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Bodaciously UnJaded - 9/16/2012 5:55:00 PM
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gtherm
Posts: 265
Joined: 8/4/2006
From: St. Louis Area, USA
Status: offline
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The Dear Wife and I stayed at the NOW Jade in Puerto Morelos from Sept 5-12 to celebrate our 9th anniversary. (We both had a practice marriage). I haven't seen any reviews on Loco about the Jade, and realize it's pretty far north for die hards, but hey, variety is the spice of life, huh?
Summary of the NOW Jade? Muy bodacious. The dreaded “Check Engine” light on my internal engine was flashing and fueled by a great week of sun, water, drinks, food, exceptional service, and facilities, the Jade turned off the light and let me return to reality with all pistons firing.
The hotel? Great – they said it was about 5 years old. Grounds look like a golf course. The lobby, lounges, common areas, etc. are all in good repair. It’s a furly big place, but getting around is easy without a lot of walking. The building layouts are a little tricky to get used to, but there are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction. Being located in Puerto Morelos, it was a driver and wedge distance to there from the airport – maybe 20 minutes. We’ve stayed at resorts all the way to Tulum and it was nice not to have an hour or two ride.
The rooms? Great – we upgraded to the “Preferred” side which got us a nice room overlooking the beach and courtyard. Sitting room, bedroom, Jacuzzi on the balcony, and two flat screens with a daily mini-bar refuel. Quiet too – if there was anyone around us, we didn’t hear them. No marble slabs Mexican resorts call beds there either. Very comfortable.
Bars? Great – nice pool bar (The Reef) on the Preferred side. Modello on tap, Coors Light and Bud available in cans. Good selection of liquors – notably for us, Havana Club and Appleton Estates rum. The Preferred lounge was nice for a pre and post dinner drink and the lobby bar was open all day and well into the night. Victor and Marco at the Reef took great care of us.
Food? Great – with the caveat that my tastes are pretty basic. Having lost a third grader’s weight in the last year, I don’t eat a lot and don’t eat desserts and bread. The Carnival buffet was very good for breakfast and lunch. The snack bar by the pool was convenient for a light lunch if you wanted a hot dog, pizza or chips and salsa. We had dinner at the Mexican, Italian, and Asian specialty restaurants. All were really good, but I liked the Italian best. A couple of nights a week, the Jade had an outdoor buffet at night in the courtyard with local entertainment. Very nice.
Pool? – Great - the Preferred pool was nice with an infinity edge overlooking El Caribe. Standard issue pool bar, and wait staff to bring you drinks if it were too much bother to get out of the lounger or day bed.
Beach? – Well, the Preferred side beach was iffy, but OK. A little rocky, kind of small, and lots of seaweed that week. However, the Jade had staff out every morning cleaning and raking the beach. I’ve become jaded (no pun intended) over the years, but saw something that touched me. Big dude with massive biceps and a Mohawk comes sauntering down every morning to his lounger and looks like he could crush me with one hand. He sees these guys in long pants and long sleeved shirts working their patooties off in the hot sun one morning, walks back to the bar and gets each of them a cold bottle of water. Faith in humanity restored.
The beach is better in front of the rest of the hotel and gets better the further south you walk. In fact, if you walk a half mile to the south there is a section of natural beach and beautiful water that is one of the most serene spots I’ve ever seen. The wife likes to search for sea shells and found a spot about a mile down the beach where large, unbroken shells were piled up ankle deep. See pictures below.
There were plenty of loungers and palapas and you could come down any time of day and find a most excellent spot. Waiters wandered by numerous times offering drinks. Even the beach vendors were polite offering “Cuban” cigars (sure they were), silver, and sunglasses. We bought a couple of Oakley look-alikes for $20 each.
Service? More than great – We stayed at the Iberostar Grand Paraiso last year which had the best service we ever experienced. The Jade was better. Really. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was making sure you had what you needed and took the time to get to know you a little. Their English was pretty good and we never had a communications problem. Jesus and Leo at the Carnival remembered our drink preferences and had great senses of humor. I’m not sure what they do there to train a staff, but whatever it is, other resorts could learn a lot. I was more than impressed.
Entertainment? We had trouble staying awake late into the evening, so I can’t be much help. But they showed the Dallas/New York NFL game on a large projector in the Plaza one night complete with loungers and drinks. Nice. There was a movie most nights – one was the Hunger Games. There was a show of some kind each night.
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Pool pictures:
Piles of shells:
Beach pictures:
Not sure Corona would approve:
Gtherm (representing in Kentucly shirt) and crew:
This was our 9th trip to Mexico and I would go back to the Jade in a heartbeat. I don’t always write reviews, but this place deserved a big thumbs up. Bodacious is the right word. Y'all take care - Gtherm.
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RE: Bodaciously UnJaded - 9/18/2012 5:46:26 PM
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gtherm
Posts: 265
Joined: 8/4/2006
From: St. Louis Area, USA
Status: offline
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Yeah - would like to see what it looked like. I sent you a PM with my e-mail.
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RE: Bodaciously UnJaded - 9/25/2012 8:54:13 PM
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tequib
Posts: 426
Joined: 4/5/2006
From: Kansas City
Status: offline
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Wow, that is a great review...will definitely have to add that to the list of possible destinations. If I remember right you were a little apprehensive about booking that after getting the 6 star treatment at the Iberostar Grand. Do you have any estimate of how full it was while you were there? Seems like service sometimes improves when things are a little less busy.
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RE: Bodaciously UnJaded - 9/26/2012 10:37:32 AM
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gtherm
Posts: 265
Joined: 8/4/2006
From: St. Louis Area, USA
Status: offline
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Good memory, tequib. Yes, we were a little worried that we had screwed up and spoiled ourselves by staying at the Grand, but the Jade was a very nice surprise. Heard from several different sources that they were about half full. On a Saturday, a large influx of people showed up just for the day, but the service held up fine.
While it didn't have as much marble, minarets, and custom art work as a Grand-type hotel, the service was indeed better than the Grand in our opinion. A lot more personal and they are very, very aware how reviews like this and that other site affect their business. They also seemed to cater to North Americans and the vast majority of the guests spoke English. First place I've been in a while where English wasn't the minority language. I enjoy meeting folks from other countries, but it was nice to be able to have conversations without resorting to our very limited Spanish and French.
Everyone's taste is different, but I really enjoyed this place. We wish we had gone into town, but you know how it is after a day on the beach and 5 too many cervezas.
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RE: Bodaciously UnJaded - 10/2/2012 5:35:10 AM
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gtherm
Posts: 265
Joined: 8/4/2006
From: St. Louis Area, USA
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Conifer water rat
Thanks for the great report! How was the snorkeling or did you snorkel?
We didn't snorkel and didn't see anyone snorkeling, although someone said snorkeling was pretty good along the HUMUNGOUS jetty by the marina just to the north. Me, I don't snorkle at all anymore - can't seem to seal the mask around my facial hair. Although the last time I tried it still had a color.
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Printable Version
their beach held up , nows' 
