We took our 10th trip to Cancun October 6-13. The first half of our trips were not all-inclusive; the 2nd half were all-inclusive; we elected to go back to basics this year and with the help of the Entertainment Card (thank you, Brant!), did not miss the all-inclusive. We stayed at the Ambiance Villas at Kin Ha which is smaller than most of the places we have stayed in the past and has a very quiet/relaxing atmosphere. The beach and pool are big and the grounds are beautiful. Our room was basic, but spacious, clean and comfortable. We had a standard room, so the first day we went and bought a cooler and got supplies from the Xpress Mart which is close and reasonably priced. We generally hung out at the pool and walked the beach each day with the exception of Monday when we went to Isla Mujeres. We got a bus to Pt. Juarez and took the ferry over, then rented a golf cart and went to Playa Lancheros for a couple drinks. What a great place ! Unfortunately we were not hungry, but next time will make a point to eat here. After driving around the island, we went to Miramar for chicken tacos (very good) and then to the Bally Hoo for shrimp tacos (pretty good, but I'd rather have grilled and these were fried); the Mango Daquiri is always good here. It was a great day and we highly recommend this as a day trip. We made our first trip down to Wal-Mart and picked up a few items; we should have gotten more. I'm a wine drinker and although it seemed expensive, I should have known that would be the best price; oh well, lesson learned. We didn't see the liquor store that we've read about; which direction is it from Wal-Mart? Most days we got lunch from Ty-Coz which was in the same strip shopping center as the Xpress Mart and had awesome baguette sandwiches served with chipotle & jalapeno peppers. We took it to be a good sign when we saw several taxi drivers and other locals eating here. We also ate at Lorito Joe's when we went down to get our Entertainment Card. We used the coupon for $1.99 lunch with a drink order; the shish kabob and chicken sandwich were great and the lagoon view was beautiful. We also used the Entertainment Card at the Seahorse, Carlos & Charlies, Come n' Eat and the Hard Rock. We had never been to the Seahorse before; it's a pretty cool place; open air with American Sports on the televisions. The fish tacos and BBQ chicken at Carlos & Charlies were awesome, the Hawaiian pizza and Chicken Enchiladas at Come n' Eat were very good and it's an annual event for us to go to the Hard Rock for the Tortilla Soup and BBQ Sandwich which are always great. We also stopped by the "World's Smallest Hooters" the evening we went to Isla; definitely the smallest Hooters I've ever seen. The beach at the Kin Ha is huge and beautiful; we were close to the golf course and the houses and boats/yachts on the beach in this area are gorgeous. We were told that Steven Segal and Madonna both have homes in this area; anyone know if that's true? We put off our shopping because we've always had good luck finding souveniers at the airport. We were in the new concourse and found the shopping much more expensive except for the duty free booze, so we will be sure to shop before we go back to the airport next time. Overall, we had one of the most relaxing vacations ever and, as usual, are looking forward to going back next year
We stayed at the Kin Ha our first year (2002) and absolutely loved it there. The waves are not as big as the west side of the HZ, but the beach was just as nice to walk on. Having the X-press mart and laundramat right across the street was very convenient. Do they still have the fitness room right above the restaurant? Not much for equipment, but a very inspiring workout with that view!
We stayed at the Kin Ha several times and really loved it! I really miss the beach and the proximity to shopping/ clubs, etc. However, we chose to go A/I and now stay elsewhere. (The drink prices were killing us!) Val, I remember that weight room...the equipment left a lot to be desired but you're right about the view! donna
We have stayed all inclusive at the Pyramides, the Tucancun, the Carribbean Village, Dreams and RIU Cancun. We had a great time at all of them, but when we stay AI, we feel tied to the resort and don't get out to see and do as much as we like. We wouldn't rule out AI in the future for the right price. They no longer have any exercise equipment at Ambince, but we saw where it was when we went to check out the sun deck. It looks like Wilma got to it and so far they haven't replaced it (just a guess).
