If you are staying near Playa del Carmen and just want something different for dinner away from your all-inclusive resort, here’s a very interesting option. It’s called Alux, (pronounced a’loosh), a restaurant outside of Playa del Carmen, and it’s located inside a cave cenote.
If you are going to book or have already booked the new Planet Hollywood Cancun, please be aware that there is a fake website out there taking money from vacationers but not really reserving any rooms…the fake one ends with -cancun.com; the REAL website ends with hotels.com. (The first part of the web address is, of course, planethollywood). The company is doing everything it can to remove the bogus website from the internet.
If you’re interested in how CCM looks these days now that it’s been open for a bit, take a look at the video below. Meanwhile, here’s a few facts about this resort: Continue reading
Just one of Aaron Chang’s exquisite photos
Ok, I admit this quandary confused even me and I’ve been following Riviera Maya all-inclusive resorts for years. Let’s see if I can explain the difference so that you can decide whether either one of these resorts fits your vacation travel dreams.
I’ve decided my next solo trip will include a stay at Catalonia Royal Tulum which is located an hour drive south of the Cancun airport. It is a bit south of Barcelo Maya Grand resort, if readers know where that mega-resort is located in the Riviera Maya. CRT is a smaller adults-only all-inclusive with a great beach which was the deciding factor for me and my next Mexico vacation. I may do Planet Hollywood Cancun later on in the year, but am still on the fence about that resort since I think it would be a much better resort experience without COVID affecting amenity limits/closures.
I thought this was an unusual amenity, so I decided to post a quick video I found which highlights both the Grotto Bar and the Lazy River at the brand new Planet Hollywood Cancun. I’ve only run across one other resort grotto bar and that was at Dreams Playa Mujeres. This one looks like you can float right up to the bar in your lazy river flotation device! That will come in handy during Cancun’s hot summer months where you literally want to live in the water while on vacation.
Main lobby check-in
The mayor of Playa del Carmen, Laura Beristain, just announced that the huge renovation project of downtown PDC’s Fifth Avenue and Parque Fundadores is now done. With an investment of 107 million pesos, the renovation included “tiling”/cement block work on Fifth Avenue, sitting benches and a new look to the popular Parque Fundadores (including wheelchair ramps), drainage wells to avoid flooding during heavy rains, connection to the city’s sanitary system, new electric/gas lines/internet cables installed, new LED lighting for nighttime security, security cameras installed, as well as cosmetic features like the planting of new flora.
Repeat guests to Breathless Riviera Cancun will notice that some parts of the resort are no longer available to them…what used to be the more quiet Xhale section on the south end of Breathless has now become the new Secrets Riviera Cancun with 164 suites, one private restaurant, Rosewater, which serves “Gourmet International Cuisine”, and a private pool and beach section. Secrets guests have unrestricted use of the entire property, while Breathless guests cannot cross over to the Secrets section. There are now two separate check-in areas given the new property setup. I do appreciate the fact that one can now directly book all oceanfront swim-up suites throughout this resort; before the Secrets addition it was not clear how to do so in certain resort sections.