miércoles, 17 de julio de 2013

Arrival and Hotel


Introduction
Arrival and Hotel
Day I and Day II
Day III and Day IV
Going back home

As soon as I woke up, me and my family headed to Toluca Airport - just as a FYI, it is Mexico City's smaller regional airport-. 
The check in with Interjet was pretty fast, they offer a very good service, though they just have some routes to the U.S. (O.C, Miami, Las Vegas and NYC).
Gladly for us, the airport has an American Express Centurion Lounge (there are 6 in Mexico, only one in the U.S.), where if you have any American Express card you can access. They offer small breakfasts, internet, Tvs, free (short) massages. 



I've been to several lounges all over the world, and I haven't seen any (I'm sure there are) that the security point is actually inside the lounge. 
So of course, the security process was a bliss and within minutes I was seated on the plane.

The flight was under two hours, but I was next to a 5 kids flying alone (all siblings) and they treated the steward like their own butler and sang One Direction Songs, not cool. 

Anyways we arrived at the airport and headed straight to our rental car: Alamo.
We found a great price, 34 USD for 4 days, for a midsize car! 
Pretty great, huh?! 
Specially in a place where the taxi to the hotel costs over 80 USD roundtrip.
Well, of course no insurance was included, and because our credit card included some (no CC includes 3rd person accidents) we weren't really going to pay for insurance, but apparently it was compulsory. No I have rented cars in Miami and Vegas with no insurance from them, so I was a bit shocked to see my 34 USD rate go up to a 120 USD rate. 

We were given a 2009 Nissan Sentra that wasn't in the best shape, but at least it worked.

We took the "toll" Highway (waste of money) and arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later. 

We chose the Hotel Hacienda Encantada, because of the offer we found at Jetsetter.com 
200 USD, with taxes included, and All-Inclusive. http://www.jetsetter.com/invite/83914758ap9742vd9xz9
Now, the rate was great, but I did not see the small print
I selected 3 people, and still in small letters it said that the reservation was quoted for 2 !
So I ended up paying 36 USD more per day, which for what it includes it's ok. 
Still, it's not great to be charged extra, and be treated badly by a bitchy front desk girl. 

I wrote a pretty large review on the hotel on Tripadvisor, which I hope it will be helpful to any one going to Cabo. 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g152515-d671119-r166556337-Hacienda_Encantada_Resort_Spa-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html

Our day ended with a nice lunch by the pool and basically an afternoon of pure relaxation. 

Room

Hotel Grounds




martes, 16 de julio de 2013

Cabo Trip !!!

Introduction
Arrival and Hotel
Day I and Day II
Day III and Day IV
Going back home


How many Californians have ever been to Cabo?
A lot
How many Americans have ever been to Cabo?
Many
How many Mexicans have ever been to Cabo?
Not many
And not surprisingly, this was my first time in Los Cabos.
And yes, I do live in Mexico City with a flight less than 200 USD roundtrip and 2 hours away, and I've never been to this amazing place.

So a bit of background, shall we?

Summer was coming pretty fast, ( FYI it was already June), so we wanted to do something for July, preferably in Mexico.
The common, cheapest option for us is Acapulco, but we searched some flight options and found a nice 200 USD roundtrip flight from Mexico City to Los Cabos, and also found an awesome deal at Jetsetter (please visit http://www.jetsetter.com/invite/83914758ap9742vd9xz9) 200 USD for an oceanview room  All-Inclusive rate in a Non-Inclusive hotel (which makes everything better).

So, we booked it and we were ready to go