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I've never understood how someone could have a negative trip report about a Mexico vacation. Now I see how that is possible. Stayed at the Allegro in Cozumel 6/2001. Very disappointed. Rooms are too small, first one we were put in was dirty and overlooked the swamp. We moved the next day to a room the same size on the other side of the resort, but at least cleaner and not viewing the sulfur-smelling swamp. While the upstairs rooms had thatched roofs that were interesting, it was not easy trying to keep the place cool so we moved to a first floor room. Hotel style air conditioner was pretty noisy.
Landscaping was very nice, resort was large, food was OK. There are 2 specialty restaurants and they tell you to make reservations at 9:00 a.m. I was in line at 9:00 am with one person ahead of me and there were no more reservations available. When I asked how that was possible I was told they booked up at 5 minutes 'til 9:00 and there are only 13 tables in each restaurant. Very poor planning, especially when tourists are sick of eating every meal off a buffet table. We managed to squeeze ourselves in one night at the Mexican restaurant because people had not shown up and there were 4 empty tables. They were not thrilled about giving us one of them, but they did. Food was better, but not remarkably.
Beach was nice, water was cloudy due to a storm that had blown in. Was disappointed that there was no wait service on the beach. There was also a lack of food variety at the lunch pool bar. Do not forget your mosquito repellent due to the aforementioned swamp. Walked down the beach to the Iberostar and it improved my mood as I was glad I wasn't staying there. Beach was horrible.
The staff was nice, the piano bar was cool with a band playing. Not many seats; get there early, band doesn't play too long. There is entertainment at night but it was a bit cheesy for our taste. A bunch of people seemed to be enjoying it though.
Went deep sea fishing. Caught a bunch of mahi mahi and 2 marlins. Make sure you tip them because believe me, they think you're going to, and they think you're going to tip them GENEROUSLY (I'm talking $60 per crew member - there were 3). After paying $400 for the boat for the day, we were not too keen on shelling out that much more money.
3 of the 4 of us got sick despite being very careful. The tap water is undrinkable which was disappointing as we've stayed in Playa del Carmen and you could at least brush your teeth with the water, not that you'd want to drink a cup of any tap water in Mexico, but it's nice to not be afraid of swallowing small amounts.
All in all, I was disappointed with my choice of resorts, and possibly even Cozumel as I may be more of a Playa del Carmen visitor. We made the most of it and we all had a great time, however the people we went with had never been to Mexico, and I don't think they'll ever go again as this was not a good first impression.
If you're looking for a resort that is close to a quiet beach with really nice big, clean rooms with ocean views, tasty and easily accessible specialty restaurant and pool bar, wait service at the beach, friendly staff, clear water, 5 minute walk into town, and a swim up bar that doesn't look like a singles "meet market", stay at the Porto Real in Playa del Carmen. That's where I'm going back to.
Submitted by: Anita -- ampittman2000@yahoo.com
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Pages Updated On: Thu Nov 20 2008 - 00:00:10
