And now, an all-inclusive Riviera Maya luxury hotel

The gal’s last night in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico was a mammoth, and totally delightful, learning curve. Most of the wall-to-wall resorts along Zona Hotelera, a north-to-south strip of land parallel to the main coast. Nearly all the properties here are all-inclusive, as is the luxury Hyatt Ziva Cancun. And yes, it really is luxury. You eat and drink whenever and whatever you want, and you can revel in all the usual beach activities, plus watching dolphins in one pool. You can gaze out to sea as I did from room #217 in the adult-only Turquoize Tower, watching all the activities down there.  You might, also, coincide with a wedding.

During my short stay one of around-200 weddings every year was taking place (this apparently is not part of the all-inclusive, you do pay extra if you are hosting such an event). The ceremony took place, broadcast over a tannoy, and later the happy couple posed along a boardwalk (see the photo above).I made use of the well-equipped 24/7 gym, and did a lot of walking, including up and down steps in the public area. There are 547 rooms in all, spread over three separate towers, and I do recommend Turquoize if you feel like a bit of peace and quiet away from kids.

Turquoize has butler service and I was looked after by Eduardo and his colleagues throughout my stay: about an hour after my arrival, indeed, Eduardo arrived with a full cocktail trolley and asked if he could prepare a margarita – see a video, below. There was always someone to help, to escort me personally to, say, La Bastille, one of 17 places where you can get food or drink.  They are all non-reservation, and even this top French turned out to be a casual-smart bistro, just right for a holiday market. The menu includes foie gras, fillet and lobster: I was with Alex Andrade, the SVP Ops of Playa Resorts, which manages this hotel, and he told how accurately they can forecast what people actually do want to eat. A couple were already waiting for our table as we left. We walked past a mariachi group on our way out. Yes, you have guessed it, there is regular live entertainment.

So some like swimming up to a bar for an ice-cold beer, others merely to watch the dolphins being fed. More than a few, during my short stay, could not wait for the opening of the dedicated dessert restaurant, adjacent to a coffee store that has a full range of coffees plus Dilmah teas.  The dessert section has colourful cakes and oh, what luscious icecreams.  No wonder people of all ages were sitting with groaning plates   and smiling faces.  Yes, I thought, ‘all inclusive’ is very attractive, and to all ages, and all pockets. Alex Andrade explained that not surprisingly there are people who, having paid upfront for everything they think they might need at this luxury resort, when they are actually there they cannot stop themselves buying things, say an even better bottle of wine or a spa treatment or, perhaps, even a wedding dress and the ceremony to go with it. AND NOW SEE EDUARDO FIXING A MARGARITA, ROOM 217, A TOUR OF SOME WATER AREAS, AND THE MARIARCHI GROUP