Trip Report – What Every Newbie Needs To Know (and Every Veteran Wants To Hear)

Okay, so for almost a year, we logged onto Cancuncare almost daily in excited anticipation of our first-ever trip there. We’ve been married for nine years and have vacationed at resorts all over the Caribbean with various friends from home. It was always fun, but had become predictable and mundane. We decided that, this year, we’d break the mold and try some place completely different—and we’d do it alone, without the obligations and restrictions that came with traveling with our friends. My apologies for the length of this post—I’m trying to be as informative as possible. If you find it to be too long and boring, I won’t be offended if you stop reading. Here’s what we found:

Walking In

It’s funny; we must have seen 50 pictures of the Temptation lobby, and read even more comments about it. But somehow, the place looked completely different than I expected. As expected, it’s bright and open, glassy and polished, and the energy of the place—even in the lull of the early afternoon—is palpable. But the high ceilings, the buzz of staff, and the quiet confidence of the TTR veterans moving through the lobby isn’t something you can feel until you’re inside it for the first time. We arrived by 1pm and an early arrival does feel great, but I had to remind my wife that an early arrival doesn’t equal an early check-in opportunity, so we had to be patient until our room was ready at 3pm. Still, TTR needs to pay special attention to honing the check-in process. We were told at first that they had no more king-sized beds in the “Trendy Ocean View” rooms—only rooms with two doubles--but that they could upgrade us to the Tower for an added charge. Then they weren’t sure that even that was possible. The manager was called over a number of times and we were asked to come back three different times. It’s a new resort; it’s near capacity; these are new employees—I totally get it—but this needs work. A smooth, stress-free check-in is huge for a resort’s first impression and to me and others I spoke with, the front desk needed more attention than any other aspect of the place.

While waiting for our room to be worked out, we were hit with the dreaded Premier Membership pitch. I’d read a lot about this but I either had a completely different experience or I let the minor gripes of others snowball too much in my head because this was no problem at all. We sat down with the guy, he told us where everything was located and how to make dinner reservations, he stressed the no cameras policy, and he very quickly mentioned that if we wanted to consider a Premier Membership we could speak with the people at the Premier concierge desk in the lobby whenever we wanted. That’s it. We mentioned that we were going on the Boobs Cruise the next day and he told us that since we were doing that, they’d give us $100 cash to listen to the Premier sales pitch later that week but (I smelled a rat) we politely declined and that was the end of it. No big deal at all.

The Room

We were granted the exact room we expected (king bed, “Trendy Ocean View”, Quiet Pool wing) and our polite porter explained how to work the dreaded electric shade and thermostat. Once again, I’d read way too many complaints about these (the coffee maker, too) and found them easy enough to understand and operate. Press the “up” arrow twice to make it go up—then once more to make it stop. Switch the thermostat to Fahrenheit, then move the temp up or down. Pull out the two plastic baskets in the coffee maker, fill the tank with two bottles of water, replace the baskets, insert the coffee packet in the top one, hit “power” and wait for your coffee. Then fill cup after cup until the tank runs out.

The room is not the most user-friendly you’ll ever find, no doubt. But it’s eye-catching, it’s funky, and it’s kind of fun. It needs a table. There’s a daily “seek-and-find” process of opening and closing the cabinets to try and find something. The shower does splash a bit onto the bathroom floor. If I was confined to the room for all six days we were there, I might have been annoyed with these. But in the grand scheme, I never gave them a second thought.

We did apply a few “hacks” of our own to improve the room, based on some tips offered by other Cancuncare users. We brought a pack of suction cup hooks that we stuck all over the bathroom and shower walls to hang up swimsuits, wash cloths and shower scrubbies. This worked great to free up counter space and help dry suits. We brought a small air freshener to guard against a “sewer gas smell” that some had warned comes up through the shower drain. We didn’t have any sewer smell, but our bathroom was granted a lovely “Ocean Mist” scent for the week.

Bed and pillows were outstanding. Could have used a warmer blanket. TV was easy. Porn channels only $10 (five channels in all) for the whole week. Plenty of nice towels. Loved being in the Quiet Pool area where there was ZERO noise from Bash or anywhere else. And last but not least—how great is it to be at a place where we honestly couldn’t give a shit about closing the blinds to get naked? If our neighbors were watching, I hope they learned a thing or two—we certainly did our best to put on a clinic.

The Sexy Pool

We’ve never been to a place where the pool outshone the beach so drastically. It’s no wonder the new Sexy Pool at TTR is the most controversial part about the redesign—it’s simply the beating heart of the whole resort. We’d never seen the old resort so this was all we had to go by, but for the rest of you newcomers, you’ll be very impressed. I’ve been to resorts that have bigger pools, but NONE that had a busier, more vibrant one. Again, I read a thousand complaints about this new pool before we went, and most of those were made by TTR veterans who were clearly missing some aspects of the old sexy pool. Through our newbie perspective, here are our thoughts:

-it’s an absolute blast to be a part of. Whether you’re participating in the funny, bold, sometimes-raunchy games or just kicking back and people-watching, it’s just so much fun. It’s so much fun that the topless women become an AFTERTHOUGHT! How ‘bout THAT! Alright, maybe that’s going too far—I’m not sure anyone ever moves past the enjoyment of toplessness, but you catch my drift. Each day we met new people at the pool and looked forward to reconnecting with those we’d met earlier.

-the pool is a tad too deep and maybe a tad too cool, but by no means did I see those as problems and I’m not sure we’d have noticed them at all had we not seen the complaints by others on Cancuncare. There is a large ledge all the way around the pool, and the barstools are at optimum height. Once the sun starts rising higher in the sky and winter gives way to spring and summer, I can’t imagine that pool temps will be brought up again.

-the pool bar could use one more bartender, and the backside of the pool bar (the side facing the pool deck) seems like a lot of wasted space. I never saw more than 4-5 people drinking over there and it’s a huge space.

-there are too many of the molded, submerged chairs (not used much) and not enough of the chaise loungers on the deck. These have all been reserved by 10am or so, and they’re often “reserved” by the butlers for people who don’t end up using the chairs at all. I saw many people reserving chairs all day long, only to leave on excursions or simply not use the chairs. TTR sure seems like a place where guests go out of their way to be nice to each other; it’d be nice to see them pull their towels when not using the pool to make way for others who’d like to use them. That said, this was only a very minor annoyance.

-the best time to be in the pool seems to be around 3pm or so, just when everyone is getting a little sauced and in a great mood. We met a bunch of people around this time.

-around 4pm or so (at least in December) the sun retreats behind the tower, things cool off, and many people start to migrate up to the hot tub. While this is a really fun place to be, it does great crowded, people are drunk, and the contact gets…uh…pretty close. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but if you’re someone who gets offended by affectionate (often drunk) people speaking to and perhaps even hugging and kissing you in a big hot tub, you’re probably better off just making your way back to the room to get ready for dinner. If you’re easy-going and don’t mind, then the hot tub is a must-do at TTR. Now, people are spilling drinks and dragging their sand and dirt into the tub so it does get a little funky—and I’m guessing there’s a good deal of pee in there. But those are strong chemicals, you’ve got an active immune system and I’m guessing that everyone will be just fine. If people-watching is something you enjoy, well, then the hot tub at TTR is like a lobster lover making a trip to Maine.

Boobs Cruise

It’s funny—on first glance, I watched the promo video and said “Eh…don’t think so.” But time and again in my life I’ve been pushed by friends to leave my comfort zone and try something way “out of the box” and have ended up loving it—growing my world. That’s what we did with the Boobs Cruise. We took the advice of so many of you on this site who said it was not-to-be-missed, and we did it. We took the cruise on Monday the 4th—the day after we’d arrived at TTR. Though we’d been having a good time up to that point, this absolutely sold us on TTR for life. I’ll never forget that point of revelation: we’re about 15 minutes into the Cruise, my beautiful wife is topless and smiling, Chinos is working the mic like a pro and being really funny, I’ve got a full cup of some sugary concoction, we’re surrounded by turquoise, Caribbean water cutting through the warm air and looking out at the Cancun coast have nothing…NOTHING weighing on my mind—and at that moment I’m like “this absolutely MUST become a regular part of my life.” I imagine many of you have had the same sort of revelation on the Boobs Cruise or at TTR. It’s that point where you realize that no other Sandals, RIU, Secrets, Iberostar, Breathless, whatever resort in Cancun or elsewhere will cut it for you, ever again. And that was just 15 minutes into the Cruise!

We drank, we swam, we sang and danced—and yeah, things got pretty racy. But at no time did we ever feel uncomfortable or turned off. In fact, I commend Chinos, Steve and their crew for being true professionals. Sounds very oxymoron-ish to be using “professional” and “Boobs Cruise” in the same sentence, but think of it: Chinos is “on” the entire time—funny, cool, welcoming and enthusiastic. He goads people into participating and having fun without making them uncomfortable or defensive; the crew is all over the place, filling drinks, cleaning up, helping to board and unboard, and none of them are creepy or sleazy or anything less than courteous; and the boat is clean and (seemingly) safe and well-equipped. Maybe they make this cruise twice a week, every week, all year long, but it sure doesn’t seem like they ever get sick of it. Kudos to them and if you decide NOT to do the Boobs Cruise, well, that’s just more room for the rest of us who’ve decided how rewarding it can be to “grow our world.”

Restaurants

We care a lot about food. We love to cook, we go out a lot, and we pay extra for quality ingredients. In the past, that’s spelled “d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r” when we’ve gone to all-inclusive resorts. We get it—they’re saddled with the nearly impossible task of being all things to all people, all while being rather limited in the ingredients they can obtain. But even still, we’ve had some really, really BAD food at all-inclusive resorts. At times, it’s ruined the whole mealtime ritual. We always go in with low expectations. Given its reputation as place known far more for its parties than for its luxury, we expected that TTR food would be tolerable at best. I’m delighted to report that we were completely wrong.

Sutra

We hit this Asian restaurant the first night and then we’d return later in the week. We had everything from the apps to the desserts, with sushi, coffee, and drinks thrown in. We love all sorts of Asian food back home and honestly, this place is good. It’s not going to beat out your favorite sushi, Thai or Indian joints back home, but we found it excellent for all-inclusive-resort food—maybe the best we’ve ever had. Loved the appetizer plate they brought out for starters and truly enjoyed the chicken tikka masala and nigiri. I think I could’ve eaten here every night. Service is excellent. Next time we’ll make a point to try the hibachi.

Romanza

If you’d like to try this Italian restaurant, get there early and be prepared to wait. It’s worth it, though, and again, this is some of the best resort food we’ve ever had. It’s a very quiet place but the staff makes a big production of the brandy-fired desserts. We had the white risotto and cannelloni and both were very good. I had to keep an eye on Holly to make sure she didn’t steal any of the glassware (she’s nuts for that stuff and this place had some great wine glasses).

Sea Flirt

More excellent food at this water-view seafood restaurant. We enjoyed the ceviche, tempura shrimp, and calamari/octopus and again loved the atmosphere (this is probably the nicest-looking restaurant at TTR). We wanted to return but it was closed for lunch a few days later due to an event. This might be the best spot if you’ve got something romantic planned.

Amore’s

You should expect the Mexican restaurant to be good at a Cancun resort and this was among the best we’ve been to. A mariachi band strolls through and sets the mood and the round shape makes it interesting. I’d absolutely return here, though it ranked behind the three other spots I’ve just listed.

Rain

This is the breakfast/lunch/dinner buffet and it’s the place most people frequent the most. It set the tone for the whole resort for us. You know how you’ve gone through all-inclusive buffets in the past and the food LOOKS very appetizing—very familiar? You THINK you know what it will taste like and your taste buds are all ready…and then you take a bite and the food just totally doesn’t taste the way you thought it would? And that’s usually not a good thing? Well I was mentally preparing myself for that as I grabbed this fresh, hot slice of pepperoni pizza at Rain—it looked too good to be true and I was preparing for disappointment. I sat down…took a bite…and it tasted…exactly like pepperoni pizza. Wow! It wouldn’t win any awards back in the States but for those of us just looking for some comfort food while fighting hangovers or just looking for something familiar, it and most of the rest of the food here was right as—well, Rain. Try the assortment of Mexican salsas and hot sauces and enjoy the mussel ceviche and couscous. We sure did.

Flame

So this is the one spot that didn’t impress us—and that’s understandable since it’s the steak joint and any American who’s every traveled abroad probably knows that steak in other countries just isn’t the same. It’s certainly not terrible. Give me a flame broiler or a ripping-hot cast iron pan and let me put a dark sear on both sides of the steaks at Flame and they’re 50% better, right there. There’s just something wrong about a nice steak with no dark crust. Also, Flame is part of the Rain buffet restaurant during the day and this really hurts its atmosphere. No reason to AVOID this place, but we’ll skip it next time in favor of the previously-mentioned better options.

She

Didn’t hit this place. Something to look forward to next time.

Bash

If the Sexy Pool is the first thing which sets TTR apart from the rest of the vacationing world, Bash is the second—and it’s a close race. At most resorts, night-time entertainment consists of sitting at a table ordering drinks while watching resort performers do their best to impersonate the likes of Michael Jackson or Cirque de Soleil on stage. It’s not long before much of the crowd begins to trickle off to bed, and if you’re an early-riser, it’s often hard to reach 10pm. Wow—not here. First off, the entertainment doesn’t begin until around 9:30, at which time you’ll want to have secured a seat near the stage as we found the acts to be excellent and most of the performers to be hotter than the hibachi grill at Sutra. The first night we were treated to exotic dancers—ok, strippers—who were not only talented but also very attractive people who stripped down to their smallest undergarments. The whole thing was a huge rush and far better than watching something of the sort in a sleazy strip joint back home. The whole crowd LOVED it and my wife was hooked. Once the dancers were finished, the stage opened up to the rest of the crowd (did this every night) and we danced for a long time. There were other performers later in the week who weren’t quite as appealing to the crowd (guitar and violin players who went on for too long) but we saw at least one other show that was nearly as hot as this first night. Clearly, TTR is paying well for talented, very attractive performers and this is absolutely a good move. The performers often stayed and danced on the bar until late and their energy and appeal fueled the whole crowd. I was happy to see that most of the guests were respectful to them and didn’t treat them as objects. It’s my hope that this continues with TTR as watching and dancing around super-sexy people makes you feel, well…super-sexy.

Drinks were fine (though I always lock up and can’t think of what to order at these resorts after I’ve grown tired of margaritas, pina coladas, and beer) and service wasn’t bad. Bartenders are definitely busy, so it pays to build up a rapport with them and be cool with the dollars--but in no way did I ever find good service here or in any other part of TTR to be dependent on tipping. It’s just the right thing to do and it feels good. Late night snacks were fine; fries great, burgers so-so, other apps fine. It hit the right spot at the end of a night of drinking. Loved the fact that the indoor bar stayed open the whole time.

One suggestion for Bash—and maybe there already is something like this set up that I missed: have a professional photographer on hand to take pictures of people in their costumes, if they so Desire. Make these shots available in the lobby the next morning for purchase, or online for free. People put so much effort into their outfits and it would be great to have high-quality photos to keep (and not have to worry about security giving you the stink eye for using your own camera). Selfies are fine, but the quality usually sucks—and who wants a million pictures featuring their arm holding out their camera?

Staff

TTR has no problem, here. I hadn’t read a single negative comment about the staff going in, and I don’t have any to add coming out. The staff is pleasant, efficient, competent, and above all else, professional. The very idea of walking around half-naked in front of all of these strange men would be enough to shut down most American women. TTR clearly understands the inherent fear, and likely understands that some people are probably even MORE concerned about a place like this in Mexico, given all of the recent reports. I have a beautiful, blonde wife who turns heads everywhere and I’m not a jealous guy. In fact, I get a little surprised when guys DON’T turn their heads to check her out. I don’t think I saw a single TTR employee give her a suggestive glance or even do a double-take when she walked by topless and thong-wearing. Maybe that’s due in part to the fact that there are beautiful, topless women nearly every day of the year, but that’s also professionalism, guys, and that’s the kind of thing that brings you back and makes you feel good about recommending TTR to others.

Complaints by others

Man—there are a lot of those on this site. Many are legitimate, many are petty, but I think all have been offered up by people who care and who’d like to help others. I won’t blow those off. Hell, I’ve offered some of my own. All I can say is that I find it helpful to keep my expectations low and my hopes high and to remember a few things about these kinds of resorts:

-they’re open 365 days a year and nearly every one of those days is someone’s first day of vacation. Not only do they need to be spotless and sharp, they need to be “on.”

-these places never shut down for a “maintenance day” so that means the work is ongoing. Some of it will get in the way. Some of the things in your room will break—they get used every day! When stuff breaks, there’ll be at least one impatient guest who absolute expects it to be taken care promptly.

-the food needs to appeal to people from all over the world, with all sorts of different tastes. They’ll be at least somewhat limited in ingredients when they make every dish on the menu.

-American standards for safety and service are the highest in the world. Standards in big American cities get even HIGHER (Chicago tourists bitching at wait staff in Door Country, Wisconsin comes to mind). Most of the rest of the world simply doesn’t work this way. Things move a little slower or they’re a little less safe—there’s always a bit more “you’re on your own” in the rest of the world, particularly the second and third world. Steps, floors, escalators, doors, traffic—it can all require just a little more attention outside the US, and I try to keep that in mind at all times (I’m hoping that not too many people fall off the Boobs Cruise!).

Lifestylers

Yeah, you knew I’d get to this at some time. Did we meet any lifestylers? I’m pretty sure…probably…maybe? It doesn’t really matter. What I’m certain of is that at no time were we openly propositioned by anyone—other than this one goofball who’d bought a day-pass and seemed to think TTR was some sort of wildlife park where “swingers” run around with “enter here” signs around their necks. There were some very affectionate people in the pool and hot tub. I heard some people speaking of encounters that would be considered “swinging” but the naïve public. I saw some people making out with people who I don’t think were their spouses in full view of people I think were their spouses. Is that “lifestyling” or is that a plane of affection that I’m not familiar with? I don’t know and I’m not sure it matters. What does matter is that this was never, ever an issue and we truly hope that everyone continues to love TTR because they feel accepted there.

Next Time

Because there absolutely will be one! Here’s my list for what to do, bring, or bring more of next year—maybe it’ll help you:

-one more swimsuit. One is wet, one doesn’t fit or look just right, a third should do the trick.

-big clips to hold the towel to the chaise loungers at the pool and beach.

-more ones and fives for tipping. I always start out tossing them around generously and then suddenly, mid-week, realize that I’m running out fast. I think I’ll try “daily tip envelopes” or something like that.

-mid-week massage/wellness day. Man, I just can’t drink and party for a week straight anymore. I need one day (a few hours at least) to get a massage, maybe follow it up with a nap, and recuperate. I’ll stash some money away during the year so it doesn’t punch so hard in the wallet when I’m at the resort.

-workout clothes! TTR has a great new facility and I worked out in a cotton t-shirt and had on loose boxers. Gross!

-more costume stuff for me. My wife really went all out for each night and she had a blast. I found myself piecing things together and suffering by comparison (well, I’ll always suffer when compared to her) and kind of missing out on some of the fun. I’ll put in a little more effort next time.

-we’ll use a different shuttle or car service to and from the airport. “Local Experts” took forever to leave the airport (though we were the only ones in the van) and then after asking us to be ready to leave the resort at 11:30 didn’t pick us up to go back to the airport until about 12:30. Too many other options to have to settle for that. Any suggestions?

Closing

If you’ve made it this far, you’ll stick around for a few more thoughts. My wife and I have never had a better vacation than this. We were prepared, and in the right state of mind, and happened to be looking for exactly what TTR offers, but the credit still goes to TTR and to the other guests we met there. I’ve read “the people are the best part of TTR” a million times, but it’s no cliché. This is quite simply a place where people are more open to talking to each other and participating in activities than other resorts. You can find all of the privacy you want, here, but what’s fun is being able to go public, right? Be topless, make friends rather than bring them with you, act like you’re in college, talk openly about wild sex, and make out with your spouse at the bar, marvel at your beautiful wife as she wears a sexy dress to dinner that she’d never wear at home--all that stuff. We’re in. For life.

So, if you were one of the people we met at TTR, or one of those whose trip reports or posts helped us prepare, I say “thank you” from the bottom of my heart for helping to make this such a great vacation and such a great place to look forward to returning to. If you’re someone who gains some knowledge or entertainment from this ridiculously-long trip report, please pay it forward and help the next couple.

To all of you, cheers…salud…sante’…prost…saude…skol. Here’s to pushing ourselves out of the comfort zone every now and then and making our worlds grow just a little wider.

-Argon and Holly (“Neverfales”)

 

We recently made our first trip to TTR and @Neverfales just eloquently put into words exactly what our experience was!!!

I want to reiterate what Argon reported on the Lifestyle scene at TTR because honestly this was one of our biggest concerns for our first trip. We realized very early on the first day that the labels really didn't matter. We were having fun meeting beautiful and interesting people. Were they swingers? Does that really matter? Everyone we met was amazing and open and honest and there to experience exactly the same thing we were there to experience.

Like Argon and Holly we are determined to make TTR a part of our life. Hopefully we get a chance to meet them in person some day.

Thanks for the amazing trip report!!!

 

That was a great Trip Report. I agree with pretty much everything you said, and the way you said it. The "seek and find" comment about the closets, was me every day. Glad I wasn't the only one.

 

Now that's a great first timers trip report...Thanks for sharing!

 

Great report!! Thank you I’ll be sharing this with my husband (newbie)!

 

WOW! That was one hell of a trip report. Not just because the content was so positive (which there are negative things to say, there just is the right way to say them), but it was extreamly well written and touched on pretty much everything.

I for one sound like a broken record when I describe the resort to people. Moving forward I will be passing this on to a few select friends that are on the fence, and probably aren't convinced in what I say, because I am generally pretty happy about everything. But this hit the nail on the head and I couldn't agree more to pretty much all your points/thoughts/experiences/expectations.

Super glad you guys had a great vacation!!!!

And I/we appreciate the time and effort that went into writing this trip review. It will no doubt benefit many people considering going, and it's really nice to see someone playing that concept forward based on the knowledge you acquired from this forum ahead of time.

 

No one more helpful to us than Eric and Jen. I understand exactly what people were saying when they claimed they’d found a whole new group of friends at/through TTR.

 

Fantastic Report!

As for a service to get from the airport, USA Transfers is commonly used and well reviewed at this site.

 

Wonderful report! So glad you had a great time!

 

Excellent report. For to and from airport, USA Transfers has always been our choice, and has always delivered. Private van/car directly to the resort, no stops. Only PITA may be they want to leave for the airport a little early on departure day, but that's not a huge deal.
To your question "I saw some people making out with people who I don’t think were their spouses in full view of people I think were their spouses. Is that “lifestyling” or is that a plane of affection that I’m not familiar with? I don’t know and I’m not sure it matters."
Quite correct. Sometimes the "happiness" and friendliness turns into a little more than normal friendly, but that's one of the beautiful things about TTR, you have a safe place to expand boundaries and have fun.