I have been traveling to Cancun, Mexico for the better part of 40 years. Suffice it to say I have watched it go from jungle to a bee bopping hot spot! What I have never experienced in Cancun until recently is an ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORT. To tell you the truth I was terrified. To think of checking into a resort with 28 amateur teenagers, who were by Mexico standards legal to drink, was scary! (lol).
Side bar – I accidentally left my favorite new BURST electric toothbrush at our first resort. I quickly ordered not one not two but three BURST brushes! A replacement for me, one for the teen queen and one for Mr. Chicken Fry! Click above for $50 off your BURST brush!
This trip was part of Summer family vaca and senior trip celebration. The senior trip celebration would take place at the all-inclusive DREAMS resort. Our large group was under the excellent care of CRUISE PLANNERS (aka Nicole Bentley) who put an entire package together. We had a whopping 45 humans in our group! (Adults and teens combined).
I was quickly schooled upon arrival to realize that all-inclusive resorts do have limits and for good reason! All of the bars close at 11 pm which is a very very good thing! At Dreams resort the music and activities start early! I could hear the pool music thumping in the distance from our room at about 9 am. But don’t confuse my words. This was an especially family friendly environment. It was the “perfect” place for our large rowdy/energetic clan!
The rooms were especially clean and the service was five star. We had a pool view room with a wading pool and an outdoor jacuzzi tub! We also had an in-room shower and jacuzzi tub! Our mini fridge was stoked daily with any and all requested refreshments!
The pool was always rocking! Lots of enthusiasm created by the large swim-up pool bar and infinity pool. There is a giant wading pool deck for sunbathing and swim up to overlook the beach. The beach bar was a cool thatched roof bar with 20 rope swing chairs. Unfortunately, the beach was a bit undesirable. There is a big seaweed problem at the moment affecting the beach directly in front of the resort. BUT IT DIDN’T DAMPER OUR PARTY! Daily, we rented the cabanas and laid our stake at the pool.
However, the seaweed was overlooked by all of the daytime activities for adults and teens! Some of the activities included poolside cooking class (aka making guacamole), water aerobics, Zumba, painting, volleyball and a variety of other fun beachside and pool games! VOLLEYBALL!
While DREAMS resorts have numerous restaurants on the property, we didn’t venture out much. We ate at the pool ocean club restaurant and the Mexican dining.
How do you like our sombreros? The kids dined at the hibachi in an Asian restaurant on the property! I would score the food to be a 3.5 on a 1-5 scale. The burgers and fries were on point as were the chips, pico, and grilled chicken. What I did enjoy and used a lot was room service. I would call ahead and have our breakfast delivered every morning and a late-night healthy snack. 24-hour room service is a HUGE PERK!
Aside from the laughter and memories that will last a lifetime, there were some cool highlights! My two favorite takeaways from the trip were the private party “white night” beach party and the group catamaran cruise.
While on the property our group had three pre-planned events. A meet and greet happy hour, beach dinner, and a private catamaran day cruise to Isla Mujeres! Each of these special events was managed and handled by Nicole Bentley at CRUISE PLANNERS.
From start to finish Cruise Planners handled air, hotel, transfers and all excursions! All we had to do was pay and show up! It was a seamless experience from start to finish. Nicole had info packets delivered with itinerary, travel info, and luggage tags! I highly recommend CRUISE PLANNERS! If you are planning to travel with a big group, birthday party, wedding, senior trip, college graduation, spring break or Summer vaca….call Nicole! She has a great rapport with hotels all over the world.
CRUISE PLANNERS Managed our off property excursion!
A large private (sweet) charter bus drove our group to the marina where we were greeted by the captain of the catamaran. A day trip on the water to Isla Mujeres. We boarded and shoved off to beautiful blue water. The boat had a bartender and all the drinks were included. We stopped and anchored for a 45-minute snorkeling tour. All of the snorkeling equipment (life jackets, fins, goggles, and masks) were included! The snorkeling was fun and there was a ton of sea life.
Last stop was Isla Mujeres. Those who wanted to get off and swim or go to beach bar for a snack were free to roam about for an hour. The quaint beach bars have amazing grilled food and live music.
LOOK WHAT ELSE I FOUND?!
Can you even believe it? A mini jungle gym on the beach! I caught a quick lift just before sucking down a Tecate light! and inhaling some chicken nachos! SO SUE ME!
I hosted two live workouts from Cancun! One from the RITZ Carlton and one at DREAMS! Take me with you and I do the same! I never miss an opportunity for a poolside, beachside or in gym vaca sweat sesh!
COVID & RE-ENTRY INTO THE US
As of now, it is mandatory to take a rapid antigen covid nasal swab and test negative in order to travel home to the US. DREAMS resort handled all of the tests on-site. We never had to leave the resort property. Upon check-in, we were instructed to schedule a test (72 hours prior to travel) with the concierge. We had to show our passports for scheduling but not all had to be present. At a designated time, we were greeted in the lobby by a hotel staff member who escorted us to a private room for testing. The rapid results took approximately 20 min and we were cleared to go have fun. The hotel gave us the proper stamped documents to present to the airlines. EASY PEASY!
I can’t even describe the amount of fun that was had. The friendship and fellowship among the parents and our kids was pure harmony. We kept them in the fairway and that’s what friends do and are for..to help you keep your kids in the fairway!
They say it takes a village to raise a child. These are my people! This is my VILLAGE! It has been an honor…a true privilege to walk alongside of these kids (most of them since they were 2 yrs old). From pre-school parties to hide and seek in the front yard. From elementary cotillion to slumber parties. From taking the kids to TP and truth or dare in the closet. From bicycles piled outside my front door on a Summer day to middle schoolboy and girl parties. From first cars and football games, prom homecoming and all the in between it’s mostly been a JOY!
Cheers to the class senior class of 2021! Onward and upward!
Love, be happy, and a little sappy!
Angi
