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Gracias B. I was looking for that! Anyone have questions i.e. taxis,colectivos, rentals let me know I have used them all.
I have used the colectivo system for years. It is a Govt run system that was originally designed for locals & staff to get to and from work. The Govt has updated all vehicles and added many more as they have become very popular. They no longer just serve the locals. As an example on my last trip when I walked out the main gate of Colonial to go into PDC with my daughter there was a brand new colectivo parked there waiting for hotel guests. My daughter was a bit hesitant about using a colectivo but changed her mind when she saw the colectivo was new, AC with seat belts and waiting for guests.(The first colectivo we used years ago was old and we had to hold the door closed. My family thought I had lost my mind.) The colectivo eventually filled up with hotel guests and we left for PDC (a 20 minute ride). Granted there are reports of accidents just as there are accidents with taxis and rental cars. There are now speed bumps along the highway to force people to slow down. The only other means of getting around is the ADO bus and they have schedules and don’t stop at hotels (except the 2nd class bus).
The colectivos going to PDC leave from the same side of the highway as the resort. They stop at the corner of 2nd & 15th streets which is a short walk to 5th Ave. They pick up in the same location and there is now a line of both tourists and locals using the colectivo.
To go south use the employee tunnel on Colonial side to cross the highway. There is a colectivo stop on the highway but on the way to the stop you might be approached by a taxi driver who is often willing to negotiate (based on high or low season).
The Mayan suites are in the best location(s) on the resort.
Sports bar is open and gets good reviews.
Akumal is a great spot for some fresh seafood. There is currently some conflict going on there between the locals and tour groups but hopefully it will die down and you can catch a colectivo (local van) to get there. Check out Buena Vida, La Cueva del pescador which is owned by a local fisherman, Lo Ha, all on or near Akumal Bay.
The Palladium is not within walking distance of anything. but the local colectivo system is inexpensive and easy. Catch one on the resort side of the highway to go into Playa del Carmen. Cross the highway via the employee tunnel to catch a colectivo south to Akumal & Tulum.
The Palladium has a very active turtle pogram. Buy a turtle safe flashlight and go down to the beach at night to hopefully catch some turtles laying eggs or hatching. Turtle Safe
Plan to take a Segway Tour to see the resort early on Segway Fun Tours
Dinner tonight in Viva Mexico. Pork Deliciosa with stuffed crab. My version of surf and turf. And for the second time this trip we were given this magnificent spot.
Hi and welcome to our forum.
You will love the Mayan suites. Yes Colonial MS are in 30-32. The buildings are 2 levels. Some face the path so if you like people watching ask for a path facing room. I know 3003 is such as I have stayed there several times. Others face the jungle so you would have the most privacy. You have a choice of ground level or 2nd floor. Some prefer the 2nd floor as they are concerned about their “shower” privacy on the first floor. This never worried me but if you want the utmost privacy ask for 2nd floor either path facing or jungle facing.
Regarding seafood, the resort offers a variety of great seafood both in the buffets where they have grilling stations and in the a la carts. Punta Emilia is a seafood restaurant on the beach which I recommend. You need to make a reservation for that. Also check out the paella party on the Colonial beach at noon on Sundays.
Feel free to ask anything. We’ve been there many times
Punta Emilia
It’s my last coffee day with Cindy. Tomorrow she starts four days off and will not be back until after we leave. Thank you so much for everything.
Hi B,
I believe that is what the resort is attempting to offer. For instance, if El Dorado steak house has a long wait, check the buffets for a good steak. These corners provide similar food to what is found in the a la carts I believe. Also someone was asking me about sushi as Sumptuori will soon be under renovations. Felipe confirmed to me it can be found in at least one buffet.
Thanks Louise and all who participated. Based on statistics it looks like the site has been very busy since the survey went up!
Live from Tricia: “Latest overview as I sit this morning in the members area next to the scuba peeps. The water looks glorious. Since my last update things have been great with some odd moments. Wednesday night we had Japanese show dinner reservations. At 5:35 I went to get the slip out of the folder and noticed it said 530. I quickly called the travel club and they rescheduled us for the show on Friday night at 5:30. So we went and had just a regular Japanese table which I prefer more because I like just sitting there eating sushi. When we got to the restaurant about 6 they seated us within a few minutes there were about four tables filled with people. Our waiter came and introduced himself and I always greet the staff in Spanish my Spanish is limited but I know greetings and how are you I’m fine things of that nature. He asked if I spoke Spanish and I said a little. From then on he only spoke to me in Spanish. I asked him 3 times for English please but he didn’t do it. 95% of the time he spoke to me in Spanish. He spoke to everybody else at the table and English the whole time. I thought that was kind of odd. No specialty drink at this restaurant for us. And they brought my husband the wrong dinner. So they gave us the wrong dinner for him while they made the correct one for him by the time is dinner arrived we were all done eating. The food was very good I only got sushi for dinner but he kept bringing me different roles which was awesome. So I didn’t order a soup or an entrée I just kept getting little plates of sushi which was amazing. Afterwards we went to the sports bar to watch hockey. The volume of the TV’s was very very loud in there for some reason that night. Louder than the fans cheering from the tables for their teams. We went to the show it was fine and then the girls and I went Turtle watching but we didn’t see any Turtles. We didn’t see any Turtles between 10 p.m. and 11:30 but we saw all the volunteers twice. Thursday is when it gets off. My husband had a 7:05 tee time at playacar. And was supposed to be picked up at 6 a.m. He wasn’t sure which Lobby to go to and went to the wrong Lobby and missed the transport. I called the travel Club to see if we would be charged for that and they said we don’t think so. The girls and I went to the Jungle place. It was amazing. our tour started late because the group before us sort of refused to leave they wanted to just stand around and take pictures of monkeys. Our driver was amazing and stayed with us for the three and a half hours that we were there plus that included the ride to and from. He even stopped at a supermarket in Akumal Beach so we could get snacks to eat to and from since we were going to miss lunch and tirely. We got to sit in the enclosure with the monkeys for almost an hour. It was lovely. Definitely a great way to support the local wildlife. We Got back at 3 o’clock which which was when the phone party was supposed to start they didn’t start making foam until 4:10. At 4:15 they said the children to go in first and the children were in there for about 2 minutes before all the 20 some things with her cocktails came running in. You quickly became unsafe for the little ones so my daughter was in there for about 3 minutes because she was getting bumped into so much. Not really a lot of fun when the phone party is supposed to be from 3 until 5 and it starts at 4:15. So that was kind of odd. And the staff didn’t even try to keep the adults out even though they said children will go in for a little while first and then adults. we had dinner at Portofino last night. We were celebrating my daughter’s birthday and when we Mention to the waitress that we were getting the two lobster tails as part of the birthday celebration she looked at as kind of confused. between soup and Andre took almost a half an hour. Our dinner reservation was at 6 And dinner entrees were served at 7. That seems a little slow. Oh I forgot to mention between a full-time and getting ready for dinner the girls had forgotten their keys and this is the first time are cleaning man locked the doors between our rooms. It took me two calls to the travel Club talking to 3 different people to try to get somebody to come up and unlock the door to our junior suite. When they finally sent a security guard he had the wrong key. So my husband had to go down to the lobby. This whole process took over a half an hour. And it seemed like the only people I talk to you understood what I was trying to convey. I said we had less than an hour until our dinner reservation in the one-man confirmed my dinner reservation. I didn’t need that confirmed I need somebody to come unlock the door. So that was kind of odd. we went to the 2 Wednesday night shows and they were very good. Today is a pool / Beach day and packing since we leave tomorrow morning. I’m doing voice dictation on this so if there are any misspellings or words that don’t make sense sorry for that. I don’t feel like typing on my vacation.
I can’t remember where my last update ended. I think mid afternoon on Monday. Hubby and I went to the spa to get away from the tweens for s bit. The hot tub then plunge into the cold pool is amazing! Walking in the spiral on river rocks was quite painful and not meditative for me. Dinner at the Brazilian place was fine. No specialty drink and no Brazilian cheesy bread. I’ve been to Brazilian steakhouses at home and in Brazil. You need the cheesy bread! The guys with guitars were there and I requested “Guadalajara” and they played it. It made my day. I requested it from them last year as well. We went to the show and the dancers did a great job at 9 o’clock but it was very very hot and I don’t know how they danced for 45 minutes straight. On Tuesday we took a cab 2 Puerto adventurous and went on H2Oh Sun Cruise which is a 72 foot yacht.Swells were high and half the people 11 out of 22 got sea sick. But the staff was amazing and ran around the yacht helping everybody. I highly suggest them if you would like to go snorkeling and have a great meal on a yacht. Prices are very very good. They had a birthday cake for our daughter. Last night we went to the Mexican restaurant. Again no specialty drink. Our waiter didn’t speak a lot of English and messed up our drink orders a few times. But it was all good. The Disney show was fun for the girls I skipped it. Today we did our excursions to the Mayan Adventures where we snorkeled and 3 different areas of water. It was absolutely amazing. It is so hot here we were thrilled to be in that water. I’m currently sitting next to the Colonial pool and it’s like bathwater none of the pools are really cool anymore. It’s actually better to jump in the water and then go sit on a lounge chair with the breeze cooling water on your body. Tonight is the Japanese show meal.
Take the Segway tour really on in your trip. It takes you to out of the way places.
Maria Palladium says,”We encourage creativity in our bartenders.
They are constantly challenging themselves to invent exciting new cocktails for our guests.”
Monday Dinner food porn. I had the chilled cream of spinach soup. Carol had the BBQ ribs and I had chicken in poblano mole sauce with the salmon filet. Food was awesome.
Ribs and More – absolutely brilliant food and service.
The trick is to get to the restaurants between 7.30-8.00.
There is a Facebook page for Punta Cana weddings
Welcome & congratulations!
I know it is sometimes frustrating waiting for the wedding planners to get back to you but I assure you they do come through with amazing attention to detail!
If you have specific questions we can help with let us know.
I think the loungers at the Spa pool look very sleak and attractive but they weren’t very comfortable.
The pediluvean (sp?) (foot thingy) looks interesting but takes up a lot of space and is uncomfortable so probably not used very often?
How wonderful that you and your husband can have this special break in such a special place. I liked bldg 69. We did have a jungle view and it is closest to the pool & lobby.
Wed. “Stayed by the adults only pool yesterday. Boy was it hot! Hard to cool down as the pool Is so warm. We noted a lack of showers at this pool, intact we can’t even find any nearby.
Stayed in last night and had room service. It was very welcome.
Very cloudy at 6.30 am today so off to the turtle area and then a spot of snorkelling off the Kantenah reef, followed by the pool (in the shade). Slightly burnt on SPF 50!”Day 2 – Sunburn got the better of me today so never stayed in the sun for long. Very hot and humid today.
Started out on the colonial beach and tried to get in the sea. Bit of an obstacle course with the rocks so gave up. My husband dislocated small toe in a rock so he is a bit black now.
Super lunch at Punta Emilia. Good to see more chairs and tables. Seemed a bit understaffed.
Then had a couple of hours by the pool and then stayed in the room from 3. It’s easy to over do the sun! We still have 12 days!
Italian tonight for a birthday celebration.
Now enjoying a beer in the Kantenah lobby. Very nicely furnished now.
Bye for now.Day 1. Currently in the Riviera buffet dinner as everything went pear shaped with the planning. I just don’t like buffet food. The food quality is good don’t get me wrong but it’s just not me. Carlos was the usual superstar at the adults only pool bar. Mozzies were their usual selfish insects. 21 bites in one evening. Forgot repellent that evening. Still have to see if home made stuff works. Very hot. Pools are boiling hot. Big difference to last February.
I love this place. XxEvening: Karaoke in Colonial lobby
Our last day was everything we wanted it to be as we chose to do all the things we either missed or wanted to do another time before we left the property.
I went for a long walk on the beach towards the north, but unbelievably I was stopped by a Security Guard at El Dorado Sea Suites. I specifically asked him to identify the resort. I was nice about it but let him know that all beaches in Mexico were public, but he would not let me pass. I laughed it off, but was a little upset.
When I got back to the beach loungers, my son was walking up ready to start his day (yeah – mine had already been a few hours in). So we headed to the sea water pool where we hung out for sometime and then hit the bar there as we realized it was one of the only bars we had not had a drink at all week. From there, we hit the hot dog stand as we HAD to try them before we left. I will say that they are soggy compared to what we are used to in the states, but still pretty tasty.
After our second trip to the hot dog stand, we decided to hit the pool bar – big mistake. We ran into some very nice people from Ohio and proceeded to hang with them for the rest of the afternoon. After way too many tequila, fireball (which they brought from home) and some green shots for good measure, we were both down for the count.
We woke up early, packed and our transfer from Canada Transfers was five minutes early as usual. After a nice flight home on Delta, we arrived home at a reasonable hour. Great trip and so glad we went.
Fri from Jeff
We do not have a plastic bag for plastic, recycling, etc. in our closet.
We had a great dinner last night at the Japanese place. Great service, great sushi, delicious dinners. After that we hit Hemmingways. Great service. I will say that it is quite the experience having adult conversations with your child now that he has a year of college under his belt. I enjoy it immensely.
The coffee machine in the colonial lobby is broken this morning, so I had to trek all the way out to the beach bar for my morning coffee. Nice view, but coffee not nearly as good.
Last day – on my way back to the room to see if the kid wants to wake up. We are thinking Ribs n More tonight.”
Thurs:
Hola – we went to Xel-Ha today. Good time. Word to the wise- bring your ID with your credit card. They would not run my credit card at Xel-Ha. As I did not have my ID. That was $60 cab ride back and forth lesson. Zi respect that they had to do the right thing. We had a great time and then hit the pool bar.
We noticed the foam party going on so we had to hit that. It is set up on the “volley ball Beach” section. We had fun and then went back to the pool bar.
Live band at the Colonial Lobby bar last night was awesome. Great music, great energy, great dancing, we had a blast.
Last day tomorrow so if you need to know anything, let me know and I will try to read in the morning.
Another question that was asked was “how many kids my son’s age are here?” Well last night after dinner we went to the Sports Bar and it was packed with kids around my son’s age. We have also spent some time at the pool bar with kids his age that he could converse with.
Also, I have not seen the ice cream cart but did have two ice cream cones at lunch yesterday that we pretty darn good.
The wine question: we went to Portofino for dinner yesterday and it seemed like everyone was drinking both the red and white “house” wines. The waiters were busy keeping all their glasses full so I am thinking it must have been pretty good. Not a big wine drinker myself.
Going to say hi to Carlos today for Geordie.
How exciting Page! We loved the RSY and also the Jungle Place. Although my daughter and I had been going to the resort for years we stayed for the first time together in RSY and it was a treat! So much fun sharing a new resort with “newbies”! We look forward to hearing about it.
Is it any wonder I weight 100 and plenty? Some food samples from my amazing visit to the Grand Palladium Vallarta and Royal suites Punta Mita……Amazing menus everyday. Love Love Love
I’m sure you will love Jamaica We went after it was first opened and had a wonderful time. Very beautiful resort.
Very fun, lightweight read. The Blonde Theory by Kristin Harmel.
A successful Manhattan attorney has it all except a date! Her challenges in finding a date.
I sent this to my daughter who lives in New York and she just shook her head but she read it!
Happy for you Pat! Love the Royal Suites! I have flown AerMexico. Not recently but good experience. I have only read good things!
For those of you who enjoy the Karon books in the Mitford Series, you’ll enjoy Come Ran Come Shine. All the characters come together for Dooley & Lace’s wedding.
Hi Transcend & Welcome,
They still have it on their fact sheet. I’ll ask someone there to check it out.
Lobby will not close:
Hola Anne. No the lobby will only change the generators for Air Conditioning. For 15 days no A C at all while the first part is changed.
The reception will be relocated within the same lobby and the same with the bar the last 15 days
All services will be available. Even the lobby with the limitations just explained.Welcome Lion King!
Based on the note on their website it should be completed by the 6/30
Palladium Hotel Group http://www.palladiumhotelgroup.com/en/punta-cana/the-royal-suites-turquesa-by-palladium/coming-soon-punta-cana/
So happy for you Alina! We loved Jamaica and our first choice would be Lady Hamilton. Gorgeous views I haven’t been there recently so look forward to hearing about it.
I love Miami but thankfully my daughter graduated so I don’t have a reason to go there. Love the vibe there.
Hi Alina, Welcome back!
When we went we stayed on the Palladium side. If price were not an issue I’d choose LH but only for convenience. Both side have beautiful ocean views. LH is just a little closer to things. It really wasn’t an issue with me being on Jamaica as were were steps to the Roselle Relax pool which was nice at the end of the day. My daughter would have preferred LH at night as that is where her new friends were and the kids mainly hung out on the LH side, i.e. theater, sports bar, and other bars. So Palladium side involves a bit more walking but it’s nothing like the walking in RM!
Pool day today. Sun felt great on my face!! Started
Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende. Outstanding writing. Allende wrote a number of best-selling books
Brenda is correct. La Cuevo de La Pescador in Akumal will do this. It is free if you use their boat but probably a small fee if you don’t.
As I recall the walk is not really “short”.
I have mixed info on cooking a fish that was caught. When I asks Guest Services I was told that they could not do it for safety reasons. I did read a trip report somewhere from someone who said he had the chef cook his fish. I would lean on the no side but you can email Guest Services and ask. Let us know. acliente.riviera@palladiumhotelgroup.com
Tips for newbies
Lobster in Portofino!
Steakhouse
