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Lagunamar Experience

pinoy99

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South Jersey
Check-in was painless - Pamela(greeted/handled our bags upon getting off the shuttle van) & Carlos who showed us the rooms were
very nice & efficient. Forgot the name of nice person at the desk who gave us room in building six, fourth floor, with a excellent view of the resort and ocean. Too bad our personal concierge was not available :D to greet us but the front desk gave us the welcome letter. Rooms were nicely furnished, big bath area, separate toilet, shower and large whirlpool tub. Units has dish soap, laundry detergent, iron/board, hair dryer. Kitchen has coffee/creamer/sugar for at least the first day.

Buffet breakfast @ Oceania was good with reasonable(resort) $19.20 price with the 20% owners discount(showed the letter). Lunch by the Pool - enough selection/good food/prices - got 20% off card from the concierge's desk but still not able to meet my pc :whoopie: .

There are minor construction, maintenance being done thru out the resort during our stay - didn't really bother us as we were out of there most of
the week or by the beach. There is also construction going on across the street 24/7. One morning there was lawn maintenance that deposited grass clippings into the big hot tub - after notifying a lady that was cleaning the glass by the pool - a guy came in and vacuumed the tub, cleaned the filter - basically took half a day to fix the issue that could have been avoided by just putting a tarp cover the tub while the grass cutting was being done.

Peso/dollar exchange was reasonable at Westin - 12.50 vs 12.65 at Isla Plaza(passport needed) across the street but there is a $200 per person limit.
Front desk was always nice & efficient. There are ATM's in the ground floor by the Deli/Market that dispenses either US $$ or MX pesos but fee is $$$.

There are tennis courts, fitness room(requires shoes), mini golf at the resort. Business center has 6 or so PC's - open 24/7 but no printer(need to
go to the concierge's desk). Internet connection is slow. Wi-Fi connection at the room is slower still but free. There is also a kids club. Pool is nice but all at 4ft deep- no lifeguard. Pool slide is under .... maintenance. Beach area is nice and wide, there is a volleyball net, soccer goals, and half dozen or so covered huts, a massage hut at the beach. There is a posting that no lifeguard on duty but there is a tower by the entrance with lifeguards on occasions. One can rent jet skis from 3rd party vendors on the beach.

Hotel is convenient to everything - food/shopping across the street and bus(8.50 pesos fare) stop in front to go either way of Cancun.
Taxi to anywhere in the Hotel Zone from the hotel seems to be 200 or 290(van) - bellhop can get get it for you. Kudos to Andy that called Fred's Seafood house for reservation. Buses are cheap, mostly new and frequent that there is no need to get a taxi. Only came across one lady at front desk that seemed annoyed that she's being asked a question and pointed me to the concierge's desk.Check-out was at 10am - stored our bags prior to our transfer to airport several hours later.

Compare to our home resort - Harborside - resort activities here are very limited. Might be cheaper to go/stay here but all the out of resort trips
(Xplor, ruins, island hoping, eating out etc) will eventually cost more than going to Harborside.
 
Last edited:

Larry

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Check-in was painless - Pamela(greeted/handled our bags upon getting off the shuttle van) & Carlos who showed us the rooms were
very nice & efficient. Forgot the name of nice person at the desk who gave assigned us room in building six, fourth floor, with a excellent view of the resort and ocean. Too bad our personal concierge was not available :D to greet us but the front desk gave us the welcome letter. Rooms were nicely furnished, big bath area, separate toilet, shower and large whirlpool tub. Units has dish soap, laundry detergent, iron/board, hair dryer. Kitchen has coffee/creamer/sugar for at least the first day.

Buffet breakfast @ Oceania was good with reasonable(resort) $19.20 price with the 20% owners discount(showed the letter). Lunch by the Pool - enough selection/good food/prices - got 20% off card from the concierge's desk but still not able to meet my pc :whoopie: .

There are minor construction, maintenance being done thru out the resort during our stay - didn't really bother us as we were out of there most of
the week or by the beach. There is also construction going on across the street 24/7. One morning there was lawn maintenance that deposited grass clippings into the big hot tub - after notifying a lady that was cleaning the glass by the pool - a guy came in and vacuumed the tub, cleaned the filter - basically took half a day to fix the issue that could have been avoided by just putting a tarp cover the tub while the grass cutting was being done.

Peso/dollar exchange was reasonable at Westin - 12.50 vs 12.65 at Isla Plaza(passport needed) across the street but there is a $200 per person limit.
Front desk was always nice & efficient. There are ATM's in the ground floor by the Deli/Market that dispenses either US $$ or MX pesos but fee is $$$.

There are tennis courts, fitness room(requires shoes), mini golf at the resort. Business center has 6 or so PC's - open 24/7 but no printer(need to
go to the concierge's desk. Connection is slow. Wi-Fi connection at the room is slower still but free. There is also a kids club. Pool is nice but all at 4ft deep- no lifeguard. Pool slide is under .... maintenance. Beach area is nice and wide, there is a volleyball net, soccer goals, and half dozen or so covered huts, a massage hut at the beach. There is a posting that no lifeguard on duty but there is a tower by the entrance with lifeguards on occasions. One can rent jet skiis from 3rd party vendors on the beach.

Hotel is convenient to everything - food/shopping across the street and bus(8.50 pesos fare) stop in front to go either way of Cancun.
Taxi to anywhere in the Hotel Zone from the hotel seems to be 200 or 290(van) - bellhop can get get it for you. Kudos to Andy that called Fred's Seafood house for reservation. Buses are cheap, mostly new and frequent that there is no need to get a taxi. Only came across one lady at front desk that seemed annoyed that she's being asked a question and pointed me to the concierge's desk.Check-out was at 10am - stored our bags prior to our transfer to airport several hours later.

Compare to our home resort - Harborside - resort activities here are very limited. Might be cheaper to go/stay here but all the out of resort trips
(Xplor, ruins, island hoping, eating out etc) will eventually cost more than going to Harborside.

Thanks for the report. Now I can't wait to go for thanksgiving week 2012.:cheer: :hi: :cheer:
 

C30NY

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Also, when using the ATMs at the resort (which we did), it was much cheaper to dispense American Dollars then exchange at the front desk for Pesos. The ATM exchange rate was terrible and their fee was greater. But if you do, double check this with some math at each terminal.
 

K&PFitz

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Thanks for the report, Pinoy.

I haven't been keeping up on Lagunamar. Have they finished repainting the exteriors of the buildings? Are the pink and purple gone? Is the new section open yet?
 

stive1

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Cincinnati
Thanks for sharing.....looking forward to our next visit this winter. I was curious if they have said anything about when rooms in the new phase might open up. Hope you have a great trip.
 

siesta

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Also, when using the ATMs at the resort (which we did), it was much cheaper to dispense American Dollars then exchange at the front desk for Pesos. The ATM exchange rate was terrible and their fee was greater. But if you do, double check this with some math at each terminal.
Using an ATM @ a bank will get you the market exchange rate. And if you use a bank like Capital One there s a 0% currency conversion fee and no ATM fees (up to $25 per month)
 
Last edited:

pinoy99

newbie
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Location
South Jersey


Colors are pretty much neutral but I believe there are purple/pinkish color under the building leading to the mayan ruins.

New section is still under construction but the beach huts are done.

IMO, exchange US $$ across the street at CIBANCO. After initial transaction(with passport or passport card) a client # is given on the receipt
which is the only thing needed for subsequent exchange.

Note that the resort restaurant only accepts Pesos or room charge(whatever the daily exchange rate is)
 

Cathyb

Tug Review Crew: Rookie
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Carlsbad, CA
Question

Check-in was painless - Pamela(greeted/handled our bags upon getting off the shuttle van) & Carlos who showed us the rooms were
very nice & efficient. Forgot the name of nice person at the desk who gave us room in building six, fourth floor, with a excellent view of the resort and ocean. Too bad our personal concierge was not available :D to greet us but the front desk gave us the welcome letter. Rooms were nicely furnished, big bath area, separate toilet, shower and large whirlpool tub. Units has dish soap, laundry detergent, iron/board, hair dryer. Kitchen has coffee/creamer/sugar for at least the first day.

Buffet breakfast @ Oceania was good with reasonable(resort) $19.20 price with the 20% owners discount(showed the letter). Lunch by the Pool - enough selection/good food/prices - got 20% off card from the concierge's desk but still not able to meet my pc :whoopie: .

There are minor construction, maintenance being done thru out the resort during our stay - didn't really bother us as we were out of there most of
the week or by the beach. There is also construction going on across the street 24/7. One morning there was lawn maintenance that deposited grass clippings into the big hot tub - after notifying a lady that was cleaning the glass by the pool - a guy came in and vacuumed the tub, cleaned the filter - basically took half a day to fix the issue that could have been avoided by just putting a tarp cover the tub while the grass cutting was being done.

Peso/dollar exchange was reasonable at Westin - 12.50 vs 12.65 at Isla Plaza(passport needed) across the street but there is a $200 per person limit.
Front desk was always nice & efficient. There are ATM's in the ground floor by the Deli/Market that dispenses either US $$ or MX pesos but fee is $$$.

There are tennis courts, fitness room(requires shoes), mini golf at the resort. Business center has 6 or so PC's - open 24/7 but no printer(need to
go to the concierge's desk). Internet connection is slow. Wi-Fi connection at the room is slower still but free. There is also a kids club. Pool is nice but all at 4ft deep- no lifeguard. Pool slide is under .... maintenance. Beach area is nice and wide, there is a volleyball net, soccer goals, and half dozen or so covered huts, a massage hut at the beach. There is a posting that no lifeguard on duty but there is a tower by the entrance with lifeguards on occasions. One can rent jet skis from 3rd party vendors on the beach.

Hotel is convenient to everything - food/shopping across the street and bus(8.50 pesos fare) stop in front to go either way of Cancun.
Taxi to anywhere in the Hotel Zone from the hotel seems to be 200 or 290(van) - bellhop can get get it for you. Kudos to Andy that called Fred's Seafood house for reservation. Buses are cheap, mostly new and frequent that there is no need to get a taxi. Only came across one lady at front desk that seemed annoyed that she's being asked a question and pointed me to the concierge's desk.Check-out was at 10am - stored our bags prior to our transfer to airport several hours later.

Compare to our home resort - Harborside - resort activities here are very limited. Might be cheaper to go/stay here but all the out of resort trips
(Xplor, ruins, island hoping, eating out etc) will eventually cost more than going to Harborside.

How was Security both at the airport and in the shopping areas? Also, are the Sales staffers behaving? ;)
 

pinoy99

newbie
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Location
South Jersey
Airport security - there was a guy(employed by airport or airline?) at end of goose neck tunnel that took out immigration entry cards out from each of our passports :confused: then the actual immigration official asked me to put them back to corresponding passports :doh:. Entry was a non-event tho.

Airport personnel actually demanded for and verified the check-bag tags - which is a good thing. No bags screening on the way out.

There are annoying folks inside the terminal trying to force you stop for transfer etc. Just walk fast(er) and :wave:

Mall across Westin has mall cop going around with night sticks. Rolex place has an armed guard inside and ditto for some other jewelry store. Same mall cop setup at Flamingo Plaza (Margaritaville etc). Did not have time to visit Kukulcan Plaza where it seems that the high end stores are located. On occasions there is a patrol car by light intersection for traffic and such. Did not see any 50 cal machine guns or tanks anywhere :D while visiting downtown,Tulum area and Isla Mujeres(tho there is a Naval ship as the island is its home port).

No interaction with sales - my pc was busy during my arrival - left us the welcome letter at door that night(not the front desk as I recall now). She called our room mid-week but we where out of the resort. I stopped by concierge's desk the next day but she was not in yet. They must have had enough prospects during my stay that I was not contacted again :bawl:
 

K&PFitz

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Thank you for the pictures. I guess I'm fickle. At first I didn't like the pink and purple color scheme, but I got used to it, and now I miss it. It sure was easy to pick out Lagunamar from all the other resorts.

Which tugger was it that said it looked like it had been decorated by a drag queen?
 

hefleycatz

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Wildwood MO
Just guessing, but they probably don't have a wave machine in that pool. :D I'd swim there, but would never even get DH up to the pool.

lee
 

bobpark56

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Westin Lagunamar, Westin Aventuras, Marriott Grande Vista, Sandos Caracol, Festiva, Diamond Resorts (Hawaii Collection)
Falling tiles at Lagunamar

When we checked in today, we were told that one reason for the exterior changes at Lagunamar was concern about the original blue tiles falling off...perhaps onto someone. While this may explain doing away with the tiles, it doesn't quite address doing away with the blue.
 

Sea Six

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Marco Island, FL
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Club Regency - Marco Island
Lagunamar - Cancun
Vistana Villages Key West (2) - Orlando
Lagunamar sure is a beautiful resort. Complimented by La Isla across the street, there are plenty of things to do in the immediate area, and many day trips a short distance away. It's a great destination. The pool is FANTASTIC! They keep the food and drinks coming all day long. I really like that place.
 

jarta

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bob, ... I'm here today and for the next week. I was told that painting everything one color would also save on maintenance.

I was here last week, too. Good weather then. Today we had big winds, no sun and a lot of rain. Very bad weather today. Yet, it's still better than the Midwest.

When you get a chance to look around tomorrow, you will notice that all the wooden roofs on the top floor over the balconies are being replaced with fully stuccoed roofs to keep rain off the balconies. Only Buildings 3, 4 and 6(?) still have the wood on top. Much sleeker lines for the buildings.

Lights on in most of the windows tonight. The resort seems pretty full. ... eom
 

adanac1

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anyone use the costco?

We are there the week of November 21 - December 1 and would like to use our costco membership.
Any suggestions?

rent car or taxi to the costco?
Buying groceries for our stay any suggestions?
 
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