Where is the nearest Supermarket & Shopping Center to the royal Resorts in Cancun...

[WelcomeHome]

and how far away is it? How well stocked is the "store" at these resorts? I curious about buying things like pasta, eggs, juice, wine, and the stuff we may need for the night or two we'd like to try cooking in the room.

Cooking is fun for us so I prefer not to work with only primitive, simple ingredients (like frozen foods) if you know what I mean. I hadn't planned on renting a car (were taking several Thomas More tours) but I'll rent one for a day if that's the best way to go for food shopping.

Thank for your help!

Best wishes,
Dave

 

[Karen G]

I hadn't planned on renting a car (were taking several Thomas More tours) but I'll rent one for a day if that's the best way to go for food shopping.

You can take the city bus to Wal-Mart and take a cab back with your groceries. We found the experience very interesting and it didn't take a long time.

 

[CoteauPlatte]

Shopping for food

The stores at the Royals have a decent selection of basics such as pasta, eggs, wine, beer, liquor and basics but they don't stock much in the way of meat or fish. The prices are a bit high compared to local supermarkets like Chedraui or Super Wal-Mart.

I do my grocery shopping at Chedraui in Plaza Las Americas --- which is on Ave. Bonampak, a major street that joins the Highway heading south to the airport. Chedraui is a Mexican chain and I've been going to that particular Chedraui since it opened. The in-store bakery and the deli are quite good.

I stay at Club Internacional, which is the closest Royal Resort to downtown so Chedraui is a pretty short taxi ride. I usually rent a car so I've never gone to Chedraui by taxi but my adult children have zipped over there for shopping when they wanted something they could not find at the resort Tienda.

I don't know where you are staying or how many bags of groceries you plan on buying. However, unless you want to rent a car for some other reason -- then I think taking a taxi to Chedraui and back would porbably be cheaper than renting a car JUST to go shopping. However, if you think you might want to rent a car to go touring, then you could hit Chedraui early in the morning and have the car for the rest of the day to go somewhere else.

There is a Super Wal-Mart and a Sam's not far from Chedraui but I don't like it. Some people I know shop there regularly but I won't step foot in the place. I think there is also a Costco but I'm not a Costco member so I've never paid attention to it. Last year, I noticed a sign saying a huge supermarket was beoing built by another Mexican chain and it's probably open by now but I don't remember the name and since I've never been there I can't say anything about it.

 

[tonyg]

You might want to take a look at doing tours through entertainment plus which has lower rates than Thomas Moore for what often is the same exact tour. You can check it out at: http://www.entertainment-plus.net/index.cfm?aff=Canc3

 

[jschmidt]

and how far away is it?

I would suggest that you:

1. Go to the front desk of your resort.
2. Ask for a map of downtown Cancun.
3. Tell them where you want to shop.
4. Ask them to mark an "X" on the map for that location.
5. Ask what bus (route number) to take there.
6. Then go!

I would also suggest that you go to the orientation program Sunday morning. The resort staff will explain all the stuff you need to know to have an extremely enjoyable week. Plus, they will tell you about the FREE parties!

Well almost FREE, they're part of the maintenance fee.

 

[pjrose]

As Coteau Platte pointed out, the mini-markets on site have a good selection. You can get just about anything, except meats - and there is also frozen seafood and, I think, chicken. We eat almost all meals in the villa, and rely on the onsite stores as well as the excellent take-out and delivery at the Royals. Their ribs are delicious, as are the soups, salads, guacamole, and salsa; the rotisserie chicken is good and the pizza is ok. There's also lasagna, mashed potatoes and gravy, banana bread, cakes and pies - all reasonably priced. For dinner we might make rice and maybe saute some onions from the mini-market, and get some ribs or chicken and a salad from take-out; lunch could be grilled cheese and soup, and cereals and fruit for breakfast, all from the mini-market.

Look on royalresorts.com for a list of just some of the items available at the mini-markets.

Sometimes we will also go to WalMart, but it's more for curiosity than out of necessity. It also depends on whether we have 2 weeks or just 1 - with just 1 we often don't want to spend an afternoon away from the resort. Friends who do more serious cooking always go to WalMart right away and buy a lot. They have a good bakery and produce department as well as a large selection of groceries, and the prices are good. To get to WalMart you can take a bus both ways - it's about a half hour each way - or if you buy a lot, take a taxi back.

 

[riverdees05]

Does anyone take a cooler with frozen food and if so, what can you take?

 

[KarenLK]

NOT MEAT!!
It will most likely be confiscated.

 

[pjrose]

Check these posts about bringing food and grocery shopping:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67768

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68083

PJ

 

[Talent312]

and how far away is it? How well stocked is the "store" at these resorts? I curious about buying things like pasta, eggs, juice, wine, and the stuff we may need for the night or two we'd like to try cooking in the room.

Cooking is fun for us so I prefer not to work with only primitive, simple ingredients (like frozen foods) if you know what I mean. I hadn't planned on renting a car (were taking several Thomas More tours) but I'll rent one for a day if that's the best way to go for food shopping.

I can only echo those who say go to the Super Wal-Mart downtown -- the bakery alone is worth the trip. Bring a couple of empty sports bags. Take the bus downtown ($0.65 US, $6.50 Mx). The driver can tell you when to get off. A taxi back will run you $12-15 US.