Hola…..Por favor…..Muchas gracias.

Well, that should get me through, shouldn’t it? Probably not. And why do you ask?

After hours of intense pressure, threats of psychological beatings and potential excommunication, I caved and agreed to go on a holiday with the boss. Anyways, I found myself off to Mexico for a one week vacation with the boss. I certainly would not be offended if one asked the question - holiday? Your already on somewhat of a permanent holiday aren’t you? Never mind - why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

So, how did this come about? I was scheduled to have shoulder surgery on October 4th and we’ll get into that at another date. With the surgery date fast approaching it was decided that a holiday would be in order. The boss reminded me that we had not been anywhere “together” in a long time and since she still works, a holiday would be needed. Since I would be in re-hab for probably a long time, the opportunity to go away was getting much shorter. After a bit of searching we decided on the Hotel Riu Palace Costa Mujeres in Cancun Mexico. The boss had been to another Riu hotel that was located beside this one, so she was prepared to give it a thumbs up. So….off we go.

The flight left at the crazy early time of 6 am so we had to be up at 2 am and at the airport by 3 am. Seriously? Well….we made it and the flight was fairly simple and not that painful. We got through security, immigration, located our transportation and away we went. The actual drive was about 45 minutes before we got there - so I began to realize that we were going to be somewhat isolated?

So…first impressions? The hotel was quite impressive and it was very clean and modern. The room(s) were large with two Queen beds, a beautiful washroom and a nice balcony. The pools - did I say pools? Yes, there was least 3 large pools with swimup bars and the sandy beach was a very short walk away.

If you were looking for quiet you were in the correct place because it was really in the middle of nowhere. Its location was on a long spit of land miles away from what is known as the “hotel zone” so if you needed to have other things to do to charge your battery you were at the wrong place. However, if you need to unwind and take it easy then this place is for you. The weather was a mixed bag with not a lot of sunshine or let’s just say when the sun came out you ran looking for it. Every day seemed to bring a bit of rain and it was hot - like very hot. I’m glad the sun wasn’t beating down all day because I simply can’t sit by the beach or pool and sun tan like the boss. Unfortunately, this person turns into a lobster.

Most all inclusive hotels operate using a basic formula - lot’s of food and all the alcohol you can manage to pour down your throat. In what seems like a previous lifetime we used to frequent various Club Med spots so my Riu experience was more limited. I do recall staying at a Riu in Jamaica.

The food choices were very good or at least I thought so. All of these place have a “main” restaurant that had a copious number of choices served buffet style. This is where you would begin your day for breakfast. After a few days your eyes and stomach stopped cooperating and you simply began to stop filling your plate to it’s brim. Or….if you couldn’t do that you may have to choose to skip lunch - which I mostly certainly did some days. I always had a chuckle from seeing the many people at the pool standup bars well before noon?

One thing I liked was that you didn’t have to lineup early in the morning to make a reservation at the various theme restaurants which is something we have experienced at other places and I don’t like that. The various theme locations were a Mexican restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a steak house and a “fine dining experience” We made it to the Mexican restaurant twice and the Italian and steak house once. The Mexican restaurant was great - gee that’s a surprise and the Italian was pretty good. The steakhouse was a bit of a disappointment so we decided to have our dinner in the main restaurant on the remaining nights, and frankly they were always pretty good. If you wanted something quick and easy for lunch there was a grill bar (Pepe’s) near one of the pools where you could get burgers, fries etc.

One of my favourite places was the coffee bar which opened early morning and stayed open till late at night. One half of this very large room was more of a “bar” while the other half was best suited for a latte. I would usually disappear mid afternoon and grab my computer and head over for a latte and a break from the sun or heat. In the evening there would be a piano player hitting the tunes.

Supposedly there is or was some sort of night life but I can’t honestly say that I ever made it up long enough to figure that out. Like most inclusive resorts there is a show every night and the young, hard working staff seemed to be quite energetic. If your interests were less on the evening side you could work out in the gym or take advantage of the spa (at a further cost). There were no tennis courts or golf so taking long walks on the beach each morning was about all the exercise that I was able to get. There was a number of trip options available at an added cost however we didn’t take advantage of any of them. The boss had been on one on a previous visit and I didn’t have any real burning need to do so.

We would often set ourselves up at one of the pools located a bit further away (quieter) and the local waiter “Jerry” was offering you drinks every time he passed by - he was great.

Overall, the hit/miss with the weather proved to be a bit of a bummer but you roll the dice when it comes to sunshine. The distance away from the heart of Cancun might prove to be a challenge for many while at the same time this could also be what you might be looking for. Ultimately, I think I would prefer to be closer to the “action” just because I can’t still still for hours and hours on a beach chair. But the hotel itself was first rate and I think the price/value was excellent.

So…..would I go back? Yes and no. I think next time (assuming there is a next time), I would like to try a different location in Cancun or maybe even a different country. I think the Riu chain is excellent and I would support them again and I like Mexico and I think the people are friendly and helpful. And of course, I love the food. I realize that’s not much of an answer but that’s what your going to get. So, till next time stay tunes and be safe.