Travel Specialist Weblog

I spent the last 6 days in Mexico vacationing and inspecting some hotels.  My husband were there together but he opts out of the hotel inspections.  I , on the other hand, actually enjoy them.  I think that is an ocupational illness that affects we travel travel agents.

The week was cool and cloudy for Mexico but it was certainly better weather than in home town Chicago so we were good.  We spent the first 3 days at El Dorado Maroma, a small boutique hotel on Maroma, one of the Travel Channel’s top beaches.  This is an adult only property that encompasses an older eco-hotel called Mi Hotelito and a brand new section that includes swim up junior suites on the first floor and infinity pool junior  suites on the upper two floors.  The highlights of the place are the beach beds and the gourmet cuisine, both extremely romantic.   We had wonderful meals, beautifully presented and interesting mix of ingredients.  There is a small wedding chapel at the resort for destination weddings, which works perfectly for Catholic weddings.

Next to the hotel is the Maroma Beach activity area (not attached to the hotel) where you can sign up for horseback rides in the ocean or trail rides, all kinds of water sports, a catamaran sail ending with a obster dinner on the beach, ATV rides and much, much more, as they say on TV.  Buses bring guests from al the area hotels to participate in these experiences.  It is a great combination – the tranquility of the El Dorado Maroma and the available activities.

Our next 3 days were spent at the new Eden nh Riviera Maya, further north toward Cancun.  This is a much larger hotel at just under 500 rooms and a completely different experience.  It was opened on November 20 and it has great potential as a 5 star resort.  The rooms are all junior suites with either a tropical , ocean view or ocean front view.  Muted beige marble is throughout the hotel and the corridors are wide as are all of the public rooms.  The bathrooms have a huge walk in shower plus the large jacuzzi tub and a nice balcony. 

The pool area covers acres in the center of the buildings where there are pool beds, bridges, a swim up bar and lots of lounge chairs.  On the beach there are a good number of thatched umbrellas that provide shade.  There is a children’s pool in the center where the wee ones can be introduced to the water.  

On the far side of the hotel is Club Paradise where it is adults only.  The only difference in the room is that the jacuzzi is outside on the terraces.  They have their own pool, private restaurant, lounge with snacks and wireless internet connections.  They also have their own check in area and concierge.  The property is working to please all market segments.  The gym has all new equipment and the spa area is lovely with some interesting treatments at reasonable prices.

Everything is brand new and they have some service issues to work out.  Things need to move a bit faster, the food needs to be brought out warmer and the dinner reservation system needs to be streamlined.  The staff is very friendly and accommodating, though, and I think things will improve shortly.  They have to if the resort really wants to be 5 star.

I will write more on the other resorts I visited but did not stay at in the next post – Azul Beach, Azul Sensatori, Azul Five, El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Seaside Suites.  Viva Mexico.  It continues to provide a great vacation.