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Showing posts with label Catalonia Royal Tulum Resort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catalonia Royal Tulum Resort. Show all posts

Resort Review - catalonia royal tulum beach and spa resort, again!


My friend Suk came to town and she and I took a few days to relax along the Caribbean.  She has a particular favorite resort, and I sure can understand why.

She needs serious decompression from the rigors and stress of her job; she works critical care for transplant patients.




The Catalonia Royal is the perfect place for her to unwind.  
It is Adults only, and all-inclusive.

 I've written about it before! about catalonia royal tulum beach and spa resort.

Suk has now been 4 times, and this was my second. We were last there in May 2011. I can't believe it's been just a year and a half.  We recognized, and were recognized by several of the service staff which made us feel so welcome and comfortable.

It's a very comfortable resort, the food was good, the service was excellent, and the rooms were very comfy.

I highly recommend it for anyone needing a stress-free, do nothing kind of get-away. Now don't get me wrong, you are not locked in, you can go out on tour adventures, action adventures, shopping adventures, etc.  It's just that we like to sit on the beach, read, people watch, be mesmerized by the waves etc.

Can't wait till next year!  We're going to do it all over again!


Resort Review - Catalonia Royal Tulum - Day 3



So yesterday we just, I say Just with a big smile on my face, we just hung around on the beach all day. 


It really was lovely!  More windy than the previous 2 days, and although we both had on spf50 and 55 we got a little pink.

It's good to travel with Suk; I tend to be a bit introverted and Suk is very friendly open, and outgoing. She strikes up conversations with people so where I wouldn't have if alone, we are meeting and having long conversations with lots of people.

One thing we have both commented on here are the number of Germans, well I think they are German. I'm pretty sure it is a Germanic language but is is swiss german, french german, german german, no se!

Lots of Italians too!  Unfortunately all these Europeans smoke, a lot!  Guacala!  In fact there is one on the balcony right next to me smoking right now!  BLECH!

Right outside our balcony is a large bare limbed Flamboyan that is higher than the surrounding trees.  It is a great bird perch.  Each morning I see Social Flycatchers, Orioles, hummingbirds, Yucatan Jays and Melodious Blackbirds taking turns perching here.   In the tree canopies are large black iguanas catching the morning sun and a leafy breakfast.

Yesterday, in addition to all the other wildlife we saw chacalacas in the trees.  Quite a lot of fauna here on these grounds; adds quite a bit of interest for me.

As I sit here a new, unfamiliar to me bird comes, white eye streak, reddish tail uppers, yellowish below, long pointy beak, greyish black with dots on shoulders and short choppy streaks all over, and quite a screechie call.  I'll have to look this up when I get home to my books.


Today we have our spa treatments;  Suk had massage Tuesday, and is getting the hot stone massage today.  I am having a package; facial, exfoliation, and massage.  I should be glowing when I get home.

Oh, I could definitly go for a few more days of this!.   We had thought to go to Playa del Carmen yesterday but never made it, maybe next time.   We need to leave quite early tomorrow as I have a very important event to attend at 2pm, and we want to stop at some stone carvers we saw coming in before reaching Tulum, maybe get some new yard art.

Oh, just a few more days at this lovely beach....


Resort Review - Catalonia Royal Tulum - Alegria Spa

Alegria Spa

Day 2 of our trip found me sitting peacefully on the beach in the shade reading a book and Suk getting a full body massage. Which she said was "Very Good".



Victor spends his days at the resort approaching guests and extolling them on the virtues and benefits of utilizing the resorts spa services. He tells you a bit about the services and points out the current specials. Sometimes he has with him one or two of the Spa Technicians and a massage chair and offers you a free 5 minute neck massage.



Day 3 found us once again talking with Victor and on this day he sold each of us on a spa service ''Deal". Suk signed up for a Hot Stone Massage (80minutes), and I selected a package that included a facial (25minutes), exfoliation (50minutes), and neck and shoulder massage (25minutes). We couldn't get in till Day 4, which meant we had to be very careful about the sun. Not like we weren't anyway; neither of us lay in the sun, we sit in the shade, with sunscreen.



So Day 4, 12:30 finds us at the Spa, which is lovely, and includes a small gym, steam room, sauna, hot tubs, and the spa service area.

The Rest Area




We were each introduced to our Technicians, Juventino for Suk, and Lisette for me, and directed to the changing room where we were issued our locker key and informed to disrobe, don the robe contained in our locker and enter the 'Rest' area. Now Suk, being 5 ft tall and under 100lbs fit nicely in the robe, I on the other hand being 5'7" and well over 100lbs was not quite contained in the robe. A lovely robe VERY thick and heavy; would have been perfect in Chicago in January, but May on the Riviera Maya, NO!



So off to our respect treatment rooms.



After my treatment I was told I could rest in the Rest Area, have a cool drink, etc. Well except that I had to pinch the robe together to keep the other spa service folks from seeing things they had no interest in seeing. So off to the changing are I went. I dressed then returned to the Rest Area to wait for Suk.


Suk was very disappointed in her Hot Stone Massage. Because of her work she has a lot of stress in her neck and shoulders; and even though she was told the Hot Stones relieved this type of tension, and even though she was having her Hot Stones with Juventino who had given her her massage 2 days previous and had done a fabulous job, the Stones did not do what she had wanted. So what a rotten way to end a fabulous stay!



My package was a bit disappointing although Lisette did a fabulous job; I can't blame her, but must take myself to task for not asking more questions. The brochure gave very brief descriptions and I guess I just projected what I wanted into that. The massage part was great, Lisette has very strong hands and was just starting to break down some of my knots and tension when she had to stop and move on to the next step - The exfoliation, was very light. I think it was a sugar scrub. I use a salt scrub and get a deeper exfoliation at home, although I don't typically get my back! The facial was nice, moisturizing, no deep cleansing and/or pore reduction. My face was well hydrated and felt great, but I really wanted a more deep pore cleaning. My fault for not being more specific.


So our trip was a roaring success.

We found that we travel well together, and make good roommates. I think we'll do it again!

Resort Review - Catalonia Royal Tulum - Day 2

So last the entertainment was a Mariachi band and a dance troupe called Raiz/Raices de Mexico who did what they called a Prehispanic Show. It was entertaining, but I'm not sure just how Prehispanic it was, although they did their renditions of several dances I had heard of/seen before. The show overall was entertaining, that's all I'd give it, entertaining.







Today, after sleeping in (till 8:15) we putzed around a bit then headed for the breakfast buffet, I managed to curtail my gluttony and ate only one piece of bacon and that was for my husband!


We headed to find the guy we spoke to yesterday to set ourselves up for some spa services, took us a while to find him, but we are all set!

The grounds here are really quite lovely and you can get a pretty good workout just walking around exploring.  The walkway are  overhung by large trees so the walking is mostly in shade, there are natural areas with small ponds, beautiful plantings, areas to sit...  They have soft music coming out of speakers that look like rocks.  We've encountered critters; coatimundi, black and spiny iguanas, what I was told by a groundsman is a 'ceriquito', don't know if the spelling is correct, by my internet search makes me think it is an Agouti, lots of birds...





I actually participated in a water aerobics class being offered; it's crazy these all inclusive places, they offer all sorts of entertainments for the guests; Do we need entertaining? They have quite a staff of fit, tanned, attractive young'uns to entertain. Offered water aerobics, salsa lessons, volleyball, scuba lessons, catamaran lessons, all sorts of activities, guess it keeps the guests on site rather than having them going out or off property.


The pool area is lovely.



Suk and I prefer to pass out day on the beach




I must say I am impressed with the staff, they are all very well trained, very attentive, friendly, eager to help, actually anticipate,  quite lovely.

Resort Review - Catalonia Royal Tulum - Day 1

Even though the name of the Resort is Catalonia Royal Tulum, it is physically closer to Xpu Ha, although not too many people have heard of Xpu Ha (SCHPOO HAA).

Our drive to Xpu Ha took a little unexpected turn. I had authoritative advice from 2 seasoned travellers of this exact same route. (Josh, Jonna) Both failed to mention several keys 'tiny' bits of info. It's easy to do when you are so familiar with a thing to overlook tiny details. Got turned around in Valladolid and took off in exactly the opposite direction of where we wanted to go. Good thing we're so easy going with not a care in the world, and that the scenery was good.

We made it to our resort at just about 4 1/2 hours. Got easily checked in, and headed for the buffet lunch. Now I'm not typically a buffet fan, but this was actually quite good, even though we were just at the close down point, which is 3:3o. The trays were still full and things were still fresh and tasty. Lunch was accessorized by a lovely crispy tart Alameda Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. Wait staff was incredible and I think we got a bit of extra attention when I started talking with them in Espanol. Sometimes it pays to speak the local lingo.


Suk, getting ready for lunch!
Our table view!   Beautiful
Then we went down to the beach and just sat and enjoyed the surf, the breeze, the moisture, the volleyball game, ah heavan. The sand here is so silky soft and almost a white cream color, I am told it doesn't get hot, even in the sun.




Tonight there is entertainment, can't wait! More on the evening later! Oh, and photos of the Resort, and the Beach, And, .....