Following a glorious week spent in the Maldives last year, I was keen to get another beach holiday in this year. With just a few criteria on my list (adults only, beachfront location and reef accessible from the beach), I started looking at Kenwood Travel who I booked with last year, but came across some great deals on the Blue Bay Travel website.
The thought of going to a bustling tourist hot spot like Cancun did little for me, but when I came across the adults-only luxury 5 star TRS Yucatan Hotel further down the Yucatan peninsula that was offering a free upgrade to a Juniour suite with a private pool and butler(!), I set to work, trying to convince myself that Mexico was for me.
After reading up on the location I was convinced and snapped up the all-inclusive special offer, which happily came in well below my budget.
It’s all about the location
Located around 95km south from Cancun, the beautiful adults-only TRS Yucatan hotel sits on the coast, close to the island of Cozumel. As well as easy access to a house reef, a 5 minute walk down the beach, the southern tip of the island of Cozumel is a designated marine nature reserve making it the perfect location in terms of both snorkeling and diving.
As Mexico’s largest Caribbean island, Cozumel has a world renowned reef which is part of the Mesoamerica Barrier Reef System, second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The southern part of Cozumel is protected and has Marine Park status, meaning to dive there a special permit is needed and I after exchanging a few emails with at Aqua Excursions (operating from The Grand Palladium hotel, part of the same wdie Palladium complex), I was advised that the Cozumel dive was the one to go for and was advised that even a snorkeling trip to the local reef pretty much guaranteed the sighting to sea turtles.
The Journey
Flying direct to Cancun from Manchester airport was super convenient as I live only half an hour away from the airport. We opted to get the train to avoid both the expense of airport parking and the worry of having to drive home from the airport after no sleep on our return journey.
The online checkin for our Thomas Cook Airlines flight to Cancun opened the standard 24 hours before we were due to fly, but I was surprised to find that our seats had already been allocated and could not be changed. I’ve never flown longhaul with a budget carrier before, and to be honest I’ll definitely think again next time.
Whilst the plane was clean and modern and left on time, it wasn’t what I’m used to. When I fly longhaul I usually fly with the likes of BA, Emirates or Etihad, so being presented with just 5 film choices was a bit of a surprise! I consoled myself with an in-flight Prosecco and was thankful I’d loaded up my tablet with films and audio books.
The seats I thought were actually quite roomy, by exceptionally uncomfortable with almost no padding at all leaving me with a numb bum and a very achey back. With nothing on the head-rest to support your head, even with my Trtle travel pillow I found it impossible to sleep, luckily though at 9.5 hours it was relatively short (as far as longhaul flights go that is!).
Upon arrival, we had to run the gauntlet of yelling salesmen that line the area before you can exit Cancun airport, selling everything from excurions to car hire and amusingly, Tequilla shots. The blast of hot humid air as we stepped out of the airport and followed the Blue Bay Travel rep to our transfer minibus was a huge relief.
Visiting Mexico in late September can be considered risky, with it being slap bang in the rainy season. I’d prepared myself that we might get cooler weather, rain and a lot of clouds as a result so a clear blue sky and blazing sunshine greeting us was wonderful and provided my first realisation about Mexico – everything seems so much brighter and more vibrant there.
The Accommodation
It took less than 2 hours to get to the TRS Yucatan and we were ushered into the enormous hotel foyer, greeted by a smiling member and staff, given a glass of bubbly something or other and a wet towel to freshen up. There was a mix up with the room so we had to wait a short while for that to be sorted out, no great hardship, we were shown in the direction of the lobby bar and happily sat outside sipping cocktails and in less than 10 minutes, we were told our room was ready.
The suite itself was large and airy, and as I was traveling with my daughter, we’d opted for a room with two beds, and I was pleased to find 2 nice big doubles in the room, festooned with pillows and cushions. The mini bar was fully stocked with soft drinks and beer (the fact we don’t drink beer was a bit of a shame!), and there were also 3 large bottles of complimentary spirits in the room; Tequilla, Whisky and Vodka.
The suite was open plan with a sitting area at the far end with big sliding doors leading out onto our private terrace with our wonderful plunge pool. We were disappointed to have no real view to speak of as we were directly behind Helios restaurant on the beach front, but there was plenty of foliage and greenery to look at.
The one thing we weren’t keen on was the bathroom configuration. There was a small toilet cubicle that was weirdly, fully mirrored and contained a phone (who orders room service whilst they are on the loo?!), next to another fully mirrored yet seperate shower room, and the double sinks were actually located in the room. This isn’t a hotel to choose if you aren’t comfortable with constantly seeing yourself as there were mirrors everywhere!
The location
Whilst the hotel does have a sea front location, the beach isn’t direct accessible from the property, instead a short 5 minute takes you to the Grand Palladium resrot, a hotel in the same chain and part of the larger Palladium complex, where you’ll also find a shaded area full of large cabanas reserved especially for TRS Yucatan guests. This is also where Aqua Excursions dive school can be found.
The complex is so large that there are free taxis permanently trudnling around making it super easy to get around, but we preferred to walk between resorts, taking every opportunity to burn off the insane amount of calories we consumed becuase the food and cocktails were so amazing.
Wildlife
I was so blown away by the wildlife we saw during our stay that I’ve written an entire blog post packed full of pictures and telling you all about it. Take a look at the article here: Wildlife Spotted at The TRS Yucatan, Maya Riviera, Mexico.
What we did
Whilst local culture is always important when I go away, typically tourist day trips don’t interest me. Standing at the foot of Chicehn Itza surrounded by hundreds of other people all jostling to get the perfect Instagram shot holds little appeal. The issue with flying long-haul for just 7 days it is can be very difficult to fit everything in, so before leaving I made the decision that this trip would be all about much needed relaxation and exploring the marine life of the region.
Flying lonhaul for a holiday of only 7 days means it can be a challenge when trying to balance getting out and about exploring and the need for relaxation. With the emphasis firmly on relaxation, I was keen not to over do things, so had decided before arriving to do a local snorkeling boat trip, a Cenote dive as well as a full day diving in the Marine reserve of Cozumel.
Upon arrival despite glorious hot sunshine, we quickly found that the beach had been plagued by an enormous seaweed bloom badly affecting the visibility under the water, which when I swam out, was zero. It was like snorkeling in a thick brown soup. The beach too was covered, and despite tractors working all through the day every day, they did little to rid the beach of the blight. Unfortunate, as the weather that had caused the seaweed and churned up the sea also meant snorkeling at the local reef was simply not viable.
This forced a change in plans and at the dive school, located a short walk down the beach at the Grand Palladium hotel (one of the 4 hotels that form the huge Palladium complex) I chatted to the team there who advised that our plan to go to Cozumel was our best bet for good marine life. Having already planned to do this trip as well as booking a dive there, I also enquired about their PADI scuba diving course.
Diving in Cozumel
Despite diving yearly, due to only ever being able to go on holiday for a week, I still haven’t found the time to get properly PADI qualified, but this time around my daughter talked me into it. She doesn’t dive, but was able to book a snorkel trip on the same dive boat I’d be on, which meant whilst I did my two final PADI dives, she was able to visit 3 snorkel spots.
In the Maldives last year I did my deepest dive yet at 13 metres, and I loved being able to go a little deeper on my final dives and reached 15metres, and was utterly delighted to see a beautiful nurse shark, French angel fish, lots of lobsters and several Baraccuda.
My 3 dives were brilliant, and I was delighted to pass my final exam and finally walk away as a qualified scuba diver. Doing the course however took up the best part of 3 days, which meant our plans to do anything else were pretty much out of the window.
Spa Day
The spa at the TRS Yucatan was divine. There is a seperate pool there that only spa visitors can use, and it’s a lovely lazy river style meandering pool with a healthy juice bar at the far side. Inside the main building there are various plunge pools and our massages were divine, leaving us feeling truly relaxed, however, the spa prices were extortionate. I’m a regular spa visitor here in the UK and I’ve never seen prices quite that high before. A 30 minute massage for example was an eye-watering $120, that said, our complimentary massage was utterly fantastic and the spa is well worth a visit.
Food & Drink
To say the food and drink was excellent would be an understatement. All-inclusive can often conjure up images of crowded buffets serving medicore food to please the masses. Not so at the TRS Yucatan.
On arrival our butler explained all about the food and drink options. Our suite was a few steps away from Helios, a gorgeous beach bar that was also our choice for breakfast most mornings, and breakfast was true feast. As well as waiter service and the ability to order off the menu, there was a huge breakfast buffet with live cooking stations with an excellent selection of juices, authentic Mexican dishes, fruit, pastries, cheese, meat, yoghurt and lots more besides.
We also dined at Helios for lunch and the Fajitas were so delicious I could have ehappily eaten them every day, but with so many options to choose from, including lots of fresh fish, we tried something different every day.
For evening dining the options were even better, though it is recommended to book your choice of restaurant in advance, particularly the superb El Gaucho, where I had lobster. Speaking of which, unlimited lobster was even available on room service. Our second favourite dinner was at La Bohème the tapas restaurant which was utterly beautiful and the food and service was superb.
The only restaurant that disappointed us was Ribs & More, the American style restaurant where the food and service was decidedly mediocre.
The food highlight has to be the 7 course tasting menu at Chic Cabaret & Restaurant. Consitently rated as ‘excellent’ on TripAdvisor. Whilst cheesey cabaret shows really aren’t my thing, the performers were very good and the food was excellent. As well as 7 courses of pure deliciousness, there were a variety of different shots with each course, including of course Tequila, of which we drank far too much!
Whilst it was a real shame about the seaweed and being unable to snorkel on the house reef as a result, the holiday was superb throughout and it was impossible to find fault with anything. The service was superb, the food and drink incredible, the location stunning and our suite and the hotel facilities were excellent.
Holiday Highlights
- Attentive and friendly butler service
- Incredible food and drink
- Extensive wildlife
- Huge infinity pool overlooking the sea with watier service
- Friednly staff
- Our beautiful suite with private plunge pool
- Finally getting my PADI dive qualification
- Day trip to the marine reserve in Cozumel
Our trip to the Mexico
We flew to Mexico at the end of September direct from Manchester with Thomas Cook and stayed at the adults-only, beach front TRS Yucatan on the Yucatan peninsula. Our week long trip was booked through Blue Bay Travel at a cost of £1,069.96pp, all-inclusive staying in a Royal Junior Suite Private Pool and butler. I booked an intro dive in Cozumel with Aqua Excursions at a cost of $219pp and the Underwater Maya Snorkel Trip at a cost of $94pp.
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