February 2009
A very lovely client of mine from Atlanta recently spent a few days with her family near Cancun on Mexico's Riviera Maya. This area is becoming home to some really fabulous hotels on great beaches. Brands like Mandarin Oriental, Orient Express, Fairmont, The Tides, Rosewood and Leading Hotels of the World all have properties here and they're getting rave reviews.
Read on for one very personalized view of the Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya. (In case you're thinking the Mandarin brand is like you're in Bangkok or Singapore, you're wrong.)
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Hi Josh. Hope all is well! I know you enjoyed DC. I wanted to give you a report on the Mandarin before I forget.
The hotel was very nice-- white and modern and minimalist.
We stayed in a Villa Palafito with the lagoon view. Short walk to the beach. Some of the other rooms required a golf cart ride to the beach as the resort is very long.
The pool was very nice overlooking the ocean. Again with the white theme- white beach chairs and umbrellas and same with the beach. The food was good. We didn't do any formal dining since our baby was with us. They had a room for children with crafts and activities and babysitting services. There wasn't a baby tub but I probably could have requested one.
I received a piece of chocolate cake in honor of my birthday and a note from the GM. Very nice touch.
We took a trip to Tulum organized by the hotel. That was great. A little pricey but Tulum is an hour away and we had our own personal tour guide. After our visit to the ruins we headed to this great little boutique hotel in Tulum called Ana Y Jose (the web-site is anayjose.com)! The food was delicious! I would like to stay there some time in the future. It was South of Riviera Maya and the weather was warmer, sun brighter and beaches prettier. That area is less resorts and more small hotels.
Overall we loved the Mandarin and the hotel was very pretty!