Hali & Mike at Xpu Ha

Hali & Mike At Eva & Keith's Wedding

Hali's best friend Eva decided to get married in Mexico, so we were provided with a great excuse to visit one of our favorite Caribbean locations -- Playa del Carmen. Eva (and Keith) picked the Xpu Ha Palace resort, and that turned out to be an excellent choice! This unique resort is a huge, sprawling compound with well appointed bungalows within a wildlife preserve. The resort was so big that they had bicycles available for sightseeing and just getting around (they had an electric cart shuttle service as well, for those who didn't want to ride the bikes). This was a very quiet resort so it was just right for us! We only went for 5 days, but were wishing for a longer stay. The weather was hot, sunny, and breezy -- perfect Caribbean weather!

In the pictures below we have tried to capture some of Eva and Keith's wedding ceremony, some of the fun times, and some of the beauty of the resort. To see pictures of our other fun trips you can visit our main vacation page HERE. Happy trails! - Mike & Hali

This is a poorly stitched pano, but it does show the great deck outside our room.

The first thing we noticed about this resort was that it's a bit different from most places we've seen. This different, but very cool artwork was behind the lobby front desk.

A large part of the resort's coastline did not have beach. All along the rocky shore was a wonderful pathway.	This shot was from our first walk along the shoreline pathway. We arrived early, and we were boogie boarding shortly thereafter!
The rooms were a good size and nicely appointed.	A two-person jacuzzi and mini-fridge (soft drinks, beer, water) were standard in every room.
There was also a nice menu for room service, available anytime.	The resort boasted it's own sheltered inlet with great snorkeling. The bucket to my right contains fish food.
This was another bit of eclectic artwork. Water was pumped to the top and would flow down on all sides of this monolith.	Animal exhibits were everywhere. Here is a shot from the flamingo area.
The monkey exhibits contained a few different kinds of friendly monkeys. Feeding any of the exotic animals was taboo.	A closer look at this little guy's tummy reveals that he is not in need of any additional food (smile).
Hali's underwater camera housing made it's stunning debut this trip with shots like this one of a blue tang. There were a bunch of these fellas in the inlet.	The resort also boasted a fresh/brackish snorkeling area -- just for a change of pace.
The fresh water fish were not as colorful, but they were just as numerous!	The submerged decks provided great places for the occasional game of hide and seek.
You could also kayak in the lagoon area.	This little friendly ghost crab just stopped by our beach chairs to inform us that our drinks were on the way!
The view from Eva and Keith's honeymoon suite.	Hali and Mike just after the wedding ceremony.
Mike at the nice outdoor theater.	A sunset shot of Hali on one of the wood bridges.
This is "Tyson", supposedly named after an ear biting incident.	Us on our way to the post-wedding dinner at another resort.
An elusive coati.	The happy couple on their wedding night.
The bikes were supposed to be turned in every night, but many people (including us) just kept them at their rooms.	We don't remeber the snake names, but this is the long skinny green snake.
This was the big boy of the collection. Fortunately, we didn't see any snakes roaming around free.	Speaking of snakes, the main bar hosted a very cool chandelier.
The margay cat at rest.	Hali on the walking path near the inlet.
They had a couple of very nice restaurants. This was the Oriental restaurant.	Mmmm -- sushi!
Flaming after dinner coffee drinks complete with iguana's milk!	Hali claiming a prime palapa.
Us on the beach. Life is good!	The fish in the inlet were not very timid -- probably because everyone was feeding them!
Hali and some of her fishy friends.	Speaking of fish, the lunch buffet hosted an excellent sushi bar every day.
A friendly sushi chef trying to keep up with demand.
	It was so easy to use the water sports equipment here -- just walk up and grab a boogie board (no cards to carry, no sign out, etc). The staff was always friendly and helpful.
Hali enjoying the surf. We had pretty good size waves every day.	Iguanas were all over the place. We almost pegged one or two with our bikes.
The single seat kayaks were nice and maneuverable.	We heard that someone had seen some manatees in the lagoon, but we couldn't spot them.


Hali enjoying our last day on the beach.	Keith, Eva, and Eva's Mom at brunch.
	Hali on the second story of the deck house on the lagoon. The ocean can be seen in the background.

This is the beautiful and creative shower area next to the swimming pool.	This is Hali during our only jaunt in the pool. They had two good-sized pools, but we preferred the beach.
Sunrise near our room. This was the sad morning (and time) of our departure.	Keith waiting for Eva under the arbor walkway. The walkway and the wedding area were beautiful.
Jesse (Eva's brother), Eva's Mother, and Keith before the ceremony.	The Xpu-Ha wedding staff, they did a great job!
The radiant bride!	*Eva and Keith signing the wedding papers before* they take their vows, they also had to put thumb prints on them!**
Eva and Keith gazing into each others eyes during the ceremony.	Their first kiss as a married couple!
The happy couple make their first toast.	Eva and Hali sharing a well deserved glass of champagne.
Hali and Mike thinking it would be a great place to renew their vows.	Swan towel art for the wedding couple. The housekeeping staff would arrange the towels in fantastic ways every day (even for those of us not getting married).
Eva and Keith on their balacony after the wedding, almost time to relax.	Eva's Mom, Eva, Keith and Jesse relaxing after the wedding.

We review the key aspects of the resort on a scale from one to ten -- one being bad, and ten being excellent.

Rooms: 9.5   Ample space, nice layout, very clean, very large deck. Mini fridge with water, soft drinks, beer. 24/7 room service (nice items like filet mignon, shrimp cocktail, etc). Creative towel designs by housekeeping.
Water sports/Activities: 9.5   The staff spoke excellent english, and were extremely pleasant and helpful. The checkout system was easy and there was always enough equipment.
Bars: 8   Very good bartending staff, but no real fruit (not even bananas), and no high-end liquor.
Restaurants: 9   One buffet (which we didn't try), and two a la carte. One of the a la carte places alternated the menu every other night between oriental and italian. Lunch & breakfast buffet only, but very nice. Food quality was very good and service was excellent.
Grounds: 9.5   Maybe not for the unadventurous, but we loved it! Sprawling, well maintained grounds. A unique eco resort.
Overall Service: 9   Generally excellent, except the front desk. The room safe lock didn't work when they brought us to the room, and it still wasn't working when we left (despite several phone calls).
Reception/Front desk: 3.5   "Yes sir, we are aware of the problem" -- yet no action.
Tour Operator: 1   DO NOT use Olympus/Go-Go tours. They hit on us for tips the second they met us. They forced us to attend an "orientation" meeting (aka, the sell-you-local-tours meeting) by taking our return bus voucher and then didn't show up for the meeting. DO use Chaza travel! Please note the distinction between a tour operator and a travel agent (our travel agent is the always-wonderful Middletown Cruise & Travel agency).
Overall: 9   A beautiful place with friendly staff. We'd go back again for certain.

May 2003