If you aren’t aware of Hotel Xcaret Arte/Mexico’s “wishlist” (I believe Casa de la Playa has one as well), it is an opportunity for vacationers who already have a confirmed reservation at one of these all-inclusive resorts to book amenities and services prior to their arrival.  Speaking from first-hand experience with both resorts, desired times and dates can disappear quickly from availability meaning you might either miss out on something you want to see or do, or wind up dining after 9:30 p.m.at an a carte restaurant you really wanted to experience.

One item you should be aware of, you cannot complete your Wishlist until your reservation has been paid in full.  Once that is complete, contact the hotel you will be staying at and request a Wishlist.  My contact was Mr. Daniel Anzures, Guest Service Manager; his email is hxagservice@hotelxcaret.com.  Your hotel contact will attach a Wishlist form to your email and send it to you for completion.  Once you type in your requests, send your email back to sender and the hotel will let you know within a week the date, time, number of persons on the reservation, or if they cannot complete your request.

In addition to being a very handy way to make sure you enjoy your vacation to the max, the Wishlist has some great information about amenities including hours of operation for restaurants and parks, which restaurants actually need reservations, and which parks actually need reservations (the All-Fun Inclusive concept means you can visit local parks and attractions/excursions without any extra charges).  The Wishlist is basically divided into the following sections:

• Your airport/flight information.  Hotels Xcaret has a bus which will pick you up at the airport and transport you to the hotel for free, but they need to know when you will be arriving at the Cancun airport.  Return flight airport transportation can be made at the hotel for up to 24 hrs. before your flight departure time.
• Parks and Tours Section.  While Xcaret Park, Xplor Park, and Xplor Fuego (Xplor Park at night) don’t need a reservation, these parks and excursions do–Xoximilco, Xenses, Xenotes Tour, Xichen Tour (Chichén Itzá plus lunch at Valladolid), Xel-Ha Park, Tulum plus Xel-Ha Tour, Xavage Park, the new two-hour Catamaran ride, and the new ferry to Isla Mujeres.  All of these parks and tours have no extra cost, and transportation is provided by the hotel.
• Restaurants.  These are the restaurants which need reservations–Encanta, Chino Poblano, Tah-Xido (both the Teppanyaki show tables and the menu items need a reservation), and Kibi-Kibi which is only for Casa de los Artistas and guests staying in Jr. Suites or higher.  Xaak restaurant needs a reservation but is an extra cost.
• Celebrations/Allergies.  You get a chance to let the resort know in advance if you have any allergies or dietary restrictions as well as if you will be celebrating anything special.
• Spa Section.  If you already know what spa treatments you would like to have, you can reserve your dates and times on the Wishlist.
• The last section is signing the Terms and Conditions.

Please be aware that No Shows and less than 24-hr  cancellations of confirmed reservations will be billed at $25 USD p/person.

Here is a very short picture gallery with the four Wishlist pages that I received.  Just click on any pic to get a larger view of the page.

Hope this helps!  And don’t forget to reserve your favorites early.