From continental dining, to fresh seafood and shellfish, to traditional Mayan cuisine Cancún offers a truly dazzling assortment of dining options. There are over 400 restaurants. Settings range from fast-food to casual bistros, to elegant, themed surroundings. Overall, dinning in town tends to be lees expensive than dining the resort zone. Many hotels have excellent restaurants And offer cuisines of enormous variety. A recent wave of competition (hotel restarants competing eith non-hotel eateries) has brought down dining prices. Fast food outlets are plentiful, although prices are higher than back home. Donts miss tryng some delicious local Mayan a dishes, such as Huevos Moltuleños, Cochinita or Pollo Pibil, and Sopa de Lima. The local beer is Montejo a hearty brew made in Mérida. A fun to start yoyr evening is to "hotel hop," taking in several excellent happy hours, a variety of live music, and some incrediblu beatiful resort settings. For those wanating a little adventre, try one of several popular sunset cocktail or dinner cruises. There are also dozens of Mexican-themed Fiesta Nigts. The awesome "Forum By-The-Sea" entertainment complex/shopping mall is the new hands-down favorite attraction for trendy dining (Hard Rock, Rain Forest Café, Mediterranea, Mama Romas), desert (Hagën Daz!) and dancing (Coco Bongo). Shopping at posh boutiques plus a food court and a twin screen movie theater, Even a micho brewery! Nightlife Nightlife is improving quickly, putting Cancún ahed of its Mexican Riviera couterparts. While several splash discos dominate the scene, most resort hotels offer live lobby music, ranging from reggae to salsa, to solo guitar. Comedy and off track betting are now on the scene as well. It´s said that Cancún has something for everyone, and this is especially true after dark. At nigth the tropical island switches. Into high gear and night life starts in earnest. Note that most discos collect a cover charge of $5-20 US per person. The acclaimed Ballet Folklórico showcases the different musical traditions of the various regions in Mexico. Dancers perform nightly (except Wed.) at a dinner show at the Continental Plaza hotel, tel. 83-1022/85-1444. How about an American movie? Plaza Kukulcán and Forum by the Sea each have two screens showing the latest flicks. Tel. 85-30-21. LODGING Lodging here is
generally basic. With the exception of the deluxe. Puerto
Isla Mujeres resort, the Na Balam, and the new Casa de
los Sueños B & B, most hotels cater to budget
travelers looking for 2- or 3- star accommodations.
Contact SolSierra Destinations, Tel.
1-800-400-3333; Isla Mujeres Central Reservations,
Tel. 1-800-555-8842; or the Hotel Association,
tel
LODGING
CANCÚN With over 20,000 hotel
rooms, Cancún is the largest resort in Mexico, and one
of the largest in the world. Visitors wanting to avoid
Cancuns commercial clamor should consider staying
at islands southern region no shopping
malls, beaches are less crowded, and auto/but traffic is
less congested. Guests looking to be close to
Cancuns assorted dining/shopping should opt for
properties further north around the Punta Cancún area
(see map). Wondering what the beach
is like at your hotel? Check out www.cancunmx.com. It has recent beachfront
photos of over 70 hotels plus reader comments and lots of
other helpful details. Because of the volume of
Gran Turismo properties (Mexicos highest ranking),
certain amenities that are common to all Gran Turismo
hotels (there are 20 hotels and 7,000 hotel rooms in this
category alone!) will be mentioned now, and not repeated
in the actual hotel descriptions. Gran Turismo amenities
include |