We had the most wonderful vacation for Spring Break! We headed to Cancun Mexico to the Hyatt Ziva Cancun. hyatt-ziva-cancun
We started off early but at least we had direct flights between Cleveland and Cancun.
I was curious to see the Cancun airport, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was all remodeled, very clean, and very nice. We walked right up to an immigration agent, had a pleasant experience, and we were on our way. We traveled with carry-ons only, and it was great to not have to wait for luggage! There is only one section of the airport that can be intimidating but luckily we watched enough YouTube videos to be ready for it. There is a short hallway where the car rental counters are as well as excursions and other tourist-type upsells. It wasn't horrible, you just don't answer anyone and keep walking. As soon as you cross outside through the double doors, they can't follow or talk to you, and there is plenty of helpful staff to help you get to your transportation company. The hotel helped us arrange private, safe transportation and it was great. They even gave us beers and tequila!
We arrived at our hotel and received top-notch service the whole time. Literally from the moment we arrived, everyone was so nice and helpful. Our room wasn't quite ready but we jumped at the chance to sit down at the outdoor Mexican restaurant to get it all started.
This place was SO beautiful.
I'm not a huge fan of margaritas, but these were so light and refreshing. No mix needed on these!
We explored a little more and took advantage of the different carts and snacks around. This resort almost had TOO much food. Especially from Noon to late - so many different choices. It basically had the same amount of food, restaurants, and cafes as Punta Cana but this resort was maybe 1/8 the size. It was SO easy to navigate and was the perfect size. We could always run back to the room if we needed something and never got lost. There were two main pools but how they had them made then feel bigger. Even though they said a couple of days we were there they were at capacity, it never seemed extremely crowded at all. Never super long lines or anything.
Fresh mango with some special sauces.
We also took advantage of the sweet shop every day - this had everything from candy to cookies, to cake to ice cream to more beautiful desserts like this.
Even though this blog has a ton of pictures in it - we all have to admit - we sucked at taking photos of the food. We would just get TOO excited when it was given to us and would jump right into eating. We even made jokes every time we would eat something and go. - Darn it - we didn't take a photo!
We did let them know we were celebrating our anniversary and they decorated for us!
And even gave us some wine and a dessert!
We were lucky enough to be given a first-floor ocean view room and could walk straight out our patio to this. It was so nice hearing the waves at night and super peaceful. Our patio also had a hammock that the girls took advantage of often.
The room was pretty straightforward, 2-queen room. We honestly didn't need a bigger room. We weren't in it that much. They offered some discounted upgrades when we checked it, but we declined. Maybe next time we can check out some of there other layouts and bigger options.
Don't worry - I took my skin very seriously. I knew I would fry within 10 minutes - so it was all SPF shirts for me!
This was how the hallways were in the hotel.
After a quick swim in both pools to figure out our favorite ones - we headed to dinner! There was an Italian Restaurant, a steakhouse, an American Diner, a Mexican Brewery, Japanese Hibachi/Sushi and a very impressive buffet. The only restaurant we did not check out was the adults only french place. Honestly, the other food was so good, we didn't feel like we missed out on anything!
Every evening they would have these pockets of entertainment and different food. Lucy about lost her mind on the fresh donuts every night. There was also a Churro guy that every day from 7am to 11am would just crank out fresh donut holes and Churros, and you could top them as you like. I'm not a sweet person, but they were amazing.
In the evenings, they would have full production shows that would last about 45 minutes. There were dancers, magicians, acrobats etc. Every night was a different theme. It was nice you could pop in and watch for a bit or whatever, and not have to be committed to like a theater or something.
The first night, Chris and I decided to celebrate our anniversary and check out some of the adults only places. We enjoyed some very nice tequila and also got a dance club going. The girls were exhausted from the travel and happily went to bed. We only stayed out for a little bit as we were tired too.
I mean... come on - the sunrise every morning... one good thing of us being on eastern time vs. central was we were up early. We would catch the sunrise and also was able to get to the morning buffet before majority of people.
Heidi and Chris worked out a few days while there. Heidi loved the gym. I stayed back with Lucy as the gym was technically 18+ and the workers were always confused by Heidi's age, so we just said she was 18 to make it easier. I did the pool aerobics every morning and other fitness classes in the pool. It was pretty funny.
The fresh crepes cart at breakfast buffet!
This resort does have dolphins. They do seem very well taken care of but a little torn about having dolphins in captivity there. You pass by them when you head to your room, so we would often stop and watch them jump and swim all day. They give you the option to swim with them for a fee, but we all didn't want to.
The rest of the days we rented cabanas and we are SO happy we did. First, we truly confused everyone who worked there. They were like - Gonzales? You don't look Mexican! ha. We would finally introduce ourselves as the confusing Gonzales', which they found funny.
One comment about the pool situation - the only seating close to the pool edge are the cabanas. All the other loungers etc are off the pool edge. We could protect our area and block people from constantly invading our cabaana, but we did hear other families were annoyed that there were no cabanas available (you purchase 30 days in advance). We made friends with a family that come to this resort twice a year, and they said cabanas are the key for the pool area, and I agree.
The cabanas came with our own area, but also 2 facials and massages, a special food menu you could order from, and of course - amazing service. They were constantly refreshing towels, bringing water, spraying us with aloe etc. They were wonderful. It also allowed for much needed shade!
Proof we did the fitness classes in the pool. The pool was a little more than 4 feet deep - great for swimming - funny to do aerobics in.
We also received these coconuts with the cabana too! They looked really cool...but I'm not a coconut water fan.
After a FULL day at the pool - it was time to get cleaned up and head to the steakhouse. It was Easter, so we wanted a nice meal and it did not disappoint. It was a great bread and salad bar, wonderful apps, and the steak was delicious. We were so full.
Full Day 2 (Monday) - after a workout - Lucy jumped on the SPF bandwagon as she got a little red the first day and we were also heading to the beach!
The section we chose for our cabana was so so cool. Basically there were 5 other cabanas in this section between two docks which allowed for a private beach basically. Also you didn't have to walk far to the cabana and it wasn't far from the edge of the water either. They roped off a huge area which allowed for about 4 foot swimming in the ocean.
Heidi loved the beach the most. It was the best case scenario for being at the beach - waiter to bring you everything, not having to trek through sand a long distance and calm, clear enough water to swim. I still hate sand though. ha. It truly gets everywhere! This was soft sand, but still.
You can kind of tell how close we were to the ocean. Also we had ZERO vendor or locals bug us. None. The public beach was to the right of ours, and our waiter explained that where the locals have to park to get here is more than 2 miles away.
We decided to eat at the American Diner and take a break from the sand. It was so good we ate there twice AND Lucy went every day and got herself two strawberry milkshakes to go. I had the Smash Burger and it was A+.
So many varieties of drinks and smoothies. It was fun to keep trying new ones.
I helped Heidi out with her photoshoot she wanted to do every day. We got some really cool shots!
We cleaned up and headed to the sit-down Japanese sushi place. It was excellent. The only complaint is the restaurant is extremely hot because of the Hibachi grills.
Full Day #3 - yet another perfect morning!
The breakfast buffet was one of my favorites. They were perfect at making whatever omelet you wanted and they had a huge selection. They had typical American like sausage, eggs, bacon, pancakes etc, a crepes station, asian food, salad bar, so much fruit and then so much Mexican flair. They had ALL the Mexican choices from tamales to empanadas to chilaquiles to seriously things I have never seen before but were delicious! My favorite was the wonderful lady that was hand pressing fresh blue corn tortillas into whatever mini quesadilla you want - from Chorizo to chicken to cactus! She also said she makes the majority of the salsas and gaucs and there were SO many to choose from. I was in heaven.
The fun workout classes - this guy was hilarious and even jumped in the pool with us.
Enjoying the cabana... We tried 4 different ones and have our favorites for sure.
We decided to try to Mexican Brewery this night. We knew we weren't going to stay out too late this night as we had a full full day at the pool. Including us winning songs from movies trivia. Team Gonzos for the win! The drinks were flowing this day!
This pretzel was SO good. Like a true German pretzel!
We knew the Mexican brewery would not have a ton of food options for Lucy and she just had a burger for lunch and didn't want that. Best thing about an all-inclusive... off to the buffet we went! Luckily for Lucy it was Asian night and she loves egg rolls, lo mein, sushi etc, She ate three plates of food and was SO happy.
Heidi headed to bed as it had been a long day. Lucy, Chris, and I decided to burn off a little more energy and wander around the resort a little bit more.
So beautiful
Full Day #4 - We were a little slower moving today, but still ready to relax. Here is a breakfast omelet, and then they always had lo mein and these spring rolls, and they were AMAZING! I know a weird pairing, but it worked! They also had so many unique pastries to choose from.
Today's cabana was right in front of the pool bar, which we thought would be fun, and it mostly was. This was the only day we had to deal with entitled bad people. It was nothing the resort or staff did, and they actually tried to help us as well. We had a very loud family sitting behind our cabana that was from New Jersey or something like that. It is a tight squeeze between the edge of the cabana and the corner of the pool. A normal logical person would not think to squeeze sideways to get into the pool. The family kept coming into our cabana area from both sides, like stand in front on the 8 inches from the edge of the pool to the edge of our cabana. Besides the annoying entering and exiting, they would come stand in front of us and fight and yell at each other. Long story short - Chris had to exchange some words with the family, and luckily, the grandfather of the group agreed and told his family to knock it off.
It was just bad luck to have a family like that, and after they moved to a different area of the pool, it was great! This is the day a lot of us got burned as this cabana had a shallow long step that was great for sitting in, but it also fried our legs!
The super cute and energetic staff would come along and challenge the girls to games. This one was hilarious as Heidi and Lucy could not figure it out, but then the staff forgot how it worked. We laughed all pretty hard at it.
These are from one of the pop up carts that served AMAZING street tacos.
I made everyone promise we would try for family photos. We walked along the resort and took these. I love them!
We ate at the Hibachi grill. This was our least favorite meal for interesting reasons. The food was awesome, it was more the experience that was the problem. Their grill is one long grill with 4 different chefs on it. Then you sit in a row. Well, they split us up. So Heidi and I were with one chef, and then Lucy and Chris were with another. But then, no one was interacting with us except for Heidi. That chef was only interacting with her. Just kind of weird. It is also extremely hot and when you have sunburns, not the most comfortable. After all that, the food was very good, but we all decided we would sit down and eat there again, but not the Hibachi.
We ended the night with a stop at the buffet for desserts!
Day #5 - Last Full Day
We miss this breakfast.
Dolphin Pools
Heidi loved the facials and massages every day.
I mean... come on! They were SO good.
Chris drank the rainbow this day. This is where you drink a drink of every color of the rainbow. After he made it through, the waiter gave him this as a finisher. It was so funny.
The pool had this second-tier pool connected to it. Heidi and I ventured to it and it was fun to lean on it.
Every staff member would do this as thank you and respect. The gardener even stopped trimming a bush to acknowledge us. It is very kind.
Last night we had to eat at the Italian place again. This was all of our favorite.
This lasagna was my favorite thing I ate the whole trip.
This night they also had a Mexican heritage party. They did a whole hog roast and had every kind of Mexican food you could think of. We dove into the unique desserts and tacos.
I promised Heidi a beach nighttime photoshoot as long as I did not have to get into the sand.
We were up early and couldn't even have the buffet, but we had to say goodbye. We will be back someday as this was exactly what we needed and wanted.
