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.

Karibea Valmeniere Hotel, Fort de France, Martinique

We stay most frequently at the Valmeniere Hotel when we visit the island of Martinique. In fact, this was our home base, when the two missionaries were lost on Mont Pelee. You will find that renting a car from the front desk is very reasonable and convenient. Also there is a little grocery store on the corner across the street from the hotel.

You will get internet in the room and breakfast is included with the price of the room. It is a very nice breakfast. At night, the restaurant is a bit pricey, but the food is excellent.

Hidden away from the world on top of the hotel is a hot tub. It is up the stairs from the pool which is situated just outside the restaurant. We have also stayed at the Sofitel in Martinique but find the Valmeniere very convenient to Fort de France.

Sunset Shores Hotel, St. Vincent

This reasonably priced hotel is our favorite in St. Vincent. It now has wireless internet in the rooms, the air conditioning is good, the food is excellent and the staff is friendly. It is about 10 minutes from the airport.

The only concern might be the hardest of the beds. They are solid, but not heavenly beds if you are like the "princess and the pea."

Arawak, Gosier, Guadeloupe

What a great discovery the Arawak was for us this past week. We stayed three nights in Gosier and unfortunately could not find a place at the Sofitel or the Creole Beach Resort because they were fully booked.

We spent the first two nights at the Canella Beach in Gosier at the Pointe de la Verdure. The layout of the hotel was quite nice and the breakfast was good, however the rooms were terrible. During our first night we were in a room where the springs in the bed were broken. Upon request of a room change, we were given a room with faulty airconditioning that smelled musty.

The Arawak Hotel was a welcome relief to our two horrible nights. The feel of the hotel is quite American. It is spacious, airy, and the furnishings were relatively new.

None of the French hotels seem to be overly generous on bath towels or soaps in the bedrooms, except for the Sofitel. If you have trouble breathing or are overly concerned about the quality of the bed, I would not recommend the Canella Beach or even the Maison Creole down the road. We toured that facility and found the same musty smell at the Maison Creole.

Maho, St. Maarten

For us, a great find in St. Maarten on the Dutch-side is the Maho. This hotel is very close to the airport ($7 taxi) and is located across the street from some very nice restaurants of varying price ranges.

The rooms are very comfortable and the air-conditioning is as fine as you would find in the United States. Finding food at the hotel itself is very inconvenient and a breakfast is not included in the room package price.

The beach next to the hotel is very short. It takes three minutes to walk from one end to the other. The water is as blue and spectacular as you would find in Barbados, but the beach is very crowded. A jewel we discovered this trip is Mullet Bay. This beach is found in the opposite direction of the airport and beach next to the hotel. It is located next to the golf course just before you get to American University (the medical school). If you go to this beach before 9h30 a.m. you will find that you get the entire beach to yourself. It takes only about 10 minutes to walk to this beach from the hotel and is truly one of the finest beaches we have found in the Caribbean.

Now with this all said, our preferred stop in St. Maarten/St. Martin is still the French side in Grand Case, but if you do not have a rental car and want to be near the airport, the Maho Hotel is a great choice.

Coconut Bay, Vieux Fort, St. Lucia

This is a great resort. We did a site inspection of it about six months ago and quite frankly we were underwhelmed. It seemed like it was not kept in pristine condition. However, this past week, we took a couple of days and purchased a day pass to be with friends from Canada who were staying in the resort. We were pleasantly surprised with all this resort has to offer and how affordable the prices are.

Coconut Bay is an all inclusive resort. For our friends, from Toronto, a $1500 per person price gave them seven days including airfare. This family of six was able to have a great stay and enjoy all the resort had to offer.

Downside? Reservations. We too had reservations, or so we thought. We booked a few days and carefully noted the name of the person taking our reservation. When we showed up at the resort to meet our friends, we were told our reservation would not be honored as we had not confirmed. I found this confusing because they had not offered me a reservation number. While standing in the lobby trying to sort this out, I conversed with another travel agent who had the same thing happen to her. So it was not my imagination.

Also, if you are renting a car for day trips, call around. The prices offered in the lobby are elevated over the local Vieux Fort rates, making it advisable to get a vehicle from outside of the resort.

So, why am I recommending the resort? For the money, the experience is great if you have a reservation number. The entertainment is wholesome, the resort is well-maintained, and the water toys are superb.