Travel to Cancun, Mexico: Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort Review #cancun

Being a California girl, I’m used to mild to warm weather all year, and right now we’re having a cold front where I’m missing Cancun, Mexico like crazy!  I know, compared to the rest of the US I should not be complaining, but those 80 degree days have my mind full of fabulous memories of our trip last month.

Every couple with kids needs a vacation once in a while to reboot, re-energize, and well honestly, to fall in love again.  My husband and I have been married for 17 and a half years and we truly felt like honeymooners at Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort!  This all-inclusive resort has me believing this is what being on a cruise ship is like, but on land only, so much to do, so much to eat, so much to drink, and so very romantic!

ROOMS:  There are 3 sections to Moon Palace and we stayed at Sunrise, the largest with the most activities.  Our luxury room overlooked the garden but you better believe the Caribbean was in full view along with amazing sunrises from our balcony.  Our king bed was gorgeous and for the first time we had a fully-stocked mini bar plus a liquor dispenser containing whiskey, tequila, rum and vodka! Of course we sampled the wares pretty much immediately.  Women will appreciate the CHI hair products along with a flat-iron placed conveniently with the hair-dryer and diffuser.  Yes, that was used to tame my frizz thanks to the high humidity! The large shower with rainfall shower head was a perfect fit for two and I love the plush robes and slippers we have to use at our disposal!  Each room in the Sunrise section includes a fabulous hammock that we loved on the balcony and cradles you in comfort.  If only it was big enough for two…

The best part of the room was the double whirlpool tub, just steps from the bed.  Talk about romance and falling in love again!  Play bartender, fix up yourself a mango martini and fill the tub, having this private experience is worth it’s weight in gold, we’re talking about one for our bedroom at home!

FOOD:  You can truly dine around the world via the restaurants on site.  With the all-inclusive wrist band you get at check in, you can visit all 3 sections of Moon Palace and drink and dine at no additional cost.  Room service is  available 24/7 as well, but here’s what’s available around the property:

Sunrise:
LA GONDOLA Italian buffet
MOMO Asian a la carte
BUGAMBILIAS Mexican buffet
PALAPA FRAGATA Snack buffet / Seafood a la carte PALAPA BARRACUDA Snack buffet / Steakhouse a la carte
SKY BAR Adult-only bar
LOBBY BAR

Moon Grand:
LOS TACOS Poolside restaurant with traditional Mexican tacos
EL CARIBEÑO International & Caribbean buffet / Seafood a la carte
LA SELVA Snack bar
LOUNGE BAR
POOL BAR

Nizuc:
EL MANGLAR Italian and International buffet
ARRECIFES Brazilian Steakhouse
LOS CAPORALES Mexican a la carte (dinner)
PALAPA DELFINES Poolside café / grill restaurant
PALAPA PELICANOS Poolside bar / restaurant
SWEET & COFFEE Crepes & Pastries
LOBBY BAR

We spent a lot of time at Bugambillias for their amazing desserts and chocolate fountain, had a lovely Italian inspired dinner at La Gondola (dinner is off the menu), and as a special treat we joined my fellow writer from Simply Real Moms, Jasmine and her husband for a elegant dinner at La Trattoria on the golf course.Most restaurants and bars are casual as far as attire is concerned, La Trattoria is considered casual-elegant and requires pants, collared shirt with sleeves and closed shoes for men.  As if we didn’t have enough choices, out by the pool we found freshly made pizza!  Order up your choice of pie and it’s served within minutes in their 400 degree brick oven.  With the all-inclusive plan, all taxes and gratuities are included, there’s no need to carry extra money.  It was our choice to tip after meals and we did so often!

FUN:  With 7 pools around the property you’re bound to find a place too cool off.  We loved the areas near the swim up bars, and there were always activities, music, and entertainment to be found around them.  One cool activity was the FlowRider!  Ride the waves on a board on one half, boogie board on the other, the rush of adrenaline was apparently on all the participants faces!  Don’t worry when you wipe out (everyone does it), the base is like a soft trampoline, so I heard!  We didn’t try this out (we’ve only surfed once before in our lives), but we did sit near the bar across from it and oohed and ahhed at all the participants!

Sky Bar just above the lobby at Sunrise was another place we spent a lot of time.  We enjoyed some end of the season baseball on television while we enjoyed playing pool and here we met some friends that happen to live only a few hours from our hometown.  The crack of the balls on break is exhilarating and brings out the competitive side of both my husband and I, ultimately he was the pool champ.

I love to dance and a few nights during our stay we enjoyed the heart thumping music and fun atmosphere of Noir nightclub!  Open from 10pm-3am, we brought our new friends from Sky Bar to join us and were thrilled they loved to dance as well as we do.  Well, my husband often needs a little encouragement to dance, but we had a great time and boy did I feel it the next day, what a workout!  The property has different events and activities like Vegas shows, karaoke, magic, and casino nights every day of the week to check out as well, I really couldn’t tell you what they don’t have!BEACH:  Perks for us continued just steps from the resort at the beach. With our black wrist bands there was a private area just for us to enjoy with full bar with fun swing seats, lounge chairs and umbrellas and covered couch and chair seating.  The beach had quite a bit of sea grass washed up so we decided against heading in, not sure if it was the time of year, but we didn’t see anyone in the water.  We did see jet skiers and parasailing off in the distance as we relaxed on the shore, and the sun peeked out just briefly to greet us.Three days and we didn’t even touch on all the things we could have done as a couple! A bucket list item for “next time” includes swimming with dolphins that is available with resort credits ( you receive when booking your stay).  The Dolphinarium is on site between sections and I would imagine an amazing experience!  Golf, spas, shopping, and tours are all more items you can do and book through the resort on your stay.

We loved this romantic getaway and would choose an all-inclusive resort first over any other place if we return to Mexico.  Moon Palace has so much to offer, we never left the property once we arrived and we’ll have to come back to see it all!  To learn more about Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort, visit http://www.moonpalacecancun.com.

Our stay was hosted, gratuities and extras were covered by us.  As always, all opinions are 100% ours.