TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin We cheated for the first time in years!!!

For the first time in probably 30 something years, My wife and I cheated this week. We just got back from a week in Cancun...first time going to a destination other than SXM in over 30 years. We have been on a couple of cruises, but this was actually staying at another resort!! We did have a great time at Cancun Moon Palace Sunrise, which is an all inclusive. Friends who we went with, have bought into that property years ago, and we decided to check it out. Normally, i am not into all inclusive, but since we were NOT on SXM, and we were going with other people that LOVE THIS PLACE, we went. Food was good, plenty of top shelf drinks, but the food of course wasn't the SXM quality, but still was very good. We were on the beach, and it also has a problem with sargassum. This place is about twenty minutes from ''hotel row'', and the beach was just okay....but not like the beaches on SXM. Also, mentioned already, sargassum. We did venture to another beach, half hour away, on Hotel Row, which was a ''sister resort''. That beach was beautiful, colorful water, and sargassum free. Only drawback was, the undertow was wild, (probably due to the storm in the caribbean), even though the waves were fairly calm. the jetstream was felt. also there were a couple of pretty good steps left from the undertow, so it was a battle to get in and out of the water. Funny part was, that everything we saw, ate, stayed in, etc, was a comparison to SXM. As the heading says, we felt like we both were cheating on our first love...SXM!!!!!! We are introducing our friends to SXM in March. This will be their first time at our second home, and am looking forward to showing them around. Fair is Fair.

On a side note, 45 years ago, we visited Cancun after another acquaintance told us about this small remote place in Mexico, that we really should check out. The Cancun from back then, and now is totally different as we expected. It sure has grown up, got super crowded, and livelier!! One thing was proven. There is NO PLACE like HOME. Can't wait till Mid March again!!!!

I hear ya Ed!! We went to Turks and Caicos a little more than a few years ago. The whole time, that's all I could think about. Comparing it to our "home away from home" !! The beaches were beautiful food was good, but NOTHING to do but drink!! LOL!!!

We stayed at the Sunrise a year ago after selling our home outside Playa Del Carmen and it is a nice AI property with better cuisine and drinks than many other AI’s. The adult-only Grand section is a big step-up in quality of course. And yes, although the beach is nice there, you don’t see the nice water colors as you do a bit to the north and south. The sargassum has been a problem since 2015 throughout the Carib and that is unfortunate. The beaches here are looking very nice now but it will be another month or so before it is totally gone…

We’ve cruised to SXM 3 times and stayed on SXM twice, once on either side. The beaches are nice, and there are a couple we go to where we can get away from most of the cruise ship crowds. And we love the dining options, especially around Grand Case. We have friends who also consider SXM their second home but it’s just never called to us in that way…🤷🏼 We want the nice beaches and evening entertainment, but I’m more a fan of Tortola I guess… But that island is getting hit with the mega-cruise ships like SXM, STT, and Cozumel…

We’ve been visiting the Riviera Maya and other areas of Mexico for 20+ years, with stays at SXM, BVI, USVI, PR, DR and other islands during that time as well. Mexico just captured our hearts with the amazing culture and the wonderful people and so we built a home here. Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Tulum have indeed become very popular destinations, for both tourists and expats. We’ve wintered here for 8 years, and the people are just so welcoming and we miss them already. We advise visiting friends to avoid the Cancun Hotel Zone and look to the south, or at Cozumel or Isla Mujeres. We just tired of the continued rise in the building of resorts along with the rise in traffic and decided it was time to look elsewhere. Crime is a concern here, just as on SXM…But if you ever decide to return maybe consider a boutique hotel or condo (or a resort) in the gated community of Playacar or another spot near PDC. That’s a nice, central area from which to explore the natural beauty and Mayan ruins, while also having access to excellent restaurants and nightlife. And of course the beaches and sea are gorgeous here. Just a thought for anyone considering visiting the Riviera Maya! 😄

crmoorse-- I can deal with petty crime, but people getting KILLED on resort grounds is out of bounds.

I feel safe and have no problem driving a car on both sides in SXM but I would never rent and drive a car in riviera Maya, not safe at all.

For sure.

The vast majority of shootings in the Riviera Maya are in the tourist zones where the $$$ is (Cancun, PDC, Tulum). Cartel,after cartel, or cartel after businesses.
There was one resort shooting a few years back, but that was a Canadian (if I recall) gangster who infiltrated the resort area to assassinate another Canadian gangster staying at the resort.

I’ve not closely followed the crime news from SXM, but the violence reported by others is not petty crime…It’s a shame…

CaribbeanCanadians not sure how you came to the conclusion it is “not safe at all” driving here if you’ve not done that? Based on reports from other new visitors who did little research?
We’ve driven the Riviera Maya for 20+ years, daily for the last 8, with no problems. As with anywhere you just need to research an area to understand any risks…I’ve had problems with arrogant cops on St Martin and Grand Cayman, and I’m sure there are some corrupt cops here too…

crmoores--No, sorry, I guess you are walking back your previous comments, after you sold your property in Mexico. People should check out your previous comments in the Mexico forum. I personally have NO desire to be anywhere in Mexico.

We have close relatives that live in Mexico. We used to go and stay with them. Now they say it's not safe with the cartels.

Not walking back anything Carol. We did indeed sell our home outside PDC last year. The primary reason was the continued growth, and its impact on the infrastructure and especially on the traffic around us. Living there, we were also concerned about the continuing corruption, both from the cartels and the police. We’ve never witnessed anything, but we know it is going on because we know many business owners here.

I have reported on the cartel violence taking place in Tulum, and other areas to inform those researching Mexico. But the Riviera Maya continues to attract thousands of visitors each week, as well as many moving there from the US and Canada. Being a peninsula, the main drug cartel activity is elsewhere; here it’s the same as in major US cities and other Carib areas - getting a piece of the action. The odds of being caught-up in one of these events is very slim, and everyone has to weigh the risks involved with visiting other countries.

I know you’ve stated you personally have no desire to be anywhere in Mexico. We are the opposite and will return often. Not just for the beauty, but the amazing culture, and especially the wonderful people we’ve become close to…

SXMScubaman it really depends on where you are living, and other factors - just at on SXM or The cartels are not new at all; Tulum would be an area we would not venture to simply because we know it’s the newest hotspot, and the cartels follow the $$$.

But sorry for the lengthy post about Mexico in this SXM forum… Here I was responding to Ed, agreeing with him on the resort that we’d also stayed at, and I went further suggesting a nicer area to stay if he or anyone else following this thread are considering the RM.

What's your definition of a resort? If it's in Cancun, it's not a resort? You posted this link about a killing in a Cancun resort in July this year. Link

This one is done.