For several years my “lizard” tribe has talked about doing a “girls’ trip”  (always sounds so weird to say that about people who are knocking on the door of 50.. and some who have crossed the threshold… but whatever…).  This January at our 25th annual “camping” trip, three of us decided to go for it!

I drove in to Houston on Tuesday night so the three of us could take a trip bright and early Wednesday morning.  One of my former students, Rachel Burk, acted as our travel agent and got us a great deal for 3 nights at Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya.  I’ve been to several other resorts in the area.  Excellence Playa Mujeres is my favorite, but they won’t do double beds in their Excellence club rooms…  so new resort it is.

Our flight left at 9:20 AM.  We got to the airport at 6:30 because you just never know when you’re trying to check baggage and stuff on those international flights. but it was seamless.  I have global entry that I got with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.  I’m not sure if it’s because I booked the travel or what, but all 3 of us were listed as having TSA precheck.  (Maybe it was an error, I dunno…) but there was no waiting in line and we were through security and in the terminal before 7.  (Bummer!   No booze…. yet).

We had breakfast…  I misordered.   I ordered a breakfast pizza that was HUGE… like big enough for 4.  I had no idea…  but after chatting for awhile we went to have our first champagne and get on the plane.  A quick 2 hours later we landed in Cancun.  We had done our Mexico tourist cards in advance, so we had those ready to go on our way through immigration.  We were in terminal 3, though, so we still had to fill out customs forms, and they didn’t have those on the plane.  We needed to fill those out in the airport, but it didn’t take any time.  We hit the button, got the green light, our bags were already waiting off the carousel, grabbed them and ran outside to find our Kalido van ready and waiting for us.  I cannot recommend Kalido enough.  They only do private, non-stop transfers; they are locally owned, reasonably priced, you can order drinks, sunscreen… whatever from them… the best!  Try to find one single bad review of them.  It won’t happen.

And then…  we reach Valentin… and, just as I thought I would be, I was impressed from the first moment!   As we exited our transfer, we were greeted with the cool towel and sparkling wine that I have become spoiled enough to expect at the Mexico resorts where I go.  A cart of goodies was wheeled over to us where we could enjoy some savory snacks in the gorgeous lobby while we waited.  This resort is by far the most lush and gorgeous in the main areas of any resort I’ve seen.  The pictures just can’t do it justice.

When we were checking in, we were asked if we’d like to upgrade to a swim up!!!   I had no idea this would be an option.  I was told that there were no double bed rooms in the swim ups, and I had really wanted one!   For forty dollars a day, you betchya!   The “hitch” is that they are the handicap accessible rooms, so you don’t get a tub in the room, but we were good with that!   We ordered a rollaway bed so that we could all have our own sleeping spot.  It took them until the second day to deliver the bed (despite the fact that we called three times), but it did come eventually, so no harm no foul.  Of course we CAN share a double, it’s just nicer for everyone to have her own space.  So the accessible bathrooms are not as luxurious as the others, but it was still nice.  The shower was ENORMOUS and got soooooooooo slippery.  On the last day, Susan threw a towel on the floor and that helped a lot!   Next time, I might bring one of those suction cup floor mat things…There is no bathtub, which is a little sad, and no bidet (which I can’t imagine actually using.)  The “view” from the room is just of the pool, but that’s a good enough view for me!

Even though we arrived at the resort at around 1 o’clock, our room was already available for us!   Sweet!   We hopped in the golf cart and off we went through the gorgeous, lush resort.  Once at our room, I unpacked a little like a maniac… trying to find all the nooks and crannies for stuff.  The room had a SLIGHT mildewy smell, but I hung three Damp rid and I never noticed it again.  We put on our swimsuits and headed out for lunch to Mar y Tierra.  Other than the a la carte items you can get at the golden pool (where our room was), VIM only has buffet choices for lunch.  Mar y Tierra was just okay…  I’m not sure why they don’t have a restaurant with a view of the beach.  This is CLOSE to the beach, but kinda in a jungle area with no view.  It turns into the seafood and the steak restaurants at night.

This was the ONLY time we walked from our room anywhere.  It’s very easy to call for a golf cart to come and do a pick up.  We walked both to and from the pool, and it was a solid 10 minute walk.  In that heat, it’s a lot!   The buffet was okay… nothing great but it did the job.  We went from there to the main pool.  This pool is QUITE spectacular.  It is a HUGE pool with two swim-up bars, two waterfalls, a quiet end and a “party” end with activities and music all day long.  We spent the next several hours enjoying the pool.  At one point, near the end, I got out to get us a refill on our drinks.  On the way back in I slipped on the top stair and fell rather spectacularly and solidly on my tailbone… before rolling down the stairs like someone wearing a sumo wrestler costume… whacking my head on the railing on the way down.  You know you’re old when instead of laughing, everyone’s initial reaction is “Are you okay????”    I was, in fact, fine… my tailbone still has me saying “oh dear” each time I try to stand days later.  BUT I saved the drinks.

We went back to our room to get dressed for dinner.  I love that part of the nice resorts in Mexico.  I love the way they go from beach resort to elegant dinners in just a few hours.  Dress codes at the nice resorts in Mexico are relatively strict, especially for men, but it generally means that people look very nice.  Based on some reviews, I heard that Taman Sari was the best of the restaurants   (I disagree.  It was actually our least favorite).  We phoned for a golf cart to come get us and headed back to the heart of the resort.  That was really our first time walking around the plaza and the grounds at the main part of the resort.  No pictures would really do it justice.  It has to be seen to be believed.

The restaurant had a special drink that night which was the Taman Sari.  It was wonderful… and we had SEVERAL, but dinner was just average.  I had an odd pad thai with chicken.  Nothing really stood out or was exceptional, but the company was great, the decor was beautiful, and the service was fantastic!

Next, we wandered over to the theater for the burlesque show.  The people were talented dancers, but it wasn’t really burlesque. And that theater…Oh my goodness!   What were they thinking?   It’s entirely enclosed… walls on all four sides… and NO air conditioning?   In Mexico?  In August… Um… no… We didn’t stay for long before catching a golf cart back to the room.

Now, I know that at VIM, the party goes on after the show, and that I’m supposed to stay up to listen to the Imperial band and to do dancing with the DJ at the sports bar, but it was hot, we were tired… so we made our way back to building 8.  We made sure to keep the bathroom door closed and the curtains drawn.  We brought small fans with which to sleep and the room was never too warm for sleeping.  I like to stream old tv shows all night long with my earbuds in to sleep, and the wifi worked just fine for all of that.  I bring a power strip to plug in all my junk so that it’s handy near the bed.

Went to bed happy to be there with my lizards and was looking forward to our first full day!