PLAYA TRIP REPORT - DAY FOUR - SUNDAY Norb and I woke up to the sounds of chirping birds at 6:30. :sunny: We finished packing. At 7:30 we walked over to the breakfast restaurant. Norb and I were going to mass this morning while Sheila, Mike and Christine wanted to lay on the beach for a while. (sinners! :devil: ) After breakfast we said goodbye to Miguel, our favorite waiter, and I went to the lobby to take care of our bill. The desk clerk sent a bellboy to our room to get our luggage. We checked out, and said goodbye to the beautiful Shangri La Caribe ... This is a picture of new condos right across the street from the Shangri La ... Could that building be any uglier? We got a taxi to the Gran Porto Real. When I booked the GPR I was really worried about overbooking. I read a lot of reviews on trip advisor that said the GPR is known for that practice. I had told Sheila in advance that we were NOT going to be moved to their lesser hotel in Playa, the Real, no matter what they promised us! But if they wanted to put us in the Royal Playa or the Royal Cancun that we would agree to move. :wink: When we arrived at the Gran Porto Real the desk clerk said our room wasn't ready (it was only 9:30 a.m.) He started to show us an album of pictures of the Royal across the street, and he emphasized it was ADULTS ONLY and UPSCALE. He then asked it we'd like to upgrade for only $40.00 a night. DUH! ... WOULD WE?!?!?! ... YES! We didn't tell him that we stayed there in November, and we LOVED it! So, a bellboy took our luggage across the street, while Norb and I walked to church ... After mass we walked back to the Royal ... The Royal has discontinued the blue and purple bracelets, and now they are clear, or as the desk clerk called it, "CRYSTAL" ... Much nicer! I don't wear a watch on vacation, so I borrowed Norb's for this picture to show you the bracelet ... The lovely flowers in the lobby ... I told the desk clerk that we would like a room facing the pool, on the second floor (non-smoking floor). Well, actually, I told her that the desk clerk at the Gran PROMISED us a room facing the pool on the second floor! Okay, so I'm a liar, I admit it, and I'm not ashamed if it gets me the room I want. :wink: She said the room wouldn't be ready for an hour, but we were banded with the lovely crystal bracelets. So, we decided to go look for our traveling companions. We went back across the street to the Gran Porto, and quickly found them in the buffet restaurant having lunch. We got a glass of champagne, and sat down. If you're a guest of the Royal you can go across the street and use all of the facilities at the Gran. BUT the Gran guests are not allowed to visit the Royal. Sheila said their rooms weren't ready yet. Then I told them that we moved across the street, and Sheila jumped out of her chair, and ran to the front desk. She definitely wanted to upgrade, too, because she had seen my pics from November, and she knew the Royal was top notch and adults only. Well, apparently the desk clerk didn't know WHO he was dealing with, because he told her it would be $60.00 a night! She threw a hissy fit, and said, "NO, my friends just got upgraded for $40.00 a night!" AHA! ... it pays to know ME!!!! :lol: :lol: Sheila came back to the restaurant, and told Mike and Christine that they were moving across the street. Off we all went to the ROYAL PLAYA DEL CARMEN ... Yahoo!!! Everyone gets checked in ... Norb and I got room 234, and Mike, Sheila and Christine got the 3rd floor, across the courtyard from us. We could all wave to each other from our balconies. (As a side note, the Gran looks like a very nice hotel. The differences that I noticed are ... the beach is so much nicer at the Royal, the pool is so much bigger at the Royal, and the Royal is more upscale, quieter and adults only. Both resorts have the best location ... just steps away from 5th Avenue!) Our room is on the right, by the trees ... Oh, it's sooooo good to be back! Our jacuzzi ... Our stocked mini bar, and it's all included, NO extra charges! They've added some snacks this year, nuts, potato chips, etc. ... You probably remember what our room looked like from my trip report last November, right? YOU DID READ MY TRIP REPORT FROM NOVEMBER, DIDN'T YOU?!?!?! :shock: Sheila called, and said they LOVED their room, and Christine was right next door to them. Let's all go to Pelicano's, the restaurant near the beach ... Did someone mention guacamole? I had a strawberry daiquiri, and Norb had kahlua ... After we made plans to meet at Maria Marie's for dinner at 6 p.m., we went back to our rooms to unpack. NO reservations are needed at the Royal. You can dine WHEN and WHERE you want ... we love that! We went back to our room, and filled the jacuzzi. Well, I had a blonde moment ... I didn't wait for the water to rise above the jets, and I turned it on, and almost flooded the room! I had to use 4 big fluffy bath towels to mop the floor. After we relaxed in the jacuzzi for a while, we got showers, and dressed for dinner. We all met at the restaurant, and guess what Sheila and Mike did? Yep, they almost flooded their room with their jacuzzi, too! :shock: We love this restaurant ... Mike and Sheila at the salad bar ... The selection of cheeses ... Norb and I ordered the tortilla soup, and the beef filet and shrimp ... Our waiter made us Spanish coffee, and we all loved the dinner ... Christine looks soooo happy ... too much wine! ... artytime: After dinner we went to the lobby bar ... We enjoyed listening to the band and relaxing ... Soon it was getting late, so we all said goodnight, and went back to our rooms ...
You have heard it so many times but never from me. AWESOME REPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your reports are so good, sometimes I read them twice!!!
