I am writing this from the lobby bar at the Omni Hotel in Cancun, in the time between checkout and our shuttle to the airport. My wife and I just concluded an ‘all included’, six-night stay that we booked through Costco Travel to celebrate her birthday. Neither of us drink alcohol, which was part of the all included package. We ended up drinking a lot of iced tea, coffee, lemonade and water. You might be wondering about the water quality, I know we were, but everything was filtered so we had no issues. We ate and drank worry free throughout the vacation, which is always a big bonus south of the border!
Another bonus, our room overlooked the pools in the foreground and the ocean below. The view was mesmerizing! If we wanted to nitpick, the stairs could have been an issue. There were approximately 75 stairs from the hotel leading past pools and a hot tub on two levels to the beach, in 7 sets of 9-12. For someone like me with bone-on-bone knees it could have been an issue, but my body did not betray me. The first morning, as I walked down to the beach I kept thinking, this is the resort of 1000 stairs! The key for me was taking them slowly, plus there were some ramps available which helped too.
At the bottom of all those stairs was a restaurant called Pina Colada. It was right on the beach, with a postcard worthy view of the sand and surf. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this was our go-to spot. One of the things we liked best about Pina Colada, along with the taco and sushi bars, plus the fine dining at Da Vinci restaurant: all the portions were not overwhelming. The food was also outstanding, and we especially enjoyed Da Vinci which required reservations. On our three visits, we ordered multiple appetizers, soups, salads, main courses and desserts. It was five-star dining for sure. If we had been drinking alcohol, I’d expect such meals to run up to $200, but all it cost us was a tip at the end of the evening. Tips are also included, but like many other guests we found ourselves giving them anyway because we know they were appreciated. The minimum wage in Mexico is $172.87 pesos, about $8.60/hour, and I doubted the hotel paid much more than that, but I never asked.
I didn’t know Cancun got waves, so I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find 3-4 ft waves peeling along the beach break out front. The first morning of our vacation, I started body surfing and got several fun tube rides. It got better when I rented a boogie board from the lifeguard stand and found myself in several exhilarating Mexican barrels. The highlight was a double tube ride: I dropped in, went under the cover, came out and as the wave approached the shore I got covered and came out again! I seldom boogie board, it’s not my thing, but it was this vacation. Over the course of our vacation, the waves dropped: first to 2-3 ft, then 1-2 ft, and the last few days it was barely 1 ft but I still found a lot of open faces, small barrels and enjoyable rides in the shore break.
The lifeguards had one surfboard, a 5’7 beater which was way too small for me so I didn’t even attempt it. Several of their boogie boards were also pretty thrashed. It seemed likely most of the boards had been left behind by tourists ages ago. I talked daily at length with the head lifeguard, and before leaving I gave him $100. He promised to buy an 8 ft soft-top board for tourists like me, which would be ideal. I figured he could make a lot of tourists like me happy if he got one, and he would substantially increase his income too! He was renting the 5’7 beater for $40/day already, but I only saw two people rent it the whole trip. I really hope he uses that money to buy a board. It’s the classic ‘give a person a fish and he can eat for a day, give him a fishing pole and he’s set for life’. Then again, if he uses the money for a more immediate need, like diapers for his kid or food for his family I would understand. Either way, it was nice to do something for a guy who spends every day, all day working on the beach.
The beach and the hotel were absolutely first rate, and our Costco travel package, which also included airfare and shuttles, was very reasonable. But the best part of the vacation was going to XPLOR, an adventure park in the jungle! The very first thing we did, for the first time in our lives, was try the zip lining. We had no idea what to expect. The first thing to know, you don’t do just one line. There were 8 towers open, each of varying height (30-45 meters) over the jungle floor with lines that rushed you along over 20 mph. After dropping in on the first line, I turned to my wife and exclaimed, “That felt just like riding in a barrel at Ocean Beach!” The rush of adrenaline and speed was pure and exquisite. The only difference between surfing OB and zip lining: you don’t know if you are going to make it out of the barrel, while the successful conclusion of the zip line is 99.999% certain (Google zip line accidents, there are enough to give someone pause). The longest ride lasted 80 seconds and most were 30-45 seconds. The entire course took us over an hour.
There were almost no waiting times for the zip lines, or any of the other adventures. I don’t know if it was because of COVID, which is waning in the area, if it was just how things are during the week, or a combination of both. We also enjoyed the hammock splash, which is a shorter zip line ride into the water on a hammock. We did that one several times because it was so fun and quick. We drove a jeep through a jungle course, and walked and swam through underground caves filled with stalactites and stalagmites. It was altogether pretty spooky in the caves, like a horror movie set. The temperatures were cool too, which is ideal in such a warm climate. All food was included with our park passes, and the spread was very well done with both classic Mexican and American favorites. I was a little surprised to see people eating hamburgers and pizzas, but to each their own. We were glad we ate before doing the zip line, because we both got a little dizzy riding the lines and walking back up the circular tower staircases.
If you are looking for excitement and adventure on your next vacation, I highly recommend checking out the Costco travel package to Cancun at the Omni hotel. Ours was definitely a vacation of a lifetime!