22 MAR 2017: The 3 plus star All Ritmo Cancun Resort and Waterpark in Puerto Juarez is good value for dollar and a great property for families. This resort has been around for a while, you may remember it as the Blue Bay Club. The 155 room resort is in the lee of the Isla Mejeres, up the coast from the hotel zone, and just about 15 minutes from Cancun City. This is not in the hotel zone, remind your clients. Although it has been around, it has had some major upgrades still maintaining the charm of the 90’s.

A few of the junior suites have been sold as condos and we rented one and stayed a month. It was ocean front with a nice balcony, albeit a very modest kitchen. The neatest part of the stay was being able to observe the way the resort works, but still be able to cook our own food.

The resort does work, it really does. In fact it works well. I would have liked to meet the senior staff, but was told they were too busy to meet with me in the month I was there. I did meet with Karla the charming guest services manager who was most helpful.

The staff I did meet were doing a five star service. It seemed to me that the front desk did particularly well.

The 155 room resort is spread out along the beach and across the street. Only superior rooms are oceanfront, the standard rooms across the street face a pretty garden, though some of the standards on the ocean front face the parking lot.

There is a short tunnel connecting both sides of the resort, so guests don’t have to cross the busy street. The rooms can accommodate 5.

If your clients sometimes feel locked in if their resort is isolated, this is a good choice for them.

All Ritmo is in an interesting neighbourhood in transition, and when you open the front door, the world is there. Walk out the front door, turn left or right and there is a good sidewalk to walk along, jog or run along. There are collectives that will take you into Cancun City for $1.00, or there is a cab stand across the street.

The walk to the left passes condos, a happening public beach, two ferry docks to Isla Mejeres, and an interesting local food market. Head to the right, and there are several marinas, a couple of condos, little restaurants, and a Mayan Ruin.

El Memo is just a short walk away, and perfect for people who want to know a little history of the Mayans, but not spend a long day, and a fair bit of money to get to Chitzen Itza. El Memo, dating back to 300 AD, was once the site of a fishing village on the Mayan trade routes in the Yucatan area. It doesn’t attract many visitors so it is a peaceful walk through ruins, and the ancient trees. There is lots of shade. Tell your clients to take bug spray. There are English guides on the site that are well worth the extra money.

We went to the Michael Jackson show which included a buffet dinner, and thought the food was excellent. It was a very pleasant evening. That show apparently is the most popular.

Everyone I talked to said the food was “fine” for an all-in property, and they could always find something to eat, even the vegetarians.

The waterpark is included in the package and features slides and a splash pad. There is a kid’s club for the 4-10 year olds, which runs 10am. to 5 pm, with a kid’s party on Saturday nights at 8pm.

On the deck beside the pool is a game’s room … great spot for it. In fact the main pool although not huge is the centre of the fun on the property. There are kayaks, paddle boards, and a Hobie Cat (supervised) included. Parents can lounge on the deck and watch closely as their kids have supervised fun close by.

The swimming area is calm and is sheltered with berms, and yes like everywhere else there is some seaweed. And yes, the staff rakes it.

It isn’t a wide beach, nor is it terribly long, but everybody I talked to liked it. There is a marina next door to the resort which provided hours of great viewing to boat people like us. Certainly we liked the beach, there were plenty of loungers and umbrellas even when the resort was full.

Were there complaints? Of course. The free internet in the lobby was slow and it didn’t have a strong signal. If guests paid extra for it in their suite, they said it was just as slow and a waste of money.

Canadian wholesalers carry this property and have special offers.

I worried a bit that a month was a long time to be at an all inclusive, even if we weren’t eating there, we’d get to hear the griping in the pool, gym and on the beach.

…but we didn’t, people were very happy with their decision to stay at All Ritmo.