actran
SurferDude
Posts: 466
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Day 2 – We got up and headed out to find some breakfast. We went to Bella Vista. I don’t know if the other one was open. They have a buffet, but you can also order from an ala carte menu. That day we decided to just do the buffet. My husband got an omelet every day and he was happy with the buffet. I wasn’t as thrilled with it. At home I usually eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast, so I probably would have been happier if I had kept it simpler. I tried one of the eggs, and had some sausages. They have several hot dishes and potato cake things. They also have waffles and pancakes and French toast. They have lots of different kinds of sausages, some pretty “interesting” looking. Too interesting for me to try. They had plain pork sausage and bacon too. The bacon was always a little too undercooked for me – I’m a crunchy bacon type of gal. They have a wonderful selection of absolutely gorgeous and delicious fruit. The mango was exquisite, but the raspberries were sometimes moldy. They put a pile of raspberries on a thin slice of orange, which made it tricky getting it to my plate. They also had tons of fresh juices, breads, cereals, cheese, cold meats. You couldn’t possibly go hungry. No mimosa station though.
As far a breakfast buffets go, I will give the point to the Grand. However, we usually had breakfast at Ventanna’s at RH, which is an all ala carte and has very nice selections, so for breakfast overall, the point goes to RH.
The service from the waiters was pretty inconsistent at Bella Vista too. A couple days they kept my husband’s coffee cup filled (actually, they bring a whole new cup each time, not really necessary), but other mornings we’d have to hunt our waiter down. The other confusing thing at both Bella Vista for breakfast and La Brisa for lunch, several people would ask you what you wanted to drink. A couple times if we said we had already told someone, we’d end up with nothing.
When we were seated at Bella Vista that first morning, I ordered hot tea. It sounded like the waiter said “Iced tea.” And I said, no, hot tea. And he said, “Yes, iced tea.” This went back and forth and I finally just crossed my fingers, and I got hot tea. I did embarrass my self more than once because I couldn’t understand someone. Once he brought me my tea I asked if they had Splenda, and he pointed to the blue packets of sweetener and said yes. I said, no, Splenda, in the yellow packet, and he pointed at the blud stuff, “Yes!” This went back and forth a few times until I gave up. I never saw Splenda anywhere. I had brought my own, but frequently forget to bring it when I needed it.
Several other reports/reviews have said they don’t have signs for the food. They do now. Not individual signs, but areas have a list of the different offerings
After breakfast, we headed back to our room to get ready to go to the beach. My comedian of a husband would announce “Door coming up” every time we came to one of those glass doors. Some of the glass doors are automatic. But the night before I walked right into one that was not. I thought it was open. I really smacked my forehead and nose - had a nice red mark all week on the bridge of my nose.
We went back to our room, got sunscreened up, went to the towel hut and then headed out to the beach. Very few people go to the beach. They have palapas and the lounge chairs are nicer than the standard “torture-loungers” everywhere else has. Point for the Grand. We really like the beach and gazing at the ocean, so that was our first stop.
It was only 9:30, but a waitress came by for a drink order. At RH they don’t start coming around until 11, although you can go up to the bar. Point for the Grand. We ordered Miami Vices. She was back within the hour, so I thought drink service was going to be great. Sadly, it was not. It was probably the most disappointing things about the Grand. We didn’t see her again for hours. And it is no short hike to the pool bar. And we tipped for that first drink, we actually tipped for every drink a waitress brought us.
But we weren’t disappointed yet. We were drinking Miami Vices on a beautiful Mexican beach before 10 am. We were happy.
We laid there for awhile. My husband stays in the shade and I like the sun for awhile, so the palapas are nice. Then I got hot and went to look for some water. I know RH is having beach problems, but I have to give this point to RH. I like to be able to jump up, walk a few feet, get wet in the ocean and go lay back down. You really can’t do this at the Grand. You have to walk a bit to the pool, and the ocean is too rocky in front of the Grand. I started to walk down to the Lindo, because I had read that beach is swimmable, but decided it was too far. We were on the beach in front of building 71. I think if you were at the far of the beach in front of 72 (the other ocean front building) it wouldn’t be so far. I went to an area where the waves came up and did get a little wet.
Shortly after that we went for a walk down past the Lindo and we did go in the water. It’s nice there – but WHERE DID ALL THESE KIDS COME FROM? OMG! There is A LOT more activity in front of the other resorts, and also that gasoline smell from the jet skis and boats.
At some point my husband asked me what time we should eat lunch and I reminded him “We’re on vacation, we eat when we are hungry.” When we did get hungry we went back to Bella Vista, but they were not opened for lunch. They sent us to La Brisa, which is right off the pool and beach. There is the buffet, and also the ala carte menu. We ordered the Kobe hamburgers with cheese. You know what? The cheese in Mexico doesn’t melt. It looks like a slice of Kraft individual slices, but it didn’t melt. Didn’t affect my burger though. I thought to myself, I wonder if it’s really “all that”. It was and more, yum!
The deserts are perfect little one or two bites of sweetness that changes daily.
We then went back to the beach. We read, we napped, we drank, it was great. I love Mexico beach vacations. It’s instant relaxation.
At some point Zung went for a run down towards Maroma. He likes to run on the beach. (Don’t ask me why, he just does). He said there was a really beautiful area down there we needed to walk to one day.
We went back to our room to shower and enjoy our balcony. Our room was cleaned. We tipped our maid every morning and evening and she did what you expect a maid to do. Nothing more or less. (Not a complaint, just an observation).
We eventually got ready for dinner. We walked around a bit. We may have gotten a drink at the lobby bar. I can’t remember now. We had made dinner reservations for 7:30. The dinner reservations system right now is pretty laid back. They ask you to make them at least a half an hour ahead of time if you are going to eat at a Grand restaurant. One day before is required if you want to eat at the restaurants of the other hotels. We never did. I know a lot of people get hung up with RH’s reservation requirements. This usually was not any problem for us. I probably should give that point to the Grand though.
We at the Italian restaurant, Venecia, that night. Venecia is located in the same building as the lobby, and is the only one without an ocean view. Usually it was dark enough that it didn’t matter what the view was.This was the only restaurant that showed us the wine list. We ordered the Chianti, which actually was the only wine I didn’t like that much. For my first course I had tortellini stuffed with beef and duck pate in a cream sauce. It was very good, but very rich so I ate less than half. Zung had the calamari, which he said was excellent. I then had the lamb, which was good and he had the sea bass, which he raved about. They also brought a complimentary appetizer (which is kind of a funny thing to call it at an AI) of a cherry tomato and pice of mozzarella. That was tasty too. We both had the Zabione for dessert. There was a flute player. This was the only restaurant that had music. All the restaurants usually do at RH, so that point goes to RH.
Our waiter, Karim, was fantastic – efficient and friendly.
Two of the things they do at RH that has always impressed us has to do with napkins. The ALWAYS put your napkin on your lap when you sit down. They don’t do this at the Grand, but for the first few days I kept waiting for them to. At the RH, when you get up from you chair at any restaurant for any reason, they always refold you napkin. Of course these aren’t big deals, I am perfectly capable of putting my own napkin on my lap when I sit down. But it was something that stood out about RH (point for them).
At the end of our meal, the hostess came over and asked how things were and if there was any way they could improve. I suggested having a green salad on the menu. None of the dinner restaurants had this, and it would have been nice.
We went back to our room, feeling pretty worn out after all that reading and laying on the beach and napping. We tried out the Jacuzzi in the bathroom. It’s plenty big enough for two. (Point for the Grand, the one at RH is only big enough for one). I had some of the wine in our room, which wasn’t bad. Soon we were going to sleep to prepare for another grueling day of rest and relaxation.
My down pillow was great!
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