Pre-stay suggestions

[alanwar]

We are heading down to Desire in Feb and have got 8 nights in the Cancun area. I was thinking of spending 2-3 nights before our stay at a hotel/resort in the main hotel area that is close to downtown Cancun and the nightlife given that I understand it is very different at Puerto Morales. There are something like hundreds of options and given the following priorities I was hoping that any of the Cancun vetrerans on the board could give me suggestions:

1. Close to downtown cancun and night life. It doesn't need to be walking distance; the bus would be ok.

2. The resort can't be much better in the food, service, location, etc than desire overall. Nothing is worse on a vacation than going from a great place to an ok place.

Also do people recommend the AI plan in the hotel area or given that we'd be away from the resort doing stuff recommend the normal plan. We'd want to go out to eat downtown and not at the resort.

Thank you for your advice !

[CokeMann]

One thought for you - if all you want to do is club for one or two nights why not do your full stay at Desire and just Taxi up to the clubs in the HZ one or two nights - very safe and more practical than moving between resorts.....

First, let me clear up some misconceptions - there is the Hotel Zone and then there is Cancun city proper. All the major clubs and many of the markets are located right in the Hotel Zone. Cancun city and the HZ are very close to each other and you can get from one area to the other area very easily by bus or taxi.

Re: quality of the food - although Desires food is very good, most of us don't go to Desire for the food - LOL !!

I don't know exactly what your thoughts are for your stay in Cancun but if you are planning to be out and about most of the time, personally I would skip the AI plan.

If you decide to stay in the hotel zone, you may also want to take a day trip over to Isla Mujeres (Island of Women), you can reach the ferry dock by bus and is just a short trip over to the island.

Probably, in any event, I would suggest an Adults Only place - just to get you ready for Desire - with that said I have had many very good reports about the Golden Parnassus which is a upscale adults only place and your SO can go topless at the pool and beach if she wishes

Info on the Golden Parnassus, Adults Only
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- Five-star amenities include two freshwater swimming pools, lighted tennis court, indoor miniature golf, billiards and ping pong plus a fitness center with steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi, a beauty salon and spa plus a shopping gallery and a car rental and travel agency all located on the premises.
- Offers 214 guestrooms including 154 standard rooms and 60 Crown Club Rooms. All standard rooms feature air conditioning, color Cable TV, telephone, alarm clock radio, in-room safe deposit box, hairdryer plus iron and ironing board. In addition Crown Club rooms feature deluxe room amenities including in-room double Jacuzzi, stocked mini-bar, mini stereo, coffee maker, bathrobes, slippers and make-up mirror plus special VIP treatment including sparkling wine, fruit basket and flower arrangement in room upon arrival plus one in-room gourmet dinner and lunch on Cancun Queen Lagoon Cruise (Wednesdays).

If you are looking for a more party type resort atmosphere then perhaps Desires sister hotel called Temptations.

[Darcy]

Hi Alan,
Last year, due to breast cancer, we had to cancel three Desire trips...yeah it sucks. But, to celebrate "almost being done" we went to LeBlanc. It is an adults only high end all-inclusive. The resort is lovely, the staff lovely, the beach gorgeous and it was fun to play in the waves. We had an ocean front room with a jacuzzi overlooking the ocean. The food was very good, especially breakfast and lunch, the gym was one of the best I have ever experienced. But, the evening restaurants felt like the "mall" experience compared to Desire. Yes, we had champagne on the beach, we met a few couples we liked a lot, we danced in the disco....but it was so difficult to avoid going into "Desire Mode" LOL. So, the bottom line is that although the resort was lovely and we had a nice time, our hearts were at Desire, this experience only reinforced why we love Desire so much. Another high end all inclusive adults only that we have heard great things about is The Royal. So, if you will be going to another resort for a few days, do not do more than 3 nights, you will miss too much of the goings on at Desire.
D