We took our first beach vacation together to the warm beaches of Riviera Maya!  We booked 5-nights at El Dorado Seaside, which is a small all-inclusive resort.  The resort is known as being a couples resort, which we found to be true.  During our 6 days there  we saw at least 2 weddings, including a group from the Madison area!

With this being our first all-inclusive beach vacation there were a lot of things we learned thru the trip, both good and bad.  Here’s what we loved and what we would do differently the next time.

Resort Location & Airport Transfers 

After our one stop flight from Milwaukee to Cancan via Atlanta we were able to find our scheduled ground transportation at the airport and were ready to get to the resort…maybe even steal a little beach time before the sunset that evening!

When booking the trip and scheduling the transfer we knew that it was roughly an hour drive from the airport to the resort, which we were ok with at the time…but that was a mistake.   Because it was a shared transfer we spent an hour waiting for others to fill the van at the airport before departing for the resort. Then the one hour ride to the resort turned into a two hour trip because we had to drop others off at their resort of choice on the way.  After what felt like visiting every resort on the Riviera Maya we finally reached our resort both semi car sick, tired and well after sunset.   On our return trip from the resort to the airport we had to be up, packed and waiting for the transfer by 4:45am because of our 9am flight time.

Basically because of our flight times, choice of ground transportation and resort location we spent two of our six days traveling.  But with some planning and being flexible with travel dates this can be avoided.

• Try to get direct flights even if that means paying a little more or being flexible on which dates you travel.  If you gain more beach time and less travel time with a direct flight it might be cheaper than extending your stay a day.
• There are ground transfers that are available without sharing a ride, albeit for a higher cost.  This might not be necessary depending on your flight times and resort location.  If your flight gets you in early to Cancun and your departure flight isn’t until mid afternoon a shared transfer would be the way to go.
• We picked El Dorado Seaside because of reviews, its size and it fit our budget…not because of the location.  Its location did create some travel headaches for us; however, after arriving we found that our location provided many things that we didn’t anticipate.   It had an almost private beach and you could walk for miles in both directions before hitting another resort.  We also liked the proximity to Cozumel, the city of Tulum,  and the Ruins; we did not leave the resort this time, but if we had stayed longer we would have liked to explore the area.

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Resort Food & Booze

With this being my first experience with an all-inclusive resort I have to admit I was a little worried about the quality of the food, which is another reason we chose El Dorado Seaside.  The resort is a Gourmet Inclusive resort, which offers higher quality food with different dinning options, that allowed us to try something new every night.  During our stay we  dinned on different types of cuisines…the first night we started with Mexican food and followed the remaining nights up with Italian, Asian fusion and a Gastropub.  In total there are five gourmet dining options; however we were not able to get into Arrecifes, which is coined as being “International cuisine”.  The place looked very nice and seemed popular,  maybe next time we will plan a little better and have an opportunity to eat there.

For dinner there is a dress code of slacks, collared shirts and dress sandals for men and woman were expected to wear a dress or skirt of some sort with sandals.

For lunch and breakfast there were a two different options.  On the beach each day they had a barbecue buffet that featured different meats and fresh seafood.  Every meal seemed to incorporate fresh squid and octopus into different entrees on the buffet.  After my time there I have become a big fan of octopus and since returning home I have already tried making it.  The buffet always included fresh fruit, vegetables and some type of dessert.

The booze selection was not great but it was not bad either.  If you go there wanting any dark booze that is top shelve besides rum you will be disappointed.  So your old fashions, manhattans and whiskey sours will have to wait until you get back home.  As for rums, tequilas, vodkas, and gins they had a very nice selection that would satisfy most people.  We spend most of the time drinking mojitos, vodka sodas and beer.

I have to admit I was very surprised with the quality of the food and the different options that were offered.  For dinner the portions were not super large but they made up for it in appearance and quality.  The booze was average but they did have a pretty good beer selection.  After our experience here are a few things we learned.

• If you want to check out every dining option have a plan for each night and get a reservation.
• Mixed cocktails are not very strong and sometimes tasted like sweet water, which when it’s sunny and 90 degrees was probably a good thing.  We found that getting a can of beer on the beach was probably your best option because you were not cheated on any alcohol and it was easier to drink than a small glass of booze.  Plus you can put it in a koozie!
• The dress code for dinner isn’t really enforced.  I actually forgot to pack pants, so I wore shorts every night to dinner with a dress shirt and I felt comfortable.  So do not sweat the pants policy.  They have to have some sort of policy or people would come drunk right from the beach in their bikinis, swim short and barefoot to dinner.
• The breakfast and lunch buffet is a great opportunity to try new types of foods.  For me I had an opportunity to try fresh octopus and squid every day and now I’m making it at home I liked it so much.
• If you’re home sick for burgers and pizza they do have a restaurant that offers all the foods you left behind in the states…including a breakfast menu too.
• Midnight cravings?  Not a problem.  There is 24-hour room services with a limited menu.

Beach Time

For us the real reason for the trip was to break up the cold mid-west winter and escape to a sunny warm beach to relax.  El Dorado Seaside lived up to our expectations in every way.  We had great weather everyday minus one windy day and  the beach was beautiful.

Our daily routine was to secure a good location on the beach, which meant finding a place that had good sun, was close to the water but also had some shade.  The best spot on the beach for this is a front row cabana; however, this also meant that everyone else at the resort wanted one too.

It only took us one day to figure out that you had to be up early to secure your beach front cabana.  By 6am all of the good cabanas were taken.  We found that you need to be up before 5am to have your pick of the best cabana.  Some people would claimed their cabana by leaving towels, books and other beach items in the cabana and then heading back to bed or an early breakfast.  Our strategy was to find our cabana by 5am and then sleep in it until we felt like getting up.  We took the sheets right off of our bed to make the cabana more comfortable.  We weren’t sure what would happen, but the sheets in our room were always replaced.  To hear the waves splash against the beach and watch the sun rise over the ocean while laying in our cabana was a great way to start each morning.

We spent everyday of our vacation at the beach for 11 to 12 hours, which consisted of reading, drinking, swimming, volleyball and snorkeling.  Having the cabana gave us a place to escape from the sun and even catch an afternoon nap when needed.  This made being out in the sun all day much easier to handle.  Although, we still didn’t   escape with out sun burns.

I feel we figured out the how to maximize our beach time and get the most enjoyment out of it; however, it did take us a day to figure it out, which only left us 3 more days on the beach.  This is what we learned.

• Set the alarm for 4:30am and secure a cabana on the front row with some afternoon shade.  Also grab some beach chairs to put in front of your cabana for laying out in sun.
• When on the beach tip your wait staff early in the day.  While drinks didn’t seem to be stronger because of the tipping the servers came around more often.  The resort was all-inclusive, so tipping isn’t necessary; however, things seem to happen quicker when tipping is involved.
• If you’re fortunate to get a cabana pull a sheet off your bed to put on the cabana’s bed.  The cabana is just a rubbery/plastic mattress but putting a sheet on makes it much more enjoyable to lay on.

All in all we had a great time on our vacation, which was relaxing and also a learning experience for us.  We are looking forward to taking what we learned and enjoying another week on a warm beach someone where next winter.  Cheers.