I finally have a chance to report back now that I have gotten though the standard post vacation pile of stuff at the office. Getting to the Hotel Of course the Sunwing charter was delayed, but once we boarded we were again postponed by a drunken 20 something who could barely stand.. As he was being kicked off the plane he decided he was going to punch a reinforced gate window... Of course then there was the hour long delay to find his luggage. Then there was a problem with an antenna on the plane which took an hour to fix.. It was eventually fixed in the NASA approved way (with duct tape).. Into the air 3 hours late we eventually arrived in Mexico at about 11pm. We got through customs and immigration (although our friends failed at the red button test and had to go for a search) and made our way out of the terminal. Even being three hours late USA Transfers driver was right at the door with the van literally 15 feet away. Into the van and off to the resort while singing along with 70's and 80s music... Perfect Arrival to GOV As it was so late (and perhaps because we took a private transfer) there was no line at the front desk. We checked in, got our safe lock and were given a coupon for room service for that night. We got a room on the 10th floor that hadn't been upgraded. It was clean and the view was very nice. Our friends got an upgraded room on the 3rd floor. Although we had asked for 2 doubles (I am a bit of a tosser and turner in bed) we got a king which was actually one of the more comfortable beds I have had in a hotel. I emailed Valentina that we had not gotten the spice room that we booked... We then went to the Hot Coyote for a few drinks. By 12:30 the place was pretty empty so we grabbed a pile of drinks and went to the outside area to sit and consume. Drunken Room service at 1 am was quesedillas and fajitas. The First few days The first few days were spent on the beach near the spa area. The sand is very nice and the water is warm. Getting a chair was never a problem for us on the beach. Breakfasts were normally at the buffet. The buffet area was very warm on some days so we tried to eat outside after that. As is usual in buffets you may not like 50% of the food, but the other 50% was something you liked. The omelet woman and servers were hustling every time I saw them. There were times where they ran out of eggs, sausages, bacon (which is really more fat than bacon), but they replaced them when it was pointed out. For lunch we tried the outdoor sushi the first day and it was good (with no adverse effects). Other days were burgers and the crispy chicken from Wimpy's. There can be a line up at times (same with the bar) but it literally may be 5 minutes.. The oh oh day Midway through the week, my friend was sitting in her chair when she felt a prick and realized that there was a hypodermic needle stuck in her foot. She immediately pulled it out and ran to the ocean to clean the wound. We went into the hotel to get help, but it took a good 10-15 minutes for them to understand that there was no gaping wound, but this was still serious and needed cleaning. I have to say that this had the chance to completely ruin our trip. Luckily a young assistant manager was onsite who took the challenge in hand. A doctor was called who came to the room and then the Asst Manager drove our friends to the hospital for blood tests and a consult with a specialist. He stayed with them at the hospital and drove them back to GOV. They were put in a suite with the walk out area (as it was pretty clear they were not going to be touching the sand again). This could have happened anywhere where there are beaches. The risks of getting something from a needle that has been in sand, salt and heat are low (especially because my friend is a nurse who already has gotten the Hep B vaccine). The beaches in Mexico are not owned by the hotels so you just have to be careful and understand the risks. I was satisfied with the hotels' actions and I believe that they learned from this experience as well (as they said that this had never happened before). The rest of the week The rest of the week was spent at the infinity pool. It was beautiful and quiet and the Missus was able to go around topless without any worries (as the weekend approached however it seems that more young men come in groups who seem to have never seen boobs before).. Two times during the week there was a lady doing body painting at the quieter infinity pool. We only spent a few nights in coyote, but the hotel shows were entertaining. We saw a clown, dancers, fire twirlers, acrobats, etc.. The Moroccan restaurant was lovely in the evening with the tent-like feel and the ocean breeze. The Japanese-Mexican restaurant was good as well (the crab/rice wrapped in corn husk was particularly good). The room Valentina didn't get back to us about the room (although we did get a bottle of wine and some hors d'ouvres delivered one afternoon). Seeing as how our friends had been upgraded we took it all in stride. We have been in far worse rooms and it was clean and had a great view even though it wasn't "spice". There was a torrential rain on one day which flooded most of the area. Yes.. this includes the rooms a bit too (so you may want to make sure your clothes or suitcases aren't on the floor when it rains. The windows aren't really caulked so the water does come in. The maid did a skillful job of getting rid of this water with a squeegee and bucket (you can tell she had done it many times before). The TV was a flat screen with only 1 english channel. I did enjoy watching a chinese language karate movie with spanish subtitles however as it just was fun to watch and try and figure out. And yes.. there are two excellent channels were you don't care about the language. I did get WIFI which was $30 for 5 days. You just log into the oasis signal and put in your payment information (the guy at the front desk had said something about calling somewhere but ignore that..). The wifi signal was available on the beach and in the room with no problem (better than the signal I had last year at Secrets in Jamaica). The wifi stayed on for the entire 7 days for some reason.. We had no problem with getting lots of water, beer and pop in the room fridge (which as I learned here gets nice and cold if you leave the cabinet open). We just left one room key in the thing by the door just in case it powered the A/C or fridge while we were out. One warning is that hot water on the 10th floor is sometimes non existent at certain popular times (such as 6-7 pm prior to dinner). The local area We didn't venture far, but there are two convenience stores across the street and a small mall with trinkets and such inside. If you enjoy bargaining you are in luck.. We don't so it was a quick trip to grab some good tequila to take home. We did stop in at a small restaurant called the seahorse restaurant one afternoon. It is right across from the Riu. We enjoyed fresh pico de gallo and guacamole with freshly fried tortilla chips. Absolutely delicious with afternoon cervaza coronas. The trip home Checkout was easy and fast as there was no line at 8am when we left. We had breakfast and then went to pay our safe fee. They cut off our wristbands and voila, our USA transfer arrived. We got to the airport and there was no one in line ahead of us. While at the counter however BAM! The line was full of people??? Well I guess the shuttle had gone around and picked up all the others and dropped them at the airport all together. Once again private shuttle saved us a huge wait so I cannot recommend it enough. To conclude I rather enjoyed the trip. Of course Secrets St. James in Jamaica was nicer and had better service and food but it was also more than twice the price so you can't compare. GOV was far nicer than resorts we have been to in Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Cuba. If you are looking for US/Canadian style 5 star hotels and service well... you are in Mexico. Take it for what it is. Heat, sun, booze and relaxation and you should have a good time.
It seems that the last few TRs have been more promising for those booked here. We usually do the Golden and do not want to get that whole VS debate going but the last 2 times we have been at the golden it just seemed off. Staff is still great tho. So we have a make or break trip the first of May, if things aren't better we will also be looking at GOV for our next trip. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to post the good and bad of their trips.
Nice report. We left the day the big rain hit. Made it a bit easier to leave. We are glad that you enjoyed your vacation.
Thanks for the report, we are there starting April 23rd for 2 weeks. We also have a spice room booked and we will push to get to what we were promised and paid for.
Excellent TR! Thanks for posting. Yes, the needle thing could happen anywhere, but I do feel that their actions were good to drive and stay with your friend. SCARY! Can someone explain the card /room key in the door thing? This is the second time I've seen it on a TR but I am not understanding..
The card/room key has a slot just inside the door by the light switch, not actually in the door. It is an energy saving initiative, whereby the lights and AC only work with the card inserted in the slot. The idea being, of course, that if you left the room you would have you card with you and so the lights and AC can't be left on. We've seen this in hotels in France and Spain for years now, and it's being adopted in North America as well. Most recently we saw it at Tulalip Resort in Seattle.
