Gordon - August, 2007

G&G           

Hidden Beach Trip  Aug 1-5^th, 2007

 

First, some background info.  I love the nude thing, my wife is not so fond of it.  A few years back, I got her to go to Hedo III.  I loved it, she not so fond of it.  As a matter of fact, she said she would never go again L (the PDA’s, or more importantly, PDS’s were too much for her…too bad for me, because I love them….

Short story long, this year, with a fair amount of arm twisting, I got her to go with me to Hidden Beach. We went in August and the resort was not filled to capacity, but just filled enough to make for good company.

 

Upon arrival at the entrance to its sister resort El Dorado Seaside Suites, you are led to a “hidden” guarded door on the side which is the entrance to Hidden Beach Resort.  And as stated in previous posts, the resort is beautiful and, because of its relatively small size, much more intimate than your typical resort (that is the part my wife appreciated the most).  Also as previously stated, the staff is amazingly caring and attentive, and the food and rooms were as described…very good.     Good news… she liked it a lot and she loved Mexico!  Even better news, she even says she might like to go back one day!

 

Other bits of our general experience:

 

• First and foremost, the restaurants and grounds at Hidden Beach and next door at the much larger El Dorado, were fantastic.  You get full access to all their restaurants and they all were relatively elegant with relatively good food (light years above Hedo III).  In the states, I would be happy paying for a meal at any one of those restaurants… and they were part of the Hidden Beach package.  If you like to eat out, without question, get dressed up nice, walk the 400 ft to the El Dorado, and eat dinner at their restaurants as much as you can bear to be away from Hidden Beach. 
• We went on a day trip to Playa de Carmen for shopping.  If I had to guess, it might have been more enjoyable as an evening trip with dinner and shopping combined.   During the day, it was just one big, hot, outdoor shopping mall.  Sorry shoppers, but that is how I feel. At nighttime with lights, activities, and restaurants, it probably would have been much more my speed.
• Enjoy the grilled lunch at the Hidden Beach pool as much as possible…very simple and very tasty. 
• Next time, I’ll try to get a room away from the disco.  I don’t mind the late night partying, but I sure miss hearing the sounds of the ocean.
• The 2nd floor room we had was nice, but even though it had an ocean view, when you were sitting in the chairs on the porch, you could not see over the wall below the window.  They have a million dollar view and they blocked it with 100 dollar sheetrock.  Next time, I think I’ll try the ground floor rooms (even though they don’t have a view of the ocean).
• As warned, the swimming in the ocean at Hidden Beach was very disappointing.  Knee deep in the deep end of a protected swim area and only good for getting cooled off. 
• Snorkeling at Hidden Beach was non-existent and next door was very poor.  If you are into snorkeling, try to figure out another solution. We came on a Wednesday, so we were not able to try the sailing/snorkeling trip.
• If needed, there was plenty of shade, and the swinging beds on the beach were fantastic.  If only Hedo had the same thing! 
• Go to the Mayan ruins at Tulum!  You can see them in a half day trip and on a clear day, the ruins are prettier than you would imagine and the ocean they are built above is as beautiful as it gets.  If it were built today, it would be one of the prettiest resorts on earth.  The architecture and location were fantastic.  Those Mayans knew what they were doing when they chose that location! 
• Pool goers…When you drink all day at the swim up bar, please get out once and awhile so people like me don’t think you are taking a leak in the pool!
• Mexico can be hot and more humid than you can imagine in the summer.  Any non-water related activity made you wonder whether or not you would be alive before the activity was over.
• My other half was extremely concerned about the much discussed water issues in Mexico.  We used the bottled water for brushing our teeth.  Other than that we did nothing special….we ate the fruit, salads, etc… and everything ended up just fine (figuratively speaking, of course). 
• I’m not a massage person, but my wife and others raved about them.  Expensive, but apparently worth it.

 

So to recap, if you are looking for a beautiful, intimate resort with excellent food and an excellent staff which is really interested in making sure that you have a relaxing and pleasant vacation, this could be an ideal choice for your next trip.

Now… if I could just get them to open up another sister resort next door which does allow PDA’s, I would be in seventh heaven!

Gordon