# [2012] First Trip to Westin Lagunamar



## Mauiwmn (Aug 7, 2012)

We've visited Cancun years ago, so have general idea of area but could use some help with recommendations.  I have searched the threads and can't find specifics on which building or unit # to request.  We'd like best ocean view.

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## jarta (Aug 7, 2012)

KSharpe said:


> We've visited Cancun years ago, so have general idea of area but could use some help with recommendations.  I have searched the threads and can't find specifics on which building or unit # to request.  We'd like best ocean view.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.



http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=710819#post710819

Here's a link to a map of Lagunamar posted on TUG.  The buildings are arranged in 2 semi-circles.  Almost all units have ocean views.  Most guests ask for high.  Buildings 1, 9 and 14 face the ocean.  The rest of the buildings look over the pools to the ocean.  Have fun!   Salty


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## Mauiwmn (Aug 7, 2012)

Thanks Salty.


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## jarta (Aug 7, 2012)

KSharpe,   ...   I haven't been to Lagunamar since this January.  Buildings 10-14 opened just after I left.  I may be wrong, but Building 13 may also look out over the beach, rather than at the pools.  But, the view may be partially obstructed (at least for lower floors) by the resort next door.  I'd avoid Building 13 unless someone posts better information.

Also, the pool surrounded by Buildings 10-14 was conceived to be a pool for adults (like at WKV).  Don't know if it really is.   Salty


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## Mauiwmn (Aug 7, 2012)

Good to know.  We love the adult pool at WKV, so hopefully the new pool is an adult pool.

Many thanks.


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## grgs (Aug 7, 2012)

jarta said:


> I may be wrong, but Building 13 may also look out over the beach, rather than at the pools.  But, the view may be partially obstructed (at least for lower floors) by the resort next door.  I'd avoid Building 13 unless someone posts better information.



I agree with this.  Most of the units at WLR have a good view (especially on the high floors), but there are some less desirable views in bldg. 13.  



jarta said:


> Also, the pool surrounded by Buildings 10-14 was conceived to be a pool for adults (like at WKV).  Don't know if it really is.   Salty



We were just there in June.  I don't remember that this pool is designated for adults officially, but it was much quieter.  

Hope you have a wonderful stay!

Glorian


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## Mauiwmn (Aug 7, 2012)

Was the pool cool in June?

Thanks


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## grgs (Aug 7, 2012)

It was fine.  I hate cold water and didn't have a problem going in.  The ocean was even better!

Glorian


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## Westin5Star (Aug 8, 2012)

We were there in June as well and the pools were fine; keep in mind that I was one of the main complainers about this years ago.  The problem seems to have been fixed over our last 2-3 visits.

BTW, has anyone tried to use the internet at this resort lately?  It was so bad in June that I will not return to this resort until it is fixed!  For those of you visiting, the bandwidth is so slow or non existent that you often cannot even fetch an email.  Wifi for lunch and dinners at restaurants away from the resort were the only time that I was able to get online.


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## K&PFitz (Aug 10, 2012)

I can't tell from the map:  is there a bar near the new pool between buildings 10-14.  I really enjoy the swim-up bar at the original pool.


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## Westin5Star (Aug 10, 2012)

When I was there in June I only went to the main / original pool.  With that said, I am pretty sure that I remember seeing a swim up bar at the new pool.


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## Ken555 (Aug 10, 2012)

Westin5Star said:


> When I was there in June I only went to the main / original pool.  With that said, I am pretty sure that I remember seeing a swim up bar at the new pool.



And we know the pool temperature is secondary to the swim-up bar for you!


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## DavidnRobin (Aug 10, 2012)

Ken555 said:


> And we know the pool temperature is secondary to the swim-up bar for you!



I was thinking the same thing :hysterical:


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## grgs (Aug 10, 2012)

K&PFitz said:


> I can't tell from the map:  is there a bar near the new pool between buildings 10-14.  I really enjoy the swim-up bar at the original pool.



There's a bar there for sure, and I'm pretty sure it was a swim up one.

Glorian


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## mitchandjeanette (Aug 10, 2012)

I would stay in the newer section (buildings 100-800) below is a picture taken from building 500 (with the old colors) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




and this one is taken from building 1100 





I would suggest building 700 or 800 if you want to use both pools.


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## Mauiwmn (Aug 10, 2012)

Great photos.  Thanks for your input.
Kathleen


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## Dsauer1 (Aug 10, 2012)

*Complete Lagunamar Report that might be helpful*

Check out our report on my blog: http://www.travelscribbles2010.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html

The trip report is in 2 parts: check the index for both June and July.


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## Westin5Star (Aug 13, 2012)

Ken555 said:


> And we know the pool temperature is secondary to the swim-up bar for you!





DavidnRobin said:


> I was thinking the same thing :hysterical:



So I was in Alaska the past couple of weeks.  I actually found a swim up bar at a glacier and well .....  What is water temperature?  :rofl:


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## Mauiwmn (Aug 13, 2012)

*Excellent review*

Thanks Dsauer for the very detailed review.  Great insights & photos.

- Kathleen


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## Larry (Aug 14, 2012)

Great information and pictures. We can't wait to go for our trip during Thanksgiving week.


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## thalliday (Aug 14, 2012)

*Westin Lagunamar - Internet*

We were at the Lagunamar June 15-22 and had no problems with the "plug-in" internet or the wifi in either of the rooms.  We were located in building 4


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## Westin5Star (Aug 15, 2012)

Thank you very much for posting your experience.  Unfortunately, I was at the resort the same exact dates that you were and my experience was very different.  I talked with over 10 families about the problems and witnessed several others complaining about it.  The problems were not minor as I they tried to move me to 3 different rooms (4 in total including my original) and I generally had to leave the property to get wifi (even the very slight signal that I could sometimes get in the lobby would not transmit data most of the time).  I also talked several times the front desk manager and concierge, and even once with the GM.  They all acknowledged and were embarrassed by the severe problems.  They even told me that an IT team of 4 people from Orlando had been out recently to analyze the problems and to design a completely new data distribution (I do not recall the name they used) plan.  They told me that these problems started when they opened the new phase and have progressively gotten worse as occupancy increased.  They are just spread way too thin.

The antennas in your devices must just be much stronger than mine  




thalliday said:


> We were at the Lagunamar June 15-22 and had no problems with the "plug-in" internet or the wifi in either of the rooms.  We were located in building 4


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## malyons (Aug 15, 2012)

I just got back from WLR this past Saturday, was my 2nd time there and once again was not disappointed.  We were in room 158/157, which overlooked the ocean to the north (and the on-site Myan ruins which was pretty cool to wake up to!).  Had no issues with our room.  The wifi was pretty weak, though that building is as far away from the lobby as you can get, but I brought a little travel router that I picked up for $19 on sale: 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833181165
looks like its $31 now, either way, this little thing was easy to pack and worked great, we had multiple cell phones and my tablet hooked up to it and had a great connection while in our room all week, was well worth the price for one week alone, and now i have it to take with me on trips in the future.

as for the resort, pool temps were fine!  they did cool off quite a bit with the rain that came in Tues on the front end of Ernesto, but we just spent wed morning in the hot tub .  there is definitely a swim up bar at the new pool. interesting to hear it described as an adult pool, as it has a zero entry section, which i always think about as being more for kids. we always hung at the big pool as my kids like the slide and i like the infinity pool.  the new pool was dead all week, only a few people in it at a time and always chairs available, all while the area around the big pool was packed and you had to get down early to secure a chair.   

I will also give props to the pool concierge, who one day as we came down with our double stroller and 3 kids, noticed we were too late to secure chairs together.  He saw us an had a few chairs 'reserved' for himself with an umbrella that he instantly called us over to and gave to us, and then offered to go get our towels for us.  I never expect this level of service, especially at a timeshare as they're usually more 'do it yourself' resorts, but it certainly made our morning (and earned him a nice tip  )


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## hacker0124 (Aug 15, 2012)

*Westin Laguna Mar*

We are currently visiting Westin Laguna Mar. I will commend you on your choice; great property. The recent expansion has opened 5 new building bringing the property total to 14. The map included in a previous post will help. 

I would recommend buildings 9, 10, 13, 14. Floors 3 and above is our preference. 

This property is configured to provide ocean views from every room; some better than others. Buildings 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 are closest with the best presentation. 

One note; the NEW expansion is currently the "quiet" side with less traffic at the pool. This may change, but the original intent was the NEW expansion would accommodate the quiet and the legacy side would accommodate the activities.

This is our home resort and we love it. Hope you find some useful information.


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## pudgecat (Aug 15, 2012)

Presently we are enjoying the morning view of the pool and sea from Building 3 on our first visit to WLR.  A few issues for us include a noisy neighbor, an inop elevator, and painters on platform right in front of our balcony.  Issues are resolving.  It will be very nicer for those of you coming later in the year -- the renovation work at Oceano restaurant's outside dining area is in full swing (closed).  Stone work continues on the walk outside the main reception area to the fountains.  We love our unit (save for the neighbors) and morning noise.


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## applekor (Aug 15, 2012)

*In building 9*

!hola! We are currently in Building 9 on the top (7th) floor, and are very happy with our room and location.  Since we read about the wifi being weak, I did bring our own router, but the data transfer is still very slow, even from the land line.  It is usable though.  The "new" pool is much quieter and there is a bar there.  I wasn't aware that they served food at the bar, but I did see people eating there yesterday.  The kids aren't as happy with the new pool because it is "boring" though (lol ).  One thing we are feeling is a bummer is the ocean is just filled with seaweed from the storm.  We haven't been able to go in for the whole week.  The staff says it happens a few times a year.  We have also in the past stayed in building 1 and building 5 and have always been happy with our view.


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## Creative (Aug 17, 2012)

*rooms at laguna mar*

Hi, We were at the Lagunamr in april 2012 and stayed in room 763 building 7? really lovely views as all those rooms from 763 thru 766 are. we had both the one bed and lock off think the lock off was 764. hope this helps great resort although i agree with the poor internet service in rooms.


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## sun2star (Aug 25, 2012)

I was wondering if any of the cell phones and tablets were Android devices.


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## Westin5Star (Aug 26, 2012)

sun2star said:


> I was wondering if any of the cell phones and tablets were Android devices.



Yes our tablets and phones are all android devices. I did meet some that had problems that had apple devices as well.


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## malyons (Aug 26, 2012)

we used a combination of android and apple, all worked fine.  android phone and tablet, iphone(s)


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## kyfonky (Aug 27, 2012)

hacker0124 said:


> .........
> 
> This is our home resort and we love it. Hope you find some useful information.



I'm thinking in buying Starwood TS, but a resale; I've been at Lagunamar, and except for the beach (some other resorts have a better beach), the resort is great; I would certanly come back again.

Having said that, I'd like to buy a resale in Lagunamar, but as it is not a "mandatory" resort, I know I will not be able to trade into the internal Starwood system, but trhu II only.

I'd like to know any experiencies trading SVO thur II; I know there is a priority for SVO owners (I guess 60 days or something), but also know that it might be tricky the way Starwood releases the inventory.   

Also, how much trading poder does a 1BR platinum Westin Lagunamar have? I'm thinking for trading into ski seassons resorts at either SVO or other similar quality resorts (such as Marriott or Hyatt) and Summer Florida beaches or SoCal beaches?

How easy is trading SVO thru II?

Thanks


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## bobpark56 (Jan 15, 2013)

malyons said:


> ....The wifi was pretty weak, though that building is as far away from the lobby as you can get, but I brought a little travel router that I picked up for $19 on sale:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833181165
> looks like its $31 now, either way, this little thing was easy to pack and worked great, we had multiple cell phones and my tablet hooked up to it and had a great connection while in our room all week, was well worth the price for one week alone, and now i have it to take with me on trips in the future.
> ....



Thanks for your recommendation about carrying a pocket travel router. I picked one up when CrystalView travel routers popped up on Woot for $21 (a great buy). It works like a charm...once you learn how, as the instructions are confusing.

We are now on the 8th floor of building 2, and the travel router has more than tripled our download speed and done much better than that for upload speeds. Also, we can use both our new MacBook Air and iPad at the same time. I'm now a big fan of travel routers. I just wish more resorts and hotels offered ethernet connections as Lagunamar does.

  --bp


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## SMHarman (Jan 17, 2013)

I was in building 9 on the 6th floor (962) and that has wifi points in the units.
I got 20Mbs down and up from the free wifi!
Friends in 963 found the same.


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## bobpark56 (Jan 18, 2013)

SMHarman said:


> I was in building 9 on the 6th floor (962) and that has wifi points in the units.
> I got 20Mbs down and up from the free wifi!
> Friends in 963 found the same.



YMMV...in Building 2, 8th floor, Lagunamar's WiFi is effectively unusable...painful at best. Thank God for my travel router.
  --bp


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## SMHarman (Jan 23, 2013)

bobpark56 said:


> YMMV...in Building 2, 8th floor, Lagunamar's WiFi is effectively unusable...painful at best. Thank God for my travel router.
> --bp


Here is my speedtest.net result.


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## bobpark56 (Jan 23, 2013)

SMHarman said:


> Here is my speedtest.net result.



I think that also depends on the time of day. The results you posted are much like ones I observed earlier. But at the moment, I'm down by a factor of 10...though still with a decent ping.


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## bogwarrior (Apr 8, 2013)

*Laguna Mar*

We just got back from Cancun Laguna Mar and had a great time! We were in room 734 (build 7) 3rd floor and had a 2-bedroom lock-out. Next time we will for sure ask for a higher level room, but the view was still great! It's the Westin, spacious rooms and no real issues. Wi-Fi not strong and came and went, but then again, we were on vacay and enjoyed the pools, which were very warm and the beach. Their were red flags placed on the beach where there were undercurrents, and we just stayed in the yellow flag zone. My 3 and 7 year old enjoyed the sand and warm waters and the Lifeguards brought us beach chairs. 

We attended Italian night, it was OK, not worth the $120. The mall across the way has Chilis, Planet Hollywood and Johnny Rockets. The Outback is also walking distance. Bus service was awesome! $4 for the whole family to be dropped off in front of Walmart to grocery shop. Bus pick up/drop off in front of hotel! Lunch at the Westin wasn't priced that bad - HUGE angus cheeseburger with fries $15 (if you are an owner make sure you get your 20% discount card from the concierge). Happy hour from 3-4 pm by the pool, 2-for-1 drinks! Be careful with the tiny ants in the kitchen. We left cereal for the kids and Ritz crackers on the counter-top overnight and the next morning we had a whole bunch of very fast tiny, red ants scurrying away. Highchairs available if you let them know you need one. Little grocery shop in hotel, not great. Had basics but pricey ($7.50 for a small bottle of Ragu). Kids Club was ok. Nice miniature golf area for the whole family. Slide in kids pool area was fun and water was warm. $80 cash if you need to see the on-site doctor- we found out the hard way.

Overall great service and will for sure go back! Oh! We also flew Aer Mexico. CA, Mexico City, Cancun. Great airline! provided free beer and a croissant sandwich snack on the evening route.


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## Mauiwmn (Apr 9, 2013)

Bogwarrior,  thanks for the great update.  Will be sure to watch out for the tiny ants.  Always a challenge to keep food tightly sealed.
Glad you had a great trip!


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## Quiding (Apr 9, 2013)

Hi. I am wondering,we are four adults and one 11year old kid,is it possible to get an extra bed for the kid in a one-bedroom premium that sleeps four ppl?

Thanks!


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## SMHarman (Apr 9, 2013)

Quiding said:


> Hi. I am wondering,we are four adults and one 11year old kid,is it possible to get an extra bed for the kid in a one-bedroom premium that sleeps four ppl?
> 
> Thanks!


The Starwood site does indicate that would be possible
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/rooms/amenities/popup.html?propertyID=5646
Details 
ROOM FEATURES
*Heavenly Rollaway Bed (Charge) < What you are asking for.
*Work Desk
Individual Climate Control Air-Conditioning
100% Non-Smoking Villas
Bose® Wave® Music System
*Sleeper Sofa < Which you know is already there
*Furnished Patio or Balcony
*Rollaway Bed < and mentions a non heavenly one here!
*

There is certainly space in there for it.


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## DavidnRobin (May 16, 2013)

Swim up bar


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## Quiding (Jun 4, 2013)

Hi.

It doesn't seems like any building is better than the other just as long as you get a room on a high floor, is this correct?

I am about to book now, 8months out, and just would like a last recommendation what section I should ask for? 700 seems popular  

Never been to Mexico so this will be interesting but I am going with my wife and her parents and I am doing all the booking and want to do a good impression 

Thanks for any input, thanks!


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## djdavid79 (Jun 4, 2013)

We just got back and we had 4 lockoffs and a studio all in building 900, floors 4 and 5. It was great, you overlook the smaller pool. Here's a picture of the view from room 953:


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## levatino (Jun 4, 2013)

Per my converesations....  Starwood will not call it an adult only pool, Rather, a Quiet Pool.

This keeps owners with kids from resentiing paying for a pool they are not allowed to use, while maintaining the idea that pool should remain tranquil.


Paul


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## jarta (Jun 4, 2013)

levatino said:


> Per my converesations....  Starwood will not call it an adult only pool, Rather, a Quiet Pool.
> 
> *This keeps owners with kids from resentiing paying for a pool they are not allowed to use*, while maintaining the idea that pool should remain tranquil.
> 
> ...



The parents are allowed to use the quiet pool any time they want to.  They just shouldn't bring the kids.

Anyway, the quiet pool is much smaller than the family pools.  It is not near the Viento restaurant and swim-up bar.  There is no volleyball area.  There is no slide for the bigger kids.  There is no shallow zero-entry pool for toddlers.  Why would someone with kids want to go to the quiet pool?

I love the quiet pool at WKV and I'm sure I will like the quiet pool at LMR.  Now, if Starwood could only get some of the adults to stop behaving like kids with their self-centered loud and boorish actions like placing 2 sandals, a pair of sunglasses and a tube of suntan lotion on 4 lounges at 8:15 to "use them all day." Then, leave for brunch and return at 11:45 and start their loud yammering on the assumption I am impressed with what they yammer about.  

To each their own.  Sometimes I like the kids better.    Salty


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## djdavid79 (Jun 4, 2013)

jarta said:


> The parents are allowed to use the quiet pool any time they want to.  They just shouldn't bring the kids.



Nothing was mentioned to us about this pool being a quiet pool. It was a bit less active than the other pool, but there were families with children using this pool as well as the other pool the entire week I was there. Both pools do have swim up bars, which was very nice at happy hour. And unlike the infinity pool, there were no activities, which was VERY welcome. 

As Jarta said, the people that were loud an disruptive were the adults. The kids were really well behaved.

And speaking of poorly behaving adults, there was a pushing/shoving fight over pool lounges at the infinity pool. A couple left their folded towels on 2 lounges for over 3 hours. When it got busy a couple was looking for 2 seats together and just moved one of the towels to the other side of the one towel. They were still together, just one towel was moved to an open seat on the other side. And now the new people were able to have 2 seats together as well. About 30 minutes later the original couple comes down and starts yelling and screaming about how their privacy was invaded and how these people had no respect for other people's property. There was no personal property, it was just the resort towels, no sunglasses, no flip flops, no book, nothing that was a real issue for why the towel couldn't have been moved. There wasn't even an umbrella at any of the seats. It was nuts, and everyone at the pool was sitting there with their jaws dropped. Especially when the new couple started pushing and shoving. Security showed up really quickly and escorted the original towel people away. This happened on Sunday and they were there the rest of the week. Honestly, I was surprised to see them later that same day. I'm not sure what I thought the resort would have done, but I think EVERYONE staying at the resort knew who they were and what had happened. Nobody went near them the rest of the week. It was probably the most shocking thing I have seen happen at a Starwood resort.


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## Mauiwmn (Jun 4, 2013)

DJDavid79, thanks for the great photo.

Your story about the towel couple was quite amusing.


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## SMHarman (Jun 4, 2013)

jarta said:


> Anyway, the quiet pool is much smaller than the family pools.  It is not near the Viento restaurant and swim-up bar.  There is no volleyball area.  There is no slide for the bigger kids.  There is no shallow zero-entry pool for toddlers.  Why would someone with kids want to go to the quiet pool?


My 2yr old loves the 'quiet pool' as she can float in and out of her depth at the beach 'zero entry' edge.  Also, she was pretty quiet in there


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## levatino (Jun 4, 2013)

jarta said:


> The parents are allowed to use the quiet pool any time they want to.  They just shouldn't bring the kids.



Alas, according to my on-site senior staff member, I doubt you will find Starwood, a family oriented timeshare sales company, speaking quite in those terms.  But you may know more than me (or him/her)...


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## Ågent99 (Jun 26, 2013)

We (wife, daughter (11), and myself) just got back from Lagunamar and I thought I'd add my two cents about Cancun and the resort in general.

We were in a 1BD premium in room 567 (Building 5, 6th floor).  Frankly, I think all the upper level rooms have fantastic views.  The buildings were well thought out and situated for views.  The beach is awesome...the waves fine even in red zones (of which you mostly have).  You can walk for hours up and down the beach it is so long.  We had maybe 4 days of clouds and 2 of rain within that and the rest of the time it was sunny.

The internet access is horrible and meager at best. Midnight to early AM is is fine.  When you check-in, ask for an Access Point.  You will probably be put on a wait list.  They will take a 300 pesos (or maybe that was dollars?) deposit...fully-refundable upon return.  It is basically a pocket router.  Once we got ours, life surfing was back to normal.  My Android phone and kid's iPad worked well once this baby was plugged in.

You get free valet parking so use it...very convenient.  On that note about car rental, it was the motivation for my post.  I am wondering if using taxi and bus would be easier but we usually rent a car.  I went through American Express for car rental and got 2 weeks for $160 for a midsize (Chevy Aveo...perfect for the 3 of us and some bags).  Quite good, I think.  At the Alamo depot in Cancun, they have a placard on the counter that informs you of the legal need for xxx insurance of $14 ($14.27 I think) per day on your rental despite whatever other insurance you have.  Amex offers complete coverage of everything under the sun for like $18 so I always reject anything but they were insistent that it was law.  The alternative to paying this is that they will take a $2500 deposit (fully refundable?  I believe so) so I just took the "cheaper" route and suddenly my $160 car rental more than doubled.  I'm thinking I should have done the large deposit but I'm sure they use such a large number to scare you.  I guess it worked.  I didn't have this issue in Cabo in 2010 when I rented there.  Maybe someone can educate me better here.

Exchange rates for dollars into pesos.  I'm sure there are TONS of threads on how to get the most foreign currency per dollar.  I'll just relate my experience in Cancun.  The hotel offers 11.7 pesos per dollar straight up.  The gas stations (Pexmex...the only game in town??) will give 11.5.  Most other places are 10-11.  Even using your credit card, they still rape you and adjust the rate down.  In fact, when I filled up for gas, the guy kept swiping my Amex and declining it...same with my Visa (they were both fine...used them for groceries and everywhere else no problem).  He basically didn't want me to pay with CC!!  I was even told at one gas station that the CC machine was down for an hour.  They want you to pay with cash, clearly.  They also aren't in any hurry to give you change.  When all was said and done with my one fill up, I paid $40 for $32 (according to my CC that was declined) of gas!  Ugh.

If I were to go again, I'd search locally here in the states for the best exchange rate...find out what Lagunamar is offering, and bring about $500 worth and use cash everywhere until you are out.  The only place where I got a nice exchange rate was at the duty free store at the airport when we were flying back home.  I got 13.6 there using my credit card...they even listed the exchange rate on the receipt.

We visited Tulum and Chichen Itza: both were awesome and for both, we had guides that made the experience even better.  We drove to Tulum (no problems) but didn't bring enough cash...take at least 500 pesos (~$50).  Oh, BRING BUG SPRAY...WE GOT EATEN ALIVE BY MOSQUITOES.

For Chichen Itza, we took a guided tour there.  We paid about $300 for the 3 of us: TOTALLY WORTH IT.  The company that the Lagunamar uses is excellent.  You take a very comfortable bus from Quintana Roo (where Cancun is located) to Yucatan and it is about 2.5-3 hours.  You get a reasonable breakfast on the bus.  Once at Chichen Itza, the guides take care of getting you tickets/passes/etc. for getting in.  It is hot and humid here...VERY HOT AND HUMID.  You sweat like crazy...bring water BUT they also provide water for you...much as you want.  Our guide was crazy good...he really loved to talk but it was all very interesting.  The Mayan civilization is something else...I want to study them now!  After the tour of Chichen Itza, we were all tired, sweaty, sticky, and hot as can be.  As we headed to the bus, guess what awaited us?  Yes, ICE COLD CORONA...much as you wanted.  It was the best beer I ever had in my life! :whoopie: I downed a couple...I wasn't driving!  They also had water, juice, and soda, which my wife and kid had.  After the tour, they took us to a buffet to chow down.  The food was included...but not drinks.  After the buffet, we were taken to a cenote (sinkhole) for some awesome swimming.  After the hot sweltering day at the pyramids, the chilled fresh water of the cenote was heaven.  Then we mostly slept for the long but comfortable bus ride back to the resort.  We did this on Father's Day...the best father's day I ever had!!!

We tend to not partake in eating out too much.  With Costco and Supermarta (Wall Mart grocery store), we just loaded up on groceries and did our own food, used the grills, etc.  If you like chips, be careful in picking up what looks like familiar Cheetos or Doritos.  It seems they spice everything up there...you should see a little chilli pepper on the bag.  Poor me, I had to scarf the Doritos and Cheetos myself since my wife and kid didn't like them.  They do have the normal kind...you just have to look for it.

Cancun is a bit confusing driving around in.  They have lots of traffic circles which I'm not used to navigating around.  They also label the street names differently.  I often couldn't figure out which street name went with what street.  We got lost a few times.  Out on the Hotel Zone, it is easy...there is only one road.

There is A LOT you can do in Cancun: scuba, snorkel, jet ski, parasailing and other places like Xcarta and Xel Ha are large theme type park areas on the coast.  Cozumel and Isla Mujeres are islands you can take a ferry to.  The pyramids are awesome and more our cup of tea over the other stuff but I'm game for that next time we head out there.

Oh, with our home resort on Maui, we didn't have any issues getting into Lagunamar at the 8 month window but we weren't able to do Harborside.  Harborside is next on our list so I suspect I'll need to trade with someone to get in.  We'd go back to Cancun in a heartbeat...wonderful beach and tons of things to do.


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## Ågent99 (Jun 26, 2013)

Oh, one other thing I should mention.  Our room had a smoke detector in it.  It flashed green LEDs every 5 or 10 seconds.  If that kind of things drives you nuts in a dark room when you are trying to sleep, bring a couple inches of black electrical tape to put over them.  I told my wife when we come back that we should try and get the same room and see if the tape is still there! 

Also, bring multi-outlet plug-ins.  You know, you plug in an adapter that converts the one plug into 3, for example.  There seems to be a decent lack of plugs in the rooms.  Plugs from the US work just fine in Mexico.


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## Sea Six (Jun 26, 2013)

DavidnRobin said:


> Swim up bar



That pool is AWESOME!


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## bobpark56 (Jun 26, 2013)

Ågent99 said:


> If I were to go again, I'd search locally here in the states for the best exchange rate...find out what Lagunamar is offering, and bring about $500 worth and use cash everywhere until you are out.  The only place where I got a nice exchange rate was at the duty free store at the airport when we were flying back home.  I got 13.6 there using my credit card...they even listed the exchange rate on the receipt.



There is a bank ATM (Scotia) across the street and south about 2 blocks , or the equivalent thereof. You will get a fair exchange rate there. You can also get a fair exchange rate at the red bank ATM at the airport (I think it is HSBC). It's on the left after clearing customs, just before you run the gauntlet of folks trying to offer you a "good deal" on timeshares, etc.

Are you sure you got  a 13.6 rate? The current bank rate is 13.15, which is about as good as it has been for over a year.


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## Ågent99 (Jun 26, 2013)

Pretty sure...I had a lot of time to kill so I calculated it.  The printed how many dollars per peso right on the receipt and it was something like 0.074xxxxxxx so invert that I got 13.6.  Now that wasn't the bottom line since AMEX charges a transaction fee so perhaps a tad less.


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