Last Minute Mexican Vacation

Best Things Nearby:
With the resort located in the heart of the hotel zone of Cancun, everything is near by. From shopping and fleamarkets to great nightlife and restaurants.

Best Things About the Resort:
There was always somethig to do. With the Royal Sunset sharing its all inclusive privileges with the sister resort, you were never lacking for something to do, rather you were always finding something new to do.

Resort Experience:
From the minute you step out of the airport terminal until your return there was somebody from the resort to better your stay.

We got a kick out of leaving the terminal and seeing the shuttle driver standing at the bottom of the ramp holding a sign with our last name on it, ready to take us to the resort. During the short drive up Boulevard Kulkan the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea flanked you on your right and the Nichupte Lagoon to your left the entire way to the Royal Sunset Resort. At the resort a bellmen unloaded our luggage and directed us to the check in area where our personal concierge greeted us during check in. There was a 30-minute "Welcome Package" discussion where the concierge explained where everything was and how the all-inclusive package worked. She also showed us what activities were available outside the resort that were not included with our package, but available at a discounted price. From there we were directed to our room where our bags were already waiting for us.

One of the benefits of Royal Sunset is that every room has an unbelievable ocean view that also overlooks the pool. There is all day access to three on site restaurants and two bars. The resort also provided shuttle or boat transportation to the sister resort where you could also utilize their restaurant and bar locations. They even provided a free massage and lobster dinner during your stay.

The weather was incredible with the temperatures in the low 90’s and sunny. This was great for the nightly buffet theme show that was put on at the outside theater. Each morning there was a schedule of events slipped under the door outlining the many things available to do that day and informing us of the theme for the evening.

Overall the resort was a great last minute exchange and a great vacation destination. With great nightlife and shopping within walking distance this is exactly what an all-inclusive vacation should be, and we are looking forward to doing it again.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

The Chiquita Banana is an Oceanside restaurant located on the beach just footsteps from the breaking surf of the Caribbean Sea. A proper dress code is required and reservations are necessary.

The atmosphere was romantic to luxurious with the wait-staff in tuxedo shirts, bowties and slacks. The host showed us to our table sitting on the open deck overlooking the ocean with an incredible nighttime view of the "Golden Mile" of Cancun beaches. The sounds of the crashing surf accompanied our table as we overlooked an elegant menu of select seafoods.

Service was impressive and comparative to a four or five star restaurant complete with Maitre’d and full service bar. The waiter suggested a Mexican red wine that we have never tried before followed by his recommendations for salad and entrée choices. The meal was delightful and the presentation was impeccable. Following the meal the waiter suggested a Mexican favorite, Sangritta, which I had as an after dinner drink.

We unfortunately saved the best for last as we visited this restaurant on our last night's stay. If we could do it again, we would make this local a regular experience.

Although we stayed in an all inclusive resort, we wanted to see what the rest of the strip had to offer.

On previous vacations we have visited RAINFOREST CAFE's and wanted to add the Cancun restaurant to our list of visited locations.

We stopped in after a morning of shopping and caught some lunch. The atmosphere was incredable as are all RAINFOREST CAFE's with robotic animals surrounding the dining area and a thunderstorm brewing overhead.

We spent on average $30 USD for a couple Corronas and an enjoyable lunch. It was a nice addition to our list of chain locations.

The resort got a group of guests together each night and introduced a different nightclub each and every night. They offered a special admission price with an all you can drink offer.

We went to the Bull Dog Cafe. The club was in walking distance from the resort, however there was one-way transportation provided with your special admission. We got there around 11pm and were greeted with a friendly pat down before entering. Once inside there was a big open dance floor and current dance music was pumping through the sound system.

The group had a reserved section and two private waiters to get our drink orders. For me the most impressive part of the evening was the full bottle of Jose Cuervo left on each of the reserved tables. The night started slow, but soon turned into a quagmire of excited single and couples looking for everything that the Cancun nightlife had to offer.

When we finally had enough, the short walk back to the resort was but a blur. We had a great time... boy I wish I was 23 again.

I have done a lot of traveling and have been to many wonderful places, some of which I get to write journals about. I have had okay trips, really good trips, and "I can’t wait to do it again" trips. However, if there is one thing I have learned in my travels, it is that you make your own experiences and vacation what it is.

You can make an okay experience one to remember by proper planning. We have found that the best two way to plan a memorable vacation are to spend hours researching and trying to find the lowest fares when booking on the Internet or giving all of your vacation likes and dislikes to a travel planner and letting them do the work for you. RCI has their own travel department, but I have to say that we have found their fees and prices less competitive than members would think.

WOMAN’S DAY magazine said,

"Save on air travel this summer by expanding your online search… look for the cheapest fares at 12:01 A.M. ET on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings."

In the past, we have stayed up late and spent several hours searching through different sites to book the lowest airline fare and car rental that we possibly could, searching the Internet for hours looking for the best days, dates, and flight times. We have found great deals with Delta, Jet Blue, and Spirit Airlines. We live in Connecticut and usually find it cheaper to fly out of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City rather than Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, Connecticut.

However, for this particular vacation, we exchanged our timeshare from Vacation Village in the Berkshires (#6057) to Royal Sunset-All Inclusive (#4363) in Cancun, Mexico. This was a last-minute exchange due to Hurricane Francis; we were originally booked to go to Nassau. We were able to book the last-minute exchange through RCI and booked the rest of the travel arrangements through CnC Travel.

We have booked through them before, and this time, they found us airfare from JFK into Cancun with Delta Airlines at a rate much cheaper than what we found on the Delta website. They offered to book accommodations for us, but since we already exchanged through RCI, we didn’t need to.

When we travel, we still find that we research both options, but since this trip, we have used a travel planner to help us with our vacations when we exchange, and even when we take vacations without utilizing our timeshare, as we found the rates to be more affordable.