Trip Reviews, Ratings and Comments - Trip Review - Moon Palace

Main Page | Trip Report Main Page | Add a Trip Report | Search Report's

PART 1

Ok…here it is….my version of a trip report. First of all, what I did on my trip went about like this. Get up, have breakfast, lounge at the pool, have lunch, walk, sail, lounge at the pool, have a nap, have a shower, sit in the lobby and listen to music, have dinner, have a romantic candle lit Jacuzzi bubble bath, fool around, go to sleep, and start all over again. We did go to Chichen Itza, and shopping..but that’s about it!!

Sooo…what I’m going to report mostly on is the hotel, grounds, food, etc. Where to start. Well, when we got there I was prepared to beg for the room I wanted. When we got to check in, they had assigned us a room that was a few buildings back from the beach. So I gave them my puppy dog eyes and asked for bldg #61 which I had heard was a good one (just for reference, #62 or #63 are even nicer…close to the pool and lobby and right on the beach) Anyway, they told me sorry…no more rooms left in that bldg….so I pouted a bit and asked about tomorrow. When the girl realized I wasn’t going to give up, she said “hold on” and checked the computer “one left” she says. “Oh goodie” I say!!! So off we go. It was a lovely room right on the beach. We did end up moving rooms one more time though. I really wanted to be on a higher floor, so the next day when our “representative” called to see how things were I told her this and she said “no problem” She was supposed to have called us the first day but due to our change of room, she didn’t have us on her list of new check-ins. We got our trip through a time share owner, called members at MP. Anyway, it seems when you do that you have a person assigned to you to take care of you. I don’t’ know if this is true if you book through an agency. Also as a perk for booking through a member I got a free manicure, pedicure, and massage!!!!

Ok…so now we have a room…our new room on the third floor is awesome!!!! You’ll see from the pictures. What a view!

PART TWO
After we got unpacked and wandered down to the pool, we were hungry. Out by the pool they had a little buffet. We munched on freshly made nacho chips and fresh pico sauce. They had chili and that cheeze-wizzy stuff which wasn’t too bad with a few jalopanos (sp) on top. They also had home made fruit bars in a cooler. Watermelon, honeydew, strawberry etc. My favorite thing out by the pool though, was the slushy drink machines. They had strawberry and pina coloda which I loved mixed with a bit of bacardi rum…YUM YUM!!!!!

We walked around for a while after that…geez..the grounds were huge!!! We goofed around for a while, had a shower and then it was time for dinner. But wait!!! The shower!!! Wow..it was nice. All marble (there’s a picture on the page) and it had a little seat. I remember one day we came back from shopping in Cancun. It was a bit chilly that day AND the maid had turned out AC down to FREEZING. So we cranked the shower on hot hot hot and sat on the little seat and soaked in the steam. Man that was nice. The water was always hot and strong.

We went to El Magalar (sp), which is the buffet restaurant at the Moon for dinner. I had been a bit worried about the food because my hubby and I eat out a lot and appreciate good food. People told us prior to our Carnival Cruise that the food was great. I thought it stunk!!! Anyway, the food at the Moon is not gourmet…and when I say that all I mean is that it’s not that style of food. But it IS very tasty and very well prepared. I had also heard people post that they got tired of the food. I can’t imagine how!!! There were so many different dishes!!! The first night we had rice and shrimp, a mild fish dish with a wonderful cream sauce with capers and green olives, zucchini in a different sort of cream sauce. Another thing I appreciated was the lettuce. A nice mixture of iceburg and romain. Lots of yummy stuff on the salad bar too…artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, bean sprout salad, and all your regular stuff too. My husband loved the big trays of sliced meets, ham, pastrami, turkey and such. And the desserts!!!!!…man..the pictures will have to speak for themselves.


PART THREE
Ok..back to the food for a bit. I’m posting a lot about the food because that is an important part of MY vacation. And when I was trying to find out about the Moon by reading other people’s trip reports, they never said a whole lot about it. Soooo…you might call this my food report **grin** . For the first few nights we ate at El Magalar (I think that’s how you spell it, it’s close enough anyway) Like I said before, there was always sooo much to chose from and the dishes changed nightly. They always had a different grilled meat or fish. One night I had grilled pork loin (pretty good) and another grilled langoustinos (awesome). They had little calamari rings in a tomatoey sauce that was quite tasty. The fish was always really good too, mild and flaky with a different sauce each time. Also, it was our anniversary and we managed to book our vacation as the honeymoon package (since they don’t do anything for your anniversary) , so on our anniversary, we had a candle lit dinner at the same restaurant. Chilled shrimp, beef tenderloin with pepper sauce, asparagus, and a special dessert. The breakfasts at El Magalar were spectacular. Omelets made to order, lots of yummy sauces for eggs (mild red, hot green, sour cream) little crunchy hash rounds with cheese in them (hard to describe), bacon, sausage, (regular and Mexican), French toast, pancakes, Mexican beans (sometimes regular, sometimes refried), my favorite was this dish…I forget what it was called…corn tortillas, layered with green chili sauce and sour cream and thinly sliced onions. Mmmmm..mmmmm. They had tons of fresh fruit and juice (at least four kinds of juice each day) There were dozens of different pastries and a toaster for bread and bagels. Cereal, yogurt. The only thing I really missed was real milk. Milk was powdered or from a box. I guess for sanitary purposes. I think I’ve covered breakfast…wow..now I’m hungry!!!

After a few nights at El Magalar, we ventured out to the pool restaurant. I’ve covered that elsewhere but briefly: They grilled steaks each night (T-bones and NY strips) Very tasty but a bit chewy. There was stirfry (always awesome) and bananas foster and home made ice cream (to die for) We also found these little crunchy things…corn flakes with a mild cocoa flavored coating…kind of like melted chocolate chips hardened. They had tossed the flakes and taken them out as clusters to harden. They were kind of like a Mexican rice crispy treat. After dinner we would get a to go box and fill it up so we could have them for a snack the next day. However, after the word got around about them, they went fast!

There was another restaurant at the Moon…the one you have to make reservations for…We didn’t go there. It looked more gourmet but there was a lot of squid and things we didn’t care for on the menu. Men also have to wear long pants to this one so bring a pair along.

We did go to the Japanese restaurant at the Sunrise. That was very good. As soon as you sit down they bring you a plate of tempura ( shrimp and veggie). The soups were both good, my husband tried one and I the other. They had sushi which was ok…we have the BEST sushi bar where I live so I’m spoiled. We had met up with another couple so the four of us had the shrimp chow mein (very good), chicken teriyaki (awesome), squid tana something (forgot the exact name)…I got brave and tasted this..it was actually the best of all and the offer it with shrimp as well. Then for dessert….my favorite if you can’t tell… we had tempura ice cream. Kind of like Mexican fried ice cream except they coat the ice cream in tempura and fast fry it and serve it covered with chocolate sauce. This is a reservations only restaurant…long pants required for the guys.

I haven’t talked much about lunch. We didn’t do much for lunch. Usually chips and salsa from outside. One day we went to the pool restaurant and had fajitas (not so great)..again though…we have a place in town that has the BEST fajitas so I’m spoiled. They do have awesome guacamole though. One day my husband was out diving and I went there by myself. I asked for a big bowl of guac….to have with chips and a salad. They brought me a HUGE plate!! I felt so bad wasting it.

One thing about the Moon…ask and ye shall receive….one night at dinner…we told our waiter that we had heard they had great tirimisu at the Moon but we hadn’t seen any. Next thing we know…the dining room manager comes over and says “We had it last week but I think we’re out this week” So I pout a bit…tell him how disappointed we are and next thing I know..back he comes with two gorgeous plates of tirimisu!!!! Also our friend wanted diced Habaneros…no problem…out they come.

There is also a buffet restaurant in the Sunrise…it looks pretty much the same as ours. They do have a juice machine and squeeze any kind of juice for you and they had hot chocolate. There is also a Mexican restaurant there…regular Mexican stuff on the menu…reservations required. We didn’t try it.

There’s also bartender at the Sunrise bar who makes the BEST margaritas. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name. But he mixes them up fresh instead of using the mix (which isn’t very good) The lounge areas and bars were also very nice. They usually had a pianist or Mexican singers and always stuff to nibble on.

pictures at
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=163706&Auth=false

Submitted by: Julie in Florida -- thnkart@yahoo.com
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.

Your Rating: *

1 2 3 4 5

Subject: *

By Line:

Your Review: *

Your Review: *

Your Name: *

Your E-mail: *