Arriba It’s time for a Family adventure in Mexico!
I have just returned from a 10-day luxury vacation in Mexico with the hubby James, Louis, my mates Gary and Kelly and their two little ones Jack also 2 ½ and baby Fleur 9 months. When I say luxury, the resort was textbook, exactly like the dream we saw on the glossy magazine and websites, but the reality of traveling in a group with 3 small children, added a slightly messier, grainier filter.
We set off at 5:30am having finished packing at 10:36pm the night before. No matter how hard I try I am always a last-minute person. I Marie Kondo’d the shit out of my suitcases — if you have no idea what, or who, I am talking about then Google her. It literally changed my life. Packing a case so you can easily see every item made me feel extremely organised as I knew exactly what I had and could add or remove bits easily. Even James was impressed.
I was not worried about the pending 10-hour flight, having travelled long-haul with Louis quite a lot. If you are travelling with children on a flight, make sure you check out my previous blog Parenting at 38,000 Feet as there are some very useful tips in there.
So trunki in tow, some fun activities for the plane packed, Louis’ tablet complete with several Thomas the Tank films, some snacks and, of course, spare clothes — we were ready.
When we met our friends in the Gatwick long stay car park it looked as though we were all relocating to Mexico, not just going on a short holiday. Between us we had 7 cases, 6 pieces of hand luggage, 3 prams and a handbag. Getting the luggage to the actual check-in desk was the biggest challenge. Like an obstacle course — one of us trying to push two prams with one hand, one dragging Louis as well as pulling cases, the others herding the remaining cases like a flock of sheep.
Once we got rid of our luggage, it was time for a quick breakfast then straight through to boarding. Gatwick North Terminal has a special family lane, which made the whole process very easy.
The flight was not bad. We were on one of the nice Dreamliner airplanes with snazzy lighting and better air control. Louis was pretty well behaved. He had a short nap at the start of the flight but didn’t sleep again. He ate a LOT of food. The first meal was a huge bowl of tomato pasta, cake and bread roll. He ate it all. The second was an afternoon tea… more cake plus a jam sandwich to go with it — just in case he hadn’t had enough sugar.
If you have read previous blogs you may be familiar that Louis suffers from travel sickness, usually this is in a car. On this occasion however, full of sugar and lack of sleep, he threw up constantly as the plane was landing. Luckily the lady next to me had witnessed the pre-vomit gagging and handed me a paper bag. 5 paper bags later, Louis had nothing left in his stomach. So whilst everyone was gathering their belongings to exit the plane, I was stripping Louis from head to toe and putting him into a new outfit. Lucky for me I carried spare clothes for me too (see, my blog tips are helpful!) and managed to take off my sick stained trousers and vest I was wearing.
Finding our transfer was a particular highlight of our travel to the resort. Louis decided he would only ride on his Trunki and was getting in everyone’s way. Our friends got randomly selected to have all their cases checked, but had misplaced the keys, so by the time we stepped out of the airport we were passed from pillar to post until we found the right TUI rep to organise our private transfer, let’s just say that moods were starting to flare!
We arrived at the resort 35 minutes later and were met by a very welcoming hotel team, complete with cocktails and cold flannels. The reception was stunning, all clean lines and luscious leather sofas. It smelled like heaven too.
We were taken to our suites that our friends Chris and Sam — who sadly were unable to join us on the trip — had recommended and booked for us. They had managed to get us an upgrade too. It should have been a dream. A large room with emperor size bed, jacuzzi bath, balcony with day bed and upstairs a roof terrace with private plunge pool. I could see why my mates who honeymooned there before had loved it, it was the perfect place… for a couple I thought. But my initial thoughts having a 2 ½ year old was that this was a fucking nightmare waiting to happen! I did a risk assessment in my head and noted all the dangers. The worst being the glass balconies that made me feel sick every time Louis ran near them.
We were all hungry and tired. Time to get some food.
Now this resort had 11 different places to eat, buffet restaurants, themed cuisines, beach bars and snack trucks. Everyone was tired and hungry so we went for the food truck; chips and a hot dog. I should have known then that this was the start of a pretty bad holiday diet for Louis — chips, chips and more chips!
Louis mustered up more energy, which resulted in James and I chasing him around the gardens… well I say ‘we’, I probably should say James.
Back in the room Louis went off to sleep surprisingly easy without a fight in his own little made up bed. I unpacked which thanks to Marie Kondo only took me about 10 minutes. We all went to the land of nod and woke at 6:30am — not bad for the first night.
At the breakfast buffet I could not believe how much food was on offer. My healthy eating diet went straight out the window. There was cereal, fresh fruit, gluten free pancakes, bread rolls, crispy bacon, every type of egg you could think of, Mexican food, juices, milkshakes and lots more. Louis loved it too. His brekkie most days consisted of cereal, toast and normally an egg and sausage to go with it. Followed by a half drunken juice — that was selected purely by the colour — and a yoghurt that either got eaten or thrown over the table. We felt sorry for our waiters every day!
Sat in this beautifully designed restaurant I could have been in a swanky London hotel. I did not feel like I was in Mexico so I knew I needed to explore the resort.
And that’s what we did.
The pools were stunning. All clean lines, swim up bars, loungers and fresh towels.
Being a beach girl we headed there. White sandy beaches that stretched for miles. There was quite a bit of seaweed but I could deal with that. Suddenly the holiday was coming into focus. Sunbed, Louis playing in the sea and sand and me relaxing with a book.
Well, it sort of happened.
Now, our friend’s eldest Jack is the same age as Louis. We are literally willing them to be ‘best friends’. They see each other every week and this was their first of many holidays together no doubt. Louis was like a little lovesick puppy, following him around and invading his space. Unfortunately Jack had other ideas and found Louis a nuisance, a bit like a mosquito, and normally just tried batting him away. So beach fun often turned into tantrums, one of them throwing sand in the others face, stealing their spade (which we had bought from the ridiculously overpriced hotel shop) — you know the usual. They often came together for a brief moment to share a slice of pizza and chips from the beach bar, it became like a race to see who could get to the food quickest before the other ate it. The beach bar steps also provided lots of entertainment, as they would take it in turns to wonder over and do circuits back and forth.
Being totally honest, over the first 48 hours I wondered what the hell we were thinking booking this type of all inclusive luxury holiday. I was itching for my kindle, to kick-back, listen to the waves and the music being played at the resort but the kids had other ideas. Well actually my friends 9 month old, Fleur, was a complete princess, you almost forget she was there. But the boys kept us on our toes. Our thoughts of them having their afternoon nap on a sun lounger worked maybe 1 out of the 10 days. Instead, me and my friend Gary would take them off in their strollers, and walk around in blazing mid day heat, passing each other giving a sigh each lap that they were still not asleep. But when they fell asleep it was like winning the jackpot on a fruit machine! Cherry, cherry cherry! Hooray!!
I know I sound mean, I honestly don’t go away on holiday and only look forward to when Louis is sleeping — but come on — being truthful, when they are still young enough for an afternoon snooze it can sometimes be the best, most relaxing hour of the day. And for me it was. Even better on the days when the hotel provided a live rock band on the beach. The Beatles, Queen, Dire Straits, Toto and more — I was in my element.
Now, Louis has always been used to having afternoon naps in his pram or sofa, so getting him off to sleep after a few minutes walking around was pretty easy.
But Jack has always enjoyed the comfort of his bed, unlike Louis who fought going in it for 2 years and creating two very sleep deprived parents! So the first few days of trying to create the beach dream became rather stressful. So instead of the beach, after lunch our pals went back to their room to put both the little ones down for a nap and they enjoyed the comfort of their balcony, ordering room service and chilling.
The afternoon routine then became — after Louis woke on the beach, he would have an ice cream, maybe another dip in the sea or swimming pool, then we would head back to our room to use the roof top pool that was in the shade.
The point I am trying to make is that as much as we all tried to convince ourselves that on holiday, our kid’s routine was being thrown out of the window so we could make the most of it. The reality was different. And actually routines can be worth their weight in gold. By taking Louis for that walk in his pram, and for Jack, being able to sleep in his bed, we all got some much needed adult time and the kids got to rest and recharge.
Even in the evenings, again we had said “ah the kids can just fall asleep in their prams every night” but the reality, when you look into their eyes and they look like they are about to fall asleep at the table and in Louis case, he is sweating from the humidity and saying he wanted to go to n-night, we knew that getting them into their bed was the best thing for them. So nights ended around 9pm — Louis would go to bed. James and I would either chat on the balcony after I raided the mini-bar for crisps and chocolate or — more often then not — go straight to bed. Something about the heat was wiping us out. Woo hoo — we are soooo wild!
There were a few exceptions when we really partied hard… well partied mildly. The first was the pirate themed beach party complete with beach BBQ and fire show. The kids loved in. Louis and Jack both busted some moves on the dance floor. That night we stretched it out until past 10pm! Outrageous I hear you say.
Then there was the 4th July beach party, where Louis got to meet some exciting characters including the Statue of Liberty, Wonder Women and Spiderman. There was singing and dancing and live music.
There were a few children’s Disney shows we went to watch. It should have been fun but for some reason Louis decided he would emotionally cry at every Disney ballad — A Whole New World, Beauty and the Beast — floods of tears! He was only happy when Spiderman appeared at the Super Hero show. At the end we queued for 10 minutes in scorching humidity to go and have a picture, but when we got to the front Louis decided he was too shy and yet again burst in to tears!
The funniest late night was the Mexican fiesta night where after eating two slices of chocolate gateaux cake Louis was completely wired on sugar and preceded to run around the resort in circles, talking like a mad man! It definitely anchored my point that chocolate sends him doollaly.
Towards the start of the holiday, when everyone was still a bit tired and jet lagged, we made the mistake of attending one of the à la cart steak restaurants. I love steak so much, and they had blue cheese sauce — even better! But with 3 kids getting crankier by the second, I don’t think we even had time to chew. No starters. No puddings. A quick meal and we were out of there. Luckily by about the 4th day we were able to have more lengthened, civilised dinners. Well, if we managed to separate Louis and Jack at least. If they sat near each other they just fought over the toys we took with us to keep them entertained. It’s funny though isn’t it because there were nights where we felt mortified with their behaviour. We would sheepishly gather our mess and leave after causing complete carnage. Then a table of people would look over and say “ah, they are so cute aren’t they?” Are you fucking joking me? As I am stood there sweating, on a verge of a panic attack and covered in second hand pasta sauce. Yeah so cute!
There were many more great memories though especially as the week went on. One of the highlights was ice cream o’clock when every day without fail Louis had a chocolate ice cream in a cone. And everyday I would sit there watching him make an absolutely mess of the whole thing. He would bite the bottom of the cone so not only did it drip down the sides but also out of the bottom. For the first few days I tried to put a bib and towel around him but when Daddy took him, he just didn’t bother so Louis swimmies became like edible clothing.
One day we went to the main family pool and swam as they had a Jersey Boys tribute act on. Louis loved it. However this was the first time James allowed him in the water without his armbands… big mistake. For the rest of the holiday he then refused to wear them and demanded on being held or just walking in the water by himself unaided (note to myself, sign him up for swimming class!).
He fell in love with the many hotel iguanas that he saw. We named them ‘Iggy” and he would go and find them and talk to them every day.
A comical moment was when Louis was supposed to be going to sleep after forcing us home early because he was so tired. About 15 minutes of silence, he sat up like a meerkat and asked “Daddy have you farted?” to which he laughed and said “No. Go to sleep Louis”. He then said “Hayley, have you farted?”! First name terms — Rude! And, er it’s “pop pop” to you thank you Louis!
One day we took him to the kids club; it was for stay and play as the club was for over 3’s and even if we could have left him, there was no hope in hell we would given his reaction to his nursery that he actually enjoys going to. After luring him into the toddler waterpark having spent an hour playing in the toy house (an almost exact replica of one has at home) we soon backtracked on our decision. It was like a death slide. Louis came down so fast I thought he was going to shoot back up and land on the moon. It was NOT 2-year-old friendly at all. Having decided to bring him back in, I then burnt my feet on the black tarmac panels they had next to the water. Black tarmac + 38 degree heat = not a good combo. I’m surprised I had skin left. So, needless to say we didn’t use the waterpark again. I am sure it’s fine for the older children but Louis and Jack were a bit too young.
We tried teaching Louis some Spanish and on the last day he was randomly shouting ‘Hola’ to the staff as we walked around the hotel.
Louis’ running skills developed on holiday too — wow this kid is fast. The downside was that Daddy had unfortunately got a bad case of gout (yep, I know, you’re thinking that’s what old sailors used to get right?) so he could not chase after him, and I am not a runner; it’s embarrassing. It was stressful. Especially on the last night when James took his eyes off him for one second and then had to catch him before he tried to navigate down the hotel lobby marble staircase. Maybe I will need to get him into athletics or maybe I’ll revert to using reins to keep him in check!
As I implied earlier, the hotel was really expensive, charging £15 for a bucket and spade. £15! I even packed it to come home just so I didn’t feel as much of a victim. So when we needed to get some more nappies and baby wipes we thought lets head out to Cancun main centre for the morning. Having organised a return taxi with the hotel where the driver will wait for us, we were quoted $150 US Dollars, about £120. Rip Off — but we thought we would spend a morning there and it will be a nice change. Turns out it wasn’t. We went to the supermarket and got our supplies. Popped over the road to a souvenir shop, that turned out to be so overpriced that I put everything back (as much as it pained me — I love a tacky souvenir). We then headed to an open beach bar for a drink but they only had bar stools, not ideal when you need to feed a 9-month old. We then headed for a shopping centre over the road, where 85% of the shops were shut and so we all ended up in a Starbucks where I took two sips of the most disgusting cappuccino that I didn’t bother to drink. We all just burst out laughing. We had just spent £120 on the world’s most expensive nappies! Needless to say we wont be rushing back to Cancun centre unless we had a proper tour guide and knew where to go!!
But the funniest story of the whole holiday happened on the last full day when we were all relaxing in the roof top pool. I was chilling on the sofa with my book, Kelly and Fleur were sat on the bed lounger, James, Gary and the boys were in the water. They were splashing around, playing in their rubber rings and taking it in turns to fight over the toy train Louis used in the pool. I went over to check on Louis as James was getting out and I saw a few bits floating in the pool. It looked like a tree had shedded a few petals and a bit of dirt. I joked saying, ‘I hope that’s not poo’. I pulled Louis out of the pool and when I checked, his swim nappy was full of poo that had basically disintegrated in the water!!!!! OMG rank! But wow, it was so funny!!! I have never seen a pool empty so quickly. To be fair he did have a nappy and shorts on, so I think it was just a bit of overflow leakage, but the fact that minutes before James had been so proud that Louis had been ducking his head under the water, we were all gagging. Well I was hysterically laughing. So much so that I couldn’t even change Louis nappy as I couldn’t concentrate. He was getting all stressed covered in poo and James was shouting at me to help him! I’m not great in these comical situations, it was a bit like the time Louis got his head stuck in one of those tourist photo boards when we were in Australia (I still blame my sister-in-law Skylie who had tears running down her face on that occasion). The day ended quite suddenly after this accident as we all ran to our showers worried that there would be some ‘pink eye’ going on!
It was just as well really as we managed to head to the amazing steak house again and have an early dinner in a relaxed environment, enjoying every mouthful of the delicious steak! We even made it to desert.
I was genuinely sad when the holiday came to a close. We were just not ready to go home. After taking a good 4 days to get familiar with the resort and find a new routine, the remaining time just flew by. I think routine can do that sometimes. I could have stayed for at least another week. The hotel, which on first glimpse seemed to be a family nightmare, turned out to be wonderful. The food, the staff, the location, the rooms and, top of my list, the entertainment, was phenomenal. There was entertainment all day long, and not the kind that I used to do when they come around forcing you to take part in some beach volleyball, I mean solid entertainment with live bands and musicians. They even built whole sets for themed nights; they made so much effort. Yes we didn’t get to sample all of the adult bars, and I didn’t get a chance to sing on karaoke (which had been recommended by another friend of ours that had stayed at the hotel), but there was still so much going on that kept us and the little ones entertained.
I have stayed in several large all-inclusive hotels like this in Mexico and around the Caribbean, but I have never stayed anywhere where they made you feel so welcome and like part of the fabric of the resort. It was calm and friendly. The staff would do anything for you, not because they had to (although, in theory, they probably did) but it felt like it was because they wanted to. The entertainers made an effort with the children, the waiters got to know our names, the staff on the beach must have asked us 100 times a day if we needed another drink. There were people from all different walks of life and it seemed as though the place could be enjoyed by everyone. There was no pretentiousness or judgemental looks. Whether in couples, families, solo group parties, hen parties, wedding parties — everyone connected and just enjoyed it.
We really did have the most amazing holiday and I feel very lucky to have shared it with not only my little family but my friends too. There were a few moments where it felt stressful, but hey that’s life with a toddler and the fun and incredible memories far outshone those moments.
If you are considering Mexico I really would highly recommend the Finest Playa Mujeres in Cancun. It is simply fabulous. If you do happen to stay in room 5403, let me just ask you one thing, double check the pool before you go in!
