At first my young daughter wanted to go home because this was such a big trip for her as we are from Vancouver, Canada however when it was time to go home she/we did not want to leave! This was one of the best vacations we had in a long time! Btw, we are a family of three: 3, 38 and 43 and this would be our third trip to Cancun.

I think the best thing about this place was: meeting so many new friends from all over world; excellent friendly staff; Dario, Luis, Edgar and Kid's club ladies were wonderful (actually all the entertainment staff); the shows and the specialty restaurants.

WARNING:
If you want to have an excellent time at this hotel, you might think twice about going to their VIP Tour which is actually a timeshare presentation. We told them several times
that we were not interested in buying a time share and literally they would not take no for an answer. I had to walk out after 1.5hr. This almost ruined my vacation as I was so upset afterwards!

FLIGHT:
We flew Sunwing and the service was great with hot towlettes, inflight movies, meals, beverages and snacks.

AIRPORT ARRIVAL:
After being warned to go past the time share people aka "body snatchers" as they will say they are from Sunwing however they are not. Sunwing reps wear brightly coloured orange shirts and they were waiting for us outside the airport.

ROOMS:
At first our reservation was cancelled as we had originally booked a 5 day vacation but changed it to a 7 day vacation. The mixup was cleared and we got an ocean view room
on the second floor. We paid extra for the ocean room but felt it was worth it as I had heard the garden rooms were across the street. The ocean view was awesome and in general the room was basic, clean and fit all our needs. The only negative is the walls and floors are thin but it is what it is and we manage to get a good night's sleep.

RESTAURANTS:
EL PALMAR - is the main dining buffet restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, late night snacks (it is closed when the dinner shows are on at the theatre across the street which is 3 nights out of the week). I feel breakfast was great with an omlette station and if you want bacon you have to ask for it. Personallly, the buffet dinners were just okay but we could always find something to eat.

LA TERRZA - is the outdoor restaurant and during the day it was actually a self-serve snack bar with grilled items such as burgers, hotdogs during the day but on our last day it changed to a restaurant with full service with a larger menu. At lunch, we ordered a fish ceviche, club sandwich, cheese pizza and steak/cheese sandwich with drinks. It was great!

At dinner, this place is a hidden gem as it more than just a pizza and pasta restaurant. We had beef carpaccio, green mussels, fish steak, and seafood linguine. We really enjoyed the service and food! The only negative is the bugs really loved us. Later, my husband actually would order the food and they would deliver it next door to the indoor buffet restaurant, El Palmar.

OSTRAS & OYSTERS: this is the "fancy" specialty restaurant and if you stay a week you get two dinner coupons. I recommend that you make reservations early so you don't miss out as this was a highlight for us. Yes, you can bring your children as we brought our daughter and we asked if they can make a plain chicken with a side of spaghetti. No problem and she ate it all up. We ordered the stuffed chicken and crispy fish. Delicious! Also, try the Mayan coffee as it is a quite a show! Also, the service is excellent!

DINNER THEATRE:
On Mon, Wed, Fri we went to the dinner theatre for the buffet dinner and show. My daughter especially loved the shows: Little Mermaid, Pirate, and Lion King. The shows are very entertaining and the staff works so hard! Yes, do not expect Broadway but take it for what it is as this was great family entertainment.

BEACH/POOL/ACTIVITIES:
I must admit I am a beach person and the beach here is way better than back home. Though the water is more muddy green with sandy beaches but it is not the vivid blue water as in the hotel zone. Other than that our daughter enjoyed the beach playground and beachcombing for shells. The pool is not massive however it suited our needs as it had a shallow pool for our daughter. There was water activities such as sailing, kayaking, water aerobics, scuba lessons, etcs. We did not have a lot of time to try it all but it looked fun.

RECREATION/KID'S CLUB STAFF:
The recreation staff were excellent and made sure we all had a great time with fun pool games, cocktail lessons, trivia, casino night, volleyball, etc. Although our daughter was too young to be left at the Kid's club, she was allowed to hang out with them as long as we were there. I observed the Kid's club ladies and they were excellent as they kept a close eye on the children and they had so much fun with them. I definitely would feel comfortable leaving my daughter with them as I orginally though I would never do that. We'll I have to wait till she is 5 and up.

LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION:
The hotel is located in Puerto Juarez which is around 30 minutes or less to the hotel zone. We discovered that the hotel had a free shuttle to their sister hotel, Tempation. We would get dropped off at the bus stop and take the R1 to the hotel zone. We went to Isla and the Forum Shopping Mall. Definitely, have to bargain and I would suggest getting a feel for how much things cost as we bought a bracelet for $10US when they were selling it for $3.5US at the mall. Oh well, my daughter loves it! On the way back, we ask the hotel driver if he could pick us up where we were dropped off and that was no problem. We tipped him but it was well worth it as the cost of a taxi one way back to the hotel would be $20US. The bus cost 7.50 pesos which is less than a dollar and it was fine. They didn't charge bus fare for our 3 year old daughter but just make sure you have the exact change. Also, tell the bus driver where you want to stop or at the back of the bus there is a button you push to get off at the next stop. Wish we knew that as we were constantly shouting, "Isla, por favor".

Overall, this was a really awesome family vacation and we met so many new friends. Honestly, it is not just for families as our single friends loved the place, too! Thank you to all the staff at the Blue Bay Club Cancun for your warm hospitality! Considering we try not to travel to the same place twice, we would definitely come back again!