As I boarded the shuttle that would take me from Secrets Capri to Dreams Cancun, I wondered if Dreams would come close to matching the level of service that guests receive at Secrets. I also wondered if there would be bathrobes and slippers waiting for me in the room, or if the nice folks at Delphinus would let me take a dolphin home with me. I was pretty sure I would get excellent service, bathrobes, and slippers, but didn’t get my hopes up about the possibility of having a pet dolphin. The ride from Secrets to Dreams took about an hour so I had plenty of time to think up names for my dolphin…just in case.

It was a very cloudy and dreary day. I’m sure everyone else in the van was sad because there was no sun on one day of their vacation, but I was thrilled that I would have a valid reason for spending the rest of the afternoon in my room. I planned to ask for a Dolphin-view room (a new room category that has been added since the opening of the dolphinarium) at Dreams so I could take some pictures of the dolphins and of the hotel’s pool area. That way, the day would not be a total waste.

After a pretty uneventful ride, we arrived in Cancun’s hotel zone. It’s always a treat for me to make the trip from one end of the hotel zone to the other. As a Cancun resident, I rarely have the need (or desire) to pass through the entire hotel zone, but I always enjoy seeing the hotels and the all of the new construction that is going on. My favorite part of the drive is, of course, the breathtakingly beautiful ocean view that greets tourists as they pass by Playa Delfines on the way to their hotels. In May 2001, that view won me over when I visited Cancun for the first time. I am sure millions of other people have fallen in love with my city after witnessing the beauty of the Caribbean Sea from that very same spot. I was disappointed that it was so cloudy. The water is so much more spectacular when the sun is shining on it. I wanted everyone in the van to ‘ooooh’ and ‘aaaaah’ and think they had wasted their time staying anywhere other than Cancun. Sadly, that didn’t happen, but I knew the sun would come out sooner or later and then they would all see why Cancun is my favorite place in the world.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to the entrance of Dreams Cancun. It is located at the end of a cul de sac and, undoubtedly, has the best location in Cancun’s hotel zone. You see, Cancun’s hotel zone is shaped like the number 7. Dreams is located right where the two sides of the 7 join together. That makes Dreams the only hotel in Cancun with a beach on the bay facing Isla Mujeres (calm water) AND a beach on the Caribbean Sea (this side can have rougher water).

A bellman met us at the van and took our bags. I went inside to check-in and was greeted by smiling Guest Services employees, champagne, and cool washcloths. Since Dreams Cancun has a typical front desk area, the champagne and cool washcloths were on trays on the desk, rather than having staff members deliver them to newly arriving guests. I was informed that I had a Dolphin-view room on the first floor. I’d prefer something a bit higher because it makes for better photos, but I was sure being at “dolphin level” would have it’s advantages. I wanted to make my way-too-short vacation last as long as possible, so I asked for a late check out. The man checking me in looked around to see if any other guests had heard my request and were planning to ask for the same courtesy. (I suppose he didn’t want all 25 of us staying late and throwing off the schedule for the arrivals the next day.) He quietly asked if a 3pm check-out would be ok (as opposed to the normal check-out time at noon). When I said that time would be fine, he noted the late check-out time on my registration card and sent me on my way. Even though about 25 people arrived at the same time, the check-in process was remarkably fast and efficient. Within 10 minutes, I was off to my room with a glass of champagne in my hand! Aaaaahh….the good life!

I knew it was a long walk from the lobby to the guest rooms because I had stayed at the hotel before it was a Dreams property and had been there several times since it became Dreams. Part of the walkway is not covered so I was happy it was not raining. My room (number 1107) was located in the Pyramid Tower, a low-rise building shaped like a Mayan pyramid. I easily found my room and went inside to continue my relaxing holiday.

The gardens inside the Pyramid Tower

The plants come right up to your door!

I was pleased to discover the air-conditioner worked great! (You can set the temperature instead of the hit or miss system of ‘high’, ‘medium’, or ‘low’.) My room was on the first floor, facing the area where the dolphin shows are held every day. The room was spacious, but a little smaller than my room at Secrets Capri….but my view was MUCH better than at Secrets! It had a large closet that contained a hair dryer, several wooden hangers, an iron, a full-size ironing board, extra pillows, and an extra blanket. The room only had 3 drawers for clothes, but there was ample space in the closet and on the area near the entertainment center for storing luggage and clothing.

My room had a 4-poster, king-size bed with white linens and beautiful teal green throw pillows. I love the colors of the pillows because it’s very close to the color of the Caribbean Sea.

There was also a dinette table and 2 chairs by the window. I thought the chairs looked like they belonged in a nursery and that they didn’t match the decor at all. Everything else was very nice though so I overlooked their poor choice of chairs.

See what I mean??

The bathroom was nice and there was plenty of counter space, but the color of the marble was a bit too drab for my liking.

There was no tub in my unit…only a shower. I believe the rooms in the Club Tower have tubs and a shower, however.

The shower has only a glass wall that keeps water from splashing all over the floor.

Just like at Secrets Capri, the bathroom was stocked with toiletries. There was conditioning shampoo, soap, shower gel, body lotion, sunscreen, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving creme, a shower cap, a shoe polisher, and a mending kit. All of the body products have very nice scents. I am allergic to most everything on the planet and strong smells usually cause me to have very bad headaches. I was surprised that the scents from the hotel toiletries did not bother me in the least! In fact, the shampoo was minty and seemed to help my allergy-related, respiratory issues.

I saw slippers by the bed, but didn’t see any robes. I checked the bathroom and they weren’t there either. I asked the concierge for robes and they were delivered to my room in less than 15 minutes. Hurray!

Once the robe crisis was over, I ordered room service. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast at Secrets and I was hungry! The room service operator already had my name and room number and confirmed that information. I placed my order and was shocked and amazed when she read the order back to me to be sure it was correct! Most times, I’ve found people in Mexico would rather bring you what they THOUGHT you asked for than to be embarrassed (or feel like they are annoying you) by asking you to repeat yourself. I love when servers take the time to make sure they got your order right and wish every restaurant would insist their employees do this! I wanted soup and a salad and then something small, but substantial. I selected Chicken soup, Caesar salad, and Macaroni & Cheese from the children’s menu…thinking it would be small. I also ordered dessert!! I got cheesecake for me and, since my boyfriend would be arriving shortly, I decided to order Tres Leches Cake (3 Milks Cake) for him. I was told it would take approximately 40 minutes.

While waiting for lunch to arrive, I went out onto the terrace to check out the view. The terrace had a hammock (I only saw hammocks on the terraces of the rooms on the first floor), 2 chairs, and a small table…..and, of course, a great view of the dolphins!! The water came right up to the building so dolphins were only about 10 feet away at times. From the balcony, I had an ocean view (even though I was only on the ground floor), and I could see the entire pool area, as well.

The view from my balcony…

A floating trampoline in the ocean!

Club Tower is tall building to the left and the water is where the dolphins are kept!

While I was watching dolphins jump and play, my boyfriend called to say he was near the hotel. I met him in front of the hotel and we went to the front desk to add his name to the registration card. We were informed of the extra charges we would incur, since there were now 2 guests in the room, and were told we could just pay at check-out. I love that there was never any pressure to pre-pay. I mean, who wants to think about money and bills when you are relaxing at a luxury resort?!

On the way to our room, we stopped to look for dolphins. (You pass by the dolphins when walking between the guest rooms and the pool area/main building!!) After seeing a couple of them swimming around, we continued on to our room to wait for my room service order to arrive. It arrived right on time! The room service waiter brought the food inside and set it all up on the table. He placed the empty tray out of sight (behind the open door of the entertainment center) so we could use it to put our dirty dishes outside the room. My simple meal of soup, salad, and a child’s portion of Mac & Cheese took up the whole table! The pasta was most definitely enough to fill the stomach of a linebacker and was hardly the small portion I expected! Everything was delicious….but it was too much food for me to even come close to finishing! I ended up giving my cheesecake to my boyfriend because I was too full to attempt eating it. He gave both of the desserts rave reviews!

After my meal, I changed into my robe so I could fully enjoy my lounging/relaxing experience. My boyfriend decided to put on his robe too. How decadent! Once we were comfy and cozy in our robes, I forced my boyfriend to watch American television shows. He was not the least bit excited about Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy!, and didn’t understand why I was so concerned about what time “Oprah” came on. (I wasn’t really thrilled to see Wheel of Fortune either, but I couldn’t give up control of the TV!) Unfortunately, I had to attend a cocktail party at 8pm…the time “Oprah” airs here. There was no way I could skip the cocktail party by using “Oprah” as an excuse, so I forced my incredibly relaxed body out of bed and changed clothes. I finished the beautification process, said goodbye to my sweetheart (he was still relaxing in his robe and I was SOOOO jealous!) and headed over to the Presidential Suite in the Club Tower to toss back a few martinis. Could my life get any better?!

To be continued…