Cancun was absolutely a trip for the books for both good and bad reasons. There were a few first for Heather and I that we had never experienced before which we will cover in this story.
Heather and I booked this trip for a special occasion, my birthday. For the first time, we decided to not do the usual boutique hotel and went above and beyond on the expeditions we decided to take. We booked a stay at the “all inclusive” Paradisus Cancun, key words “all inclusive” which we will cover shortly. As usual, we booked through Google Flights for our plane tickets which set us on Spirit Airlines from Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a quick hour and a half flight to Cancun, Mexico. This is where we ran into our first issue. Once we arrived to the airport, we were pulled aside and told that the bags we always travel with were too big and would have to be charged for even though we would still be able to take them on the plan. We were a little frustrated with this but it was 4am at the airport and we just wanted to get through security and get to our gate for our flight to paradise so we paid and were upgraded to zone one for boarding for our troubles. We were the first to board the plane, where our seats were at the very back of the plane which means we were the last to leave the plan which was ironic to us. Once we were in the air, we were ahead of schedule and landed within an hour at the airport in Cancun without a hitch. After landing, we rushed through customs and out to the pick up area. One thing you should know when visiting Cancun is that you should arrange for a pick up. As soon as we walked through the doors of the airport we were bombarded with drivers asking to take us to our destination. We had already been informed that transportation services such as Lyft/Uber were to be used with caution in the area so we had to pick from the sea of drivers tossing signs in our face. Once we finally picked a driver and a $80 cab ride later, we arrived at our resort. As we stepped out of our cab at the Paradisus Cancun, we were greeted by the friendly staff who sent us to check in and took our bags to be delivered to our room.
Now let us break down Paradisus Cancun:
Paradisus was absolutely magical pulling up to its doors. It was beautiful, it was guarded and it was a sprawling resort with pyramids as their design. As we walked through the front doors of the resort the view was just stunning. The inside was just as magical as the outside with an all class ceiling and long green vines running all the way from the eighth floor to the first. You can see our first glimpse through your own eyes by checking out the video on our instagram. At the time of check in our room was not ready just yet but that is understandable at such a high volume resort with an early check in time. While we waited, we went to their buffet which was a sprawling beauty for all food lovers from local delights to exotic foods from around the world with a view of either the inside water fountains of the resort or the sandy beaches the resort sits on with beautiful crystal blue waters. After breakfast at the buffet we explored the resort! As we walked through the sliding glass doors outside we were hit with the beautiful salty breeze blowing in from the ocean. The views were absolutely amazing! The pools were sprawling, the beaches had beautiful white sands and turquoise clear water while the palm trees and the hammocks swung in the breeze. Everywhere we walked, the staff greeted us with smiles and were always asking if there was anything they could get for us. Once checked into our room and we changed into our bathing suits, we headed down to the pool where there was a swim up bar surrounded by palm trees, lounges, fresh poolside towels supplied by the staff and music playing from local musicians. We immediately hopped in the pool, swam to the bar and grabbed refreshing drinks to enjoy under the Mexican sun.
The good, the bad and the ugly of Paradisus Cancun.
Paradisus Cancun is a place where everything from the outside seems to be absolutely perfect. Everything you see as you walk around is gorgeous and updated, the smells from the restaurants will make your mouth water and the staff is more friendly than you may ever experience from anywhere you’ll ever visit. The problems with the resort started once we entered our room. The room was very much outdated, half of the wall outlets did not work for charging our phones, the doors and walls were very thin to the point we could hear anything happening outside of the room and the views from the balcony were blocked completely by shrubbery unless you were to stand and look out. We booked a stay at this resort because of its offer for “all inclusive” which usually states that everything for food and beverages are included unless you plan to have more than that is generally offered. We found out quickly that the only thing included in this all inclusive resort was very low bottom shelf alcohol, the buffet and ONE of the ten restaurants that were on the property. If you wanted anything more, each and everything was to be paid for. It felt more of a bait and switch than the dream vacation advertised. The food in the buffet was absolutely amazing and well worth the visit until the last two days where I got food poisoning that put me under for the couple days of our visit. We know we received the food poisoning from the buffet because it was the only place we were able to eat without paying more to eat at one of their restaurants or make an impossible reservation at the one restaurant included in the “all inclusive” price. All in all, the Paradisus Cancun was a beautiful destination and some at the resort seemed to really love their stay but it would not be one that we would stay at again or highly recommend.
Our adventures: ATV Riding, Ziplining, Coba, Tulum, Cenote Swimming
We booked the ATV Riding, Ziplining and our first Cenote Swim with Extreme Adventures Cancun. The company provided hotel pickup for us where we loaded into a van and shot off to their adventure park. Once we arrived to the park, we were greeted by their friendly staff, given a quick briefing of our adventures planned and were sent off to our first expedition, the ATV ride. This is one thing, that myself being from the south had done more times than I can count but for Heather was a first. We boarded our ATV, revved up the engine and took off through the jungle as we followed our tour guide at a pace that was comfortable for anyone and everyone. Once we finished bounding through the jungle we were brought back inside the park, fitted for our harnesses for zip lining and climbed up into the canvases where we zipped through the tree tops while the staff took our photos. After zip lining, we rushed out to a sideless tour bus which took us to the companies cenote swimming hole. The cenote was out of this world amazing! It was one of the best swimming experiences we had ever had and the water was so refreshing and clean. The staff allowed us to jump from the cliffs, 30 feet below to the waters and even provided us with a zipline where we were dropped off into the water below. After finishing up with the cenote, we headed back to the park and were given tacos and beverages that were included in our package along with a show of the Mayan culture. All in all a 5 star experience with amazing staff and tour guides, a must do!
Since I was sick for the last two days of the trip, Heather will finish out this story with our trip to Coba, Tulum and our last Cenote Swim.
Hi everyone! So we had booked our excursion on Expedia, and that trip was with the SAT Mexico Tours, and they picked us up in a huge bus, which was perfect for Pete’s all day nap – it was wonderful since we were the first to be picked up, so we got to choose wherever we wanted to get comfy. Our tour guide, Edwin, was an absolute blast to have! He definitely brought great energy to our early pickup. We first drove up to Tulum to start our tour. We were guided into the Tulum Mayan Ruins. It was extremely hot, but was so much fun to learn about the culture and history of the archaeological site of the day. Fun fact is that these ruins were built about 3000 years, and these areas were used to perform scarifies to the Gods! We were also told that a few years ago, that you would’ve been able to climb these beautiful treasures of Mexico, but there were some people that decided it was a great idea to graffiti these temples and destroy them for “personal souvenirs”. So even though we couldn’t climb, these pyramids were still breathtaking to see, especially the tallest one they have, in Coba! Coba was our second stop of the day and one tip would be to take one of those tricycle guides to see the ruins. Whichever way you went for your tour, takes about 30 minutes to walk, but it can get too hot and not worth the walk after 10 of those minutes! In the Coba area, it is house to one of the largest ruins, the Ixmoja! Is is so tall in person, it’ll definitely make you feel real small! After seeing these beautiful sites, it was the perfect opportunity to sit, relax and have a coconut water, drank from the actual coconut. Off we go again, down the cenote. Out of all the things we’ve done, I’d say that the cenote was my favorite. Fair warning, it is FREEZING COLD, but feels so good in the Mexican heat. They were not as cold or deep as the first one from the second trip, but still worthy of enjoying. Especially after so much walking earlier, the water felt wonderful on my little toes.
All in all, Cancun was a great trip with a few bumps here and there but a trip everyone should try at least once in their life!
