On October 8th 2005 I got married in Cancun surrounded by friends and family in the Westin Regina Hotel. It was just 12 days before hurricane Wilma (category 5) made landfall in Cancun and wreaked havoc on my beloved city. Luckily, for hubby and me, we were long gone by then and enjoying our honeymoon in Thailand but for many of our loved ones they had to ride out the storm. That was 6 years ago but still my wedding day is fresh in my mind. I remember people telling me that the first year of marriage is like being on a constant honeymoon but that was not the case for my husband and me. For us it was more like growing pains until we finally settled into a comfortable groove and it was only then that I realized that I was very lucky as I had married my best friend. The following years have just gotten better and better as we make our way through this life together. He makes me laugh (which is so very important), he has my back, and he is a kind gentle, intelligent, patient soul. We are actually quite different from each other in many ways but I think that is what in the end makes us work so well together.
So, on our 6th wedding anniversary we decided to treat ourselves to a weekend away at El Marina El Cid Hotel in the Riviera Maya just 20 minutes away from home. We came across a great deal on Clickonero for two nights with an ocean view suite and VIP Premium Club status that we just couldn’t refuse. With packed bags we set off Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. I had already done my due diligence beforehand by checking out the hotel on Trip Advisor and as always there were incredibly positive reviews mixed in with some terrible reviews. The most common bad review was about the food but since hubby and I often visit all inclusive hotels in the Riviera Maya we knew what to expect in general.
When we arrived we checked in at the Premium Lounge, which is usually used for time share owners, and also to try and book people into doing a time share presentation. I used to sell Time Share….please don’t hold that against me J so I promptly let them know that a) I was an ex-time share saleswoman and b) I had no interest in being tortured—ooops I mean toured. We were taken to a suite that was more than what we needed for 2 nights but greatly appreciated. We had a living room, small kitchenette, 2 bathrooms, and a large bedroom with two balconies overlooking the ocean. There was even a bottle of red wine and a colourful fruit basket on the dining room table.
We quickly stripped off our clothes and hit the pool. WOW! What a pool! It was huge AND practically empty as we are in low season right now, which suited us just fine as shockingly there aren’t any sun umbrellas at all around the pool just on the beach L We found a few chairs that were in the shade as the sun had begun its slow descent behind the tall buildings of the hotel and we dropped our stuff and dove into the refreshing water. Let me tell you it is a great pool….large, with tepid water, a huge play area for kids and children alike with water slides and a fake cliff that you can dive off into the deep man-made abyss below. I, of course, immediately wanted to try the slide out and dive off the “cliff”. As I whipped down the surprisingly fast slide that at one point I believed I was going to fly over the side, I let out a loud laugh as I hit the water. Next up the “cliff” I dove off and plunged into the separate pool below. After, my adrenalin rush had subsided we ordered a few frozen tropical drinks and settled into our chairs.
Our first night we went for dinner at one of the a la carte restaurants and had a decent meal. Unfortunately the food at El Cid is not that great (just like the reviews stated) neither the a la carte restaurants nor the buffets were much to our liking but since we were only there for two days it didn’t bother us too much. If I were staying for a week I would never survive and would have to leave the premises in search of better meals. The staff on the other hand we found to be very friendly and eager to make our stay a pleasant one. At the end of our weekend we felt rested and content and ready for the work week ahead.
How do you spend your wedding anniversay?
Wow it looks stunning! I’m loving the deals with Clickonero and Groupon 🙂
I am never a fan of food at All Inclusives. It’s ok, but after the first day it’s not as appetizing.
Great Blog – SUPER couple
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Thanks Dad!
Great Blog As usual Aslie, you always manage to make me feel as if I have been there xx
Thanks Dawn!
Glad you enjoyed your wedding anniversary Ashlie, in such a lovely hotel.
The suite sounds fabulous; accommodations are always much more important to me than the food… so wonder where your foodie gene comes from….certainly not me!
Hope you and hubby have many more happy years together 🙂
We took a tour of El Cid a few years ago. Yeah, we got sucked in with the timeshare spill, but I received 100 dollars off a National rental car for a week. So for us it was worth it 🙂 I would never buy there. They guy we had was very pushy. Plus I LOVE the Royal Resorts!!!! And Catherine (you may know her).
Laura–we never expect much from all inclusives but this was pretty bad even compared to other places that we have stayed at in the past.
Sheilan–thanks Mom 🙂
KfromMichigan- I used to work at the Royal Resorts (Sands) many years ago but Catherine doesn’t ring a bell. They really treat their guests well.