The Conrad Tulum Suite 1317 February 2023

TEL: +1 608-238-6001 Email: greg@cruisingreview.com

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Conrad Hilton Tulum: Two suites stay from 18 to 23 February Background: As a Diamond member for Hilton, I always try to book directly with the resort instead of Expedia or other sites. When you book direct, you get access to free breakfasts, available upgrades, etc. Generally, I've head good experiences with the Conrad brand. Conrad Bora Bora Nui is one of my favorite resorts in the world, but on the opposite side of the spectrum, Conrad Maldives was a disaster with over-billing and other issues (which were never resolved even when brought to the attention of the resort manager). Since this was a realatively new resort, I was eager to stay there.

Pre-Trip Pre Trip: Major hassle trying to arrange ground transportation. There are no emails on any of the Hilton websites, so you are forced to call to get an email for the conciege. Overall took me over 45 minutes just to get an email. When I called, the other Hilton answers the phone, then transfers over to Conrad Hilton. A real waste of time. Nobody contacted me prior to my arrival, I had to arrange anything prior to my stay. They could have upsold me on lots of things, but it was a missed opportunity for them.

Check In Check-in: Fast and efficient. Luggage was tagged by the front door people. Got a welcome drink (juice) and cool scented towel. Sat down in the lobbly lounge area (which was stunning) and had a front desk agent come to us for passports and credit card. You are issued a wrist bracelet with QR code. The bracelet unlocks the suite door. I also activated my iPhone App which uses Bluetooth to also act as a digital key for the door. Luggage was delivered to rooms. I preordered flowers, which were not delivered to rooms. They sat behind the front desk until the next day until I requested to have them brought to the rooms. Overall, the checkin process was smooth and efficient, like most of the Conrad properties.

Sunrise and Sunset Sunrise and Sunset: Sunrise was offshore while sunset was over the jungle and could only be seen by the top floor suites, if positioned to the west (mine was).

Upgrades Upgrades: Fully booked. Even though I was a Diamond Member, no upgrades available. Did get breakfast buffet ($40 per person value).

Product and Service Shorting The first three nights I did not have turn-down service. This was the only issue I had for the five night stay.

Suite Suite: No turn-down service for first three nights, until I called and brought it to their attention. Everything in the room worked, except the Housekeeping and Privacy (do not disturb) button on the wall near the door. A little LED outside the room lights up on most rooms, mine did not. My suite on third (top) floor had a mini plunge pool on the patio. More like a large soaking tub. It was wonderful and had a great view.

How to Order Flowers The concierge sent me the very expensive and not-very-interesting array of room gifts and flowers. Looked like a Costco display (not really appealing), so I looked for local options and found Friday Flowers. How to Order Flowers: Book offsite from Frida Flowers. Contact: Frida Flowers https://fridaflowers.business.site Friday Flowers Link Frida Flowers Email

Do Not Disturb and Housekeeping LED A little LED outside the room lights up on most rooms, mine did not.

Arbolea (Breakfast Buffet) Arbolea (Breakfast Buffet): Excellent buffet style breakfast with made-to-order eggs, French Toast, Mexican specialties and a wide variety of fruit, pastries, and more.

Maratea (Mediterranean) Food and Restaurants: Breakfast buffet was wonderful. Great food quality. The Italian and Japanese restaurants also had great food quality. The center lobby bar restaurant has the best nachos anywhere. The other speciality restuarants were ok. Maratea (Mediterranean): Pizza and pasta were fantastic.

Autor (Mexican) Autor (Mexican): Food was good, but limited selection. We tried it the first night, and did not return.

Ukai (Japanese) Ukai (Japanese): Food was really good. We had the last night, and then got nachos afterwards at Ultramar (center lounge).

Restaurants We had dinner at another restaurant where I had Indian Chicken and Naan bread that was just average. Chiringuitos (Snack Beach Bar for Lunch): Really good cheeseburgers and specialty drinks. Our Favorite: Ultramar Lounge Bar. Fantastic nachos.

Dress Code Dress Code: Resort casual. I wore nice shorts, designer shirt, and flip flops to dinner almost every night.

Checkout Checkout: Review of resort bill statement was quick and easy at the front desk.

Pools and Beaches Pools and Beaches: The pools are beautiful. The beach is wonderful. I had drink service at the beach, which was fine. As you may have seen in other reviews, the resort beach has lots of seaweed, which during a few days of high-wind, made the beach more of a challenge to go swimming. There was one high wind day which brought in tons of seaweed, which never allowed the water access easy. This is due to the resort being located in a cove. On other beaches on the coast, elaborate wave and seaweed blocking structures have been put in place, which is equally an eyesore, but provided relatively seaweed-free water to swim in. The water clarity at the resort which much better than the normal coastal beaches (like at the Fairmont Mayakoba).

Tips Stay and Regional tips: (a) Taxis charge a 10 percent credit card fee. Always ask and pre-arrange the total fare in advance. (b) Eat early and skip reservations. (c) Let staff know of any problems early, instead of hoping problems will fix themselves (as I thought with turn-down service not being provided).

Coba The Mayan pyramids were amazing.

Cancun Airport Arrival was going well until I got to immigration. The automated machines did not work well. What should have been 5 minutes turned out to be more than 30 waiting for the machine to work.

Airport Ride Pickup Aiport Pickup: The Cancun Airport has grown. It how has a international Terminal 4 for flights from Europe. Most American flights (including United) arrive at Termainal 3. No tourist form for Americans. No exit tax or other fees as of February 2023. The immigration was automated for me, but even with that, the automated device was not functioning properly and it took almost 20 minutes to wait for one person in front of me. It's important for these devices to remove glasses and don't move so it can scan your face. After going through the timeshare and tour section, there was a mass of people offering rides outside the exit. Finding my ride was a hassle. I looked for the Conrad Hilton Tulum which took about 5 minutes, and then they couldn't find my pre-arranged ride. I had to find my email with attachment, and then they found it. So pro-tip, access your email with attachment, or print out the confirmation.