Katharine Lewis | Flight Centre Independent | Home Based Travel Agent
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Katharine Lewis

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Posted on: Monday November 21, 2016
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Family Travel Review: Paradisus La Esmeralda, Riviera Maya

Paradisus La Esmeralda, Playa Del Carmen Mexico

Travel Agent Review

October 13-20, 2015

We flew down with Air Transat, and both of my children (ages 6 and 2) are enrolled in the Transat Kids Club.  It’s a free program for those under 12 with great perks including free seat selection, an ID lanyard, plastic luggage tags and free snack coupons.  They also gave my eldest son a birthday muffin, a huge It’s My Birthday button, and a signed card from the entire crew.  You need to be flying on your actual birthday to get this bonus!

 

The Hotel

 

This 510 room hotel is nestled on a beautiful cove only 40 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from Playa Del Carmen.  Unfortunately, you can’t walk to town very easily, a taxi is about 13USD one way.

There is ambient lounge music playing throughout the resort, and it changes with the time of day.  It was very relaxing!   They offer the online streaming soundtrack at Purefreedomradio it’s worth a listen!

The boys had a ball chasing turtles and koi through the pond mazes:

The junior and one bedroom suites are located in 3 story buildings, (with elevators if you’ve got the stroller!)  and we had a top floor Paradisus Junior Suite ocean view room in the Family Concierge section, room 3330.  Luxe marble floors, 2 queen beds that were extremely comfortable, separate shower and toilet rooms, and a huge jacuzzi tub.  There are full sized Thierry Mugler bath gel, lotion, shampoo and conditioner that was replaced every other day.   There was a leather couch that is not a pull out (but would be appreciated!) in the sitting area with table and two chairs, and two more chairs out on the balcony with another jacuzzi tub.  A top floor room is not what I would choose if I went again, since huge slats of concrete make up your ceiling with no protection from the elements.  Coffee lovers will enjoy the complimentary Nespresso coffee maker (with one in the Family Concierge lounge as well), a stocked mini bar including chocolate milk, apple juice, M&M’s & Oreos.  

Sunrise view from our junior suite:

If you’re staying in a Family Concierge level room, we also received a backpack for each child stocked with a Paradisus T-shirt & baseball hat.  There were adorable kids robes and slippers to match ours.  The room had full sized sunscreen, kid’s toothpaste, bug spray (Bring your own too!), one toothbrush, Johnson’s and Johnson’s bubble bath and shampoo.  What a nice surprise!  I also let the hotel know that it was my son’s birthday, so our room had 30 odd balloons in it, along with a delicious slice of chocolate cake that was devoured before I could get a picture.

 

 

All of my clients travelling with kids have asked if it was worth it, and now I can say unequivocally, YES!  We had a preferred room section with exclusive access to Olio restaurant for lunch and dinner, and a fantastic heated pool with a bar.  Our concierge was Fabricio, and although he was new, he was great!  We had a cell phone to contact him during the day (and into the evening on occasion) for anything we needed.   I was able to make our dinner reservations with Maria BEFORE we got to the resort, which was a real treat.  Yes, we made some changes, but the phone let us do that on demand.  The kids loved the free Xbox we ordered once the weather took a turn.  Milk and cookies was reliably there for turn down each night, and the bubble bath with octopus balloon animals were a hit!

 

Kids Club

The centre is split in two age groups 1-4 and 5-12.  This is one of a handful of resorts that will watch the younger set.  They are open from 9AM - 10PM!   Everyone we met in there was fantastic!  There are organized activiites for teenagers, but this resort truly caters to those 12 and under.

Activites included for those 5 and up: Rock climbing wall, Euro Bungy, pizza making, pinata making, treasure hunts, crafts, video games, dance parties, beach and pool games.

My youngest son chilled out in the kiddie room, which is covered with neatly arranged toys, foam mat flooring, and huge bean bag chairs in front of a TV.  He did tend to watch movies the two times he went, but I didn’t mind as we were so busy the rest of the week.  We also would never have learned that there is a resident crocodile who lives in the mangrove swamp outside the family concierge section facing the ocean!  In other wildlife entertainment, we encountered this hungry coatimundi multiple times this week.

 

Entertainment

Life enriching experiences for adults were organized at 3PM and 7PM every day on a rotating schedule.  These activites included tequila tasting, wine tasting, sushi and cigar making, fruit carving,  The La Perla side also offered salsa, merengue, zumba and pole dancing lessons, massage lesson for couples, and an adults only pool party.

The shows were in a covered area outside the buffet restaurant, with lots of big sectional couches and bar stools to watch.   A hotel of this size would really benefit from an enclosed theatre.  The rain was a constant distraction in this particular zone, with housekeeping staff having to constantly squeegee the marble floors.   I didn’t make it to a single show because they started at 9pm, but my husband and son loved the Michael Jackson Tribute.  

We had 5 days of rain at the resort, but we still swam when we weren’t hiding out on a Bali bed and playing their game of Connect 4.  There was plenty to keep everyone entertained indoors, and the amazing waiters would wade out to us.

My husband and I were able to escape to the adults only side, La Perla, for a rainy morning.  We just read and had mimosas on a bali bed.  It’s surreal to leave the excitement of the family side.  It’s a nice place to visit, but not where we wanted to be (on this trip, anyway!)

 

Beach & Pools

This hotel is not known for it’s beach, it’s rather short and the protected mangroves come quite close to the water.   The pools are so nice, you won’t even notice.  Bar service was quick here too!  The sargassam seaweed was a daily battle, but they had many people clear it by 10am each day.  It didn’t really bother us at all, and there was no odour.  The water was murky from all the storms when we were there, but we did enjoy a quick dip in the freshwater cenote that’s down the beach to your left.  

As I mentioned earlier, the Family Concierge pool reminded me of a hidden Thai oasis we visited many moons ago.  We were spoiled to only have maybe 4 families a day share it with us.  (Hi Wally!)  

The Kids Pool was a little colder, but the pirate ship with it's slides were pretty darn awesome.  The Wipeout zone inflatable is so exciting for the older kids too, and this pool is pretty deep.  Bring your own life jackets for your non swimmers.  I tried the course after a few margaritas and I wasn’t so good.

 

Restaurants

I know I could make a whole separate post on the delectable meals we enjoyed at the Paradisus La Esmeralda.  There are 8 restaurants open to everyone here, and if you are bringing the kids, they usually don’t let you dine past 7:30 with them.  Every restaurant offers a kids side menu that isn’t printed, but I asked the boys to try our meals each night, and then order a kids meal if needed.  They only had to once for dinner!  (Oh and the mozzarella sticks are steal-worthy!)

Fuego - The Latin Fusion seafood restaurant was my favourite, and it’s adults only on the La Perla side.  Be sure to grab a delicous basil martini at the holding bar, M-Bar before you dine!  Hector had spot on recommendations for us, like octopus ceviche and seafood chowder, seafood paella (I love seafood!) followed by a huge and cracking coconut creme brulee.  This restaurant felt as exciting as a New York establishment, and felt like it would be a 200 meal no problem.  Be sure to tip at all of your meals, you will not be disappointed!

 

 

 

Olio - Be sure to ask for Andre's section here, he also knew what was best that day.  I had a salmon carpaccio starter, the asparagus and kalamata olive risotto was mind blowing, and delicious cannoli and tiramisu for dessert.  This restaurant is outside, so bring your bug spray for your ankles.

Vento - This Mediterranean gem has something for everyone!  The sculptures and art lent itself to an atmosphere of refined beauty.  My boys loved the shrimp ravioli in a white wine beurre blanc.  My husband wholeheartedly adored the lamb brick appetizer & veal tenderloin.  My chicken tikka masala was so flavourful, and a tad spicy but I wanted it again the next day!

 

 

Bana - There is a teppanyaki side - which was amazing!  Best tasting chicken fried rice I’ve ever had! 

Bana - Fusion & Sushi bar was also delicious!  Don’t miss the edamame tossed in shichimi togarashi!  The whole family devoured it.  The Rock Shrimp appetizer with sriracha mayonaise was a hit.   Any of the sushi rolls we tried were dynamite!  I also enjoyed a great shrimp pad thai one night, and the Miso Salmon was darn good another night.

The Market - This restaurant felt very African in decor, just stunning.  It’s a Brazilian Steak House with a killer salad bar.  We had a start and stop coaster, and were served from huge skewers of meat including sausage, lamb, beef, beef and a different kind of beef.  (I don’t eat beef, so I didn’t try it!)  Make sure to add the chimichurri sauce to it, delish!

Naos - The buffet restaurant was perfect for breakfast every day!  Fresh juices, omelettes, fruit and pastries were a highlight, chased by delicious mimosas.  Every waiter we encountered here would remember we like tea, and what the kids liked every day!

Staff

This resort had consistently amazing staff, from waiters, to gardeners.  No request was too small, and we never had to wait for anything!  Say hi to Jeronimo at Olio.

The resort has partnered with Unicef, and they ask you to bring any used children’s clothes and shoes for the locals when you come that you can leave to make room for souvenirs.  It all goes to local schools and towns close to the resort.  They also sold raffle tickets for 10USD one day of the week to win room and spa credits for your stay.  I love to see a hotel chain give back!

In conclusion, my kids cried when we were leaving, and I teared up a little too.  It was the best family vacation we’ve had to date, and we’ve gone to Beaches Negril and Walt Disney World most notably amonst a few others.  For more details, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Name:
Katharine Lewis

Location:
Guelph, Ontario

Contact Number:
519 546 3704

Email:
katharine.lewis@fcitravel.ca

About Katharine:

I run my personal travel business in partnership with a company known throughout Canada for wonderful travel experiences at amazing prices - Flight Centre


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