In terms of the all inclusive, are there any food entres to avoid? What all do they serve? Also, I hear that goat's milk is the standard in Mexico and tastes terrible versus US milk. Is this true? THank you.
At the Flamingo, sadly, I'd avoid almost all of it in hindsight. It's very uninspiring, bland, boring, minimal choices. BUT, it's not a 5*, so bear that in mind. The best choices will be the days they host the victims of the time sharks (this seems to be where they take the victims for the 'free' buffet breakfast) cuz that day, the buffet was plentiful, there were all sorts of fruit juices, the food was fresh, appealing, etc. Other days was like going to McDonald's or Dennys. Served its purpose, but nothing to write home about. Milk is harder to come by, I don't recall seeing milk any day we were there. It's kind of an acquired taste if you're used to cow milk, though. Kind of like soy... it's not bad, it's not great, it's just different. Most days, breakfast consisted of leftovers from the dinner buffet, hash browns, various breads/rolls, and the omlette bar. I stuck with omlettes because I know they were fresh (made in front of you) and hash browns. The fact they recycled leftovers from dinner was annoying. A couple times the stuff was still presented at lunch. Bleh! :cry: Maybe we just hit a bad week or I'm spoiled by food with flavour and past trips to Cancun at higher star hotels. I would take advantage of the $10 coupon the hotel gives you and get the entertainment card from thru this site. We used those for LATE lunches on days we stayed in the cancun area. That way we could just snack for dinner and it wasn't as bad.
Sorry to hear that your trip was not as good as it could have been. It sounds like the place has really gone down hill since the last time I stayed there (back in 2002).
oh the trip was great. we knew better than to let a crappy hotel experience ruin the entire week! :lol: we had a blast because we had a back up plan for just about every situation. Next time, I stay at a RIU.
There was a computer there for use in the lobby, but I was afraid to touch it LOL. There are internet cafes, though, throughout the HZ, I believe, and they are probably cheaper than the hotel would be anyway. p/s Mikey, NICE icon!
Maybe a single keystroke would beep the lady guarding the door to hound you as to the nature of your computer use...lol
Here is my abridged review of the Flamingo Cancun. We stayed from 16-21 July 2006. The all inclusive option was chosen. Rooms The rooms we were in oversaw the beach and the Caribbean Sea. They were very clean, but were not immaculately maintained (e.g., unknown stains on the lampshades). Bathroom and shower were clean but were nothing to write home about. However they served their purpose. As rumored, the beds and pillows are stiff. Food There are two main restaurants at the Flamingo Cancun: La Fuente and the Albatross. La Fuente served all three courses from 7AM to 1030 PM with obvious small breaks in service to transition to the next course. The Albatross only served food from 1130-1030PM. La Fuente had a buffet style meal setup. For breakfast, they usually had some type of hash brown potato, eggs, rolls, fruit and either French toast or pancakes. There was orange and pineapple juice available. Lunch usually had some rice dish, chicken concoction, rolls, bread, dessert and other items. Iced Tea and water were available from the spray machines. Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages were served by the wait staff. The best way to describe the food is like I said earlier, it served its purpose. We were really sick of it on the last day. Not to say that it’s gross, some of it was pretty good. But it never really “hit the spot” as the old saying goes. The Albatross was a fancier dining experience that was located on the stairwell by the beach. The menu was based on a theme which usually varied daily. You had to order all your courses at once (they were brought out in sequence though). The food quality was better and some dishes were actually quite tasty. Entertainment The Flamingo Cancun has 2 working pools (a Jacuzzi looking pool by the Albatross was off limits due to construction next door). The 1st pool was located in the center courtyard area and features a swim up bar and was quite expansive. There were basketball hoops for watersports and a fountain. Off out of the water was a ping pong table which the etnertainemnt staff was always sseen playing with someone.Music was played at this 1st pool and was mainly of the Mexican genere with a few American party songs thrown in there on occasion. The 2nd pool was on the Carribiean side below my window and was more if you wanted a place to relax in the water or lay out in the sun in peace. It was basically a rectangular pool and nothing special. The Entertainment staff, usually a guy named David served as the DJ for Pool #1 and lent out boogey boards for the beach and other items. One in particular kept bugging us college kids about parties going on and stuff. I found that annoying and there was just something I didn’t like about him. Staff The whole staff there was great. They were very friendly and we got to know a couple of them during our 5 days there. One of the group also spoke a little Spanish which goes a long way. Contrary to other reports, there was no lady guarding the door and we had no problems getting an ocean view. Of course the view was included in our hotel package. Conclusion When I look back on a place I’ve been at to reflect, I ask: Will I ever consider going here again next time? The answer to that question when talking about the Flamingo Cancun is yes. There are shortfalls in the place, but nothing’s perfect. The combination of a beach view, friendly staff and a friendly atmosphere makes this a great place if you just want to relax. It also sits on the hotel zone, so you have easy access to the night life if you want to party. This is definitely a 3/5 star resort all the way.
regarding the La Fuente restaurant ..... while obviously a buffet-style presentation, you can also order from a non-buffet menu; ya just need to know to ask for it .... (well kept secret). "ask & yee shall receive" - ha ha.
