Xcaret Bienvenuto!

Alex and I decided to take a trip this winter, and so we bit the bullet and booked an all-inclusive trip to Mexico along the Mayan Riviera.

We have been here for a day and a half out of our 5 day holiday and I have to admit the the hotel and all-inclusive experience has some real positives.

Even though it was high season, and everyone is supposedly travelling around now, we were able to whip through the airport with no difficulty, and flew to Cancun in 3.5 short hours on Westjet.  The arrival in the Cancun airport was every bit as crazy as I remember.  You get solicited by taxis and tour companies from the moment you arrive, and we had to fight through a huge crowd of tourists to find and get to the Westjet Vacations rep. in the taxi area.  After finally checking in with the Westjet people, our minibus arrived, and we got shuttled to our hotel - the Occidental Grant Xcaret, just south of Playa del Carmen.  We arrived in the dark and in a drizzle, and it was difficult to get a real feel for the place.  But it was clear that the primary architecture is of a tiki bar variety, since we could smell the reeds that make up the ceilings of the main lobby.

Everything was decked out with Christmas lights, and it felt very tropical and welcoming.  Even though we arrived late, Alex assured me (a relative newcomer to the all-inclusive experience) that we would be able to get some dinner.  The buffet came through for us, and we were even able relax by one of the many bars before going to sleep.

We woke up the next day to the lovely yellow sun in our window, a lovely view of treetops, and the colours of Mexico that I was so much looking forward to seeing.  Our resort is quite large, with multiple small buildings where the rooms are, multiple pools and restaurants, and a small but smartly laid out beach area.

It is situated right next to the Xcaret Park and is really very much in a jungle setting.  I like it.  We spent the morning dozing on a swinging beach bed for two, and then dunked in the water before heading to the smaller buffet restaurant that is on the beach for lunch.

Not much to report since the afternoon was really much of the same, only this time we hung out by the pool.  For dinner we tried the much-touted and highly popular Seafood restaurant.

To be honest, the buffet is pretty good and we didn't really find the restaurant much better-except for maybe the cerviche.