Crown Paradise Club Stay: Saturday August 28th, 2004 Room: 1146 Guests: 1 26yr male, 1 27yr female We didn’t actually plan to stay at the CPC. We booked the Golden Crown Paradise (adults only) and arrived there at 9:30 only to be told they were overbooked and we were bumped to CPC. When we arrived at CPC the staff were very friendly but had no idea about our booking, the rates we were paying, etc. Finally they got us booked in and we took our stuff to our room. It took the bellman a little while to find our room, which was also confused by the elevator taking us to the wrong floor.
Rooms: Once we were in our room, it was time to eat as we were starving. Luckily, the CPC (and GCP) have all-night snacks available. We went down to the midway snack bar, and I had a great grilled steak sandwich while my GF had a chicken Caesar. We shared some nachos. The great thing about this snack bar is the food is being cooked to order all night, until about 5 or 6 in the morning. Some places have snacks available but it’s buffet style and sits all night. However, the water cooler had bad water. (See notes at end) Having eaten, we decided to hit the bar for our first drinks. We had a map they gave us when we checked in, but it was a little hard to follow. We found our way to "La Rumbera" which is a lounge/bar/pool tables. It’s open late, when we went in there were live music, and a couple of people dancing. Most were either sitting, playing pool, or lined up at the bar. The music was good, but we weren’t into dancing. The thing I didn’t like was children were allowed in this bar, and the dancing was all children with their parents, even at midnight. I was also a little unsettled at lining up at the bar for a drink, with kids sitting at the bar. It was just weird (I didn’t get that feeling anywhere else we stayed). For other "nightlife" at the CPC there is the Insomnia Disco down by the beach. This is for teens and doesn’t serve alcohol. I also saw "trafalgar’s" English pub. Here they have a dance floor and had some pretty loud hip-hop dance music going when I went in, with a good crowd but no dancing. The room was comfortable, but nothing special. In the bathtub, the plug was held in place by a 25cm long rusty metal spike. The whole thing was gross so I just lifted it out and laid it on the counter. The only downside to the room is the door faces out onto the enclosed "pyramid" area that houses the restaurants, a bar, and the snack bar, as well as the hotel lobby. Even at 3 in the morning, the screams of children were echoing up and into the room. In the morning, I hit the snack bar at 7:30 for continental breakfast. Which is buns and fruit. They had coffee, milk and juice, as well as Tea bags and a jar of instant decaf, but no hot water for those. I went from there to the gym, which is actually pretty well equipped. Cardio, weights, free weights and an instructor leading aerobics. Back to the room, and a nap, and then the two of us were off to the buffet for breakfast. We had a lovely table on the patio overlooking the pool and beach. If you sit outside make sure you’re upwind of the smokers. Breakfast was good, great selection, not too bad food. The GCP had told us a shuttle would pick us up at 10:00 AM to come back to our original hotel. It didn’t, and the scheduled 11:00 shuttle didn’t show until almost 12:00. We whiled away some time at the lobby bar. On to the shuttle to our next hotel. This tale is continued under "golden Crown paradise"
any questions or to see pictures, email me sparky4@telus.net website: http://www.crownparadise.com.mx
Food:
we didn’t have much but it was acceptable. Loved the late night snack bar
Drinks:
seemed fine. not overly strong, but not watered down. Water problem noted below.
Staff:
Polite if not overly friendly. We weren’t really here long enough.
Beach/Pools: Beach: looked nice at 2AM but we didn’t go during the day.
Pool: Numerous. Looked good, but we didn’t use them.
Great things about CPC:
For children, there is actually a lot to do. The kid’s club looked quite large, including a pool with 4 waterslides. There’s mini-golf, and the teen disco. Also kids were at the Rumbera lounge with their parents, so they had fun there. There seemed to be a lot of restaurant choices, which is a good thing. The late night snacks are available and were pretty good. There are about 5 pools so you shouldn’t ever be too crowded. The guidebook/map was handy.
Not-so-great things:
While there are water coolers at the bars, restaurants, and gym with purified water, it seems to be hit and miss whether the water tastes good or not. It was all safe, we didn’t get sick, but sometimes it was disgusting and actually difficult to finish a glass. The noise of the screaming children echoing into the room would prompt me to find a room in a different part of the hotel. The map is hard to follow. There was supposed to be a "piano bar" open till 1AM with live jazz music. We couldn’t find it, and the area where the map placed it was totally closed, dark and dead. The description in the tour operator’s books says 24-hour room service is included in the all-inclusive, but the card in our room had it available for breakfast only, and there were prices attached to the menu.
Restaurant info: Midway Stop: Express continental breakfast 06:00-09:00 daily; Late night snack grill 21:00-06:00 daily Food Court (buffet): Breakfast Buffet 07:00-11:30 daily; Breakfast a la Carte 11:30-12:00 daily; lunch/dinner buffet 12:30-21:00 daily La Concha & Tutuch (beach snack bar): Snacks (hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches) 11:00-17:00 daily. Arigato (Japanese): 12:00-17:00 daily Los Gallos (Mexican): Seatings at 18:00, 20:00, and 21:00-22:15. Reservations required for 18:00/20:00. Closed Mondays La Piazza (Italian): Seatings at 18:00, 18:30, 20:00, and 21:00-22:15. Reservations required for 18:00, 18:30, 20:00. Closed Thursdays Fifty’s (International food with live music): Seatings at 18:30 and 21:00. Daily menu. Reservations required. Closes Tuesdays and Fridays. Wayne’s Boots (Steakhouse/Western): Seatings at 18:00, 18:30, 20:00, and 21:00-22:15. Reservations required for 18:00, 18:30, 20:00. Closed Wednesdays. Fisherman’s (Seafood): Seatings at 18:00, 18:30, 20:00, and 21:00-22:15. Reservations required for 18:00, 18:30, 20:00. Closed Sundays. reservations can be made by phone, up to 24 hours in advance. At least that’s a little better then going out at 07:00 to get a reservation. Dress Code – Fisherman’s, Los Gallos, La Piazza, and Wayne’s Boots: semi-formal dress for men (long pants, dress shorts, collar shirt, shoes, no beach wear.) For Fifty’s: formal dress code (long pants, collar shirt, closed shoes.)
Room Service (extra charge, even though everything says it’s included): breakfast 07:00-11:00, regular menu 12:00-18:00 Tea Time: English style afternoon tea, 17:00-18:00 at Los Gallos Terrace
Bar info: Lobby bar: 10:00-23:00 Rumbero’s Bar: 18:00-02:00. 2 pool tables, live music, dance floor, kids go in here too. Las Brisas: Main pool bar, 10:00-17:00 La Concha: Between the main pool and the La Concha Pool; 11:00-18:00 Piano Bar: on the ocean, 18:00-01:30, adults only, live music starting at 22:30, closes Tuesdays. (We tried to go here but it seemed closed on a Saturday night.) Club Caribe: pool bar in the adults recreation area, 10:00-17:00 Beach bar: 10:00-17:00 weather permitting Trafalgar’s: Pub, games room, billiards, disco/dance floor: 18:00-02:00 adults only
Amenities info: Las Brisas: main pool, with music/activities, 07:00-22:00 La Concha/Jacuzzi: adults only, 07:00-22:00 Club Caribe: recreation area for adults. hydro massage, pool (07:00-19:00), Jacuzzis (07:00-22:00). steam baths downstairs (08:00-20:00) Coco Loco: indoor/outdoor pool, 07:00-22:00 Mini-club/Baby-club: Kids 4-12 or babies 18 months to 4 years. Activities, pool, water slides. Open 09:00-21:45 (mini-club closes 16:5 on Sundays) Tennis Courts: 2 courts, with night lighting. instructor available for free lessons Watersports: Daily shuttle at 09:30 and 11:30 to Marina for windsurfing, kayaking, sailboating, and paddleboats. Gym: 08:00-20:00 Minigolf: 08:00-22:30. equipment available Arcade: 09:00-12:00 Insomnia Disco: beachfront disco for teenagers only, no alcohol served.
In-room safe is included
Shows info: Nightly disco shuttle (23:00, 22:30 on Sundays) In the hotel’s theatre:v Monday: Mexican Fiesta Show 20:00-21:00 Tuesdays: international Show 20:00-21:00 Wednesdays: Star Show 20:00-21:00v Thursdays: Broadway Show 20:00-21:00 Fridays: Carnival Dinner Show: Unique dinner ball in Grand Salon, doors 19:30 dinner 20:00 Saturdays: karaoke in Trafalgars, win prizes, disco music 23:00-02:00 Sundays: Fantasy Show, geared to children, 20:00-21:00
Other events: Monday: Kids – Pinata in lobby 21:00-22:00, Adults Singing Contest at Piano bar at 22:00 Tuesday: Bingo at Trafalgar’s 21:00-22:00 Wednesday: After show, Children’s football, teenage basketball, adults volleyball Thursday: After show, dance contest for kids 21:00-22:00, adults salsa contest at Rumbero 22:00-23;00 Sunday: Crazy games at insomnia disco 21:00-22:00, 22:00-02:00 "teens night"
Any Questions, or to see pictures, please email me sparky4@telus.net