So excited! Our first time going to Mexico and we chose the Maya Riviera. We could have done a cruise but we had heard of so many bad things about them we decided to see what the big deal was with the “all inclusive”. We booked everything through BookIt.com. Our flight from Houston was a whole hour and a half. On our United flight to Cancun we received free WiFi and movies with the screen on the back of the seat. Upon arriving in Mexico it was a breeze to go through customs. In and out. When you are leaving the airport terminal there are about a hundred hungry timeshare sales people ready to pounce. Since we were forewarned by our shuttle “BD Travel” we knew they were there and we were ready. The secret is to just keep looking at your watch and to walk fast. If you happen to make eye contact just smile and then look at your watch again. The trick is to keep walking. Whatever you do, do not stop even if they start talking to you.
We found the BD Travel employee outside the terminal of the Cancun airport and were immediately shown to our shuttle. We were lucky as it was getting ready to leave so we didn’t have a wait. We visited with the friendly people traveling to another hotel on the shuttle during our 30 minute drive. When we pulled in to the Platinum Yucatan Princess Resort we were very impressed. Not having been to an all inclusive resort before we really didn’t know what to expect. Even though it was at night it was beautiful! The travertine floors and perfectly manicured grounds were stunning. The customer service was above par throughout our stay. Our room had marble tiled floors, a huge shower with two rainhead shower heads, a seperate soaking tub, king bed, and sitting area. The whole wall at the end is glass and has a sliding glass door that goes out to our own sitting area and direct access to the pool. Stunning!
It was a little late when we arrived but they serve dinner until 10:00 so we headed across the campus to the restaraunt. We chose the buffet since it was so late and we weren’t actually dressed the nicest. The other restaraunts have a dress code for the men which was actually just long pants and a collared shirt. There were plenty of selections and the food seemed fresh even at 9:00 pm. We enjoyed our meal and went back to our room to take advantage of the double shower. This ended up turning out to be somewhat of a small disaster. The shower drain was running slow and we ended up flooding out the whole bathroom area of our room. Oh well. Nothing is truly perfect. We cleaned up the mess and went to relax in the bed. The bed was a true dream! Nothing is ever even close to our bed at home but this was the exception. It may not have had the cooling effect like our bed at home has but the comfort factor cannot be denied. The pillow was pretty nice too. We had a great night sleep for our very first night in Mexico.
The next morning we got ready and hit the breakfast line. This was actually pretty decent and we were served coffee that would give Starbucks a run for its money. Excellent! I tried to find out what brand it was but was unsuccessful. Anyways, we had a couples massage waiting for us after breakfast. We had been under a large amount of stress so we thought it would be good to start it off this way. We were greeted right away and after filling out the normal short form were shown to a dressing room to change into a robe. After we were changed we were shown to our room on the second floor. We chose the Yucatan massage. This was a mix of stress relief and stretching done couple style. Eighty minutes later we were dazed, relaxed, and ready to hit the beach. Now we were a little disappointed that the beach had so much seaweed on it. There were tons! This was not your average Florida beach. We walked around a bit but in the end found a couple of loungers under a palm tree roof and settled down with our drinks. Yes, there is a bar on the beach and they are not stingy with the alcohol. Anyways, it was an absolute wonderfully relaxing day just drinking and hanging on the beach with my spouse. There was nowhere else I would rather be this day. Around 4:00 we decided to come back to our room. When we did, the pool looked so inviting we decided to jump in for a bit. Ended up talking to a Canadian couple until we decided to go in to get ready for dinner.
Dinner on this Saturday night was Rodeo Grill. The dress code is pants and a collared shirt for men. Women can wear whatever I guess. I wore my single flowery dress I brought for the occasion. Hubby wore a polo and jeans with tennis shoes. We fit right in with everyone else. Now the Rodeo Grill wasn’t really anything exceptional culinary wise. Hubby had the flank steak. This came with a few Vegetables (literally) and a half of a small potatoe with sour cream sauce over it. I had a chicken salad and chicken tacos. Five small bites of chicken over a little shredded lettuce and the chicken tacos were three small taquitos with more shredded lettuce and cheese over the top. Very tasty but is definitely appetizer sized. We chose the chocolate cake with caramel custard for dessert. This again was a tiny layered custard that was the size of a silver dollar around and about 2 inches high. It was very tasty! I think the waiter anticipated our reaction to the size part and also brought a couple of brownies. These were not really sweet brownies but none-the-less very tasty. We opted for the house wine which was a Spanish Tempranillo that was very good. They made sure our glasses were never empty. I think I probably drank a bottle by myself!
After dinner we decided to take a stroll on the beach. Now it is windy and the beach was deserted except for a security patrol. It is nice to know they patrol the beach at night. We found a couple of lounge chairs that did not have the tiki cover and just laid out under the stars. It was a clear night and we could see them. Living in Houston makes it hard to see the stars since it is so often cloudy. Then when it isn’t cloudy the light pollution is bad so you can’t really see. This was a beautiful way to end the day. Went back to the hotel to shower in the amazing double rain head shower only to find out they hadn’t fixed the slow drain. Boo!
Sunday we did an excursion to Rio Secreto. You can read my review on that here. The main thing is that when our tour van came to pick us up the Resort security made sure to get our names and room numbers along with where we were going. When we got back from our excursion we had to tell them our room number as well so they knew we had returned. With all the hype about Mexico and safety it sure did make us feel better they were taking an active role. Anyways, we opted to do two half day tours both on Sunday (Rio Secreto) and Monday (Coba Mayan Ruins) so we could hit the beach (and bar) in the afternoons. We ended up fitting in a swim in the pool after the beach each night as well. It was so nice and relaxing!
Monday evening we tried their Italian restaraunt called La Bruschetta. I had a calzone with a salad which was average. Hubby had the Chicken Parmesan with a salad that he said was also average. The house wine which is the Spanish Tempranillo was again free flowing and my glass was never empty. I guess you don’t go to Mexico for Italian food. Now, after dinner we went to the main bar. They were holding what they called “Rock n Roll night”. They had a live band playing songs from Kiss/Journey/ZZ Top etc. They were actually pretty decent and a lot of people were hitting the dance floor. This lasted about an hour. Once that was over they had a live show you could go watch. It ended up being a group of about 6 people dressed up Vegas style and dancing to some Latin music. We were pretty tired and decided to turn in after the second song. Each night there is some sort of show and some sort of entertainment. They had Reggae night and casino night while we were there.
Tuesday we opted to have another massage at their spa. This time it was a deep tissue massage and boy was it wonderful! We did it couples style and were very glad we opted for the 80 minutes. They have a full service spa as well. This includes a sauna, hair salon, nail salon, and even the pedicures that have the little fish that eat at your feet. We saw a mother and daughter taking advantage of this and it was quite comical. The service is impeccable everywhere you go. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the beach with our favorite drinks. We had the opportunity to see some native wildlife such as iguanas and some sort or anteater looking thing with a very long tail. When we left on Wednesday we felt like 5 days just wasn’t enough. The grounds are beautiful. Everyone is on vacation and so nice. I do believe half of Canada was there. Not many Americans, a few Germans, and all the rest were Canadians! We were told it was 90 percent full but it sure didn’t seem like it. It was never crowded and we never had to wait for anything. This was one of the best vacations we have taken and we truly recommend you take a stay at the Platinum Yucatan Princess Resort.
ColKat Journeys 
What a great time, can’t wait to go again!
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