IgoUgo

Cancun Journals

Cancun September 2005

A September 2005 trip to Cancun by saythankyou

Quote: The good, the bad, and the ugly about Cancun and the Marriott Casa Magna Resort in the Hotel Zone. The JW Marriott is nice, but don't spend the extra money unless you're getting all-inclusive.

    Cancun September 2005

    Overview

    Quote:
    Definitely do the trip to Isla Mujeres by trimaran. Awesome. Quick Tips: Buy the entertainment plus card from Brant Boston. You can find his website (and many others recommending him) by entering his name and "e-plus". It costs , and you save a lot of money on tours and get 2x1 at some restaurants. It's a good deal, and it actually works.Best Way To Get Around: Take a public bus (r1) versus a taxi to get downtown from the hotel zone. It is safe, the drivers are not crazy like some other reviews say. The drivers do allow you time to get on and off the bus. The cost is 6.5 pesos for one public bus and for the hotel zone bus. There's no difference except that one bus is a little...Read More

    Marriott CasaMagna Cancun Resort

    Best Of IgoUgo

    Hotel | "Marriott Casa Magna Resort"

    Quote:
    Best Things Nearby:Mikado restaurant, Beefeaters restaurantBest Things About the Resort:The Ocean View rooms are lovely. The beach is combed nightly. The staff is mostly very friendly and helpful.Resort Experience:1) The hotel is lovely, but do NOT get a 1st floor room. We started on the first floor in room 1111 and had to kill cockroaches. P.S. In Cancun, cockroaches DO bite, and I got a lot of cockroach bites before the Marriott finally moved our room to the 4th floor (after spraying it). We experienced no problems with roaches on the 4th floor. 2) This should really be first, but try to avoid letting the "Rooms Controller" check you in. She made ...Read More

    Member Rating 2 out of 5 on September 16, 2005

    Marriott CasaMagna Cancun Resort
    Boulevard Kukulcan, Retorno Chac L-41, Zona Hotelera
    Boulevard Kukulcan, Retorno CCancun, Quintana Roo. Mexico 77500
    52-998-881-2000

    Beefeaters

    Best Of IgoUgo

    Restaurant

    Quote:
    We ate at this restaurant twice. The first time the 16 oz New York Strip was to die for, so we returned. Since we visited Cancun in the off-season, it was very easy to get a table on both 9/4/05 and 9/8/05. The second time we visited the restaurant, we sat right on the lagoon. There was not a mosquito problem because there are a lot of bats that fly near the restaurant at night. Apparently the bats like the mangrove trees. It didn't bother me too much, but it was weird to see the bats come so close to the tables. We were so close to the lagoon that we ended up eating right next to a LIVE crocodile named Pancho. That was exciting and scary at the same time. Pancho was about 8 feet long,...Read More

    Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 16, 2005

    Beefeaters
    Boulevard Kukulcan Km 14.6
    Cancun, Mexico

    Mikado

    Restaurant

    Quote:
    If you like watching your food cooked right in front of you, then teppanyaki is the way to go, and Mikado offers some of the freshest ingredients I think you'll find in Cancun. The teppanyaki is typical of any similar restaurants in the U.S., but the food tasted much fresher. I say to "go for it" like we did and order the shrimp and steak combo. They give you a lot of both, and the shrimp is GREAT. I also had the chicken fried rice. It is good, but if you aren't craving fried rice, stick with the white rice. The white rice is perfect because there are so many flavors that will come your way. We also ordered some "vegetarian sushi" because it has avocado, bell pepper and cucumber in it. It tast...Read More

    Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 16, 2005

    Mikado
    Boulevard Kulkulcan Km 14.5
    Cancun, Mexico

    Johnny Rocket's

    Restaurant | "Johnny Rockets"

    Quote:
    If you've ever been to a Johnny Rockets in the U.S., you have come to expect a consistent sort of quasi-fast food meal that is comforting on some level. If you want to keep that idea of Johnny Rockets, do not visit the Cancun location. The staff on my particular visit was extremely slow, there were flies all throughout the restaurant and, most importantly, the food was not good. On our visit we ordered a couple burgers, fries, and some cheese fries. The quality of the food was just poor. The cheese fries are normally made with real cheddar cheese. I don't know if they were trying to put a spin on the fries, but they were made with nacho cheese...and slimy, gross-tasting nacho cheese, at t...Read More

    Member Rating 1 out of 5 on May 25, 2006

    Johnny Rocket's
    Boulevard Kukulcan Km. 12.5
    Cancun, Mexico

    Hard Rock Cafe

    Restaurant

    Quote:
    If you've never been to a Hard Rock Cafe, this one is representative of the rest as far as decor goes. They obviously have a mold for all their restaurants, and this one fits in perfectly. The table we sat at had Jackson Five memorabilia, which was neat to see. The food here was sub-par. I never really enjoyed Hard Rock food in the states, to be honest, but this Hard Rock was especially nasty. I ordered the Twisted Mac, Chicken and cheese. I don't know why I was craving such comfort food, but I had an itch for it. As with Johnny Rockets, the cheese "sauce" Hard Rock used was slimy and gross. I don't know if it was processed American or what, but I did not like it one bit. I ate literally...Read More

    Member Rating 1 out of 5 on May 25, 2006

    Hard Rock Cafe
    Blvd. Kukulcan Lotes 10&10-C
    Cancun, Mexico 77500
    +52 (998) 8818120

    Isla Mujeres

    Attraction

    Quote:
    For $50, you have an all-day trip on a trimaran that takes you to Isla Mujeres for snorkeling, swimming with a shark, shopping, and a buffet lunch. The lunch was one of the most authentic and good Mexican lunches I had while in Cancun. The snorkeling was good--we even saw a barracuda. Don't buy anything in Isla Mujeres. I bought a crucifix for what I thought was a bargain at $25 but saw it in the airport for $5. I am a bargainer and can speak Spanish, so I really got duped. Oh, well. Also, the quality of most everything is bad in Isla Mujeres. Just buy everything in Cancun or, even better, COZUMEL!

    Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 16, 2005

    Isla Mujeres
    13 Km Ne Of Cancun
    Isla Mujeres, Mexico

    Carlos & Charlies

    Attraction | "Carlos & Charlies"

    Quote:
    Carlos & Charlies is your typical spring break attraction. The waiters sing and pull diners and drinkers up on chairs to do silly dances.After several yards of really bad margaritas, purchased as part of an all-you-can-drink package for about $30 (you can find deals in magazines in your hotel attraction booklet stand), I was convinced to dance on the bar in a skirt. Luckily for the other patrons and not so luckily for me, the bartender has some sort of mechanism that blows air up one's skirt. I was not aware of this until my skirt was halfway over my head.Note to self: Never get up on a bar to dance in Mexico.If you like the wild party atmosphere of Senor Frog's, you wil...Read More

    Member Rating 2 out of 5 on May 25, 2006

    Carlos & Charlies
    Blvd Kukulcan 4.5
    Cancun, Mexico 77500

    Quote:
    I admit to being a bargain shopper, but I enjoy the finer things in life and I am willing to pay for them. Cancun, however, has ridiculous prices that surpass even Hawaii. I guess I am particularly annoyed by the cost of food. My husband and I spent about $200 on food daily. Toward the end of our trip, we started going to touristy American plances we wouldn't even go to in the U.S., like Hard Rock Cafe and Johnny Rockets, because they were the only places we could go for under $20pp for lunch. We should have just eaten wherever we wanted, though, because even though the food at Mikado, Beefeaters, and the like was more expensive, the meals were much more enjoyable. My advice: GET AN ALL-INCLUSI...Read More

    About the Writer

    saythankyou

    saythankyou
    Phoenix, Arizona

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