I went to the EDR with my wife December 2 through 9 via Air Transat Vacations. This was our 5th trip to Mexico and our 2nd trip to Mexico without our 2 children (our first was our honeymoon about 12 years ago). Our last trip prior to this one was to the Bahia Principe via Sunwing in February '06. What a disaster that was ( see http://www.tripadvisor.com/MemberProfile-ccu-a_uid.0AB25D538D3AD9AD1528C09C0069A6DA ). It almost turned us off the Mayan Riviera altoghether. The EDR was so good, however, that we've fallen in love with the area all over again. In fact, this was by far the best resort we've ever stayed at, regardless of country or time of year.
I have to pull a "snob" attack here though. We originally booked a garden view room via our travel agent. When we toured the resort upon our arrival, however, we quickly upgraded to an ocean front Casita (#2701). It cost us about $180 extra per night (we're not really strong negotiators), but it transformed what I think probably would have been just an "OK" holiday into one big and enjoyable romancefest.
The room, the view, the service, the food, the extras made this place heaven on earth! Even the things that came along with the Casita upgrade that I thought sounded really tacky at first, like the beds on the beach and the outside showers, were surprisingly cool! Who cares if it rains for an hour or so if you and you're honey can cuddle up on a beach bed, no one else in sight, fully protected from the elements, drinks in hand and watching the waves crash onto the shore? In fact, it almost makes you wish for bad weather!
Some tips....
- If you want to get to know other vacationers, hang out at well attended pool and/or beach bars, go dancing, party a bit, etc. then the garden view or ocean view section is probably best for you.
- If, on the other hand, you want to be the romantic guy your wife/girlfriend always laments at home, then go for the Casita section.
- Coral and sea shells are beautiful things! A beach isn't meant to be a combination pool deck/sand box.
- The weather in this area can be a little wild at times. One minute it's blue skies and the next it's a thunderstorm. Don't worry though, the bad stuff only tends to last an hour or less.
- If you wouldn't think of not tipping a waiter/waitress at home, then why would you consider not tipping a waiter/waitress in Mexico?
- If you're interested in going to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum, you'd probably be better off just renting a car or taking a taxi and going unescorted. You only have to travel straight on one road. Admission at Tulum is only about US$5. However, if you take one of the pre-arranged packages, it will cost you US$80 for 2 people. In addition, the trip will take you three times as long because the bus or van will have to pick up and drop off many other passengers at many other hotels (it took us 2 hours to complete what should have been a 1/2 trip from our hotel to Tulum because everyone else seemed to arrive for pick up at their respective lobbies 10 or 15 minutes late). Also, Tulum is on a cliff overlooking one of (some say "the") best beaches in all of Mexico. If you go on your own, you can swim there for as long as you want instead of just 5 or 10 minutes.
- As you'll read in the other reviews, one of the more popular places to eat dinner at EDR is JoJo's. It's outside by the beach - that's good. It also happens to be butt up beside a bar that's open until 2:00 AM - that can be bad. If people at the bar have had a few too many and get loud, you won't even be able to hear yourselves talk when you're having your "romantic' dinner for two.
- They do try to sell you on a 90 minute "vacation club" presentation. On day 4 they left a note on our door offering a $100 hotel credit for goods or services. On day 5 they left the same note, but offering $150. On day 6, same note but now it was $200. The good part is that they don't bother you with it (at least not much) face-to-face, so it's easy to ignore without getting that anxious feeling if you're one of those people, like me, who sometimes finds it hard in general to say 'no'.
- They seem to be very surprised that Canadians (at least my wife and I) are addicted to caffine/coffee. The coffee they serve at breakfast is really really good. However, it's virtually impossible to get a cup anywhere after 11 AM. Only one restaurant has coffee after that time, and it's really more of a cross between coffee and expresso. We ended up just leaving a note for our maid who left us extra packages of "regular" coffee in our room to make ourselves via the in-room coffee maker. It didn't taste that great, but it did the trick in keeping us awake.
- If you are staying in the Casita section, I strongly encourage you to have breakfast via room service every morning. There is a ton to choose from (ignore the menu) and, with surprisingly few bugs, it's fun to eat out on your deck and watch/listen to the ocean. No cats around like at many resorts, but the birds are kind of raptor like and really enoy being thrown a few pieces of bread or nuggets of granola.
- Even the supplied domestic bottled water is a little salty. If that's going to bother you, you might want to buy an international brand from a store and keep it in your mini-bar.
- Some people seem to hog the newer DVD releases and keep them for their entire stays. Ask the concerage to let you know when title "ABC" is back in and they might lob out a friendly reminder to the person who got it first that there are other guests who would enjoy seeing the flick.
- The free daily bike tour of the resort is really cool (very easy ride and only takes about 40 minutes). Just off the hotel site they show you a couple of real live alligators (or crocs - always get the two mixed up) that live in a nearby swamp/lagoon and a few spider monkeys that they captured/protected when they built the resort.
- The martini bar off the main lobby is excellent (at night)! They really do make a large variety of martini's (e.g. chocolate) and very well if you like that kind of thing.
- The nightly entertainment was the same as everywhere else we've ever been to. If you're a first timer to Mexico, it's kind of amusing. If this is your 2nd+ trip, you probably needn't bother.
- If you do plan on swimming in the ocean, to the left or right of the resort grounds has less coral But, you'll still need to wear swimming shoes.
- My wife's the wine drinker of the family and she got used to what they served for free pretty quickly. We never once experienced anyone trying to upsale us wine.
- We didn't do the romantic lobster dinner for 2 on the beach, but it looked like a blast. I would just point out that it's NOT just you and your love all alone in the middle of a deserted stretch of white sand. It's you and about 15 other couples all placed about 110 or 15 feet away from each other (and right beside JoJo's and the adjacent outdoor bar).
That's it. Enjoy!
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