Royal PDC: Apr 30 - May 7, 2011

[Y2YTraveller]

At this point, I'm going to interrupt the narrative to say a word or two about housekeeping at the RPDC. On every stay there, we've been extremely impressed with the cleanliness of every part of the hotel.

Upon check-in, for all but the basic rooms, guests are given the choice of four 2-hour time-slots for housekeeping and the evening turn-down service. In spite of the property being completely booked, all of our housekeeping services were right on schedule.

Our maid Hilda was an especially talented towel artist:







The evening turn-down service usually featured rose-petal decorations around the room, an aromatherapy candle (not a fan of that, myself....) and a pair of fine chocolates. We noted that the chocolates were of a much higher quality than we had experienced in the past. The turn-down maid would also generally tidy up the room.

Here's a shot of the turn-down service:


One point to note - the evening turn-down maid is a different shift than the maid who cleans your room in the morning. Tips left in the maid's envelope in the morning will only go to the morning maid. If you want to tip the evening turn-down maid, you'll need to leave a separate tip. Likewise, a third employee restocks your minibar each afternoon - his tip is separate also. I noticed that the "minibar guy" was quite good at noticing what we were drinking most of (Sol & Tecate), and brought more of it.

We'll get back to Day 3 later on...

[kaki321]

This is all great info! We booked an Ocean Front Walkout suite at the GPR in June and due to the category we are eligible for the Royal Housekeeping service which includes the ammenities you describe! I only hope they "execute" it as well as the Royal does...the 2-hour time slot was a big selling point for us, with the kids and all, good to have that time nailed down better. And thanks for the tips on tips...who would have guessed it were 3 people. Glad to know that off the bat so I can tip accordingly.

Looking forward to more of your trip report! Great job so far. Did you make it into town at all, or other beach areas? Or day trips?? Do tell...

[Y2YTraveller]

Originally Posted by kaki321

This is all great info! We booked an Ocean Front Walkout suite at the GPR in June and due to the category we are eligible for the Royal Housekeeping service which includes the ammenities you describe! I only hope they "execute" it as well as the Royal does...the 2-hour time slot was a big selling point for us, with the kids and all, good to have that time nailed down better. And thanks for the tips on tips...who would have guessed it were 3 people. Glad to know that off the bat so I can tip accordingly.

Looking forward to more of your trip report! Great job so far. Did you make it into town at all, or other beach areas? Or day trips?? Do tell...

Thanks for the kind words!

We stayed at the GPR last year with our kids and the inlaws - we had two family ocean front suites side-by side. I don't recall if we qualified for "Royal" housekeeping at that level, however the housekeeping standards were about as good as at the Royal.

We spent a good deal of time on 5th and did a day-trip to Cozumel, and later to the Grand Sirenis for the wedding. Details will follow....

[kaki321]

Originally Posted by Y2YTraveller

Thanks for the kind words!

We stayed at the GPR last year with our kids and the inlaws - we had two family ocean front suites side-by side. I don't recall if we qualified for "Royal" housekeeping at that level, however the housekeeping standards were about as good as at the Royal.

We spent a good deal of time on 5th and did a day-trip to Cozumel, and later to the Grand Sirenis for the wedding. Details will follow....

Hey there, I think I remember seeing you post pictures of the view from these rooms...these are the rooms with the bunk beds right? We are on the ground floor in the ocean front "walkouts." These suites are the first category at the GPR that qualify for the Royal Service (as well as being able to eat at a few of the Royal restaurants). The other room category that qualifies is the Gran Master Suite.

Looking forward to the Cozumel and wedding parts of your report!

[Y2YTraveller]

Originally Posted by kaki321

Hey there, I think I remember seeing you post pictures of the view from these rooms...these are the rooms with the bunk beds right?

THose were the ones, with the third rollaway bunk. Even without the Royal Housekeeping, the service was still excellent. Overall, we found that the GPR compared reasonably well to the Royal when you account for the fact that it is one star down the ladder. Food & service were generally very good, just not quite up to the superb levels enjoyed at the Royal.

One other thing: the beach at the GPR has eroded quite heavily since our visit there in Feb 2010; much of the shoreline now consists of exposed sandbags. I'll get a photo up later......

[Y2YTraveller]

Originally Posted by Y2YTraveller

One other thing: the beach at the GPR has eroded quite heavily since our visit there in Feb 2010; much of the shoreline now consists of exposed sandbags. I'll get a photo up later......

Here's the beach in front of the GPR as of early May, 2011:

[kaki321]

Yep. I've seen those pics. Sad. Our beach expectations are low for in front of the GPR. We booked there for the 5th ave location and convenience for kids meals. My boys eat a ton these days all day long! I will get my beach fix in tulum, akumal and isla mujeres.

On with your report!!

[Y2YTraveller]

After a very long & leisurely lunch at El Mediterraneo, we wandered our way over to the lobby bar and grabbed a couple of drinks to go.

We headed out the front door and strolled down 5th avenue towards the ferry dock, taking note of the various openings and closings since last year. We noticed that one of our favourite shops, the Casa Tequila, was no more - razed to the ground and replaced with a construction site.

Not to worry too much - no shortage of tequila shops along 5th. We like to pick out a few brands of añejo and then head up to Mega and Wal-Mart to see which ones we can find at much lower cost. Surprisingly, this year we found very little difference in tequila prices between 5th ave and the Mega/Wal-Mart

Either way, we had our fill of shopping for an afternoon and then made our way back to the Royal. We were ambushed by the Lobby Bar on our way back to our room, and so were compelled to drink a couple more......then a couple more. By the end of the afternoon, the wifey was a few drinks ahead of me and in a great mood................so now we skip over to dinner.

Maria Marie's has always been our favourite restaurant at the RPDC and in five years it has never failed to impress. This night was no exception; we indulged in chateaubriand for two, preceded by soup, and accompanied by a very fine bottle of Miguel, an excellent Mexican wine from the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California. This was a rich, complex red primarily based on Tempranillo, and was the perfect pairing for chateaubriand. The meal finished with a couple of glasses of 43; if you haven't tried 43, you need to. A perfect after-dinner drink which comes from Spain. Somewhat reminiscent of B&B.

After dinner, we met up with some fine folks from San Antonio and proceeded to knock back a few tequila shots and Tecates. Quote of the evening: "Whoooa, that's not añejo !" It was easily 2am before we staggered back to the room and soon called it a night for day 3.

Day 4 (and more photos) to follow....

[Y2YTraveller]

May 3 began a little cooler with some light overcast. We headed out to breakfast at Spice. Really enjoyed the sausages, chilaquiles, poached eggs & cheeses. By the time breakfast was done, the sun was out and it began warming up fast.

This was our first real beach day of this trip. We headed to the beach shortly before noon and had no trouble securing a pair of loungers with a drink table between them. This began the flow of mango tangos. Service was very efficient and after imbibing a couple, I decided to take a walk and capture some beach shots:








One thing that is immediately noticeable is the degree of erosion. This part of the Caribbean has virtually no tidal flow, so the water levels are fairly constant throughout the day. However, the beach is a good 10 to 20 feet narrower than it was in 2009, and a number of rocks just offshore which were previously covered in sand are now uncovered.

Not that this is much of a problem - move a short distance north and there are no more rocks.

After a suitable period in the sun, we headed to Pelicanos for a mid-afternoon snack and some more mojitos.... now firmly in first place as our afternoon drink of choice for this trip. We then headed back to the beach for a bit more sun before returning to our room to get ready for dinner.

Tonight was our reservation at Chef's Plate, an experience I will save for the next installment......

[AZ RiverRat]

Keep it coming!

[playafool]

Great report.
I noticed in one pic. it looks like you are drinking a Red Bull. Do they have Red Bull at the royal?

[Y2YTraveller]

Originally Posted by playafool

Great report.
I noticed in one pic. it looks like you are drinking a Red Bull. Do they have Red Bull at the royal?

At the gift shop for 42 Pesos per can. I don't like coffee, so that's my morning pickup. Buying three at a time is a good way to generate some small bills & coins for tipping.

[playafool]

Originally Posted by Y2YTraveller

At the gift shop for 42 Pesos per can. I don't like coffee, so that's my morning pickup. Buying three at a time is a good way to generate some small bills & coins for tipping.

Thanks

[Y2YTraveller]

We spent some time relaxing at the Tequileria tables by the mariachi fountain while waiting for our reservation at Chef's Plate. We had booked the 6:00 pm sitting, which gave us enough time to finish our meal and head down 5th for the evening.

It turns out that 6:00 is the first sitting time at Chef's plate, so we were the first patrons in the restaurant that evening. Chef's Plate is unique among the Royal's restaurants. For one thing, it's the only one requiring reservations, which often have to be made several days in advance.

Secondly, it is a fixed-menu five-course meal, with the menu changing from night to night. The various hotel concierges have copies of the menu for your perusal, and will make the reservations for you. Since our last visit to the Royal, they have restricted access to the Chef's Plate somewhat; it used to be included with Ocean View suites or above. Now, however, it's only included at the Ocean Front level and above. I believe that other guests can eat there for a pricey surcharge, from what I hear, but I never did confirm what the cost was.

In any event, if you plan on eating there, you might want to consider making your reservations on your first day, as some of the more popular nights fill up several days in advance.

Another member of this group has supplied me with a copy of the Chef's Plate menu in pps version which I'm happy to share with anyone who would like a copy; just PM me with your e-mail address. It is a bit dated, however; the menu on the night we attended does not appear there.

Bear in mind that the Chef's Plate focuses on sophisticated gourmet cuisine, with the waiter explaining each course. Presentation is a big part of the meal, and portion sizes are very "French." The food tends to be fairly rich and even the small servings will fill you up quickly.

We attended on the Spanish night, which featured suckling pig as the main course (no, not served whole.....). The meal began with a "welcome drink" - brandy alexanders. This was followed by three "tasters" of gazpacho: tomato, cucumber and blackberry, the last of those being a little too sweet for my taste.

Next came an appetiser of potato mousse with some cold cuts, followed by a seafood paella with prawns, scallops, mussels & calamari. The main course was served flaked over a bed of polenta and greens. Dessert followed - honestly can't recall what it was. The entire experience was rounded out by a great bottle of Italian red called Domenico. Many kudos to the hotel's sommelier, Carlos, for another excellent recommendation.

BTW, with regard to the hotel wines, the house wines are okay - rather better than when we last visited. The "good stuff", however, comes at a surcharge. The wine list at Chef's Plate is identical to that at Maria Marie's, and runs to several pages of Mexican, Californian, French, Italian, Spanish, Chilean, Argentinian and German varieties. They also have a wine list with dinner at Pelicano's, Asiana & El Mediterraneo, which is rather shorter. Dinner once again concluded with a couple of glasses of 43, then we grabbed a couple of drinks to go from the lobby bar and headed for a walk down 5th avenue.

When we were done, we made a brief stop at the 24 Hour lounge for a brief snack before heading back to the room for an early night in preparation for our trip to Cozumel the following day.

Coming up next: Cozumel

[Y2YTraveller]

May 4 was the day we had booked a tour of Cozumel. We had an early breakfast at Spice and then strolled down 5th at around 9:00 am to the ferry dock. The temperature was already sweltering by the time we got there, met up with our tour group & picked up our ferry tickets.



In 6 visits to Playa, this was the first time we had made it over to Cozumel, although we had always intended to do so on our prior trips. We took the Ultramar ferry departing at 10am and had an easy 35 minute crossing with only a light swell. Managed to knock back a couple of Dos Equis on the way over and enjoyed the live band. Here are a few shots taken as we approached the dock in Cozumel:




Our tour included a trip down to the Punta Sur ecological reserve. The first thing you get to as you enter the area is this ancient Mayan lighthouse, now more than half buried in sand:


As the story goes, this lighthouse was built to facilitate the trade in cacao beans, which led to the spread of chocolate throughout the Yucatan and the rest of Mexico, from which it spread to the rest of the world. This lighthouse was built to guide the trade canoes safely into harbour - without this lighthouse, there'd be no chocolate in the world. Think about that.....................

There's an interesting salt lagoon on the west side of the point:



Not a place you want to go snorkelling in:




More from Cozumel to follow......