Hilton Cancun Golf and Beach Resort

May 14-27, 2000
 

We headed out for the Atlanta airport on Saturday the 13^th. Since we live nearly two hours from the airport we almost always come in the night before and stay at a hotel that allows us to leave our car on their premises for free. We stayed at the Sheraton Gateway. The hotel was great but they have instituted a new policy prohibiting people from leaving their car. When I was informed of this at check in I told them that the car policy was the only reason I had booked the hotel. I asked to speak to the manager. She was very gracious and gave me a special permit to leave the car there during our stay. She did however make it clear that I would not be able to do so again. So much for the Sheraton. To bad, it's a great place with a nice indoor/outdoor pool and hot tub.
 

We left for the airport the next morning. No trouble and our Aeromexico flight left and arrived on time. When we got off the plane in Cancun and headed toward Immigration/baggage claim we were stopped dead in our tracks. The line was all the way up the flight of stairs and backed up to the airplane gate. This was the worse experience I've ever had getting into Cancun. It took over an hour for us to get through the line. We finally got into out travel van and sat there for another half hour waiting for more people to come. In all my previous trips to Cancun I've never experienced such problems.
 

Finally we arrived at the Hilton Cancun Golf and Beach Resort (formerly Caesars Park). We ran up to the front desk and attempted to check in. It was past 5:00 by now (our plane had landed at 2:45). We had booked a 13 night stay at the Beach Club (breakfast and drinks included). We were told that our check in area was in a different part of the hotel. The bellman took our bags back out to the front of the hotel, loaded us and the bags on a golf cart and whisked us away. He pulled up in front of one of the villas and ushered us in. There we were met my Antonio. A very nice young man who checked us in and explained the benefits if the Club. We were given a continental breakfast each morning in the club room (7-10) and free drinks and snacks each night (5:30-7:30). Our room was not located in the main hotel but in one of the villas on the side. He spent a few minutes going through what was available and said that since we were staying so long he would get us a room with a better view tomorrow. The bellman then took us on another golf cart ride to our room. It was the bottom floor of one of the villas that was directly on the beach. The view was OK, but I was anxious to see what we would get tomorrow.
 

The room was very nice. Tiled, large balcony and a huge bathroom with a walk in shower. We dropped our stuff and took a tour of the property. The pool (actually pools) was great. There are seven pools that are interconnected with one another. The upper ones are shallow and best for kids, the middle ones are activity pools and the huge one on the bottom was the best. You could just lean on the side and look out over the ocean. There was also a huge pool bar in the middle of the bottom pool. The restaurants looked great. We particularly loved the one right on the beach. It had an outside area that you could sit at in your swim suits and enjoy a great meal while looking out over the ocean, only 15 feet away. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. The beach was very nice and huge with a lot of huts spread all along the shoreline. There where a couple of rocks near the shore that you had to avoid but once past them the bottom was all soft sand, just like the beach. They had a lifeguard on duty who made sure you avoided the rocks.
 

We went up to the Club room to cool down and have a few drinks. The club room has a TV, stereo and several game boards available for use. There are always 3-4 workers on duty to attend to your every need . They work their butts off and do a very professional job. Each night of the week they would offer a different "theme" of snacks. The Mexican night with the quesadillas and mini-tacos was the best. They also had bait (they call it sushi) and french cuisine night, etc. They also had a featured drink each night, though you could order anything. It was a very relaxing place and we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere.

After an exhausting day we went to bed early and were up by 7 the next day. We were very anxious to get in as much beach time as possible. We ran up to for breakfast and were astonished at everything they had to offer. There was the usually continental stuff breads, cereals, fresh fruit, etc.) but they also featured either french toast or pancakes each day with either sausage or ham. The breakfast was great. The only problem we had was that every time we came into the club room, the employees would put a Michael Bolton CD on the stereo. This was bothersome the first two or three days, but after four days of Bolton I was ready to kill someone (I'm an old headbanger who still prefers AC/DC and Metallica). I ended up giving the young lady five bucks and had her promise me that she would not play that CD again as long as I was staying at the hotel. We then changed rooms. We were moved over by one building but raised to the second floor. It's unbelievable how much difference it made being on the second floor. You could just sit back and look out over the ocean, in fact you could almost jump off the balcony and into it. It was great.

We then settled in under a hut on the beach and enjoyed the heck out the place. We spent each day going back and forth between the pool and the ocean or just sitting listening to the waves. I don't think we left the resort at all the first 7 days. The first week at this place was absolute heaven. It was the best Cancun vacation I had ever had. Then the second week came, or as I refer to it, the spawn of Satan came to town.
 

On Sunday when we were enjoying our drinks we were informed that a group was coming in and that we would no longer have the services of the Club room. Instead we would now be able to have the full breakfast buffet over at the main restaurant and that our drinks and snacks would be delivered to our rooms at a time we requested. They seemed to being trying to tell us that this was an extra benefit. I should have know something was up. On Sunday, May 22, 2000 at 12:44 PM we were lounging in the pool when suddenly and without warning 25-35 young kids (ages 17-18) came running out of nowhere screaming and yelling, jumped into the pool and ran to the pool bar. They began to pull wet dollar bills out of their pockets and order as many drinks as possible. Another 30 began to arrive and spread out around the pool. This was the group they had told us about, the year 2000 High School Class of a small town in Oklahoma. The kids that had made the bee line for the bar just kept pouring drink after drink down their throats. Within an hour several were drunk, screaming, cursing and acting a fool as the expression goes. They were standing around in the pool, drinking, smoking and using the pool as an ashtray. It was amazing. This pool had been crystal clear since we had arrived. Within two hours of these kids being there the pool was filled with cigarette butts, empty plastic cups, etc. After watching this for awhile we headed to the beach and our hut. When we returned to the pool a few hours later is was worse. Many of the kids where now so drunk they couldn't get out of the pool. Several were now also getting frogging because someone "looked" at their women. It was sooooo stupid. We couldn't get a drink at the pool bar because they occupied every seat and where rather obnoxious to everyone around. I ran into one of the two "chaperones" on the trip and he said that they'd calm down in a day or two. I guess the people who were paying $200 a day to be there just had to suffer. The kids all cleared out by 6:00. They had to get ready to go out and party that night. Around 7:30 or so you could hear them all screaming and yelling as they left the resort in mass to get on the bus. You could also hear them yahooing at 4 AM when they came back to the hotel just so they could slam several doors. We have a 20 inch box fan that we bring with us to drown out outside noise and we could still hear them screaming at 4 AM.
 

We ended up having to work around the group. We could only enjoy the pool until 11:30 and after 5:30. The rest of the time we spent on the beach. They began to calm down a bit after two days, they were starting to run out of money and several were getting sick. It still made things a lot less enjoyable. They drinks that were promised to our room never arrived on time and the order was frequently wrong. Breakfast at the main restaurant was no bonus. The noise and kids crying and screaming were not what I had in mind to relax. The only good thing was the made to order omelettes, other than that I would have preferred the quiet of the club room.
 

Each day I was getting a bit more frustrated about the situation. The kids were behaving a bit better but there were a few that were just out of control completely. Then suddenly on Thursday morning while we were sitting in the pool the entire area was surrounded by over a hundred young black males wearing hip hop clothes, baggy pants showing the crack of their butt, sports color shirts and jackets and lots of gold chains (no bathing suits). I hate to be stereotypical but many where carrying boom boxes and blasting out a number of rap tunes. Many were also sitting around the pool passing around large blunts with no concern for who was around. There were also several blowing nose candy, again with no concern for who was around. I found the whole thing kind of interesting until Uncle Luke showed up. Suddenly a 300+ pound man with long rasta dread locks down to his waist and the breasts and stomach of a 6 month pregnant woman suddenly appeared with several people following him. He stripped down to his trunks and climbed into the out door hot tub. He apparently wanted this to be a private experience so he stood up in the middle of the tub and began shaking his stomach at the other people in the large hot tub. They all quickly got out.
 

Several of his friends then commandeered the hotel's stereo and put on some gangsta rap stuff that was very vulgar. Every other word was f%# and most of the songs centered on killing people, usually white people. I like Kid Rock and a lot of other rap music but I'd never play it over a loud speaker in a public place where children are playing. In short order the entire pool area had cleared out of almost everyone other than the rappers and my wife and I. Suddenly the hotel security showed up and shut the stereo off. Uncle Luke's posse took exception to this and a heated argument developed. Not being totally stupid I told my wife that now would be a good time to go to our room. We packed up and went to our room. I was really pissed off now and thought I needed to calm down so I went out to our balcony and just looked out over the beautiful ocean. About 15 minutes later we heard loud slams next door as apparently our new neighbors had come home. Then the balcony door slid open and who should be next door but Uncle Luke's posse. He might have been there but I didn't see him. They had about a dozen people out on the balcony and where barking at the girls on the beach. Then the smell of cannibus came over the railing. I hate that smell. I went inside and closed the door. The smell came through the walls. That was it, I'd had it. I told my wife to start getting her stuff together. We were going to find out what the heck was going on. We got dressed and went up the main lobby.
 

Near the front desk was a sign announcing "Uncle Luke's Celebrity Weekend" (see handout) featuring some sports stars and Luke's "freakies". His freakies where some girls who traveled with him and apparently do some freaky things on stage. This Celebrity Weekend goes on every Memorial Day weekend at this hotel! While my wife and I were reading the sign a young black women came up to us and informed us that Luke was a very nasty individual and we should probably not consider going to the show. A little light went on in my head and told me that the room next to ours was probably going to be the center of all the freakiness. I knew we had to do something. I went to our American Express representative. She called a manager of the hotel and sent us to the main office. There we were met by one of the managers, Ms. Vilma Campos. I calmly explained to her some of the problems (I purposely tried to not appear too agitated because I am 6'3" 300+ pounds with a shaved head and tend to scare people) and that we needed to be moved. She understood and apologized for our trouble. She said she couldn't move us into another villa because the Oklahoma kids where in most of them. She instead gave us a jacuzzi suite in the main hotel building. It was a nice room, a little smaller than the villa room, with a huge patio with a private jacuzzi. It was also located at the end of the hall so there was less chance of a party next door.
 

We returned to our villa, packed our bags and called a bellman. On the way up to the room we passed through the main lobby. There were card games going on at two of the tables and a third table had been turned into a crap table to shoot dice on. The betting was fast furious and rather animated. This was weird. By the time we got settled into the new room it was 8:30. I didn't want anything to eat, just a beer and a soak in the hot tub. I called the Club area and they said our drinks were on their way. I then went out and filled the hot tub. After waiting for 30 minutes I gave up on the beer (it never came) and climbed into the hot tub, I pushed the button and NOTHING! The %%$# was broken. I almost cried. My wife began to laugh (she's kind of weird). We went to bed and decided to handle things in the morning.
 

The next morning we spoke to Ms. Campos and told her what had happened she again apologized and assured me that she would personally make sure that it was fixed and that we got our drinks. She also kept saying that she was grateful that I was not loud. I didn't know exactly what she meant by that at the time. Later I saw people yelling and screaming at several of the staff over sometimes minor things. I now understood. I felt sorry for her, she hadn't booked these two groups into the hotel but she was being forced to deal with all the complaints and problems. It was a long week for her and I think she did a great job.
 

After finishing breakfast I decided to check out the "freak" show on the beach. They had put up a huge tent/tarp on the beach for all the activities (click here). They had also put a line in the sand around the tent area. You were not allowed to cross the line unless you had paid the $20 ticket fee. However it was easy to walk by and look in and see everything. It was rather quiet during the day. Female boxing matches were scheduled for that afternoon abut hardly anyone was there to watch. Most of the people we partying and dancing just on the outside of the line. Inside the line was pretty dead. I satisfied my curiosity and went back to our hut on the far side of the beach.

The Oklahoma kids were getting quieter each day and the rappers were mostly over by the tent area so the last day was OK.
 

The jacuzzi was fixed that night and Antonio himself delivered the drinks to our room. In addition he brought in a plate of chocolate cover strawberries. It was very nice. My wife and I enjoyed a great soak in the tub while overlooking the lighted pool. It was very pretty. The next morning we sought out Ms. Campos and told her we appreciated her efforts and that everything finally worked out on our last night. She again apologized and thanked us for not being loud. My wife and I both smiled, we understood now. She then asked if we were considering coming back to Cancun this year. We said we were thinking of coming down for 5 nights in August. She then offered to give us three free nights and a reduced rate on the other two nights to make up for the trouble we'd had. I exchanged business cards with her had thanked her again. I then hesitated and asked if there would be any groups booked during August. She said she'd check. She asked me for some exact dates and checked on her computer. There were no group bookings at that time. I said great and told her we'd be in touch.
 

We left shortly afterward and arrived home a little shellshocked.