Head Tale

1. Two week all-inclusive vacations are more than 2x better than one week all-inclusive vacations!

2. Shea and I are big fans of trying new resorts, new destinations and even new resort companies with every trip we take. But Moon Palace is probably the first resort I’d consider returning to as it nails pretty much everything on my “Ten Things I Want in an All-Inclusive” list – great pools – most with swim-up bars, amazing food, cool bars in the lobbies plus a unique Sky Bar cocktail club and a British-style pub, fantastic kids clubs, ocean view rooms, numerous a la carte choices, free, reliable wifi everywhere on the resort, close proximity to Cancun.  Really, the only deal breaker on my “Things I Want” list is that the ocean at Moon Palace is pretty much unswimmable (but as someone pointed out to me, “If the beach was really good, the price for this resort would be 3x as high and we couldn’t afford to stay here anyhow!” 🙂 
3. In a world where most all-inclusive a la carte options at resorts are some mix of Mexican/Italian/Steak/Seafood/Brazilian/Japanese,Shea and I agree that our best meal of the week was when we paid for a day pass at The Grand and ate at the unique Lebanese restaurant, Habibi.

4. It’s a debatable question about whether it’s worth the extra expense to upgrade to the exclusive Grand section but the fact that some of the best restaurants, more fully featured kids clubs, a great lazy river ride and an amazing spa are in that section are definitely votes in its favour!  (The water slides are not currently open, a lack of ocean view rooms and the fact that the Nizuc/Sunrise sections have more than enough to keep everyone happy – especially if you’re only staying for a week – are arguments against spending the extra to upgrade.)

5. The FlowRider Surf Simulator was a popular attraction in the Sunrise section.  I vowed to only ride it on the last day in case I hurt myself.  But Pace wanted me to try it earlier and so, of course I ended up with a sore neck for a day after my first go on it and then a weird scratch across my belly on my second!  (Er, sorry for making you look at my big belly in this photo!)

6. So many little touches we’ve never experienced at any other resort helped raise the bar overall – flowers and cool towels at arrival, a drink before you ever get your wristband, wristbands that double as your room key, SmartTV in room with built-in bluetooth connectivity, turn down service with amazing in-house chocolate on your pillow (photo is of same style of chocolates but at the dinner buffet.  They were also available in the sweet shop).

7. Shots consumed during the week:  Bumblebee. Jellyfish.  Shit on the Grass (pictured). Scooby Doo.  And a handful of tequila shots here and there.

8. My son and I created the “Octopus Club” in honour of a food we’d never eaten before.  You could join the club if you ate some of the plentiful octopus at restaurants around the resort.  The secret handshake was holding up your hands in front of you with thumbs linked and letting eight fingers dangle down then wiggling them. Pace thinks that him, dad, and Grandma ended up joining the club and mom, Sasha and Grandpa didn’t.  But we might be wrong on that! 🙂

9. People claiming pool chairs early in the morning and then having them sit vacant but with a towel on them all day has been an issue at every resort we’ve been at (and we’ve done it both ways – claimed chairs early but also been mad other days when we couldn’t find a chair when we wanted one.)  It doesn’t solve the problem completely but I really liked that Moon Palace had signage saying that after 60 minutes without being used, chairs would be considered available.

10. I’ll probably do another list with “10 Regrets of Our Trip to Moon Palace” and not upgrading to a swim-up room for at least part of the trip will probably be #1 on that list! 🙁