Check-in was easy and we had our room. We needed to do some laundry to get us through the next five days, so I started organizing that. We had sixteen pieces which ended up being $799 MXN. Comparable pricing to hotels in the United States. There aren't any all-inclusive resorts I've stayed at that have self service laundry. So if you're on an extended trip, you have a few choices. Use the "wash and rinse" method in your hotel, find a laundromat in the area, or do what we've been doing by using the hotels valet laundry service. The last is obviously most convenient.
A friend of ours who is also a travel advisor from Tampa was joining us at this hotel. Angie and Jenn will have four site inspections on Tuesday. We all had dinner at Pelicanos which is a restaurant right at the beach.
Today Angie and Jenn will head off for their site inspections at 8:30.
Yesterday Angie left the resort at 8:30 for four site inspections. I stayed behind this time and explored the resort. The resort has three restaurants open for breakfast. Kalamata is a breakfast buffet with mostly American favorites. I started there and had some Greek yogurt, granola and honey. Maria Petrona has a la carte offerings. I went there for some avocado toast with a side of scrambled eggs. The guacamole was decent. Would have been a better dish if the bread was actually toast. It was served with a "pod" which appeared to be a leaf wrapped around a fig with some additional seeds. A very odd addition which didn't add much to the dish. Pelicanos is another restaurant open for breakfast. We ate here the first night. It's also a la carte and has different offerings than the first two. I didn't try anything from there but maybe will today.
At 10:45 I headed to the spa for my pedicure. My feet needed it!! Plus they had those special massaging chairs that let you configure them any way you like and adjust the massaging action. A great value for $64 USD plus gratuity. After my pedicure, I stopped by Barefoot which is the poolside restaurant. Other resorts in the Hilton all-inclusive family such as Secrets and Dreams have a Barefoot Grill. At those hotels they serve grilled favorites like burgers, dogs along with pizza and sometimes tacos. Here at the Hilton Barefoot (minus the Grill) offers healthier options such as quinoa bowls salads and wraps. A nice change for something lighter. I had the Barefoot Bowl which was labelled as vegan. It was broccoli , fried tofu, sweet potato, chickpeas, edamame, cucumber and spouts on top of quinoa. Drizzled with a great tamarind and peanut sauce. So tasty!!
After my snack, I headed to the swim up bar. There were no empty pool loungers to be found, so I grabbed a towel and found a safe spot on the ground along the pool area to put my sandals, sun screen and phone. If there is one thing that resorts should add it's "cubbies" or lockers. Some sort of small storage area for guests that don't need a lounger since they plan to be in the pool the majority of the time. Most resorts (including this one) have a thirty minute lounger rule. If your chair is seen as "unoccupied" for thirty minutes, the staff is supposed to collect your items and store them at the towel station. We even had to sign a T&C regarding this when we checked in. But it isn't being followed by any guest I saw. And it makes it very difficult for the staff to enforce since they are there to provide guests with great service. Makes it awkward when they are asked to be chair monitors. Much of the problem would be resolved if resorts set up additional storage options.
I needed another snack so I got out of the pool and went back to Barefoot. This time I had the vegetarian wrap. Another great assortment of seasoned grilled vegetables along with panela cheese, which is a dry crumbly cow's milk cheese with a mild flavor. Similar to paneer in Indian cuisine. It was served with a chipotle dipping sauce. Really tasty - and nice grill marks.
After my snack I couldn't find a pool chair at the main pool so I sat at the quiet pool for about an hour. Then I headed back to the swim up bar since I wanted to watch the Penguin Race!! Guests had to place a kickball between their legs and walk along the winding line of a long cargo rope the staff had placed on the pool deck. It really did make them walk like penguins . Once they got to the end, they had to drop the ball into a pail. Sort of like a chicken laying an egg!! Pretty funny to watch. Guests who made it through the first round, then had the more challenging second round. It was now a ping pong ball with the same rope course. And they had to drop that into a regular sized drinking glass. Good poolside entertainment!!
It was then time for pool volleyball!! It was nice to just have adults playing. We played four games and our team won three of them. It was now time to head back to the room. Angie had returned from her site inspections. Dinner was at Kalamata where they had your starters set up on a large buffet. They had a great salad bar, delicious onion soup along with meats, cheese and pizza. Then you could order your main. I went with chicken parmesan with pesto fettuccine and Angie had spaghetti and meatballs. Both very good!! After dinner we caught the end of the circus show happening in the lobby.
Today Angie has two more site inspections, including this hotel. I plan to be at the main pool since I have a filming assignment. There will be a foam party at Noon!
Yesterday the resort had a foam party!!! I always find it fascinating how foam changes some people. The resort played the same type of music it has played the last two days. And no one was dancing around the edges of the pool or on the runway. Yet they add lots of foam and suddenly the crowd goes wild with twerking, grinding and general overt frivolity!! Very fun to watch from the sidelines.
Today we will be checking into the St Regis Kanai resort for our final two nights. This is the first hotel i've stayed at in Mexico that isn't an all inclusive. So it will be interesting to compare to our stays at the other six resorts on this trip.
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