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Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Aventura Palace
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Aventura Palace Trip Report
2/6 - 2/13
This was our 4th trip to Cancun & we had decided that we wanted to be away from the hub-bub of the hotel zone. We had a wonderful time at the Moon Palace last February, so after reading the “boards” & talking to others who had been...we chose the Aventura Palace. This vacation would be about relaxation, sun, sand, & doing a little snorkeling.
We live in Southern Indiana & have used Vacation Express for all 4 trips. We’re centrally located between St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville & Nashville TN. Last year we departed from Louisville KY--but as they are not an International Airport, we had to deplane in Indianapolis...clean customs...get back on the plane & return to Louisville. We decided to leave from Nashville TN again this year (as we had done 3 previous times)we’re only about 2 1/2 hrs to the airport & heading South is usually a better plan during the winter months! Vacation Express uses Allegro Air, Falcon Express and our favorite UPS Airlines--NO kidding! They may use other carriers--but this is all we’ve experienced. UPS is wonderful! Their planes are in very good condition (727) and the flight crew always seems extremely competent & very friendly. The leg room seems “slightly” better than other commercial airlines. Our flights have always been on time & uneventful--the way I like them! The bad thing about Charter flights--arriving 1 1/2 - 2 hrs before departure. We always turn it into a positive by meeting new people & getting in the Vacation Mood! The time flys!
We we’re scheduled to depart Nashville on Sunday February 6th at 9:15 AM arriving Cancun at Noon. Everything was on schedule. The flight was again uneventful & very pleasant. They serve decent food as airlines go & had some very tasty Bloody Mary’s! We wore some casual “warm-up” suits with shorts & t-shirts underneath. Before we landed--we off came the outer wear & we were ready! Custom forms filled out & passports ready (get a passport if you’re going to travel outside the US--it’s SO much easier to have one document). There were a fair amount of people waiting, but the line moved quickly. Greeted the immigration agent with our best attempts not to butcher his language. He seemed to appreciate our efforts. No problems--collected the luggage...green light...dodge the people hollering at us & head for the Royal Tours (Vacation Express) agent. He directs us to a van & within moments we have a Dos Equis in our hands--Ya Hoo! All loaded--the eleven of us head for the BEAUTIFUL Mayan Riviera! All of our van-mates are from Tennessee, so we’re right at home. What a quick trip! Had to make a beer stop in Playa Del Carmen--what a great driver!
What a spectacular view when you approach the Aventura Palace. As with other Palace Resorts, the grounds are beautiful. The buildings are no more than 3 stories & arranged so they don’t “overpower” the surroundings. They lobby area is spectacular & they seem totally ready for our arrival. We are prepared in case our room isn’t ready--but they say it is & send us on our way! We had requested 3rd floor, King beds, ocean view of course! Two out of three was OK for us. Room 3026 was facing away from the pool/lagoon area which our previous experience told us would offer more privacy & less noise. The view of the ocean was fantastic--most of the rooms are angled so as to offer some view. Some better than others of course! We had double beds, but decided that we could “rough-it” for a week! Besides, the other bed was a good storage spot! We dropped the bags--locked up our passports & other important stuff & went exploring. We quickly located the poolside grill/bar (including a swim-up side) that would be our favorite. They served from 10AM-6PM. Full bar service & a menu that included burgers, hot dogs, tacos (more like fajitas), quesadillias (I’ve butchered the spelling). They had tortilla & potato chips, hot cheese & chili, and various garnishments, salsa & the best guacamole I’ve ever had (until they got too heavy on the lime later in the week & thinned it out too much). The Miami Vice was my favorite--half strawberry daiquiri/half Pina Colada! I had one in my hand most of the time. The bar service at the Aventura is great. Drinks were always very good & as strong as you wanted. They had the usual bar brands & name brands like Bacardi, Evan Williams, Smirnoff, Canadian Club. Not top shelf...but not too bad. They did have dark & light beer--cold & good. Breakfast was the best meal of the day--served in the main lobby buffet restaurant. Made to order eggs & omelets--made to order fruit smoothies--a wide array of breakfast sweets & breads--fresh fruits & juices--a hot buffet with Mexican specialties & the standard breakfast favorites. They offer both inside & outside seating. This same restaurant had the evening buffet. They always offered many different meats & fish. They had a pasta bar where you chose your ingredients & they cooked it up for you (didn’t try this as we’re on a low-carb diet). Breads, soups, fruits, salads & veggies. Always had a dessert case full of different offerings. The only dessert that I personally liked was the cheesecake & the chocolate covered cereal “clumps”. A lot of their desserts are the standard restaurant pre-made gelatinous based type. They’re above average--but not to my taste. They also had ice creme--but it was always so hard that I couldn’t get it dipped out. I had “blender drinks” instead. There was a larger buffet restaurant by the outside pool that grilled meats, kabobs & fish. Some nights they had an excellent prime rib. The atmosphere was nice. The Hacienda restaurant requires reservations in advance & has a dress code. There seemed to be different rules about making reservations. We tried on Wednesday & they only had 10PM seating available for the first few evenings. We reserved 6PM on Friday. Others told me that they would only reserve 1 day in advance. Plan early--seating at 6PM, 8PM & 10PM. The service was excellent, the food was very good, and the atmosphere very nice. It’s a 1 1/2 - 2 hr meal.
Overall the food was OK. Standard to above average buffets. We both felt that the Moon Palace food was better. We really missed the outside pool grill at the MP. We didn’t really see many seafood dishes other than fish fillets types. I’m sure that changes with seasonal availability.
The resort was beautiful. No problem getting a chair by the pool. We enjoyed the man made lagoon. We snorkeled & saw 2 rather large barracudas & a few other fish. You can use the paddle boats, or kayaks. I enjoyed the crashing surf on the rocks. Many people sunbathed on the beach, but we prefer the pool.
We really enjoyed the town of Puerto Adventurous (sp?). They’ll take you over in a golf cart--or you can ride a bicycle. Right off the beach from the Omni hotel--there was fantastic snorkeling! We saw every type of coral & too many different fish too count. We snorkeled out about 300 yards--but you could still stand up it was so shallow. The water was clear with gentle waves. We loved it! There are several little shops & restaurants located around the lagoon operated by Dolphin Discovery. We watched people swimming with the dolphins--I have mixed emotions about this, but it was interesting to watch. A really neat little town! You can walk back in 10-15 minutes, or pre-arrange a pick-up time.
Playa Del Carmen is a $12 taxi ride away. We went with another couple & split the fare.
We were scheduled to return via Falcon Air at 4:15 on Sunday 2/13. They picked us up at 12:30. The flight was on schedule. We were not impressed with Falcon Air. The crew was a little "rough around the edges". The planes were worn looking. We had a rough & bumpy ride into Nashville due to weather (not their fault of course). The tragic storms that hit Georgia later that night were hitting Nashville at out scheduled 6:30 PM arrival time. We circled for a bit waiting for some tornado cells to move through. Then the plane got hit by lightning--always gives you a warm & fuzzy feeling! We finally landed about 20 minutes late. Cleared customs & headed North to Indiana.
Overall--we really enjoyed the Aventura Palace. The location was perfect for the vacation we had planned. It’s not the spot for people looking for a lot of activity. The food was OK--but that wasn’t really the focus of our vacation.
Please feel free to e-mail me with any specific questions you may have!
Submitted by: Tracey in IN -- tmerrick@msn.com
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