Cancun is by far my most favorite travel destination. It's party spot for anytime of the year. Resorts are wonderful and staff is even great. We stayed at Grand Oasis and have nothing to complain about. BUT, there is some downside to Cancun which will prevent frequent visitors like me to come to Cancun in future. Incident #1: Me and my buddies went to Coco Bongo on Saturday night. We were dancing with gals and one of my friend split up and went outside to smoke. He had little bit too much to drink, I suppose. Someone at the front smoking area of Coco Bongo cut his club badge from his wrist. Then, that someone took/stole $400 cash from his wallet and then put wallet back in his pocket. My friend was literally passed out and when he woke up he realize that $400 is missing from him wallet and he lost Coco Bongo badge. So, he had to wait till 6 in the morning until we got out of the club to get him back to hotel. He called us but we can't hear it inside with loud music playing. Yes, it was his fault for being too drunk and hanging at the smoking area of Coco Bongo. But, isn't it suppose to be safe at tourist area? Incident #2: We went to the City on Friday night. We paid $50 for an entrance which included all drinks. To our surprise, after ordering third glass of beer the bartenders at different bars started asking us for tips otherwise they wouldn't serve us alcohol anymore. When we saw them our badge, they sawed us mean look and started laughing at us. If it was US, we would have easily picked up fight. But, we wanted to be safe in Mexico so we let it go and for each drinks we paid them $1 tip individually. Totally not happy with experience at the City. Never going to go there again. Please note, this type of incident never happened at any other club. But, happened at the City twice. So be careful before going there unless if you are a girl. Incident #3: We brought back two females friends at Grand Oasis one evening who happened to stay at the Oasis. One of them got too drunk and she puked on bathroom floor and some area of the room. We called room service and they cleaned it at 9 pm. When we checked out, the front desk charged us $90 for cleaning services. When asked for explanation they said that they had to use laundry services to clean it. But, don't you think $90 is too much?? In nutshell, in beginning we felt like tipping each staff members and felt like they deserve it. But, once they start ripping us off, it sounds like they don't deserve it.
Your report is an interesting read, however there are a few things I would point out. Incident 1: You shouldn't wander off on your own if you are in a group. If you travel solo like I do often, make friends at the resort and look out for them and have them look out for you. ALSO, never, EVER keep your wallet in your back pocket, put it in the front. If the pickpockets want to get to you they have to give you a little action! It's a good idea to hide some cash in the bottom of your shoe or another hard to access pocket just in case. Incident 2: Sometimes the bartenders are just assholes. Nothing you can do about that. Incident 3: It is a bit much but then again how much would you like to be paid if you had to clean up someone's puke. Next time party in their room! Don't let those things turn you off Cancun, two are bar incidents, one which you had control over in general. Use caution and common sense. And why would you need $400 for a bar night? Even with shots you can't drink that much can you? lol!
Thanks for posting your experiences. I think with No 3 there is some justification but the other 2 there is no excuse for. Even with No 3 the actual person cleaning the puke is probbaly on $10 a day wage - they wont be the one making any money out of that. The other two events are totally unacceptable. It's why us expats rarely venture to the HZ for a night out - even though we know the usual scams they still try it on and things can turn ugly. I am really sick and tired of people who work in the HZ clubs thinking that they can rip people off (or steal from them) because they will never see them again and never be held accountable. Far better to give people a good service at a good price and hope they return and recommend the service to others. It works for my business, and the fact that so many other Cancun workers don't see it is just something that helps me and hinders them. Problem is, people like yourself, will be put off from returning altogether. You'll tell others about your experience as you have done here. The rip off merchants cut their own throat and the good guys suffer too.
Just to put my 2cents in.. anyone can get pickpocketed ANYWHERe.. the fact that it is a tourist destination, its actually probably more common there, because of how many more people are there.... also, not sure if you've ever bartended, but a club like the City is huge.. the fact that a person wouldn't even think to tip mind boggles me.. You have people and servers asking for drinks ALL night.. its difficult. I bartend, and personally, if there is someone who is tipping me more vs. someone who isn't.. guess who is getting my attention first..? The cleaning thing.. 90$ is a bit much, but hey.. would you want to clean up someone elses throw up? Personally, I would clean up my own... even though it is there job to clean the room, that to me is disrespectful. Laziness is what I call that.
Steve, I didn't meant to complain about people with a good service. We made reservations at dine in restaurant at GrandOasis and every night we tip the waiter $10 because he was awesome and respectful. And, I love Cancun and will continue to love Cancun. I wouldn't let my trip ruin due to couple of bad experiences. Trust me, if my friends will ask me about my Cancun experience, I will encourage them to come to Cancun every year. But, at the same time I will ask them to be ware of guys at the clubs. Just one last example, every time I went to bathrooms of Daddy Rock on Monday night, the guy there asked me for drugs. Haha, that was funny to me but what pissed me off was that there was a girl with me who went to woman's bathroom and same guy asked her for drugs and when she refused, he smaked her butt on the way into the bathroom. If she was my girlfriend or sister, things would have turned ugly. But, those guys who work at clubs they have no respect for anyone. Most nights they themselves are looking for drunk female tourists so they can go home with them. But like I said, I love Cancun and appreciate good people with good service. They will always get good word of reference from me.
There is a huge difference here between clubs in US and clubs in Cancun. Most clubs in US don't require a cover charge or it is minimal like $10. So, once we go in, for each drinks we give the bartender tips like $1 or $2 for drinks. No big deal because. But, when you pay $50 for your way into the club where it's clearly advertised that it's all included. Furthermore, after paying $50 and buying only 3 drinks if bartender starts asking for tips, I think it's not resonable. For crying out loud, it was only 1 hour into the club and they started asking for tips. All I am saying is that guys be careful about this scam at the City. Just don't go there with $10 in change and empty pocket otherwise you won't get drinks after midnight and if you decide to start tipping them, you will be out of change for cab ride back to the hotel.
Lets be realistic. Clubs that are even close to the same quality as Coco Bongo or City will cost far more to get into in the US then $10 as you claim. $20 or more is more the par for clubs in major cities. Where you get charged $10 will tell you either you live in an inexpensive city or you are going to a cheap club. At the same time the clubs inthe US will not be all inclusive (againts liquor laws) and if you are lucky you will pay $8-10 plus dollars for a glass of beer minimum in the better clubs. Mixed drinks will start at $15 and up. Add tip of a dollar or two and the bartender will stop serving you after 2-3 drinks as well. But to the isue about the original points. 1. Your friend got drunk and passed out. This can happen anywhere and him being robbed is not unique to Cancun alone. You get no sympathy from me for his lack of thinking about how much he drank. 2. Bartenders asking for tips mean you were dealing with bad bartenders or you may have acted somehow out of line. I do not agree with what they did to you but at the same time I would not disagree with what they did if you acted out of line somehow. 3. The hotel did the right thing charging you for the cleaning up of the mess. Now the person who created this mess should be paying for it, but since that did not happen you are stuck with a bill that they are rightfully collecting. Of course you could have cleaned this up yourselves and in that case this would not be a problem. Overall sorry, but I really do not feel for you over your complaints or comments.
I hope to god every person that comes here on vacation tips everyone who provides a service, despite the price of cover/admission/star rating of hotel. You'd be sick if you knew the daily salary with 6 days being the normal workweek. To think that just because you paid $60 to get into Coco Bongo, that the servers and bartenders shouldn't get tipped is nuts. I have and will go days without making money cause I am a commissioned based employee that provides a free service to a hotel. I am the last person who expects to get tipped, and I rarely do, but I know what it's like to live day to day here, and it aint easy
There is easy way out miss Tori. Get out of Cancun or get education where you can earn money to make a decent living instead of waiting on tips. I am not going to argue with you or anyone else about bartenders getting tipped. Like I said before, it is travelers choice to decide whether they get tipped or not. I wouldn't say bad things about people who provide great services such as bartenders at the hotel, servers at the hotel, the cleaning staff etc. They are great folks who works hard everyday. I don't like cab drivers who will charge me $20 to go from Temptation to Coco Bongo because I ain't Mexican. When I said OK, that same cab driver laughed with his buddy who was sitting next to him on drivers sit about how he fooled me. They have no respect for their customers. Again, there is good and bad in Cancun. And bad people are ruin names of good people like Steve said.
ok...60 bucks to get in and all your drinks are included....how long would 60 bucks last at even a crap bar with NO cover charge back home? not long i bet. i dont understand a lot of tourists walk around flaunting all their money then cheap out when it actually makes a difference. i am not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination but really a couple hundred in tips over a week is a drop in the bucket. i gave a gardener 10 bucks one morning in cuba just cause...his reaction was worth 10 times that. people need to lighten up and share the wealth a little...you never know, it might make you feel good. BUT when someone expects or asks for a tip...yeah, not gonna happen.
