We were staying at Aventura Palace February 10th - 24th (two glorious
weeks) and may I say that it was the best decision to go there.  We too have
been avid readers of the bulletin board and it greatly inspired us to know
that we were going to have a great time in the Mayan Riviera.

My husband and I, along with my brother and my sister-in-law, all flew
business class and the vacation started on the plane.  It is very
important to remember that you are taking a vacation to get away from your daily
life routines and the stress and B.S.  It's not worth sweating over the
little things; keep harmony and happiness in your heart and you will have a
wonderful time in Mexico.

Upon our arrival to Aventura at 8:30am, we were greeted with a glass of
bubbly and our rooms were waiting for us, building zero rooms 3055 and
3057. We changed to shorts and started touring the grounds.  We found Mundaca
restaurant for breakfast and we were quickly introduced to the
"newcomers" tradition of "Sexy Tequilas".  You have to experience this for yourself
so I won't go into details.  The property at Aventura is beautifully
manicured. There are gardeners out every day keeping everything looking top notch.
The entire staff pays great attention to detail - everything is always
looking it's best.  The maids, the maintenance workers, the kitchen staff, the
pool boys, the gardeners, the bartenders, and concierge - everyone always has
a smile and a greeting when you walk by them.  We were treated with 5 star
service the entire time.  Watch out for the Bartenders, as they don't
let you finish a drink before they replenish it.  So if you were planning on
only having one or two drinks when you sat at the bar, you need to learn
the words "No Mas".  It's not really necessary to learn Spanish before you
go as most everyone speaks some English but as others have mentioned - the
Mexicans appreciate it.  In fact, I learned a lot of Spanish just by
asking how to say certain words and then I would use them daily.  The locals
smile when they see you making an effort and they relax and you can have a
conversation with them about life in Mexico.

We enjoyed every single meal at Aventura.  "Mundaca's" buffet breakfasts
were great and the fresh squeezed juices, especially tangerine juice,
were delightful (even better in Mimosas.)  "Hacienda" restaurant has
excellent dinner choices like rack of lamb, duck breast and beef tenderloin.
"Ventanas" is a Mediterranean buffet along with a grill to cook steaks,
prawns, chicken, etc. and all our dinners here were great.  There are
only 2 red wine choices - one made in Cancun and the other from Spain I think
and neither is anything to write home about.  But the champagne is good so
we had that with all our dinners.

The activities/tours that we went on - we all enjoyed them.  We avoided
any that were a three-hour bus ride and were pleased with our choices.  We
went on a boat ride to an island called Isla Mujeras on two occasions as we
had so much fun the first time. Want a thrill of a lifetime here?  You can
go inside a pen of three sharks and get your picture taken holding one of
the six-foot long beauties and it costs nothing - just leave a little tip in
the basket when you get out of the water. We visited another one of the
Palace resorts called XPU-HA and it's only a 10-minute taxi ride ($6.00) from
Aventura.  It's built on an ecological park and there are free tours
offered of the wildlife living there.  We also went to one of the ruins sites
Tulum and then snorkeled in Akumal.  I saw two sea turtles that were so close
I could almost touch them.  We took a 20-minute taxi ride another day to
Playa Del Carmen to have lunch, check out the shops, go to the beach and of
course Senor Frogs.  Puerto Aventura is a marina about a 10-minute walk from
Aventura.  There are little shops and restaurants here and you can also
swim with the dolphins.  Right next to Aventura is the Spa Palace resort.  We
went there every two days after being in the sun all day.  My
sister-in-law and I would use the free services of the steam and sauna rooms,
jacuzzis, Vichy showers, hydro-reflexology foot tubs, etc. and the guys would have
cocktails in the lobby bar served by two very entertaining bartenders
Edmundo and Marco.  These two ply you with tequila shots - look out!
The Spa Palace is very nice but it's of different clientele - the feel of
the place is more sedate and we liked the lively environment of Aventura.
Spa Palace has no swim up bar, no nightly entertainment and is a much
quieter resort.  Restaurants there were ok - vegetarian/low cal, oriental and
greek but we liked Aventura choices much better.  There are lots of activities
to do at the resort so there is no reason to be bored.  There are always
water activities, exercise, volleyball, Spanish lessons, arts& crafts, snorkel
and scuba diving lessons, salsa dancing, games, etc.  The huge pool is
crystal clear and you can always find a lounge chair.  There is also a lagoon,
which we used to snorkel, go on a paddleboat and lye under one of the many
pallapas.  No worries - you can still get drink service here.  One word
of caution when in the sun - wear lots of sunscreen!

While we were there, the resort celebrated all occasions in February
like Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and the Winter Olympics. Even on President's
day they had baked ham and mashed potatoes on the menu.

It was always nice to come back to our rooms at the end of the day.
Air-conditioned, hammock on the balcony, cold beer in the fridge, hot
tub and the artistic talent with the towels from our maid.  We had our
rooms' cleaned everyday and nightly turn down service - complete with
chocolates on the pillow.  We all agree that we were treated like kings and queens.
We'll be back!  Highly recommend this place.  A big plus was no children.