10-18 November 2019
10 Nov, Sun – Another on-and-off rainy day. We finished packing up and met Randy and Diana at 2015 for taxi service to the airport. We were there by 2100 and got checked in. Then we noticed that we did not have TSA pre-check so we went back. The United agent scanned one of our boarding passes and we added our Trusted Traveler numbers from our Global Entry cards. Then new boarding passes were printed with Pre-check. We had priority boarding so we got to board in Zone 2 which made sure that we had a place for our carry-ons. We took off shortly after midnight.
11 Nov, Mon. We arrived at Houston sometime after 0600 and, after finding our gate, we went to an Asian shop in a small food court and shared a breakfast taco which was actually pretty good. Our flight left IAH about 0915 CST and we arrived in Cancun about 1226 (EST). United had run out of immigration papers for our flight so we had to go through a self-check-in procedure and then C.J. had to report to the immigacion agent anyway. No problem with baggage or customs and the shark pool was quite subdued. No one hassled us to sign up for their special deals. We found our Cancun Bay shuttle and it soon took just us to Vidanta. It had been raining off and on, but it was certainly warm. We got dropped off at the Central Lobby and rode a tram to The Grand Luxxe lobby; our bags were left with the bell boys to deliver later. We figured we would not be able to check in until 1700 but Enrique took us right away. Part of registration was a hold placed on our credit card for $1000 USD. Concierge Ana then signed us up for a Vidanta Update (sales presentation) on Fri at 0845. She also got my phone to work on the Vidanta Wi-Fi (but not on the local data network (I had replaced my CC sim with a Telcel chip). She gave us a black discount card which had some 2-for-1 deals and told us to ask a concierge about promo deals for Jungala and Joya. Since we had not had any lunch and it was 1430 or so, we walked down to The Burger Custom Made located at the Grande Luxxe private pool, about a nine-minute walk from the lobby. We shared a Burger Especial and an Ensalada Flor Mexicano, and I had a glass of Long Island Iced Tea. Then we walked back to the Lobby and asked the bell boys to deliver our bags. We rode over to Tower Residence Two and got moved into our room on the first floor (#1734). The bellboy showed us how everything worked. We were fading but we decided to walk over to Jade and get some stuff for breakfast – fruit plate, granola, yogurt, cheese and tostadas – and lunch. It was raining hard when we came out and we had not carried along our umbrellas, so we waited for a while until there was a break and we walked back to the Grand Mayan where we caught a tram to our building. I was falling asleep and went to bed before 2000. It was kind of warm although the AC was set for 73-75 which felt cold when we came in from the outside.
12 Nov – We slept in until almost 0900. Then we had a light breakfast. I could not find the black discount card so eventually we went over to the GL Lobby and got Ana to replace it. She described the route to Salum, a new area with lots of beachside eating places located SE of the sales office building and south of the Beach Club pool and beach (which we are now allowed to use with our GL wristbands). We walked over and explored a little by walking through the Beach Club and around Salum (means "gathering place" in the local indigenous language) where most of the shops were still closed. At a little after 1100 we went to Quinto, a restaurant with a morning (until 1200) breakfast buffet for which we had a 2-for-0ne deal starting at 1100. We enjoyed a brunch of freshly made omelet and Mexican hot chocolate, etc. Afterward we wandered around the Beach Club a bit more and talked to the concierge about how one reserved a long chair or cabana. Back at our room we changed to shorts and swim wear and then started off to see what we could arrange for Jungala and Joya tickets. Enrique at the GL Lobby was able to get us a promo deal of $110/person for the show plus drinks and appetizers, a decent discount from the list price of $132. His computer wasn’t talking to Jungala so he couldn’t do those tickets and there were no deals on them anyway (except they were $59 for Vidanta members instead $79 for general public). In order to get the tickets printed at Jade, we had to go back to our room and get our passports. When we got to Jade, we had to wait a for another client to finish, and while we were waiting we noticed that Enrique had sold us tickets for Fri the 22nd, not this Fri! And we had signed right below where it said that there were no returns or changes permitted. Fortunately, the agent at Jade was willing to change the date anyway and gave us the same deal but on Wed at 2115 (take the 2045 shuttle) (4440MXN). Then we walked on down the path looking for a place to have a drink to celebrate getting Joya tickets for our anniversary present. We ended up at The Burger Gourmet Made again and had an appetizer bowl of ceviche and a Mono Chocolate and a Mud Slide. Then we walked down to the Grand Luxxe private beach, and checked to see how clear the water was (not totally,
13 Nov, Wed – Up around 0800, light breakfast then a walk around the Lake looking for wildlife. On the way past Mayan Palace 2-3 we saw a herd (!) of coatis pouring out of the jungle to where someone was tossing bread or something off a third-floor balcony. Otherwise, there were the usual captive crocodrilos, dark lizards and golden iguanas (but not as many as we had seen in previous years. The flamingos were not out where the public could see them. On the way, we stopped at Jade to pick up our Joya tickets but the printer only coughed out one. We had to come back and get the other one later. We ate at the somewhat crowded (even at 1100) Café del Lago where the food choices are more extensive (including a meat-
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| Iguana with Café del Lago in distance |
14 Nov, Thu – We slept in so late that we didn’t feel like we
needed to eat even a light snack before we went to brunch at Quinto.
We walked down through the Salum beach bar area and through the Beach Club.
Then we took a short cut across the porch of the Vida Sales building. We
checked in Jade with the Joyá agent about whether there was a place to view the
Jungala complex. He agreed with other concierges that there was no way to
preview it. We dropped in at the Spatium gym and spa to see what was free – all
the workout machines, the sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi as well as the aroma
shower. Back at the room we threw our umbrellas and drinks in my backpack and headed
off to walk to the Grand Luxxe Jungle hotel buildings which run along the north edge
of Jungala. We were able to follow a covered boardwalk with views through a
chainlink fence of the Rio Lento/ Lazy River. At the end of the hotel structures
we took the elevator to the top/3rd floor and got some views of
people climbing flights of stairs to reach the entrance to some really steep-drop
water slides. It was raining lightly so maybe that was why there did not seem
like there were many people in Jungala. We retraced our steps and at the far SE
end of Jungala we found a gate for staff to enter and exit the water park.
Apparently the main entrance is in the opposite corner. It was close to 1500 so
we walked past the Mayan Palace lobby to the Green Break snack bar. We had a
Black Card freebie of guacamole if we bought a meal so we ordered a couple of
drinks (Margarita and Green Dragon) and a Cuban Torta with fries and slaw.
There were lots of different birds to watch on the empty and rainy golf course.
Later the waiter came back and offered us a 2-for-1 Happy Hour special on
drinks so we got two Margaritas. We staggered back to the condo stopping
to check out the little alligators in a pond overflowing with golf course
runoff. We ran out of boardwalks to follow and had to walk a short distance of
road between the GL Jungle lobby and our GL Tower 2.15 Nov, Fri – Up at 0730 to give us time to walk to our sales presentation at a new building near La Sombrita at Salum. We met with Esteban Trejo (esteban.trejo@kwmexico.mx) and ate breakfast at Quinto again, but this time at an upstairs
16 Nov, Sat – There was a message from Esteban this morning that he sent at 2313 last night. He wants photos that we have taken to help in renting our weeks. We left for breakfast sometime after 1000 and stopped at the lobby to see if we could confirm that Ana had got us set up with a ride to the airport on Monday. She wasn’t in and another rep told us that we would have to see the concierge to get a voucher. We decided to wait and see Ana later. Just before we reached the Quinto, we ran into Esteban and told him we hadn’t been able to contact him because there was a typo in his email address. He asked us if we could meet with him at Salum between three and four. At the restaurant we got a seat outdoors where the air was not too hot, at least in the shade. A sunny day for a change! After eating we set off to walk north along the beach. The Vidanta beach crew were working on installing more sargassum fencing. We walked up to the GL pool
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| Grand Luxxe pool |
17 Nov, Sun – I had a restless night with concerns about paying for the Vidanta upgrade. We got up kind of late, went to breakfast at Quinto again. Afterward we watched the tractor and sargassum weed scooper clean up the beach after men
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| Sargassum beach cleaner |
18 Nov, Mon – up at 0700, bellboys picked up our bags at 0830 and we left for the GL lobby where we caught a shuttle to the Lobby Central. There was a bit of a wait but at 0915 we were loading into an unmarked Cancun Bay van for the trip to the airport. No one else was on the same shuttle, kind of a waste of gas. Check-in at CUN went smoothly and we had a longish wait until our flight boarded. While waiting, I remembered that the handle on my rollaboard would no
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