Kantenah, Colonial Palladium Review

Overall Rating

Everything: service, food, drink, ambiance of resort, cleanliness, beach, sun, ......

electrical plugs are single - needed more for charging batteries,cameras, etc.

We arrived at the Palladium & were taken to the appropriate lobby. Check in was a breeze. I emailed (driviera@fiesta-hotels.com) the resort a week prior to our arrival and received my request of "king size bed, shower, Colonial side". We asked for a complementary upgrade and were denied because they were at 100% occupancy. Being at full capacity, this was never noticed by an over abundance of people at any time. I would have though they were only half full. As far as the location of our villa. At first I was disappointed we weren't closer to the pool/beach area. As the week progressed, we were thankful we had a location (Villa 2 - Colonial) close to the lobby/theater area. After being in the hot sun all day, eating a large dinner & watching the shows, we were glad we didn't have far to walk back to our room at night.

STANDARD ROOM (Colonial)- (Villas 21, 20,8 & 9 are Junior suites. Villas 7-1 are Standard rooms.) The room was very cheery & quaint. Three of the walls were painted yellow and one was lime green sponge painted. There was a large closet with 8 hangers (pants or shirts) and 2 shelves. Another shelf held the programmable safe. There was also a long top shelf. There was a desk with 3 small drawers, 2 nightstands with a shelf & drawer and an armoire. The armoire held the TV, fridge, ice bucket and coffee pot. There was also a non-steam iron, ironing board, ceiling fan and smoke detector. There were only 2 pillows on the bed. Our friends had a 3rd in their closet but we didn't. The balcony was good size & had a small table & 2 chairs. The bathroom had a blow dryer (hold the handle in & make sure the switch is on), basket with toiletries (shampoo, bubble bath, tissues, soap, sewing kit, & shower cap). There was also a clothes line in the shower. We had a bath tub with a shower (handicap style). There were only 2 large towels but received more with a "4 toallas por favor". Don't forget that you need to have a room key in the electrical slot by the door for the air & lights to work. We had left it in and it was out when we returned that evening. I wondered why my camera batteries were not charging and realized why. When I explained to the maid I would like to keep the electricity on and showed her the batteries, she always left it in. The room does cool off quickly. When you open the balcony door, the air goes off. The fan switch in next to one of the lights by the bed. You don't have to jump on the bed to turn it off !!! Bring your own shower soap, they have very tiny bars. If you want clean towels, put the used ones on the floor. There was only 3 outlets in the room. If you wanted to charge batteries & iron, it was dark in the room. I would bring an extension cord next time. We had towel art a couple days: swans & bunnies. There was no alarm clock. We did call the front desk for a wake up call & we even got a "snooze" call.
REFRIGERATOR - This was stocked on Saturday, Monday, & Wednesday. It held 4 waters, 4 beers (2 Dos XX, 2 Superior), 6 sodas (Orange, Pepsi, & 7up). We had no problem trading what we didn't want for what we wanted. We just left a note saying "mas orange, pro favor" with what we didn't want next to the note.
PHONE CALLS - (this is in pesos) Local calls, $6/call; USA/CAN $35/min; International, $50/min; Collect $40/call; National, $10/min; Connection charge $40/connection (using hotel "O")
INTERNET CAF - located by the shopping on the Kantenah side. $6/30 min (need to pay in pesos). They give you a slip of paper with a user ID & password. The server is very slow. The computer will let you know when you have so-many minutes left.
BEACH - The non-motorized activities along with a beach bar/snack bar (open 24/7) were on the Colonial side. There is a volleyball net on both sides - the Colonial one had more activity. There was a lot of dead coral rocks as you walked in. Every day was a "yellow flag" day for us. We did notice the rocks moved with the waves so we did find areas where there we no rocks. Since we had a lot of wave action from Claudette, there was some seaweed. This was raked & cleaned daily. We also saw several areas of turtle nests marked but didn't see the turtles.
ALA CARTE RESTURAUNTS - we ate at the Mediterranean, Japanese (no kids menu) & Mexican. Our preferences are in that order. We were very disappointed in the Mexican - very gourmet. All the ala carte restaurants were kind of gourmet style with a limited menu. At the Mediterranean we had: filet with portabella sauce (excellent) grilled tuna (excellent), 3 fish kabob (excellent) & chicken with proshutto (sp?) (good but wouldn't order again). The Mexican restaurant was very entertaining. Their welcome drink & tequila slammers are the bomb!! Ask for the chef's table at the Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you. RESERVATIONS - make these ASAP. We made them the next morning and had limited times. Remember you aren't just competing with those who just arrived but those who were already there for a couple days.
POOLS - Main: The depth of the main pool is out of control. It's 5'3" so you have to be 6' to carry a drink from the pool bar. We saw a few people become ingenious with their pool rafts. They had the ones with all the holes & would put their drinks in there & float to their spot! The built-in lounge chairs are great. You see people lying in every imaginable position on them. Did see 1 or 2 topless here. Adult: also has the "secret bar". Wilbur is the bartender here & he is the greatest. (Tell him his favorite American friends said hello!) More topless here (always at least 1). TOWELS: Each person received a towel card in exchange for a towel. At the end of each day we just got a fresh towel for the next day and then got our cards back the last night. PALAPS: There were plenty of these at the pool & beach. Since the resort was at 100% occupancy, there was a day or two the prime ones were gone (colonial side) by 10am. There were always plenty at the Kantenah side of the beach. FOOD: The beach bar had the largest choice of pre-mixed frozen drinks (all other bars used a blender). They would just add the liquor. Their menu consisted of burgers, hot dogs, cheese quesadillas, nachos, and guacamole. BREAKFAST: Starts at 6:30. The buffet is very elaborate - you name it, they got it! Egg & omelet buffet, meats, fruit, ice cream, pancakes, potatoes, Danish, breads, sandwich supplies, fruit smooties, & juices. There is also a continental breakfast in the lunch buffet area. LUNCH: You can eat lunch in the breakfast buffet area or by the main pool buffet. At the pool buffet they always had a pizza station, salads, chicken nuggets, fries, grill for fish, chicken & beef, ice cream, & desserts. On some days they had a themed beach BBQ. BEACH BBQ: This was on Friday evening in the beach volleyball area of the Colonial side. They put a sign up at the Colonial buffet on Tuesday. We had to make reservations at the guest relations desk on the Colonial side (limited to 150 people). We were very disappointed in the beach BBQ. There were different meats (lamb, beef, ribs, chicken, sausage, burgers, & hotdogs), baked potatoes, salad, corn & beans. The area was dark so it was hard to see what you were getting and most of the food was cold. The entertainment & ambiance was wonderful. DINNER/THEMES: These are posted outside the dinner buffet areas. Sunday was always Mexican and Friday was always Gala. The other dinner themes were: Marinera, Dominican, Marroqui, Spanish, French, Campesina, Mundial, International & Welcome. All dinners always had a pasta bar, pizza, salads, desserts, fries, & much more!!
SHOWS: There was always a kids show at 8:30 then either bingo or guest awards (archery, bocce, etc.) then the show. A couple shows were audience participation which was actually fun. They had Fantasy (aka: Fantasia), Americana, Latin & Caribbean shows. Just for those kids to get up their in the sweltering heat & move the way they do - I carumba!
There is also a band in the lunch buffet area - just above the swim-up bar every evening. It took us a couple of days to discover this. It was very enjoyable. They have waiters so you don't have to go up to the bar.
VENDORS: On Sunday & Wednesday there were vendors outside of the theater (Colonial). They were expensive but were willing to bargain. I got an extra large beautiful soft blanket for $10. They do have limited selections. (FYI - if you don't get a chance to shop, they do have nice shops at the airport).
ACTIVITIES: Scuba lessons at the main pool every day @ 11am & 3pm; tequila volleyball (miss a shot, do a shot!); meringue lessons, follow the leader, leader, leader; PARASAILING: on the Colonial side, $550 (pesos only) JET SKIING: on the Kantenah side ? price BANANA BOATS: Colonial side $110P / 50 min
MISC: at night there are a bajillion hermit crabs walking around on the beach and around the beach bar; sun rise is beautiful, a lot of German, French & Italians; a lot of topless on the beach; only pesos at the hotel & water sports. Hotel exchange was $1USD/$9.50P/$6.25CAN/$11.25EUR;
ABOUT US & TRAVEL THERE: Just to give you some background about "us". My husband and I went with our friends - both celebrating our 25th anniversary. The men are 50 & us gals are in our mid 40's.
After lamenting about tropical storm Claudette & seeing "thunderstorms" forecasted for everyday of our trip, I am VERY please to saw we never saw 1 drop of rain!
Detroit to Cancun - arrived @ 11:15 am. We were on a TransMeridian flight with Apple Vacations. The food was almost fair and it was very cramped on board. The flight crew was very attentive and professional. Customs and immigration was like a cattle corral. Busy but easy to get through. We did notice 2 couples that were married having a problem getting the wives through. With their birth certificates & driver's license having different names, they were hassled without a marriage license. One lady was denied at first, then let through. The moral of this story is get a passport if at all possible. It really deletes the hassles. Make sure you keep the little white card they give you, that's your visa to get out of the country! After immigration, you get your luggage. It seemed like we waited a long time for our luggage. As you walk out, you have to hit a "traffic signal" button. If it turns red - you get searched! We saw the Apple rep as we got outside. We were taken to a transport van with other Palladiumites. They seemed to try & group us to our resorts.

I guess the bottom line is we DEFINATELY would return to this resort.