First time to TRS since renovations

[Anne]

By Marilyn Murray

 

Our 1st trip back as the new TRS! Not our last!
We arrived at the newly renovated TRS lobby on Friday, Feb 2/2018. Wow!
It is nothing like the Royal lobby, the TRS lobby is the Riviera lobby renovated with class and style! Upon arrival we were greeted by some of our favorite staff that are like family, Roxanne/Vania/Frank/Edgar/Alberto/ Joshua/Israel & Beatrice so many to mention and better not forget Christina and more……The lobby is a lot to take in, it reminds me a bit of the Riviera from the outside but inside is it sleek, modern and bold. I will be the first one to say that “I hate contemporary styles at a Mexican Resort, when in Mexico I like authentic”. But keep reading, this old bird has changed.

We had booked a junior suite because Expedia didn’t offer the choice to book a Mayan suite. We had a pleasant surprise waiting, we had our first upgrade ever to a Mayan suite (our favorite #7211). We were taken to our room and our butler (Alexandra) came along as well. She showed us how to open the door with the wristband, how to order room service on the TV, the new safe, the red light/ green light (do not disturb), balcony door lock, air conditioning etc. The butler also provides you with a number to call should you require anything, and they mean anything! The butler lets you choose an aromatherapy for the room, however, they are very strong so decided on scent free. Our butlers were Alexandra & Christin (I believe). Very attentive and always around. The room was completely updated, new shower head outside (2 heads) new decor, lighting, phone system, safe (with a plug-in so you can charge your device inside the safe) Cool! Excellent choices of alcohol, liquor, Havana, Julio, Johnny Walker and the fridge has chocolate, peanuts, beer (Heineken, Coors Light, Dos Ex), soda, water and also pringles  A new espresso machine & coffee maker is in the closet next to the fridge. And I was happy to see the fridge has ventilation behind it. I am sure that helps it stay cooler. You have 24 hour room service as well if you like delivered by Yenner I have to say the lighting in the room is poor for make-up. We didn’t have an ironing board & iron in our room we had a steamer. I much prefer to iron but we survived. We unpacked and wanted to shower but quickly realized we had no hot water! Yikes! After many hours of travel the one thing you want is a shower, and the outside shower is awesome! The butler’s number came in handier and quicker than I anticipated. I called the number, Alexandra came right over. She tried to run the water to make it hot but that it didn’t seem to be working. She reported it to maintenance and they arrived within 10 minutes. Unable to shower we decided to go eat and explore, this wasn’t going to dampen the fun (no pun intended).

There are many changes from the Royal Suites Yucatan to the TRS Yucatan. The old lobby is now a steak house El Gaucho (Argentine Cuisine) – and delicious! The new TRS buffet is in the lobby, called Capricho. We walked around the resort taking in the new décor and stopping to see many familiar faces Mayra (now at TRS lobby) Jesus, Nancy is at the Kentenah lobby, we ran into Joshua, Israel, Frank (Pancho) and Pasqual at the desk. Paola was on shift as well and came out smiling!

After a quick bite we decided to visit Lois at Hemingway’s (Kentanah lobby). Hemingway’s was so busy and poor Luis was run off his feet and had no waitress helping him. He was serving and bartending but he managed a quick Hola, smile and made my favourite drink. We wandered to the Colonial to see Con Classe (Mario & Carlos) this band is a must see when you visit.
The next morning our hot water issue was still an issue and we were offered another room and sincere apologies. We knew maintenance was working on it so we stuck it out and it was fixed (well, never 100% HOT but it was ok), we could live with that. Many reviews mention the hot water issue, we have stayed 15 times in the Mayan suites and never had an issue so I assume it’s from the renovations and expansion? Last I heard they are building a hot system just for the TRS area.

Saturday was beach day, the new beach of course! But first a stop at the TRS buffet! When you visit any restaurant, they ask your room#/name and if you have any allergies. With the new NFC access control technology, it would be so cool to have a reader at each restaurant entry, we would tap our arm band and our name/room # and allergies would pop up on the laptop
We ran into Idod who used to work at ElJardin. It was a pleasure to see him still working there. They now take your order with an iphone instead of pen and paper. Faster for sure! We had fresh juice from the juice bar, eggs benny and delicious to say the least!

Off to the new 3 level infinity pool, completely new and looks amazing! The new pool area is just over the bridge towards the Riviera section (now TRS). Wow, as you can see by the pics you are now on the beach and seeing the water and breeze. Complete with water fountains and give it a nice ambiance. Lots of very comfortable lounge chairs and Bali beds. Washrooms are close, 3 stalls and wheelchair friendly! 2 beach bars on the pool deck and Helios which is a lunch and dinner restaurant. Ideally, once they are at a full capacity Helios should be a breakfast buffet as well (it makes sense, thanks Stacey for that idea).

Staff are amazing at this resort, from a simple greeting to a great conversation. They are eager to hear more about you and to assist in any way. At Helios Beach Bar get Toby to make you a Horrita Mezcal, it delicious made of passionate fruit! Helios has a variety of food from buffet types, to a menu of hamburgers, chicken/noodle bowl/seafood etc. Arcadio from the pool deck bar used to live in New York; he has some great stories to share. The waiters and waitresses who wear a cute hat are Karinci, Fredy, Alejandro, Rolando & Diego. Don’t forget Saturday at 4pm is Tequila tasting, many to taste and Toby knows his stock!

You will see the same staff from the breakfast buffet serve you at Helios for a lunch. Manuel (both Manuels) went from the breakfast buffet to Helios. We also saw Marlene from the (old Kabah) now at the TRS breakfast buffet and also at Helios, a lovely lady that never lets your water glass go dry! Andres from the buffet can be seen around Helios at lunch making sure everything is in order and people are served quickly. We also ran into Cosme Damien (from El Jardin) he is always around the resort and so nice to see he is doing well! He can be seen at the wine tasting night outside of the Italian/French restaurant. The TRS has some amazing wine!

We went to the new entertaining CHIC cabaret, TWICE! And, wow! It is sleek like a mini Mexican Vegas! The talent is outstanding, from singing to dancing, a solo or in groups there was never a dull moment on stage or off! The show starts outside in the lobby with a live band, people in costumes and drinks & dancers. Once you go inside and you are seated the show starts and dinner starts to be served. I believe its about 7 courses, and shooters in between! They really get the audience engaged and it’s very exciting. Seating is good, the stage can be seen from any seat. On our second night we had the bench seating which we didn’t find as comfortable as the chairs, we don’t have skinny butts . Men must wear long pants, you also must reserve this show ahead if time. A shout out goes to Isaac our waiter at the CHIC and also at Helios. He is very sweet, and great service! I wasn’t fond of the food however, my husband enjoyed it. The next time we went I used Room Service beforehand and had a fast and wonderful meal delivered to my door. I am impressed to see they want your feedback after the show. Each night the how was a bit different so you can go a couple times and not get bored of it!

We ate at the Italian Restaurant and we were so happy to see Venturo (beonoventuro) he also is a waiter at CHIC. Great to see him back, he is a great waiter and a lovely person! The Italian is delicious and offers a traditional Tiramisu served in an Espresso container, the bottom is a custard and the top is a sauce you pour over. Excellent and served so nicely. The Gaucho has a variety of foods, a lot of steaks and tender! A nice touch is you get to choose your steak knife. They bring an assortment of knives to the table for you to choose the one you would like to use. Nice touch! Chang Thai is my favorite, the salad bar has fresh rice wraps and the Pad Thai was amazing. A small serving but you can ask for 2! La Lola was delicious offering many tapas hot and cold.

We went to the adult pool twice, it was nice to be back on the familiar turf. I think the palapa hits need a hair cut We were disappointed to find some travellers playing a speaker of country music while in the pool. I never understand how someone thinks their taste of music is the same as the other 30 guests on deck. The waiter said they are not allowed to play it, shouldn’t he have reported it and not left it up to me?

Overall, a great resort and wonderful people! Can’t believe I LUVED the contemporary feel to it, the service is outstanding! You really are pampered. WiFi around the resort was fantastic and not patchy, even on the beach! Entertainment was wonderful, every night something to do or see. Paella on the beach and live music (ConClasse). Chocolate night at Hemmingway’s, Tequila and wine tasting so much more! We have stayed at other resorts in the Mayan area. By far, the Grand Palladium & TRS are the best and we will continue to go back!
Room Tip: Mayan Suite was lovely!
See more room tips
Stayed: February 2018, traveled as a couple

 

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