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Need some advice for selecting Mahekal Beach resort room

Need some advice for selecting Mahekal Beach resort room

Old Oct 6th, 2013, 09:52 AM
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Need some advice for selecting Mahekal Beach resort room

We're thinking of going to the Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa del Carmen. I was there many years ago when it was the Shangri La and loved it. It appears to have grown a lot but still looks very attractive, and the comments about it here in the Forum make it seem like it would be a good fit for the type of place we enjoy. when I was there before, they only had one type of pelapa -- each one was 1 story/1 bedroom. I'm interested in advice or feedback from someone who's stayed there recently to help us choose the type of lodging we're looking for: privacy and quiet would be tops, with a nice view too. I think the ocean front pelapas would have people walking right by the room and wouldn't be private enough, so maybe a 2nd story room in one of the 2 story "ocean view" pelapas would fit the bill??? I understand that they don't guarantee your first choice, but I may as well request what we'd like.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks very much.
gailw
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Old Oct 8th, 2013, 11:30 AM
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You are spot on - the ocean front has people walking in front of your room and sitting on the beach right in front of your room. If you are looking for quiet get a 2nd story, ocean view would put you back just behind the beach front units and still give you the breeze and view. We stayed there for the first time a few years ago and were way in the back. If I stayed there again I would pick the 2nd floor , ocean view or there are some other units above the dining room, though I would wonder about the noise.
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 08:38 AM
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Thanks, LBradford -- this just confirms what I was reading between the lines. I'm making the reservation for ocean-view, 2nd floor, and hope that's what we get. They don't guarantee any particular room requests...
Appreciate your time.
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Old Oct 11th, 2013, 06:11 AM
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You should also make sure that the room isn't close to the beach access area. We were right on the beach next to the beach access road and it was noisy at times. Have fun! It's a great place.
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Old Oct 15th, 2013, 12:55 PM
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Travel: Since they don't guarantee you the location of the room (just the type of room related to price), I don't know how I could make sure the room isn't close to beach access area. I requested an ocean view room in the Aventura section because I read that that is the quieter location. Would you agree? What should I be looking for to avoid the beach access road? and do you think that "check in" is too late to change the location?
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Old Oct 16th, 2013, 04:48 PM
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The Adventura is the side that you have to cross the beach access road to get to. We were on this side and there were fewer people in the rooms there which was nice on the beach hotel's beach loungers. This section is also farther away from Mamitas which can be noisy.

The noise problem that I was talking about was because of people walking on the beach access right next to our room. It scared me at night especially since we didn't have a phone in the room. It bothered me but didn't bother my husband.

If I were going back, I would print out the room map from their site and when they assign the room at check in, I would ask for a different one if I didn't like the one they gave me. I think they gave us this room because we booked with expedia for that trip. When we have booked on other trips with our travel agent, she's been able to get us great rooms. If you're using a travel agent, ask her to request your room preference. Please write a trip report when you come back. i love reading about places we've visited.
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Old Oct 18th, 2013, 09:06 AM
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Travel: thanks very much for the info, it's very helpful. I asked Mahekal to email me a map and they did, but I had read references to noise from Mamitas and didn't know where it was located vis-a-vis the Mahekal. That's a great suggestion, to take the map with us and when we check in, see where the room we've been assigned is located. It can make a big difference in how much anyone enjoys their vacation.
I'll try to write a trip report. I've been intimidated in the past because I usually post on the Europe forum (under a different name, had log-in problems recently and had to select a new name) and the writers on that forum are very articulate and often witty.
There are some good recommendations from MFNYC about places to go in Playa del Carmen, which I'm looking forward to checking out.
I might post a question about tour guides for some of the ruins later. Did you use anybody as a driver/guide that you'd recommend?
gailw
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Old Oct 21st, 2013, 07:02 PM
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Mahekal has a desk that offers tours. We booked with a driver named Elil through them. Once there we paid for a guide to show us around the ruins. Elil drove then us to lunch to a restaurant called Pollo Broncho in the town of Tulum. It was a small dive type place that had great chicken. We plan on going back on our upcoming Tulum trip.

You shouldn't be hesitant to write a trip report. I write one as a souvenir for all of our trips, big or small. I don't always get a lot of replies but I like writing them and I enjoy reading ones that other people post.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 08:13 AM
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Hola, Travel. Again, thanks for your info. I wasn't sure if we should try to find a driver/guide ahead of time. Were you happy with the guide you found at the ruins? Do they wear IDs issued by the government to indicate that they are qualified? When I was at Chichen Itza in the 80s, we walked around without a guide and I think we really missed out on a lot of information.
I know how hot it gets at Chichen Itza, so we would want to leave Mahekal at the crack of dawn. About how early did you leave the resort, and about how long did it take you to get there? I've seen estimates from 2 hours to 4 hours -- 2 is fine, but 4 would be really too long in the car for a one day trip.
Also appreciate the rec for lunch in Tulum. I'm assuming that anyplace a driver recommended by Mahekal wanted to stop would be okay, but if Pollo Broncho was good enough that you'd like to go back, that's even better.

Thanks for the encouragement to write a trip report. Maybe I will...
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Old Nov 9th, 2013, 05:28 PM
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Hola! Sorry for the late response but I was on vacation. I recently returned from a trip to Tulum. We didn't go to the ruins this time though.

To try to answer your questions - I don't remember if the guide we found at the ruins last year had an ID. There were several guides to choose from. We wanted one that would be just for us. I'm not a group/joiner type of person so it was important for us get a private guide.

We went with the recommendation of our driver, Elil for when to leave for the trip. I don't remember the exact time, but it was early. I'm not a big fan of waking up early on vacation!

We returned to Pollo Broncho for lunch on this trip. It is a small dive type restaurant that is open for lunch not dinner. Their chicken and potatoes with cheese are very good but there is no atmosphere or fancy decorations at all in case that is important to you. We loved our dinner at El Capitan. They had great food but again the space itself was kind of small and divey. We also ate at a really good Mayan restaurant called Cetli. Enjoy your trip!
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