Mexico all inclusive honeymoon

March 3, 2005 9:34 AM

I am trying to put together a honeymoon in Mexico for July. We are almost sold on the El Dorado Royale Resort. Any experiences with this resort or suggestions for another? We would really like an all-inclusive, but it is not a requirement.
posted by vianetman to Travel & Transportation around Mexico (8 answers total)

I have no direct experinece, but a friend just got back from Mexico, where she stayed at the Riu. She was impressed, and loved it.
posted by oflinkey at 10:01 AM on March 3, 2005

I don't know about the El Dorado, but we went to the Aventura Spa Palace for our honeymoon last fall. It's an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya. All-inclusive is the way to go! It was so nice not to have to worry about money. Anyway, the Aventura is part of a chain of Palace resorts that you might also want to check out. When you stay at one Palace you can visit any of the other ones and use their beaches, restaurants, and so on -- which offers a lot of flexibility within the plan. The only criticism I had was that the food was good, but not breathtaking -- but I am a food snob. Feel free to email me if you have more questions!
posted by katie at 10:59 AM on March 3, 2005

I spent Christmas at the Royal Decameron, an all-inclusive just outside of Puerto Vallarta. The hotel itself was so-so, but I really loved that part of Mexico; it wasn't anything like the drunk-college-kids-going-to-foam-parties hell hole I was afraid of. I'd highly recommend looking into the Vallarta area; the city is beautiful, and outside of it you get mountains, jungle, and the ocean all in one. There were lots of resorts around; it looked like the coolest ones were just south of town, and I think the majority of them were all-inclusive.
posted by COBRA! at 11:24 AM on March 3, 2005

What katie said; the Spa Palace has a couple of things going for it above and beyond the other Palace resorts:

1. It's a spa. Think pedicures and couples massages and not having to get onto a bus/into a taxi to get back to your accomodation.
2. It's near Playa del Carmen, which I thought was lovely and not too touristy (not that I'm especially well-travelled, mind you, but FWIW). If you go, definitely make a point of visiting Playa for a couple of meals and some pleasant wandering.
3. It's farther from Cancún than the other Palace resorts. Cancún struck me as a little foam party-heavy. YMMV.

posted by willpie at 11:32 AM on March 3, 2005

The Palladium is a little farther from Cancun, but has more restaurants, is huge, has very large rooms, and is right on the beach.

I am not dead keen on all-inclusives, but if that's what you want, then the Palladium would be my suggestion.

I have been to Cozumel twice staying in non-inclusive hotels, and they were cheaper and lots of fun. YMMV!

And I totally agree - Playa is lovely. Many more Europeans there than Americans.
posted by tizzie at 1:19 PM on March 3, 2005

We spent part of our honeymoon (3.5 years ago) at the Dorado Royale, and it is a pretty nice place, the rooms and restaurant are quite nice and the atmosphere is very oriented towards honeymooners. I would definitely recommend it and would gladly go back there.

The thing you have to consider is that it is a place for relaxing, doing nothing and getting taken care of. If that's what you're looking for you can't go wrong with the Dorado Royale. If you are up for more activity then I'd still recommend it, but take into account that you'll have to spend a little more money since the resort is kinda far from civilization (just about the middle between Cancun and Playa del Carmen) and you'll need to take a cab or rent a car if you want to go places or do other stuff.

Both my wife and I are a little hyper, so after 3 glorious days of doing nothing we rented a VW-bug convertible and hit the road. Here's some recommendations around the Mayan Riviera:

• Cancun: Great partying in a very spring-break kind of way. Very commercial (not that there's anything wrong with that)
• Playa del Carmen: Cancun 20 years ago. A beautiful place just starting to get discovered. It developed quite a bit in the four years between my first and second visits, so it may have become more of a touristy place in the 3.5 years since. As others mentioned it caters to a more European crew (as evidenced by the bunch of topless sunbathers there :) )
• Tulum: Even if you're not very big on ruins and archaeology, this is worth it just to see some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. The Caribbean blue sea is a breathtaking scenery for the Mayan ruins there.
• X-caret: Kind of a Disneyland in a bathing suit. It is worth to spend a day there especially for the show in the late afternoon.

If you have any more questions feel free to email me
posted by fjom at 3:20 PM on March 3, 2005

Fjom is totally right about Tulum - it is an absolute must see and my favorite memory from our honeymoon. Quite possibly the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
posted by katie at 5:13 PM on March 3, 2005

Since you say all-inclusive is not a requirement, I'd really recommend just staying at one of the boutique places in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, maybe a couple days in Cancun, couple more on Isla Mujeres, offshore from Cancun. Enjoy the possibilities and the place, wander a bit. Also, here's my Tulum story. As you can see if you read it, my advice may be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to honeymoon-style holidays.

Regardless, though, without transportation, staying in one of those gated compounds on the coast will make sightseeing and fun in general (depending on the sort of fun you're up for) more difficult than it would otherwise be.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:37 PM on March 3, 2005