Mar 15, 2009 - TO - Hotel Riu Caribé, Cancun

Sunday, Mar 15, 2009

We awoke at some ungodly hour like 0330, so that we could reach the airport at 0500, leaving our car and obtaining a lift from Lynda’s brother, Rob, who lives nearby. We purchased a few paperbacks to read during out trip, one of mine being Jeffery Archers’ “A Prisoner of Birth”, which I recommend, and had a little nosh at Timmy’s. The flight to Montreal was on schedule, leaving at 0800, bags checked straight through to Cancun, with a 1 hr 10 min layover before the connecting flight’s Cancun departure. The 5 hr flight was uneventful, but for the surprise that any food was pay as you go - like $7 for a simple sandwich! So, mostly out of principle, but thankfully because of our earlier nosh, we gutted it out. They did have several good movies for freebie viewing, though, such as “Australia” and “Body of Lies” (Ridley Scott movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe).

Recognizing the 2 hr time zone difference, we arrived in Cancun ten minutes or so earlier than scheduled, around 1300. Despite being warned, as we exited customs into the airport, we were asked our hotel destination and directed to what we thought was related tourist info. After providing a series of recommendations of place to see and related costs, the pitch then turned to a recommendation to buy discounted tour packages because of a promotion, which we declined. Our bus drove away at maybe 1430, with only Riu Caribé people. Because it was Sunday, traffic was light, and we got to the Riu in 20 minutes. Along the way, a section just south of the Hilton Hotel (18 km mark – see below) was highlighted for the 1st panoramic view we were to have of the sea - and sensational it was!

At the Riu, the group had a quick group meeting and was given room cards - all but us. In reading all the hotel reviews, the Riu Caribé was highly rated among all hotels in the hotel zone. Because it is large (498 rooms) and popular, there are naturally many reviews, and some are negative. Among the repeating negatives were “hard beds” (which could be improved with a “topper” - FYI, the beds weren’t “hard”) and people arriving at the front desk, only to discover that a room hadn’t been assigned and being relegated to the “dungeon” or having to battle for the room with the amenities and view that had been purchased. My only fundamental concern was if we were to arrive at a peak period and not have a “satisfactory” room. Sure enough, for reasons unknown, the individual responsible for assigning rooms from the manifest missed us.

Up we went to Room 876 (facing the sea, its left wing). Unless the outside view either of the 2 wings of the Riu Caribé is attractive to you (i.e. lots of demolition views or parking and limited sea), you don’t want any room that ends in an even number). Visualize a long section with 2 angled wings that frame the sea, where the long (back) section has a corridor with open windows to the lagoon side and door entrances to rooms on the sea side. Visualize yourself walking right to the end, then turning up the wing (which has rooms on each side of its corridor) - your room is the 1st on the outside of the wing.

Quickly down to the lobby and a quick change to Room 817 (facing the sea, its right wing) - 2nd last room from the end. The Ocean Deluxe rooms are in the center section and wings of the hotel (466 rooms, all except the 32 Junior Suites, 2 of which cap the end of each wing corridor, with wraparound balconies of the inward wing view as well as well as a 180 degree view from a wraparound balcony that also directly faces the sea). If there were an “ideal” location for an Ocean Deluxe room, it would probably be (facing the sea) to the left (N) of the centre section, such that there were a view not obscured by the right wing to the S, enabling a view of the sunrise as well as the point on which the Riu Palace and Riu Cancun are located a couple of km away - the prettier of the sea views. We could have relocated without much trouble, I am certain, but we were quite satisfied with the view and, in any event, spent no time at all on the balcony.

The coloration of the sea is simply spectacular, a range of azures created by whether the bottom is white sand or rock or plant growth. The beach area is relatively short and not continuous sand on either side, which tends to be relatively rocky terrain. I understand that the sand used to be continuous throughout the entire 23 km or so length of the hotel zone until 4 years or so when hurricanes Wilma and Dean tore it up in 2005. One of the staff in Riu Cancun said that it is only at Hotel Melia (the 11 km mark and higher that it is a continuous stretch). If you visualize the figure “7”, with the top left being the city of Cancun and the hotel zone being the hotel zone’s 23 km, Riu Caribé is in the middle (5.7 km mark) of the top (N). The airport is maybe another 10 km below (S) the bottom.

We didn’t touch a drop throughout our time of any of the 4 bottles of booze in a vertical dispenser that is regularly replenished - more relaxing to have the bartenders make a proper drink. We had a mini fridge that was fully maintained with bottled water in 2 sizes and any soft drinks we wished. The rooms had “regular” electrical outlets, polished stone floors, and a very handsome bathroom, with a vault of a bathtub and shower, hair drier for the missus provided. The rooms were provided with ironing boards and an iron, along with a large wall safe to store up to the size of a laptop, which I used to download and manage digital images, and kept in my luggage with combo lock, although I never had any concern about theft anywhere on the property. Throughout our stay, I tipped our maid, Julia, 50 pesos (10 peso ~ CAN$1.00) after the 1st day and 10 thereafter, and Lynda left her costume jewellery and/or personal care items every day as well.

Each room has towel art, which is a nice touch and changed up every now and then. We understood from another friend, returning from the Mayan Riviera, 1 ½ hr south of Cancun, that maids earn something like $5/day.

The sun sets reasonably early in that part of the world and behind the hotel, so the shadows begin to appear maybe at 1630 or so. Once we got cleared away, we headed down to one of the 3 buffet areas in the hotel - the Gaviotas - overlooking the sea on the one side and against the pool (with concrete bar stools in a huge pool) on the other), to make up for our self-imposed Air Canada starving. It’s buffet style, relatively casual, and doubles as an evening reservation steakhouse. We settled into a table overlooking the beach and its thatched umbrellas with a drink before having a nosh to recharge our batteries.

The Sports Bar is the only area open 24 hours, and it has both bar service and some sandwiches and other snacks. The 3rd area is relatively smart - the Albatros - a great variety of buffet items for each meal and large seating capacity, with views of the pool and interior courtyard along the one side, sea along another, and views from a 3rd wall of windows. There is also a Pizzeria. In addition to the steakhouse, there is an evening reservation Mexican restaurant, Maria Margarita, and Asian restaurant, Shangri-la.

The hotel has entertainment every evening, generally beginning at 2100 for 1 hour. I have read reviews where some describe it as cheesy. Unless this reveal low class breeding and taste, we found the shows we attended to be both entertaining and performed to a high standard - certainly not amateurs, unless you include a separate event one evening within the hotel where guest performed to their karaoke tunes. There are also generally solo or paired vocal and/or instrumental performers beside the hotel bar prior to that time, performing to a large tabled audience throughout the large atrium foyer area of the hotel.

This evening, I can’t recall the theme - believe it was Latin, but it was a male and female dance troupe that performed a number of Las Vegas type routines.


We may have ended the evening being introduced to the hotel barmen and their talents, but we may also have headed for the sack, as our local time was 2 hrs greater than local and we didn’t want to get off to a late start Monday.