For Spring Break 2019 we needed something easy and already planned for us because I ran out of time to plan. We love Mexico and hadn't been to the Riviera Maya area since I was pregnant with Samantha. The resort we stayed at back then in Playa del Carmen had since been washed away by a hurricane years ago.
Something easy meant googling "high-end all-inclusive" as our sole goal was heading to a resort where we could just have everything ready to go and something for everyone but didn't want the bad food, bad drinks and bad entertainment. We gambled on TripAdvisor reviews and went with the Grand Velas. It also helped that we had friends who went a few years prior and said it was worth it.
We also did something new and took a red eye with all four of us. I figured we could wake up in Mexico and just sleep it off on a lounge chair and gain an extra day of vacation. I threw on wearable pajamas (aka joggers), packed some (natural) sleep-assisting pills for the entire family 😉 and off we went! It was kind of exciting to head to LAX so late at night.
Thatcher already practicing his one job for the night—sleep!
I passed out the pills and off we went!
A little bright for Thatcher that morning. 😂
I highly recommend using Costco to book your travel if they have the resort you are going to as an offering because everything was safe and seamless when we landed in Cancun.
Upon arrival, we were shown around the resort and we all began to perk up from the lack of sleep.
Thatcher approved of our room.
Once settled, we rolled right into breakfast.
Fresh juices in Mexico 💜
Thatcher's favorite thing about being anywhere but our house for breakfast is way better cereal choices.
On a mission for some pool time.
Best part about an all-inclusive, your kids can order (and waste) whatever they want. Samantha ordered chocolate milk shakes, a lot.
While the kids would have liked more activities, it was just enough at this resort to balance out having something for the kids to do without having a resort full of kids.
My favorite activity.
Off to dinner.
You made reservations in advance for dinners either at their fine dining restaurants or themed nights. We did a mix of both to please everyone.
Not a lot of sleep the night before and we made it through day one!
Room service for the win!
I think we over ordered. 🤣
Got some light walking in. Didn't want to overdue it on vacation. 🤣
Thatcher made friends with the kids doing their own form of workout outside the gym.
The day two plan was to hit the beach in front of the resort.
And we executed on our plan.
Kid-friendly pina coladas on repeat!
Same with tacos.
and chocolate shakes.
and beer.
Someone was beached out finally!
As I said before, the activity schedule for kids was pretty light however they did have a daily activity that the kids would check out and this one was hysterical.
This would come in handy now with COVID 🤪
Sam made good use of her arm muscles.
Post-beach happy hour delivered to our room.
Off to dinner - Thatcher packed for himself and didn't pack enough so he's on day 2 of his "fancy" outfit.
Another themed-night dinner which the kids loved!
There wasn't much to do after hours at the resort. They did have a karaoke bar that was open to all ages until about 10pm. This is where Sam met her vacation friend, Leighton. And fast forward to today, they still keep in touch!
We got kicked out of the bar with the kids at some point and made our way back to our room.
They had a teen club where you could get this done to your hair.
Or Thatcher's favorite, video games!
Day three and Thatcher still going strong on amazing breakfast choices.
We can never get enough of the fresh juices in Mexico. Honeydew and watermelon are our favorite and never taste the same in the US.
The resort is huge with a lot of different options for where to go each day depending on what you are looking for. This was the "tranquil" area that our kids were too loud for. 😳
Spa day for me!
Had to put my phone away but it was amazing!
Then back to a breezy day at the pool.
Leighton is actually a few months older than Sam despite the size difference.
I try not to work on vacation but it actually stresses me out more to think I'd come home to an inbox full of emails so I did carve out an hour or so each day poolside with a drink to "work" a bit.
Actually being able to read and finish a book is one of the best things about vacation.
Like the fresh juices, the fruit popsicles they'd pass out at the pool were so good. The coconut ones were the best!
Right outside our balcony we had a family of monkeys that were so fun to watch!
Dinner time!
This time we went to one of their Italian restaurants which is funny to go to when you are in Mexico but it was soooooo good!
These two.
Sam was excited for one of her favs: pasta, red sauce and lots of cheese.
We sampled lots of appetizers including the octopus.
There is nothing worse than a resort with bad food and one of the things that 99% of the TripAdvisor reviews said was how good the food was and it was true!
Todd had to have some Mexican mixed with his Italian and ended with a mescal tasting.
Fancy and fun dessert!
Time to party 🤣
We headed back towards our area of the resort and the kids wanted to check out the themed night.
We apparently had a photo shoot. 🤷♀️
Then back to the karaoke bar where they do not edit the songs. 😬
Day four which called for double donuts, Fruit Loops and a "small" side of bacon.
Sam got real good at ordering chocolate shakes extra chocolatey.
Off to another amazing dinner! (We ate a lot.)
Our nightly stop at the karaoke bar so Sam could meet up with her vacation friends.
Here they go again.
Leighton and Sam took over my phone. 🤪
Leighton's family was leaving and it was the longest goodbye ever for Sam!
Our last day.
She kept sending chocolate shake photos to Leighton.
A final stop to the teen club.
One last Fanta.
Adios and
check out some video highlights of our trip!
