Looks like the Beach resort section at the Barcelo Riviera Maya mega-resort will be reopening soon. It is the last of the six resorts at this location to reopen since being closed due to COVID. Rumor has it that it will open tomorrow which is sooner than initially posted.
Riu posted that their resorts, for the time being, will not be serving lobsters, clams, or oysters. This is being done with respect to an order from the Mexico Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development–from how I understand it, there is a time of year when capturing certain marine life is banned in order to avoid endangering the species overall. (If someone has a better explanation, please let me know).
FYI: Not a rumor, it’s been officially verified.
I just read on FB that the lobbies of the Grand Palladium Kantenah and Colonial in the Riviera Maya are on fire and guests are being evacuated to the beach….right now this is just a rumor, I will post more if it becomes available.
Bahia Principe just announced the dates of the last two resorts to be opened at the Riviera Maya mega-resort complex. The Coba resort will reopen June 4, 2021, while Sian Ka’an will reopen November 1, 2021.
I just read that Barcelo has decided to reopen some of their other resorts in their mega-resort complex, Barcelo Maya Grand Resort. While the adults-only Maya Riviera and the family-friendly Palace sections have been open for awhile, the resort recently reopened the Colonial section. The Tropical section is set to reopen this Friday, May 7, while the Caribe section is looking to reopen in June (no set date yet, I imagine the resort wants to see what the demand will be with the opened resorts). No word yet on when the Beach section will reopen, however. This is a great mega-resort, I have been there twice and stayed at the Caribe in a swim-up then moved over to the Palace on one vacation; the other I stayed at the new adults-only section. Don’t hesitate to book the resort, you can snorkel with sea turtles over at the Palace during the morning and snooze in a poolside or beach lounger in the afternoon.
Playa Hotels and Resorts has bought Grupo Posadas’ boutique resort, Live Aqua Boutique Resort Playa del Carmen. It is now called The Yucatan Resort Playa del Carmen. It is now under the Hilton brand–points can be accrued and used here. It looks a bit different in terms of decor, but the rooftop area makes in difficult to mistake it as anything else.
Finally got official word that Secrets Silversands will open as Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun sometime in 2021. There is no specific date set yet, however. I double checked the old SS address with the new Hyatt address and they are both the same, so there’s no doubt this is the replacement.
Tomorrow, April 1, 2021, a new tourist tax will be implemented for international tourists who visit Cancun. The tax amount is $224 Mexican Pesos which is approximately $11 USD; the new tax must be paid for each foreign/international visitor over age 15 (Brazil and some other select countries will pay less). This new tax can be paid before you leave, while you are vacationing in Cancun, or paid in cash at various Cancun airport terminals before you fly home.
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.