Tim and Jade's Aventura Palace Trip Report, Part 4 of 5

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: Tim and Jade's Aventura Palace Trip Report (Oct 15-22, 2000) : Part 4 of 5 : Daily Activities : This section is going to be short, because our daily routine didn't vary much from day to day! I would wake around 7:00 a.m., and make a pot of coffee. I'd put on some soft music on the CD boombox we brought, and then sit on the patio and enjoy the start of the day. After reading for about an hour and finishing the coffee, I'd wake Jade up, and we'd shower and decide what bathing suits to wear today! We'd pack up our backpack with our books, sunscreen, and insulated 20 ounce drink mugs and head off for breakfast. From breakfast, we'd grab our towels from the watersports center; stake out our spot by the pool, and swim, read, and bake for several hours. Usually, around 2:00 p.m., we'd decide on lunch, and then head back to the room for a nap. We'd awake around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., and clean up and get dressed for the evening. Our kids would call us precisely at 7:00, and then we would head to the lobby to start our evening. After deciding on where to eat dinner, we would then perhaps check out the evening's entertainment in the theater, and then spend some time at El Patio enjoying the beautiful evening weather. We'd head back to the room around 11:00 or 12:00, fill the Jacuzzi, light the candles we brought and relax in the tub for an hour or so. Then it was off to bed, so we can do it all again the next day. Tough life, eh? : Oh, we did a few other things during the week, so we can't be termed total "beach slugs", not that there's anything wrong with being called a "beach slug". Jade snorkeled a bit, and I loved the sea kayaks. We strolled the beach a bit, and even ventured a bit south of the property along the shore, walking along the rocks. Jade participated in aqua aerobics, and one day came in Second Place in the "Miss Aventura Palace" contest. I was quite proud, since the winner was probably "maybe" 22 or 23, and today was Jade's 35th birthday! : Speaking of birthdays, the staff at Mundaca knew that Wednesday was Jades "special day", so during breakfast, they surprised her with an impromptu party! The entire staff came over clapping and cheering, throwing streamers, and singing Happy Birthday (in two languages). They gave her a beautiful cake, and then made her finish a special birthday drink (a big brandy snifter filled with "god knows what" and then lit on fire). Gee, and I wonder why later in the day she had the courage to participate in the "Miss Aventura Palace" contest! : Outside Tours and Activities : Now I know that Palace Resorts really seems to tout the fact that they offer people free tours, and claim that this is a very valuable offer. Personally, I think that they should either stop advertising this, or enhance the offer to actually provide something of value for their claims. Here's the deal. Since Jade and I were there for a week, we had the choice of going on "2 free tours". Upon talking to our Apple Vacations representative, there are ONLY 2 free tours offered, Chichen Itza and Coba. How's that for selection and variety? Let's see, we can travel for three hours by bus to see some ruins, and then we can travel 2 hours by bus to see some more ruins. Wow, am I excited! Granted, several other tours were offered, in fact, there were almost too many choices to even hear all about them, albeit at a price. If you want to take advantage of the free tours, you're going to Chichen Itza on this day, and Coba on that day. Come on guys, how about some variety? The resort is within 45 minutes of Tulum, Xel Ha, Xcaret, Dolphin Discovery, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen; how about offering some of those trips free? Now I'm sure these were nice trips that were offered, but since Jade was still recovering from surgery, we didn't really want to plan on doing a lot of walking in the jungle. Needless to say, we passed on these free tours. Since we weren't planning on doing much sightseeing anyways, this wasn't a big deal for us, it just seems a bit sneaky to me. Enough complaining, on with the report! : We went into Playa del Carmen one day to shop for souvenirs. We took a taxi, and paid 120 pesos for the 15-minute ride. The beach at Playa del Carmen is wonderful, and is gorgeous just to sit and stare out at the water. Jade found lots of good deals, but I really wasn't that impressed with Playa del Carmen. We wanted to plan on returning one night for dinner and some dancing to get a feel for the nightlife, but couldn't "tear" ourselves away from the Aventura Palace! : We also went on a trip to Isla Mujeres with our new friends, Patrick and Kathy and Trey and Amy. Initially, we wanted to go on the "Captain Cook Pirate's Cruise", but they were already booked solid (Hey, what do you expect when you make your reservations 2 hours in advance)! We ended up going on the "Pirate's Night at Isla Mujeres". This trip consisted of a van ride up to Cancun, a boat ride to Isla Mujeres, and a buffet dinner on the beach, and then a pirate show followed by lots of dancing on the beach. The price was $66 per person. While we had fun on this trip, I thought it was pretty expensive for what you actually get. I doubt if we'd do it again. However, it was fun to drive through the "hotel zone" and see all of the different resorts, and the boat ride to the island gave us a great opportunity to see the beautiful, crystal clear water! : We had every intention of going on more tours and doing more things, but we just never wanted to leave the pool! I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing, and just goes to show how much fun we had at the Aventura Palace. : Tipping : Granted, this is an all-inclusive resort, and tips are inherently part of your package price. However, these people work very hard and truly appreciate a tip, where appropriate. Jade and I took $100 in singles, and used those during the week for tips to various waiters and other staff. We read about this from a previous trip report, and it really worked well. They seem to really appreciate U.S. currency! Typically, we would tip $1-$2 for breakfast and lunch, and $2-$3 for dinner. We'd also tip the bartenders and cocktail waitresses. Trust me, if you tip a bartender early in your trip, they will remember you. While the subject of tipping is a very personal matter, and everyone has their own opinions regarding this, a few dollars will definitely get you more personalized service, in my opinion!

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