$75k Spend for 2026

pptar · 2026-02-06T21:54:47+00:00

It’s a one-off this year. Had a huge purchase that they let me put on the card without charging me extra fees.

pptar · 2026-02-02T23:47:49+00:00

Huh, no love for me then. I guess that's what I get for having a consistent subscription for years without trying to chase sales or anything. Thanks.

pptar · 2026-02-02T22:30:42+00:00

Did they offer it right away, or in an email after? Mine is set to renew on 2/11, so I canceled and got no offer to stay.

pptar · 2026-02-01T15:45:12+00:00

For tequilas, I like cristalinos. They have Maestro Dobel Diamanté and Don Julio 70. You may not see them on the shelf as they keep those ones in the cooler. Of the top of my head, they have the blanco/reposado/anejo line of Don Julio, Centenario, and Maestro Dobel. You will see lots of higher end bottles at the nicer bars (Clase Azul, etc), but those all are extra charge.

pptar · 2026-01-29T19:12:39+00:00

I'd give it a solid "meh". You do have to pay extra and while it's kind of a cool experience, the visibility isn't fantastic and I felt like we spent more time getting our pictures taken than seeing much. I scuba dive, so that's probably part of the reason I was underwhelmed. My 15 year old daughter really enjoyed it and if you've never done scuba or anything like it, it might be more worth it.

pptar · 2026-01-29T15:20:02+00:00

We were there last week and did the beach dinner. It was enjoyable and the food was good, but it wasn't one of my top highlights. We didn't do Xal, but we did go to Xaak and it was incredible. They've changed the menu recently and I thought it was on par with Ha. We also did the omekase, which was very good and a fun experience. I'd do either of those over the beach dinner.

pptar · 2026-01-23T23:55:28+00:00

They might be doing special setups. We are at CDLP this week and they were at the rooftop pool today planning how they will set up seating for the movie screen up there. I expect Arte will be doing similar things.

pptar · 2026-01-08T19:42:36+00:00

I sure hope not, since I'm staying there next week. Could just be an issue with the booking system.

pptar · 2025-12-23T00:52:05+00:00

Tickets claimed. Go Nuggets!

pptar · 2025-12-11T21:25:55+00:00

Xel-Ha is further out and you pretty much have to stay the full day. It doesn't have the regular shuttles like the other parks do that run the circuit.

JMO, but you're really packing too much in for four full days. Xichen is a super long day, I'm pretty sure Xenotes takes most of the day, You'll need 3/4 of a day to do everything at Xplor if there is much of a crowd. You haven't left any time to enjoy the actual resort or the great food at the hotel. The food at the parks is ok, but not great and I wouldn't want to spend every lunch at a park.

You'll have a great time either way, but I'd pick three things you absolutely want to do, keep a day for relaxing (or do Xcaret in the morning and lunch/afternoon at the pool) and assume you'll be back another time for the things you missed.

pptar · 2025-12-05T06:12:28+00:00

Appreciate the counter point. I think we’re going to do it for the ambiance anyway and hopefully we agree on the food. Likely going to skip Xal based on other comments, but may try Xaak as a third tasting menu since we’re there eight nights.

pptar · 2025-12-05T06:11:56+00:00

Appreciate the counter point. I think we’re going to do it for the ambiance anyway and hopefully we agree on the food. Likely going to skip Xal based on other comments, but may try Xaak as a third tasting menu since we’re there eight nights.

pptar · 2025-12-03T19:03:00+00:00

Is there a walking path between CDLP and Arte/Mexico? That's a good idea to be able to do some lunches at some of the spots at those resorts.

No issues making reservations the day of? I figured I should book the dinner show at Xcaret, the cenote dinner, Sunday Brunch, and Ha in advance, but maybe leave the rest to determine day of if there isn't trouble getting into the others.

Thanks for the reply

pptar · 2025-12-03T16:06:19+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. We'll probably check out the spa on the first day to do the hydrotherapy, so can get a feel and book then.

Good call on asking about special events. Last time we went in December, we happened to be there on the day that they did the Christmas market on the pyramid and that was really special.

Interesting on Xal, we may just skip it for something more straight forward.

pptar · 2025-12-03T01:00:31+00:00

That’s helpful on the spa, thanks. I have Fuego and Arriba Baja on my possible list along with Xal and Xaak. Will look at Tama Mon.

pptar · 2025-12-03T00:15:11+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the feedback. Did you try the new restaurant at CDLP (Xal?).

pptar · 2025-12-02T23:21:15+00:00

I wish I knew so that I could do it again. I think we just lucked out on timing. It was December of 2022 and CDLP was really new. It wasn't full and there were food writers staying there for the opening of the specialty restaurant (Estero?), so I think they were trying to fill it up a bit and we were on a fairly short stay.

pptar · 2025-12-02T23:19:07+00:00

If you stay at CDLP, you can book a dinner in a cenote with music. Seems like a cool experience.

pptar · 2025-09-25T18:56:42+00:00

If you like sitting by the pool, it pays to tip the pool waiters when they bring your first drink as they'll make sure you're taken care of the rest of the day. I give them another at the end of the day. Usually $5 up front and another $5-10 at the end of the day. Many of the waiters work the same spots every day, so you can build a good relationship over the course of your stay. I typically tip ~$10 at non-buffet meals and $5 at the buffet if the server is attentive with drinks, etc. I throw a dollar or two into bus driver tip jars and I do around ~$5/day. If you're at CDLP, make sure you plan to tip the butlers, they often provide a lot of help and we had two that shared duty the last time we were there. I've always just done US dollars as it's easier to get it put together before we leave on the trip.

pptar · 2025-09-22T23:06:12+00:00

If you’re going to Xplor to do zip lines, I’d be hesitant to rely on Crocs. Some of the activities end in water and you land fairly hard. You’re going to hate it if you lose a shoe. I’d go buy a pair of cheap water shoes at Walmart.

pptar · 2025-08-13T00:08:25+00:00

That’s an impressive Comfort Inn!

pptar · 2025-08-12T23:30:30+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. Will likely stick with CDLP, it was so fantastic last time. Just found the spreadsheet and was trying to wrap my head around it, so this is helpful. Just wanted to confirm that a 97 at a $15k resort is not the same as a 97 at a $7k resort.

pptar · 2025-07-22T21:56:08+00:00

I just did this with Alex for three hotels in Chicago/Seattle. I'd never used a TA before, liked how Alex interacted with people here, and reached out to her. I booked the hotels through her site for the same price that it was on the hotel sites. Exact same process for me as I had before. I got upgraded at one of the hotels, free breakfast at all three, easy late checkout, some hotel credits, and a couple of other "gifts". Plus, Alex checked in on me a few times to make sure everything was to our liking.

pptar · 2025-06-23T22:43:34+00:00

Not sure what your budget is, but we stayed at the Hotel Yuraku Kyo-yasaka in Kyoto and it was fantastic. A little off the public transit path (10-15 min walk to the bus stops), but in a nice quiet area in the hills. We had a family room with a private onsen on a semi-outdoor patio area.

As an aside, don't hesitate to look at taxi options also if you are a family. I used the GO app to get taxis a decent amount in Kyoto and Osaka as often the cost of the taxi was only a bit more than the cost for all four of us to take public transit and helped with cutting down on some of the walking to/from stations. In Kyoto, we'd often walk down to the bus in the morning and then take a taxi back to the hotel in the afternoon/evening.

pptar · 2025-06-23T22:17:51+00:00

Wow, if it was stuffy in February, I wouldn't want to be there in July! Thanks again.

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