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Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/19/2013 12:15:26 PM
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cape cod ann
Posts: 2030
Joined: 5/20/2005
Status: offline
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Home Away From Home
Pics
http://s1356.photobucket.com/albums/q727/anneoncapecod/CC%20Anne%20February%202013/
Trip report
After meeting some wonderful friends at the Palladium in December I hesitated (for about a second) in my decision to go and meet the L&k in February. This was the fifth time I have rendezvoused with K & L since we met at the P in 2007. This included a trip to their son’s wedding at the P. We have great camaraderie and travel very easily together. Seeing them makes it feel like we never left!
Upon exiting the airport I immediately felt like a VIP when I was told that both Javier (AGI) and his lovely wife Martha would meet me. The ride went very quickly as Javier updated me on the latest “happenings” The transfer business can be competitive. I am always very comfortable referring AGI as for the past ten years they have been consistently reliable, have all newish well-maintained vehicles. I recall going to Jamaica and hiring a taxi company. I told them I would mention them in my TR so they sent the new deluxe vehicle for me. When someone via my recommendation hired them they sent the broken down vehicle with duct tape and holes in the floor! Enough said.
To make my welcome even more special K & L awaited me in the Kantenah lobby where they presented me with a glass of vino and music playing on their I Pod. Both Eduardo and Ary met me at reception offering to upgrade me to Royal as the resort was full. No gracias. I appreciate the kindness but want to be close to my amigos/as.
L&K and I went off to lunch in La Hacienda while my room was being sorted out. Love the grilled chicken and fish here. Met POP Mgr. Ricardo, Erika and lovely little newborn Sophie. What a treat! Being at the P really is like coming home.
L had sent me numerous last minute messages alerting me to the cool evenings so I brought a jacket and pashima shawl, neither of which I needed as we had PERFECT weather.
The week was extremely relaxing and basically followed a pattern. K went down to “our spot” on the Kantenah beach each morning and set up our camp. We went our separate ways for breakfast then all gathered on Kantenah for the rest of the day. L and I have similar tastes in books so we shared some reading material. When I ran out of books I went to Hemingways off Kantenah where there is an ample library. I did bring a flashlight but was still challenged to find books in English. I think our German friends win the prize for most books read! I gave K a copy of Rios’ The Immortal Tavern book which was fun to discuss during the week. Keith asked more than once, “Are these REAL people in the book?”. Yup. They’re actual people. Lots of characters.
Unfortunately the resort was experiencing some TV signal issues which were off and on. (This is an outside vendor) K mentioned that he couldn’t get the English speaking news channel(s) (which was maybe good!). That was a plus and minus as we enjoy discussing current events. (We still found plenty to discuss!) FYI when the signal is down you can still get the Palladium channels and sometimes only certain channels were down.
The resort was full to capacity. The Kantenah was the more popular beach this trip. We never had problems finding our shady spot but there were vacancies on Colonial. New plastic re-cyclable beach cups really help to keep the beach cleaner but some still litter so the staff are always busy keeping the resort meticulous. L&K enjoyed the snorkeling off Kantenah when the sea was calm. It was the calmest I have ever seen it the week I was there. (First week of Feb.)
STAFF
What can I say? Outstanding. I got warm welcomes from the moment I arrived and amazing hugs from staff such as Fernadina at the La Jarra bar. I often got huge smiles and “welcome home” even when they were so busy and challenged with a full resort and even more foreign languages to juggle (Russian). Please everyone, show your appreciation for the staff. Call them by name and practice a few words of Spanish. They love to talk about their families and were so proud when we were posting their pics on Facebook. I was amazed when I heard that some guests in the breakfast buffets expected the staff to get them champagne. The champagne is “self serve”. The staff quietly do as they are asked, usually with a smile, but they aren’t servants. Please serve yourselves. The staff are practically running as it is to do their jobs.
LANGUAGES:
Many staff speak Mayan first, Spanish second, English third and then others fourth. I know there are some guests who complain about “language barriers”. Some staff, such as housekeepers don’t usually speak English so please try to communicate. You’re in Mexico so learn some Spanish and you will see their smiles of appreciation. As there are now more Russian guests the resort has a Russian teacher on board to teach staff Russian.
FOOD:
What can I say? Outstanding. If you can’t find something you like here then you really should stay home. The breakfast buffet has something for everyone. I tried to get there between 8 & 8:30 as it got busy after that. The La Hacienda and Kabah lunch buffets open at 1pm and there was usually a line so I opted to go to El Gran Azul before 12:30 when it got very busy. L&K enjoy the AC interior buffets but I found El Gran Azul was a bit quicker for me. I usually chose from one of the grilled items offered, ie chicken or fish with lots of fresh veggies. Just love the grilled items and veggies here. Look for the little framed cards describing what you can order to be grilled (usually six or more to choose from) plus hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta station and more.
For dinner we went to several ala cartes and El Jardin. As we are were all multi-repeat guests we were honored to have this privilege. (21 times for me, 13 for the Lokes) All of the ala cartes had excellent service. We went between 6& 6:30. There was usually a line by then and some were not as busy later.
Portofino: Very pretty. Excellent Jumbo shrimp dish and Portobella Steak (beef). Note the “veal” listed on some menus is actually “beef”. Saw a beautiful evening wedding reception on the outside terrace here.
Bamboo: excellent appetizers including fried sushi. L & I had the flaming shrimp. They tasted very good and noodles and veggies were very good but shrimp had to be peeled.
El Dorado: K&L reported the steaks here were outstanding. Usually a wait here.
La Adelita: Excellent soup. The best we had all week – some kind of a tomato based beef. Excellent tequila shrimp and beef burritos.
For the rest of the nights we ate at El Jardin where the menu varies from night to night. Never a disappointing meal. I usually had lobster with either lamb chops or a small steak. Grouper is excellent here as well as pork chops, soups, salad bar, fondue, pasta and wonderful, creamy risotto. The chef came to our table more than once to ask if we found everything satisfactory.
Adults only: They now have one adults only ala carte per day. Check with Guest Services for allocated ala cartes.
BBQ:
Now held on Wednesdays & Saturdays. Book this the day before as well as Punta Emilia and El Sumptuori show table.
Guest Services: Those who have reservation privileges can either book over the phone or at the Guest Service table. All guests can reserve the BBQ, Punta Emilia and Sumptuori show table at the Guest Services table. This opens at 8 am and I saw people sitting there at 7:30 am. I went one evening to make reservations and there was no wait.
SHOWS:
From what I saw the staff do a great job and some great music and dancing.Lots of variety. Check the schedules posted in the theaters and on bulletin boards.
L&K raved about the Golden Sound Band which I missed. The Latin Group is very good and plays some evening as well as at the paella party on Sundays. Martin on the piano in Hemingways is enjoyable.
Saturday night Fiesta at Riviera was fun with a Mariachi band and more.
COFFEE WITH FELIPE
Felipe and I have been friends since my family and I started going to the P in 2002.He is a superstar manager, now for Mexico, the Caribbean and Brazil. He has been a dear friend and supportive of the good times in my life and not so good times. It is always a great pleasure to meet with him. We had coffee at the beach bar one morning. We talked about our families. I enjoy getting any resort news. He pointed out the round ball on the ceiling which emits a noise that the black birds don’t like. Thus they have cut down on the black bird issues. Felipe has a wonderful sense of humor and joked that he never thought he would need a “PhD” in Zoology in his job.
The Palladium is carved out of a jungle and has a wonderful selection of wild animals. However, these are WILD ANIMALS, not domesticated. The resort has erected signs telling people DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. The resort has caught and moved the animals (coatis in particular) but people keep feeding them and they keep reproducing and returning in large groups. Raccoons are also a problem, harder to catch. They do not reproduce at the rate of the coatis and “kick their kids out of the house” at some point but still a big problem at places like Punta Emilia. I wanted to say something when I saw people standing in front of the signs feeding the animals piles of bread and cookies. This is harmful to the animals and they may have to be removed all together if you continue to feed them. The resort is very eco conscientious and wants to preserve the animals but remember they are wild and can get bold if you are giving them food.
I asked Felipe about replacing the styrofoam coffee cups at the beach bars with cardboard and he said it is one of those Mexican things which means it takes time. The staff also talked about replacing the wheels on some of the carts which is also a Mexican thing. As they said “you can’t just go into a store and buy wheels”. Felipe told me that things such as this are “Thursday” things, i.e. if they don’t know when it will be done they say it will be done on “Thursday”. He once joked that a bad day was when several “Thursday” things arose at once.
We talked about some improvements including the next updating of rooms phase at RM which will probably be Colonial. Schedule is not set. I also asked about Sicily for someone who asked and was told of those plans. The newly renovated Kantenah rooms are lovely, fresh clean, pleasant colors, new mattresses, sofas, electrical and more. There are new pillows in many areas of the resort. I know of other things I can’t yet share but will keep you posted.
HOUSEKEEPING
Dionicio was my housekeeper. I usually tipped him $2-3 per day and also left a separate tip in the fridge if I needed something. As the resort is eco-friendly, I tried to communicate to Dionicio to NOT change my sheets every day por favor. There is a card in the room that one leaves on the bed when you want your sheets changed. I started leaving notes in my bad Spanish so I am not really sure if we managed to communicate. He also took my towels even when I hung them up. I often got towel art and if I needed coffee or other supplies I left a note with pictures or samples.
The entire resort is immaculate, manicured, with attention to detail seen everywhere (logos in the sand of the ashtrays).
MORNINGS
Always a favorite time of day. I often made coffee in the room when I woke up.. This time around I brought along a packet of individual servings of half n half for my coffee in the room and that worked well.
Try to enjoy at least one sunrise.It’s such a beautiful time of the day. I always loved going down to the beach bar for cappuccinos and the sunrise. I appreciate Nesto (Colonial) and Jorge (PE) who work the beach bars all night. When I saw them at sunrise they were still smiling and working hard, ready for a siesta. The Punta Emilia serves champagne in the morning (self serve) and also has good Wi Fi.
WiFi:
Good in lobbies, Punta Emilia. Off and on in Hemingways. If it doesn’t work in one lobby try another. I also got on once in El Gran Azul (above main pool)
REMINDER:
Bring some kind of extra power source as there are few outlets in the room for charging
Phones, cameras, computers and other devices.
TIPPING:
I always bring a bunch of ones and some fives for tipping. You will want to tip these wonderful, hard working people. Pesos preferable or can use US dollars. No US coins and no torn US bills. The ATM at the resort dispenses pesos which you can have broken down at the front desk. If you want to change US it’s best to ask a bartender or concierge for small bills.
PLAYA del CARMEN
One morning I went into PDC as some friends at home wanted Retina A and some vanilla. Easy to get colectivo at stand outside Colonial lobby. No waiting. I used USD. Cost is 350 pesos or $3.50 USD pp. They left me off at the corner of 2nd & 15th where they also depart from. Very easy walk to Fifth Ave. I stopped in a pharmacy to check prices. They offered me Retin A 0.05 for $30. I said no, too expensive so they then said they had a “generic” for $10.50. SOLD. They did not have a generic for the 0.1 strength that I needed so I went to Playa Mart on Fifth. They had non-generic for $35. Very good price. They also have a good selection of vanilla. Read labels and compare and make sure it says “no Coumadin”. Hopped on colectivo back and decided to find the employee “tunnel” to cross the highway. Very easy and safe. I did see employees being “searched” prior to them leaving the resort.
I was thrilled to meet some new and old friends from UK, Canada, US, all whom share a love of the P and make it feel like home. In December I also met Holger and Claudia from Germany and many e-friends from the USA whom I have communicated with for years. I was also was thrilled to finally meet Diego, the Social Media Manager, who found me in Hemingways on my last night. Diego and his lovely girlfriend Angeli are very personable. Very attractive couple.
Overall: What can I say? One of the most relaxing weeks I have had in years. Wonderful friends, food, perfect weather, great staff, great everything. Would I return? I am homesick for my home away from home already.
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/19/2013 3:57:39 PM
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movie fan
Posts: 8192
Joined: 1/7/2008
From: Winnipeg,Manitoba CANADA
Status: offline
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Wonderful report, as always.
So glad you enjoyed another visit.
_____________________________
I may be in bad health, but I'm still 6 feet ABOVE ground!
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/19/2013 5:46:35 PM
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cape cod ann
Posts: 2030
Joined: 5/20/2005
Status: offline
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I found by getting to Gran Azul for lunch before 12:30 it was quite efficient. My friends went to lunch at La Hacienda and it took more time out of the beach day. In my experience Retin A was priced best at Playa Mart on Fifth.
< Message edited by cape cod ann -- 2/19/2013 6:29:15 PM >
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/19/2013 6:12:53 PM
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PJamigo
Posts: 6518
Joined: 5/21/2005
From: SW Tennessee
Status: offline
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Ann, Lovely report. So glad you were able to enjoy time in paradise with
friends. Thanks sharing with us.
_____________________________
"Time spent on a beach in paradise is good for the soul."
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/19/2013 9:09:43 PM
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cape cod ann
Posts: 2030
Joined: 5/20/2005
Status: offline
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It is a skin cream. Avoid wrinkles. Should not be used in the sun. LOL
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/20/2013 7:11:33 AM
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Jamie
Posts: 2548
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Southern California
Status: offline
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Thanks for the nice and very comprehensive trip report. Glad to hear what Retin-A is - probably too late for me but may give it a try anyway
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RE: Grand Palladium February 2013 - 2/20/2013 1:31:44 PM
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cape cod ann
Posts: 2030
Joined: 5/20/2005
Status: offline
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Here in the states it is by prescription only and is more expensive. Some people here can't get a strength of 0.1 which I found in Mexico.
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Printable Version
) that we in Canada can't get without a Dr's prescription.... I should look for some of that stuff in Mexico... 
