The Big 4-0!

In 1967, Lyndon B. Johnson was president, "In the Heat of the Night" was the best motion picture, a postage stamp cost five cents, "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles was a top song, "Ants in the Pants" was a hot new toy, the average income was $8,801/year, the Carol Burnett Show and Batman were popular T.V. shows and I was born!

I must admit that I'm not looking forward to turning 40, but I will seize the day as there is no turning back. I couldn't think of a better place to want to go to celebrate my birthday than the Gran Bahia Principe in the Riviera Maya, where I have met such wonderful people.

A Belgium man that I met in Punta Cana said that "life begins at 40!" Well, I sure hope that he's right! Isn't 40 supposed to be the next 30?

So, for all of us who are turning 40 this year, "cheers!"

Mary Jo

What to Bring & What Not to Bring

What to Bring

1. Passports - This is critical. Every person is required to have a Passport (as of January 2007).
2. Pants hangers (The resort has regular hangers, but no pants hangers, so I usually bring the cheap one's that you get from the store and then throw them away.)
3. Water shoes (There are certain areas of the beach that are a bit rocky, so water shoes would be helpful.)
4. Comfortable walking shoes
5. Sunglasses (and regular eyeglasses, if you wear them)
6. A sun visor or hat
7. A couple bathing suits and cover-ups
8. Visa or Mastercard are the most widely accepted credit cards. Be sure to notify your credit card company in advance that you will be traveling outside of the country
9. Small bills because you don't want to get Pesos back when you buy something. I bring tons of singles and five and ten dollar bills.
10. Two outfits for each day (one for daytime and one for evening). The dress code at the specialty restaurants requires that men wear long pants, closed shoes, and collared shirts. No flip flops, shorts, or beach wear is allowed. Women can wear dresses, capris, pants, skirts, etc.
11. Strong suntan lotion (at least 30 SPF, but I usually bring at least 45 SPF)
12. Biodegradable suntan lotion if you plan on visiting any eco-tourism sites
13. A disposable underwater camera
14. Snacks for the airplane or at the airport (if you want). Food at the airport is expensive
15. For women, a light shawl or jacket and for men, a long sleeved shirt as it can get a little chilly in the evenings.
16. Men, do not forget your favorite Speedos!

What Not to Bring

1. The rooms have hair dryers, so there is no reason to pack one.
2. They also have alarm clocks in all of the rooms.
3. You can bring fruit or nuts to eat on the plane, but they are not allowed in Mexico, so you will have to leave what you don't eat
4. Bottled water is provided in the rooms at the resort.

Quick Spanish Tutorial

SPANISH PHRASES - General

• Yes / Si - No / No - Please / Por favor
• Thank you / Muchas Gracias - You’re welcome / De nada
• Hello / Hola - Good morning / Buenos días
• Good afternoon or Good evening - Buenas tardes - Good night - Buenas noches
• How are you? / ¿Cómo está usted?
• Fine, thank you. And you? / Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?
• Good bye / Hasta luego - Very good / Muy bien
• My name is…. / Mi nombre es… - What is your name? / ¿Cuál es su nombre?
• This is Mr… / Este es el Señor - This is Mrs…. / Esta es la Señora…
• Nice to meet you / Mucho gusto
• Do you know Mr…? / ¿Conoce usted al Señor…?
• Do you know Mrs….? / ¿Conoce usted a la Señora…?
• Speak slower / Hable más despacio - Please repeat / Repita, por favor
• I don’t understand / No comprendo
• I don’t speak Spanish very well. / No hablo muy bien español.
• Please tell me… / Dígame, por favor…
• What is (this street) called? / ¿Cómo se llama (esta calle)?
• Where is (the pharmacy)? / ¿Dónde está la farmacia)? -.
• It’s over there. / Está allí - I don’t know. / No sé
• Baño. / Bathroom

More Gran Bahia Principe Coba Pictures

Villas:
Pool:

Pool Bar:
Hammocks on the beach:

Resort Features/Benefits

1. Junior suites with marble bathroom and jacuzzi
2. 3-story villas
3. 2 large lagoon-size pools (one with a swim-up bar)
4. Eight restaurants including a non-smoking buffet, Gourmet, Seafood, Mediterranean, Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Oriental specialty restaurants
5. 8 bars
6. Transportation throughout the properties
7. Nightly entertainment
8. 24 hour snack bar
9. The Dona Isabela, Hacienda, which includes shops, Internet Cafe and a disco
10. Wonderful service

Trip Advisor Reviews

1. We have just returned from two glorious weeks at the Gran bahia Principe Coba, on the Riviera Maya. I cannot begin to tell you how much we enjoyed our stay at this fantastic resort.The accommodation was excellent and the staff were wonderful . they were so warm and welcoming and couldn't do enough for us.
2. We had a wonderful time. It is a fun place to be. We had such a fabulous time and felt no need to even leave the resort. It is very clean and all the employees we met were very friendly and tried their best to accommodate us. The food is generally better than other all- inclusives.
3. I don't know how anybody could complain about this place. It is simply amazing and not lacking in any department. OK so this hotel is NOT situated on the beach but the trolley's are so plentiful that you never end up waiting for more than a few minutes.
4. The Coba was much quieter and less crowded than the Tulum or Akumal resorts... they do have quite a raucous "activity" pool complete with the drinking games and 'animation' activities, such as bar-b-ques, excercise, etc. but this is well balanced with the lack of crowds, and the quieter pools and jacuzzi areas.
5. The mini-bar was well stocked with beer, soda, chips, and candy bars.
6. The pools, rooms and grounds are beautiful.
7. I can go on about how fun this resort is. It's huge and every time we turned around we found new areas to explore and new lounges and bars to visit.
   We found the service throughout the resort was fabulous the staff were extremely friendly and always ready to help. We used the facilities in all three Lobbies and while Tulum and Akumal are on the beach they take full advantage of that so the facilities are spread out. Coba's facilities are all closer together and since it is newer all the furnishing etc are nicer. We found the staff at Coba gave us the best service by far, although it has to be said it was a very high standard throughout.
8. There was tea and coffee available most of the day and the cakes were very good! There were also lots of tequila bottles dotted about the lobbies which you could help yourself to which was a good touch.
9. Some people will always tire of the food at an all inclusive , but this resort offers the widest range of selections I have seen yet. We had access to four huge buffet restaurants, along with our choice of 6 a la cartes. Little things like being offered champagne and orange juice upon entering the restaurant for breakfast, made a great impression. My favorite things were the beach, the music bars, and the live band which played outdoors every night at 11 o'clock at the hacienda after the music bars closed. You could dance the whole evening away. There was no lack of things to do. The food was very good as were the drinks. You could order international brands at the music and lobby bars. The restaurant staff, the tram operators , the bartenders, even our wonderful maid Bertha, were professional and provided unbelievably good service. My advice to anyone who is contemplating booking a trip to the Coba is do it.
10. The hotel was absolutely amazing and the staff was really friendly and added to the overall joy that was this trip.
11. Compare to all resorts I visited before, this was the best resort for, pools, food and services. All people were friendly, reliable, efficient and provided services always with a smile.
12. Great place to go by yourself, with family and/or friends.
13. The beach is amazing and I generally only go to ones that have fine white sand ....with no coral. But this one is well worth it for a few reasons...tropical fish...literally eating out of your hand...calm waters that are glass clear and sparkling turquoise. So to me it was worth it...I would go back again. The best section of beach is the Coba beach...for minimal coral. Though we walked lots and we rarlely used our water shoes. Yes the Coba section is not on the beach but it only takes about 5 min. by the little shuttle to tke you there or you could walk it in a whole 10 min.
14. We took in a couple of shows while we were there as well... I wasimpressed with that as well.. There were lots of activities around thepool and at night outside the buffet.. Very entertaining.
15. This would be the 2nd time we're been to the Bahia Principe resort in Mexico. The first time was in 2005, we stayed at Akumal. This past November we booked into Coba. Both times have been exceptional!!
16. Everything from the beaches to the bars, from the food to the 'fun stuff, exceeded your expectations.

Group Vacation

Dear friends/family:

This year's group vacation destination is going to be the Gran Bahia Principe Coba (http://www.bahia-principe.com/bp/hoteles/coba_informacion.jspin) in the Riviera Maya. The price will be approximately $1,000 per person and the targeted dates are October 30-Novemer 6. I have created this blog to assist us with our communication regarding this vacation and am very excited for you to see this amazing resort!

The resort is about 1 1/2 hours south of Cancun near the ruins in Tulum. There is so much to do and see in this area, but there is also plenty to do at the resort/s (The Coba, Akumal and Tulum).

The Coba is not located directly on the beach, but the huge pool more than compensates for this. There is a beach shuttle that takes you directly to the beach where there is also a swing bar and hammocks. Trust me, it's worth it!