Hiapo in Mexico 2009 Reviews

Aloha from Beautiful Maui!

I hope you are having a great summer. I have just returned from visiting Mexico. It was a great trip and I want to share some of my experiences with you. There are some extremely phenomenal specials available right now to Fiji, Hawaii, Mexico, Tahiti and beyond. I am back and available to help you decide where to go next. As for my trip...

Zoetry Paraiso De La Bonita

Before today, you could not convince me of the existence of a true 5 star, all-inclusive resort in Mexico. Yes, there are plenty of resorts that claim to be 5 stars, including a few scary ones on the show Dateline. Of course Trip advisor has people that would rate a Motel 6 as a 5 star resort. That is the underlying problem: if you are used to a Four Seasons, very little else will do, but if you were a Motel 6 customer, almost anything would be fantastic.

It all started at the recently updated Cancun airport, if you have been there before, you are used to the throngs of people selling timeshares, activities, and representatives from every tour wholesaler you have ever heard of and a bunch that would be new to you. Waiting for my wife and I was Jose in a crisp white straight collared shirt, and adobe colored pants, hair neat and clean shaved. Instead of the usual van (in various states of repair), there is a nice, clean, cool A/C, Ford Expedition supplied with chilled champagne, bottled water and a nice chilled towel served on a burnished wood tray.

On arrival at the resort, we were given a brief tour property and then driven to our room where the check-in was completed. For those of you unfamiliar with the property, all of the 90-ish rooms are beachfront, steps from some of the finest, whitest, softest sand imaginable. All of the rooms are generous suites with Mexican marble everywhere, décor touches based on the name of your suite (our suite “Bangkok” has Thailand figures displayed in prominent locations). Standard amenities include early check-in and late check-out (based on availability during busy season) a fully stocked mini bar, a bottle of Tequila served on a marble platter with lime slices, salt and shot glasses, a decorative fruit platter (refreshed daily) with chilled champagne on demand. They also have one of my favorite bathrooms: Marble showers with 3 showerheads, a tub for 2 (lying side by side!), separate water closet with bidet, all well stocked with Bvlgari bath products, Frette linens, 24 hour in-room dining AND laundry, and more. New to the property are LCD TVs in the living room and bedroom, complimentary WiFi internet in all rooms, cordless phones with complimentary worldwide calling, ipod docks, and aromatherapy turndown service.

Typically when a resort goes all-inclusive, service and food are some of the first things to suffer. Rest assured that the meals and the dining service are up to the standards of the finest restaurants worldwide. The first thing served to us was an amuse-bouche (like a pre-appetizer) of a baked cherry tomato, served with a Gorgonzola sauce, pesto and micro-herbs on top. It was like an explosion of flavor went off in my mouth. Next was a still-warm-from-the-oven selection of rolls. They are served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar poured into a small smooth stone circular dish, the size of a small sushi shoyu dish. Our choice of appetizer was yellow fin tuna Carpaccio served in 3 different incarnations, each one better than the last (and frankly the best I have ever had), next my wife and I had 2 different “salads”, mine was a spicy soft shelled crab, served with small cubed pieces of kiwi, and jicama, the combination attacked every taste bud on my tongue from multiple angles. For my entrée, I had a petite Angus filet mignon served with three types of mushrooms reduced to an amazing pate that amplified every essence of flavor contained in such a morsel. After this, a mango sorbet was served to cleanse the palate in preparation for dessert: chocolate and coffee filled ravioli served with a raspberry sauce and topped with “vanilla foam”. Then, the “after dessert”: a small marble canoe topped with a selection of chocolates and macaroons.

To add to the romance of an adults-only Caribbean resort, tall candle lanterns lit the walkways, warm ocean breezes carry the music of songbirds, and accompanying that are a duo of classical guitarists: one does most of the singing and the other harmonizing while his fingers danced quickly over the fret board, almost blurring at times.

Top all of this off with a staff that seems to be more interested in knowing how to pronounce my name, than begging for tips and you have an experience heretofore previously unknown in Mexico.

And that was just the first day.

Save your money, I guarantee you will pay triple for a similar experience anywhere else in the world.

Day 2

After realizing we are still on Hawaii Time, we woke up at noon. Don’t laugh, a surprisingly firm mattress covered in fine Frette sheets do wonderful things after spending 12 hours on planes and in airports.

Lunch makes a fine breakfast. Fresh mango margaritas are better than OJ any day! The casual restaurant, Kaax, serves a 4 course lunch that turned into a 7 course lunch (they saw that Mary and I share our selections, so they brought our appetizers, salads, and my pasta separately, only bringing our entrees together, so we could savor each unique flavor fiesta in its own glory. Try the chicken breast: broiled with a very thin, light, crispy breading, it is stuffed with goat cheese and apple slices that have been simmered in red wine, bringing out their natural sweetness to a candy-like delight.

Next was the spa experience. A basic skin analysis and 20 minute neck/shoulder massage is part of your experience here, but if you wish, you can pay the difference to upgrade to a Visia® complexion skin analysis, and/or to one of their Thalasso spa treatments. We chose a couples-massage and got an amazing aromatherapy, deep tissue 80 minute couples massage for the price of the 50. To begin the spa treatment, you enter through a Mayan archway into a delightful, naturally lit Jacuzzi room. A roman style, jetted hot tub sits in the center of the room adjacent to a cold plunge, surrounded by lounges (again with the Frette towels!). Adjoining that room are men’s and women’s rooms with steam rooms and saunas. As for the massage treatments, I am going to be shy and leave a few of the details out, suffice to say we floated out of the spa with a new appreciation of massages and silly grins on our faces.

On Sundays, their fine dining restaurant was closed but a fine dining experience was to be had again at Kaax. Sunday is their prime rib and seafood night. Starting with a lovely little Argentinean merlot, and a basket of a variety of still warm rolls, we ordered a beef Carpaccio sliced impossibly thin, and topped with the smoothest of guacamoles. A dollop of the most amazing garlic “smashed” potatoes, strips of mushrooms and asparagus bring out the savory-ness of their wonderful roast beef. During the meal, a strolling trio of guitar players gave Spanish versions of 50’s songs like “Peg o my heart”. Then, to the delight of all, the chef came out and sang an operatic version of “I did it my way” in Spanish of course, and brought the house down!

After dinner, we highly recommend a visit to their library. Inside awaits a quiet retreat with large paddle ceiling fans, comfy couches and photos of the various celebrities that have visited here. A new laptop and WiFi are available to those who cannot “disconnect” themselves from the world, but the star is the bar: staffed by another genuinely friendly barkeep, a wide selection of liquor awaits your tempted palate. Normally a good bar at an all-inclusive resort would consider Absolut their premium top shelf vodka (NOTHING wrong with this, I am a fan of Absolut), but here at Paraiso De La Bonita, Grey Goose (our favorite) and Belvedere tops their vodka selection. In Mexico, you would naturally expect a good tequila selection, but here Cuervo 1800 is their well tequila. Don Jose and even a bottle of Platinum Silver Gran Patron await the discerning connoisseur (Super premium liquors and wines are an additional cost).

Additional complimentary activities include sailboat trips to shopping areas and sunset cruises, complimentary golf nearby, gym with a view (refrigerated!), yoga classes performed at the end of the pier, surrounded by the ocean and the accompanying breezes, water gym in their jetted salt water pool, an authentic Mayan Temazcal steam ceremony (imagine a spiritual Native American sweat lodge), scuba demonstrations, sailboats, kayaks, afternoon tea served surrounded by parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, and finches (Look for the talking green Macaw that plays “fetch”), a pool surrounded by double sized daybeds that are built on iron or wooden rack, all adjustable to your comfort. Regular drink and snack service is de rigueur. Our favorite was the tequila tasting where 3 types of Don Jose (shop for it by name!) were GENEROUSLY sampled along with 2 types of sangrita (red: like a sweet bloody mary mix. Green: salty, sweet, cilantro with tomatillos) made to refresh the palate after tequila tasting. Have you ever been to a wine tasting where everyone spits the beverage into a pot after tasting? This was not one of those places, even our host was sampling (he may or may not have had actual tequila in his glass, if any of his bosses are reading this). Taquitos, fresh guacamole, and REALLY fresh tortilla chips were served afterwards to give us a fighting chance of being able to walk back to our rooms unassisted.

Call me and ask about days 3 and 4, all this typing is taking me away from all the fun!

Mahalo, Aloha, and Bula !

Hiapo Cockett,
Direct:1-213-784-4910 or 800-256-4280 ext. 102