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Just Breathe by Ssan Wiggs
Sara writes a syndicated comic strip based on her own reality. While undergoing fertility treatments she discovers her husband’s infidelity. She flees to her childhood home in N. California where she discovers she is pregnant with twins.
The winds of change have brought Sara here and now she closes her eyes yo “just breath”.
Nikki wrote:
Just returned from the family section and my 5 and 8 year old had a blast! Staff at the kids club is outstanding! Especially the staff at the Family Section pool. My kids were pretty obsessed with all the activities and the attention they received from the kind staff. We will miss them tremendously! Family pool is relaxing with great service and options for food, snacks for the kids and prizes for the games. Tip and take care of the staff and they will take extra care of you! Tip the omelette cook, tip your room service, tip the person serving ice cream, tip the staff at the kids club.
The staff is incredibly nice they went above and beyond for us. Our Room was awesome! Try not to complain nothing is ever going to be perfect. It’s busy season just be happy enjoy the views and the warm sunshine.We have PDF downloadable maps here. This is the map for Riviera Maya.
Welcome Yvonne,
The poolside rooms and not technically poolside but they are close. They are Jr suites in 20 & 21 Map.
Colonial is blue
Do you and your Si want to enjoy an adult only night to attend Chic or other romantic dinner? Babysitters can be arranged the day before via Guest Services. Here is the info Babysitting
Highly suggest getting up for a sunrise. Grab a coffee at the lobby & enjoy. (Ask for a “to go” cup.)
Suggested packing list Packing List
If you are staying in any TRS or any Family Select download What’s App to your phone. The butlers use What’s App to keep in touch daily.
Download the APP before going. You can then see daily activities, menus & book restaurants once you arrive.
No they aren’t. They are in buildings 50 & 51 on third floor.
If you uograde to FS you have full access to TRS. I would consider upgrading to TRS which is adult only. If it matters there are kids at FS. If you stay at TRS you still have full access to FS (beach, NEST, pool).
The one issue that is a plus at Family Select is the beach. The beach is right in front of the FS buildings. If you stay at TRS then there is a walk or cart ride to the beach.
Here is the map. TRS is at the south end of the resort, FS is at the north end.
I just emailed someone who is there now. The Lofts are in 81, 82, 91, 92. He is not sure about the beachside as Palladium is a bit creative with this term. Best thing to do is email a week before arrival and ask if you can be close together.
Taxis & Ubers are plentiful in PC. Your hotel will arrange one for you. I know the GP is selective on which taxis they allow on the premises.
Guests staying at Kantenah (non family) may buy a pass for FS. Prices I have heard at $50-80 per day (negotiate).
TRS Cap Cana is a boutique resort in Cap Cana gated community on Punta Cana.
They have begun allowing small dogs (up to 22 pounds) for $40 per night.
You would get the Family Select wristband & have a butler assigned to your building to help with reservations and other needs.
Keith,
Someone there now upgraded from Kantenah garden view (non FS) to FS for a little over $100 per day for 3 people.
Thank you Michelle Owens
Here is a LONG but hopefully helpful review of our stay. First of all we are SO glad we chose Family Select. There are so many additional amenities that made our stay easier. We had unlimited towels, your own beach area, and access to the TRS side as adults. We did feel like there was a service difference when we were at white sands/colonial vs TRS/FS.
Overall we had an amazing trip
We loved –
Adults only restaurant La Boheme – the fondue, Brie appetizer, onion soup, and steak were incredible.
Adults only Helios – coconut shrimp and filet were delicious. Also loved the Surprise sphere for dessert.
TRS bar – we often went to see Julio at the TRS beach bar. We found drinks to be better at the TRS beach bar than family selection bar.
Family Select bar -Had ice cream
Pool – huge ducks to play with, fun activities, and so much more intimate than the other pools. My kids didn’t like the colonial pool at all (couple kids pushing others off the floats and being pretty mean) but LOVED the FS pool.Nest and Niu – service was top notch and food was amazing. When we had our adults only meal, our boys (who are a little older) went to the Nest by themselves and had a great time. They had mini lobster, shrimp, and octopus on the Nest buffet. Crepes in morning were amazing!
Other notes – we stopped for sunscreen on the way. It was about $5 each. Much cheaper than the $40 sunscreen at resort. Bring water shoes. Niu’s kitchen closes at 3:45 even though it’s listed as 4.TRS Cap Cana
The Premium Experience:
Package: From 3 to 4 nights the Benefits are:
Early Check in / Late check out until 3:00 pm
Night Coverage( ( To make the bed and do some amenities at 7:00 pm)
Premium Breakfast ( with an extra manu)
30% Discount in the Spa Services ( Not combined with offers or spa Package )
Exclusive pool are For premium guests ( Bali bed, facial towels, evian water, waiter service)
1 Romantic Diner for 2 pax
4 Premium Drink Bottles of your selection (Please see the attachment picture)
Premium Room Mini Bar:
2 president Beers
2 Modelo Beers
2 Cool Light Beer
Natural coconut water
Gas water
Chocolates
Nuts
Prices : 100 USD Per night. ( In case if the reservation is for 3 people the price is 175 per night)
Package: From 5 nights or more nights the Benefits are:
Early Check in / Late check out until 3:00 pm
Night Coverage( ( To make the bed and do some amenities at 7:00 pm)
Premium Breakfast ( with an extra manu)
30% Discount in the Spa Services ( Not combined with offers or spa Package )
Exclusive pool are For premium guests ( Bali bed, facial towels, evian water, waiter service)
1 Romantic Diner for 2 pax
4 Premium Drink Bottles of your selection (Please see the attachment picture)
1 Chic Cabaret Dinner Show for 2 people or 3 pax.
Premium Room Mini Bar:
2 president Beers
2 Modelo Beers
2 Cool Light Beer
Natural coconut water
Gas water
Chocolates
Nuts
Prices : 100 USD Per night. ( In case if the reservation is for 3 people the price is 175 per night)
Monkeys are protected by law so the resort must follow the legal procedure and obtain a permit to move it to a sanctuary.
I am no longer allowing pics of guests attempting to feed/interact with the monkeys. This is encouraging aggressive behavior and endangers the monkeys’ lives. I have heard that the resort has applied for a permit to allow them to remove the monkeys to a sanctuary.
Here are the emails you can try. Copy & paste
That’s strange. It works for me. Try
You could try to email ahead of time and ask about an upgrade. One great perc of FS is that you can use all the amenities at TRS adult only (as adults) regina nunes
You can ask at check in to upgrade. I don’t have a price. It will depend on what type of room you are upgrading to.
You may want to download the App if you don’t have it. It shows all entertainment & restaurants. the regular Kantenah section comes under Grand Palladium Riviera Maya. Family Select at Kantenah is separate.
Welcome,
All rooms have been renovated. The rooms in 41-47 are part of Grand Palladium and have access to everything in Kantenah, Colonial & White Sand but not to the Family Select amenities. Those include Family Select pool, Nui snack bar, Nest restaurant, FS beach area & lobby. Here is the map. Kantenah is yellow
Usually I suggest that guests email the resort no more than a week before arrival. That said, they don’t always respond but they will take care of you when you arrive. You can also try this
Have a great trip.
Here are some recent Google reviews
They don’t prohibit access to the beach outside of the areas designated for TRS & FS guests. Similar to the previous TRS beach situation. There are areas closer to the water in front of the designated areas that all guests can use – just not the exclusive areas.
The TRS & Family Select beach areas are for those guests only. Colonial guests can use any other parts of the beach. In addition to the Colonial beach bar there is a Tiki bar on Kantenah that all guests can use.
Updated report by Nancy King. Posted with permission.
Sitting in the lobby getting ready to leave after 9 wonderful days I figured I would write a review.
I’m not sure how anyone can complain about this place! It went well beyond my expectations.
Airport was a bit of a crap show getting bags, took 1.5 hours but apparently Air Transat is on some kind of rotating strike? So perhaps that’s why.We took a private transfer so can’t really comment on the Air Transat one. We used VIP and they were great!
Check in was okay, the concierge switched over to another staff member while we were waiting for our room and did not communicate that so we ended up sitting and waiting for an extra hour, not a huge deal but a little irritating after a long day of travel. Besides that I really have nothing to complain about.
Our butlers were super quick to respond to any questions or requests which made things like getting extra blankets, pillows, etc much easier. I could see why people might complain about that, I requested 3 things the first night, extra towels, linens for the pull out coach and a hair dryer. I texted those to the butler who then contacted housekeeping, the housekeeper brought the towels but nothing else, so I texted again, then they brought the bedsheets but no comforter, etc. so I can see how frustrating it would be to not have a butler to sort that out for you. They booked all the restaurants right away so we were able to eat in every one before we left with the exception of Poseidon which was closed. My favourites were El Dorado and Sumptori.
The resort is HUGE but so easy to get around through all the short cuts and they are all shaded which makes for a nice walk.The sports centre was awesome.
We prefer a more quiet atmosphere so liked the FS beach, always loungers available, not crowded and a lovely breeze all the time. The beach had a few spots that were a little rocky but nothing we can’t avoid or just wear water shoes and walk right through.
I did wander over to the colonial pool once but couldn’t find a lounger anywhere, people get up early and reserve spots. I loved that it wasn’t an issue in the FS area.
Went to the FS pool once, it was nice with lots of beds, not very busy, but because the resort has so many trees, they blocked the breeze. I found everywhere except the beach to be so hot so I pretty much lived there.Buffets were excellent with a huge selection. I definitely gained a few pounds this week The food was always warm and restocked quickly.I loved the nest for breakfast. There was always live music but it was much less busy than the other buffets.
Drinks were good. I’m not a big drinker but I enjoyed being able to order the higher end liquor. But you have to ask for it, otherwise they just use whatever the cheap stuff is.
We had a swim out room in building 51, super close to the beach which I personally loved, it was right beside the construction but honestly the noise was so minimal. And on the beach the waves drowned even that out. The water was soooo warm in our swim out as well. We had 2 double beds and a single pull out. My 12 year old son fit just fine on the pull out, my husband slept in a double and my 15 year old daughter and I shared a double. We never felt crowded at all. Only complaint about the room was the AC does not go lower than 20 degrees. Which felt fine during the day when you are coming in from the heat but at night it was a little on the warm side. My husband did not enjoy that part but he likes to sleep in the cold.Wi-fi was pretty good. Didn’t work on the FS beach unless you were up by the bar but most other places seemed to have a decent connection. Bring your pool floaties and sunscreen with you if you can as the gift shop is very overpriced.
One thing I discovered the second last day that I wish I knew sooner was to get your picture taken when the photographer staff are walking around. There is no pressure on the spot, they just take your pictures and then you can log into the app later or walk up to the shop beside the gift shop and look at them all from your entire stay. We got some taken after dinner the second last night there but when I went up to look at them I saw all kinds of ones they had on display of other families and couples and they were GORGEOUS! The photographers are really talented. Yes the photos are a bit expensive $20 per picture, but they are just as good as many pros back home and I’ve paid a lot more money than that for pictures from them.
No late check out, you give up your room at 12, but you can keep your bracelets and stay on the resort and use everything until 6. There are also showers in the lobby to use.
I think I covered most everything. I do highly recommend FS as I’m not sure my stay would not have been quite as nice without a butler, also I LOVED the FS beach and the nest for breakfast.
Hi Diane,
Welcome.
You can email the ebutler, request reservation for Chic and for your first night’s dinner. You can ask for the wish list. For other travel club related things you can speak to someone in the travel club when you arrive. There is also a Facebook page for the travel club members that can answer further questions, Palladium Travel Club
Ask the ebutler if there is a special “wish list” for ravel Club guests
Bowling prices:
Two lines of up to 6 players.
Price:
200 pesos mxn or 10 usd p/p for a line
1200 pesos mxn or 60 usd for 6 players 1 hour.
Schedules:
Every day from 3 pm to 11 pm. (The last reservation is 10pm.)I am bumping this up. Note AGI’s website is under constructions but you can reach them at agitours@agitours.com
Trip report from Sonja Bosler printed with permission
“We just returned from a one week vacation in a (Kantenah)family selection swim up suite and it was truly an amazing experience. We swam in our swim up pool every day while one of us showered, or sometimes while my husband napped, or even late at night the first evening when we were too tired to do much else after dinner. Basically we got a ton of use out of it, which I was worried when booking we wouldn’t use it much at all. My daughter is almost 14 just for reference. The water was extremely warm in the swim up pool and very nice, and we even had a monkey on our balcony-apparently he comes most afternoons!
As for the food, it was excellent I thought but I’m not really picky. My daughter is and she loved most of it except Poseidon, although she liked my seafood rice that I ordered there. She didn’t like the octopus that she ordered. The ambience was amazing though because it was right on the ocean.
Our favorite restaurant was The Nest because my daughter loved their crepes so much, but all the buffets were good. I mostly ate the freshly cooked food at each buffet so I can’t comment on how warm everything else is but my husband seemed to like it all. Sumptuori was definitely the best a la carte, and Helios was the only TRS restaurant we tried and it was great. Drinks were pretty good too but a little bit sweet after a while. Definitely recommend asking for better quality alcohol if you’re family selection or TRS because they’ll give it to you but only if you request it.
The resort was beautiful and well kept, and our room was brand new. Housekeeping was very attentive to our needs and changed our bedding when I got hot wing sauce on our sheets, brought new towels as needed, etc. Our butlers Erick and Eduardo were always just a text message away if we needed something from them, which was extremely helpful for calling us golf carts as I have difficulty walking around and it’s a very large resort. They also made us all of our restaurant reservations and changes them as needed, and helped us with anything else we needed during our vacation.
‘
Here is the link to find the chat. TC Chat for English. Look in the lower right corner. Off hours you will see a ‘help’ box but when the online chat is on it will say chat. I notice the chat is usually on around 9:45 EST.
The current construction is not intrusive. It is mostly on the building 40. By March all the kinks should be worked out.
Hi Evangaline, It’s $50 pp. I am not familiar with the music. There is no opening date on the coffee shop yet.
Bravo has re-opened with great reviews. $50 pp.
Well the Family Select is a brand new hotel as Kantenah has been closed for 6 months.
I went to the opening of TRS Yucatan & TRS Coral and those were new hotels dealing with opening issues, ie schedules, staffing, amenities etc. I believe I was the first guest in my Loft Suite at Coral and there were opening issues. Anyone who goes to a new resort (probably at opening prices) needs to expect opening issues. These issues obviously carried across the resort but are being resolved
Evangeline, I am aware of this and the most recent reports including one I posted today said things are much better. There are always glitches when a new hotel opens and these reports came out during a new hotel soft opening during Christmas which is the busiest week of the year.
Management does read my Facebook page on this hotel and have posted there. Kantenah FS Facebook
Here is Jessica’s report from today. She is currently at the Family Select Jessica’s FS report
Yesterday (1/2) I got a note that said
They plan to do some exploratory work on a small section of the lagoon on the White Sand side. They expect this will cause minimal to no disruption in the TRS area. There is no date yet.
No mention of Colonial renos. Previously I was told they are not probably happening in 2024.
As soon as I get more info I’ll post it.
I did get some more info but can’t give a time frame yet. They plan to do some exploratory work on a small section of the lagoon on the White Sand side. They expect this will cause minimal to no disruption in the TRS area.
As soon as I get more info I’ll post it. I think they are still in the planning stages.
Wednesday Colonial beach bar in Riviera Maya. Wednesdays in Riviera Maya & Jamaica with kids; Saturday Puerto Vallarta, Friday Punta Cana, Costa Mujeres
Yes of course I’ll post. Last I heard they weren’t going to do it but things can change based on conditions, cost etc.
TUI is saying there will be renos in 2024 but I have been told by more than one person at the resort that those are postponed to 2025. I’ll check again for more assurance.
Yes I corrected that. There was a miscommunication. La Jarra is for Family Select, TRS & Some Travel Club adults. Sorry for the confusion.
Poseidon Mon, Thur, Fri
Portofino
Sumptuori
I think there is one more.Just ask Guest Services when you go to book.
It is not required but some people like to do things before they arrive. If you want to then send it to E Family Host a week or less before you arrive.
Colonial renovations are on hold probably not happening in 2024. Sorry to have a delayed response. The management has been busy with the opening of Kantenah.
Anyone who booked a Junior Suite room in Kantenah prior to it becoming Family Select will be moved to a Jr Suite in Colonial.
All guests will have access to La Jarra but no kids will be allowed there.
No El Gran Azul is not open for dinner. Some of the ala cartes have outdoor seating at dinner such as Portofino.
Live update from Carlos:
“Update. Things are improving really fast. The nest today was way better. Good food and service. They open in the restaurant a play area eith a lot of toys for kids. They are fixing all the little issues in the room and the butler service is outstanding. I think the problem was a combination between opening 3 days ago and a Christmas weekend. Today there are more staff in all the areas of the hotel. Enjoying every minute here.”
Check the Appfor extensive Holiday schedules for all resorts. On Christmas Eve there is a kids’ Christmas show in the Colonial theater at 8 pm.
Santa arrives on Christmas day at noon on the Colonial beach.
It was open for lunch when El Grazul was closed. Now that Grazul is open Poseidon is only open for dinner 4 nights a week (Mon., Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Lance reported today
“This mornings update on Family Selection. First off, we all slept well. We have two doubles and a single pull out. We’re a pretty tall family and beds are small but beds and pillows are comfy.
I’m at the beach now, it’s beautiful, and there is towel service and the FS bar is set to open at 10!
Know there is a ton of construction going on. Looks like they may have bldg 48 and 49 done but still diligently working on the others it looks like.”I apologize for not answering. I am still awaiting a response from management. This makes me think that they are not firm on plans yet.
The big dinner is on Christmas Eve. They have an ala carte at TRS & a huge buffet at Grand Palladium.
Santa arrives on the Colonial beach on Christmas Day,
Christmas Eve showcooking
Transportation for Travel Club & Palladium Rewards has been updated.
