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Lagunamar [Merged]

triangulum33

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Dioxide, thanks for the update. I didnt see that thread in my search and will post any questions there. :rolleyes:

Moderators: please delete this thread if you feel appropriate.
 

dioxide45

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Dioxide, thanks for the update. I didnt see that thread in my search and will post any questions there. :rolleyes:

Moderators: please delete this thread if you feel appropriate.
I have requested they merge the threads.
 

blondietink

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Question ..... do they still give you a bottle of laundry detergent for the washer in the villa?
 

SMHarman

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Hi,
We are staying at Lagunamar in a few weeks and have a couple questions:

  1. Should we rent a car? We are planning on a Cozumel dive as well as a day exploring Cozumel, a possible trip to Xelha/Xcaret and some dinners in Cancun.
  2. Is Xcaret/Xelha worth the cost and travel time? We have a 10yo boy and 8yo girl.
  3. Are the owners updates more pushy than the other properties? Our past experiences in Mexico had somebody trying to hard sell us around every corner.
  4. Any other tips?
Thanks!

1. Yes. My post on car rental is long overdue.
2. Yes
3. Owners updates are low key but why waste your time
4. It's in this thread
 

cubigbird

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Question ..... do they still give you a bottle of laundry detergent for the washer in the villa?

Yes they still give you one, a decent size one at that. They also give you dish washer soap as well.
 
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dsmrp

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We're here now, 2nd day, and it's very nice. DH is impressed with connections for TV have HDMI front and center for Roku and other things, compared to other TSs.The larger sizes of dish and laundry detergent is great too.

We signed up for owners update only to get discount on Chichen Itza tour and the $125 credit. DH didn't want to drive.

Weather's great and place is full. My only complaint is the kitchen service for day time is so slow. Both Saturday & Sunday a 45+ min wait for food, ordering at 1:30!

We got a nice villa assignment IMO, bldg 14 top floor. Great view of ocean & beach. I just requested a high floor.
 

triangulum33

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Is the water and ice drinkable or do we have to stick with bottled water?

**sorry for the post above (#274). didnt realize many of those questions had been addressed already.**
 

dioxide45

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Is the water and ice drinkable or do we have to stick with bottled water?

**sorry for the post above (#274). didnt realize many of those questions had been addressed already.**
Many people drink water in the hotel zone. The big resorts filter their water. However, I would still use bottled water for drinking and making coffee. Ice should be fine as they either use filtered water or the ice is brought in daily and made elsewhere with the same water that ends up in bottles.

I brush my teeth with tap water but always drink bottled water. If we have drinks at the pool, they will certainly have ice and we have had no issues.
 

okwiater

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We were told at Lagunamar that the resort water was filtered and safe to drink. However, it had a bit of an odd odor so we drank bottled water due to taste rather than health concerns. Used tap for brushing teeth and ice. Ordered and drank icy beverages at other restaurants in the hotel zone. No problems for any of us.
 

r1lee

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I had a little bit of montezuma's revenge. Not sure where I got it from though, but thank god my mil brought some probiotic pills that helped a lot.
 

blondietink

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We have always used the water at Lagunamar for making Kool-aid and other things. Never had a problem, but then again we are used to well water at home.
 

SeattleJohn2

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As a couple of others have said, thanks for the recommendations for Lagunamar! We are taking our first trip there next week so having some idea of the do's and don'ts will make our week even better :)

A couple of more questions...

Any restaurants that we should look at making reservations? The first week of April will be pretty busy and we don't want to miss out on a great dining experience.

Do timeshare owners have any privileges at the Westin resort just south of Lagunamar? I know people staying at the villas at Kierland can use the hotel amenities (which was great!) but I wasn't sure if this was the case in Cancun.

Has anyone gone to the Wet-n-Wild water park? My kids love water slides and I don't think the one at the Lagunamar is going to do it for them (at least based on the pics).

Thanks again! Love this group :)
 

dioxide45

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Do timeshare owners have any privileges at the Westin resort just south of Lagunamar? I know people staying at the villas at Kierland can use the hotel amenities (which was great!) but I wasn't sure if this was the case in Cancun.

No, you won't have access. They are also doing heavy renovations to convert the hotel to timeshare. It is open, but even if you did have reciprocal privileges, I don't think you would want to go during the renovations.

Has anyone gone to the Wet-n-Wild water park? My kids love water slides and I don't think the one at the Lagunamar is going to do it for them (at least based on the pics).

We have never been, but I have never seen it very highly rated. I would stick to an ecopark for a day like Xel-Ha.
 

SeattleJohn2

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I see the comment about Cancun booking up quickly during Week 51 and 52 - does that happen during Spring Break week too?

We are thinking about Cancun for March 31-April 7 2018 and curious if this would likely be full at 8 months out.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thank you!

Best,

Greg

We booked the first week of April about 6 months out. The strange thing was when we first looked, there were only studios available. A couple of weeks later there were 2BR, 1BR and studios available too. I guess the lesson is if you don't see what you want, keep checking!
 

blahblah18

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At Lagunamar right now, for our first-ever visit.

Based on the reviews and commentary here, we were incredibly excited to come.

Now that we're here, I'm disappointed.

Perhaps it's overwhelmed by massive spring break crowds, but it's just not a great experience.

Pool chair hogs were out before 7am grabbing as many chairs as they could, then scampering off. (My rant about that is in the Chair Hog thread.)

Lunch at Viento: an absolute eternity to get food. Then, two of our four entrees were ice cold. The server was a very nice guy, but - when asked why the delay and unacceptable food - explained that he just brings the food that they give him.

In the pool, a group of children laughed and giggled as they screamed "build that wall" over and over ... while their Mexican hosts working here just politely ignored it. Their parents thought it was quite funny, though. Utterly offensive.

24 hours in, and it's my only disappointing Vistana/SVN experience to date. I really hope it improves.
 

tinkerbell2

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At Lagunamar right now, for our first-ever visit.

Based on the reviews and commentary here, we were incredibly excited to come.

Now that we're here, I'm disappointed.

Perhaps it's overwhelmed by massive spring break crowds, but it's just not a great experience.

Pool chair hogs were out before 7am grabbing as many chairs as they could, then scampering off. (My rant about that is in the Chair Hog thread.)

Lunch at Viento: an absolute eternity to get food. Then, two of our four entrees were ice cold. The server was a very nice guy, but - when asked why the delay and unacceptable food - explained that he just brings the food that they give him.

In the pool, a group of children laughed and giggled as they screamed "build that wall" over and over ... while their Mexican hosts working here just politely ignored it. Their parents thought it was quite funny, though. Utterly offensive.

24 hours in, and it's my only disappointing Vistana/SVN experience to date. I really hope it improves.

As I read your post , I am truly surprised and shocked at your overall experience. We own at Lagunamar and usually go in the first week of March ( school break in Canada ) , and during that period the atmosphere is quite the opposite, although chairs were a bit of an issue but the employees were reinforcing their rule and picking up your stuff if the chairs were left unattended too long.

Try the brunch , & have a Mimosa or 2 to wrap it up : this is a real treat for us and is worth every penny !

Hopefully things will improve....

Rina


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Tucsonadventurer

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At Lagunamar right now, for our first-ever visit.

Based on the reviews and commentary here, we were incredibly excited to come.

Now that we're here, I'm disappointed.

Perhaps it's overwhelmed by massive spring break crowds, but it's just not a great experience.

Pool chair hogs were out before 7am grabbing as many chairs as they could, then scampering off. (My rant about that is in the Chair Hog thread.)

Lunch at Viento: an absolute eternity to get food. Then, two of our four entrees were ice cold. The server was a very nice guy, but - when asked why the delay and unacceptable food - explained that he just brings the food that they give him.

In the pool, a group of children laughed and giggled as they screamed "build that wall" over and over ... while their Mexican hosts working here just politely ignored it. Their parents thought it was quite funny, though. Utterly offensive.

24 hours in, and it's my only disappointing Vistana/SVN experience to date. I really hope it improves.
If you ask an attendant they will happily get you chairs together. We were impressed with how they went above and beyond when we asked them to help. They remembered us and chatted with us every day after. I was initially distressed when we got there the first day and couldn't find chairs but after that 1st day we knew we had help. It is good to keep some tip money in your beach bag. I am impressed with how helpful and friendly staff is and how hard they work. we were there last week .
 

dioxide45

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At Lagunamar right now, for our first-ever visit.

Based on the reviews and commentary here, we were incredibly excited to come.

Now that we're here, I'm disappointed.

Perhaps it's overwhelmed by massive spring break crowds, but it's just not a great experience.

Pool chair hogs were out before 7am grabbing as many chairs as they could, then scampering off. (My rant about that is in the Chair Hog thread.)

Lunch at Viento: an absolute eternity to get food. Then, two of our four entrees were ice cold. The server was a very nice guy, but - when asked why the delay and unacceptable food - explained that he just brings the food that they give him.

In the pool, a group of children laughed and giggled as they screamed "build that wall" over and over ... while their Mexican hosts working here just politely ignored it. Their parents thought it was quite funny, though. Utterly offensive.

24 hours in, and it's my only disappointing Vistana/SVN experience to date. I really hope it improves.
Sorry to hear that your first impression isn't a positive one. I would suspect that spring break is perhaps the reason being the chair hog issue. As noted, ask the staff for help, if you tip them, they will continue to be very helpful throughout your stay. I did read another mention of the delay when ordering food at Viento. Not sure what the cause of that was, Perhaps not enough staff to support it. Have you tried ordering over at the smaller pool. I believe their food comes from Duna. They may be a little faster and the pool may be quieter with fewer unruly kids.

I do agree the kids in the pool are very disrespectful. I certainly wouldn't expect the pool attendants to say anything. Really, unfortunately, other guests need to step up and tell them to knock it off. Or perhaps they can build a wall to keep those kids out of Mexico.
 

Tucsonadventurer

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Sorry to hear that your first impression isn't a positive one. I would suspect that spring break is perhaps the reason being the chair hog issue. As noted, ask the staff for help, if you tip them, they will continue to be very helpful throughout your stay. I did read another mention of the delay when ordering food at Viento. Not sure what the cause of that was, Perhaps not enough staff to support it. Have you tried ordering over at the smaller pool. I believe their food comes from Duna. They may be a little faster and the pool may be quieter with fewer unruly kids.

I do agree the kids in the pool are very disrespectful. I certainly wouldn't expect the pool attendants to say anything. Really, unfortunately, other guests need to step up and tell them to knock it off. Or perhaps they can build a wall to keep those kids out of Mexico.
Good point about guests stepping up in a nice way to talk with the kids. We had some spring break college student who were befriended by many of the parents in the pool and spa. Lots of tips on staying safe and watching out for each other. It was sweet to witness. They were all nice kids .There was a great t shirt at the mall across the street. The front said " Make Cancun great again" The back read " Build a wall and bill Puerto Villarta"
 

blahblah18

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Good to know that we can get chairs if we ask (and tip) in spite of all of the hogging masses. Thanks.

At the end of our pool day today, we both remarked how odd it was that - in spite of lots of pool staff - not a single one stopped at our seats to say hello or ask if we needed anything. Some (but not all) of the people around us were receiving drinks and food at their chairs. (We managed fine by self-serving at the bar, but found it odd that not a soul ever checked in with us.). I guess we need to seek them out. The Pool Concierges also seemed to selectively pick guests to speak with. We weren't among the chosen ones. Again, we managed just fine. It was all just odd and a bit off-putting.

Perhaps my first impressions have tainted my overall view, but - unlike Kierland or Kaanapali - this just feels like a big, impersonal institution. And a big institution currently with more guests than it can handle well.

I know I'm in the vast minority here on this forum, but unfortunately I just don't see us coming back.
 

blondietink

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Granted, we have never been to Lagunamar when it is busy, such as Spring Break, but I think all you need to do is flag one of the pool waiters or concierges by waving your hand when they are walking near you to get their attention. When it gets close to happy hour time, usually the waiters will walk around yelling about happy hour starting soon and we get their attention and place an order. Once they know you want something, they will keep checking back. Start a conversation and they will remember you. Heck, when we decided to hang out at the beach instead of the pool and both the pool concierge and waiter saw us at the beach and came out to check on us. Again, we have never been there during a busy time, but have found everybody to be very friendly once they get to know you.
 

dsmrp

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At Lagunamar right now, for our first-ever visit.

Based on the reviews and commentary here, we were incredibly excited to come.

Now that we're here, I'm disappointed.

Perhaps it's overwhelmed by massive spring break crowds, but it's just not a great experience.

Pool chair hogs were out before 7am grabbing as many chairs as they could, then scampering off. (My rant about that is in the Chair Hog thread.)

Lunch at Viento: an absolute eternity to get food. Then, two of our four entrees were ice cold. The server was a very nice guy, but - when asked why the delay and unacceptable food - explained that he just brings the food that they give him.

In the pool, a group of children laughed and giggled as they screamed "build that wall" over and over ... while their Mexican hosts working here just politely ignored it. Their parents thought it was quite funny, though. Utterly offensive.

24 hours in, and it's my only disappointing Vistana/SVN experience to date. I really hope it improves.

Sorry too you're not having as good experience . We're at WLR now too, and overall the resort and Cancun hotel zone have been great. DH usually likes where we vacation, but not enough to go back cause there's too many places in the world to see and too little time. But he said just yesterday , we'll be back. ...maybe not next year , but year after.

I was the one who posted about slow service on 1st day, both at Viento and Duna. However that was on the weekend ,and the wait staff were attentive , but obvious it was something inefficient in the kitchen. On Tuesday per DH, the service at poolside from Duna was much better, about 20 min to get food . However about 2 hrs after being served, no check. DH thought since he gave them the room number and discount card, that they'd charge to the room. Later that day, we got a phone msg that he needed to sign the bill, and a server brought the bill up to our villa. DH wanted to put a small tip on the charge , but the waitstaff guy apologized and said no tip.

We do prefer the small pool area over the main pool. My friends here too, have observed the pool staff removing chair claimers stuff after about 45 min. This was around 9:30, and the people came back within an hour of the removal. Everything cordial between the staff and guests . So good to know they are still enforcing the rules.

Sorry to hear that your first impression isn't a positive one. I would suspect that spring break is perhaps the reason being the chair hog issue. As noted, ask the staff for help, if you tip them, they will continue to be very helpful throughout your stay. I did read another mention of the delay when ordering food at Viento. Not sure what the cause of that was, Perhaps not enough staff to support it. Have you tried ordering over at the smaller pool. I believe their food comes from Duna. They may be a little faster and the pool may be quieter with fewer unruly kids.

I do agree the kids in the pool are very disrespectful. I certainly wouldn't expect the pool attendants to say anything. Really, unfortunately, other guests need to step up and tell them to knock it off. Or perhaps they can build a wall to keep those kids out of Mexico.

I agree, it's spring break and guest volumes which are contributing to the delays. We haven't seen the pool boys coming round to us, mainly cause we go down in late morning when most chairs are taken. One did try to help DH find a small table, but all were being used, so nothing he could do.

It's discouraging that those kids were disrespectful of their surroundings and location. But I blame the parents...they're likely the source of what those kids were yelling. Or maybe parents thought they didn't need to correct their kids cause they're on vacation o_O IMO you're never on vacation on being a parent.

DH is usually careful about talking politics with strangers , but said he had a good poolside discussion with another guest. He thought it interesting that by race, age and political party, he and the other guy, defied the usual stereotypes :cool:.
 
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dsmrp

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I will try to post later today about our "owner update".
 
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