Review Moon Palace - Cancun - Mexico By Patricia Blackstock Our original plans for a winter vacation this year included a trip to Sandals in St. Lucia. But because of some scheduling problems with US Airways, we realized after much searching that we would be wasting a lot of time getting there and back home. After researching the Cancun area, we decided on Moon Palace, and it was wonderful! I realize that you can find Moon Palace reviews all over the web, so I will keep this short. Most of my comments are based on comparisons with other all-inclusives, such as Sandals and Couples. The bottom line is that we would go back to the Moon Palace again tomorrow! The total flight time from Myrtle Beach to Cancun is short, We left at 6:30 AM and were there before lunch 11:30 AM their time. Drinks:They had the best white zinfandel I have had at any all-inclusive! All the drinks are made with your favorite brands and served quickly with a smile. If you have a favorite drink that the bartender is not familiar with, just tell him how it is made. There was never a wait in line, and the staff will find you anywhere you are on the beach to regularly ask if they can bring you something to drink. Food:We found the al la carte menus in the sit-down restaurants for the dinner meal to be better than the dinner buffets, although someone pointed us to some delicious T-bones one day. There are plenty of restaurants from which to choose, and you do NOT have to make reservations. If you were to find a particular restaurant that you just loved, you could eat there every night until you exhausted the menu. Once we were put on a waiting list for 45 minutes, but what a wonderful wait! We waited in the lobby, listened to a 4-piece musical group playing all the oldies, and sipped champagne until it was time to eat. The breakfast buffet is excellent, and includes everything you could think of, including a Smoothie Bar and omelets made to order. You will never go hungry in search of good food at the Moon Palace. Service is top notch. While Moon Palace bills itself as being “all-inclusive” you may tip for any service you feel is exceptional. …or not . The service will be the same. Shows: Best I have seen at any all-inclusive. Included trips: Along with our 8-night stay we were encouraged to take as many side trips as they offer. These included Chichen Itza, Chichen Itza Light And Sound Tour, Coba, Tulum, Xpu-ha. Ilsa Mujeres, Ek-Balam and Valladold. Of course we knew when we booked this trip that is was not “couples only” and we would encounter children, and that was okay with us. What we did not know was that roller blading is an included activity for children. Children and roller blades are a dangerous combination. We never saw the PARENTS on rollerblades only children trying to cover ground as quickly as they could on the walking paths. My suggestion to Moon Palace is to remedy this situation as soon as possible. The shoreline of Caribbean Sea at Moon Palace was not as wide as other all-inclusives, you cannot snorkel from shore. (Snorkeling trips are not one of the included activities -only paddle boats, windsurfing and kayaking.) Lobbyto-Lobby busses travel from the Sunrise side of the resort to the lobby of the Nizuc lobby every 10 minutes or so or you can walk between the two and not know the difference. Guests can move freely between the both and enjoy all the amenities of each one. The rooms are almost identical (not counting the Presidential Suites) except that the Nizuc rooms have a small seating area with a couch and the Sunrise rooms have a hammock on the balcony. All rooms have a double Jacuzzi and a balcony facing the Caribbean (ocean view is not guaranteed on the ground floor). The rooms are very nice, and I loved the marble shower where water was ALWAYS hot. Other busses will take you to Cancun Palace, Beach Palace, and Sun Palace, but they are on a 4-hour schedule which is longer than many people want to stay at one of the other resorts. It would be much better to cut the time down to 2 hours which is just about the right amount of time to eat at another resort take a short stroll around the property. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at the Moon Palace resort opened in early 2003. It is available to you at an added cost, complete with all the bells and whistles! This resort offers enough to appeal to all ages! We met young people who had just gotten married (marriges are included in the all-inclusive package) as well as a couple who had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The one thing you can always say about all-inclusives is that what appeals to one person may not appear attractive to another. For instance, we met a couple from Wales who freely admitted to watching “hours and hours” of HBO and Cinemax (which they do not have at home) while lounging in their double Jacuzzi. They will go home without tans, but they were certainly happy campers who plan to come back. Wally and I live 4.5 miles from the ocean, in Myrtle Beach, so other beaches are not an important requirement for us, nor do we care if sports such as water skiing are not available. View all our island and beach photos and reviews Patricia Blackstock |
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