Category Archives: Travel

Waikiki Beach

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Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa is centrally located in Waikiki Beach. The property consists of two mid-rise towers. The south tower appears to be the only one of the two recently upgraded with new modern furnishings including heated toilet seats In several of the rooms. The premium ocean view king size bed room will sleep two adults and one child comfortably.

The Marriott resort charges an annoying resort fee of $37 per day. The one certain thing a guest receives for the resort fee is an emptier wallet.

Hotel resorts fees are becoming all to common annoyance at hotel properties that offer nothing in the way of resort like amenities or activities. The additional fee should be rebranded a hotel ‘greed’ fee to reflect its actual purpose.

To visit the alluring Waikiki Beach, hotel guests must cross the busy Kalakaua Avenue. Once across the street, white sand beach and warm Pacific Ocean surf awaits. We advise that guest arrive early to stake out a spot on the crowded beach, especially during the weekend. Also, Marriott’s bellhop has beach chairs available for guests use on a first come, first use basis, and beach towels can be checked out on the third floor pool area.

Hotel’s swimming pools and fitness center are located on the third floor of the hotel. Guests, especially kids, should exercise care jumping into the pool since the depth in the deep end is seven feet. And, the hotel’s jacuzzi is located next to the north tower.

Ride share pick up and drop off occurs from both the main lobby on and the secondary lobby. Either location can be selected on the Uber application.

Raving review and well done to Marriott’s morning concierge, Jing. Jing was engaging, funny and highly effective. She was able to book last minute Pearl Harbor semi-private shuttle transportation for our large group almost effortlessly. And, her sense of humor was delightful.

Food and beverage prices at the hotel are the typical Waikiki pricey. The restaurant and bars do offer daily deals and happy hour pricing for cost savvy travelers. The open air Moana Terrace, which overlooks the beach, offers daily and late evening happy hour. The bar offers their Mai Tai at $8 during happy hour.

Near the hotel, there are several recommended eating establishments that offer good food and with reasonably food and beverages. There is a Hamburger in Paradise restaurant within one block and an Eggs and Things approximately two-and-a-half blocks from the hotel.

A visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial is a must for those visiting The Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Tickets are free or at low costs directly through the National Park Service website. Or, there are several commercial tour operators, which can be booked through the hotel’s concierge, who offer packages to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, including transportation, at a range of prices.

Overall, we were pleased with the hotel’s amenities, across the street from the beach location in Waikiki and guest services. For the price (except for the annoying resort fee), the hotel exceeded expectations.

Vidanta Riviera Mayan Resort Lessons

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After several fun filled days staying and recreating at Vidanta Riviera Mayan Resort, here are several observations, lessons learned and comments about the sprawling resort located about twenty-five miles south of the Cancun International airport:

  • The included transportation from the airport to resort implies that guests wait “20 to 40 minutes” after checking-in with the rep. Of course, guests should plan to wait the full forty minutes because the rep will not call the van until he can apparently fill the vehicle with passengers. A forty minute wait in the direct sun, heat and humidity of Cancun is not a memorable way to kickoff a vacation.
  • Transit time from airport to resort is approximately twenty-five minutes.
  • Upon arrival at Vidanta, guests are dropped off at the open-air “reception center” to pre-checkin. Once pre-checked, guests are instructed to have a seat by very hot and disinterested Vidanta welcome reception area staff, encouraged to hand their luggage to a porter, and advised to wait for a ride from the reception center to an intermediate transportation hub. Once at the hub, guests either walk to the Mayan Palace lobby or wait for transportation to the lobbies for Vidanta’s other brands.
  • Guests should be prepared for a lot of waiting in non-air conditioned environments after clearing airport immigration and customs and prior to actually getting checked into their Vidanta room especially at the airport and in the Vidanta welcome reception area.
  • One comment…four hours after arriving in Cancun and debarking the aircraft, we finally reached the one bedroom suite on the Mayan Palace side of the resort. The room was clean and spacious, but clearly showed the wear and tear from many guests and years of service.
  • Once checked in, guests will be approached by a hovering resort rep to schedule their “sixty minute” resort information presentation, which he repeatedly stated “…is not a sales pitch to buy a timeshare”. For agreeing to sit for the “sixty minute” (which was actually ninety minutes plus) non-timeshare sales pitch (which is actually a high pressure sale to purchase into the Vida private club), guests will receive a free buffet breakfast, 750 pesos (~$45) room credit and the Vidanta Black card that provides dining and store discounts. The rep will ask guests to relinquish a twenty dollar cash deposit that will be returned prior to the scheduled resort’s sales pitch presentation.
  • The Vida reps convey that the Black Vidanta card offers discounts to restaurants such as two-for-one buffet breakfast, to spa and to store. But, guests must read the Black Vidanta fine print. The buffet breakfast is only available from 11 to Noon daily. Store and other restaurant deals are only available during limited, non peak times and typically limited to appetizers. And, the card does not apply to the grocery store.
  • Mayan Palace (MP) is Vidanta’s lowest tier brand. And, the MP room and furnishings clearly show a lack of upkeep and attention most lower tier brands tend to receive from management. The MP rooms and furnishings were in dire need of renovation and replacement.
  • Since the resort is massive, getting around is by golf carts or trolleys that runs continuously. Or, guests can walk the well marked paths and boardwalks to their destination on the resort.
  • On the MP side, the two trolley run approximately every ten minutes. During peaks times, guests may have to wait a couple of cycles to get a seat on the trolley. The trolley stops at the main pool, the MP lobby and the guest room buildings.
  • Dining options for guests are numerous ranging from French, Italian, Asian, Caribbean, steakhouse and of course, Mexican. Many of the dining options are open-air in the vicinity of the main pool. There are several air conditioned dining options located above Jade. Menu prices for food and beverages tend on the high to expensive. Many guests buy groceries and beverages, and prepare their food to defer the costs of meals.
  • Our first evening, we dined at the staff recommended Havana Moon restaurant which was open air and had a great view of the beach. Food was just okay and ambiance above average. Subsequently, we dined at Frida (Mexican) and Gong (Asian)., both meals were outstanding.
  • The Vida private club sales pitch and presentation started well, but ended poorly once it became apparent to the Vida rep that we would not purchase a private membership. By the end of the two hour plus presentation, the rep was rude, condescending and implied that we owed him something for his time. We reminded the Vida rep that guests are under no obligation to purchase in order to learn about the resort.
  • The rep told several “too good to be true” stories about Vidanta’s benefits. The rep told us ‘as a selling point’ that many Vida owners where earning significant income and profit selling their weeks on sites such as Air BnB. Also, he conveyed that Vidanta was building an amusement park that would be larger than all of Disney World. We thought both statements were tall tales.
  • We walked away from the presentation, despite the Vida rep, impressed with the vision and development of the owner. The Bliss, Grand Bliss, Luxxe and Grand Luxxe brands offered upscale and lavish accommodations. Compared to the higher tier brands, the Mayan Palace brand suffers from a lack of capital reinvestment and has become the ugly duckling of the resort brands.
  • We spent two wonderful afternoons swimming and “chillin” in the large pools located adjacent to Grand Mayan, meeting other guests and just enjoying our vacation at Vidanta.
  • Happy hours are available on the resort during different limited timeframes throughout the day at poolside, in bars and selected restaurants. Most of the offers are two-for-one drinks during these periods.
  • Overall, we enjoyed the Vidanta Riviera Mayan resort and will come back to Vidanta RivieraMayan (never to Mayan Palace). The hospitality staff in the restaurants, bars and poolside were friendly and provided excellent service…just amazing. However, the reception center staff needs a conditioned environment if management expects them to be attentive to arriving guests, and Vida reps need refreshers on veracity and how to treat guests with respect.