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Lagunamar [Merged]

dioxide45

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I don't think there is much of a need to bring any food items unless you have special dietary needs. Grocery items are not expensive in Cancun. If you need more American like cuts of meat, I have heard Costco is the place to go.
 

blondietink

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We did see the dogs sniffing out luggage as it came off the line for pick up the last visit. I thought they were sniffing for drugs, but the porter we grabbed said they were looking for food and drugs. I usually bring those little picnic shakers of salt and pepper along with a few dried herbs I like to cook with and are often nearly impossible to find in foreign countries. For some reason dried granulated garlic and basil are hard to find in the grocery in Mexico and Bahamas. Our first visit I was stopped after we went through customs and the lady asked if I had any food in my carry on. I said no, forgetting I had some candy and rice Krispy treats for on the plane left over. She looked in my carry-on but said they were OK. I guess they were looking for meat products and fruit.

On the subject of food in the grocery stores in Mexico. I am always very confused by the choices of cheese. There are so many and I have no idea what kind of cheese to buy for sandwiches pasta. Mozzarella is impossible to find, but there is such a large variety of Mexican cheese!
 

okwiater

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We took a fair amount of food and cited dietary restrictions (real, not made up). If you don't have dietary restrictions, just buy food in Mexico. As others have stated, there are good places to shop and the prices are less than in the States. However, if you need specific types of items due to allergies or other dietary needs, bring those foods and brands you know to be good. You will see very few familiar brands (at least at Soriana, where we did most of our shopping), and the brands you do recognize frequently have different formulations for the Mexican market.
 

md8287

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And if you like Oreos or other Nabisco treats you will be :) (or :bawl:)to learn they are now made only in Mexico.
 

SeattleJohn2

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We were there earlier this month and stopped at the Walmart store (I don't recall the local brand). It was well-stocked and pretty cheap. The meat was fresh and there were lots of organic choices. I heard Costco is another good option, but we didn't go. Keep the food at home. You're not saving money and apparently there is a good chance it will get nicked. FWIW, we had a single banana in my backpack that I forgotten about and they confiscated it.
 

Tucsonadventurer

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We were there earlier this month and stopped at the Walmart store (I don't recall the local brand). It was well-stocked and pretty cheap. The meat was fresh and there were lots of organic choices. I heard Costco is another good option, but we didn't go. Keep the food at home. You're not saving money and apparently there is a good chance it will get nicked. FWIW, we had a single banana in my backpack that I forgotten about and they confiscated it.
We did the same thing. We had a long lay over so went to the club lounge and I totally forgot I had taken a banana for the flight and never ate it. We have global entry so filled out the form and then the dog came right over to me and sniffed my bag. We were scolded for betraying their trust and told we could loose our global entry for life and have a 500 dollar fine if we did it again. Like I was really trying to sneak a banana into the country. It was pretty embarrassing actually so I am not taking snacks on the plane again.
 

dioxide45

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We did the same thing. We had a long lay over so went to the club lounge and I totally forgot I had taken a banana for the flight and never ate it. We have global entry so filled out the form and then the dog came right over to me and sniffed my bag. We were scolded for betraying their trust and told we could loose our global entry for life and have a 500 dollar fine if we did it again. Like I was really trying to sneak a banana into the country. It was pretty embarrassing actually so I am not taking snacks on the plane again.
With Global Entry, they could have revoked it right then and there. There is zero tolerance with GE, even for that forgotten piece of fruit. There is a very long thread on FlyerTalk about this. People losing GE or Nexus for not declaring items. Though I think that would perhaps only be an issue upon re-entry to the USA?
 

dioxide45

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Received this from our concierge for our upcoming stay;

***The prices to the Oceano Themed Night are as follows (please know that these prices are subject to change without previous notice).
-Monday Night – Mexican Party $450 pesos/person
-Tuesday Night – Chef's Table $900 pesos/person
-Wednesday Night – Steak Night $630 pesos/person
-Friday Night – Asian Night $630 pesos/person

***Oceano Breakfast Buffet - $450 pesos
 

blondietink

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We did go to Mexican night on our last visit. It was quite good and lots of fun with a Mararachi (sp?) band going from table to table singing.
 

r1lee

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With Global Entry, they could have revoked it right then and there. There is zero tolerance with GE, even for that forgotten piece of fruit. There is a very long thread on FlyerTalk about this. People losing GE or Nexus for not declaring items. Though I think that would perhaps only be an issue upon re-entry to the USA?

We were pulled aside when entering the US and they had asked us about fruits. We entered no on our declaration and upon review they told us the baby food was made of fruit. They literally threatened to take away our nexus right there and then and were brought over to a supervisor to decide. He didn't really care and understood the situation. Of course my daughter's passport had also expired so they gave us crap for that (yelling at my wife) but decided to let us go, after I explained to them my wife had just renewed her passport a few weeks before and if we had remembered that children are 3 yrs instead of 5, we would have done it the same time. The agent looked and she calmed down.

It was a traumatic 15min haha.
 

maddog497

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We took some food last time but declared it as my wife has food allergies. We didn't have any issues but there was no dog in our area either.

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triangulum33

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Our subjective observations for our trip 4/15 - 4/24:

Pros
Great, friendly service
All rooms face ocean
Rooms have dual zone cooling
Reasonably priced drinks
Good food food onsite
Beautiful pool and grounds
Great body surfing and boogie boarding
Beautiful beach
Friendly locals
Close to shopping
Owners update was pleasant and not pushy
FREE BEACH CHAIRS AND UMBRELLAS

Cons
No bathroom fan (not very discreet when going #2 when others are in the bedroom or bathroom)
No snorkeling
Ocean not suitable for young children
Security (see below)
Nearby shopping is high-dollar commercialized shopping



USA transfers was outstanding. They were on time, friendly and professional. I would use them again when we go back. I had also planned on using them for Xcaret, but found a better deal (see below). They have drive trips with a highly rated partner dive outfit that I was also looking at but didnt get around to booking

Xcaret was a lot of fun for us and the kids. I would describe it as a zoo and ecopark spread accross large jungle grounds bisected by an underground river and bordered by ocean. The exhibits and activities are separated by a 5-10 minute walk on twisting, undulating paths that go under, over and around the exhibits. I thought the layout and path system had a Disneyland feel to it - just with a Mexican/Mayan theme. As stated above, I had planned on going with USA transfers that offered Xcaret Plus tickets and private van for about $480 for the 4 of us (average price would decrease with additional passengers). After going through the owners update however, we were able to get a discount on the same tickets with bus transfer for $310 total. The bus transfer was lengthy and sort of a pain - on the way there, we had to change busses at a transfer station and on the way back we stopped at about 9 hotels before Lagunamar making the return almost a 2hr trip. For some it could've been worth spending the extra $170…

Isla Mujeres was an awesome day trip. Rent the golf cart, BRING A COOLER and see the island. The little town at the far north of the island is fun to tool around in with lots of little shops. Mia Reef hotel up there has $45/day all inclusive (drink/food) access to their beach and facilities.

Security. The resort entrance is regulated by a guard shack, there are personnel wandering the grounds and the place has a very comfortable, secure feel to it. We had adjacent, but not adjoining 1bd units with friends that came with us. One morning when the kids were going back and forth between rooms, they propped open the doors with the security latch. Later in the day, we came back from the pool to discover that while closed, our door never locked. Someone had come by earlier when the doors were propped open and covered the strike plate with metal tape preventing the bolt from latching. We reported it and maintenance came up and checked it out concluding that someone in their dept had done it to fix something in the room. I was not convinced, but nothing was ever resolved. We recognize its our fault for leaving the doors open, but be careful.
 
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KevSki

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We just arrived yesterday at Lagunmar. The airport was what our concierge said it would be, bunch of people trying to get you to take their transportation. Just kept walking straight through and found the USA Transfers personnel. Quick trip to Lagunamar with a very personable driver named, of all things, Fritz. We have been very impressed with the staff so far, very warm and hospitable. Had a small problem with bathroom plumbing and called Service Express, the one stop phone button for most problems. Maintenance was here in less than 5 minutes and fixed the problem. I have never seen a response that quick anywhere else. Will update more when we get back home.
 

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Regarding best views, after B 100, 900, 1400 which buildings have best ocean views? 800? 1300? I was told by VSE rep I could not request the first (3) buildings I listed but they would note request for other buildings.

TUG Expert opinions greatly appreciated. ;)
 

SMHarman

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Regarding best views, after B 100, 900, 1400 which buildings have best ocean views? 800? 1300? I was told by VSE rep I could not request the first (3) buildings I listed but they would note request for other buildings.

TUG Expert opinions greatly appreciated. ;)
Yes you can request those, or could this winter.

You can request a building or a high / low floor.not a combo.

Submit it through the online salesforce form.

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Mauiwmn

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Thank you for the clarification. I did request high floor and specific building. Which is most important to request? Building # or high floor?
 
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Mauiwmn

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For those looking to book Lagunamar with SO for week 52 it is possible. This was my first year attempting to book this popular week and I was able to secure it with a little patience.

At 12am on 5/1 both 12/31/17 and 1/1/18 dates opened up online. There was no available check in for Sun 12/31/17 arrival so I booked 1/1/18 for 6 nights in a one bedroom prem. I checked throughout the day on 5/1 to see if anything opened up for 12/31 and sure enough it did around 3pm. All villa sizes were available for about an hour! I was able to rebook for a week with Sunday 12/31 arrival in one bedrm prem. So it can payoff to check back on the same day. I suspect that some Lagunamar owners cancelled home reservations on 5/1 as they were able to use SO and book elsewhere at the 8 month window for 12/31/17 or simply a change of plans.

Interestingly enough, the waitlist I added at 9am on 5/1 for 12/31-any size villa never was triggered. There have been many discussions regarding the waitlist issues but it has been dead to me since we went to online reservations. Why do they manually check a few times a day vs writing a software program which would be much cheaper and more effective in the long run?
 

md8287

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For those looking to book Lagunamar with SO for week 52 it is possible. This was my first year attempting to book this popular week and I was able to secure it with a little patience.

At 12am on 5/1 both 12/31/17 and 1/1/18 dates opened up online. There was no available check in for Sun 12/31/17 arrival so I booked 1/1/18 for 6 nights in a one bedroom prem. I checked throughout the day on 5/1 to see if anything opened up for 12/31 and sure enough it did around 3pm. All villa sizes were available for about an hour! I was able to rebook for a week with Sunday 12/31 arrival in one bedrm prem. So it can payoff to check back on the same day. I suspect that some Lagunamar owners cancelled home reservations on 5/1 as they were able to use SO and book elsewhere at the 8 month window for 12/31/17 or simply a change of plans.

Interestingly enough, the waitlist I added at 9am on 5/1 for 12/31-any size villa never was triggered. There have been many discussions regarding the waitlist issues but it has been dead to me since we went to online reservations. Why do they manually check a few times a day vs writing a software program which would be much cheaper and more effective in the long run?
Great point about checking back later in day that reservations open to SO. I never thought of home resort folks cancelling that day too but that makes a ton of sense.
 

blondietink

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We have been here a week and it only rained one evening after dark and boy was it a great thunderstorm. Otherwise, the weather has been great. Lots of wind though, and the umbrellas have only been allowed to be up for 3 out of 8 days. Looks like whoever is coming next week is going to have great weather, too. The ocean out front has been calm the last 2 days and quite a few out swimming. No need to get up early to get chairs. Even at 11 am there is plenty of selection in either sun or shade. Today they planted new palm trees on the beach. Resort is immaculate as always and the service is still top notch. Got groceries at both Soriana and Selecto. Selecto does have the better selection, but watch out for those time share salesmen when you get into the store, they are pretty aggressive. The bus costs 10.5 pesos, but they do drive like crazy. USA Transfers was great as always.
 

dioxide45

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We are a little over halfway through our Lagunamar stay. We checked in last Sunday and checkout this coming Saturday. Here are my observations so far after a leave of three years at the resort.

  • Pool water is very warm. Much warmer than I remember in the past. In some cases like bath water.
  • Pool food and beverage service seems good. Perhaps because of shoulder season. Only waited about 20 minutes for food the other day and we always walk or swim up for drinks.
  • Mexican Fiesta buffet at Oceano was just okay this time. Not as good as we remembered in the past. If one didn't know that you could also order chicken or chorizo tacos from the kitchen, you would never get any. They have no sign indicating that they have them. I just happened to ask and had some other taco options offered. The only ones that are obvious are the port tacos served outside.
  • Breakfast buffet was excellent, though we had never been to this before.
  • Most of the people staying here are staying on their home ownership or are otherwise Vistana owners. I havent' talked to anyone yet that exchanged in through II using a non Vistana ownership. Have talked to several here that are staying for multiple weeks, one was here for three weeks.
  • Weather has been great so far, though it rained much of yesterday afternoon, but it didn't keep me and many others out of the pools.
  • Happy hour is a little diminished. On our last stay in 2014, you'll could get the 3:00-4:00 happy hour at the Viento pool bar at the infinity pool then from 5:00-6:00 move over to the small pool. They have changed it now to where happy hour is available at all the pools from 3:00-4:00 and if you want the 5:00-6:00 happy hour, you have to go in to the Duna Bar/Restaurant. Though you can still take your drinks outside.
We have also met and talked with several other Tuggers while staying here. It was great getting to put some faces with names!
 

maddog497

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We are a little over halfway through our Lagunamar stay. We checked in last Sunday and checkout this coming Saturday. Here are my observations so far after a leave of three years at the resort.

  • Pool water is very warm. Much warmer than I remember in the past. In some cases like bath water.
  • Pool food and beverage service seems good. Perhaps because of shoulder season. Only waited about 20 minutes for food the other day and we always walk or swim up for drinks.
  • Mexican Fiesta buffet at Oceano was just okay this time. Not as good as we remembered in the past. If one didn't know that you could also order chicken or chorizo tacos from the kitchen, you would never get any. They have no sign indicating that they have them. I just happened to ask and had some other taco options offered. The only ones that are obvious are the port tacos served outside.
  • Breakfast buffet was excellent, though we had never been to this before.
  • Most of the people staying here are staying on their home ownership or are otherwise Vistana owners. I havent' talked to anyone yet that exchanged in through II using a non Vistana ownership. Have talked to several here that are staying for multiple weeks, one was here for three weeks.
  • Weather has been great so far, though it rained much of yesterday afternoon, but it didn't keep me and many others out of the pools.
  • Happy hour is a little diminished. On our last stay in 2014, you'll could get the 3:00-4:00 happy hour at the Viento pool bar at the infinity pool then from 5:00-6:00 move over to the small pool. They have changed it now to where happy hour is available at all the pools from 3:00-4:00 and if you want the 5:00-6:00 happy hour, you have to go in to the Duna Bar/Restaurant. Though you can still take your drinks outside.
We have also met and talked with several other Tuggers while staying here. It was great getting to put some faces with names!
Thanks for the update.

We return this fall for our 2nd trip to Lagunamar and Cancun. We are hopeful that we are just as impressed as we were last year.

Our experience was great on all levels. The resort, the people, the area. Sometimes though your first experience is always the best as you have no real expections or at least we didn't.

We choose the exchange without any real research. We had 2 weeks that were expiring, so we needed to use them. My wife messaged me at work one evening suggesting we try Cancun and 2 weeks were available at the Weston Lagunamar. I read some reviews on line that night but I never dug into this area of TUG as I didn't even know it existed.

We booked it the next day and haven't looked back.

We both can't retire for just over 6 years. (well without taking penalties on our pensions) We have already started planning our 4 month trip in the spring of 2024. 1 month will be at WLR. We are hopeful for a 2 bedroom so we can have family visit.

We've enjoyed this forum and the input from all that are staying here. It gets us even more excited than we already are.

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RLS50

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We recently returned from an extended stay at WLR.

As Dioxide45 mentioned the pool water was warmer than I expected. My wife loved it, I prefer it a shade cooler. But from a couples standpoint I guess warmer works better for us because my wife uses the pool more often and stays in longer with me since she doesn't get cold.

The weather was mostly sunny and mid-80's during our entire stay. The staff was great and some remembered us from our trip in 2016. Convenient and ideal location of the resort is one of the best features.

Could write a much more detailed report, but in summary WLR is terrible, please stay away. We will continue to go for you and save you the misery.
 

blahblah18

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I'm bummed that I can't join in on the WLR love-fest, but I'm really not a fan. It's my least favorite of the Vistana resorts that we've tried.

We just spent our first-ever week there.

My experience in March:
- consistently really bad service at Viento
- entirely ignored by pool servers and "pool concierges"
- chair hogs each and every day of our stay
- hit-and-miss service at Oceano; sometimes great, sometimes awful
- incredibly overpriced transportation service through the on-site provider

Yes, there were a lot of positives too. Some great service experiences. Absolutely beautiful pools. A great stretch of beach (although constantly howling winds for the duration of our stay).

In fairness to Lagunamar, it may have been partially because all of Cancun kind of rubbed us the wrong way too. For us, the whole place felt like one big tourist trap. (I've never felt that in other tourist economies that I've visited. Places like Maui seem more 'real' and are authentically friendly.) In Cancun and at Lagunamar, everything felt like it was being done 'mass-production style' with the goal of simply getting you in, getting you out, and extracting your money. The cheesy hustlers that are invited by WLR to set up alongside Viento selling fake Mexican "crafts" (complete with Chicago Bears logos) with lines like "Hey buddy. Present for your wife? Present for your secretary? How bout your girlfriend then?" went from amusing to tiresome to really annoying pretty quickly -- but they kind of sum up my view of the whole place.

Clearly, YMMV! I realize I'm clearly the outlier here. And maybe our spring break trip happened to catch Lagunamar at a really "off" week for them. It was an ok stay but for us, WLR is now in the "been there, done that" column with no need to return.

I'll leave my future Lagunamar reservation spots open to you all ... if you promise not to take availability at Kierland or Maui from me!
 

bobpark56

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I'm bummed that I can't join in on the WLR love-fest, but I'm really not a fan. It's my least favorite of the Vistana resorts that we've tried.

We just spent our first-ever week there.

My experience in March:
- consistently really bad service at Viento
- entirely ignored by pool servers and "pool concierges"
- chair hogs each and every day of our stay
- hit-and-miss service at Oceano; sometimes great, sometimes awful
- incredibly overpriced transportation service through the on-site provider

Yes, there were a lot of positives too. Some great service experiences. Absolutely beautiful pools. A great stretch of beach (although constantly howling winds for the duration of our stay).

In fairness to Lagunamar, it may have been partially because all of Cancun kind of rubbed us the wrong way too. For us, the whole place felt like one big tourist trap. (I've never felt that in other tourist economies that I've visited. Places like Maui seem more 'real' and are authentically friendly.) In Cancun and at Lagunamar, everything felt like it was being done 'mass-production style' with the goal of simply getting you in, getting you out, and extracting your money. The cheesy hustlers that are invited by WLR to set up alongside Viento selling fake Mexican "crafts" (complete with Chicago Bears logos) with lines like "Hey buddy. Present for your wife? Present for your secretary? How bout your girlfriend then?" went from amusing to tiresome to really annoying pretty quickly -- but they kind of sum up my view of the whole place.

Clearly, YMMV! I realize I'm clearly the outlier here. And maybe our spring break trip happened to catch Lagunamar at a really "off" week for them. It was an ok stay but for us, WLR is now in the "been there, done that" column with no need to return.

I'll leave my future Lagunamar reservation spots open to you all ... if you promise not to take availability at Kierland or Maui from me!
We used to feel that way, but we have grown to like WLR. Part of it has to do with finding places like Fish Fritanga, Jugo de Limon, and La Europea...and in learning to use the bus system and finding good restaurants downtown, such as La Dolce Vita and La Habichuela. Did you give getting off the strip a try?
 

RLS50

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I'm bummed that I can't join in on the WLR love-fest, but I'm really not a fan. It's my least favorite of the Vistana resorts that we've tried.
You are describing the way we felt about Cancun in general before finding WLR. On our most recent trip we never really experienced what you described, so maybe it was because you went in peak season and we went in early May? Not sure. But we have usually found the service to be excellent, including pool side. There are always chair hogs everywhere, but we have not found it to be an issue in late April / early May. And also, we have used The One transportation provided by the resort and they charge $85 versus $65 for USA Transfers. Personally I do not find that excessive? I have found that for us the extra $20 is actually worth the convenience.

And really, I completely agree with BobPark56, the real advantage of staying at WLR is how easy it is to move around and visit other restaurants and local dining establishments. There is a whole world of interesting dining choices to visit off the resort and we rarely eat any planned meals at the WLR restaurants.

We love the fact that WLR isn't all inclusive, so it allows one to explore other areas and establishments in Cancun, as well as provide a good home base for trips to Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Akumal, and Playa del Carmen area. When we go to WLR, one day we are sitting by the great pools or on the beautiful beach. The next day we are driving around in a golf cart on Isla Mujeres and paying a nominal fee to eat and swim at the Zama Beach Club before heading back. The next couple of days we are snorkeling with turtles in Akumal and walking the streets of Tulum or Playa del Carmen, and day after that we might hit Xel Ha or Xcaret or just hit some of the many cenotes for snorkeling. On our last trip we spent a couple nights in a beachfront condo in Akumal on Half Moon Bay with gave us time to more fully explore Tulum and Akumal. I highly recommend La Buena Vida, an oceanfront restaurant and bar sitting right on Half Moon Bay.

We have traveled the Caribbean extensively, and have not found the extreme variety of dining and shopping choices and activities we have found available to us in Cancun while staying at WLR. I think the reason for that is because for so many years we went to all inclusive places in Mexico, and I think in order to make it worth it financially, we always felt tied down to the resort we were staying at.

* We have never been to Hawaii so can't speak to that.
 
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