Ocean Maya

wonderful trip

by A TripAdvisor Member

HelloWe have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Bravo Club El Mandarin. We really enjoyed our trip and thought the resort was paradise.The staff were wonderful and the food was very good. We really recomend you try the restaurants on site. The only down side to our trip is coming home and finding out we have left our digital camera cards in the luggage storage room. We left the resort on Sunday march 23 2003 in the evening. If anyone has found this camera card we would really appreciate it back. It has all our memories of our trip on it. You can contact us by e-mail and we will arrange to have it sent to us. e-mailadenbiesen@telus.net thank you very much. the den Biesen's

Honeymoon in Paradise!

by A TripAdvisor Member

We just spent the last two weeks at El Mandarin enjoying our honeymoon. Our room was large and comfortable and the cleaning staff maintained the room to the highest standard. The food was way more than what we had expected. We had both stayed in Cancun before and had suffered from bad cases of Montazuma's revenge. If anybody says that they couldn't find anything to eat at El Mandarin then they should have their head checked. We were there for 14 nights and we had the choice of 28 different soups, 42 pastas, and countless numbers of different meat dishes. Not to mention plenty of french fries! The mexican night on Mondays was a fun change, sometimes it's nice to try the local cuisine not always french fries and hamburgers. The bartenders and wait staff were all very friendly. The best part of the hotel was the Animacion staff (entertainment crew). They were the friendliest people there. If we could go back right now we would, and we're already planning our 1 year anniversary for next year.

EL MANDARIN WAS GREAT

by TripAdvisor Member traveller_00027

we had a great time at this resort, the food, the staff, the grounds, everything was great. i would not hesitate to go back again. make sure you try to go diving with the gang at blue diving, they werevery helpfull. it was nice to have a shuttle service toplaya del carmen also. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE LONG PANTS FOR THE AL A CARTE PLACES.

Awesome resort! u will love it

by A TripAdvisor Member

I got back about 2 weeks ago and I just wish I could be back there now....Everything about this resort was amazing; the food, the entertainment, the people, the pool, the beach...There are great shows every night in the auditorium with professional dances and sometimes comedies. There are always activities going on and there is really a lot to chose from. The Animacion group makes everyone feel comfortable and involved and they are really friendly and talented. There is a shuttle that takes you to Playa del Carmen, a nice small town just 10 min away where you can shop, dine and just stroll around. You should also go to Cozumel Island which is a pretty short ferry ride from Playa del Carmen. It is a beautiful island where you can go on a Jeep Tour in the jungle which was one of my favourites. Also the snorkelling is breathtaking and there are very many trips that you can go on to see the reef, lagoons and underwater caves. Have fun!!!!

Highy Recommend It! Good for the Soul!

by A TripAdvisor Member

My husband and I spent a week at the Club El Mandarin. Upon arrival at 1am in the morning - I was at first not impressed at all... We had to drag our luggage in the dark through the outdoor lounge area.... down steep stairs in the dark all the while being yelled at by an animator giving out room numbers. It was very disorganized. We arrived in our room and found the bed linens damp. I had called the front desk and every other number listed on the room directory board to which no one responded. We were very tired and very unimpressed... THENthe next morning we awoke and everything was different......We found ourselves a great spot on the beach and just moved in - we did not waste time attending any orientation sessions, preferring to discover on our own - we're pretty quick learners and adapt easily. The food was wonderful, we especially loved the breakfast meal and enjoyed the omlettes made to order, I really wanted to teach them how to cook bacon though - they don't do crisp! It is more like steamed bacon... I enjoyed making different breakfast sandwiches on my own.The yogurt is to die for.... extremely yummy. The fruit was good, but it was always the same fruit, I would have liked more strawberries and found folks just picked the decorative fruits off the trays! We usually at at the grill at lunch - wonderful salads that you create, we really loved the mahi mahi and were quite happy with a burger and a cerveza! You can nosh on nachos anytime of day!We enjoyed the buffets at night and found no real need to go to the gourmet restaurant or the Mexican restaurant, they do provide a Mexican themed night at the buffet! We found we ate heavy in the morning and by evening ate lighter. We enjoyed a few romantic evenings together and even brought our own bottle of wine to the restaurant. Didn't reallly get buzzed off the booze... it never did anything anyway- we're not bid drinkers anyway. My husband said next time he will bring his own thermal mug - the drink glasses are too small and by the timk is gone!We LOVED Jose... great smile and a true professional.There are all kinds of activities if you want to participate. I would suggest you book the van everyday for Playa del Carmen as it's easier to cancel then to try to get a ride into town. We didn't go to tour - we went to relax and be still.You don't need a pile of clothes, lots of swimsuits and various cover ups. My husband wished he had taken a long sleeved lightweight cotton gauze shirt - if you get burnt, you have something cool and comfortable - he lived in cottongauze pants and a shirt we had purchased in Plya. He had permission to fish off the pier and did so faithfully everyday... I was happy he had caught a horse eyed jack fish (looks a bit like a tuna) He had 15 minutes of fame on the beach - Everyone called him Fisherman! We truly enjoyed ourselves at this resort and will definitely return. It was our first time at an all inclusive resort. The grounds, the staff were very helpful. My only disappointment was that I lost my Gucci sunglasses my husband bought me in the lobby and never found them! oh well!We met some really great folks that I'm sure we will maintain friendships with. We truly laughed and loved and really enjoyed ourselves. Came home rested which was the purpose of the trip. We only wish they offered 10day packages.Bravo! Club El Mandarin..... thank you for a great holiday.

Non-stop fun!

by A TripAdvisor Member

I loved it so much. The beaches are beautiful white sand and the weather was near perfect. There is non-stop action from water and beach games during the day to live bands, shows and disco at night. If I could go back right now, I'd jump at the chance.You can make it as low key and relaxing or as wild and crazy as you like.

Very Friendly

by A TripAdvisor Member

Hi, my wife and I spent a wonderful week here at the El Mandarin. It was the first time we had ever travelled south and we loved it! We were there Feb.18-25 and the weather was beautiful. 90 * plus every day and the water was about 80-85*. Just like your tub. The staff was very friendly and if you can speak even a little Spainish it really is a help, although it's not necessary. Pretty much everyone there can speak english, and there is some people working there from Canada. It seemed like if you try to speak to them in their native language or asked how to say a certian word they really appreciated it. The grounds were always in perfect shape and very clean. The rooms were likewise very clean, and you won't believe how far a 1 or 2 US dollar tip will go with the maids. This is not required but the people there were so nice and worked so hard to please us that I couldn't help it. We did experience one ignorant couple while we were there, but I quess that some people are going to be selfish and self centered no matter where they are, even in paradise! Our room was in a place that was very nice but we did not have a view of the beach. It was also on the ground floor and I would have prefered to have been on the second floor just for the view. So I went to the front desk and very politely asked Chistina if there was anyway to get moved to the second floor, people are coming and going every 2 days or so. She went out back to check and came back to check if I wanted a king size bed or if it mattered , I was always very polite to her and said that it didn't really matter aslong as it was on the 2nd floor. This went on for about 5 mins. or so, and I was always polite. When she finally told us that she could move us, she also said that we were going to have a view of the beach. I thanked her many times and told her the she was a sweetheart for looking after us so well. She informed me that she didn't thinkl that she was as nice as we were and that some people give them a really hard time about such thiwould treat someone this way while on vacation. Anyway! I sure wouldn't! We always felt veery safe there, even when we went into the town of Play Del Carmen. I never felt like I was in any danger because of all the police and military there. One thing though, be prepared to dicker on Items. They love to dicker and they are always willing to throw the plastic bag in for free! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So go to Club El Mandarin and have a great time!!!! Dom

Playa del Carmen

by livmccauslin

"Our Accomodations"

My husband and I vacationed outside of Playa del Carmen at H10 Hacienda Maya, along with his two sisters, and brother-in-law, for 7 days. We had a great time and found it to be very relaxing. It was our first time staying at a resort and we were happy with it. It was okay on service/accomodations - not excellent, but far from bad -it was definitely worth the price we paid for it! We enjoyed meeting the guests (mostly from Canada) and really liked the layout of the rooms. We had a good view of the private beach. The food was good the first couple of days, after that, it began to taste the same. Overall, we had a great time and are ready to return!