Mexico With Friends, February 2023

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February is a month in which many of my favorite people celebrate a birthday. This year, we decided to celebrate a few of them together with a trip to Mexico.

 

Our journey began in Jacksonville, Florida since that’s where most of them stay. I spent a little time with my family laughing and joking around as always then I kissed Niviah goodbye, left her with her Nana & the rest of the Peyton gang, and headed to Orlando, Florida.

 

In Orlando, we checked into Delta Hotel Orlando Celebration to get a good night’s rest. The hotel was huge. We didn't explore it much. It was simply a resting place and it served its purpose. 

  

 

Wednesday morning we met up with the rest of the celebrants at the Orlando airport dressed in matching T-shirts signifying that we were traveling to Cancun to celebrate my Bestie since five years old, Alisha’s birthday. Our shirts, looking similar to our boarding passes got a lot of attention. While I had the vision of the shirt design, Alisha brought the design to life through her print company, Holloway’s Custom Designs. The girl got skills. If you need T-shirts or any item of clothing customized to your preference, hit her up. Her contact information is below.

Ok, now back to the trip. We flew Frontier from Orlando (MCO) to Cancun (CUN). The flight was only maybe an hour and a half, so it was really quick. We opted not to bring suitcases since it was a short trip and all beat the baggage fees with our backpacks. We also opted not to choose our own seats, and we ended up on rows 7 and 9. So, that wasn’t bad at all.

 

We arrived in Cancun and customs & immigration were wide open. There wasn’t a wait at all. Well, let me take that back. Five out of the six of us went through the line with ease. One of us was missing a passport, so we had to hang out in the area for about 45 minutes while he searched for it, just to discover that his wife had his passport in her wallet the entire time. Ha!

 

We located our Amstar transportation. While we were to have a surprise limo ride, we ended up on a shared shuttle bus since our plane had arrived late due to the delay out of Orlando. The ride was not the most comfortable. The bus was full and we had to stop at five properties before reaching ours, but we made it in one piece.

 

Platinum Yucatan Princess is where we stayed. This property is an adult-only all-inclusive hotel with a total of 470 suites. We had the Platinum Deluxe package at this 4.5-star property which resulted in a private check-in and concierge. We also had access to the spa amenities. Two of our rooms were the Platinum Deluxe with a Hot Tub on the Balcony. One of the rooms was the Platinum Deluxe. I called ahead to have each of the rooms decorated to celebrate their birthdays. Those turned out really pretty and exceeded my expectations.

   

 

 

My overall view of the hotel.
The check-in process was not difficult, but I would’ve loved to see more direction and a warmer welcome when entering the room. When we entered the area, no one greeted us, nor told us to have a seat. There was no way to keep up with who had entered and when, so most of the guests were asking us questions that we couldn’t answer as they entered after us. We had to ask for our welcome drink, so that didn’t sit too well with me.

Most of the furniture throughout the resort was very petite and low to the ground, making it uncomfortable at times.

 

The staff overall was friendly and accommodating. No one really stood out above anyone else. All of the staff in the spa were very nice. There was one host in the Tao restaurant that was very rude when making reservations for the Hibachi tables.

We never took advantage of room service but had it as an option for dining.

 

Housekeeping took a little longer to clean the rooms than I’m used to. I actually had to call and ask them to come to clean the room one day as it was nearly 3 pm and the room hadn’t been cleaned and restocked. Another night I had to call and request face and hand towels because we didn’t have any.

 

There were things to do onsite to keep us entertained and we had access to the family property next door. The beach was small and full of seaweed. We had to take a short walk next door for beach days. It was nice, spacious, and had plenty of chairs to lounge in. What I especially liked about the beach was the variety of vendors allowed to sell items that had nothing to do with the resort like cigars and handmade souvenirs. We even got massages on the beach which was very relaxing.

 

We decided to roam off the resort one day. We booked day tickets for Xavage Park. Xavage is an adventure park that has thrilling activities on land, water, and even in the air. My heart was pounding before each and every one of the activities we chose to do. The price included locker rentals, photos, and food and drinks throughout the day. It was well worth it if you ask me.

 

 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip with my friends. We don’t get to travel together much since we’re all grown, running businesses, and raising children, but the time taken out to make this happen was well worth it.