condo looks so beautiful I had to check their webpage straight away!
Were you staying in one bedroom condo? Where exactly is it located? Was there anything you didn't love about it?

After seeing your pics we are actually thinking of splitting our vacation in 2 parts and stay at Arena Blanca for a week or two!

TAPPY · 03-08-2009

Awesome looking condo ! Where did you book it at ?

scott8paint · 03-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxi

The condo looks so beautiful I had to check their webpage straight away!
Were you staying in one bedroom condo? Where exactly is it located? Was there anything you didn't love about it?

After seeing your pics we are actually thinking of splitting our vacation in 2 parts and stay at Arena Blanca for a week or two!

We actually stayed in the 2-bedroom penthouse suite. There was NOTHING we didn't love about it. It's one of those places you move into & feel comfortable right away. It's located at Calle 38 @ 10th Avenue.

scott8paint · 03-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAPPY

Awesome looking condo ! Where did you book it at ?

We booked it here...playaisfun dot com

boxi · 03-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott8paint

We actually stayed in the 2-bedroom penthouse suite. There was NOTHING we didn't love about it. It's one of those places you move into & feel comfortable right away. It's located at Calle 38 @ 10th Avenue.

Thanks for the info! We (2 peeps) are seriously thinking of booking one bedroom condo as it's actually cheaper than the room we have originally booked for our trip

!

btodd · 03-08-2009

WOW!!!

What a gorgeous condo.......looking forward to the rest of your report!

Alisa · 03-08-2009

It was great to meet you and Dianne. Too bad we didn't get to spend more time together. Maybe next year?

maestranba · 03-08-2009

Hi Scott! That condo is GORGEOUS!! My nephew stayed there last fall in a one bedroom and it was also really nice. It was great meeting you guys at El Paraiso. Wish we could have spent more time with you and Diane...maybe next year!

Marj · 03-08-2009

Wow, what a nice place! We actually got to see the inside of your condo last year when our friends were staying there. They had one of the main floor units. It's very impressive.

Bevoz · 03-08-2009

Amazing condo do you rent it or do you own it??

03-08-2009	#1 (permalink)
scott8paint toe in water Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: 77450 Posts: 54	Playa del Carmen or Bust (my swimsuit) Arena Blanca 2/9/2009 – 2/19/2009 Imagine my distress to receive the following e-mail the day before we were to fly out: “Scott, I screwed up & overbooked my condo”. What does this mean? It means we have no place to stay our 1st 2 nights in Playa. So I swing into damage control mode in order to keep my wife (Dianne) from losing her mind. I calmly consult the interwebs & am lucky to find a small hotel just around the corner from Arena Blanca called Casa Ticul. While perfectly acceptable, it was nothing more than a basic hotel room, so no pictures taken. Day One Arrived at the airport & waited almost an hour to clear customs. 2 green lights & off to find our private transfer provided by Playa.Info. (highly recommended). Checked in at Casa Ticul & off to P.G.’s for our 1st shrimp tacos & cervesas of the trip. Cruised around town for awhile & ended up at Tequila Barrel for some prime people watching. Dinner was at Mandarina’s (recommended by staff at Casa Ticul – not recommended by us). The 10% service charge was added in with the note “tip NOT included”. After an impassioned explanation by the waiter, we paid an additional 10% tip & called it a day. Day Two The day was spent at Mamitas with free passes courtesy of Casa Ticul. Great weather, but sorry no photos. Tango Taco was the ticket for dinner – we always make at least one visit here each trip. Fantastic arrachera con queso and the lovely condiment/salsa plate with the hottest habanero sautéed onions you will ever eat. After dinner we went by Luna Blue where we met Lenny, Rick & Judy Blue Eyes even though we have no photographic evidence to support that fact. Day Three – Moving Day Ate the complimentary breakfast provided at Casa Ticul, then we packed up our stuff and headed to Bric International to pick up our keys to Arena Blanca #10. Since the unit wasn’t ready, we went to Karma Bagel for lunch (this became our favorite place for lunch this trip). Photos do an accurate representation of the yummyness we encountered there. We then moved a world away around the corner to Arena Blanca (finally)! This place is da BOMB! Then it was off to Mega to get the essentials. Later that night we went to Pummarola for dinner where we had a wonderful pizza and salad. Sorry no photos this night. __________________

03-08-2009	#2 (permalink)
Susie Q Roo Critter Magnet Join Date: May 2003 Location: Q Roo Posts: 16,084	Whoa! Nice place! You sure weren't kidding when you told me about it.

03-08-2009	#4 (permalink)
boxi reposado Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: ljubljana Posts: 1,112	The place looks gorgeous!

03-08-2009	#6 (permalink)
boxi reposado Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: ljubljana Posts: 1,112	The condo looks so beautiful I had to check their webpage straight away! Were you staying in one bedroom condo? Where exactly is it located? Was there anything you didn't love about it? After seeing your pics we are actually thinking of splitting our vacation in 2 parts and stay at Arena Blanca for a week or two!

03-08-2009	#7 (permalink)
TAPPY añejo Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 21,148	Awesome looking condo ! Where did you book it at ?

03-08-2009	#11 (permalink)
btodd añejo Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada Posts: 2,358	WOW!!! What a gorgeous condo.......looking forward to the rest of your report!

03-08-2009	#12 (permalink)
Alisa way into it Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 248	It was great to meet you and Dianne. Too bad we didn't get to spend more time together. Maybe next year?

03-08-2009	#13 (permalink)
maestranba añejo Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut Posts: 4,102	Hi Scott! That condo is GORGEOUS!! My nephew stayed there last fall in a one bedroom and it was also really nice. It was great meeting you guys at El Paraiso. Wish we could have spent more time with you and Diane...maybe next year!

03-08-2009	#14 (permalink)
Marj life=playa Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Winnipeg MB Canada Posts: 843	Wow, what a nice place! We actually got to see the inside of your condo last year when our friends were staying there. They had one of the main floor units. It's very impressive.

03-08-2009	#15 (permalink)
Bevoz reposado Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tsawwassen BC..soon Playa Posts: 1,261	Amazing condo do you rent it or do you own it??

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