Destinations

Club Med Ixtapa, on the southwest coast of Mexico - 60 miles north of Acapulco - is the perfect relaxed-busy resort for families, couples or friends to enjoy.

Club Med has matured from its original incarnation as a pop-bead drinks-as-you-go resort to an all-inclusive holiday destination.  It features a variety of excellent room types ranging from the more moderate large double rooms to family suites accommodating up to 4 persons and has very fine spacious beachfront suites with living room, separate bedroom, expansive bathroom with freestanding tub and double walk-in shower, large balcony overlooking a spectacular long beach.  The suites are concierge level service with complimentary laundry services, room service if wished, and a full-time concierge who can arrange tours in the area, make reservations at the two speciality restaurants on property (book by 1200 Noon the day prior) or arrange a private car and driver for a day trip.

The Club has both a Baby Club and a Kids Club for those families coming to the resort who wish some time for the kids to enjoy staffed activities while the parents and/or grandparents have some time separately.  The resort is spread out along one of the best beaches in the area with watersport activities such as sea kayaking, snorkeling, and catamaran sailing.  The Club also has many wide-ranging activities — circus school with trapeeze training, rock wall climbing, archery, tennis, snooker-billiards, fussball machines, soccer practice, in-line skating, mini-golf, and many exercise classes - yoga, stretch & tone, abbs class, and more.   All of these activities are included in the price of the stay as are all meals, snacks, drinks -alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  In the evening the Club presents a variety of entertainments and shows put on by the G.O. staff who are, during the day, the helpful folks who assist in your daytme activities.

Club Med is dedicated to your enjoyment — all the staff at the resort are willing, able and happy to let you enjoy all they have to offer.   Meal quality is excellent with a wide variety of choices at all meals.  There is one main restaurant which is self-serve buffet style but has table service for drinks, wines or other beverages.  During our stay the local Mexican staff could have not been more attentive and gracious.  By breakfast time on day 2, they already knew I liked caffe latté and it appeared at my table before I had returned with my plate of fresh fruit and a glass of juice.  The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but there is a poolside and beachside restaurant to go to during the day for luncheon.  Two reservations-only speciality restaurants are available at dinnertime in addition to the main dining room.This resort is wonderful for a quick holiday of a few days or for a full week’s respite.  Here you do not have to think about what you want to do — it is on property with helpful staff to offer suggestions and a daily “menu of activities” is delivered to your room.   You could be busy all day if you wished but the pleasure of this resort is that you can ‘mix and match’ in whatever way you wish.

Club Med does the airport arrival and departure transfers for you.  These arrangements are smooth and easy .  On arrival at the Club you get a special bracelet which lets the staff know you are a Club Member wherever you are on the resort.    Before departure, you get a departure kit with information on the check out process, an 1100am check out time and luggage storage, but if the resort is not full, they are flexible and let you stay in room a bit longer.

Warm and sunny with a welcoming tropical feel, Zihuatanejo is a small local town along the West Coast of Mexico about 50 miles north of Acapulco.  September is the end of the rainy times along this coast so the air was full and warm.  The cozy town of Zihuatanejo, originally a fishing village at the outflow of a river valley located at the edge of the Bay, remains local and real in feel.   THE TIDES, a deluxe resort about 30 minutes walk south of town along the large bay, is located on a beautiful beach with sweeping views West towards the sunset.  Each evening we had  a magical light show of cloud-to-cloud lightning, thunder and relatively short but heavy downpours of rain ….  making all the greenery, flowers and plants lush and fresh for the morning. 
 
Quality is the underlying theme of The Tides.  Staff provides excellence of service, welcoming and discrete, and the cuisine in the restaurants along the beach as well as set back under an open air palapa is inventive, delicate and amusing both in presentation and taste.  Top level service all around.  Three bars, one at the beach, one nestled into the resort with table service for light meals and the third,  main restaurant,  with large pool with swim-up  bar alongside provided options to relax and enjoy.   Tennis courts, excellent private gym, water activities and a long beach gave more than enough options to relax or work out — depending on your wishes.     Dining at night provided top quality entreés, served with gracious and gentle subtlty by the local staff , was complimented by excellent wines, and even a ‘ bottled water menu’ which came accompanied by your choice of ginger, cinnamon, as well as lime, grapefruit or orange slices you could have placed in your  individual glass for an extra flavoring.  Very refined. 

The resort is top notch — adobe style two-story buildings with palapa roofs generously spaced amongst large fountained pools, woven between excellent landscaped and lawned areas ; most rooms had views of either gardens, the pools, the grounds or the sea.   Large, spacious rooms were done in muted tones and utilized local art works .  Each category of room had a special atmosphere and comfortable quality while providing  in-room amenities such as flat screen TVs, daily coffee/tea trays brought to your room as a wake-up gesture, in-room safes, minibars and twice-daily room service. 

From the moment you stepped through the main entrance into the reception area to the time you had to say farewell, there was no time that any request or wish was not fulfilled by the willing and warm staff at The Tides.

We started our trip leaving from San Francisco on Delta Airlines to Mexico City via Salt Lake City, Delta’s services was great, On time departures, quick and simple!

Upon arrival in Mexico City We were met and transfered through the city to our hotel the Fiesta Americana Grand, located near the Chapultepec Park At the end of Paseo de la Reforma Avenue. The park is very nice and offers the Museum of Anthropology, amusement parks, a zoo and lakes.

The hotel is very modern and has a corporate feel to it. The staff was polite and helpful in getting around. You do not want to hale a taxi from the street! You should always arrange a taxi through the hotel and arrange a pick up time and location for your return.

There isn’t much in this neighborhood, we found one very nice local restaurant with Mariachi’s and great Guacamole for lunch, it felt like Mexico!

Dinner starts late around 9ish. We found that the Condesa area was the most lively and fun, with lots of open restaurants, tons of young and old walking, talking, laughing..The Ceveche was supurb! And the music was authentic.

The next morning we took a short cab ride to the Flower Market, Amazingly large and full of fresh flowers of all kinds, In the back you can see all the fresh daily meats, seafood, soups, Chilies and some of the best rated taco stands! Keep walking back for some great local crafts! This is a real local find…

The afternoon was non-stop, we were able to see most of the city exploring the great museums like Guadalupe Shrine Museum, Modern Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Frida Kahlo’s House, National Art Museum as well as the famous Historic part of town that includes a great square with The Metropolitan Cathedral, which is very Impressive. Most museums open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. On Sundays admission is usually free (though crowded). Few of them have an extended schedule (like Anthropology Museum until 7 PM) or later (like San Ildefonso and Childerns’ Museum) on Wednesday or Thursday. Ticket prices vary from US $1.00 to $3.00.

The perfect day trip is to the Teotihuacán Ruins about an hour north of Mexico City.  Expect a lot of walking and stairs, but the Pyramids (the sun and Moon) are worth it!!

Back to the airport for a quick 2 hour flight to Cancun for some beach time!! About an hour south of Cancun airport (very nice paved road. Hint- Take a private transfer or you stop at every hotel and it can take almost 2 hours) on the Rivera Maya we stayed at Secrets and small adult only property. Upon arrival you are greeted with a cool towel and a glass of champagne! Good size rooms, nice restaurants, and good beach! Lots of honeymooners and anniversaries being celebrated. A good place to have your wedding!

In the early evening about 15 minute drive is the town of Playa Del Carmen, which still feels like Mexico (unlike Cancun that has every American fast food chain there!!) The restaurants and shops (buy some good inexpensive silver) are a delight. It is safe and most of all lots of charm!

The rest of the trip was enjoying Secrets and all the amenities- The nightlife was entertaining with karaoke night, dancing salsa, hammocks, palapas, pool, pool tables, chess.

It was enjoyable and I would definitely go back!