Round trip prices from:
USA Transfers is run by Entertainment Plus Cancun.
Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Club Oasis Akumal, 5/14-24/01, Part 6
Main Page | Trip Report Main Page | Add a Trip Report | Search Report's
CLUB OASIS AKUMAL, 5/14-24/01, Part 6
Some afterthoughts and miscellaneous tidbits
These are in no particular order.
Our extensive report (in many parts) from last year is posted on the http://cancunandrivieramaya.com/trips/Akumal/ trip report page, with accompanying pics at http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=980325. Since the resort is pretty much the same, I tried not to duplicate any details.
Although there have been several management changes at COA, the staff was still outstanding. Each one made every effort to make our stay enjoyable. There were some new faces but also many old ones. Rafael, for example, has worked there for 14 years. We very much enjoyed talking with several staff members and asking about their families, etc.
Manuel Santiago, the older security fellow, is very nice. He was most helpful with my camera retrieval. When he saw me the day after it was returned, he asked if I’d gotten it back and seemed very pleased when I said yes.
The resort continues to be clean and well maintained. Although I think they could do a little more beach cleanup, and the resort is certainly not fancy, it is a remarkably pleasant place to spend a very relaxing vacation.
I thought the food was better this year, or perhaps it was that I tried different things. Of course, our fish was delicious, meticulously prepared by the chef and presented very nicely each time. The orange juice, which is mentioned in reports for virtually every Cancun and Riviera Maya hotel, was fabulous.
Newspapers are available daily in the second lobby. They are the Miami Herald Cancun Edition and a Spanish-language Cancun paper.
One evening, while we were getting ready for our nightly routine, a maintenance guy knocked on our door. Steve answered it, and the guy rattled something off about fixing the TV. Since Steve speaks virtually no Spanish, he passed the conversation over to me. I explained to the fellow that we hadn’t even used the TV, and that perhaps the difficulty was in the room above us, although he had our room number written on a piece of paper. When I saw the man later, I inquired after the problem, and, indeed, it had been in the room above us. Thank goodness for a little understanding of Spanish! (By the way, we never did turn the TV on.)
The electricity went out a few times while we were there. This was due to work on the lines out on the highway and had nothing to do with COA. It went out when we were over at the big pool with Dennis and Audrey. When we were passing the Akumal Bar on the way back to the beach, Audrey stopped to ask for another piña colada. Although they were not yet officially open, they would have been happy to oblige except they had no electricity for the blender. So they fixed her a White Russian instead. At least, it was ostensibly a White Russian—I’m not sure it had any milk in it at all, it was so strong! She gave it to Dennis, who, in a manly manner, said, “This is good, I’ll drink it!”
We introduced a new word to Luis, a frequent waiter of ours at breakfast. While I take my coffee black, Steve, Dennis, and Audrey all have it with milk. Instead of café con leche, it became “café moo”! We all thought that was funny as hell.
I have mentioned that the Crab Bar is now a pay bar. Fernando, whose brother Francisco runs the restaurant, is the main bartender there. I looked for him when we arrived, but found out he was out sick. He reappeared about 3 days later. Upon seeing me on one of my frequent baño trips, he waved. After baño, I went over to chat with him for a few minutes. He was apparently much better and very pleased to see us again.
Lies is an excellent customer service person. She speaks at least four languages fluently and is learning another. She was always very pleasant and helpful. She’s also a very attractive young lady.
I am totally amazed at the transformation of the Cancun airport, especially with the Mexican attitude about time. In less than a year, it has been totally remodeled and is really quite nice, for an airport. I rather miss the old, crowded departure area. But then, I miss the old airport on St. Kitts, too, where you got out on the tarmac to experience that first blast of tropical heat and sweated your way through immigration. At least you knew immediately you were in a different place. Progress is not always better, at least on an emotional level.
I don’t know if I mentioned it, but we saw a waterspout our second day. It’s only the second one I’ve seen, and it was quite impressive.
Steve saw a huge sea turtle on one of his fishing trips, in an area between Xel Ha and the Bahia Principe. The thing was as big as the boat. He saw one last year, too, in about the same place.
I haven’t mentioned the Italians. It seemed to be a younger set this year. Most of them walk around like they just smelled something bad. I nearly fell over when one girl said buenos días to me. They always seem to be doing something--water aerobics, excursions, whatever. I wonder if they really enjoy their vacations. One night, a whole bunch of their activities people were lined up outside the Tucanes Restaurant. A chorus of ciaos greeted us on the way out. Naturally, we all ciao-ed back. That was pretty much the extent of our interaction with the Italians.
We only noticed two people who had close encounters with the sea urchins. One girl stepped on one, and a fellow was pushed into one at the reef by a wave. The hot vinegar seemed to help both of them tremendously. Fortunately, there were no last-minute rescues this year.
We have a little ritual of throwing something we have taken back into the sea just before we leave a place. Although we hadn’t been able to do that last year (re the last-minute rescue mentioned above), the gods were kind and allowed us to return to Akumal. This year we did throw back a couple of shells, so we hope all goes well for a return trip.
Our return to “reality” was a bit of a shock. Apparently, a huge storm while we in Akumal knocked out the breaker for the spa and fountain in the back yard. It also shorted something in our heat pump. The lightning must have struck very close to the house. The electrician we use came out the next day after we discovered the breaker problem and substituted a temporary breaker so we could at least run the spa. Then we noticed the LCD is out. Have no idea what’s wrong with that, hopefully just a fuse. The A/C guy has yet to be seen. I hope it doesn’t take 2 years to get everything fixed, like it usually seems to do around here!
Our vacation may not seem very exciting to some folks. We don’t go for gourmet food or extensive shopping (we came back with less than $200 of purchases and gifts). We go to relax, snorkel, and encounter different people. Each person has a different idea of what he or she wants out of a vacation. This one suited us to a T. We had plenty of beach time and snorkeling. Steve had three good fishing trips. We very much enjoyed chatting with the staff and the other guests. Juan Jose taught me a few more Mayan phrases. I practiced my Spanish. We ate pretty well and the cerveza flowed freely. We enjoyed several Bloody Marys and Margaritas. We enjoyed most of the entertainment. We gave to the Hekab Be Library. We observed the wildlife. We met old friends and made new ones. I guess that pretty well covers it.
Until next year in Akumal...
(If you have any specific questions or comments, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at dragon5@fullnet.net.)
Submitted by: D. Stevens -- dragon5@fullnet.net
Hits: 0
Want to add a Review on this report?
Please completely fill out the form below, and we'll add your review as soon as possible.