Tag: Mexico Page 1 of 3

We’ve been coming to Cancun since about 1990.

We first stayed at the Fiesta Americana Condessa for 2 years. Then, we rented at the Royal Mayan for 2 years Then Ricardo, our enterprising sales guy, suggested that we should purchase a unit at the Royal Islander, which had not been open long.

We purchased Unit #4492, which was a penthouse unit, and we enjoyed that unit every year until the entire Islander went back to the state (Mexico) 2 years ago. The view was unrivaled, as there is no other Royal property that was 9 stories tall, but our unit was perched atop the store and looked out at the beautiful multi-colored blue ocean. We still miss the Islander. And, for that matter, the days of wandering from the Caribbean (gone) to the Mayan (gone) to the Islander are long gone and so is our favorite restaurant, Captain’s Cove.

When the Islander went back to the state, we decided to try to purchase a second unit at the Royal Sands on the secondary market. The Royal Sands had opened in 2000. The lease is for 50 years, whereas the Islander was either 25 or 30.  So a unit bought when we purchased a second week to replace the Islander was purchased before we found out that the Holiday Inn was buying up the Royal Resorts chain.

The restaurants at the Islander were superior to the Sands (especially the Conquistador, which moved there from the Mayan when it closed) and, by the time we purchased a second unit on the first floor of the Sands, we had already been coming here for something like 10 years—although not always at a place we owned. Now, we have been coming back every Easter for roughly 36 years. Gone are many of the amenities we used to enjoy, like the Taco parties on Tuesdays and the open bar party with limbo contests. On the other hand, this year they are not pressuring us to come to a meeting to try to sell us a unit, because, as of now, the PTB would prefer that all owners, like us, fork over our units so that the desk can charge whatever the traffic will bear to rent them out. We really don’t know what the daily rate is here (although we should ask) but I know that at the Pueblo Bonito chain in Mazatlan it is something like $483 a night.We pay maintenance fees, which have steadily risen from about $500 a year to 3x that much, but that is still quite a bit less than the bill would be to pay $500 a night for a week.

Front: Jesse, Joy, Ava and Elise; middle row – Will Allison, Stacey (Wilso), Norma (Jessica’s Mom), Jessica; back row: Steve Nelson,me (blonde), Regina Nelson, Craig Wilson, Scott Wilson.

We see changes every year, and some are improvements. There is now a children’s park outside our B5108 unit, which used to be a tranquil garden. Not sure that’s an improvement, but the little people probably like it. We miss restaurants that have closed and we don’t go downtown that much any more, especially after the unrest in Puerto Vallarta. It seems calm here, although, sadly, we have watched the decline and fall of Kukulcaan Plaza over the years. It used to be a bustling mall and we still like to dine at Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse within it, but, aside from the make-up and perfume and purses you can purchase at the end of the mall closest to us, there isn’t much left open inside. The other mall, La Isla, was always the “high end” mall, but we haven’t been there yet. The teenagers chose to go to a place called the Market on their shopping spree, so we have no recent reports of changes there.

It was very sad when the Islander reverted to the state of Mexico, and they are now making it into another All Inclusive place. I don’t like anything about the idea of HAVING to eat every meal at just one place, and I also want to be able to throw together a quick lunch or breakfast, if I feel the need. The places that have redone themselves have often ripped out the kitchens entirely and have made the bathrooms fancier. This is not what I would have wanted if I had a young family, and it does not really scream “Improvement.”

We prefer having a full kitchen and pots and pans and plates so that we can make breakfasts and lunches, if we choose (not to mention snacks). We go out to very nice restaurants at night, and we sometimes order food around the pool or at the beach, but we don’t like HAVING to eat all meals here at the Royal Sands, which, as owners, we don’t have to do.

Will (Allison) and Stacey (Wilson).

On Saturday everybody else (13 people total) will fly home.

We will become just an old couple doddering around on our own, reading books and watching our Super Box and probably dining much less fancily.

The weather has been wonderful and, so far, the sale that took place last year of the entire Royal family to Holiday Inn Vacation Rentals has not made a huge difference, although the place seems busier than normal, even though it is Easter break time.

It will be easier to move from the first floor to the fifth floor to the unit we purchased 2 years ago. We used to have to take everything down to the Islander by cab, but since the Royal Mayan bit the dust, the Royal Caribbean became Uno, and the Royal Islander is temporarily closed and under construction the only Royal Properties left are the Royal Sands and the old one downtown and the Royal Hacienda, which is way out of town.

This year my son has his 17-year old twins and two of their friends, Joy and Jesse, and we have our daughter and her fiance, Will, in our unit. Son Scott also has his mother-in-law in tow and there was one day of shopping and there has been one day at the spa for a massage.

We have had game night here twice, which has been Balderdash, Fish Bowl and euchre. Except for a semi-fall onto my bad knee last night at Porfirio’s, there have been no horror stories. I asked for (and got) ice immediately and sat with ice on my knee throughout the serving portion of the festivities. Fortunately, aside from a bruise on my wrist when I caught myself on a chair, I have been able to walk normally and did not re-injure the already fragile left knee.