Questiona about Club Med Cancun

[123LuckyMom]

Percycat, this is really helpful - do you like the Dreams all-inclusive better than the Club Meds? This is not the same as the Disney resorts (the ones outside of Disney I mean), right?

123LuckyMom, thank you for posting - sounds like the Cancun Club Med would be great for you! I will just add - take it with a grain of salt since I have zero experience with Club Meds - that when I called Club Med reservations to see if I could book a trip for Spring break, I asked two of them at different times which Club Med they all preferred... and they both preferred two of them - one of which was the Ixtapa. I think that was the favorite of both. I can't remember the other one... but if you call customer service and ask these questions, they seem pretty frank about their experiences. I was looking at the FL resort and they were not pushing that one - said it's not on a beach, though is cheaper. I thought they were very helpful.

In any event, is there anything to do in Ixtapa which might make it worth it in terms of day excursions?

The problem with Ixtapa is that any cultural sites around there are in regions that are dangerous and not recommended for travelers even in tour groups. My understanding is that the resorts may be safe, but venturing outside really isn’t. The Cancun area for the first time has also been upgraded as far as danger is concerned, but it seems the cultural heritage sites (like Chichen Itza) and the resort belt are okay as long as you are with tours rather than venturing out on your own. I feel pretty strongly that I’m not looking just to be in a resort if we go to Mexico. If we were looking just for the beach, I’d go to the Caribbean, I think, which we could do. The appeal of Mexico is to get beach time, for sure, but also get to see, as safely as possible, a little bit of what makes that part of the world special. We’re on the east coast, so Mexico’s kind of a hike for us!


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[Percycat]

Percycat, this is really helpful - do you like the Dreams all-inclusive better than the Club Meds? This is not the same as the Disney resorts (the ones outside of Disney I mean), right?

Magnoliaparadise, I have never been to a ClubMed, so I can't compare. I have been to Dreams locations several times and have always enjoyed the vacation. I would look to TripAdvisor to get information and compare resorts. Dreams Resorts is not connected to Disney. It is a hotel chain -- like Hilton --- and there are several sister hotel chains to Dreams (ex, Secrets, NOW) like Hampton is to Hilton. I have never booked through Dreams directly; I always book through Apple Vacations because I love the convenience of having one price cover all transportation and lodging expenses. My local airport is one of the airports Apple services, so we have direct charter flights where everyone on the plane is going to the same geographical destination, but staying at a variety of hotels, usually purchased through apple packages.

Here is info about Dreams: http://www.dreamsresorts.com/en_us/home.html

[essnce629]

Percycat, this is really helpful - do you like the Dreams all-inclusive better than the Club Meds? This is not the same as the Disney resorts (the ones outside of Disney I mean), right?

123LuckyMom, thank you for posting - sounds like the Cancun Club Med would be great for you! I will just add - take it with a grain of salt since I have zero experience with Club Meds - that when I called Club Med reservations to see if I could book a trip for Spring break, I asked two of them at different times which Club Med they all preferred... and they both preferred two of them - one of which was the Ixtapa. I think that was the favorite of both. I can't remember the other one... but if you call customer service and ask these questions, they seem pretty frank about their experiences. I was looking at the FL resort and they were not pushing that one - said it's not on a beach, though is cheaper. I thought they were very helpful.

In any event, is there anything to do in Ixtapa which might make it worth it in terms of day excursions?

Ixtapa is more of a veg out on the resort all day kind of vacation! When we went we did head over to Ixtapa Island to go snorkeling and also took a taxi to do the swimming with the dolphins. Other than that we had plenty to do at the resort. When we went to the Grand Palladium in the Riviera Maya last year our best times were outside the resort on day trips. We really didn't like the resort (except our suite) or the food!

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[gatorsmom]

We have been to Club Med Cancun at Spring Break for the last 2 years (last week we spent spring break at Steamboat springs). I went looking for exactly what you craved- sunny, quiet, sandy beach for me, great kids clubs and activities for everyone else. And Club Med Cancun did have that. It has a very long beach front with shallow water a long ways out. It was the first resort built on that stretch of beach so it got the best location. The beach and the waves there are amazing. My 10 and 12 year olds wanted to spend all day just diving into the waves. There are fantastic kids clubs with lots of activities. Dh always found someone to play tennis and beach volleyball with him. Plus he did all the activities for adults that were offered onsite. The food is fantastic too. So it really does have what you are looking for. HOWEVER, there are some things to be aware of. In an effort to appeal to all ages, the main entertainment area usually has loud group activities at certain times of the day. One day when we were there they had an enormous soap foam pit for people to dance in? rub around in? I don’t know why you’d climb in there but teens and college age kids loved it. There was a guy with a microphone and another playing techno music. We knew what time it was going to be there so we avoided the main square then. There are usually loud events like that late in the afternoon and after dinner. Sometime the events are neat though, like the circus and trapeze show. Or another night local vendors come in and set up their tables for shopping before and after dinner. Almost every night there is a puppet or stage show for the younger kids and those are fun. You can get as involved as you want or opt out of those group activities. Contrary to what someone here posted, it is very family friendly. I wouldn’t have wanted to go there as a college kid. Or even a young couple. It’s really set up for families. We took a trip to the cenote (pools of fresh water in the forest that are fed by an underground reservoir) and we were all delighted to swim with and touch tropical fish. It was the highlight of our trip last year. The kids talk about going back and doing that again.

The only thing I would caution you about are the rooms. The ones in the best locations need updating BADLY (Turquoise, and Topazio). I would say they rate 2-3 stars. The windows rattle, the air conditoner rattled, the wall sconces and bathroom tile were broken and chipped. And the paint and decor was dated. But they were clean, the beds were very comfortable and the location was outstanding (right on the beach!) so if you don’t plan to spend much time in the room, that might not bother you. There are some beautiful updated rooms in Jade and Aguamarina (one them has private concierge and private pool) but they are further away from most activities, including the kids’ clubs. Hth

[123LuckyMom]

We have been to Club Med Cancun at Spring Break for the last 2 years (last week we spent spring break at Steamboat springs). I went looking for exactly what you craved- sunny, quiet, sandy beach for me, great kids clubs and activities for everyone else. And Club Med Cancun did have that. It has a very long beach front with shallow water a long ways out. It was the first resort built on that stretch of beach so it got the best location. The beach and the waves there are amazing. My 10 and 12 year olds wanted to spend all day just diving into the waves. There are fantastic kids clubs with lots of activities. Dh always found someone to play tennis and beach volleyball with him. Plus he did all the activities for adults that were offered onsite. The food is fantastic too. So it really does have what you are looking for. HOWEVER, there are some things to be aware of. In an effort to appeal to all ages, the main entertainment area usually has loud group activities at certain times of the day. One day when we were there they had an enormous soap foam pit for people to dance in? rub around in? I don’t know why you’d climb in there but teens and college age kids loved it. There was a guy with a microphone and another playing techno music. We knew what time it was going to be there so we avoided the main square then. There are usually loud events like that late in the afternoon and after dinner. Sometime the events are neat though, like the circus and trapeze show. Or another night local vendors come in and set up their tables for shopping before and after dinner. Almost every night there is a puppet or stage show for the younger kids and those are fun. You can get as involved as you want or opt out of those group activities. Contrary to what someone here posted, it is very family friendly. I wouldn’t have wanted to go there as a college kid. Or even a young couple. It’s really set up for families. We took a trip to the cenote (pools of fresh water in the forest that are fed by an underground reservoir) and we were all delighted to swim with and touch tropical fish. It was the highlight of our trip last year. The kids talk about going back and doing that again.

The only thing I would caution you about are the rooms. The ones in the best locations need updating BADLY (Turquoise, and Topazio). I would say they rate 2-3 stars. The windows rattle, the air conditoner rattled, the wall sconces and bathroom tile were broken and chipped. And the paint and decor was dated. But they were clean, the beds were very comfortable and the location was outstanding (right on the beach!) so if you don’t plan to spend much time in the room, that might not bother you. There are some beautiful updated rooms in Jade and Aguamarina (one them has private concierge and private pool) but they are further away from most activities, including the kids’ clubs. Hth

This is incredibly helpful! Thank you. Do you mind sharing which tour you took for the cenote? We definitely want to do that if we go.


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[123LuckyMom]

How old are your kids? We have stayed at several Dreams all-inclusive resorts -- which are targeting family friendly customers. They have an explorer club for younger kids and a teens club for older kids plus lots of activities throughout the resort for families/adults/kids who want to participate. There are several resort locations -- including one in Tulum.

My family has stayed at the location in Cancun (with dolphins on site), Puerto Adventuras, and Punta Cana and had a great vacation at each resort. We book through Apple Vacations, which includes charter air fair from our local airport and all ground transportation logistics. I usually reserve the resort my family has selected, but at least one time I reserved a 6GoldApple Square Deal for the Cancun/Rivera Maya and specified I was bringing children -- The Square Deals are a discounted reservation program where you agree to let Apple choose the hotel and you learn where you are staying when you come to the airport. Because I specified 6 Apple and children, I knew I would be assigned to one of the Cancun/Maya Dreams hotels and my family would be happy with any of the locations.

If you choose to stay in Cancun -- the hotels are bigger and closer together and feels more busy/crowded -- but still fun. The ride to the airport is shorter. You can take a day trip into the markets of Cancun.

If you choose to stay further away -- Riveria Maya, the hotels seem more spacious. The ride to the airport is longer.

Dreams will have an onsite activities coordinator that can help arrange excursions for additional fee. You can also arrange excursions on your own, but it is convenient to have the Dreams staff make arrangements.

Chichen Itza is a two hour drive from the club med or dreams tulum.

Percycat, which Dreams did you like near Cancun? There seem to be three, Dreams Tulum, Dreams Sands, and Dreams Riviera. As I mentioned, we're looking for a great beach and access to some sightseeing, though we don't want to stay anywhere with icky rooms or bad food! Our kids are 6 and 9. Tripadvisor reviews keep talking about too much seaweed in the ocean to make swimming fun. Did you experience that?

[Percycat]

Percycat, which Dreams did you like near Cancun? There seem to be three, Dreams Tulum, Dreams Sands, and Dreams Riviera. As I mentioned, we're looking for a great beach and access to some sightseeing, though we don't want to stay anywhere with icky rooms or bad food! Our kids are 6 and 9. Tripadvisor reviews keep talking about too much seaweed in the ocean to make swimming fun. Did you experience that?

We have been to 3 Dreams locations and had a good vacation at all of them.

I'm don't remember which Cancun resort we visited -- it was 7 or 8 years ago. At the time, the resort had a long narrow pool that housed dolphins and the resort offered an onsite dolphin experience. I'm not sure if any of the locations offer this now, but I expect all will offer an offsite dolphin excursion. I don't remember seaweed being an issue, but the waves/current were rougher on the beach when we visited in October than at other locations. We did a snorkling excursion and drove aways to get water that was not as rough. Even so, I remember my husband and me holding on to our children (4 and 6) as we snorkeled.

My favorite location was the Puerto Adventuras location. It felt smaller, although I'm not sure it was. Our kids were 7 and 9. When we went to the resort in 2011, there was a natural pool next to one of the resort pools that my kids loved playing in. I liked the beach and water -- it was calm enough to do water sports. We went on a resort led kayak tour, a couple bike tours, a resort staff led snorkeling tour -- although we had to swim a distance to get to the snorkeling area. This resort is a longer drive from the airport, but I think it is closer to some of the destinations your family wants to visit. We did not do extra-resort excursions on this trip.

The third location was Punta Cana, DR. This is my daughter's favorite place and probably a resort we will visit again. My extended family all went to Punta Cana last year at grandparents invitation and would love to go again.

[123LuckyMom]

Well, by the time we were ready to bite the bullet, Club Med was sold out. I went to familyvacationcritic.com and looked at the Cancun resorts and decided to give Dreams Riviera a go. It’s not on the Cancun 7. It’s actually below at the very top of the Riviera Maya. The reviews were generally excellent except for some noting seaweed in the water, so I’m hoping that doesn’t end up being a problem. We got a really phenomenal deal through bookit.com, (and 2% back from Ebates!) and I found great airfare, too, so the trip (so far) is several hundred under budget, which means our off-resort trips will be somewhat or completely subsidized. I’m hopeful it will be a good vacation. I do want rest on the beach, but what I’m most excited about is getting to take the kids to one of the seven wonders of the world! I remember climbing the pyramid at Chichen Itza when I was a teen. The dad of the other family we went with had a fear of heights, and he sort of got stuck at the top. It took him hours to get down one.step.at.a.time. They don’t let anyone climb up anymore, but maybe we can also visit a climbable site. My son did a unit on Mexico last year, so I’m hoping he’ll get to be our educational expert on this trip. I’ll let you know how it goes! Meanwhile, if you have any tour or tour company recommendations, I’d love to have tips!


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[mytwosons]

Percycat, which Dreams did you like near Cancun? There seem to be three, Dreams Tulum, Dreams Sands, and Dreams Riviera. As I mentioned, we're looking for a great beach and access to some sightseeing, though we don't want to stay anywhere with icky rooms or bad food! Our kids are 6 and 9. Tripadvisor reviews keep talking about too much seaweed in the ocean to make swimming fun. Did you experience that?

We tried Dreams PA last year and hated it. Horrible and they had a super loud party at night that prevented us from sleeping. I called the front desk and was told it would end at 11. After 4 additional calls after 11, it finally ended. We left the next day, switching to Tulum. Night and day difference.