Fun, yet beware of excursions
Nutshell-Weather, was awesome. Beach and water, were amazing, warm, and clear.
Sargassum, was non-existent.
Sand, was soft and fine.
Usually a little windy in afternoons, which is why kite-surfers can be seen down the beach to the west.
Food, very very gooood.
Days were Windy mostly but not a joy-killer at all...just too windy to take one of the several small catamarans they have (didn't see one out the whole week...strong winds, shallow reefs, and large waves beyond I suppose)
Note- staff at front desk and guest services speak English very well... But everywhere else, not so much..very limited..
Beach and water -
The multitude of small reefs keep the waves from shore, but the water can have reduced visibility for snorkelling when windy and wavy. Snorkelling was surprisingly good if you are adventurous...the leftmost and rightmost parts of the enclosed swim areas have the best stuff to see...you swim around whatever reef they have and simply cross under the floating line when needed...the further from shore and swimmers, the better the reef and fish....no boat traffic/dangers due to shallowness of reefs.. I'd say bring your own gear.. no need for water shoes, as the water is clear and you can watch your step to ensure you're walking on sandy bottom and not reefy/rocky parts.
Food -
Amazing. Being Celiac (although not as sensitive as some), I asked a wandering chef and showed a laminated (spanish) card I had printed and he showed me around pointing out what not to eat...but most glutinous food was easy to spot (deep fried, breads, thick sauces etc...) I had no troubles selecting and eating a variety of delicious foods at every (buffet) meal...they have gluten free breads at every buffet, wrapped individually (mini-croissants, baguettes, other..)
My only gripe was desserts...only gluten free options at buffet were jello (actually was good) and ice cream (soft and soupy), but I'd load up on FRUITS !!
A la carte Restaurants-
The French- was really good (gluten free options for me) even dessert .
The Fish/seafood- restaurant was disappointing as all I could have was the Steak (quite good!). All other option had gluten or a mix of shellfish which I also avoid. My wife loves seafood and has no dietary restrictions and she wouldn't return...nor our 2 girls.
The Brazilian- restaurant was good...lots of gluten free options too and dessert...meat is served on a skewer which is actually a sword, with different servers coming to you and cutting away (from their swords) as much as you desire...so you can sample every meat...
Overall vibe -
People and staff are very friendly.. but if you don't speak Spanish, you basically come last. Especially at the pool bar and certain other bars...you could be next to be served aaaand a Spanish speaking person waltzes up , then another...and you get your drink when they'r gone...even little kids at the large pool bar would clamber and splash and annoy the bartenders, maybe they'd serve them just to get rid of them..?...if you are a parent of kids under 14, please tell them to vacate the bar area if not ordering... Do yourself a favor, learn like 10 key Spanish phrases like how to say "wait your turn, like I have been", or any other important info you'd like to share such as being Celiac.
Fun, activities, sports, entertainment team is great. Not a party resort due to lots of families and kids. We have 2, ages 13 & 17 yet lots of small kids mostly in main pool and bar... We opt for beach when on vaca.
Despite signs saying No Reserving, get to beach chairs by 8am to drop your stuff and towels to reserve...earlier if you want a palapa near the water...
Excursions-
Ask tons of questions before paying.
We did El Lĩmon water fall, monkeys, zip lining in a day, and did a half day snorkel boat tour.
We'll, the falls had a mud/land slide moments before we were to jump in the water. The left side had rocks and mud come crashing down and the water remained muddy likely for hours...no swimming after this...my wife helped one of the 2ppl slightly injured..could have been deadly had more people been gathered to the left in the water.
Zip lines were very fun, but we fealt rushed and monkeys were veeerry cute (be sure they weren't fed recently, or they'll likely just stay in the giant mango tree...there are only 7 squirrel monkeys but they all came down and crawled on us)
Snorkelling- well, we survived... Boat brought us about 30min out and east of resort...first stop was a nice cove with beach, but snorkelling was shit...just below Vin Diesel's place...calm and no waves..
2nd spot- in large waves we were told to jump out and swim twd the large waves breaking over a reef (we were in the boat about 300m from shore), so there we were, 25-30ft of water, fighting waves to get closer to the reef. Boat capn had troubles and disappeared for 10 min before we spotted him...then the last spot was nicer, still waves yet smaller and manageable. The 4 of us are strong swimmers...a family with younger less experienced members would likely have perished...Capn spoke little to no English or French...had 50yr old gear (good thing we had our own), and life jackets...what are those?? He had 2, I think, in the boat, but they seemed like they came from the Titanic... don't laugh, I'm being serious... Oh, security was waiting at the beach for us upon getting off the boat (about a 20footer with small canopy), to escort us to guest services, who basically reprimanded us for going on an excursion with an outside provider, but i showed her our receipt and explained we'd gone through it all with the A.trnsat rep positioned at the resort daily...and she seemed confused confused...her concern was for safety which I completely agree with, yet we had no idea we'd reserved "outside of the resort".? Had we been injured or died, I think no one would have known, so keep that in mind...
Conclusion-
Did we have fun?? Of course!!.
Would we return? Of course!!
But knowing all this now, would greatly impact how we'd proceed with same excursions...ex- opt to walk the 3km trail to get to Falls as they brought us on horses with personal guides walking the horse for us... asking for tips (again no French or English)..The trail has horse shit but I'd walk around it next time and I'd jump in at the smaller (beautiful) falls along this trail; as they claimed we couldn't go with the horses...the path is beautiful...walking would have been better... The end of the trail had like 200 steps to hike down anyway..then back up...ya definitely just go on your own, pay the entrance fee and walk like we saw others doing...
Lastly- being celiac, they have 0, Zero gluten free beer... Not even 1 option. So I stuck with regular drinks...which are good...
Oh, the room... Well, A/C was weak yet we were comfortable... Bed a little hard but we slept well...we spent sleeping hours in the room and don't really care about how lavish it could be...bar fridge stocked everyday with what you drink...had 3 mosquitos buzzing around at night BUT none outside at all, day or evening...
Would we return?? yes!! Especially knowing what we know now ... Just wanted to avoid sargassum
Would I go on excursions...not the ones we did...maybe the quad/buggy mud run others went on.. snorkelling I'd definitely do again BUT I'd research best places and providers and ensure to ask exactly how they proceed .. our half day was supposed to include turtles and manatees...they didn't.. otherwise I'd walk east or west along the beach and investigate the plethora of reefs accessible from shore...or take a taxi from resort to an area know for great shore snorkelling...but I'd be happy exploring around the resort again.
