Wonderful Vacation by Love hot beaches

Created By: lovehotbeaches on Tuesday, July 14th, 2015

We just returned from a 2 weeks (June 27 to July 11) stay at GPKantenah. We had a wonderful vacation. We received excellent service from most staff members. It is a huge, beautiful resort built within a jungle. Lots of animals: Iguanas (our son loved seeing them), crocodiles, flamingoes, coaties (too many imo), agoutis and we were lucky to see spider monkeys too! Wooden bridges and thatch covered paths connect different sections of the resort. Wider roads for trains and buggies to go to other lobbies, spa and sports center. We were celebrating my husband’s b’day and management sent a bottle of sparkling wine to our room, which was a nice gesture.

Weather: Hot and sunny everyday. Lovely constant breeze on the beach kept us cool. The first week we were bitten by mosquitoes despite the repellent but second week was much better. We had heavy rain for couple of hours one day and 15 mins showers on 2 other days over a two week period.

Flight: We flew with Air Transat. Our flight was delayed 30mins so we arrived at Cancun airport 3:30 pm on a Saturday and it was really busy. Immigration and baggage took 1 hr 15 mins. We used private transfer, Canada Transfers, the driver was waiting for us. Very friendly and safe. On return too, the driver was on time and courteous. Drive was just over an hour.

Check in: Smooth and quick, perhaps coz we took a private transfer and didn’t arrive with a bus load of people. A colourful cocktail and a warm welcome from Andrea Diaz.

Room: We had booked a junior suite. We were in building 50 on 2nd floor as per our request. Lovely spacious room, nice decor, air conditioning was fantastic. Beds are comfy but pillows are hard, however we got used to them. Our 11 yr old slept on the sofa bed which was reasonably comfortable for a child.

Restaurants and bars: We tried all the buffets and a la cartes. Food was very good overall. Steak was ok but we don’t expect Canadian beef quality at an all inclusive. Our favourite a la cartes were La Adelita (Mexican), Teppanyaki table at Sumptuori (Japanese) and Portofino (Italian). Good air conditioning at all restaurants. 19 bars so you don’t have to go far to get a drink. Hemingways has the top shelf liquor but it’s adults only. However, we found good alcohol at all bars including beach bars. Ask for a brand or you’ll get house liquor. To eat on the beach, Punta Emilia is the best place for lunch. Made to order menu is yummy. We ate fresh guacamole every day. Loved the scooped coconut ice cream available at Gran Azul bar and La Jarra bar.

Beach: Beach is long and wider in Kantenah area. Lots of palapas, trees and hammocks. Lovely for relaxing. Unfortunately there was seaweed everyday. Some days more than others. The resort cleaned it but couldn’t get rid. Mother nature, can’t blame the resort. More than half the beach has rocky Sea entry coz there’s a reef for snorkeling. The sandy section (no rocks) is in front of GP Colonial and the sand is very soft underfoot. Big enough waves to play in and on less windy days, we saw fish.

Pools: Lake-style two huge pools and some smaller ones in the Palladium complex for quiet time. Beautiful and clean. Colonial pool was too deep for me and for kids. Can’t stand/walk around with a drink from swim-up bar. Shallow wade-in areas at both ends are small. White sand pool is shallower and better for short people and kids. People of Palladium do a great job of organizing activities and games. Foam party and walk in big hamster ball etc Some suitable for all ages and some for adults only. My favourite pool was Las Rocas! Gorgeous pool, beautiful view and lots of fish! Bring watershoes, snorkel and mask.

We had a wonderful vacation and we will return. We love the Palladium resorts. A few names of staff who made our vacation better…Irma and Gabriela (Colonial poolside service), Fernanda (La Jarra), Daniel (made cappuccinos at the beach bar in the mornings). We’ll recommend GPRM to our friends.