Live Aqua indulgence in Cancun

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November 30^th – December 5^th2013

Live Aqua Resort, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Fine and sunny – 28c -30c

Our flight to Cancun from Miami was quick, thankfully! The AA 757 was very run down and very full. There were a few grizzly kids and we were glad to land in Cancun after an hour 45 minutes. We chose Yellow Taxis for the ride into the Hotel Zone. They offer a deal at the airport giving 50%!d(MISSING)iscount on the return trip if you book at the same time. It was US $16 per person. After a short wait we piled into a minivan with a few others and left for Live Aqua.
The hotel is gorgeous. On arrival we were shown past the pair of gleaming white Rolls Royce limousines (hotel courtesy cars) into the impressive glass and marble lobby, complete with water feature and aromatherapy wafting through; and given cold facecloths and tea to welcome us. Once checked in, the spa ladies offered us free hand massages for later - once we got settled. This hotel is an adults-only, all-inclusive property and is really lovely. We stayed five days and enjoyed every minute. The restaurants around the property offer buffet, a la carte, poolside snacks, sushi and of course fine dining for an additional charge. We were very impressed with the all-inclusive dining options and didn't feel the need to have a romantic beach dinner nor book the lobster dinner at their high prices. The all-inclusive restaurants offered meals that we would consider fine dining anyway – fantastic presentation and flavours - very yummy! One restaurant, the 'Hidden Garden' was concealed within a wonderful tropical garden and lit with fairy lights and candles. The pool area is incredible with a lap pool surrounded by a number of others all with varying temperatures - but lovely and tepid. The Caribbean Sea is just there too, with white powdery sand making this a perfect holiday destination to relax and be pampered. We discovered a couple of beach side bars within the hotel complex; one – the Sea Corner, serving lovely fresh Mexican seafood dishes for lunch and the other offering drinks up at the bar on swings! The fact that all of this comes included is just the icing on the cake. We used the gym, spa, tried all the restaurants, went to the fire show and lazed around on the deck chairs by the pool and down at the beach. Being served all hours by the most wonderful staff was fantastic. Nothing was ever a problem and their courtesy and great humour added to the experience. All the free food and drinks they brought us helped too! We did venture out as well - not that there is any need. One morning we wandered the 5kms or so along the beach to the nightclub zone and did a bit of browsing the shops. We saw some crocs lazing by the inner shore and grabbed a coffee at Starbucks! The shopping at Plaza Caracol wasn't at all good so we walked back to the hotel and looked through the mall across the street from the hotel instead. La Isla Shopping Mall was much bigger and offered a variety of shops to explore. We did this one evening before dinner and just scanned the shops for an hour is so. There were also lovely little waterside cafes and bars all lit up and it was very pretty. The usual chain restaurants were along the strip too – including Bubba Gump, Outback and Margaritaville. The cafes and bars must be struggling though, as many of the resorts along the Hotel Zone strip are offering the all-inclusive packages – meaning guests are not dining out nearly as often. Why pay a whole lot more than necessary when the all-inclusive offers such a great experience. The little restaurants “on the outside” do look inviting and if we didn’t have a reservation back at the hotel we may have been tempted to take in the atmosphere.
A big day out was on the cards for the day before our departure - to Xcaret to swim with the dolphins. We purchased our tickets from the Official Tourist Information Centre and chose a Two Tour package obtaining a better price than buying them individually. We observed a number of booths along the street offering “special” deals on the most popular tours – Xcaret, Xel-Ha, XPlor, Xichen and Xenotes. We decided against spending too much time researching these as we were aware that many of the discounts come with restrictions and or worse, attending a timeshare presentation!

We were collected from the hotel about 7.30am and arrived at the park just after 9am. It is a lush tropical park with much to see and do. There are white sand beaches and natural pools, a coral reef aquarium, Jaguar Island, a butterfly pavilion, flamingos, and underground river, shows and restaurants. We were unable to do everything as we had booked the side trip at the adjacent Delphinus World to swim with the dolphins. We chose the Primax 4 encounter which was limited to just 4 people and included the foot push. Words cannot really explain the feeling of sharing the water with these gorgeous mammals. We experienced a kiss on the cheek, a kiss on the lips, a belly rub, dancing holding onto their fins, lots of stroking and of course the jump over us and the foot push. The foot push was a thrill, being the most exhilarating part of the encounter. The way it worked was that you lay on your front on top of the water with head up and feet pointed down. The dolphins swam from behind and each one took a foot and pushed with its nose into the arch of each foot propelling us into the air and planing through the water from the waist up for about 50 metres. Some people achieved a great height and with arms extended it really felt like flying, fast! We then enjoyed wandering around taking in the many sights and shows before catching the bus back to the hotel. Everyone was tired and many had a snooze on the way back. What a great way to end our time in Cancun. The next morning we relaxed by the pool feeling a little sad to be leaving such a gorgeous place. Not to worry for long as we have another sector of our journey to come and we are looking forward to seeing our friends and family in Miami.

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Comments

[Tracey Thomson]

Love it!
Hiya Jen and Shaun, Wow, I've always wanted to go to Cancun ever since I missed the opportunity to go when I was a travel agent - about 1986! It looks as divine as it did then and the all inclusive hotel sounds fab! Let us know if you are able to catch up with us when you get back. We are in Whangarei Heads until 6th Jan and then on the move up to Cape Reinga. xxx and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!