Nonstop champagne, man servants, and drinking cenote water with a side of Mexico.. Part I

Bienvenidos blogger readers!  We recently returned from Cancun, Mexico in the Riviera Maya and I’m pretty sure my liver had never needed to work so hard in it’s life.. I’m talking extra overtime and I’m glad it’s still working…  We stayed at the all inclusive Hard Rock Riviera Maya Resort and it was beyond perfect.  From the moment I arrived I was greeted by the courteous hotel staff and given a welcome drink.  Mojito = Mexico.  If you’ve never been to the area, the resort was a little over an hour away from the Cancun International Airport.  We prepaid for shuttles to take us directly to the hotel so leaving the airport was hassle free.  Not going to lie, the last time I was in Cancun, was under very different circumstances which involved high school graduation, drink and drown, and leaving with hair braids.  Well one of those still kinda happened…

{the resort}

 

 

 

We were there for a beach wedding for a bff I met living in Hawaii.  Sidebar: I’d do anything for those girls.. most of my best friends I met living in Hawaii and a bunch still live there.  A lot of us have dispersed around the world and these trips mean so much to be able to catch up and experience these fun adventures together.  When I learned she was having a destination wedding to Cancun, I was super excited to get my passport stamped again!  I’ll divulge more about the wedding in Part II.. otherwise your eyeballs might fall out from reading too much of my rants..

 

 

Each day was filled from morning to night and when coming straight off a red eye flight into the night was a little cray, but I somehow worked it out and fueled up on coffee and champagne for most of my time.  The days were warm and nights perfectly mild.. going in May was absolute perfection because I was worried it would be too humid.  Me and my hair don’t appreciate humidity levels that make you take 5 showers a day.  Nope..

The resort itself is beautiful and right on the beach.  My first morning my body clock was completely effed so I woke up early and went for a run – they have this really cool tracked area that winds around the grounds.  Best idea ever to see the new sun for the day and explore the massive resort which includes horses!  They have drivers take you everywhere in golf carts so you kinda miss a lot if not by foot.  They have food all the time too.  We ate breakfast and lunch almost every day at the buffet that featured an incredible assortment from omelets, fruits, cheeses, veggies, and fresh juices to balance out all the libations I was filling my body with.  I have a hard time downing too much tequila and I wasn’t about to test my body again to see if it could handle it.. so champs all around!!

 

 

{spa recap and excursions}

Staying at the resort include credits to book excursions and use the spa.  The spa service itself was nice, but after you were finished, you kind of get rushed out the facility even though they have this massive area to hang around.  Once I realized I was led to the area to check out, I walked back into the seated area to peruse and relax for a moment before having to take the robe off.  The bride for the weekend was just finishing too so we got to have some girl talk (which had nuts, dried fruit, and chlorophyll water!) but we must have been asked 3-4 times if we had already been helped followed by a look of confusion why we were still there.  After, I decided to wander a bit and check out the other parts where they have hydrotherapy you can book and I almost felt like I wasn’t allowed to “look” and see the spa because I kept getting stopped.  Stark difference of spas in the US where you can kind of linger.  I’m not talking spending hours, but we must have only been there about 20 minutes or so after our services.  This was my only gripe with the whole resort as I think most of my girlfriends had similar experiences.  Just a heads up if you stay here what to expect.. Service great, just don’t plan on hanging out for too long after.

We booked an excursion which included transportation to the cenotes.  This. was. amazing. The tour took us to two cenotes, one called Dos Ojos Cenote where we swim into caves where bats live (wasn’t weird.. serious) and check out some hundreds of years old stalagmites.  The second cenote they took us to is what happens when the stalagmites collapse and create underground caves (can’t remember the name).  We used snorkels for this to see fish and the caves.  Definitely not for the faint of heart when you see the drop off and how far down it goes with all the rocks, but an incredible adventure.  Just don’t drink the water on accident like I did.  Hoping all the alcohol I consumed fought off whatever bacteria I drank..

 

 

{venturing around town}

Playa Del Carmen is only a 15 minute cab ride from the resort.. just ask them to take you to Fifth Avenue.. Not NY style with luxury stores, but a little more touristy souvenir shops where you can buy plenty of Mexican blankets and magnets.  If you want to partake in fish eating the dead skin off your feet, they have that too.  A few of us ventured off here during the day to sight see and at night for their restaurants and nightlife.  I didn’t go to the clubs there but we had some legit street tacos at this place called Puerto Cocina Urbana.. Go there if you’re in the area.. good cerveza too!

 

 

{outfit details} Red and white halter top: Moschino (not for sale – vintage), Shorts: One Teaspoon, Bag: Dooney & Burke, Sandals: BCBG (similar)

 

 

 

 

{vitamin d}

Beach time was oh so very necessary and I tried to soak up the sun with a side of Moet as much as possible. They have these Bali beds you can rent and you totally get catered to.. do this because you get it for the full day and it’s almost close to having a man servant.. sooooo….

 

Black Bikini: Amazon (here)

 

Tan Bikini: Kaoh’s (sold out)

Despite what you may think of Cancun like I did where it’s nonstop spring break central, the resorts are the way to go to still adult but also enjoy drink and drown in a more classier way.. I’ll go into more detail on the bride’s beach wedding on my next post.. it deserved its own write up! View it here..