Mexico - Hotel Catalonia Riviera Maya - Visited Oct 08
March 1, 2009
This has to be THE best holiday I have ever had! Myself and Fiance went to this hotel in Oct 08 for 2 weeks and it was just the right time of year for us as it was not absolutely scorching hot, but was lovely and warm and we came back with a nice tan! Some days there were short bursts of tropical rain showers but they lasted only a few minutes and then the sun was shining again.
The hotel facilities were second to none, rooms were cleaned daily, the grounds were absolutely stunning, the staff were SO helpful and friendly too! There were 5 themed restraunts there, the Mexican, The Grill Bar, the Italian, The Japanese and the Crepe bar and they were all absolutely fantastic!!!! There was another "general" eating place too where they do the general buffet sort of food and that is also where breakfast and lunch is served. There is also a place open by the pool that does lunches - more of a salad - chips - burger bar type place (try the cheese sauce, it's to die for)!!
The hotel has daily entertainment such as volley ball and all other sorts of sports and activities but what I liked was that the entertainment team arn't pestering you all day long to go an join in!! We went for a total relaxation holiday and it was nice to chill out and not be pressured into joining this that and the other, however lots of people joined in and had loads of fun so it is available if thats what your looking for!
The entertainment team also put on evening shows and I have to say it is pretty damn impressive & professional, they even have a proper theatre there for the shows which was fantastic! They all work very hard but it shows in the quality of the performances they put on!
Trips - Now this is where it's all at...
We wanted to do many of the trips and is what we saved hard for! I have always wanted to swim with dolphins so we did the dolphin descovery trips which was a full day excursion. You go out to the island on a catmaran which is all drinks inclusive and then when you get there you swim with dolphins, sting wrays (tails dr so you don't get stung) and if your really up for it you can swim behind a screen and look at the bull sharks! Mid afternoon you are then provided with a taxi to go a few minutes up the road to the "paradise pak" there you spend the afternoon chilling out in paradise and you are provided with a really yummy buffet lunch. The place is amazing trust me!
Other trips we did and had lots of fun on was the "pirate" night, you go into Cancun centre and sail out on one of those big Spanish gallion ships which is all decked out as a pirate ship, all the staff on board are dressed as pirates too and even Jack Sparrow is there :-p This is an evening trip and includes unlimited alcoholic drinkies, a huge steak & Lobster dinner, fun and games and a disco! This was an awesome night...
We also did the Speed Boat trip where you go out on the speedboat and snorkle with the sea turtles and you get to see the most amazing coral reef and stunning fish, again this includes a packed lunch and drinks.
Another of the BIG trips we did was Xcaret and I would definately say you can't go to this part of Mexico and not visit here! This is a full day trip and you spend the daytime going around a HUGE tropical zoo I guess you could call it? Lots of animals to see, lots of shows to see on your way around, we did the undercave snorkelling which was awesome too! Then on the evening you go to a different place within the park to a huge amphitheatre and watch the Mayan show which is all about the history of the Mayans, this was a magical end to a truly amazing day! Again, you buy your ticket on entry and it includes all of these things including a lunch ticket which you can use at any of the restraunts there.
OK well there is a taster of our holiday...I could write ALOT more but if you go there you will see for yourself. We hope to go back next year and descover even more...
Adios
Kim & Chris - Birmingham.
Posted by Buddy Holiday. Posted In : Holiday Reviews
