Please Help! Advice on Aventura Spa Resort. I need to book ASAP

mcuz · 04-08-2004

I was just about to book until I found out about the beach. Any suggestions on other hotels is also appreciated. A little background we are 32 and 28.

How is the beach cove?

Is it a fun crowd? We're not looking for a spring break crowd but we would like a bit of action.

How far are the affiliated hotels? Are their beaches good?

Do many of the women wear thongs and go topless? We aren't looking for a swinging crowd but my wife would like to go topless but doesn't want to be the only one. Any other Playa hotels have this but don't go to far?

How is the location and food?

Basically I'm looking for an all-inclusive with good food, good beach/pool and a fun crowd where some go topless. Is this my resort? If not, where is?

Thanks. We want to go soon as we cancelled are trip to Spain.

**Shammy** · 04-08-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

I was just about to book until I found out about the beach. Any suggestions on other hotels is also appreciated. A little background we are 32 and 28.

How is the beach cove?

It's small, manmade of crushed coral and shells. It's not the soft, white sand you might want if you were looking for a nice beach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

Is it a fun crowd? We're not looking for a spring break crowd but we would like a bit of action.

Well, I there's different kinds of people there at all times but with so many rooms and so many guests, I'm sure you could find some nice folks to hang out with

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

How far are the affiliated hotels? Are their beaches good?

Xpu Ha Palace is pretty close and the only beach worth going to...very nice beach too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

Do many of the women wear thongs and go topless? We aren't looking for a swinging crowd but my wife would like to go topless but doesn't want to be the only one. Any other Playa hotels have this but don't go to far?

Many? I wouldn't say "many" but you will see topless and thongs at every hotel. Who knows how many at any given time but put it this way....she won't be the only one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

How is the location and food?

It's south of the town of Playa del Carmen, near Xcaret...maybe a $12-$14 cab ride one way into town.
The food is generally very good and there are many restaurants with lots of different kinds of food too. (5 ala carte restaurants)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcuz

Basically I'm looking for an all-inclusive with good food, good beach/pool and a fun crowd where some go topless. Is this my resort? If not, where is?

Well, forget the beach. Pool is great though. If the beach is VERY important to you, you might want to look elsewhere.
Are you looking for adults only? If so, your choices are Secrets Capri, Royal Hideaway or ASP. Riu Palace isn't adults only but very few families with children go there.

The Iberostars are great resorts, sounds to me like they'd be right up your alley. Look into the Iberostar Lindo and the Iberostar Tucan. Good food, good service, nice beaches nice pools...Can't go wrong with either if'n ya ask me.

mcuz · 04-08-2004

Thanks Shammy.

steffanizz · 04-10-2004

We stayed at Aventura Spa Palace in December 2003. We went with group of 17 people and were married there. We loved the resort. You are right about the beach, it is not spectacular and like shammy said it is a crushed shell type sand. It is pretty, just more rocky and natural. We did LOVE the pools, there are so many of them and they can be very fun or relaxing depending on which side you go to. Background on us, we are 27 and 29, went with our friends and parents. All of us had a blast, other people staying at the resort were very friendly and fun, it was a nice atmosphere overall. Not too wild, but a little silly just as we were. We visited the sister hotel Xpu-Ha twice. It was beautiful. For a $5 cab ride you could go there, lay out on their beautiful perfect sand beach, and eat and drink as if you were at ASP. I would say if you are concerned about a beach, stay at ASP and take the quick cab over to Xpu-ha for a change of scenery. I would not bypass ASP for lack of a beach, everything else there was wonderful and Xpu-Ha's beach was spectacular.
Food was good, tons of different choices. We unfortunately waited till the last night to try the vegetarian expecting it would not be the best but it was. Good food overall and with so many choices if you don't like one thing it is no problem cause there is so much more. Aventura side is the place to be at night if you want a little more fun. They have a cover band which we thought was very fun. People dancing most nights, the nightclub upstairs was more empty and for the younger crowd but we did make it in there a couple late nights!
As far as going topless, we did see people doing it. I would not say a lot, but enough that it was not a big deal. More women tend to do this while laying down around the lagoon area instead of the pool. The lagoon is nice to lay out by, but I'd prefer swimming in the pool. I also prefer the fresh water over salt water, so maybe it's just my preference.
The resort was very clean, rooms amazing, and grounds beautiful. Staff was very nice, accomodating, and hardworking. We can't wait to go back. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Just a note, we read a lot of bad reviews of ASP and feel they are wrong. We thought it looked just like the pictures and 17 of 17 in our group would return!

mcuz · 04-12-2004

Thanks Steffanizz. Few more questions if you don't mind. Did you check out any of the other Palace Resorts in the area? Did you go on any of the free excurisions? Thanks again for your responce.

steffanizz · 04-12-2004

Don't mind the questions at all. I did not check out any other resorts other than the Xpu-Ha, the sister resort. However, I work with a couple people that have been to the area within the past year. Some have stayed at the Bahia Principe and Barcelo Maya and Iberostar. I am not sure if I am spelling these the correct way, but they had glowing reviews of these resorts also and they are pretty picky like I am, so I would trust their opinion. Also heard good things about a Coco Reef and Rui, some newer resort. I personally did not see any of these though. One of the guys had been to both Rui and Iberostar and said both had good night life, and the topless thing sounded similar to the ASP. He owns and cooks at a small diner in our city, which is very popular and he raved about the food at Iberostar which makes me think it was probably pretty good. I unfortunately can't tell you about any of the free excursions. We planned on doing some but were so happy with the resort itself, we stayed put. Some people in our group did go on the Chichten Itza and Tulum tour and said it was wonderful. They had a very good guide and didn't waste a lot of time on the shopping portion because the bus voted against it. Said they were taken to a nice place for lunch which I believe was free. They went on the day tour since some others told them the night tour with light show was not too impressive. Most of the other free excursions sounded pretty nice from other guests at the hotel we talked with. They definitely are free, you just have to sign up asap cause they fill up fast. Let me know if you have more questions!

04-08-2004	#1 (permalink)
mcuz sandflea Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 9	Please Help! Advice on Aventura Spa Resort. I need to book ASAP I was just about to book until I found out about the beach. Any suggestions on other hotels is also appreciated. A little background we are 32 and 28. How is the beach cove? Is it a fun crowd? We're not looking for a spring break crowd but we would like a bit of action. How far are the affiliated hotels? Are their beaches good? Do many of the women wear thongs and go topless? We aren't looking for a swinging crowd but my wife would like to go topless but doesn't want to be the only one. Any other Playa hotels have this but don't go to far? How is the location and food? Basically I'm looking for an all-inclusive with good food, good beach/pool and a fun crowd where some go topless. Is this my resort? If not, where is? Thanks. We want to go soon as we cancelled are trip to Spain.

04-08-2004	#3 (permalink)
mcuz sandflea Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 9	Thanks Shammy. Last edited by mcuz; 04-08-2004 at 11:18 PM.

04-10-2004	#4 (permalink)
steffanizz sandflea Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 5	we enjoyed asp We stayed at Aventura Spa Palace in December 2003. We went with group of 17 people and were married there. We loved the resort. You are right about the beach, it is not spectacular and like shammy said it is a crushed shell type sand. It is pretty, just more rocky and natural. We did LOVE the pools, there are so many of them and they can be very fun or relaxing depending on which side you go to. Background on us, we are 27 and 29, went with our friends and parents. All of us had a blast, other people staying at the resort were very friendly and fun, it was a nice atmosphere overall. Not too wild, but a little silly just as we were. We visited the sister hotel Xpu-Ha twice. It was beautiful. For a $5 cab ride you could go there, lay out on their beautiful perfect sand beach, and eat and drink as if you were at ASP. I would say if you are concerned about a beach, stay at ASP and take the quick cab over to Xpu-ha for a change of scenery. I would not bypass ASP for lack of a beach, everything else there was wonderful and Xpu-Ha's beach was spectacular. Food was good, tons of different choices. We unfortunately waited till the last night to try the vegetarian expecting it would not be the best but it was. Good food overall and with so many choices if you don't like one thing it is no problem cause there is so much more. Aventura side is the place to be at night if you want a little more fun. They have a cover band which we thought was very fun. People dancing most nights, the nightclub upstairs was more empty and for the younger crowd but we did make it in there a couple late nights! As far as going topless, we did see people doing it. I would not say a lot, but enough that it was not a big deal. More women tend to do this while laying down around the lagoon area instead of the pool. The lagoon is nice to lay out by, but I'd prefer swimming in the pool. I also prefer the fresh water over salt water, so maybe it's just my preference. The resort was very clean, rooms amazing, and grounds beautiful. Staff was very nice, accomodating, and hardworking. We can't wait to go back. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Just a note, we read a lot of bad reviews of ASP and feel they are wrong. We thought it looked just like the pictures and 17 of 17 in our group would return!

04-12-2004	#5 (permalink)
mcuz sandflea Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 9	Thanks Steffanizz. Few more questions if you don't mind. Did you check out any of the other Palace Resorts in the area? Did you go on any of the free excurisions? Thanks again for your responce.

04-12-2004	#6 (permalink)
steffanizz sandflea Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 5	Don't mind the questions at all. I did not check out any other resorts other than the Xpu-Ha, the sister resort. However, I work with a couple people that have been to the area within the past year. Some have stayed at the Bahia Principe and Barcelo Maya and Iberostar. I am not sure if I am spelling these the correct way, but they had glowing reviews of these resorts also and they are pretty picky like I am, so I would trust their opinion. Also heard good things about a Coco Reef and Rui, some newer resort. I personally did not see any of these though. One of the guys had been to both Rui and Iberostar and said both had good night life, and the topless thing sounded similar to the ASP. He owns and cooks at a small diner in our city, which is very popular and he raved about the food at Iberostar which makes me think it was probably pretty good. I unfortunately can't tell you about any of the free excursions. We planned on doing some but were so happy with the resort itself, we stayed put. Some people in our group did go on the Chichten Itza and Tulum tour and said it was wonderful. They had a very good guide and didn't waste a lot of time on the shopping portion because the bus voted against it. Said they were taken to a nice place for lunch which I believe was free. They went on the day tour since some others told them the night tour with light show was not too impressive. Most of the other free excursions sounded pretty nice from other guests at the hotel we talked with. They definitely are free, you just have to sign up asap cause they fill up fast. Let me know if you have more questions!

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