Crown Paradise Hotel in Cancun, Mexico
We stayed at the Crown Paradise Hotel in Cancun, Mexico March 31 – April 5, 2006
It is a lovely, lovely hotel. The people are kind and attentive and the accommodations are quite nice. Pools are large and crystal clean and the kid’s club for 4 and ups is “Da Bomb,” to quote my 6 year old.
Bottom line-this is an awesome vacation spot for couples, adults, and families with kids 6 and up. If you have time, I’d like to tell you a bit more, though.
Specific delightful surprises about the hotel:
The Kid’s Club, in addition to the SUPER COOL waterslides, had a trampoline, and served lunch and a movie each day.
Loads of fresh fruit and vegetable choices meant that I was easily able to stay on-track with my healthy food lifestyle.
Each restaurant had a kid’s menu including hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers and spaghetti and they would deliver kid’s food more quickly if you preferred, so kids got taken care of in record time with fare they loved, no matter what Mom and Dad ordered.
The Brisas pool staff was such a lot of fun. I actually learned the Marenge and took a water aerobics class.
Beach access is nice and though the surf is rough, we had fun seeking sharks’ teeth.
Though checkout was noon, they allowed us to keep our bracelets on and enjoy the resort until our ride came to pick us up at 2:15. It was very nice that we weren’t left hanging in the couple of hours between check out and our actual departure.
The three restaurant choices for dinner are all very well-run.
Wayne’s Boots was our favorite food. Having been told there was a 40 minute wait our first attempt, we returned the next night just before 6 pm and got right in without a wait. We enjoyed delicious ribeye and a dynamite chicken and shrimp kebob. For appetizers don’t miss their paper-thin onion rings and whimsical Caesar salad presentation (whole leaves with one end threaded through a raw onion ring.) The Mexican restaurant was delightful with to-die-for ceviche and three flavorful and dynamite hot table salsas. Fisherman’s had a great shrimp and avocado appetizer. At lunchtime, the Japanese place has awesome sushi and other fare. Lines are big right when they open up but they’re open until 5, so midafternoon it can be a tremendous snack. The main pool bar does sandwiches most of the day and the buffet at La Palapa is open from morning til night with just the briefest of time off for changeovers between meal times. The array suits all palates, with a dedicated grill for vegetarian fare, special order spots for stir fry, pastas-to-order, and fajitas at late-day meals. At breakfast these are the waffle, pancake, French toast and juice bar areas.
Some club-specific disappointments for my family:
The beds. Good lord, get me a chiropractor. They are tiny-just full sized. We’re totally average sized and felt like we were falling out. Granted, normally we sleep in a California King bed, but this was not a good set up. Mattresses are VERY firm. Bedrock firm. Steel plate firm. Ouch. Sheets had maybe 180 thread count – very, very scratchy and the bedspreads, while festive enough, were not at all warm. Since A/C in our room was either ON (and about 68 degrees) or OFF (and about 90), this led to some discomfort. They provided extra vellux blankets, so we were warm. As is, however, the bedding and beds were a big thumbs down from these travelers.
No privacy for folks with kids under 18 months. The Baby Club is only for 18 months and up. If you want privacy, you can hire a babysitter for $10 an hour, but they’ll sit your child in your room. Ahem. Adios, Romance! CP allows 2 adults and 3 children per room. Rooms are reasonably large but just try getting cozy with 3 kids an arms’ length away. They offer family suites, but all were booked when we got there so we couldn’t upgrade. I’m certain it’s a better arrangement than we had.
Kid’s club may not be appropriate for 4 year olds.Our 4 year old is a very outgoing and confident preschooler, but he did not like the Kid’s Club at all, even with his 6 year old brother right there. The water is deep for the shorter kids. Also, please note, unless you are going back to your room, there is NO WAY FOR THE STAFF TO CONTACT YOU IF YOUR KID IS HAVING TROUBLE IN THE KID’S CLUB! I was in the Brisas pool with my 11 month old and another guest asked if I had one in the club because a kid who looked just like our baby was having a total meltdown there. I went and sure enough, my 4 year old was in pieces. He never went back without us there. The Baby club will take kids up to 4 years old, but is more appropriately appointed for the under 3 crowd.
There’s no peace if you have kids. I understand the Adults-Only pool is actually quiet. I looked out at the adults, browning themselves, ordering drinks at the swim-up bar and dreamt of a day I, too, could join them. Everywhere else at CP is full of noise. As much as I was looking forward to a “beach massage,” I wouldn’t take one because it’s actually at the poolside, fully accessible to the loud pool music. Even the muzaky Yanni relaxation songs are played at maximum volume in La Palapa.
Wayne
‘s Boots has eardrum splitting country music, the Mexican restaurant has a Mariachi-esque group playing at top volume. If you’re out of your room, you will be aurally assaulted.
What’s that smell? The Coco Loco pool adjacent to the Kid’s Club is generally deserted. It’s a lovely pool, and is shaded, so very nice when you’ve gotten too much sun. However, it smells like sewage in the pool area. You’ll rarely see more than 6 people in that pool area and they won’t probably stay long.
More General Gotta Knows:
You are not in , things go at a much slower pace. Locals joke it will be “5 Mexican minutes.” Things just go slower. You can and should order food that suits your needs when at La Palapa-be aware that a hamburger can take 5 full minutes, even if she’s just reheating a patty and browning a bun. Know that the sushi is being hand-rolled, but not by a fast draw sushi slinger. You will wait a good 5 minutes for a sushi roll. Waiters are more than happy to bring you water and coffee or tea to your table at La Palapa, but you may well be halfway (or fully) finished with breakfast by the time they deliver. Tips definitely help. We generously tipped all staff and they catered to us-but it’s still a lot slower there than in .
You don’t have American plumbing in . In the Letter To Guests at check-in, it states: Please put used toilet paper in the waste bin provided in your bathroom. The waste pipes in are very small from the rest of the world and the toilets will become blocked very easily if toilet paper is not correctly disposed of. This American was none too pleased for that bit of news. The last thing I want to see when entering a bathroom is the waste wipes of four people. Gack! The lobby toilets and toilets by Coco Loco swimming pool are evidently retrofitted with appropriate plumbing. Use them when you can. This plumbing issue was present in grocery stores, theme parks, even airports!
Ain’t no OSHA in . Beware, beware, beware when traveling with a wee one. Our 11 month old is a beginning walker and I nearly had heart attacks several times over as he discovered several open electrical wires just out and about in the hotel common areas. There were no construction folks working on these. I’m sure eventually, they’ll get around to putting in light fixtures. For now, open wires. The cribs they provide in the room are unsafe by American standards. Slats are spaced too far apart (see pictures) and the cribs are very shallow. My little guy could easily muscle himself out and onto the hard marble floor. More disturbing, the cribs had hinges on the sides allowing them to collapse, but also allowing little fingers to get pinched or worse. Bring a pack & play or like structure for your peace of mind. Car seats? They don’t need no stinking car seats. We held tight to our precious cargo as we were driven from airport to the hotel. And when we rented a car, we paid $5 extra for a baby car seat in deplorable condition that we actually had to tie into the car because the seat belts were inadequate. Tile makes for beautiful and very slippery surfaces in the pools. Be careful.
Make sure you remember:
SUNSCREEN!!! Bring at least twice as much as you think you need because it’s $20 in the convenience store.
Bunches of $1 bills – we tipped a ton and got great service from all. Discreetly holding a couple bucks as you order your drinks ensures they’re very strong.
We’re recommending:
El Rey Ruins. A short 1/10 a mile walk across the street from the entrance of Crown Paradise, this is an awesome way for the young set to experience ruins and have fun. Only $3 admission for adults (they didn’t charge for our 6, 4 and 11 month old). The huge iguanas and Pancho the Peacock love eating breads of any kind (Pancho will eat out of your hand!).
Try the bus! FUN adventure-like being on Willy Wonka’s boat. Only 65 cents per passenger gets you all the way to
Cancun
proper if you want. They barely slow down to a stop to let you off!
Xcaret. If you go, be brave and rent a car for $45 in the lobby (Bigger cars are more) The drive is easy and quick (BEWARE THE SPEED BUMPS, THOUGH!) and the freedom to come and go as you please is well worth it. I believe it was $60 for adults, $30 for our 6 year old. We rented a stroller and locker there. The all-inclusive that every agent wants to sell you is not necessarily that important. We had a riot! Do wear aquasocks or Tevas in the rivers if you’re not renting fins, though, as the bottom is rocky.
