After our 5:30 reservations at the Italian restaurant we had time to kill so we went out front and asked a taxi driver what it would cost to drive us around and show us the strip before we went to Patyo's. He said $30.00 us an hour. I couldn't believe get a taxi for an hour for $30.00. I paid a cab $50.00 for a 30 min drive in Boston so we took him up on it. You would have thought this guy won the lottery when we went with him for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun and he took us to his favorite bar, treated us like royalty and taught us a lot about the Mexican way of life. I took what he said with a grain of salt until we spent 4 hours (2 each way) going to the Mayan ruins/jungle atv trip with another driver that pretty much confirmed what he was saying. My second driver said a person needs about $100.00 us a week to live there. That min wage in Mexico is $5.00 a day. That he works 12-14 hours a day 6 days a week for $10.00 a day plus a small cash bonus that barely gets him there. I believed him. He invited us to get together and meet his family and have dinner (time did not allow for that). He sent me an email to keep in touch if we go back to Cancun. Long story short, tip these people as well as you can because they work hard for very little and you would never know it by their attitude and the way they treat you.
Oh, I don't think the chair/reservation situation is fair play or what is right, either. But my point is that if these things are the reason you're there, or you expect to be treated a certain way regarding these situations by the resort, you're not going to have a great time. You might find now that you know the stark realities of the resort, you might have a much better time with a return trip. As for me, I go to TTR because it is a fun, free, sexual environment that has a bit of magic to it. The way I feel there, and the fun I have, hasn't been able to be recreated anywhere I've been, and I travel a lot. I expect sunny poolside chairs and top-notch reservations and food almost everywhere else I go (beachside resorts, Vegas, NYC, wine country, hell--Europe, cruises, etc), but the other things that TTR offers me (which, granted, is mostly due to the people I meet there, some of whom have become great friends, and the tolerance of the staff to let us do what we want and act like complete idiots) makes me more than willing to put up with the chair and reservation nonsense. And the price--still willing to pay it, flaws and all, as I feel it's more than worth it.
You leaving it late! When the bartenders break into YMCA/ Tequilla routine, that is the time to get your crap on as many chairs as possible, so when the sun moves thruout the day, you always have a chairs reserved, perfectly in the Sun. 23 trips you learn a few things
Great trip report! There is also the Seafood restaurant and the Tex Mex for dinner that don't require reservations as an alternative to the buffet. Both great restaurants.
If there are no chairs around the pool we snag a chair at the beach and sun there and socialize in the pool. Win win!!! Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Especially since we constantly walked by the Italian restaurant and seeing half of the seats empty. Makes me think people make reservations in advance and don't show up. If you see empty seats it's always worth a shot to stop in and ask if they have room for you. More often than not my dinners at the Italian restaurant have been enjoyed without a reservation. To be honest I never know where I'm going to be from one minute to the next there, and it seems like others that make these reservations and can't show up for them feel the same way!
