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Banyan Tree Mayakoba and Hyatt Ziva Cancun TR

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Mootkim:
5th Avenue is the last block before the water and is lined with touristy shops and some nice nightlife. We walked around some of the shops and eventually saw some bar/restaurant that had different types of entertainment (all outdoors) so we sat down for some drinks to enjoy the Mexican opera show and some Mexican dancing acts. The bar itself consists of a bunch of swings which was pretty cool. We then headed back to the hotel to enjoy a little night swim in our pool as it is beautifully lit up at night.

When we were checking in, they had told us about the "eco tour" which is basically a nice boat ride tour around the lagoon. It is free, however, there are only 8 seats on the boat and only 3 tours a day (I think at 11, 12, and 1). I called the front desk that night to book and they only had 2 spots left on the 1 pm boat so I reserved our spots for the following day. I would advise trying to reserve this immediately.

The following morning, I drove to Chabad in Playa for Shachris at 8:30. While there, I thankfully remembered that I had wanted to make an order from them for supper that night and the cutoff was 10 AM (you order on the website). I ordered the "Chef Chaya" babka, 2 guacamole chips for the pool and 2 mains. Being that it was Yeshiva week, Chabad had 2 specific options to order for the main every night but was cheaper than the usual prices of the year. The prices are pretty expensive and are in American dollars.

After Davening, I went around the corner to Mas Pan which is a bakery/cafe and was very good. As with most places, they also only took cash. Got a couple of pastries and two baguette toasts to bring back to Banyan Tree. They were having some sort of issue with their gas then so they couldn't make eggs or anything that needed to be fried. Brought it back to our villa and everything was really good.

I should note though that Banyan Tree is extremely accommodating to Jews and they have an option of a kosher breakfast where they cook you eggs in a kosher pan with a bunch of vegetables which I have heard from many people that it was really good, however, I believe they charge $75 (possibly per person) so never tried it.

They provide a lot of water bottles every day (they are free) but wanted some cold ones and ice. I called the front desk and they sent an entire cooler filled with ice and water bottles! We spent the rest of the morning relaxing at the pool.

pointer:

--- Quote from: Mootkim on February 06, 2020, 08:20:36 PM ---I should note though that Banyan Tree is extremely accommodating to Jews and they have an option of a kosher breakfast where they cook you eggs in a kosher pan with a bunch of vegetables which I have heard from many people that it was really good, however, I believe they charge $75 (possibly per person) so never tried it.


--- End quote ---
Thanks for all the info.
Was always wondering how this "kosher pan" worked, I see a lot of people mentioning it at a lot of different hotels, How do you you know if its really kosher or not? does the chef know all the halachas, is it halachically reliable?

Thanks.

Dan:
Nice TR, would love to see pics.

Mootkim:

--- Quote from: Dan on February 06, 2020, 10:11:43 PM ---Nice TR, would love to see pics.

--- End quote ---
trying to learn how to

Mootkim:
After eating breakfast at the pool Monday morning we relaxed at the pool a little more and then went to main lobby to catch our scheduled 1 PM eco tour. The tour is an open boat that takes you for 45 minutes around the whole lagoon to see the different hotels there as well as all the beautiful wildlife and caves (cenotes) around the area. It was a very relaxing tour and we got to see a bunch of crocodiles, iguanas, turtles, cool birds, and just beautiful scenery.

After the tour, we rode our bikes along a scenic trail in front of the hotel which takes you through the jungle part that leads up to the hotel. There are signs along the way pointing out the different animals and birds that they have around the forest. We then went back to our villa to get ready for Xplor Fuego.

Xplor is part of Xcaret which is advertised everywhere in Cancun with different parks all over. I would describe Xplor as an amusement park for adults. It is located about a half hour drive south of the hotel just past Playa del Carmen. There are 2 options to buy; one is regular Xplor which is admisison to the park between 9 AM and 5 PM and the other is Xplor Fuego which is admission to the park between 5:30 and about midnight. The night option is a little cheaper and honestly I would highly recommend doing that over the day option so as not to "waste" a day. There is practically no difference except that some of the circuits including the zip line and the ATV course is a little shorter (yet plenty long). If you book 7 to 21 days in advance, you can save 10 - 15% respectively. Food is also included and they have a humongous spread for dinner which we sadly couldn't eat anything besides for the fruit and drinks. The park is located in and around huge caves or cenotes with huge stalactites all over the place. You need to keep your helmet on at all times so that you dont walk into them. The rides consist of: an "amphibious vehicle" or ATV which takes you through the jungle, in and out of caves, and through water. There is a huge circuit of zip lines (which is the only ride that is limited to 1 time per person, although I was totally done after the full circuit which took over an hour). There's a hammock zipline where you splash into the water. Rafting through deep caves, and a long swim through caves. Each activity aside from the hammock and the ATV was nearly an hour long. We had an amazing time there and I would definitely recommend it as a great night time activity to do there. Additionally, they have a system of cameras set up where it takes pictures all over the park and tracks you based on a chip in your helmet so they can pull up all your pictures and you have the option of purchasing at the end (which we did as it was really cool). They have a whole changing room and shower room in the caves to change in after you are done so that you don't need to drive home wet.

We ended up leaving the place at around 10 PM after being there since 5:30. When we got back to the hotel, I told the front desk to heat up our food that had gotten delivered from Chabad while we were out (it gets delivered to the front desk and they hold it until you ask for it) and a few minutes later they brought it to our villa nice and hot. The mains were slightly small portions and I was not so impressed with the food. The guacamole chips though were really good and the Babka was heavenly.

The next morning we had booked the "rainforest experience" at the spa. It consists of a 90 minute session fully private with a guide leading you along. It consists of a bunch of different showers and hot and wet saunas where they give you different creams to rub on yourselves. At the end there is a little pool with either powerful jets that give you a great shoulder massage or a bubble bed in the water. There are lounge chairs there to relax and they provide you with different drinks and some food as well.

We checked out at around 2 to head up to the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun hotel zone.

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