.I hope this review gives people some facts to enable an opinion to be formed rather than just giving unsupported and perhaps biased thoughts. There were three of us, two adults and a 14 year old boy.
Arrival
If you book through First Choice, once you get through the usual customs procedures, leave the airport and do not be distracted by anyone who approaches you in the building. The First Choice reps are not allowed inside the building to greet arrivals and you will be directed to some perfectly polite people who will try to sell you a trip (we were offered $50 for three of us) which includes a number of free gifts. We were told this was an attempt at time share sales. The offer seemed too good to be true so it probably was.
Transfers from the airport were by taxi as there is no public transport or coaches on the island.
Hotel
Arrival was quick and the check in took about 3-4 minutes. We were greeted with cocktails and soft drinks, and our bags were taken to our rooms.
The room was very clean and tidy. We had two double beds with room to walk round them and between them. The room was smaller than most others I have stayed in but was big enough to cope if you aren't too untidy! There was a tv but no fridge. We did not mention this as we didn't feel it was needed. There was a bathroom and shower, to much the same standard as I have stayed at on other Carribean islands. It was clean, the shower had plenty of water and showergel and shampoo was provided. Also provided were a hairdryer, ironing board and iron. There was sufficient storage space for the three of us. The maids came daily and kept the room clean, and decorated the bed with the delightful towels in various shapes and with flowers.
The beds are on a concrete base (as in other Carribean places) and the mattress is slightly longer than the base. They are at least 6ft long and firm. Although they felt comfortable I did get a bit of a back ache but that happens in most beds that aren’t your own and most people I spoke to said they got used to it.
We were upstairs in the complex next to the splash pool. It is true that due to the nature of the thatched roof you can hear people in the next room if they are noisy, but not if they are just talking. The balcony out the front was about four feet tall, and there was a hammock on every balcony. Contrary to other points made I have seen, this was no more dangerous than a stair case without a stair gate.
The refurb of the hotel is behind schedule. While we were there the activity pool (nearest the beach) was finished and opened, and they closed and started refurbing the relaxtion pool (the middle pool). We did get blue paint on our swim suits and our bodies prior to the refurb but this was resolved by washing with soap.
The splash pool was open and kids loved it, as did the adults. It’s like a pirate ship with a couple of small slides and the ability to squirt water from various devices at people in and around some areas of this pool. There was an intermittent horn warning of a big cascade of water flowing down. The horn was quite loud and woke us up a couple of time at about 9.30 - but who wants to sleep in on holiday? It wasn't all day and although we spent the time relatively near the splash pool the horn did not bother us.
The swim teachers were very good, I saw a lot of success with teaching the kids to swim. The activites around the pool (quiz, water polo, darts, head to head challenge, golf), volley ball) were varied and supervised. There was no bullying to join in if you didn't want to. Even though one of the pools was closed the whole time we were there it never seemed overcrowded or particularly busy. I saw the water being tested regularly and it was cleaned everyday. In fact they came several times throughout the day just to clean out the odd leaf that may have blown in.
There were plenty of sun loungers although not always enough brollies. We often found shade under palm trees. Staff walked around regularly offering drinks and collecting glasses.
There is an ATM, a laundrette, a small shop, internet services ($6 for 30 mins). In San Miguel ATMs give you a choice of peso or USD.
Food
I am fussy; I don't eat pork, beef, lamb, meat on the bone, tomatoes, pasta or mushrooms. or much salad Bearing this in mind, I found something of substance to eat every day except two - because on those days the chicken was in tomato based sauce. On those days I was happy on those days to eat sandwiches (the bread was really nice), The breakfast buffet consisted of cereals, juices, sausages, bacon, eggs, pastries, cakes, bread, fruit, yoghurt, made to order omelettes etc. The lunch buffet varied but usually included 3 types of meat (grilled to order), fish, salads, burgers, chips, fahitas, fruits, grilled fruit, other meats and desserts. There is a lot of pork and beef. Each night in the main buffet restaurant there was a themed night and again there was a selection of meats (prepared and grilled to order) pasta prepared to order, prepared pasta, salads, vegetables, fruit, deserts, (including ice cream). There is an oriental, mexican and seafood restaurant. All offered a selection of food a la carte. The seafood restaurant operates at lunchtime and does not require booking. The food in all of them was of a good standard and served very quickly. The Mexican food was especially good but we found it not as spicy as the "Mexican" food you get in England.
The oriental and a large section of the buffet restaurant were air conditioned. They weren't too fussy about the "long trousers" rule for men in the a la carte restaurants.
The service was good, the waiters polite in all the restaurants. We did hear some people moaning about not getting their drinks immediately but to be frank, these people sounded quite rude.
There were any number of cocktails available the only downside was that there is no cocktail menu and no straws (which made it difficult to drink iced cocktails until they melted a bit). A cocktail in one bar was not necessarily the same as one with the same name in another bar. I recommend that you take a small packet of straws with you!
Entertainment
The entertainment was directed at the UK holiday makers but it was really good to see the US people joining in to. The non-UK makers probably lost out on the quiz held at 12.30 by the Jacuzzi because a number of questions were based on UK television or UK sport. They also will not have known some of the songs sung on the evening entertainment but other than that it was fairly evenly spread. There is bingo every night for fifteen minutes and the entertainment team were very attentive and quite funny. You don’t get entertainment to the standard of a London show but it was enjoyable to watch, and great when the audience participated. The Karaoke machine was still stranded in customs but was expected soon. The Karaoke might have been restricted to the adult only air conditioned bar which will be a shame if it is. They have a mini disco for the kids every night between 8 and 9pm which they seemed to enjoy.
The kids clubs (for ages up to 15) seemed fairly popular. The entertainers always made the effort to say hello to people and to stop and talk and find out about your holiday.
Volleyball was played everyday and there was a great mix of US and UK people mixing. I've seen some reviews criticising the Americans and some the British. Yes there were different behaviours and different levels of loudness but in a multicultural world that is to be expected! People were generally polite and friendly. The complex is very small so you regularly see the same people and most greet each other in a friendly manner. I did not see any of the staff being rude, on the contrary they were all very polite. I did see some holiday makers being incredibly rude to the staff and if they got less than perfect service as a result they only had themselves to blame.
Wildlife
My hubby is really interested in wildlife, so bear that in mind! We saw one tarantula, loads of iguana’s, land crabs, a couple of tiny snakes, birds, frogs, toads and very large moths. Despite extensive searching we could not find any scorpions although one of the guys we met did. The snorkelling directly off the beach was a tad disappointing as there were not great numbers of fish, but then I have been spoiled by Sharm el Sheikh. There was a hurricane two years ago which badly damaged the reefs and they are only just beginning to recover. Nevertheless we saw a number of large stingrays, an eagle ray, box fish, and a barracuda. The dive palancar shop at the end of the beach to the left of the Jacuzzi does trips out to the palancar reef, Columbia and Holywood reefs and we saw more out of here – moray eels (small ones), crabs, star fish and so on. The trips from the dive shop are cheaper than the FC trips. The sea is very clear.
Trips
Chankanaab National Park is just up the road. It costs $10 in a taxi and $16 to get in for adults, $8 for kids. They also do deals which include food and drinks. Average meal price is about $10 – we had a Mexican plate it was lovely, Alcoholic drinks are a bit expensive. The park is not massive. Snorkelling was OK, the reef was quite small and there were lots of people. We did the swimming with dolphins there and the price was the same as the FC trips. It was a really enjoyable experience but as you would expect we caved in to buying the dvd and photos afterwards. Haggle to get the price reduced!!
Parasailing was good, $50 for one, $90 for two of us (although this wasn’t advertised) and $5 just for the boat ride. Once on the boat we were offered a go at parasailing for less money ($20). San Miguel is $15 in the taxi and is quite nice, very touristy. Most stores will haggle and will charge you less if they know you are not from a cruise ship. You can also go swimming with whalesharks, and “snuba” and on a submarine. The whale sharks is a money back trip if you are not successful. A couple of people said that they did not see much on the submarine but we did not try either of these.
Overall
We had a great holiday. The hotel had a village atmosphere and was small enough for everyone to say hello to each other when walking past, or in the bars. As always you get out what you put in and if you are friendly to others they will return the compliment. There weren’t too many mossies (use something containing DEET in the evenings). It rained a tad but not for long. We had one mega downpoor for about 10 minutes which was hilarious as we got soaked and my son said I looked like Alice Cooper. We tipped a bit, but not all the time, and the staff were grateful for tips and smiles. The sun is very hot, even when cloudy. So glad to meet Yorkie and family, Sassy, Andy, Davy, Don and all the others (and families). Saw too weddings, and all seemed very happy! Its not a night clubbing buzzing resort, more quiet and relaxing.
The beach was clean and tidy and the sand was soft and white(ish). The swimming area and boating area are cordoned off with buoys. There are lifeguards on duty at all pools and beach (not 24 hours). Drinks were fine, as usual, sometimes the cordial mix on soft drinks was not quite right but certainly nothing to worry about
I hope this review is more helpful than those that say “so glad we cancelled”. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions! Have a great holiday.