Mexico again! Xcaret trip report
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:31 pm
Ok, the two recent Mexico trip reports motivated me to finish my Mexico trip report.
My mom and her husband treated us to a trip to Xcaret over Thanksgiving week. They have vacation club membership with Occidental and Mom picked the resort due to its proximity next to the Xcaret Park.
A note about safety concerns:
Prior to the trip, we were insane with worry about violence in Mexico. To listen to the US media, the entire country is one big shooting gallery.
Three months prior to the trip, I started reading Canada and various European news sites. (Residents from both are huge sources of tourists to the Xcaret area) I also corresponded, via email, with several women who live in various areas of Mexico to get their take on the situation. Further, my mom has friends living in the area and they assured me all was just fine.
The short version is we decided to take the trip and we are glad we did. At no time did we feel unsafe. I attribute this to two things. One, the area is almost entirely dependent on tourism and I got the sense that the overall population is invested in their community. Two, there is no market to move drugs across the Belize border. Or so I was told by more than one Mexican.
We flew into Cancun and used a private van service to the resort. Due to union fees and taxes levied on taxis, it was actually cheaper for us to use a private service. It was very easy process and 45 minutes and a bucket of beers later we arrived to happy grandparents waiting with drinks in hand.
We stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret. American guests were most definitely the minority. (Not a bad thing, just commenting on the mix of travelers) We met lots of Mexican families, three and four generations travelling together. It was nice to see so many families actually enjoying each other’s company. The balance seemed to be a mix of Europeans with a noticeable presence of young, very hard partying Eastern Europeans.
This was our second trip to an all-inclusive. I would describe us as most definitely NOT all-inclusive travelers but because the trip was a gift, we rolled with the resort choice and kept our expectations low.
The resort was at 100% occupancy yet it never felt crowded. There were several pools and a small, man-made beach area.
For the first half of our stay, we were in the regular section of the resort.
The food was definitely geared toward Mexican/European palates, which we really, really enjoyed. I could, however, understand how a meat-n-potatoes type of person would not be pleased with the choices.
While in my real life I would not willingly eat at a buffet, the main buffet and the beachside buffet were actually pretty good. The food quality was as good as could be expected and because of the crowds, it was constantly turning over. All the buffets had some sort of cooked-to-order station.
It is obvious the resort makes it as difficult as possible to for guests to drink too much of any beverage. Each “bar” was staffed with only one bartender. The bars were nothing more than a drinks station. You walked up to the station, stood in a 25+ person line with each person ordering a dozen drinks at a time, all to be poured into Bubba Kegs. Not only did it take forever to get a drink, being that we were sans-Bubba Keg, we were given 6 oz cups of beer. Gee, thank….this will last me until I walk back to my chair. Or as my mother put it, maybe if you didn’t drink so much it (the effort to procure alcohol) wouldn’t bother you. At one point, my husband said “I wish I could just buy a six-pack.”
The beach area was a man-made lagoon that was fed by a river as well as the ocean. The water was cool and I questioned the germ-factor of the river water but I am weird like that. The pools were just fine, lots of loungers and very clean. I am not a big pool person but it was fun to play with our son at the pool each afternoon.
Lots of animals at the resort:
One of the pools:
Main area of resort:
Mid-week we switched to the Royal Club section and holy cow, it was different world!
The waterfront was lined with huge beds right on the water (all rocks, you absolutely could not get into the water), nice big cushioned loungers everywhere, a dedicated drinks person constantly patrolling (still took a long time to get drinks in hand) and a fantastic, table service restaurant overlooking the ocean.
We had a two room suite (for us alone, we are not a room-sharing family) on the water with a hammock on the patio and two lounge chairs. The grandparents were two doors down so it was convenient for our son to spend lots of time with his Nana and Pappy.
The restaurant was truly outstanding. This came at a complete shock to me. It was such a pleasure to eat outside, right at the ocean for each meal. The menu was varied enough that we didn’t get bored with the food. The wait staff happily accommodated all special requests – swapping out tofu for shrimp, extra spice, leaving the bottle of wine at the table, etc. After dinner each night we would sit out (at the restaurant) and play cards and talk.
One thing stood out at the resort was the staff’s delight in interacting with the kids. (Each group except us had at least three little kids.) They were forever teaching our son Spanish and would pretend not to understand English in order to get him to order in Spanish. They had screaming fits of laughter when he called their bluff and ordered “cerveza por favor” At night they would make crazy hats out of the linen tablecloths for the kids to wear.
Had there been a beach, it would have been close to perfect.
Out and about
A big part of the reason my mom choose the resort was due to its location next to the Xcaret Park. She had been told by her friends and other travelers she met during a trip to Cozumel that this Xcaret Park is just the BEST THING EVER!
One of the rivers that flow underground in the park:
It was ok, just ok. The best part about it was the small coral reef aquarium and the sea turtle center but when you have seen sea turtles at Maho, looking at them in a tank is a very poor substitute. The water areas (sandy ocean inlets, not true beaches) were insanely crowded. This park is a HUGE tourist attraction - Tons and tons of cruise ship visitors
Ruins in the park:
Turtle breeding area:
Ocean side pool and side:
The grandparents took our son back in the evening for the show which is apparently quite the production. They all loved it. My mom said they sat next to a Mexican family who explained the cultural significance of the different acts to our son. It made quite an impression on him.
Since we were so close, we felt we had to see Tulum. Through the resort, we hired a car and driver and set off. It was a nice day. Our driver arranged for a very good guide and he made our visit. The guide was native to the area and an absolute wealth of information.
After Tulum, we wanted lunch. We took the driver’s recommendation and had lunch at a place called El Cieolo. It is a small restaurant/bar and hotel on the beach.
We know several families that have condos in Playa de Carmen and they raved and raved about it so we left our son with the grandparents and went to check it out. The actual beach at Playa is lined with bars and restaurants with loungers in the sand. We had a decent lunch, I can’t remember the place, and walked up the beach and back down 5th Avenue.
Beach at Playa:
One trip to Playa was enough for us. We prefer our beaches less developed and I do not like be approached over and over again by people selling trinkets, massages and banana boat rides.
Thoughts on the all-inclusive experience –
Much to our surprise, we would do an all-inclusive again. For a three-generation trip, it was perfect.
The grandparents had unlimited time with their grandson, my husband and I could do whatever we wanted and at the end of the day we all could enjoy time together in a relaxing environment. The grandparents have travelled with us to STJ and as much as they enjoyed it, on vacation they prefer to have everything they want right in front of them.
I thought we could get tired to eating at the resort but the restaurant changed the menu at each meal. We loved the Royal Club area and even my frugal mother said it was absolutely worth the upgrade.
We truly enjoyed the trip. We are thinking about Cozumel (same resort) for the next family vacation.
My mom and her husband treated us to a trip to Xcaret over Thanksgiving week. They have vacation club membership with Occidental and Mom picked the resort due to its proximity next to the Xcaret Park.
A note about safety concerns:
Prior to the trip, we were insane with worry about violence in Mexico. To listen to the US media, the entire country is one big shooting gallery.
Three months prior to the trip, I started reading Canada and various European news sites. (Residents from both are huge sources of tourists to the Xcaret area) I also corresponded, via email, with several women who live in various areas of Mexico to get their take on the situation. Further, my mom has friends living in the area and they assured me all was just fine.
The short version is we decided to take the trip and we are glad we did. At no time did we feel unsafe. I attribute this to two things. One, the area is almost entirely dependent on tourism and I got the sense that the overall population is invested in their community. Two, there is no market to move drugs across the Belize border. Or so I was told by more than one Mexican.
We flew into Cancun and used a private van service to the resort. Due to union fees and taxes levied on taxis, it was actually cheaper for us to use a private service. It was very easy process and 45 minutes and a bucket of beers later we arrived to happy grandparents waiting with drinks in hand.
We stayed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret. American guests were most definitely the minority. (Not a bad thing, just commenting on the mix of travelers) We met lots of Mexican families, three and four generations travelling together. It was nice to see so many families actually enjoying each other’s company. The balance seemed to be a mix of Europeans with a noticeable presence of young, very hard partying Eastern Europeans.
This was our second trip to an all-inclusive. I would describe us as most definitely NOT all-inclusive travelers but because the trip was a gift, we rolled with the resort choice and kept our expectations low.
The resort was at 100% occupancy yet it never felt crowded. There were several pools and a small, man-made beach area.
For the first half of our stay, we were in the regular section of the resort.
The food was definitely geared toward Mexican/European palates, which we really, really enjoyed. I could, however, understand how a meat-n-potatoes type of person would not be pleased with the choices.
While in my real life I would not willingly eat at a buffet, the main buffet and the beachside buffet were actually pretty good. The food quality was as good as could be expected and because of the crowds, it was constantly turning over. All the buffets had some sort of cooked-to-order station.
It is obvious the resort makes it as difficult as possible to for guests to drink too much of any beverage. Each “bar” was staffed with only one bartender. The bars were nothing more than a drinks station. You walked up to the station, stood in a 25+ person line with each person ordering a dozen drinks at a time, all to be poured into Bubba Kegs. Not only did it take forever to get a drink, being that we were sans-Bubba Keg, we were given 6 oz cups of beer. Gee, thank….this will last me until I walk back to my chair. Or as my mother put it, maybe if you didn’t drink so much it (the effort to procure alcohol) wouldn’t bother you. At one point, my husband said “I wish I could just buy a six-pack.”
The beach area was a man-made lagoon that was fed by a river as well as the ocean. The water was cool and I questioned the germ-factor of the river water but I am weird like that. The pools were just fine, lots of loungers and very clean. I am not a big pool person but it was fun to play with our son at the pool each afternoon.
Lots of animals at the resort:
One of the pools:
Main area of resort:
Mid-week we switched to the Royal Club section and holy cow, it was different world!
The waterfront was lined with huge beds right on the water (all rocks, you absolutely could not get into the water), nice big cushioned loungers everywhere, a dedicated drinks person constantly patrolling (still took a long time to get drinks in hand) and a fantastic, table service restaurant overlooking the ocean.
We had a two room suite (for us alone, we are not a room-sharing family) on the water with a hammock on the patio and two lounge chairs. The grandparents were two doors down so it was convenient for our son to spend lots of time with his Nana and Pappy.
The restaurant was truly outstanding. This came at a complete shock to me. It was such a pleasure to eat outside, right at the ocean for each meal. The menu was varied enough that we didn’t get bored with the food. The wait staff happily accommodated all special requests – swapping out tofu for shrimp, extra spice, leaving the bottle of wine at the table, etc. After dinner each night we would sit out (at the restaurant) and play cards and talk.
One thing stood out at the resort was the staff’s delight in interacting with the kids. (Each group except us had at least three little kids.) They were forever teaching our son Spanish and would pretend not to understand English in order to get him to order in Spanish. They had screaming fits of laughter when he called their bluff and ordered “cerveza por favor” At night they would make crazy hats out of the linen tablecloths for the kids to wear.
Had there been a beach, it would have been close to perfect.
Out and about
A big part of the reason my mom choose the resort was due to its location next to the Xcaret Park. She had been told by her friends and other travelers she met during a trip to Cozumel that this Xcaret Park is just the BEST THING EVER!
One of the rivers that flow underground in the park:
It was ok, just ok. The best part about it was the small coral reef aquarium and the sea turtle center but when you have seen sea turtles at Maho, looking at them in a tank is a very poor substitute. The water areas (sandy ocean inlets, not true beaches) were insanely crowded. This park is a HUGE tourist attraction - Tons and tons of cruise ship visitors
Ruins in the park:
Turtle breeding area:
Ocean side pool and side:
The grandparents took our son back in the evening for the show which is apparently quite the production. They all loved it. My mom said they sat next to a Mexican family who explained the cultural significance of the different acts to our son. It made quite an impression on him.
Since we were so close, we felt we had to see Tulum. Through the resort, we hired a car and driver and set off. It was a nice day. Our driver arranged for a very good guide and he made our visit. The guide was native to the area and an absolute wealth of information.
After Tulum, we wanted lunch. We took the driver’s recommendation and had lunch at a place called El Cieolo. It is a small restaurant/bar and hotel on the beach.
We know several families that have condos in Playa de Carmen and they raved and raved about it so we left our son with the grandparents and went to check it out. The actual beach at Playa is lined with bars and restaurants with loungers in the sand. We had a decent lunch, I can’t remember the place, and walked up the beach and back down 5th Avenue.
Beach at Playa:
One trip to Playa was enough for us. We prefer our beaches less developed and I do not like be approached over and over again by people selling trinkets, massages and banana boat rides.
Thoughts on the all-inclusive experience –
Much to our surprise, we would do an all-inclusive again. For a three-generation trip, it was perfect.
The grandparents had unlimited time with their grandson, my husband and I could do whatever we wanted and at the end of the day we all could enjoy time together in a relaxing environment. The grandparents have travelled with us to STJ and as much as they enjoyed it, on vacation they prefer to have everything they want right in front of them.
I thought we could get tired to eating at the resort but the restaurant changed the menu at each meal. We loved the Royal Club area and even my frugal mother said it was absolutely worth the upgrade.
We truly enjoyed the trip. We are thinking about Cozumel (same resort) for the next family vacation.
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