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Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Aventura Spa Palace -- March 2004
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Aventura Spa Palace – March 2004 7 nights. Updated 5/4/04
Resort Description: 5 star Adults Only, All Inclusive, Very large resort (1,500+ rooms) Immaculate, Excellent Service, Excellent Food, Generous rooms, Mostly all ocean views, Easy to navigate.
Cost Factor: Expensive and well worth every penny.
Guest Mix: Of course, the mix will vary week to week, but the general mix is couples. About 30% Honey-Mooner’s of all ages, another 60% of vacationing couples generally aged between 35 and 55. Another 10% of anything goes couples/singles/small groups/etc. Generally all guests, regardless of age, are very active adults. Generally, the heart of the guests are aged in their 40's.
Mostly USA and Canadian guests. A few from Europe, Mexico, South America.
Cancun Airport: Same ole, same ole. Transportation did not show up and struggled with
Check in: as wonderful and tranquil as ever. Drop your bags at the curb and be sure to get a receipt for your bags before you enter the lobby. I love the check in at this resort. The lobby is open air and grand. Get a glass of champagne. Pleasant service reps at the counter. Our room wasn’t ready but left our bags (had a receipt) and went and had a relaxed lunch.
Service: Top notch throughout the resort. Amazingly well trained staff and all are accommodating. I want to take my staff here for a field trip!!!!
Accommodations: Large and perfect. King size bed. Room on the Spa Pool side facing the el grecco restaurant with an ocean view. Perfect for us. Stocked refrigerator with water, soda, beers. Booze dispenser filled with Tequilla, Bacardi, scotch, and something else??. Love the in-room safe in the closet. Wallet goes here immediately along with digital cams and travel docs. Keep that key in a safe place!!!!! TV. Plenty of closet space. Dresser space is low, so used the shelf in the closet. Also placed a suitcase on a chair and used that as a dresser (we don’t travel light – but we should). Bathrooms are impeccable, plenty of space. Shower is HUGE and could conceivably fit 3 or 4 people. The maid service is wonderful. All inclusives include gratuities, but assure your room to be tip top by learning your maids name, and handing her a few bucks daily ($2 or $3) along with a note “Gracias, room #2302". This will do wonders for your stay.
Restaurants: All of them are wonderful. The mexican restaurant (la hacienda) is the only one that requires slacks for the guys. Also need to put your name on a wait list (7:30 + the wait can be long). Keep in mind food at this restaurant is not Tex-Mex. It’s gourmet mexican food. Service is A1. Food is elegant, presented nicely, but taste didn’t WOW me. It was good food, but I’d only eat here once. Breakfast at El Grecco every morning for the omlettes and smoothies. Even filled a “to-go” box and brought to the room. Lunch most of the time out at the pool. On the South pool they have a Pool Grill (hamburgers/ fixins, and sometimes seafood). Ate here many times. Tried a different restaurant each night and all were fine. Service is always top notch. Asian restaurant, Steak restaurant, Mediteranean restaurant, and Italian (buffet, grill station, pasta station) restaurant. Don’t forget room service too!
Bars: Plentiful and Well stocked. Beer is Dos Equis (XX) only. Very good beer, but everyone’s taste is different. The Aventura (south) lobby has the most activity and the “curved” bar near the restrooms is the best. Lots of activity and always meet great people here. Bartenders work hard to please, a simple $1 or $2 every now and then assure your glass being re-filled even when it’s crazy busy! Word of advice: The drinks flow constantly and refill fast. Avoid burn out by having a bottle of water in between drinks. It’s way to easy to poop out early. Saw several unfortunate folks waste a day or two away before they figured out that “Hey, there’s alcohol in those drinks!” Same goes for the beach service or pool service, the waitress will keep bringing the drinks and before 2pm you’ll be in bed for the night – drink plenty of water!
Entertainment Nightly: (South lobby). They do a nice job and for folks who don’t travel much or for folks who don’t see a lot of entertainment at home will enjoy. If you cruise a lot you’ve probably seen your fair share of entertainment. Sometimes audience participation is used. The shows are in common areas so you can come and go as you please or sit far in the back or off to the side at a bar where your conversation won’t interfere with the show. Usually heavily attended. A different theme each night. You’ll also find scattered throughout one or two of the restaurants and bars other musical acts (jazz or carribean or mexican sounds). Also in the south lobby during happy hours up until 8 or 9pm they have a band playing dancing music (rock and role), etc. Usually a very good band with excellent vocals.
Disco: Depends on the crowd weather it’s quiet or crazy. Been there on different occassions and have experienced both. Fun place with a group. Bar is active. Music is loud. Mixed crowd.
Beach: (Lagoon). Peaceful, tranquil, accommodating. Lacking the "traditional beach" that we're all used to in Cancun (or even the NJ shore), But Palace resorts has taken, what would normally be a very poor/rocky shoreline and turned it into an amazingly unique lagoon.
Basically, they CUT into the coral from the jungle side of the huge coral line, dug out a wonderfully sized lagoon (it's huge) and left a huge seawall protecting the lagoon from the crashing waves (you see and hear the crashing waves constantly). On both ends of the lagoon they cut waterways into the seawall allowing a constant flow of fresh sea-water to enter and exit the lagoon. It's quite amazing, and you can have a nice comfortable swim in the lagoon. You can also snorkel, kayak, paddle boat, float forever, whatever!!! You do lack the llooonnnngggg stretch of beach that can be roamed forever, but you'll make up for the exercise when you walk the property of ASP -- it's huge and plenty of walking is in store when you stay here. The property is gorgeous so the walks are pleasant. The sand is packed, the beach is tastefully terraced and plenty of beach chairs and thatched roof palapas and tropical trees and plantings scattered all around (reminder of Gilligan's Island a little bit). Plus, plenty of waitresses roaming the beach to be sure that your Margarita's aren't empty. Be sure to tip the waitresses $1 or $2 per visit to be sure of a speedy return on the next round. if you have an open mind and appreciate the trade off of staying at a 5-star resort away from the spring breakers / adults only concept/ finest spa in the northern hemisphere / top notch service / close proximity to really cool places in the jungle / well, then you'll know that you're money was well spent!!!
Pools: Gorgeous. Two huge pool areas. Plenty of chairs all over. Keep in mind that many people wake up early and “mark their chairs” with towels and books. The North (spa) pool tends to be quieter, simple music, not overly rowdy and not many shade options. The South (aventura) pool has loud booming music, games, entertainment and plenty of shady areas. Both have swim up bars, Grills, etc. Both have their louder sections as well as peaceful sections. Beach access is easy from either pool area. There’s also a major restaurant adjacent to each pool area. There’s another “exercise” pool at the far north end along the beach.
Grounds: Amazing and ever changing from section to section. The resort is huge and the grounds in between each building are unique and different from each other. There are 2 pool sections. One jungle section. One nature walk/exercise section with a climbing wall. A Zen maze walk section. Probably another one or two that I can’t recall. Well groomed and meticulous.
Internet: Located in the convention center. 3 or 4 stations. $5/15 minutes. Expensive and sometimes very slow. Convenient but pricey. Heck, if you want to play at the 5 star resorts, I guess you need to pay. As a comparison, I found a little place way down in Tulum that was charging $3 / hour. Quite a difference. But, you can’t walk to Tulum from the resort!
Spa: $$$ Pricey and Excellent. If you’ve never done it, well you ought to at least splurge a little and try one of the many services that they have to offer. Very professional and wonderful.
Wet-rooms: Men’s and Ladies separate. These are actually the locker rooms as you enter the spa. Restrooms, Showers, Hot whirlpools (3 different temps), Aroma-Steam room, Sauna, Hydro foot therapy, lounge chairs, Cold transfer showers, cold face cloths, juices and waters, bathing suit water extractor and excellent service. As you enter you discover complete solitude and luxury. Soft music playing, the sound of waterfalls, marble and tile everywhere and wonderful aromas fill the air. Service Reps to guide you along for the first time. Get a locker key and sign in. In your locker is a robe and sandals. **** By the way, the wet-room is available to all guests for free – it’s not only for paying spa guests. ***** After a day at on the beach or at the pool, I like to pack it in at around 2:30 and head to the wet room for a relaxing afternoon before getting ready for dinner. I would actually bring my evening attire with me. Enjoy the facilities for over 1.5 hours, take a relaxing shower (shampoo, body gel, soap is provided), then leisurely shave, fix my hair (razors, foam, hair gel, spray, deodorant, all provided), get dressed and then back to the room and then I’m ready for the night. Plan it and you’ll be glad you did it.
Aventura Town: A :20 short walk or a bike ride (free but kind of clunky). They offer FREE bike tours daily (9am and 3pm ???). Do it and at least get the feel for the area with a guide with you. Some small restaurants, bars, shops, internet access, Pharmacias, museum, swim with dolphins, Marina, fishing excursions avail. This is a nice little escape from the resort. Have a relaxing margarita while watching a “swim with the dolphins” session. Check out the Diving Museum with all kinds of Spanish Treasure finds and maps, etc. $1 or $2 donation. Keep in mind that this is a planned tourist town (not a typical mexican culture town). This was something designed for the tourists to visit. It’s nice and it’s done very well. Easy to spend and hour or tow leisurely walking and enjoying the Mexican sun.
Excursions: Playa del Carmen – $12 cab ride or $3 collectivo ride. Restaurants, bars, beach, shops, Java Joes (coffee). Hidden Worlds Cenotes (underground river snorkeling weaving through the caverns). Traditional Beach at Xpu-Ha Palace resort (free entrance as a Palace guest) $6 cab ride each way. All the food and drinks are inclusive as a palace guest. Check out some of the wildlife too. Tulum Ruins – cab or collectivo. Tour the ruins on your own. Plenty to do, read the message boards for details. Getting a taxi is easy. There’s also plenty of “planned” group excursions that you can purchase at the resort – plenty of sales reps in both lobby’s who will be more than happy to sell you a daytrip.
Time Shares / Vacation Sales: There are plenty of sales people roaming the grounds (especially the lobby) offering “VIP Tours”. The “come on” is something free. What they do is tour the property with you and try to sell you future vacation time at the resort. Essentially they lock you in for the future at what seems like a reduced rate – but I haven’t yet been convinced that it’s a great deal. I’ve also discovered that their starting prices can be heavily negotiated – be careful.
Best bet is to say NO and don’t waste your time for the free gift. You already paid big bucks for a vacation, why spend your precious time listening to a salesman???? Lots of people describe it as timeshare, but it really isn’t – you own nothing – it’s pre-paid vacation weeks. Some people don’t negotiate well and pay a lot, others negotiate well and don’t pay as much as others, either way you’re locked into spending all of your vacations at this resort (or one of the Palace resorts) and you can’t trade anywhere else. In addition, even those who negotiated well didn’t seem to have fantastic deals. Just say NO, don’t bother.
Check Out:Easy. No pain. “Just sign here” and you’re off!
Always happy to answer questions. Jolf00@yahoo.com
Submitted by: Couple -- jolf00@yahoo.com
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