Cancun

In January my company holds an in house competition and the prize for the winners is normally a ‘free’ trip to the holiday destination that the competition has been based around – this January it was based around Cancun and our team won! As a result 28 Travel Counsellors were very lucky to go to Cancun, Mexico for a week to experience the resorts and hopefully to get a rest!

However, due to the fact that this was a free trip we were asked to do some site inspections of some hotels and the areas. One of the ‘promoters’ was a hotel chain called AM resorts and their properties in Mexico are all 5 star properties – so the hotel visits were something to behold!

We were lucky enough to stay at two of the properties – the Dreams Rivera Cancun and the Secrets Maroma hotel. The Dreams properties are all inclusive – and really all inclusive – all drinks, mini bar in the room, food 24 hrs a day, and soft drinks 24 hrs a day and if you stayed in the preferred rooms then you were able to use the spa free of charge as well. Treatments were extra but the use of the spa, the Jacuzzi, pools and steam rooms and relaxation areas were free. We stayed at the Dreams Riviera Cancun for 4 nights and the staff were excellent - very friendly, helpful, plenty of choice for food and drinks and nothing appeared to be too much trouble for them. They even brought us burger and chips at 4am!

This hotel is based on the Riviera Maya – a beach area about 30 mins away from the Main beach strip at Cancun and is a great place if you want to completely chill out and relax. Cancun itself is the place to go if you want good quality hotels, fabulous beaches and nightlife. The main hotel strip is a Caribbean Benidorm! Lots of hotels, one after the other but of excellent quality and choice. The main reason people go to Cancun is for the beautiful white feathery beaches.

We also stayed at the adults only hotel the Secrets Maroma – this again is on the Rivera Maya but is a higher rate of standard of property – it is designed for adults only and again is an all inclusive property – I had a treatment at this hotel – a massage and a facial and the spa area was amazing. Very relaxing and tranquil. You can spend all day there just relaxing in the pool areas, they give you hot towels for your neck and back and on hand with drinks and food.

The beach area of this hotel was stunning – the weather was so hot – in the 90’s and you can only lay out in it for 20 mins before you need to cool off in the beautiful clear aquamarine water – the staff were very attentive and it felt a really peaceful hotel.

We also visited the Tulum ruins –a Mayan ruins close to the Rivera Maya – we had an informative guide who explained about the Mayan culture which was in place before the Aztecs. The views from the top of the monastery overlooked the wild Atlantic and were amazing. On another day we went to Xcaret – an ecological park where you can view wildlife, turtles, fish and fauna and swim through underground caves. A really weird feeling but exhilarating!

I did enjoy Mexico and would go back again – the hospitality of the hotels was outstanding and it is a great place to have a complete hotel break and do nothing!!