Cancun 2017

---- Transportation

We had a wonderful time in Playa Del Carmen this past week.  It was a nice relaxing trip.  I know that I titled this post as Cancun 2017 but that is because few people have heard about Playa Del Carmen.  Playa Del Carmen is a town a little less than an 45 minutes south of the Cancun Airport.

I found a good article on the web http://everythingplayadelcarmen.com/how-to-get-from-cancun-airport-to-playa-del-carmen/ that gave all of the good options for getting from the airport to Playa Del Carmen.  In fact, Heather and I have tried several of those options.  We have taken a taxi, taken the ADO Bus, and also USA Transfers.

This time around we opt'ed for taking Cancun Shuttle.  It was $24 a person.  There is always a chance when taking a shuttle that we'd need to stop at a couple of other hotels along the way but I figured for the savings that it would be worth it to us.  We were getting into the airport at 10:00 am and really couldn't check into Le Reve until 3:00 or so anyway.  So, it didn't matter to us if we needed to drive with a few more people on the way to their resorts.  And, I might have been kind of fun to see some other resorts and talk to people about why they like their resort.  But, we had the whole shuttle to ourselves.

The beauty of using the ADO Bus, is that it is a really inexpensive ($9 per person) way to travel in comfort.  But, once you get to Playa Del Carmen, you would still need to get a taxi to the resort which is about $17.

 When we travel with a large group (like with our family) we always use USA Transfers which normally works out to something like $75 for the group.  But, this time around we didn't use them at all.

It all worked out really well.  We got to Cancun Airport, walked through customs, and went right out past all of the people trying to sell time shares and private transportation.  We walked out and found our guy holding a Cancun Shuttle sign.  He had us on a list and everything went well.  Although I had a copy of my agreement that I'd printed off when I signed up, I didn't need it.  We waited around for maybe 10 minutes while he waited to see if anyone else would show up to ride in our van.  But, nobody did, so we rode alone to our hotel.

---- Le Reve (http://www.hotellereve.com/)

We LIKE this resort.  It is smaller and more intimate than any other resort that we've visited.  Over the years we have stayed at several different All Inclusive Resorts.  Each of them had something special to offer.  Each place has something that sets it apart from other places.  

I think what sets Le Reve apart from the others are three things....

1. The Food  -- Most resorts are so big that they need to use buffets as the way to get enough food out there to the population.  At Le Reve, there is only one restaurant.  Each meal is cooked to order off from a regular menu.  Dinners are a 5 course meal.  We always order an Appetizer, Salad, Soup, Main Dish, and Dessert.  Sometimes we get carried away and order two dinners or a pasta dish off from the menu also.  Which makes the meal a 6 course meal.

The waiters are SOOOO attentive.  One guy comes through and takes the order.  Then someone else shows up to set the table with the utensils that would be needed for that course.  Then, the different courses start coming, in between each course, the table is cleaned and reset for the next course.  Holy Cow!  It was like watching a well rehearsed production.  These guys are good!

Just for the fun of it, let me tell you about one of the dinners that we had at Le Reve.  $139

I had the Steak Tampequena

Heather had shrimp served with spaghetti in browned butter and also a crab stuffed chicken breast and mashed sweet potatoes.

our appetizer: Molten cheese: provolone smoked with fine herbs

our salad: Spinach salad with walnut, fresh mushrooms, blue cheese, served with miso, and sesame vinaigrette

our soups: Mushroom cream soup with olive and garlic croutons, and French onion soup.

Then for dessert we had Amarato clouds with fresh fruits forest

What a meal.  Here at this resort, they have an All Inclusive plan and an European Plan, where people have to pay for their food and drinks.  Therefore, they had prices on everything.  That meal totalled out at $139.00 US dollars.  It was a great meal.

For lunches we often ate out near the pool.  We normally ordered shrimp dishes.  We particularly liked the Caesar Salad with shrimp and also an order of shrimp skewers.  Those are great lunches!

Normally we skipped breakfasts because we had eaten so much for dinner the night before.  But, twice while there we had breakfasts.  I ordered a beef steak with two eggs on top (the mounted steak) and Heather ordered the Swiss Enchiladas (three chicken enchiladas with melted swiss cheese on top)

2. The Beds  -- We have slept all over the Yucatan and Le Reve has the softest beds that we have found.  Normally, the beds in Mexican hotels are hard and uncomfortable.  Almost as if they are trying to keep you from sleeping in.  And, maybe they are trying to get you up and moving, but the beds at Le Reve are so soft and inviting that it almost makes you want to sleep in.

3. The Quiet -- Although this is NOT an adults only resort, it is so small and quiet that there are very few children around.  The whole atmosphere is calm and relaxing.