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Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/16/2013 3:42:13 PM
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CLK51
Posts: 3
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My husband and I just returned from a week at Dreams Tulum and had a great time. We previously stayed 2x at ABR. We decided to splurge a bit on a 6 square deal and I'm afraid this trip spoiled us. No annoying wristbands either!
FOOD
The food is wonderful! We ate breakfast (and sometimes lunch) in the buffet and went to the specialty restaurants for dinner. We loved the Enchiladas Mole and Sizzling Fajitas at El Patio (ask for Ehyder as your server). Italian and French restaurants are like a 5-star in the states. There is a dress code for these two. We loved the Asian and Seaside Grill (steak/fish), too. Did not try Sushi, but heard it is great. Had a private lobster dinner on beach one night to celebrate our 40th anniversary- awesome! For those of you on low-sodium diets, you probably will go over your daily limit here, but it's only one week. The desserts are delicious and in sensibly small servings. A wide variety of fresh fruit is always available. Mexican dishes are always available too. Try them! They have a no reservation policy for specialty restaurants. We loved that, but may be a problem during high season.
DRINKS
We thought the cocktails were really good. My fave was the Caiprioska and hubby liked the Godfather. Of course, some bartenders were better than others. We loved German. He works at the Manatee. Modelo and Coronas are available on tap. The house red wine was a Chilean blend that we thought was very good. Did not care for the house white. Coco Lounge is a coffee bar. Their macchiatos tasted just like ones we had in Italy. Cafe mochas are great. too. The coffee comes from Chiapas and is the best I've ever had. Internet is available here for a fee. I think there may have been free WiFi in here, too. Not sure.
ROOMS
We were in the Hacienda Suites (garden view). Glad we didn't upgrade to ocean view due to the evening noise in the patio area. We liked being on the 2nd floor for more privacy. Beds were super comfy. TV includes Cinemax and HBO. Hairdryer, iron, washline, golf umbrella and safe in room. Hammock on patio to relax. Bidet in bathroom. iHome docking station with alarm clock on bedside table. They have a nightly turn-down service in addition to the morning room cleaning. Pampering!
PROPERTY
It is absolutely gorgeous! The gardens are meticulously cared for. We saw lots of iguanas and pretty birds. The staff are constantly cleaning. Bathrooms in Coco Lounge were the nicest. My only complaints are that the tile walkways/stairs throughout the property are very slippery when wet and the lighting, though romantic, isn't really safe at places. A small flashlight might be helpful after dark.
ENTERTAINMENT
Everyday your cleaning lady brings a schedule of events for the following day. There is something for everyone. I enjoyed watching 3 families compete in a sand pyramid building contest, took a fruit carving class, Spanish lesson and an intro to Temezcal. Yoga, bocce and many other activities were available. The evening entertainment was pretty much the standard fare except 3 special shows. We loved the Capoeira (Brazil) show on Tues, the Mariache band on Mexican night (Sat) and the Mayan show (Weds). All were professionals and top notch.
BEACH/POOL
There is a swim-up bar at the family pool (does this make sense?) and an adults only (this was not enforced)relaxing pool. Both pools were very nice, but for some reason the water in the relaxing pool wasn't very clear. There is usually something going on in the family pool like volleyball or water aerobics and loud music. The beach is very nice with palapas and palm trees. Staff comes around with drink orders. The only time we had trouble finding a lounger was the first 2 days when there was a convention going on. Otherwise, we didn't need to go out early to save a chair. The towel boy collects towels on desserted chairs regularly. The sand is a bit rough on the feet at places, but nice to walk without seeing one resort after the other. I'm sure this will change. Seashell lovers, if you go slightly south of the resort to the rocky area at low tide you will find lots of small treasures. The snorkeling is great. Swim (or kayak) out to the red buoy and you're at the reef. We are in our 60's and could do this easily. We saw lots of colorful fish and coral. Some people saw squid. Be careful getting in as there are lots of rocks. We snorkeled on a yellow flag day and were grateful for our inflatible vests and fins. We missed seeing the sea turtles, but it was so nice not having to watch out for boats.
EXCURSIONS
We didn't do any organized tours as we've been in this area before. Next time we'll visit Si'an Ka'an as it is not too far away. We took the Collectivo (30 pesos) into Tulum town one rainy day. There are a couple nice shops with Mexican handcrafts and hammocks. My favorite shop was MexicArte. There was another really nice shop where I bought papel amate (bark paper) made by the Otomi culture in Puebla.
FYI
We knew enough to walk past the time-share hawkers at the airport, but this year there was something new. Mingling in with our flowered-shirted reps (and apparently working together) were guys trying to get us to attend a 90 min. presentation at the resort. Only after we declined were we taken to our transport vehicle. They also hit you up when you arrive at the resort. This is to try to convince you to join their Premiere VIP club.
FANTASTIC VACATION
Good food, good service and beautiful location. We will definitely return to this resort! 
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/17/2013 8:10:14 AM
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Jamie
Posts: 2548
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Southern California
Status: offline
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Very nice report, sounds like a good place to stay. Have only driven by it before but looked pretty good from the outside. Thanks again
Oh, and welcome to Locogringo!
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/17/2013 2:57:16 PM
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movie fan
Posts: 8208
Joined: 1/7/2008
From: Winnipeg,Manitoba CANADA
Status: offline
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Great report.
Wonder what their Premier VIP club entails.
_____________________________
I may be in bad health, but I'm still 6 feet ABOVE ground!
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/19/2013 10:23:19 AM
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Indiagal
Posts: 27
Joined: 1/24/2012
Status: offline
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We actually bit for the 90 minute presentation when we got our rental car at American in Cancun. We knew we might be sorry but couldn't pass up the $200 for 90 minutes of our time. We had heard on forums that it's never 90 minutes but figured we could handle even 2-3 hours for what turned out to be the cost of our rental car. We went to Dreams Tulum at 8am and were given a free breakfast and found that the food at an AI can be great. The meal was fabulous. We were honest the whole time with the reps that we were not interested in buying in but would be happy to hear their shpiel. The reps were locals who were well-trained and really personable. We did have to threaten several times to leave since it looked like they would go over the promised time frame. The tour of Dreams was cut short but we saw alot. Had to go through the pressured sales bit with his supervisor since he couldn't close the deal. The supervisor was rude, but we stuck to our guns, remained pleasant and enjoyed that we had a really good breakfast, saw a pretty property, were outside most of the time and only spent 3 hours total including drive time there and back to our condo in Akumal for the price of our rental car. Not for everyone, but not bad!!
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/19/2013 11:49:37 AM
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2WOOZ
Posts: 68
Joined: 9/26/2012
From: Graham, WA
Status: offline
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Great trip report !
Welcome to LG
We are newbies also.
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/20/2013 10:59:50 AM
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canoesue
Posts: 45
Joined: 1/23/2007
Status: offline
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Glad you enjoyed Dreams! We are going on April 9 and starting to get excited! We were there two years ago and enjoyed it very much. I agree it's a bit of a splurge over places like ABR, but all the no reservation a la carte restaurants, and the Explorers Club which our daughter loved made it worth the extra.
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/25/2013 9:05:05 AM
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Happycamp01
Posts: 27
Joined: 7/18/2009
From: Waynetown Indiana
Status: offline
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We stayed at Dreams Tulum last year and absolutely loved it. The snorkeling was fairly good and the food was wonderful. The beds were very comfortable and service excellent. We love to try new resorts, but will def return to Dreams some day. We really had a great time!
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RE: Dreams Tulum 3/07/2013 - 3/14/2013 - 3/28/2013 9:24:38 PM
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GlubGlub
Posts: 22
Joined: 3/1/2006
From: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Status: offline
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Nice report! I have been curious about this AI, as a former colleague has stayed there. I love MexicArte -- they have shop in Akumal as well!
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