Costa Mujeres, MexicoMay 10 - 14, 2024
We did a 4-night stay at the Majestic Elegance Resort in Costa Mujeres, Mexico which is located north of Cancun. This was a relaxing getaway that got us into vacation mode.
Things I Really Enjoyed
- Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres Resort: We stayed here for four fabulous night. This beautiful all-inclusive resort has many amenities, activities, good food, and friendly service.
- Mexican Night: The resort showcased Mexican culture through music, demonstrations, performances, and a jaw-dropping amount of food.
Things I Would Do Differently
- Make sure I download the correct app: Due to a miscommunication, we did not download the 'butler app' and ended up missing out on the services the butler offers.
We had a smooth non-stop 3.5-hour flight from Washington Dulles Airport to Cancun International Airport that departed at 8:30 AM. Traci and I had booked United Airlines Basic Economy seats which meant we might not be sitting together and would probably have middle seats. That day was our lucky day. We found out we had been upgraded to Economy Plus and that we would be sitting together. The only drawback was that Traci ended up with a middle seat instead of the aisle seating she prefers. As for me, I was happy because I had my preferred seating – a window seat. I was surprised that I managed to sleep almost the entire flight.
Getting through immigration at the Cancun airport was quick and easy. We used the E-Gates which uses facial recognition to process your entry into Mexico. After making it through immigration, we needed to find our ride to the resort. We were in Mexico to attend the destination wedding of my nephew which would take place at the Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres Resort located about 30 minutes north of Cancun. The Modern Travelworks travel agency was used to book all wedding guest travel arrangements. They had arranged for us to be transferred to and from the resort by Amstar DMC shuttle service. In our final letter before our trip, we were warned not to stop inside the airport after clearing customs. Otherwise, we might be subjected to timeshare solicitors and other vendors. We were instructed to exit the airport and look for the Amstar DMC employees wearing the distinctive blue tropical shirts. This was good advice because we were approached by several people in the airport asking us which transportation company we were searching. Although the people seemed like they wanted to be helpful, I simply replied, “We’re good.” and then kept walking. I sometimes had to say this several times because some of the people were very insistent in trying to find out our transportation company.
It was quite a shock when we exited the airport. The first shock was the climate. It was very hot and humid. My glasses immediately fogged up and within ten steps, beads of sweat were already forming on my forehead. The next shock was all the different shuttles. There were drivers holding signs. There were passengers rolling luggage. It was a very busy scene. I eventually saw someone wearing a blue tropical Amstar DMC shirt. He pointed us to slot #43 where a team of Amstar DMC employees got us processed and directed to the appropriate shuttle. There were two other wedding guests on the shuttle with Traci and me.
It was about a 45-minute shuttle ride from the airport to the Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres resort. We passed through downtown Cancun on the way there. We were welcomed at the beautiful Majestic Elegance resort with cold towels and a delightful cold drink which blended strawberry and mango juice. Gorgeous tropical shrubbery and fountains adorn the exterior of the main building. Inside is a very clean white décor. We were shown to the check-in area where there were some light refreshments and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) while waiting for the next available receptionist. Check-in was quick but given it was early afternoon, our room was not yet ready. It was not expected to be ready until 3 PM. We were given wristband which gave us access to all the amenities of the resort as well as serve as our room key. We were told to come back at 3 PM so that we could be shown to our room.
Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres Resort
While waiting for our room to become available, Traci and I had a nice lunch at the resort’s Italian restaurant – Il Botaccio. This would become our go-to restaurant for most meals. The Majestic Elegance is an all-inclusive resort meaning that all food and beverages are included in the price of your stay. The resort has seven restaurants: Flavors Buffet, Mar House Restaurant, Il Botaccio Italian Restaurant, Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, Le Bistro French Restaurant, Don Jaume Steakhouse, and El Mariachi Loco Mexican Restaurant. Reservations are required for the French and Japanese restaurants. In addition to the restaurants, there are smaller eating venues. There is the Beach Grill (hot dogs and hamburgers) and McJestic (fast food). If that isn’t enough, room service is available 24/7. We did not go hungry on this vacation. Despite all the food and beverages, I actually managed to lose a little weight – more about that later.
After lunch, I decided to stop by Guest Services. My goal was to make dinner reservations at the French Bistro for Traci and me for one of the nights during our stay. I was told they were all booked for that evening and that they would be closed on the only other available evening for Traci and me. The second reason for visiting Guest Services was to find out how obtain a list of activities offered by the resort. I was told to scan the QR code on the sign in the office. There was great Wi-Fi all throughout the resort whether you were in your room, at the beach, in a restaurant - wherever. I scanned the QR code and up popped a website containing information about activities, entertainment, restaurants, etc… This was exactly what we were looking for. Little did I know at the time, but this would become the source of a bizarre experience during our stay – stay tuned.
As Traci and I walked through the reception area of the resort, we began seeing family and friends who had made the trip to Mexico for the wedding. My sister told me that 88 guests traveled from the U.S. for the nuptials. It was mind-blowing to me to have such a large turn-out for a destination wedding. It showed how much my nephew and his bride are loved.
It was after 3 PM, so Traci and I went back to the check-in area to find out if our room was available. It was available; however, no one was able to contact the butler who was assigned to escort us and take care of us during our stay. This problem was solved by sending Traci and me with a butler who was escorting his to clients who happened to be staying on the same floor as us. Upon arriving at our floor, the butler pointed Traci and me to our room (#1417) and then continued escorting his assigned clients. I did not know if we were supposed to get some type of briefing about the room and/or the resort but we did not.
The resort has a "family" side and an "adult" side. We had booked our room on the "adult" side as was recommended by the bride and groom in the wedding emails. In fact, Traci and I decided to splurge a little and book the Elegance Club Plunge Pool Suite. Our room was fantastic! It was a two-story room that had a plunge pool and lounge area on the second floor. The first floor was a spacious room that included a balcony. There was a refrigerator that was stocked with free alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There was also chips and candy in the room for no charge. We liked the room; however, Traci was not as impressed with the plunge pool. I think she was expecting a chlorinated infinity pool. That was not what we had. It looked like a large tub of water.
1st floor of our suite
2nd floor of our suite
We enjoyed exploring what would be our residence for the next five days. Traci took a nap while I unpacked my luggage. I used a folding garment bag for this trip. It was very easy to transfer my clothes from the garment bag to the closet since all the clothes were on hangers. I also took the opportunity to de-wrinkle some of my clothes. A steamer instead of an iron was provided in our toom. The steamer worked well.
While Traci continued to nap, I began flipping through television channels. I enjoy observing differences between foreign TV channels and what we see at home here in the U.S.. The major difference this time was obviously that almost all the channels were in Spanish - the language of Mexico. However, I stumbled upon a striking cultural difference. I came a across a channel that was broadcasting bullfighting. There was a lot of pagentry. There were sharply-dressed matadors, different color capes, uniforms, trumpets, etc... Each trumpet fanfare seemed to signal the start of a new phase of the bullfight. The match began with the matador seeming to do ballet-like moves as he enticed the bull to charge the cape without getting gored by the massive animal. There was a phase when a man on horseback stabbed the bull in the shoulder with a long lance as the bull attacked the horse - sometimes lifting the horse into the air. There was another phase in which other bullfighters drove lances into the bull's body. Each phase became more bloody. The matador eventually switched from a yellow cape to a red cape prompting more cheers from the spectators with each charge of the bull. Finally, the matador was handed a long sword which he used to plunge into the bull hoping for a quick end to the bull's life. It was not always a quick kill. In those cases, someone would come along with a dagger when the bull fell to its knees and stab the bull in the back of the head thus ending its life. As I sat there watching all this unfold on the tv, I thought to myself that bullfighting is something that would never be shown on U.S. television. Bullfighting is controversial. It is not my intent to delve into the controversies in this trip report. My goal is simply to point out a major cultural difference I observed during our trip to Mexico.
My introduction to bullfighting was interrupted by a knock at our door. It was our butler. He was a very polite, professional fellow who ended each conversation with his hand on his heart and a slow nod. He came bearing gifts of beach bags and a bottle of alcohol of our choice. I do not drink alcohol but I woke Traci up to see if she had a preference. She chose the Bailey's Irish Cream Whiskey with the intention of bringing it home with us. I asked our butler if there was any way we could get a reservation for the French Bistro that evening. He doubted it but said he would see what he could do. In the meantime, he asked if I had received his text message. I checked and saw that I had not. He said he would try sending another message later. He then asked if I had the app. I told him I had gotten it by scanning the QR code at Guest Services. All this seemed trivial at the time but would lead to the bizarre experience I eluded to earlier. Stay tuned.
Our butler left and then knocked on our door a few minutes later. He said he was not able to get us a dinner reservation at the French Bistro for that evening but recommended we stop by there during the dinner hours anyway. There was always a chance someone might have cancelled their reservation. Traci and I took his advice and made our way over to the French Bistro during dinner hours. The hostess told us that there were tables available and that she could seat us immediately. As she took our room number, I was surprised when she told us that the computer indicated that our butler had already made us a dinner reservation for a later time. No problem - she cancelled it and showed us to a table in the very dimly-lit restaurant.
There was a pianist playing. As I looked around, I became confused. We were told earlier that the restaurant was completely booked but yet there were mostly empty tables. I thought maybe all the rest of the diners would arrive later. I was even more confused when they did not. The restaurant seemed even more empty by the time Traci and I left. There was a dress-code but it was not formal. You were just not allowed to be dressed as if you were at the beach or pool. The dress-code was enforced. In fact, I saw a man who asked if he could come into the restaurant to say hello to his friends who were dining there. He was rejected because he was wearing flip-flops.
As for the food, it was delicious. I had the tender "Au Poivre" Beef Filet while Traci had the Kampachi Fish. We shared the Apple Tarte Tartin dessert which our waiter prepared in front of us as if she was creating a magic potion. She lit the sauce on fire causing a spectacle of blue and orange flames. She then poured it over our dessert.
Leaving the French Bistro, we paused in amazement as we listened to a vocal duo performing popular songs in the main bar area of the resort. These two singers were putting their own flavor on the songs they sang. They sounded amazing.
The resort has a main theater area where an evening show is performed - normally at 9 PM. The hosts present in Spanish immediately followed by the English transalation. Traci and I attended the performance of a show called "Ooh La-La". It was a can-can style show with outstanding dancers, singers, and costumes. The shows at this venue lasted exactly 45 minutes.
We spent the rest of the evening exploring the resort. It is quite large. We walked down to the beach area to listen to the ocean and then through the various lounges. There seemed to always be food and drinks available in every lounge we entered. We took a look at the large fitness center but that turned out to be the last we saw of it on this vacation. We finally turned in for the night around 11 PM. Continue...
