St lucia or Mexico

we are debating whether to go to Sandals in St Lucia or The Royal Hideaway in Mexico

we are looking for relaxation but also a nice night life ...nothing crazy though ....

anyone been to both?

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Posted by lb9977

Go to Mexico - they've got Playa Del carmen on the rivieria Maya with great restarants and clubs for when you bored by your all inclusive!!!

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Thats what im doing. Going to a small all inclusive and resting for a few days and doing excursions for the others.

They have Xcaret and Xelha near by wich are natural parks and alot of ruins..If you decide to go here FM me I have a list of things to do in the area.

Goodluck!!

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Posted by Ana and Darryl

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Posted by lb9977

Go to Mexico - they've got Playa Del carmen on the rivieria Maya with great restarants and clubs for when you bored by your all inclusive!!!

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Thats what im doing. Going to a small all inclusive and resting for a few days and doing excursions for the others.

They have Xcaret and Xelha near by wich are natural parks and alot of ruins..If you decide to go here FM me I have a list of things to do in the area.

Goodluck!!

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I just came back from Mexico a few days ago - Riviera Maya. The whole strip is filled with great resorts. Tons of excursions to do if you want - we took a day trip to Chichen Itza, we went ATving/Speed Boating, took a shopping day to Playa del Carmen and more. Beaches stink here though, i must say.

the royal hidaway is supposed to be AWESOME!! its alittle out of our budget though >_<
I rather save that money for the future hehe
I'm going to the excellence riviera resort~~~

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Posted by kimnsteve

really? i heard the beaches were the most beautiful in Mexico

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in Mexico, yes like cancun or even playa del carmen. i think riviera maya is just getting up and started -the beaches along that strip of resorts is not that nice (muddy, seaweed etc).

Ok, so obviously I'm biased...

BUT, let me tell you why we decided to pick Royal Hideaway.

It literally came down to these two resorts for us too. We priced out both the Sandals Grande (if we were going to go to St. Lucia we would have stayed at that resort) and Royal Hideaway. Royal Hideaway was a little pricier, but we found that for the same level of service (concierge, 24 hour room service, etc.) that RH was a better deal.

The HARDEST part for me was the beach issue. RH has far less beach area than St. Lucia. I think that St. Lucia has some of the best beaches in the world. The water, the size of the beach, etc. looks nicer in St. Lucia than in Riviera Maya. I'd definitely agree with the previous poster about that issue.

BUT, I personally think the RESORT itself is nicer at RH than at Sandals (newer, more modern, etc). RH seems to have more of a small, boutique feel compared to Sandals. I also hear that the service (poolside and beachside) is unparalleled at RH. Everyone knows your name at RH within a day, and the personal attention is supposed to be great.

Nightlife is supposed to be pretty good in Riviera Maya if you leave RH. RH itself is supposed to be quiet past 9 or 10 pm, but you can walk or take a quick cab ride into town where there are supposed (I don't know this firsthand, but one of my BM's sister told me this - she just came back from RH) swanky bars and clubs where the partying goes pretty late into the night/morning. I can't speak about nightlife in St. Lucia, but I know that you can definitely find things to do around RH if you want to (that was a HUGE factor also in determining where to stay - we like to party into the night!!).

Either way I think you'll be happy, Kim! Both are gorgeous. if you have any questions about RH let me know. My aunt, who booked our HM for us, said that RH is her FAVORITE place to go that she's ever been to....so that sold us - she's been everywhere!

I've only been to Mexico and St. Lucia on cruises. Loved them both but loved St. Lucia a bit more.

You can try the Sandals experience to see if it is something that you guys like. They offer a 'test drive your honeymoon' deal for $99 a person. They fly you down to one of their resorts in Jamaica for a day to see the facilities and all of their offerings. And my TA just came back from visiting all the grounds in St. Lucia a week ago. They completely renovated all their properties and refurnished the rooms. She swears that it is absolutely gorgeous. We are going to book a Lagoon swim up room at the Grande. Our TA is having a Sandals promotion on 10/13. She didn't know the particulars but said that their would probably be resort credits and further discounts.

HTH!

I've only been to St. Lucia. It was beautiful. We stayed at the Sandals Grande and highly recommend it. I bumped the St. Lucia thread for you. Good Luck with your decision!

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Posted by kimnsteve

i cant pick this is terrible!

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I went to St. Lucia this past June (Grande) and I'm going to Mexico (Riveria Maya) in two weeks.

From what I hear it's two different islands. There are no outside places to eat/shop unless you go to the other Sandals hotels. The Grande hotel was beautiful and so was the beach. My only negative comment about St. Lucia is the two hour horrible car ride from the airport to the hotel, but again once you get to the hotel it's beautiful.

I'll have better feedback on Mexico when we get home.