Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun -- THIS is what your honeymoon is all about!!!!!
Written: Apr 10 '03 (Updated May 06 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Amazing rooms, spectacular views, beautiful beaches, A+ Customer service
Cons: For some it's a bit pricey
The Bottom Line: Spectacular views, pristine beaches, top notch customer service and excellent restaurants all make the Coral Beach the place for honeymooners!!
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| gatorgirlie's Full Review: Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancun |
While planning my wedding, I was looking in the back of the wedding magazines for honeymoon packages (the BEST place to find that stuff, by the way).. and I came across a full page ad for the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach. The picture they had was beautiful, and it included all sorts of nice extras. It was, however, a little pricey. The resort is not all-inclusive (like some other hotels in the area), and it cost around $4500 total included airfare for two people. But, we said, it's our honeymoon.. let's travel in STYLE, baby!
I searched around on the internet for some information about the hotel and I found out they are the only AAA 5 Diamond rated hotel in Cancun (actually, I think in Mexico). They have six different restaurants and bars scattered throughout their hotel (one is a five-star Mexican restaurant), an award winning spa, and so much more. Ok, this is going to be LONG .. because there is SO much to talk about.
Basic Hotel Information
There are 602 rooms on 11 floors.. The check in time is 3 and the check out time is 1 pm (which is pretty generous). They do have express check out service, and no pets are allowed. They also offer just about any service you can imagine: 24-Hour Front Desk, 24-Hour Room Service, Airport Transfers, Baggage Hold, Banquet Service, Concierge,
Doctor On Call/Medical Services, Dry Cleaning/Laundry same day, Dry Cleaning/Laundry weekends, Executive/VIP Services
Express check in, Express check out, Free Newspaper
Front Desk Ice/Vending Machines, Ironing Service, Laundry/Valet, Limited Room Service, Loyalty Program
Mail Services, Money Exchange Facilities, Multilingual Staff
Porter/Bellmen, Room Service, Safe Deposit Box at Front Desk
Shoe Shine, Valet Parking, Valet Service, Wake-Up Calls
Whew.. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg! They even have a little mini-mall inside to shop for everything from fine art to cheap cigarettes.
We stayed in the Master Suite Kind. There are 79 of these rooms in the Fiesta Americana (no, I'm not going to talk about all the other different kinds of rooms). Let me try and describe it for you. It's 860 sq ft -- that's the size of a one bedroom apartment. It's got a huge private terrace with spectacular views of the Gulf and the pool. The water, I have never seen water so beautiful.. all the different shades of blue.. People talk about Florida.. and I'm telling you, Florida (from the Keys up to Pensacola or Jacksonville) looks like dirty bath water compared to Cancun. It has a huge jacuzzi tub and a big walk in shower (built for two) -- the bathroom itself is as large as most people's bedroom. The bed was nice and soft, and it even had a spacious sunken living room.
Ok, enough about the hotel's boring specifics.. Let's talk about how the Fiesta Americana is number one.
Arrival
We arrived at Cancun's airport and ventured through customs by about 2 pm. The package we received included complementary transfers to and from the hotel, and we were greeted with a man holding our sign. He was polite and spoke English decently well. He also had some chocolate covered strawberries and champagne for the ride back to the hotel. I'll state this right now. I love Mexico. I love the people. I love the scenery. I love everything about Mexico. He engaged us in a little conversation, but mostly left us along for the trip.
We arrived at the hotel and were blown away. This hotel is gorgeous on the outside! Huge frescos adorn the exterior walls, and the hotel just shines. At any point in time, day or night, there were always a slew of bellhops and doormen to greet us. One took our bags and room number and lugged them up while we checked in.
Let me tell you that these people are the nicest customer service representatives I have ever found. They all spoke English (which is nice since my Spanish is horrid), and they were all polite as anything. Check in was painless and quick, we gave a credit card for any incidentals and were up to our room (it was on the 8th floor I believe). If you think the outside is impressive, wait till you see the inside. Marble floors, a huge stained glass ceiling, a water fountain, carved statues.. Amazing.
That was our first opinion of the room as well.. Amazing..
Food
We hadn't eaten that much, so we decided to go downstairs and have a light lunch at one of the little restaurants inside. It's nice, because you can just charge it to the room. I learned my first big lesson in Cancun. Never order Coke. Why? Because Cokes, everywhere you go, are around $3. FOR COKE! We ordered two Cokes a piece, and that was $12.. I almost had heart failure. But the food was good, and we had an enjoyable little time.
Beach and Pool
Their pool is impressive. It is the length of the entire hotel, and has two or three bars that you can swim up to and order drinks. They also have a private beach with the whitest sand you'll ever see.
Maid and Room Service
After fooling around for a while, we arrived back to our room. They had actually set out chocolate covered strawberries and champagne for us.. plus they littered the bed with rose petals.. and had drawn a bubble bath (also littered with rose petals).. These people KNOW how to treat honeymooners.
The maid service comes twice daily, the morning for the usual cleaning and in the evening for a turn down service where they leave a chocolate on your pillow.
The room service is available 24 hours, and the food is excellent. Always comes piping hot and fresh.
More food
Our package included the free breakfast. Now for most hotels, the free breakfast is crappy.. Not here. If you don't have the free passes, the buffett is $20/person.. But I will tell you IT'S WORTH IT!!!!!! The coffee is the best coffee ever made -- Starbucks has nothing on this hotels good, Mexican coffee. They have everything from champagne to smoked salmon to true, authentic Mexican breakfast dishes. It's luxurious. The fruit is amazingly fresh, and everything is delicious. It is at Vina Del Mar. The decor is very pretty, and the waiters are absolute dolls. We actually were on a first name basis with one.
We also ate at La Joya (5 star), and both the decor and the food were excellent.
Other ways they help you out
They have a money exchange service that gave the best conversion rates. They also have a travel service inside where you can book all the stuff you want to do like going to Isla Mujeres, Chichen Itza or XCaret. They are a little on the expensive side, but at least you know you are getting a reputable dealer (not those guys standing on the side of the road). There are always taxis waiting to drive you places. Piece of advice. The busses are unreliable, cramped and smelly, but they are cheap. The taxis are 100% better, but they are expensive. ONE THING: make sure you set the fare BEFORE you get into the car. They will do everything to scam you, so set the fare (around 70 pesos is reasonable to go from one end of the hotel district to the other) THEN get into the car. I also wouldn't rent a car. They drive like maniacs. Seriously. Red lights, speed limits, yield signs, stop signs.. ALL OPTIONAL! Plus, I wouldn't go driving outside of Cancun in a rental. There are very few gas stations and the police love to pull people over for doing nothing wrong. Plus there are huge iguanas that like to lie in the road, along with the actual speed bumps that are on the "highways." But if you are set on renting a car, there is a car rental place downstairs.
We got massages at the spa, and those ladies were remarkable.
Closing
These people truly know what the meaning of customer service is. We stayed there for seven days, and we know that's where we want to return. Everyone was so polite and kind.. Oh, another note. It's customary to tip EVERYONE there. If a bellhop carries your bags, tip him. The maids, tip them. When in doubt, TIP THEM. They were helpful in setting up all our activities from snorkeling in the reefs to traveling out to Chichen Itza.
This hotel deserves it's 5 diamond rating. I would definitely recommend it!!!!
Recommended:
Yes
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gatorgirlie
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