It’s pretty funny that I started 2016 with a trip to Mexico, and I am ending 2016 in Mexico; only difference, Jason and the kiddies joined me for our end of the year getaway. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, December is always hectic, but this little escape was much needed.
With a flight just under 4 hours, Mexico is such an easy escape from New York City. We left home at a blustery 28 degrees, only to be greeted by 85 degrees of loveliness! After grabbing our bags and whisking through customs, we hopped in a cab. Our hotel, Grand Palladium Riviera Resort was a little over an hour from the Cancun airport. Having visited four hotels in Mexico over the last year, I was excited to check this one, because I love the beaches along the Mayan Riviera.
The Grand Palladium Riviera Resort & Spa is made of up five resorts all on one complex, and the grounds are quite expansive. In fact, even after four days at the resort, we still found ourselves getting lost, but luckily there are golf carts to take you from place to place. All of the hotels have access to one another, including 9 all-inclusive themed restaurants, 5 buffet restaurants, 25 bars, 9 swimming-pools, a magnificent Spa, sports facilities, disco, baby club, mini club for kids, and a Junior Club for “big kids” up to 19 years old.
Our two bedroom suite was located at the White Sands section of the hotel. The joining rooms had three balcony’s overlooking the grounds, so we hung outside, eating some snacks and chatting, before hitting the pools. There’s nothing like taking a swim in the middle of December, when the weather back home is arctic! We milked every last minute of sunlight out of the day, before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner.
That evening, we dined at the à la carte Mexican restaurant, La Adelita. It only seemed fitting to eat Mexican food, for our first night in Mexico! After dinner, we walked the grounds, over to the entertainment, where Palladium offers movie nights and nighttime parties for the kids. The travel day left all of us wiped, so after the show, it was an early bedtime.
The next day we woke up bright and early, eager to get the beach. The beach is always my happy place, so I was psyched to spend an entire day, enjoying the white sands, and turquoise waters. Having been to many beaches in Riviera Maya, this may have been one of my favorites.
While Jason and I relaxed on the beach, the kids painted some ceramics. Their little sculptures kept them busy for hours, so the R&R time was pretty amazing. This turned out to be one of their favorite parts of the trip, and they ended up asking to paint ceramics every time we walked to the beach.
Ryder and Siella also spent a little time at the Ranchito Mini Club for children ages 4-12 years old. There was an outdoor arts and crafts room, video games and a trampoline. Parents are able to drop their children off with the babysitters on hand, while parents can experience alone time. Since Gemma was only three years old, she needed to stay indoors, where the younger kids were supervised. She didn’t want spend the day indoors, so we nixed the kids club, and headed to the beach.
And naturally, we had hit some souvenir shops on that walk to the beach.
I didn’t realize before we planned this trip to Mexico, but we’ve never spent time in the tropics, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so to have the grounds adorned with holiday lights and decorations was a treat! A Santa statue stood near a fountain overflowing with poinsettias outside one of the lobbies, and the kids asked to go see them each morning. We traveled to the lobby via the train trolley, which was decked out with lights and gift wrapped present boxes on top. Funny, I thought we were going to miss out on feeling the holidays away, but it was quite the opposite.
The rest of day was spent exploring the grounds, and with each stop, the kids eased into the idea of ordering kiddie strawberry daiquiri’s at the bars along the way!
Stay tuned to hear about our day at the seawater pool, and the kiddie water park. To be continued…..
14 thoughts on “Mexico In December Part I”
Mexico is one of our favorite places to go on vacation. It’s so much fun to head down there in the winter and bask in the sun instead of freeze!
There’s something so fun about heading to a warm climate for a winter vacation. It’s like you’re cheating Mother Nature!
I need to be there right now! I live in the Chicagoland area, and it absolutely sucks up here in the winter. It goes from the 60s to the 20s in a day. There’s no time to adjust!
Looks like you all had an amazing time in Mexico. Mexico is one of my favorite vacation spots. It’s a great getaway when my area is cold.
What a lovely way to finish the year off! Your trip looked like a lot of fun! I’d be pretty pumped to hang out by the beach in winter!
What great pictures! Looks like a great vacation you had. Can’t beat warm weather in December!
I’ve been to Mexico in the summertime but never in December! Looks like y’all had a blast.
I would love to spend the holidays in the tropical weather! You guys look like you had a great time away from that NY weather. I can’t wait to hear about the rest of your trip.
That looks like an amazing resort! My family and I have never been to Mexico but, as Texans, we are so close.
What an amazing trip! My goddaughter just spent the last two weeks in Mexico and said it was the trip of a lifetime. I’d definitely love to go with my family some day too!
What a fun way to start and finish the year! Mexico sounds awesome right now!
That’s fun that you got to bring the fam . this time. I say start the new year off with a trip to Europe and see if you end it next year that way too (Hey, it’s worth a try). 🙂 Love the pics!
We are looking for some place to go on our vacation and this looks perfect!
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