gores95

Staying at the JW Marriott Cancun in two weeks with my wife and two daughters, 7 and 2. I was going to surprise my wife by getting a babysitter to watch the kids in our room while we enjoy a romantic dinner at 9:00 in the Garden at La Habichuela. Knowing my wife I decided to tell her in advance rather than surprise her! Glad I did. She did not feel comfortable leaving the kids in our hotel room with a babysitter (although they would probably be sleeping the entire time). If we were dining at the hotel itself it would not be so bad but we'd have to take the bus into town and this presents a problem for her.

Two questions...has anyone used a hotel's in room babysitting service in Mexico? I am sure the JW has certified sitters but not sure how reliable and safe they really are. Second is it worth it to just bring the kids to dinner with us? We would change the reservation from 9:00 to 6:00 but I would like to still request a Garden table. Is La Habichuela kid friendly?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks,

Marc

Diana

I can tell you that children are worth their weight in gold in Mexico and are universally-pampered.

Arrange the sitter through the hotel. The JW Marriott is one of the nicest hotels in Cancun and will have one of the better childcare programs.

We have been going to Mexico for many years now and if I had children, I would NOT hesitate for one moment to leave them with a sitter in a hotel like the JW and go enjoy my evening.

I have seen the sitters (in uniforms no less) at some of the nicer hotels, and they are very professional. They are coveted jobs, and people want to keep them.

La Habichuela is definitely not a restaurant where children are the norm. We have been there twice and saw only one or two kids, and they were inside.

I hope I don't offend you, but we sat out in the garden for our meals there and I don't feel it is an appropriate place to bring children for dinner. I am sure some would disagree with me.

There are lots of places in Cancun - like Maria Bonita - where there is a lot to see and do during the dining experience that welcome kids.

La Habichuela is not one of them...

Little_Man

We took our kids to Las Habichuela when they were 12 and 14, and they really loved it, but I do think 2 years old is too young...

I second Diana's advice re. the babysitting at the JW Marriott. Go and enjoy!

arbegold

Another second to hire a sitter.The JW is great and every one of their services we've ever used has been excellent. However, we've never used the babysitter service. The JW restaurants are among the best in Cancun. You'll love eating in the "Stingbean". I suggest that you may want to eat a bit earlier (8:00) as downtown Cancun closes down pretty early. You can take the bus downtown and a cab back to the hotel. The cabs we used had reasonable rates and we paid about $6.00 for a ride from town to the hotel.

gores95

Thanks for all the great replies. I am going to have a talk with my wife regarding the JW babysitting service. We are actually slurging this time and staying on the Club 91 concierage level so I might send them an email and see if there is someone there that can ease my wife's fears.

If she cannot be convinced I will definitely not bring the kids to La Habichuela. We will just do one upscale dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants.

Little_Man

Club 91 is also a great choice! Have a wonderful time!