Our October trip to the Lindo (part 1)

[Jay B]

Day 1

We got to the airport at 7:30 AM and were through the United check process in  45 minutes.  We tried to get two seats together but were told that we would have to pay an extra $44 each to change seats because all empty seats were in the “economy plus” section.  We declined.  It took us another 45 minutes to get through security.  It was 9:00 AM when we got to the gate.  We got some egg McMuffins and coffee and read the paper.  At about 10:00 AM, a ticket agent called our names and told us to come to the desk.  She said that she put us in two seats together in the economy plus section – no extra charge.  

The flight left Denver on time at about 10:30 AM.  They had free movies on board and snack boxes for $5.  The extra leg room in economy plus was noticeable.  We landed at 3:05 PM and pulled up to Cancun’s new terminal 3.  We went directly through immigration, got our luggage, pushed a button and got a green light at customs, and walked toward the door to the outside.  The area prior to the door was lined with about 50 time share salesmen all screaming at us but they evidently weren’t allowed to leave their area near the walls.  We were out of the terminal at 3:25 PM.  Our email from Funjet told us to look for Lomas representatives wearing white pants and teal shirts.  We saw several men with white pants and blue shirts (teal?) holding Funjet signs.  We were directed to an area where Lomas staff were loading people onto vans, taxis, and cars.  It appeared that they were trying to get everyone to their resorts with no stops.  They found our name on a sheet and started yelling down the line for other people going to the Lindo.  Ten of us were put on a van and we departed for the Lindo at about 4:00 PM.  The road from the airport to the Lindo was new and in much better shape than when we were in Mexico two years ago.  We were at the Lindo a half hour later.

When we pulled up to the Lindo, the driver unloaded our luggage and told us that a bellman would be by to pick it up and direct us to the check in area.  After waiting several minutes, we took our luggage and found the check in area ourselves.  The clerk was very friendly and efficient and explained the dining options for us and other aspects of the resort, and gave us wristbands.  She asked if we had stayed there before and we said that we were at the del Mar three years earlier.  The only choice of rooms we were given was one bed or two: we took two.  The clerk told us that the resort was nearly full that week (we later found out that it was less than half full).  While we were checking in, someone from the bar brought us mimosas.  We were then told to see the bellman who would take our luggage to the room.  The bellman took our luggage and showed us on a map where building 51 was and told us he would be there shortly with our luggage.  On the way to our building, we noticed that buildings 54 and 55, closest to the lobby area, were closed due to low occupancy at the resort.  We easily found building 51 and walked into a beautiful courtyard in the center of the building.  The concierge was sitting near the courtyard entrance and asked if we were checking in and needed directions to our room.  She pointed to our room and asked if we wanted to make dinner reservations while we were waiting for our luggage.  We told her what restaurants we wanted and said we wished to eat at about 6:30 PM every evening.  Within a few minutes, she confirmed all our reservations at the time we wanted.  When we got to our room, the bellman was waiting with our luggage.

We first noticed a smoky smell in the room and the bellman told us that there were no non-smoking rooms available and they all smelled like that.  The room was fairly large with tile floors and a big bathroom with marble tiling throughout.  There was a large safe and you could choose your own combination.  A refrigerator contained several large bottles of water, Dos Equis and Superior beer, Coke and Coke Light, orange drink, and some other kind of soft drink.  A gallon container of water was in the bathroom. A towel animal was on one of the beds and a bowl of fruit was on the dresser.  Each day we would have a different kind of towel animal on a bed, sometimes one in the bathroom, and the window curtains arranged into some kind of shape.  Our balcony was large and faced the Paraiso Beach next door with a view of palm trees and beautiful landscaping.  While we were unpacking, a Funjet representative called us and told us to please stop by his desk in the lobby at our convenience.  I guess we missed the mandatory briefing.  

We got dressed and headed to the Maya for our dinner at the sea food restaurant, La Marina.  We failed to look at a map and got lost but eventually found the Maya’s lobby bar.  It’s hard to miss – just look for a huge Mayan pyramid.  The bar was gorgeous with a large snake sculpture crawling down a log from the top of the pyramid to the bar in the center.  A cocktail waitress was present to take our drink order before we even sat down.  My mojito was great.  We then went to La Marina for our 6:30 dinner.  Service in the restaurant was outstanding from the time we entered to the time we left.  I ordered “fine lobster cream” soup and grilled tuna.  S ordered beef medallions and lobster.  We were then shown to the appetizer bar – fantastic with crab claws, shrimp cocktail and individual shrimps, fried calamari, all sorts of salads, etc.  Afterwards, my soup arrived but I was very disappointed in its strange flavor.  The waiter offered tinto or blanco wine and I got the blanco (white) – it was pretty good.  My tuna was as good as I have ever had, perfectly done and moist and tasty.  S said her beef and lobster were equally great.  After dinner we were told to help ourselves to the desert bar – we were stuffed but still enjoyed some flan and ice cream.  Our waiter was at our table with coffee when we got back from the desert bar.  While we were finishing our dessert, Martha, an assistant chef, stopped by for a few minutes to welcome us to the restaurant and to get our feedback on the dinner.  We’ve never had this happen back home.  

We walked back to the Lindo and went to the lobby bar for a drink.  The bar was much smaller than the Maya and felt claustrophobic by comparison.  It also smelled smoky.  But service was good and a beautiful, huge aquarium was in the center.  We then went to the theatre for the show and were immediately met by a waitress to take our drink orders.  We left shortly after the show started because it was pretty lame.  We went back to our room and watched the end of the Rockies – Diamondbacks game and saw the Rockies clinch the division title.  We noticed that the beds were very hard and we had no washcloths.

Day 2
We got up at about 7:30, got dressed and went to the Italian restaurant, La Laguna, for breakfast.  Service was great and the buffet was excellent.  They had an omelet station, someone was frying donuts, a machine was squeezing oranges for fresh orange juice, and the bacon was thick and wonderful.  After eating, we stopped by the Funjet counter and the representative did little more than tell us that transportation to the airport on our last day would leave about 2 ½ hours prior to flight time and asked us to verify the time the evening before we leave.  He also asked us to let him know if we had any problems at the resort and to consider him first before booking any tours.  We went back to the room, changed into swim suites and headed to the beach.  The boardwalk to the beach was lined with several adult and baby coatis waiting for handouts of bananas and other fruit from passing tourists.  

Even though it was 9:00 AM, there were hardly any people at the beach.  We put our towels and other belongings on some lounge chairs under a palapa by the beach bar.  All week, it was possible to get a prime spot under a palapa near the beach bar at any time of the day.  I was really disappointed in the water conditions – the sea was very rough, mirky, and full of seaweed.  I tried swimming in the water but kept running into large rocks everywhere.  This was unlike the water when we were at the del Mar three years earlier – the water then was calm and clear.  The beach bar opened shortly after 10:00 AM and we had our insulated mugs filled with Dos Equis.  A member of the Star Friends entertainment staff, Laura, stopped by to see if we wanted to play volleyball.  She said that she was having a hard time finding people to play because the resort was half full – unlike in the winter or spring.  At about 11:30, a snack bar opened up next to the beach bar, offering hot dogs, hamburgers, guacamole, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, and chips.  For lunch, we went to the El Fogon buffet at the end of the boardwalk, at the beach end of the swimming pool.  The buffet had a taco bar, hamburgers, small steaks (great), all sorts of meats, salads, soup, and deserts.  Service at the buffet was inconsistent but you could always walk up to the bar in the place and get a drink or get juice or soft drinks from a dispenser.  We then hung around the beach the rest of the afternoon and went on a walk south to the new Iberostar Grand Paraiso.  We saw nobody in the lounge chairs at the beach and only saw employees as we walked onto the grounds of the resort.  We were soon chased off the grounds by a guard who said the place was off limits to those who were not staying there.

Most of the people staying at the Lindo were older and rounder than what we have seen at other resorts in the past.  We did not feel out of place at the beach.  It appeared that most were from the US or Canada with the rest from Europe, especially Spain.  There were many kids at the resort and nearly all were under 4 years old.  Since there were so few people here anyway, the place did not seem like it was overrun with kids.

Later that afternoon, we decided to stop by the ice cream bar before going back to our room.  I asked for coconut ice cream and was told, “maybe tomorrow”.  But the black walnut was excellent.  As we walked into the courtyard of our building, the concierge (a different one than before) asked us if everything was okay in our room.  I told him that our beds were very hard and wondered if they had any pads they could put on them.  He said that he would see what he could do.  Housekeepers were cleaning the room next to ours and I asked one if they had any washcloths.  She gave me two and washcloths were provided in our room for the rest of the week.  We found two Iberostar t-shirts on our bed with a note welcoming us back to the resort.  We also had a new towel animal, new curtain art, and a restocked refrigerator.

At 6:30, we went to the El Tapatio Mexican restaurant just on the other side of the pool from our building.  Soon after we were seated, the waiter brought a plate of great nachos with real melted cheese (not the yellow goop you normally see with nachos), a bowl of guacamole, and some tortilla chips.  Service was great and the appetizer bar was wonderful.  We didn’t really need dinner after eating everything at the bar.  I had tortilla soup and it was good.  The waiter said that the restaurant’s specialty was tacos and nearly insisted that one of us order them.  I ordered the tacos al pastor, “prepared on the spot in the authentic Mexican way” according to the menu.  I received a plate of dry, overcooked pork, beef, and pineapple cubes on three corn tortillas.  I think “on the spot in the authentic Mexican way” means thrown together in the kitchen?  Anyway, I was not impressed.  S ordered a t-bone steak with chili butter and thought it was very good.  The dessert bar was great.

We stopped by the room to change into more casual clothes and went to the shopping center across the street from the Lindo lobby.  I think we were the only ones in the place, except for employees.  Mariachis started playing when we walked through.  The shopping center is beautiful with an open air center designed to look like a Mexican town square.  Shops, a disco, church, and snack shops are around the perimeter.  Food and drinks are free for Iberostar guests.  We went to the crepes shop and had coconut ice cream – wonderful!  We then went to the theater but left early and went back to the room.  Our room had been cleaned, dirty towels removed, beds turned down, and nice soft pads were under the bottom sheets on the beds.

Day 3

After breakfast in the Italian restaurant, we went to the shopping center and caught the 9:00 AM free Iberostar bus to Playa del Carmen.  Two busses were used because of the large number of people wanting to go.  The bus dropped us off near the south end of the 5th Avenue pedestrian mall.  The place had really improved since we were last there – the entire mall was paved in bricks and everything seemed much cleaner.  We walked nearly to the end of 5th Avenue, bought some t-shirts, and caught the bus back to the Lindo.

When we got back, we went into the shopping center and found the taco shop.  I ordered chorizo tacos and they were wonderful.  S had chicken and thought they were just okay.  An employee appeared out of nowhere to take our drink order and brought us a couple of beers.  I don’t think there were more than 10 people in the shopping center.  It’s a wonder the shops can stay open.  

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach.  The water was still rough and full of seaweed.  We later went to the lazy river and floated around a couple of times – we had the river to ourselves.  On the way back to the room, I went to the ice cream parlor and was again told to come back “tomorrow” for coconut ice cream.  

That evening, we went to the Lindo lobby bar for cocktails and then to the El Museo gourmet restaurant.  The place is beautiful and service was impeccable.  There is no appetizer or dessert bar – everything is ordered from the menu.  I ordered the lobster cream soup, thinking that it would have to be better than the stuff I had in the sea food restaurant but it was the same exact soup.  For an appetizer, S ordered vol-au-vent and thought it was great.  I had the smoked salmon – it was a mound of thinly sliced salmon arranged in the shape of a rose and was also great.  For an entrée, S had shrimp and did not like it – I took a taste and thought it was good.  My rack of lamb consisted of four small bite-sized ribs which were dry and overcooked.  I tried the house red wine, tinto, and did not like it.  For desert, I had crêpes and S had strawberries, both of which were very good.  The waiter brought a liqueur cart to our table after dessert.  I had a grand marnier and S had a Baileys (actually Wassels Irish Cream).

We then went to the shopping center and listened to the band for a while – they were excellent.  There were four of us in the entire place but the band played like they had a full house.  A waitress came by for our drink orders and we later stopped by the crepes place for more dessert.  We then went back to our room.

Day 4

This morning we decided to go to breakfast at the buffet at the Paraiso Beach.  The Beach (and del Mar) are much more lush and beautifully landscaped than the Lindo/Maya.  Also, the ponds around the lobby area are full of water plants, fish, and birds; the ponds at the Lindo/Maya are just plain water.  The buffet was good and had a lot of variety but we enjoyed the buffet at the Lindo’s Italian restaurant a little better.  We also liked the air conditioning at the Lindo.  The Beach’s buffet was open-air.

We hung around the beach most of the day, occasionally visiting the beach bar and swimming.  There was very little seaweed in the water today but the water was still rough and cloudy, making it hard to see the rocks in the water.  There were quite a few exceptional topless ladies on the beach today.  I went on a walk south along the beach nearly to Maroma.  There is a lot of beautiful, undeveloped property along this stretch which will undoubtedly be filled with more resorts in the near future.  I again noticed no people on loungers in front of the Grand Paraiso and wondered if the place had been closed down for some reason.  Also, the beach in front of a portion of the resort had some bad erosion.

For lunch, we had hamburgers at the grill by the beach bar (very good) and later went to the pool and had our choice of loungers under a palapa.  The pool must be one of the nicest resort pools in the world, rivaled only by the pool between the Beach and del Mar.  We went to the pool bar for a while and then to the ice cream parlor.  The ice cream lady took one look at me and disappeared behind the building.  She then came back with a bowl of coconut ice cream and said “I found some just for you”.  What service!

On the way to our room, I stopped by the concierge’s desk and asked him if tours were offered of the Grand Paraiso.  He said that he did not know of any tours and Lindo guests were not allowed on their property.  I would think that Iberostar would love to show off the Grand.

That evening, we went to the Jambalaya Cajun restaurant.  A large group of people got to the appetizer bar before us and cleaned it out.  We had to wait about 10 minutes until it was refilled.  The coconut shrimp and fried calamari on the bar were excellent.  S had onion soup which was very good and I had river crab bisque – it was the same exact soup as the lobster cream soups at the sea food and gourmet restaurants.  I had blackened grouper and it was excellent.  S’s rib eye steak was well done although she ordered it medium.  She said it was still good.  The dessert bar was similar to those in other restaurants.  Service in the Cajun restaurant was good but far from friendly.  The waiter acted like he didn’t really want to be there.

We changed clothes and walked to the beach.  We spent the next hour just sitting on loungers, looking at stars, and listening to and smelling the surf.  This was heaven.  We then stopped by the theater for a few minutes, didn’t care much for the Miss Iberostar contest, and went back to the room for the night.