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Those of you who have been following on Instagram (@xameliax) will know that a couple of weeks ago I jetted off to Mexico for a week of all inclusive luxury and relaxation at The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya! This was my second visit to Mexico after relaxing in the Hideaway at Royalton Riviera Cancun last February and loving it so I knew exactly where I wanted to book for a bit of new year sunshine (and amazing margaritas) this year! I had a look online and found a killer deal at The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya and didn’t hesitate to book – 7 days, all inclusive, flying from Manchester in less than 7 weeks time – bikini body training = ON!
We flew with Thomas Cook who weren’t bad but didn’t come close to the Thomson Dreamliner we experienced last year. We had a pleasant 10 hour flight none the less with some great films (you need to pay an extra £4 for the decent ones), nice James Martin in-flight food (main meal and afternoon tea) with a few cheeky gins to wash it all down with – unlike Thomson’s Dreamliner you have to pay for these at standard airplane prices. We saved a fair bit on our package deal going through Thomas Cook at the time so these little extras weren’t the end of the world but we do feel like Thomson had the finer details sorted on their long haul flights whereas Thomas Cook still felt a little like a cheaper short haul Europe flight.
With our deal we had a Deluxe Gold Double Room on the Hacienda side of the hotel. The Hard Rock Hotel Rivera Maya is split into two halves – Hacienda, the family side and Heaven, the adults only side. By staying in the Hacienda side as long as you’re over 18 you have access to the whole hotel so it doesn’t necessarily matter which side you stay on. We learned last year that more often than not in Mexico the family sides can be quieter than the adults only which on many occasions are more like spring break than a relaxing holiday!
The rooms were well decorated with hammocks on the balcony, his and hers sinks, a jacuzzi bath, good wardrobe space, monsoon showers and a mini bar…with optics! *yaaaas* The beds were comfortable (you can get king size beds but we were fine with two doubles as they didn’t have any kings available) and we were right at home in our room. It was a little noisy when people walked through the corridors but not so much that it kept us awake and our air con was a bit squeaky but as we didn’t need it on overnight again that wasn’t an issue. With 24 hour (really great) room service you’re totally at home at the hard rock, they can’t do enough for you.
Wildlife around the resort from Iguanas, Agoutis and beautiful birds
As I mentioned before the hotel is split into two with different pool areas for families and for adults. There are also numerous coves and man-made beaches along the resort with beds and cabanas to use and waiter service. We found the family side a little too noisy with activites (it seemed as if they have a lot going on for the little ones every day) and the adults side too loud with the poolside DJ and foam parties…told you, spring break! So we settled on a beautiful mini beach and cove in between both sides that no-one else seemed to know existed, we had it to ourselves for the entire week and with a few dollars given to a passing waiter we were never without cold beers and cocktails – bliss!
The Heaven side of the resort
Food wise you’ve got a huge selection around the resort from buffets to Italian, Japanese to traditional Mexican not to mention bar snacks and coffee shops galore with fresh pastries and great coffee including soya milk for me – yay! We loved everything we ate during our stay, the food was really great quality…and not just for an all inclusive holiday. One our last evening we ate at the French restaurant and ordered a bottle of red wine from the extra menu which you can pay for with your Resort Credit (we got $1200 worth when we booked) and it was delectable and reasonably priced – around £15 for the bottle. We like to eat and we appreciate good quality booze so we were both very very happy during our stay, top shelf spirits used without question and the beer was pretty good too.
On our last day we booked into the Rock Spa for a couples hot stone massage using our Resort Credit. You can use your credit to pay for numerous things round the resort (trips, spa treatments, wine upgrades, even borrowing a fender guitar to play in your room!) and the only thing you pay is a 20% service charge which made our 80 minute couples hot stone massage around £30 each – bargain. It was a huge spa and our therapist were very good. In all honesty it wasn’t the best massage I’ve ever had but it was certainly relaxing and well worth booking in for.
We had a truly relaxing and fun week at The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. You can truly make your holiday your own at the Hard Rock depending on what you’re looking for – families have so much to do with loads of activities, party people can enjoy foam parties, night clubs with hot tubs inside and people like us can keep themselves to themselves and truly relax, eat and drink for the duration of their stay…oh, and walk away with a killer tan!
Ready to book your holiday? Take a look at the deals available now!
Have you stayed at The Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya before? Where would you recommend in Mexico for luxury travel?
Leave a comment below or tweet me @xameliax #hrhrivieramaya
xax