Kantenah, Colonial Palladium Review

Overall Rating

Excellent service, food, environment, entertainment. Responsive management and overall excellent value for the dollar.

None except we had to leave after only seven days.
I would rate this hotel a 10 but for credibility sake I'll give it a 9.5.

Palladium- May 25, 2003-June 1, 2003

We are a family of three: middle age Mom, "older" Dad, and twelve-year-old "Abby".

First impressions were very favorable. Overwhelmingly beautiful. The hotel is sprawling and grounds are lush.l. Check-in was swift. We were given maps, relative resort info, and three coupons for ala cartes. We were then whisked away in a golf cart for transfer to Villa 7 on the Kantenah side.

The first floor room was immaculate. Two double beds, box spring & mattresses, not hard. A/C was cold. We were told we had to use one of the two room cards given to us for A/C to work but this was not the case. It never shut off unless we opened the slider to the balcony. Ceiling fan, coffee maker, nice closet with roomy, programmable safe, marble shower and tub, iron, ironing board, hair dryer. Balcony faced the jungle, providing lots of privacy.. Although we were on the first floor we had the sense of being on a hill and thus "raised" up.

As I have posted a long detailed report elsewhere, I shall try to keep this more concise.

Environment: The hotel has a jungle atmosphere.. There are many paths through the jungle, allowing one to experience a peaceful serenity while viewing colorful birds, hermit crabs, iguanas, flamingoes, crocodiles (caged), a wild caomundi. There are wild orchid sanctuaries along the way and benches where one can sit and rest or simply inhale the lovely smells of nature. The resort is sprawling, offering everything from beachside bungalows to three story villas. There is lots of sparkling marble. Everything is immaculate and meticulously maintained. There are two "sides" to this resort - the Kantenah side and the Colonial side. Each side has its own lobby but common areas such as the beach, the pools, the theater, restaurants are shared by both sides.

Beach: Long and varied, offering something for everyone. I walked barefoot for about a half mile to the north towards EDRS. There is a turtle sanctuary there although I saw no turtles. The beach went from soft white sand and aqua water to some spots of coral. There were many areas where one could sit on a lounger in seclusion to the north. The beach to the south is more untouched and does have areas of coral where you would want to wear water shoes. When we were there, there was a yellow flag every day, giving us the perfect amount of gentle wave activity. Many fish can be seen in both the swimming area and the snorkeling areas.

Food: Outstanding in the buffets and the ala cartes. The food was always fresh, delectably prepared and beautifully presented. There are two identical buffets, one on each "side" for all three meals. The main buffets and the ala cartes are A/C. Breakfast is a breakfast-lover's paradise. There were themes at dinner in the main buffet each night, i.e. Gala had every kind of meat one could dream of. The seafood night was my paradise but there were also many meat offerings for my husband. There was always a custom pasta station which my daughter depended on and always fresh seafood regardless of the theme. The same can be said for the Il Gran Azul buffet in the building behind the main pool. The food area there is air-conditioned and great attention is given to hygiene. We always ate lunch there and found the same high quality and presentation, everything from grilled lamb chops, chicken breasts, tender barbecued ribs falling off the bone, steaks, hamburgers, grilled fish , i.e. mahi mahi, sea bass, many salads and a soft serve ice cream station with the most beautiful strawberry ice cream I have ever seen. You are given three coupons for ala cartes per week. I suggest reserving these early. (Guest services in the Colonial lobby.) We tried the Mediterranean Il Vaticano, which was excellent and the Japanese Sump Tuoki, which was fun. We sat at the chef's table and his presentation alone made it worth the visit. The beach bar, which is opened 24 hours per day, offers standard snack food or kids lunch food, i.e. hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, very good french fries, etc. The beach bar is opened 24 hours per day. There was a Friday night barbecue when we were there which we did not try as my daughter didn't want to miss the show.

Service: Outstanding. There is a sense that the staff cannot do enough to please. They work extremely hard and are always very pleasant. We carried some ones ($) for tipping and left the maid $3 per day. Tips were given discretely and always very much appreciated.

Drinks: The water at this resort is safe to drink as they have their own water purification system via reverse osmosis. They provide bottled water as well. The room fridge had the standard bottled water, soda and beer. I believe it was stocked every third day. We requested that the Pepsi be replaced with Pepsi Light and this was happily done for us on the 2nd day. I drink mainly wine and can say that the bottled Mexican wine was very above average by AI standards. I have never been to an AI where the wine was "acceptable". This was quite good. The Tequila shots flowed freely. Hubby said that Hemingway's bar serves top shelf liquor. Coffee and cappuccinos were excellent. My daughter didn't care for the self- serve fruity drinks, i.e. strawberry daiquiri. I have read, however, that if you bring the bartenders fresh fruit from the buffet they will prepare a fresh fruit drink for you.


Pools: Gorgeous lake-like main pool. 5'3" deep. It does have a shelf along the sides with ceramic loungers installed - very nice for lounging with a drink and or a book. Suggest bringing a blow up float for the pool. The swim up bar is near the Il Gran Azul restaurant. There is a kiddy pool nearby, 1'4" deep and another shallow pool for water polo, etc. There is also a pool behind the Spa and a "Secret" adult pool. These are 4'11" deep and each has bar service.

Towels: You are given towel cards upon check in. The towel hut is near the pool on the Colonial side. We exchanged our cards for towels each morning so we would not have to carry them back and forth to the room.

Spa & Gym: The gym is opened 7:30 am to 9 pm for adults only. The Spa is opened at 9am. Services are offered for pesos only - a hotel policy.


Kids Club: It is a well-equipped, fenced in area with a gate. There was plenty of shade. There were, I think, a total of three staff. I had read in the hotel handout that kids must be signed in. Most of the kids were little, 4-6. One naughty little boy tried to "escape" to his mom and a patient kids club lady was right there with him escorting him to his mom. There were two kids club ladies in the kids' pool, 1'4" deep, with floats and about 4 kids. Not too much was organized for older kids. One day there was a water polo game announced. Most of the kids were probably under 8. Another day there was a kid's bingo announced but I didn't notice anyone showing up. The kids all gravitated to the evening shows which I'll cover later. My Abby, aged 12, was content. The size and variety of amenities offered at this resort are a plus in keeping older kids happy.

Activities: A daily schedule is given out at check in. The animation staff organize water-robics, beach volleyball, dancing lessons, Spanish lessons, Bocce and many other activities. There is also a state-of the art basketball court, tennis courts, mini-golf, table tennis. On the beach there is sailing, daily snorkeling and "motorized" activities for a cost, i.e. banana boat, jet skis para sailing. There is also a place where one can paint pottery for a small fee. They glaze it and it serves as a nice souvenir. Good, shady activity.

Topless: The maximum topless I saw at the main pool was one on one day. The maximum I saw at the main beach was two. One day there was one swimming in the most popular beach area. If one walks down toward EDR there are more topless as there is much more privacy. Without leaving the beach I counted five and saw one thong. Now, I can say I did my homework.

Walmart Mugs: I was amused to see many Walmart mugs. (We forgot to use the one we had brought as we always sat near the beach bar.) I found it hilarious that the first day we were there,
there was a couple with Walmart mugs engraved with their names and a date. Must have been newlyweds!

Dress: The buffets are casual, i.e. men are not required to wear long slacks. Slacks are required in the ala cartes. The only time I noticed anyone not allowed in the restaurant all week was when a family approached the main buffet from the beach in wet bathing suits, with towels wrapped around themselves. The management diplomatically sent them to the beach bar. We had lunch in Il Gran Azul in dried-off bathing suits (chairs have upholstered cushions) with cover-ups and footwear.

Weather: Occasional sprinkles. One twenty minute downpour. It rained one night which was refreshing. The rain didn't keep us from doing what we wanted to do. Suggest bringing a poncho if you're going during "rainy season".

Collectivos: There is a stop in front of the hotel. We took one to town. Within minutes we were whisked away by a collectivo full of locals going to or from work. There were also two women holding beautiful young children on their laps. It took about 20 minutes to get to PDC. We were dropped off at Calle 2 and 15th. It cost about $5 for three of us (I tipped the driver).

Taxis: There is a price-list of taxi charges in the Colonial lobby. This made it very easy when I had to hire a taxi to take some things to the Bibliotek in Akumal for me.

PDC: PDC had certainly changed since the last time we visited. Much more developed. As my daughter still did not have her hair braided we were bombarded with "offers". One man quoted $65 for a full head. As I suspected, my daughter studied many of the samples shown her and decided to go back to the hotel. I can't blame her. Many of the vendors are their own worst enemy. As we had hubby escorting us they weren't quite as aggressive as we had experienced in the past but some yelled out comments like, "beautiful daughter". Finding a mirror I sort of liked, I inquired about price. Clad with a calculator the vendor deducted 30% off something and came up with an outrageous price. I guffawed and he started yelling at me, "what, you want it for $5?", etc. Needless to say this sales approach failed. He was still yelling at me when I left the store. Prices were literally all over the place. My daughter bought a hat for 90 pesos that was priced at 170 pesos across the street. She also bought a necklace for 100 pesos. (We got the guy down from 120 but still paid too much.) It was 300 pesos down the street. All the vendors in town we dealt with took US dollars.

Hair Braiding: This is offered at the hotel as are henna tattoos. The sign reads: The sign read: short hair 700 pesos, medium length hair 1000 pesos and long hair 1200 pesos. I had heard through the grapevine that this sign was new as a way to discourage people from negotiating. Well, this didn't stop me! I was able to negotiate. Note: Hotel policy requires services be paid for in pesos. The rate at the front desk is $1 - 9.50 pesos. We did better in town at an ATM.

Internet: Off the lobby. Minimum 60 pesos per half hour.

Bars: There are many to choose from. There is a bar off the theater, a disco bar (opened at 11 pm for over-18), a bar off each lobby where you can relax and listen to live music, an enclosed Hemingway's bar (book exchange here and top shelf liquor), an enclosed Churchill cigar bar, a bar in Il Gran Azul with music and the beach bar as well as bars at the Spa pool and the Adult pool.

Theater: There was a well-attended very funkids show each evening at 8:30 followed by bingo and an evening adult show. I say adult as some of the "moves" were risqu but this was always well-attended by families. We all enjoyed these shows. My daughter was fascinated with the level of skill of the dancers. Shows ended a little before 11 by which time we were usually exhausted.
After the show many kids and adults went to dance on stage

Palladium - Overview - Monologue

On my last day I awoke early. It was partly sunny, very warm with a light breeze. I gathered Abby's float and opened the door to greet the day. I could hear the flamingoes from their home near the lobby. They were always busy chatting. I headed down the jungle path towards the beach. Many iguanas of various sizes scurried about. A distant frog croaking reminded me of the little guy who awaited us at our front door last night. I thought, "Maybe he's the one who ate all the mosquitoes!" As I walked on, many blue crabs scampered into their fist-size holes. I saw
the morning birds of various hues; blues, greens and a yellow canary. Occasionally a butterfly appeared in a stream of light and disappeared into the trees. I had wanted to see the caomundi that we had spotted the first night at the beach bar but he never appeared again. As I passed the orchid sanctuary the peace of this miraculous morning enveloped me. At the same time I could hear the enticing sound of the ocean.

There was soft music playing at the pool. Arriving at the beach, I found work crews dismantling the stage from the barbecue night and cleaning the beach. The beach was fairly quiet this early in the morning. Often there were chairs reserved near the beach bar but there were no chairs reserved that morning. I plopped the float across three loungers and went to the beach bar to enjoy an excellent cappuccino while the sun came up. My family and I agreed that this had been the best family vacation we had ever shared. As we had been traveling with our daughter for her twelve years that's quite an assessment.

When we drove to the airport the next morning it began to drizzle. The Apple rep said, "the sky is weeping for you". I knew that I would have to return to the Paradise I found at the Palladium.

Members' Comments oncapecodann's Review

• Moe741 on 23rd Jan 2004

  This lady took the time to write a lengthy review. How wonderful! She carefully chose her words to eloquently described her true feelings about this resort. I have no reservations whatsoever about my planned trip next month. Trips are like most everything else in this world; you get out what you put in. It's quite apparent this young lady did her homework and, as a result had an amazing stay. Kudos to her and her delightful review.//Moe

• lizzyb on 25th Jan 2004

  We will be spending 7 days at this resort end of May 2004 and so this review was really helpful. We have never done this kind of vacation before and so the info will be helpful. Hopefully we will have the same experience! I have read mostly good reviews of this resort but this one is (so far) the most helpful and the best. Liz

• rachyroars on 27th Jan 2004

  That was an amazing review and i'm am so grateful to have read it! We booked our vacation to Kantenah Colonial Palladium after reading this review. Thankyou for your time and effort in preparing this detailed report. It was like reading a short story!!!!