Wonderful visit to TRS Yucatan

[Anne]

Third fabulous trip TRS Yucatan

I recently visited the TRS Yucatan for a third wonderful trip since it was rebranded in December 2017. I truly felt like royalty. The staff, who are without a doubt one of the greatest assets this resort has to offer, have an innate sense of making one feel special and as though we are
“home”. Their frequent response when being asked for something is, “My pleasure”, and I get the sense that it is their sincere pleasure to insure the guests are happy.

I arrived to be greeted by Israel. He has been at the Palladium for many years and has been promoted to bellboy Captain at TRS . I congratulated him and asked about his granddaughter. He beamed and in turn asked me about “your beautiful daughter”.  I came upon many staff during my stay that remembered me, and anticipated my needs, welcoming me “home” , asking if I wanted my “regular” drink or just bringing me my drink of choice without being asked.

At check in I was given a cool cloth and offered a champagne or a cocktail of my choice. I  was pleased to be met by Corina, the new Manager of TRS who was joined by Alba & Celia, both of whom I have had contact with over the years.  When I mentioned how fabulous Cynthia the ebutler is they called her out to say hello. What a welcome!

I booked this trip to meet some Canadian friends who were celebrating their 50th anniversary. We all met at the Palladium 12 years prior and have remained close friends ever since, often meeting at the GP when they are there. I was  also thrilled to attend their sons’ wedding at the GP and was happy to be meeting him and his bride again. Corina asked me about my friends’ wedding anniversary and said the resort planned to do something special. Attention to detail is everywhere.

Rooms:   

Check in is at 3 but fortunately my room was ready early. As my friends had requested a room with an outdoor jacuzzi, without being asked, the resort was kind enough to locate us in the same building. We were  in 70 which is part of the original Royal Suites. The rooms have been tastefully updated and are stunning. I was thrilled to learn that I was given a gorgeous suite with 2 rooms. It was a corner room so had 2 balconies where I would sit and listen to the birds in the morning while I had coffee.  The rooms are “smart”, ie your bracelet opens your room, you can order 24 hr. room service from an extensive menu through the TV, a movie & popcorn, make reservations and more. Lights are on sensors. There is a ”green light” to turn on when when you want your room made up. 70 is steps to the Terraza pool (Alberto is awesome) which is opened until midnight and halfway between the Infiniti pool & the lobby. My friends’ adults kids requested ocean views and the son/bride were upgraded for their 9th wedding anniversary. Another nice touch. In my previous visits I had a room in 67 & 68, both with ocean views and very close to the Infinity pool.

I walked around the swim ups. Foliage has really grown in since last year. I would suggest any swim up in the rear buildings except 67 which is not private. 68 is very private in the rear.

Butlers:  

My butlers during this visit were Erasmo & David, both of whom were wonderful and met every request promptly and with “It is my pleasure”.

Wandering  to the salt water pool, I plopped myself down for most of the afternoon in a Bali bed or lounger. This was common for me as it is very peaceful there and one can listen to the sounds of the surf.  Returning to my room, I found a bottle of champagne, a unique plant, fish shaped cookies, fruit and house wine in the room fridge which I had requested as I declined the bottles of alcohol offered.

That evening my friends and  I met at the Full Moon bar. It was like old times. They are such lovely people! The Full Moon bar is a great place for before & after dinner drinks as it is outside Chic and they often have pre and post show parties.  It was nice seeing Mayra there who gave us a warm welcome and remembered our drinks from last year. She has been a favorite server for years. Erik is a new bartender there and was very personable.

When we travel together my friends and I remain flexible during the day, meeting for breakfast by chance and always having lunch together. The staff at Capricho always found us whenever we arrived and seated us together. We then went our separate ways most days until lunch.

My first morning I decided to stroll around and to walk to Kantenah and see Fernanda, the lovely lady who works at La Jarra and services the TRS area.  She greeted me with her huge smile and “Welcome home Annie”. I missed her on my previous visit as she was on maternity leave. It was on this day on this trip that she confirmed she is going to have her 2nd little girl!

The TRS beach area was very quiet. I lounged awhile in a Bali bed then strolled to the Colonial beach bar to see the Mad Dog band at the Rock n Burger lunch event (Thursday). Imelda saw me and walked over with my day drink of choice. Amazing memory!!

From there I walked to the Secret pool on the Colonial side and saw my old friend Irvin who used to be at La Jarra. He is very happy working at the Secret pool with Angel. Lovely people.

Food:

When I first arrived I ordered room service which has an extensive menu via the TV. It took about 30 minutes to arrive.  Shrimp Ceviche & salmon with salad were perfectly prepared. That night my friends messaged me that their flight was late so I went to Tentazion for a salad and some lobster stew. It was delicious and the service was excellent.

We usually ate breakfast at Capricho which has both a menu and a lovely buffet area. I often got an omelette made to order or eggs Ranchero with a variety of small dishes from the buffet. They also serve champagne and have blood mary/Ceasar ingredients (including Clamato). Louise raved about the eggs Benedict.

There is food served at the Infinity pool. My friends and I always met at Helios for lunch. Staff there are lovely. Some of them work at Capricho for breakfast so they always remembered us. Some favorite dishes at Helios included the grilled salmon, grouper, a chicken and noodle dish, the burger with guacamole and shrimp, and pasta dishes.  We all found the food and service at Helios to be excellent at lunch. We always met for dinner and also ate one night in Helios. We enjoyed surf & turf (lobster & filet) and catch of the day. Louise enjoyed the ice cream and sorbet there.

We tried El Gaucho which is an Argentinian steak house and serves excellent lobster & steak, awesome garlic shrimp & grilled chicken.  El Gaucho was to everyone’s liking and I believe my friends ate there more than once. Boheme is another favorite where Francesco gave excellent service. We had the onion soup en croute, lobster & beef filet, lamb chops, chateubriand, and excellent deserts including Creme Brulee.

Food allergy program:  

The resort is very attentive to those with food allergies. They will give you a card at check in to show your servers indicating your allergy(ies). In more than one case the chef came out to talk to us. We were asked about food allergies at every restaurant we went to.

Water:  

The water at the resort is filtered and safe to drink. They treat the water at their own on-site plant via reverse osmosis and bottle it there. Never a problem getting as  much water as you wish. If you need more leave a note in the fridge with a small tip. “Mas agua por favor”

Cleanliness:

Resort is immaculate & very eco-friendly.

Snorkeling:

I don’t snorkel but my friends do. There was some seaweed which the resort cleans up daily. It is arduous work. My friends did snorkel off the Kantenah beach and saw lots of fish including an angel fish for the first time. They felt the snorkeling has improved.

Tipping:  

While this is an all-inclusive, I feel the staff deserve tips and it gives me pleasure to tip them. I never felt as though a tip was expected and bring either a bunch of US ones & fives or pesos in 20 & 50 notes for tipping.  (Staff cannot use coins other than pesos so no foreign coins please.)

Transportation:

On the resort the cart & train system is very good. At TRS I never had to wait for a cart. Alberto always remembers me and has gone out of his way to assist. Alejando was especially pleasant and available when he saw me walking.

As always, I used AGI Tours for airport transfers. They have been there for me and my daughter for 16 years. This time they met me in a new 17 passenger Mercedes. I felt very spoiled. On the way back Mario picked me up in a brand new sedan. Highly recommend.

WiFi & phone:

Very good everywhere. I have Verizon and was not charged for data when I used text

Medical equipment:

One of the adult kids sprained her ankle and they found crutches available for a small deposit. The resort keeps an assortment of medical equipment as well as having a doctor on-site.

Conclusion:

I stayed in TRS Yucatan in December, 2017 shortly after it had opened. It truly has evolved into a five star resort. Once one has stayed on the TRS side it is hard to stay elsewhere. I do love the Romance Suites on Kantenah but it would be hard to give up the pampering on TRS. My friends mostly stay on the Kantenah beach during the day but they too felt it would be hard to not stay at TRS. We love the restaurants, staff, views, Infinity, Terraza and salt water pools. I also greatly enjoyed Chic the last 2 visits. It is a plus to be able to use all the amenities that three other resorts offer including the beautiful walks through the jungle,  Kantenah beach, the restaurants (one of which is AO per night), Hemingways & of course seeing the wonderful staff whom I have come to know over the years.

If this is your first visit to this resort you are in for a treat. My motto is “don’t sweat the small stuff”.

I can’t wait to return either to TRS Yucatan or TRS Coral which my daughter and I visited over Christmas.  Thank you Palladium for another perfect trip to Paradise.

[Anne]

Wish I were there.

[Author]

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