Park Royal Cozumel, Mexico

Kristi O'Brien, one of the frequent customers of Boomerang just returned from staying at the Park Royal Cozumel. Her experience is typical of what you would expect if Boomerang arranges your next tour. In her words is a critique I am sure will give you a flavor of the experience she just had: "I will compare things on a numerical scale with the Queztal to help with a quantatative comparison. (The Quetzal will be a 5 for comparison.)




ROOMS

The hotel has been renovated very recently. The basic suite that we stayed in was very similar to our room at the Quetzal. My parents were in one of the time share units and had a nice little side room with hide-a-beds and a good sized closet. We saw a few more elaborate suites with sun beds and larger decks that looked very cool. (The rooms were a 5 on par with the Quetzal.)

FOOD

They have one buffet which I would say was smaller, yet comparable to one of the Quetzal's. (A 4 if the Quetzal was a 5.) The other thing that I did not love was that the buffet had themes and if you got on the wrong rotation with the reservation restaurants, like we did without knowing, you have a reservation dinner one night and then the following night is that same theme at the buffet. We did that twice.

There were 3 reservation restaurants. Mexican, Italian, and Caribbean. (In comparison, I would say these all compare very closely with the Quetzal. The Caribbean was the best, followed by the Italian, and finally, the Mexican.)

Of course, the benefit of the Quetzal was the Japanese Restaurant and the Steakhouse which were our two favorite reservation restaurants when we were there.

There were two lunch bungalows, one by one of the infiniti pools by the water and one at the interior pool. They had chips and cheese, beef and chicken burgers, hot dogs, pizza and ham and cheese sandwiches. (I would give this 3 of 5 compared to the Quetzal due to variety.)

There was room service for the time shares, but not for us. Also, there was no after hours muchies spot....the last food closed at 10:30 and after that there was a general store by the front desk where you could pay for snacks 24 hours.

BARS

The bars were comparable to the Quetzal with the exception of the missing Discoteca! They did have the "Sports Bar" that was open until 2 and had a DJ if you wanted to dance and stay out a bit later.

POOLS

The main pool is in the center of the hotel away from the ocean and about half the size of the main Quetzal pool. We spent a lot of time in this one because it was bigger. Activities were always going, which was fun when we wanted to partake but if you didn't want to play that day, the loud music and excited activities staff were hard to avoid at this pool. There was also a swim up bar. The other thing that shocked me was that they closed this pool on the last full day we were there for cleaning. It was supposed to be closed for half a day, but had not reopened the next day when we left at 2pm. (If that had happened our first our second day...it would have been a bit of a drag.)

There were two Infiniti pools down by the water that were significantly smaller...good for hanging out, but no room to swim or play. These both had swim up bars.

SNORKLING

The Ocean was easily accessible and the snorkling right in front of the hotel was OUTSTANDING.

Freddy was our contact at Lomas and very helpful. We rented a Catamaran for the day that took us to Planacar and one other hot snorkling spot. (If you have 15 or more, you can rent the boat for what it costs you per person. $600 total.) This was definitely one of our favorite activities. The Catamaran was slower and more leisurely than the larger ones, but very fun.

SHOWS

The activities staff were everywhere. Again, fun if you wanted an activity...not so fun when you just wanted to be left alone. :) The dancing shows were very typical of what we saw at the Quetzal, but less entertaining overall. (3 of 5)

OVERALL

Overall, we had a really great time. We had wonderful weather and Jeff (my uncle) was able to get around pretty well...the only place he needed help was into the Ocean and up the Caribbean restaurant.

The resort was very nice, but significantly smaller than the Quetzal, so I was a bit spoiled going in...the beach area was also WAY smaller, so we swam mostly in the pools and less in the ocean.

Let me know if there are any other details that you are interested in hearing. Just e-mail Boomerang. Have a great day! Kristi"

Creole Beach Hotel, Gosier, Guadeloupe

We just spent three nights in the newly renovated Creole Beach Hotel and Spa and loved it. Before the renovation this past Fall, things were nice but slightly shabby. Now the resort has been transformed into a sleek, modern but still warm spot. The traditionally hard French beds are soft and topped with light duvets. The air conditioning is new (a previous problem) and even the toiletries are upgraded from the slim sliver of white soap to an line called "Pure Herbs" - a combination of rosemary, melissa and thyme in keeping with the upgraded name of the hotel - Creole Beach Resort and Span.

The water surrounding the hotel features the turquoise of the Caribbean and the brown pelicans (gosier) after which the town is named are plentiful. Breakfast and dinner are served buffet style in an amazing restaurant. When one is not eating or lounging, there are wonderful little places to stroll.

If you tire of buffets, along the street leading up to the hotel are a number of charming little sidewalk restaurants, each with their own French charm and about two minutes from the hotel. Across the street is the best souvenir shop we found for table clothes, swimming suit cover-ups, post-cards, books, etc. (next to the Karawak Hotel.

Once you exit the highway into Gosier, you pass 2 round abouts, then a exit to the "stade" (stadium) and then turn right to the hotel on the next turn just prior to arriving at the Sofitel Hotel. At the first round about, you will find one of the Caribbean's few McDonalds, if you are tired of French culture and want an American memory.

The Creole Beach Hotel and Spa is a 15-20 minute drive from the airport. It is best to purchase gas in Gosier if renting a car because gas stations along the route to the airport are difficult to find.