Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
Our older son, Miles, recently turned three years old. We wanted to do something for his birthday — he asked to fly somewhere (yay, he’s getting into airplanes!), to a destination with a beach or pool. Or at least that was my interpretation. 😉 Ford and I didn’t want to go too far (since our younger son, Jet, would stay behind with family, given that he wasn’t even six weeks old), and we ultimately decided on the St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya.
The 143-room property opened back in early 2023, and I had heard generally good things about it (and for that matter, we had a great stay with Miles at the St. Regis Longboat Key not long before that).
Admittedly Cancun isn’t exactly the most seasonal destination for August, but this trip seemed easy, and checked all our boxes — American even flies a 777 between Miami (MIA) and Cancun (CUN), so that was a fun way to get there.
Let me be honest — I came in with low expectations, and I’m generally not a huge fan of traveling to the Cancun area. Nothing against it, but living in Florida, the climate is just too similar, and it’s very much an all-inclusive destination.
Fortunately, the St. Regis Kanai positively surprised us, we had an incredible stay, and I’d return in a heartbeat. It’s a genuinely gorgeous property with beautiful scenery, an expansive pool setup, a beautiful beach, and really good service and food. They also went out of their way to make the stay special for our son’s birthday, and as a parent, if your kids are happy, you’re happy. Let’s get into the review…
In this post:
Booking the St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya
Ordinarily I try to redeem points for hotel stays in Mexico, given that hotels in many parts of the country add around 37% to the room rate for taxes, fees, and service charges. However, since we were staying in low season, the rate was relatively reasonable.
Specifically, we booked our three-night stay through the Marriott STARS program. The rate was $609 per night, but that was before a third night free promotion, bringing the average nightly rate down to $406.
For booking through Marriott STARS, we also received complimentary breakfast, a $200 property credit, and a room upgrade subject to availability (admittedly some of those overlap with my Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador perks). If you need help with a Marriott STARS booking, Ford and his team can help, and can be reached at [email protected].
So while it wasn’t cheap, the rate seemed reasonable compared to what this hotel usually charges in peak season, which is over $1,000 per night.
As a point of comparison, if we had instead redeemed Bonvoy points, the cost would have been 96,000 points per night. For what it’s worth, I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so paying cash was the better value.
I also used three of my Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade Awards (earned as part of the Bonvoy Choice Benefits program) to confirm a St. Regis Suite, and that cleared a few days before arrival.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya location
The St. Regis is located inside the 680-acre gated community of Kanai. In addition to the St. Regis, this compound has two other hotels — the Riviera Maya EDITION and Etereo Riviera Maya, part of Auberge Resorts Collection. While these multi-resort “compounds” may feel isolated at times, they’re at least great in terms of providing access to multiple dining outlets, since you can dine across the properties.
The St. Regis Kanai is suspended above a mangrove forest, with different elements of the hotel connected by elevated walkways. Kanai offers two miles of unobstructed white sand beaches, which is pretty great.
The property has unique architecture — I’m not someone who flies drones on vacation, so below is a picture from Marriott’s website that shows you the property layout.
As you can see, the property consists of semi-circular buildings arranged in overlapping rings. This is intended to provide ocean views from most vantage points (including from all the rooms), and also to avoid disturbing the root system of the mangroves.
I’ve gotta say, the people who developed Kanai are kind of genius. You basically have a mangrove forest that you typically couldn’t develop in any sort of useful way, but they turned that into a “feature” rather than a “bug,” and I’ve gotta say, it makes for some cool views.
When it comes to getting to the St. Regis Kanai, the property is a roughly 35-40 minute drive from Cancun International Airport (CUN). The hotel charges a minimum of $171 one-way for airport transfers, or you can book through a third party for a bit less.
There’s obviously some sort of ground transport pricing collusion, since just about all private transfers cost at least $100 nowadays, which seems mighty high.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya lobby & check-in
The St. Regis Kanai has cool design, and you can appreciate that as soon as you step into the open-air lobby. As you enter the property, reception and the concierge desk are located to the left, while there’s some seating to the right.
Our check-in process was quick and friendly, and we were offered cold towels and welcome drinks, and we were then handed over to our assigned butler, who escorted us to our room. Even though it was well before check-in time, our suite was ready — you’ve gotta love traveling in the off season.
Enroute to our room, I admired the gorgeous open-air seating just past the lobby, which is sort of the central part of the resort, connecting all other areas.
Guest rooms are spread across a few different buildings, each of which has three floors. We were assigned room 233, located on the second floor, one building over from the reception area.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya suite
We were assigned a St. Regis Suite, marketed as being 1,130 square feet (105 square meters). Talk about a massive suite, especially when you consider that this is the base suite category at the property. I found the suite to be functional, and also thought the construction quality felt good (I’ve been to my fair share of resorts in Mexico that are supposed to be luxury, but where the construction quality feels poor).
I thought the suite was super spacious, and functionally designed. Just inside the entrance was the living room, with a large couch and two chairs, along with a wall-mounted TV.
Then right next to the entrance was the dining area, which had a rectangular table with four chairs.
The minibar and wet bar area was near the dining table.
There was a complimentary Nespresso coffee machine and some tea (annoyingly, there was no milk or cream for coffee), plus a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase. There was even a cart with wine on the other end of the room. There was plenty of bottled filtered water all over the room, and the hotel was happy to deliver as much of that as guests needed.
Off the living room was a half bathroom, with a sink and toilet.
A door then separated the living room from the bedroom. The bedroom wasn’t huge, but featured a comfortable signature St. Regis bed, a chair in one corner, and a TV in the other corner.
Immediately behind the bed was a large closet space, and behind that was the primary bathroom, which was huge. The bathroom had two sinks with mirrors in the center of the room, a vanity, a soaking tub, and a large walk-in shower.
Toiletries were from SACHAJUAN, which is brand standard at St. Regis nowadays, though I find the brand to be pretty unmemorable.
Then the toilet was in a separate room near the entrance to the bathroom.
The room had a huge terrace, with a dining table that had four chairs, two chairs with a coffee table, and a loveseat of sorts.
I find the terrace views of the mangroves plus the beach and water in the distance to be a cool combination.
Shortly after arriving in the room, we were brought a welcome gift that included a plate of fruit, a couple of bottles of water, and a small birthday treat for miles (though it was the first of many gifts he received during our stay).
There was daily housekeeping along with turndown service, and there was great attention to detail. Since this is a St. Regis, butler service was also offered, though I’ll talk more about that in a bit.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya pools
The St. Regis Kanai has an impressive pool setup, with an area dedicated to families, plus an adults only area. All of the pools are located right by the beach, so if you’re coming from the main part of the hotel, you’ll have to take one of the elevated walkways across the mangrove forest. You can also be driven in a golf cart, but the walk isn’t that long, and the golf cart ride requires taking a detour.
The main pool area is for families, and actually consists of three(ish) pools. I find this to be a ridiculously pretty pool area, given the way the infinity edge pool is positioned right above the beach.
One of the main pools is rectangular and quite large, and it has a shallow area that’s ideal for kids.
Interestingly, there’s a little mini-pool within the pool. You’d assume it’s a hot tub based on looking at it, but that didn’t actually seem to be the case.
There’s another pool area immediately behind that, positioned right in front of the cabanas (which can be rented by the day).
There’s no shortage of seating around the pool…
The other family pool is located right next to the two you can see above, and it’s in more of a square shape, with seating on three sides of it.
Separate from the family pool area, there’s an adults only pool area, which is also quite pretty. The pool is much smaller, but it doesn’t get as full, given that this is such a family friendly property.
I was impressed by the whole pool setup, and as you’d expect, there’s attentive service, in terms of staff helping to set up chairs, offering water, and of course providing a menu with food and drinks.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya beach
The St. Regis Kanai is set on a beautiful two mile stretch of beach, so this is an ideal resort whether you’re looking to enjoy pools or the beach.
Even before getting to the main stretch of the beach, there’s a bunch of seating and games on the sand right by the pool, which also offers a bit of shade thanks to the palm trees.
The resort then has a bunch of loungers set up on the main stretch of the beach, with umbrellas, towels, etc.
If you enjoy beach walking, you’re in for a treat here, as the sand quality is great, and you can walk long distances unobstructed.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya spa, gym, and kids club
The St. Regis Kanai has a full service spa with eight treatment rooms plus a salon, and all the amenities you’d expect. We didn’t have a chance to use it, given the purpose of our trip (family time).
The resort also has a 24/7 gym located just a short walk from reception. The gym was a good size (especially since the property doesn’t have that many rooms), and had an impressive selection of cardio and weight equipment.
The St. Regis also has the Tortuga Kids Club. This is open to kids ages 4-12 without supervision, though younger kids can go there when accompanied by an adult. We took Miles there a couple of times and he enjoyed everything from arts and crafts, to making cookies.
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya restaurants & bars
The St. Regis Kanai offers a solid selection of restaurants and bars. I’ll go into more detail below, but to briefly summarize:
- Chaya is the hotel’s Italian’s restaurant; it’s where breakfast is served, and it’s also open for dinner
- Toro by Richard Sandoval is the hotel’s Latin American restaurant; it’s only open for dinner
- Riviera is the hotel’s (family) poolside Mexican restaurant; it’s open midday through early evening
- The Beach Club is the hotel’s (adults only) poolside Mediterranean restaurant; it’s open midday through early evening
- Jack’s Club is the hotel’s adults only sports bar; it’s open midday through early evening
- St. Regis Bar is the hotel’s bar; it’s open in the afternoon until late at night
- Pik Nik & The Library is the hotel’s coffee shop; it’s open in the morning
Since the St. Regis is part of the larger Kanai complex, there are also dining options at the two other properties — EDITION and Etereo — though we didn’t check those out during our stay. As you’d expect for a luxury resort, dining prices are steep by Mexican standards, as it’s not like this is an all-inclusive. With that out of the way, let’s go into the restaurants in a bit more detail.
Chaya is located close to the lobby, and is the hotel’s breakfast restaurant, with that being served daily from 7AM until 11:30AM. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating, and it’s a nice space.
Breakfast was included (both on account of Marriott STARS plus my Marriott Bonvoy status), and the selection was excellent. There was a huge variety of both Mexican and international options.
The indoor part of the buffet was more internationally focused, with options like pastries, freshly baked bread, cereal, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, waffles, french toast, an omelet bar, and much more.
The outdoor part of the buffet was more focused on Mexican cuisine, with lots of options to choose from.
We enjoyed everything we had at breakfast, including chilaquiles.
The coffee options were excellent as well, from filtered coffee, to iced coffee, to cappuccinos. I thought the filter coffee was particularly good. All of those were included with breakfast.
We also had dinner at Chaya one evening, as that’s served from 5:30PM until 11PM. In the evening there are white tablecloths at all the tables, which definitely gives the space more of an elegant feel. At the beginning of the meal, we were brought some pineapple and jicama, along with an amuse bouche, plus freshly baked focaccia.
For appetizers, we split the smoked bresaola (~$25) and the cauliflower with habanero and basil (~$22), both of which were excellent.
Then for mains, we split the pizza margherita (~$21) and chicken breast (~$31). Admittedly there were more interesting things on the menu, but since we were basically gorging ourself with delicious food for breakfast and lunch, we kept it relatively simple for dinner.
The hotel’s signature restaurant is Toro by Richard Sandoval, open daily from 5:30PM until 11PM, and that serves Latin American cuisine. The restaurant is in the direction of the beach, and primarily has outdoor seating, though also has an indoor area, including a bar.
We were brought some tasty warm bread at the beginning of the meal.
Once again, we just split several things, including the sweet corn empanadas (~$20), the hamachi tiradito (~$32), and the catch of the day, with rice, salad, grilled avocado, corn, pico de gallo, and more (~$58).
For dessert, we couldn’t help but share some churros (~$12).
Every day we had lunch at Riviera, the hotel’s restaurant next to the family pool, which is open from 11AM until 5PM.
The food here was great, and we enjoyed everything from the guacamole (~$20), to the local ceviche (~$24), to the chicken tacos (~$26), to the signature salad with fish (~$27).
There was also an ice cream sundae bar at the restaurant, which definitely ranked as one of Miles’ five favorite things about the property.
Then there was The Beach Club, the hotel’s Mediterranean lunch restaurant, open daily from 11AM until 5PM. Since this is an adults only restaurant, we didn’t eat here.
Then there’s Jack’s Club, the hotel’s adults only sports bar, which is open daily from 11AM until 6PM. I couldn’t imagine wanting to spend any time here, but then again, I’m not straight and have zero interest in organized sports, so…
In addition to an indoor space, Jack’s Club also has plunge pools of sorts, so it’s an unusual setup.
Next, there’s the St. Regis Bar, open daily from 5PM until 12AM, and it’s a great place from which to watch the sunset. It’s located above the lobby area, so it offers a great vantage point. The bar has both an indoor and outdoor area, plus games.
We enjoyed cocktails here a couple of nights, including mezcal negronis, plus some of the property’s signature cocktails.
As you’d expect for a St. Regis, there was also a signature bloody mary, plus the nightly champagne sabering, but we didn’t have a chance to check out either of those.
Last (and probably least), there was Pik Nik, the hotel’s coffee shop, open daily from 7AM until 11AM, with coffee and light bites.
This is right across from The Library, which I guess is just intended to be a communal, indoor, air conditioned place where you can hang out (given that the hotel is otherwise very outdoor focused).
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya service
Mexico is a country known for friendly people, but that’s not to say that service is always polished or attentive. So I have to give massive props to the entire staff at the St. Regis Kanai, because across the board, I found them to be stellar. They were friendly, anticipatory, and seemed genuinely invested in making sure guests had a great experience.
The positive interaction already started before getting to the hotel, as the email responses were lightning fast, and were frictionless. Hell, as a very basic example, when I email hotels I explain I’m traveling with my husband and son, and then half of the time they’ll respond back addressing me as Mrs. That wasn’t the case here, and way beyond that, the attention to detail was great (like proactively sharing details about the kids club).
We had nothing but pleasant interactions with staff, particularly at the pool, where Eric was stellar. Often I’m not a fan of the whole concept of having a dedicated butler, since I find that they sometimes border on being annoying. Our butler, Rafael, was excellent — he was there when we needed him and responded via WhatsApp within minutes, but wasn’t overbearing.
Most of all, what impressed me was how much the hotel staff went out of their way to make Miles’ birthday special. Personally, I can’t stand celebrating my own birthday, and I cringe at any sort of public acknowledgement. But of course as a parent, I feel differently for our son, since birthdays are much more special when you’re young (and for Miles, this was his first birthday where he sort of understood that it was “his” special day).
The hotel did a stellar job making this stay special for Miles. For example, during the daily housekeeping service, the housekeeper would leave notes and gifts for Miles…
Then on his birthday, Rafael set up a special surprise for Miles on the bed to celebrate his birthday.
And then when we returned from dinner on his birthday, they had another cake for him.
And I won’t even mention how on his birthday, he was presented with a small chocolate cake at every single meal, from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner.
Dump me at a Howard Johnson on the side of the highway, if they make my kid this happy, I’m a fan…
St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya (minor) complaints
As you can tell, this review has been overwhelmingly positive, though let me share two negatives — one minor, and one major (in retrospect).
First of all, I love how St. Regis offers butler service coffee. The policies differ by property (in terms of what room categories qualify, what hours it’s available, how often it’s available, etc.). However, this hotel has the strangest policy of any St. Regis property I’ve been at.
You receive complimentary wake-up coffee between 7:30AM and 11AM. This is the first St. Regis I’ve stayed at where the butler service coffee is only available after breakfast starts. As someone who is an early riser, I found to be kind of annoying, as this is the first time I’ve stayed at a St. Regis and haven’t taken advantage of the butler service coffee (since we were always at breakfast at 7AM, and went to the pool almost immediately after that). This is of course minor, but it seems like it should easily be adjusted.
Second, this put more of a damper on our stay. As you’d expect, the sun is strong in Cancun in August. The hotel had SPF 50 available for guests at the pool… or that’s what was claimed. We applied it thoroughly the first day, and it felt a little watery, but whatever.
Unfortunately hours later, Ford and I noticed that we had sunburns (it wasn’t as bad for Miles, since we covered him up more, he had a sun shirt, etc.). Look, I realize sunburns are a way of life for other people, but I’ve been with Ford for over a decade, and he has *never* gotten a sunburn, because he’s that meticulous with applying sunscreen.
I don’t get it. Are they providing fake or low quality sunscreen, or why is this the first time we’ve ever had sunscreen at a hotel that didn’t work? We ended going to the gift shop and just buying sunscreen from a brand we knew, but having a bad burn within hours of arriving at the property was less than ideal.
If you’re gong to offer sunscreen, at least make it decent quality. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but consider it a warning, and I’ve certainly learned my lesson.
Bottom line
The St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya exceeded my expectations, as someone who doesn’t usually consider traveling to the Cancun area. We were expecting it would be a bit of a resort factory, but that it would be a good option for our purposes, of celebrating our son’s birthday, since he’s happy as long as there’s a pool and a beach.
However, this hotel exceeded our expectations, and we really enjoyed our stay, and would return. The property has gorgeous architecture, I like the mangrove forest and beach combo, the pool setup is really well done, the service is friendly and attentive, and I found the food to be quite good as well.
While I’m personally still partial to Los Cabos (I prefer the scenery and climate), I’d absolutely consider returning here, as you can’t beat the ease of getting to Cancun from Florida.
The other thing this stay reinforced for me is how different travel is just as a couple vs. with a kid. When you’re traveling with little ones, their happiness is more important than anything else, so a little effort on the part of the hotel on that front can go a long way to creating favorable impressions.
What’s your take on the St. Regis Kanai Riviera Maya?
I don't understand why the owner and Marriott would develop both an Edition and a St. Regis right next to each other. That makes no sense. With that said, this looks a wonderful hotel. And the service is going to be leaps and bounds better than a St. Regis in the USA. I would totally choose this property over say the St. Regis in Sarasota.
Glad you had a good time Ben.
We explored the Cancun Peninsula last year for archeological purposes from Tulum up to Cancun including the Mayan Riviera. Tried regular hotels, all-inclusive and resorts in the mangroves.
We would not like to do that again. We love the ocean in Cancun, but not what is coming to Cancun.
Also all inclusive was a bust, food poisoning and all lights, electric and water went out....
Glad you had a good time Ben.
We explored the Cancun Peninsula last year for archeological purposes from Tulum up to Cancun including the Mayan Riviera. Tried regular hotels, all-inclusive and resorts in the mangroves.
We would not like to do that again. We love the ocean in Cancun, but not what is coming to Cancun.
Also all inclusive was a bust, food poisoning and all lights, electric and water went out. Hyatt property not prepared.
The Riviera we felt like prisoners. Did not feel comfortable with that.
Also as Davedent says, they don't honor your level and cut down so much.
Loads of American prostitutes brought in arriving in buses and vans. Filled the lobbies of some hotels.
We'll avoid.
I love this Hotel stayed a year ago. Will probably try the Edition next door next time.
Two complaints -Incredibly mean cut down Bonvoy Titanium breakfast and failure to honour upgrades when they were very clearly available.
I am a big fan of the Cancun Shuttle. If you are staying at the St. Regis, I guess $$$ isn't as big of a deal, but it's so easy to schedule and always been reliable with lovely drivers. https://cancunshuttle.com/
The property looks gorgeous but it's hard for me to stomach a relatively secluded resort that isn't all-inclusive like that, with those room rates and food prices. I love how happy Miles was with all the birthday surprises though!
And a side note, nice to see Flor de Cana 7 for the minibar rum instead of Bacardi or other bottom-barrel options.
Ben, so here's a sort of reated question. Many times I have refrained myself from booking these type of hotels because as a frequent traveler my luggage looks worn out, it works fine but it looms like that because many times I meed to check it in the airline. I feel I may get judged by it by fellow traveles and hotel staff so I settle for "lesser" hotels where this may be more common. I know it sounds ridiculous but I'd like to read your take or from other reader.
@ Efer -- Just so I understand, you're saying you refrain from staying at luxury hotels because you have more worn out luggage? If so, I think you'll find quite a mixed guest profile at many luxury properties, so I don't think you'd feel at all out of place at a property like this. I commend you for having practical luggage.
The only person that should care about your luggage is yourself. Since the pandemic, I purchased 4 cheap Amazon Basics carry on European size for my family and we only travel with those in Europe. I could not care less what people think about them and we have stayed in very expensive hotels always carrying those around. You should do what makes you feel good and not worry abut what others will think.
No mention of mosquitoes. I was concerned with the the outdoor concept and the mangrove forest.... Great review.
@ Maryland -- You'd think that would be a major issue, but we got virtually no bites. So I'm not sure how they manage that, but I didn't find that to be a problem at all.
Salt water mangroves. No mossies.
There were no mozzies when I stayed there and they LOVE me. Its apparently something to do with the type of mangrove.
Happy belated to Miles, this is adorable!
Did you let the hotel know about the burns/ask them about the sunscreen? That is unfortunate.
@ Motion to Dismiss -- Thanks! I was on the fence about whether to report it directly.
If it were to be reported, I think it would have to be done with a manager, because I feel like the average employee would just dismiss it or assume someone didn't apply sunscreen correctly. For that matter, they wouldn't have much authority to change the sunscreen supplier, etc.
I worried that even if I reported it to...
@ Motion to Dismiss -- Thanks! I was on the fence about whether to report it directly.
If it were to be reported, I think it would have to be done with a manager, because I feel like the average employee would just dismiss it or assume someone didn't apply sunscreen correctly. For that matter, they wouldn't have much authority to change the sunscreen supplier, etc.
I worried that even if I reported it to a manager, it just wouldn't be taken seriously, and I'd be wasting my time. After all, my goal wouldn't be to complain or to get anything out of it, but instead, to just make sure the same thing doesn't happen to others.
So for those purposes, I think including the detail in the review works just as well.
Ok, the fuss they made for Miles' birthday was abso-freakin-lutely adorable. Full marks for that.
The sunscreen issue, however, is a serious one. The tropical sun is no joke, and sunburn is nasty. If you're going to provide sunscreen for your guests it needs to meet a quality standard and be SPF 50+.
A case of toooooo many pictures?
Never!!!
While it looks nicer than some other recent St Regis properties, I’m just not a fan of Marriott luxury brands.
What was the sargassum situation? IF you went recently it should have been in full bloom but I see that they had something offshore maybe? a Barrier of sorts?
@ FlyingDoctorWu -- As you can see from the beach pictures, it wasn't bad at all. I'm not sure how/why that was the case, but yeah, there seemed to be some sort of a barrier out in the water.
Wife and I were here in late July. They have a team of people cleaning up the seaweeds every morning. They also have a barrier that keeps some of it out as well.
We also had an amazing time here.
Is the third night free for the stars rate a promo for this property only or a part of the stars program? Never heard of it and am now wondering how best to leverage.
It's the occasional promo TA's are targeted / Amex also gets them now and again.
@ Max -- Different hotels have different promotions, and some of them are seasonal. So the third night free promotion was specific to this property, though you'll find similar promotions for other properties at times as well (sometimes it's a free fourth night, etc.).
Regarding sunscreen, my wife is super picky about it and she only uses two brands from Europe that her dermatologist recommends. Sunscreen is the type of thing that once you find one that works and you trust, you should not try something else. I personally would never use sunscreen that comes in generic bottles like those as you could have an allergic reaction to ingredients you might not know. When traveling with carry on, we...
Regarding sunscreen, my wife is super picky about it and she only uses two brands from Europe that her dermatologist recommends. Sunscreen is the type of thing that once you find one that works and you trust, you should not try something else. I personally would never use sunscreen that comes in generic bottles like those as you could have an allergic reaction to ingredients you might not know. When traveling with carry on, we usually buy the sunscreens online and get it shipped to the hotel in advance so we have it when we get there.
Depends where you are. In Australia, for instance, sunscreens are rigorously tested and if it says SPF 50 on the bottle then that's what you get. I've also had great performance from Korean and Japanese sunscreen. Like yourself, we always pack our own when heading overseas. Better to be safe than sorry.
I live in Europe and only use Australian sunscreen. It’s the best.
What Australian brand you recommend? I remember we used to buy Blue Lizard for the kids but that was an absolute mess to apply due to its viscosity.
@ Santastico -- Typically we travel with our own sunscreen, but we specifically didn't want to check bags on this trip, and the night before our trip we realized that all our sunscreen at home was in larger containers. I agree there's something to be said for finding a good sunscreen and then just sticking with it.
Agree. Very difficult to find travel size sunscreen. That’s why we buy online and ship directly to the hotel in our final destination.
Blue Lizard or Bondi Sands. Sun Bum (Florida brand) 50SPF spray is also great and super-easy to use.
We used Blue Lizard on our kids when they were little. Although very effective, it is an absolute nightmare to apply and then get it out of their bodies. It feels like applying Desitin diaper rash all over your body.
Ben thank you for your thorough reporting.
As far as the sunscreen issue is concerned without knowing what brand was offered it would be impossible to reach a constructive conclusion.
The manufacturing of SPF50 or SPF70 sunscreens is regulated in Europe but not in the United States or in Mexico so the North American brands do not work the same... sometimes not at all.
Secondly and more importantly in order to benefit...
Ben thank you for your thorough reporting.
As far as the sunscreen issue is concerned without knowing what brand was offered it would be impossible to reach a constructive conclusion.
The manufacturing of SPF50 or SPF70 sunscreens is regulated in Europe but not in the United States or in Mexico so the North American brands do not work the same... sometimes not at all.
Secondly and more importantly in order to benefit from any good SPF50 or SPF70 and all SPFsunscreens for that matter you need to apply the sunscreen fully on your body twice and not just once.
Most people do not know that. Twice every time you apply the suncreen during the time you spend outside. Without the double coating you are not getting the full benefit of your sunscreen.
Finally, you son would probably be better off with a SPF70 sunscreen.
All the best
Paying $20 for guacamole in Mexico is like paying $20 for a hot dog in the US. Your simply shouldn't let yourself be taken advantage of like that
True, but this wasn't in Mexico. It was in the St Regis.
As someone from LA and used to high food prices, these prices from luxury hotels in Mexico piss me off. $20 for guac is outrageous.
Your comment about the sports bar and being gay was strange. I’m gay and I love sports. Lots of gays love sports. Soon, you and Ford will be watching Miles play little league (baseball )
@ Steven -- Fair enough, and it was intended to be lighthearted and humorous. I'd be happy with kids sports, since I know they enjoy it, and it's more about their development than anything else. But the thought of going to an adults only sports bar to "watch the game" is something I couldn't imagine ever doing. Admittedly that has more to do with the type of person I am more generally, rather than being...
@ Steven -- Fair enough, and it was intended to be lighthearted and humorous. I'd be happy with kids sports, since I know they enjoy it, and it's more about their development than anything else. But the thought of going to an adults only sports bar to "watch the game" is something I couldn't imagine ever doing. Admittedly that has more to do with the type of person I am more generally, rather than being gay (case in point, I also have no interest in going to a Taylor Swift concert).
2 bottles of water as a welcome gift and you have ambassador status? Is that typical? I thought it would at least be a decent bottle of wine/sparkling.
@ JK -- I hear you, and at first I thought the same thing. However, with all the surprises they had for Miles (plus a bigger cake in the room the last night), I thought it more than balanced out.
Nice review! Any issues with exchange rates? Still waiting for your followup re: other Mexico Marriott properties
@ Steve -- Exchange rate seemed to be fair, and had no issues there, fortunately. Of course same can't be said for some other Marriott properties in Mexico...
StR Chicago also charges for butler service coffee.
That hotel wants to charge for everything.
Sometimes I think US hotels would charge for the oxygen in the room + a delivery fee if they could get away with it.
Excellent, and I love your "Dump me at a Howard Johnson on the side of the highway" remark...it really made me laugh. Incidentally, Ben, have you ever stayed at a Super 8, also by Wyndham? They're a great hotel chain provided you want to stay somewhere equipped like a Romanian jail...
@ Steve Richeards -- Thanks! It has been a long time since I've stayed at a Super 8, but I have stayed at more than one. Back when I'd mileage run as a teenager, I was put up at Super 8 properties a couple of times after being bumped and having an overnight.
Great review and pics! Looks like you all had a great time aside from the sunburn and at ~$400 a night that's quite a deal for that room
Was at Nekajui and their free poolside sunscreen wouldn’t rub in well at all. Agree if you’re going to offer it spend another couple bucks to make it decent quality for the price you’re paying.