Kantenah FS – We will return!

[Anne]

Posted with permission from Meghan T

Just returned today from a 5 night stay with our family of 4 (two kids – boy girl aged 12 and 10). Here are some tidbits and advice on things I was wondering prior to our trip! Note some of these things are only relevant if you are staying in Family Select:

1) bring more sunscreen than you think you need and apply it often! We went thru 3 full size bottles and two travel sized bottles of spray plus a small bottle of cream. The towel carts offer sunscreen you can use if you run out. Remember to apply to the tops of your feet also your butlers can get you a small bottle to keep if needed. I also brought bugspray and never used it once. No mosquitoes that we saw.

2) we brought our own floats to use in the ocean and some of the deeper pools. It was especially handy for us adults going to the swim up bar. Family select pool has a ton you can use and no need for your own. We left ours behind for another family to use.

3) speaking of the Family Select pool, it’s a great option to secure chairs and shade if you can’t find a spot at the nearby colonial pool. Lots of little kids but great poolside service and a full menu to order from. There were a lot of chair reservers which was annoying as we never entered the pool area earlier than 10am and clearly others got there first thing in the AM. However, sometimes you just have to take it upon yourself to remove towels that have clearly been abandoned (ie no personal items sitting there) and take the chairs.

4) The Nest was a great option but I didn’t find it any better than the other buffets (Gran Azul and La Hacienda). La Hacienda was preferred by our kids due to their handmade crepes.

5) it is a large resort yes – we took golf carts to go to the sports center and white sands. However walking to White Sands is much shorter when walking via the beach vs the walkways. Other than that, it was super easy walking between the family select villas to the main Kantenah lobby and the colonial lobby. Took us about 1.5 days to acclimate ourselves

6) dinner reservations – I was able to make one the night we arrived on the app for El Dorado (ps the Filet is the only decent cut of meat). But the only other place we wanted to try – Japanese Hibachi – was full during our entire stay. However, we found that by offering a $ tip to our butler to get on a waiting list a reservation suddenly appeared. If you can get Hibachi, it was the best hands down

7) speaking of tips, we spent about $200usd over our five days. We never paid in pesos and it didn’t seem to be an issue. There really isn’t anywhere to exchange but there is an ATM that dispenses pesos should you need it. However most everyone we saw was tipping in dollars and it was fine. We tipped $10 per day to our butler, $1 every time we got a drink, $5 for bellhops, $1 for golf carts rides and $5 per day for housekeeping

8)water shoes are a must if you plan on ocean swimming. We got cheap slip on ones online that can be tossed. Kids wore them every time they ventured out as it’s quite rocky going from the shore into the ocean but then it smooths out. The beach in front of the family select area was the best. The seaweed was plentiful but not a bother. It is what it is but nothing to complain about. It didn’t bother us when swimming; you just have to step over the mound of it prior to entering the ocean.
9) we had a jr suite swimout room in building 49 to start. It was great – king size bed and full size pull out sofa bed which our kids fit on fine. At check in i asked about available upgrades and after two nights, we were able to upgrade our last three to building 40 in a rooftop pool ocean view room for $450 extra – it was so worth it! Same set up as the first room but larger and there are (VERY slippery when wet) stairs leading up to the rooftop along with a second toilet/sink in your room. If you can upgrade to building 40 – do it

10) water was fine. Tons of bottled water in room, filtered and canned water in the resort itself, no issue with ice in drinks and there’s a water bottle filling station in the lobby of building 40

11) we booked directly thru the hotel. One of the perks was the free airport shuttle. One of my biggest struggles was deciding to use that service or book a private transfer for $$. We tried the free shuttle going to the hotel from the airport and that’s our biggest regret. The shuttle itself was fine but it took 2.5 hours to get to the hotel with all the pick up and drop offs. We booked a private return shuttle (thru VIP Rivera maya) for $100 and they were prompt and it only took 1 hour.

12) can’t speak to much to the activities for kids as our kids didn’t participate – the teen club was good…they popped in from time to time but didn’t do any of the planned activities. The white party on Friday is fun – wearing all white is not a necessity but most people did. Mini golf at sports center was good but nothing fancy. We paid the fee for our kids to use the inflatable pool obstacle course at white sands – they did that while us adults hung at the swim up bar. We did not get an hour for free as stated in some places.

13) we are not picky eaters – everyone found something they liked at the buffets. The a la carts were ok – nothing out of this world but it’s nothing to complain about.

14) we did one excursion off property – booked thru VIP Riviera Maya. We swam in a cenote and ate tacos at a local spot. Snorkeling with turtles was canceled due to choppy waters

15) there is music playing around the pools but hard to hear at the ocean. We brought a speaker and played our own music. Speaking of the beach, it wasnt hard to get chairs there but tons of open bali beds that you have to pay $ for – never used one

16) one thing i noticed (and it was because of this group that i recognized it) was immediatly upon our initial drop off day 1, we were greeted by a man wearing a blue shirt. He introduced himself as our conceirge and wanted to give us a tour. At first i thought he was the butler for our villa but i remembered the posts about the blue shirt people in the lobby and realized he was trying to push being in the travel club. We polietly declined and he didnt continue to bother us.
Overall great impression. We would return! If you can swing Family Select and you have kids, do it. It’s worth it!

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