Westin Lagunamar

[Henry M.]

My wife and I only had carry-on luggage. Customs was a breeze! We just go off the plane, went through passport control, and walked right out. It was faster than some of the lines ive run into in Dallas and Chicago.

They do have a button you press after you puck up your luggage, and it randomly selects people for an inspection. We got a green light, as did most others we saw.

There's an area right before you exit the building with a bunch of timeshare hawkers trying to stop you with the excuse of helping you find your ride. They look like they are there to help, but just want to sell you things or ensnare you for timeshare presentations. Just walk past them.

Coming back, the line through security was a little long, but not too cumbersome.

 

[zentraveler]

THANK YOU to all! VERY valuable information and much appreciated . Will post follow up on restaurants and experiences.

 

[bobpark56]

<snip>

Very near the hotel, in the same direction, is La Habichuela. The food was ok, but I liked their Maya show and the fancily served Maya coffee you get for free if you are staying at Lagunamar (several restaurants offer you a free drink or other goodies if you stay at Lagunamar, ask the concierge about it). I think there are limited days when they hold one show in the evening. I'd ask when the show is and plan to be there 10 or 15 minutes earlier. I'd even make a reservation to get a table outside near where the show takes place.

Good advice. If you find yourself comfortable with the bus system (it's not all that difficult to understand), you might also give the downtown La Habichuela a try. It's our favorite dining spot in Cancun...more enjoyable, in our view, than its younger sister on the strip. Be sure to have the Lagunamar concierge make your reservation for you and give you a map with directions. Have them request the Mayan coffee, too.

One last item: if you start walking in the direction I mentioned, on the sidewalk across the street from Lagunamar, before you get to El Fish Fritanga and the first set of low buildings, you will go by some taller glass buildings. In the last building there's a sign over the door that reade La Europea or something like that. It is a small store with lots of European wines, cheeses, and other light food fare. There is not a lot of variety, but it is a good place to buy wine and cheese and other nice things to eat.

"There is not a lot of variety..." You've got to be kidding. They have more variety in wines and liquors than you can shake a stick at...many at very good prices. We have found La Europea stores to be the best places to buy spirits in Mexico. Their cheeses and light food fare are indeed limited.

By the way...on your way to La Europea, you will find a bank ATM (Scotia, I believe). This is a good place to get pesos at the most favorable exchange rate...much better than at Lagunamar or from a money vendor.

 

[jkrischt]

By the way...on your way to La Europea, you will find a bank ATM (Scotia, I believe). This is a good place to get pesos at the most favorable exchange rate...much better than at Lagunamar or from a money vendor.

La Europa is also the best place to get liquor. If I want to bring anything home I generally find the prices to be much lower then even the duty free places.

Brad

 

[zentraveler]

Always nice to know the good place to get wine .

Does anyone know the details about payment at Costco? Here in the US they only take debit cards or the Costco credit card. What about Mexico? Do they take credit cards at all? Can I use my Capital One (0% surcharge)? Cash still the better way to go?

 

[Henry M.]

I used my credit cards at most places, including WalMart. I don't know that there's a Costco there, but Sam's Club likely has the same restrictions as the US.

Where I live, Costco takes any American Express or debit cards. It is not limited to their credit card. I can't remember what Sam's Club takes, maybe Discover and Master Card?

Overall, paying in the hotel zone was not very different from the US. If you go on excursions and want to buy souvenirs, you might need some cash. Even then, most merchants will take US dollars. Just watch the exchange rate they offer you. Even to ride the bus, you can use a $1 bill and get some change in Mexican currency. It wasn't the best exchange rate (maybe 10.00 pesos/$, should be more like 12.50-13.00), but convenient if you didn't want to exchange a lot of currency because you don't know exactly how much you need.

 

[Henry M.]

"There is not a lot of variety..." You've got to be kidding. They have more variety in wines and liquors than you can shake a stick at...many at very good prices. We have found La Europea stores to be the best places to buy spirits in Mexico. Their cheeses and light food fare are indeed limited.

I didn't express myself very well. I meant the food and cheeses when I said there was not a lot of variety. They do have lots of different wines.

My credit union offers me an account with free withdrawals. They reimburse me any fees charged by banks or the ATM itself. I've found that is usually the most cost effective to get local currencies in other countries. Hotels are usually the very worst, followed by the money exchange houses you find at airports and tourist locations. Different credit cards used to charge different exchange rates and fees, but I'm not sure if they still do that. I seem to remember some law trying to standardize charges like that.

The thing in Cancun is that some stores will actually give you a better exchange rate than the official rate you can look up online or that the bank will give you. Sometimes you're better off paying them in dollars. It is not a huge difference, and you could just use your credit card and forget about it, but it might involve a few percent in your favor.

 

[Snowonbeach]

When we get to Lagunamar in January, we'll take the bus to Walmart and then walk to Costco. (It's a bit of a hike if it's hot.) When our backpacks are filled, we'll walk back to Walmart for the remainder of our groceries and take a taxi back to the resort. This has worked for us for the past few years. We used to use cash at Costco but now have a Costco American Express card. La Europa is usually where we pick up our wine.

 

[gnorth16]

The hotel also offers some sort of service where for 300 pesos a taxi will take you there, wait for an hour and bring you right back to the hotel where the bellman can take your groceries and take them up to your room. Very convenient.

Thank you very much!!! This is exactly the info I was looking for!!!

 

[zentraveler]

Costco/Walmart/Mega Comercial Mexicana

Here now and will answer my own credit card question. They do take them, but give a discount for cash (or charge for the credit card depending on your perspective).

And I am not sure why anyone goes to Walmart. There is a very large grocery/clothing/pharmacy store next to Costco (they share the parking lot) called Mega Comercial Mexicana that is open 24 hours/day (per the web). The grocery store was quite good, huge variety and had fresh fish and meat departments. We ended up buying most of our food there because it was so easy to get "2 person" quantities, and then went to Costco for the rest. Costco just like home, down to the lettuce brand. Good wine selection, though almost all red; they don't seem to drink much white here.

And a head's up for the similarly naive (have not been to the Yucatan in 25 years), the shopping center across the street is not a smallish Hawaii style strip mall, but a huge US suburb style MALL. This whole hotel zone feels like Vegas - good thing none of it is visible from inside the Westin .

 

[kenh]

Xel-Ha is now an all inclusive excursion. Our family has been there a couple of times, in 06 when it wasn't all inclusive, and also in 09 when it was. Both were extremely enjoyable. Well worth the price.

 

[gnorth16]

FWIW, the concierge desk said the "grocery shuttle" is 600 pesos. We're still taking it today because it is easy.

First impressions of the resort - It seems to be missing something, and I don't really know what. The rooms are nice, we are in 553/554 (above reception) and have a straight out view over the pools and ocean. Everyone wants to go out of their way and help, the wifi is fine, better with the router, Westin shuttle was good, $70 round trip for 4...

The restaurant was not good at all. It was an Italian buffet and the kids even said the pizza wasn't very good. It was an Uncle Willy's quality of food at a Westin price. $100 pre-wine, $145 with wine. The live mariachi band played "The Chicken Dance" for my daughter. It was hilarious and it embarrassed here a plenty!!!

In fairness, we did arrive at night, so the wow factor I was expecting was divided and delayed until the morning. Looking forward to a nice day at the pool/beach.

 

[itchyfeet]

We are also at Lagunamar--arrived yesterday after a week at Villa del Palmar Cancun. That resort has thw "wow" factor that is missing here. I agree the rooms are very nice, but you could be in New York or Los Angeles--not much of the "Mexican" feel.

 

[Sea Six]

We are also at Lagunamar--arrived yesterday after a week at Villa del Palmar Cancun. That resort has thw "wow" factor that is missing here. I agree the rooms are very nice, but you could be in New York or Los Angeles--not much of the "Mexican" feel.

Is your air conditioning working? Supposedly the whole resort is down for maintenance.

 

[gnorth16]

Is your air conditioning working? Supposedly the whole resort is down for maintenance.

Yes, down for maintenance. Supposed to be back up around noon.

For clarification, it is 600 pesos to Mega and 300 pesos to Superama. The Superama is owned by Wal-Mart and had everything we needed. IT was recommended by the concierge.

 

[itchyfeet]

Air conditioning is back on and working. The info. that was given to us when we checked in is that this was routine maintennce.

 

[gnorth16]

So my wife and I tried figuring out what was missing from this resort. It could be our expectations of what Mexico would be like and it didn't quite match up.

We did find that the resort is very quiet. When we were at the swim up bar for a drink, no one was smiling and having a good time (BTW, worst marg and pina colada we have ever had). I expected there would be crowds of people laughing and enjoying themselves. Most people are in the chairs reading or on their iPhone, not in the pools/hot tubs or up at the bar. There was not much for music at the pool, besides a bit of techno on Saturday and a few decent tunes before a "fashion show" today. It is nice to have some music by the pool but that is my opinion. Saturday night was supposed to be a "big night" since the boxing match was on at the bar. We walked by and there was maybe 25 people in there.

It is a gorgeous resort. just not what we expected.

 

[VacationForever]

So my wife and I tried figuring out what was missing from this resort. It could be our expectations of what Mexico would be like and it didn't quite match up.

We did find that the resort is very quiet. When we were at the swim up bar for a drink, no one was smiling and having a good time (BTW, worst marg and pina colada we have ever had). I expected there would be crowds of people laughing and enjoying themselves. Most people are in the chairs reading or on their iPhone, not in the pools/hot tubs or up at the bar. There was not much for music at the pool, besides a bit of techno on Saturday and a few decent tunes before a "fashion show" today. It is nice to have some music by the pool but that is my opinion. Saturday night was supposed to be a "big night" since the boxing match was on at the bar. We walked by and there was maybe 25 people in there.

It is a gorgeous resort. just not what we expected.

All I can say is to each his own. I like quiet and hate crowds. Nothing more relaxing than swimming in a quiet surrounding. My experience at WLR has yet to be surpassed by other resort stays, regardless of brands. I heart WLR.

 

[fasha39]

So my wife and I tried figuring out what was missing from this resort. It could be our expectations of what Mexico would be like and it didn't quite match up.

We did find that the resort is very quiet. When we were at the swim up bar for a drink, no one was smiling and having a good time (BTW, worst marg and pina colada we have ever had). I expected there would be crowds of people laughing and enjoying themselves. Most people are in the chairs reading or on their iPhone, not in the pools/hot tubs or up at the bar. There was not much for music at the pool, besides a bit of techno on Saturday and a few decent tunes before a "fashion show" today. It is nice to have some music by the pool but that is my opinion. Saturday night was supposed to be a "big night" since the boxing match was on at the bar. We walked by and there was maybe 25 people in there.

It is a gorgeous resort. just not what we expected.

lf you were seeking action why didn't you head over next door to Live Aqua? Plenty of action, music etc going on over there. We saw people hanging around having a good time at the infinity pool swim up bar often as well the "animation" hut seemed to have some activity going on most of the time. We felt there was a nice balance between quiet and action, so did our teen and tween.

 

[itchyfeet]

So my wife and I tried figuring out what was missing from this resort. It could be our expectations of what Mexico would be like and it didn't quite match up.

We did find that the resort is very quiet. When we were at the swim up bar for a drink, no one was smiling and having a good time (BTW, worst marg and pina colada we have ever had). I expected there would be crowds of people laughing and enjoying themselves. Most people are in the chairs reading or on their iPhone, not in the pools/hot tubs or up at the bar. There was not much for music at the pool, besides a bit of techno on Saturday and a few decent tunes before a "fashion show" today. It is nice to have some music by the pool but that is my opinion. Saturday night was supposed to be a "big night" since the boxing match was on at the bar. We walked by and there was maybe 25 people in there.

It is a gorgeous resort. just not what we expected.

Is this your first trip to Mexico? We've been to other areas of Mexico (Puerto Vallarta & Cabo) many times, and this resort has the least Mexican feel of anywhere we've been. As far as guests interacting, we've not found that anywhere. People want to read, swim, sun, etc. We have found that if a resort has evening events, people do interact more. If you don't get away from the resort, you'll not see anything "Mexican" here. First of all Westin is in the hotel zone with a huge "American" style shopping center across the street. As I said before, you could be any big city. We always rent a car because we like to see the outlying areas, especiallly the small towns. That's where you'll see the "real" Mexico. I had never been to Cancun and wanted to see what is was like. I especiially wanted to see Chichen Itza, which we did. Considering the extra cost of airfare and time to get here, we'll go to Cabo or PV instead of returning to Cancun.
As an added note Hacienda del Sisal has a mariachi and ballet folklorico show every weekday evening. This would definitely give you some Mexican entertainment. This restaurant is within walking distance of Westin. The concierge can make reservations for you. Adios!

 

[VacationForever]

As an added note Hacienda del Sisal has a mariachi and ballet folklorico show every weekday evening. This would definitely give you some Mexican entertainment. This restaurant is within walking distance of Westin. The concierge can make reservations for you. Adios!

I assume you mean Hacienda Sisal? This is my favorite restaurant in Cancun... my favorite item on the menu is the guacamole that is made at the table. Margarita is awesome and you get great service at this restaurant. When I was there they only had the "special" show one night a week on a weekday.

 

[gnorth16]

Yes, this was my first trip to Mexico (not counting the day trip to Tijuana when I was 9). I really think that I was expecting a younger crowd, busy bar and more action. I'm 33 with two kids, but I'm 55 at heart! I don't even want action and have been very happy with almost everything at the resort.

Honestly, I'm a complainer and I look for flaws and pick everything apart, but have found nothing that are deal breakers and would prevent me from coming back. This has been a near perfect winter vacation and I have met six or seven really nice people in the pools and hot tubs. (Shout out to gmonstersen!!!)

It's pouring rain right now and it's still fantastic. Computer, beers, chips and salsa overlooking the pool and ocean....I can't even complain about that!!!

Restaurants leaves room for work, but we are BBQers and in room eaters most of the time anyways. Not even any pressure for a timeshare presentation.

Very happy! BTW, there are activities all the time, you just need to know when and where they are. Bus excursion to the bar at 10:30:whoopie:!!! I'll be in bed by 10!!!:hysterical:

 

[Sea Six]

No Coco Bongo for you!

 

[Quiding]

Can anyone give me a price update?
Is it much cheaper than in the US? How much for a beer?
Or a taxi ride or whatever...
Want to book a trip to WLR for me, my wife and her parents and just want to know if it is cheap or not?
Thinking about WSJ but don't want to spend too much money.
I live in Europe so I don't know that much about the price difference.. I assume it is pretty cheap but would you recommend this before WSJ?
Thanks

 

[Henry M.]

It depends on what US location you're comparing to. It is cheaper than say Hawaii, New York or some other major metropolitan areas. I find it similar to where I live in Texas, with a few things less expensive.

It is easy to get around town riding the bus for a little less than a dollar per ride. A pre-arranged round-trip can ride from the airport to WLR is $55for up to 4 people, $70 if you book through the resort.

Restaurants in the hotel zone are comparable to US mid-priced restaurants. A six pack of beer is on the order of 75 pesos at WalMart.

I would think Cancun is less expensive than WSJ. There's no expensive ferry to take from St. Thomas. There is a lot of competition for restaurants and services. It is not an island where everything has to be brought in by boat or plane. For me, airfare is much cheaper than to WSJ.

The hotel zone of Cancun is very built up. There's even a large mall directly across the street from WLR. A large part of St. John is a national park. The locations are not really comparable in terms of the experience you get. It is a personal thing what you would find best. I like both locations for different reasons. Cancun is much easier for me to get to. WSJ is more pristine and has secluded beaches.