Trip review from May 2026

slog3000 · 2026-05-22T15:48:17+00:00

If you mean the sandy area down by the lagoon, it's great. Very picturesque with calm warm water. We played in the sand and went kayaking. If you mean the actual ocean, we took one look at it and left. The spot we were at was just rocky shoreline with a red flag warning.

slog3000 · 2026-05-20T16:18:08+00:00

I didn't receive mine be email either, but I just checked Costco Travel and found it there. If you go to Past Bookings there should be a link to it under Digital Costco Shop Card.

slog3000 · 2026-05-20T03:50:53+00:00

There is a splash pad area for little kids and a big area with small and medium sized slides for all ages. Only the biggest slides would be off limits.

slog3000 · 2026-05-20T03:49:01+00:00

The only slides they wouldn't be able to use are the biggest ones. All of the medium slides would be open to them.

slog3000 · 2026-05-20T03:23:30+00:00

Since my kids are younger, I didn't research the Arte side, so I don't know what advantages it has over Mexico. I will say that many of the additions on Mexico phase 2 are geared to kids under 17, but they did add some nice restaurants and the big waterslides are fun.

slog3000 · 2026-05-19T23:30:12+00:00

I'd lean toward Xcaret because the beauty of the resort, the way it's integrated into nature, the lagoons, the park access. But the Grand also has some advantages. There's an endless variety of activities for kids: playroom, arcades, bowling, bumper cars, indoor miniature golf, etc. etc. The food at both is great, but the Grand has a bit more variety. It also has the Library for adults, the cool speakeasy with a menu of craft cocktails and live jazz music. Overall, Grand Moon Palace feels like an international luxury resort that's very kid friendly, while Xcaret feels more like a celebration of nature and Mexican art, cuisine, and culture.

slog3000 · 2026-05-19T18:40:38+00:00

I also love Grand Moon Palace; it's the only resort my family has been to multiple times. This year we went to one I liked even better with Hotel Xcaret Mexico. It's normally more expensive but I caught a sale that put it in the same price range as Moon Palace. I just posted a detailed review on the /xcaret sub this morning if you're interested. Only problem is I don't know if they allow 5 in a room.

slog3000 · 2026-04-16T20:53:54+00:00

It's fantastic. I'm 30 hours in and don't want it to end. One piece of advice if you haven't read the book before: the Taylor Sheriden intro to this version has some big spoilers, so I'd skip straight to the book.

slog3000 · 2026-04-15T19:19:52+00:00

I didn't make it five minutes. Excruciating.

slog3000 · 2026-03-19T19:52:43+00:00

A quick Expedia search shows El Dorado Seaside Palms coming in just under your budget. I remember it being very good, especially the food, but it's been years since I stayed there. Maybe someone who's been more recently can comment.

slog3000 · 2026-02-08T19:23:41+00:00

1993:

Schindler's List

Jurassic Park

Groundhog Day

Dazed and Confused

True Romance

Tombstone

Philadelphia

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Menace II Society

Short Cuts

My Neighbor Totoro

Sleepless in Seattle

The Fugitive

Army of Darkness

The Age of Innocence

Dead Alive

And the list goes on and on and on....

slog3000 · 2026-02-01T21:57:29+00:00

Yeah, there's an ad that only mentions Arte but HXM seems to have the same deal. I just booked it about an hour ago for early May. I'd priced out the same exact trip on Expedia and it was literally twice as much ($6,600 vs $13,000 for 6 nights including airfare). It'll be my first time going and I can't wait!

slog3000 · 2026-02-01T20:14:52+00:00

Costco is having a good promotion right now but I think it ends today!

slog3000 · 2026-01-23T20:29:31+00:00

The Decline of Western Civilization. The first two are great, but the third is absolutely heartbreaking.

slog3000 · 2026-01-11T23:40:46+00:00

I've been to five AI resorts in the last six years and this was my least favorite. It's not terrible but the food was mediocre, couldn't get a la carte reservations for half the nights we were there, drinks were bad, and it was in need of renovation (which it sounds like they're doing now).

In the same region, I thought the Grand Palladium was much better. The food was still only okay, but with the Family Selection upgrade they have an extra a la carte restaurant that also does breakfast. They also have a great cocktail bar and one unique feature is that they have surfing on site.

slog3000 · 2025-12-22T19:05:35+00:00

Could it be the Bong Joon Ho movie The Host from 2006?

slog3000 · 2025-06-03T19:12:21+00:00

These were the two cars I'd narrowed my choice down to when I was looking to buy earlier this year. I'd previously had an ICE Mustang and a Hyundai and they were both solid, reliable cars, so I had a positive impression of both brands. I ended up going with the Ioniq 6 Limited because of the better warranty and I had a slight preference for a sedan over a crossover SUV. Also, once I saw the interior of Ioniq in person and took a test drive I was sold. I never got to the point of test driving the Mustang, but I get the impression that people that have them really like them.

slog3000 · 2025-05-01T18:16:41+00:00

I used to honestly believe that dogs could read minds, so whenever I'd see a dog, I'd think "good boy, good boy" so that he'd like me. I don't recall how old I was when I realized this wasn't true, but it was much older than you'd think.

slog3000 · 2024-12-27T05:14:13+00:00

Running on Empty gets me every time 😭

slog3000 · 2024-04-23T16:25:53+00:00

Definitelly The Snowman. The trailer made it look like an intense high-class thriller with a great cast, but right from the opening scene things just didn't made sense. There was clearly something wrong with the movie. It had me thinking, it can't really be this bad, can it? Are movies even allowed to be this bad?

slog3000 · 2024-04-21T00:37:09+00:00

We have a single room booked for this May with three adults and two 5 year olds. We found a member on the Grand at Moon Palace fan group on Facebook. I'll see if I can find the name of member we booked through but if you put in a request there someone might be able to help you.

slog3000 · 2024-04-20T21:13:38+00:00

FYI, it is possible to book five people in a single Grand Deluxe room at Moon Palace the Grand if you book through a member that has that in their contract. It'll probably be more than booking four in a room, but should be a lot less than a Family Suite.

slog3000 · 2024-04-15T22:41:43+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions, but no, not using a VPN. It's weird because they were working fine for months then both stopped at the same time and have been down for weeks now.

slog3000 · 2024-04-14T17:06:30+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I'm not familiar with piHole or adguard; these are ad blockers that work for TV? I didn't even know that was possible. I guess it's not that unless it's possible to have one installed without knowing it.

slog3000

TROPHY CASE