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Upscale Mayan Riviera: (or this is not your college kids Cancun Trip!)
By Tab Hauser
Paradiso de la Bonita 7/04 3 Nights
I never really thought of myself as a Cancun kind of person. Don’t get me wrong. It is a very nice tourist destination but the point is that it is a little too much “tourist destination” for me. The Cancun hotel district to me is like Coney Island on a summer holiday weekend. One person next to the other or in this case one hotel next to the other with the chains of American restaurants on the other side of the street one next to the other. I can see why so many college students take spring break here. It is easy to get to and cheap to eat, drink and stay. It is a great place to get vacation packages with hotels and air frequently cheaper than just the airfare (more on this later).
While I am writing about the Paraiso de la Bonita Resort I need to give a little history as to our first here. About 3 years ago before I started my travel web site I spent a birthday at a place called La Maroma. La Maroma is a 5 star luxury resort 25 minutes south of the Cancun airport and the crowds. At the time we stayed there the luxury chain Orient Express was buying into it. Here each suite was hand crafted by local artists and no two suites or rooms were the same. La Maroma’s beach was nearly a mile away from the next hotel. On the beach were sets of lounge chairs that had a flag behind it that you lifted to get the fastest service on the planet. Staying there we also “endured” gourmet cuisine for breakfast and dinner with wonderful lunches at our lounge chair. La Maroma as far we were concerned set the benchmark for service and quality. (The margarita’s used fresh lime juice and not the green sweet junk served at most bars. One day I decided on ordering an old college drink, the Tequilla Sunrise. This took a few minutes longer to make because they had to squeeze the orange and grapefruit juices to go with my 1800’s brand tequila!) La Maroma in 2003 received the number 1 hotel rating from the Travel Channel for a hotel on the Caribbean. While we have not been there in nearly 3 years and rumors say they have changed a little to the down side with their new owners. My suggestion would be check the various forums for peoples comments on this. One interesting note about flying to La Maroma was we had the hotel paid for already but not the airfare. To get the best airfare we went to a tour operator who booked hotels and air combined on one fare. In this case our itinerary said we were staying at a strip hotel included with air. The air and hotel was cheaper than just the American Airlines ticket. Basically what happened at the Cancun hotel was that we were a no show to them but save about $100 on the air.
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Moving the clock up a few years we found ourselves needing to go to a trade show in Miami Beach. With one kid away at summer camp and another at a university study program we realized we had the weekend free before work. Originally we wanted to head to one of the outer Bahamian islands. To do this would have required 6 hours of travel from New York with layovers in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. The other option was to fly to Miami Thursday evening stay the night and fly in the AM. Rather than go through the hassle of this I checked with American Airlines as they pretty much rule Miami Airport. The aa.com web sight said we can fly direct to Cancun and stay 3 nights, then fly direct to Miami do our 3 ½ days of business and then fly home from Miami only adding about $250 to the airfare with no hassles. This was easier then the outer island trip I wanted. Also we were able to upgrade to first class using miles.
In doing research on various web forums and travel sights I narrowed I found the Intercontinental’s Paraiso de la Bonita. Expedia.com had an American Express special of pay 2 nights at rack rate and get the third free if you stay at there top suite. Paraiso is a 90 room or suite hotel. There are 4 suites like the one we stayed at. It included a plunge pool and private “outdoor” shower. Also included was transportation in their Silver Navigators.
We took the 11AM direct flight and promptly landed in Cancun where a pleasant Mexican named Ishmeal took our bags and walked us to a spot where he was able to bring his large Lincoln SUV. (be warned that landing in Cancun has you bombarded with requests for travel vouchers and taxi rides. Make sure you know who is picking you up when you land no matter where you stay. My advice is simply say no gracias to all the hustlers in and out of the airport if you have a ride arranged. (If you do not, you can buy a ride at one of the counters just before customs that will take you to the hotel zone if that is where you are going)
We knew we were about to embark to a classy place when Ishmael offered us the menu of music options for the CD system in the Navigator. Also, no one arrives at the hotel with out being greeted by a personal check in host or hostess. Arriving at the open air lobby we were met by a charming young Hungarian lady named Rita who gave us a quick tour around while Ishmael took care of our luggage. At the end of the 10 minute tour the check in formalities was done in our room by simply filling out a piece of paper and confirming our credit card. (I really do not like standing around a lobby to check in so this was a nice touch) Our room came with bottled water, that replenished every day, and a 1/2 liter of decent tequila served with two large double blue shot glasses, salt and a few limes. (for the record, good tequila should not be masked with lime and salt). A nice bonus was a sturdy straw beach bag that was included. This held our reading material, swim mask, water, towels and anything else we needed to carry.
Our suite had a giant bathroom. This included a semi-outdoor and large shower with tiles and bench seats. The rest of the bathroom was bigger than some hotel rooms I have stayed at. There was an indoor shower with 2 jets on the wall that shot out cool water in addition to the water overhead. There was also a small sunken tub, a separate door to the toilet and two large tinted glass bowls that were our sinks. The rest of our suite was a kind of “African décor”. Each room or suite at the hotel is named after a country or city. Ours was the Wza Zula so we had a leopard type of a print for our bedspread with plenty of matching pillows. The separate living area was also nicely decorated to match the suites name. This room included an additional TV and DVD. On arrival as well as after maid service in the AM and turndown service in the PM, soft music was played through the TV. For people who need to watch there is satellite TV with 2 news stations in English, and one Spanish. There are also 3 movie channels.
After trying out the outdoor shower we headed to explore the property and the pool. This place has one of the nicest pools we have been to. It is in a pretty location with the ocean in the back ground. The pool is composed of three sections where one can swim and a whirlpool attached to it. In between each section is a place to crawl or walk. The three sections are connected by a shallow area between them. There are a few built in pool lounge areas. Here you can read or lay about with our head resting up while the lower half of your body sits in the water. Also in the center pool built in is a place to simply sit with have your body in the water.
Service at the pool was very nice. There are umbrellas with king size reclining lounge chairs for couples to share. Waiters in the morning bring you a cold Evian “atomizer” with complementary herbal or fruit tea. They also take orders for cocktails and lunch. Lunch can be had at the covered seating area or at your lounge. We preferred to have it delivered to the lounge chair.
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The beach here is flat with soft sand. The sand goes out into the water for about 20 feet and then the bottom has what I would call turtle grass on it. There is a coral reef in front of the hotel but it is too far to swim to. This beach was not as nice as Maroma’s as the grass tends to cake up not making it as pretty. The hotel staff did not do as an efficient job removing it as La Maroma either. I would not let this stop anyone from coming here. It just the way it is and worth visiting. Still this beach is basically private as the nearest hotel about ½ a mile away. There is also privacy for the guests who want to lay by the beach as their are single sets lounge chairs with umbrellas and they are spread far apart. I do not think they had beach service (at least this time of the year when it was not crowded. Most people seemed to be pool side anyway.) On the beach there is also a dock where one can order and take part in the afternoon cold seafood and wine feast, get on their luxury catamaran for a fee or snorkel under it to look at the fish. We did our snorkeling under the dock and saw several species of fish. Each of the 2 full days there we walked the beach over a mile in each direction each day. One way took us to a few private homes either in the building stage, disrepair stage or being used. The other direction takes you to a hotel that is being renovated as well as another place just past that called Desire. Desire we were told before our walk was a labeled a “swingers” place. In walking past it you can see plenty of nudity and some raunchy pool side game taking place.
The food at Paraiso is very good. As I eat fish and seafood I can tell you that there is no fresher one can have. Maureen had the tiki or chicken one night. The flavor was good but the portion especially for the price was very small. Appetizers of a seafood soup and nicely decorated grilled vegetables were excellent. The next day we were invited by another couple we met to join them at a place that was talked about by many guests called John Gray’s Kitchen in Port Morales. This was a $10 and 10 minute taxi ride to a sleepy fishing village. Besides a few taco shops this place is the only one to dine at. John we were told was a chef at the Ritz in Cancun and opened up this 12 table fine dining experience. Our group ordered the sirloin with red wine and mushroom sauce, lobster tails, and whole fish. We also got an appetizer of fried calamari and salad. We had this served with 2 bottles of a California Pinot Grigio. The meal is worth going to if you staying in this area. John himself comes out sees how you are doing and describes the food if you would like. He is one very personable chef. Dinner for 4 with 2 bottles of wine and an after dinner drink of 7 year old fine Cuban Rum and a rare scotch came out to $220. John Gray’s was a welcome change to the hotel not only to try something new but because it thewas the end of “French Week” as the hotel staff called it. The hotel was hosting the French Ambassador for dinner that night and we were invited for $200 per person with wine. After giving this some very minor thought and reviewing the menu offerings we did not see this to be a good deal. Not to mention I had left tux and red sash at home.
(fish I had at John Gray’s.. Moist flaky and not “fishy” at all!)
The last night we ate at the hotel. Besides the continental cuisine you can ask for basics and Mexican food if one of the two restaurants do not have offer it. Maureen ordered the chicken fajitas while I got the lobster tacos. We considered this to be “very average”. The Lobster while well prepared was not cooked in any seasoning. It seems they steamed it and chopped it and gave you sauces on the side. I would have preferred the meat to be sautéed instead in garlic, herbs and spices. The fajitas were simple strips of chicken with corn or flour tortilla shells and side dishes to add to it. They charged us a $30 plus service charge fee to open and pour our vintage champagne we brought.
For more information on this hotel go to
(www.ParaisodelaBonitaResort.com is their web site)
On La Maroma go to http://www.maromahotel.com/
The Minor Drawbacks: The plunge pool does not give you any privacy so skinny dipping is out of the question. Also the outdoor shower is not really outdoor. There is a lattice and plantings covering the top. You can see the sky through the spaces. Service at Paraiso was 5 star but be warned while the food is excellent the food prices are very high. (People like Dustin Hoffman who frequents this place usually do not care about simple things like food prices) Remember the nearest place for reasonably priced food is 20 minutes away at Playa del Carmen.
If you plan on seeing the area sights and eating a few meals out rent a car at the airport as it will be cheaper and more efficient than getting one at the hotel.
If you are ordering wine down here you may be returning it. One of the guests returned 4 bottles during the week he was in the area. Another guest said the same thing. Both returned wine at the hotel and other places. It seems the wine has a tendency to get cooked while getting transferred to Cancun. Lastly, bring bug spray if you plan on being outside at night. If there are no breezes at this time the mosquitoes will be a bother. Have fun and pass me your comments on the area.
I would not be so fast to return here but would go to Maroma given a chance