Mexico 2022. Day 1. Returning Guests.
Well, the day has finally arrived. The day we return to the slice of paradise I like to call, the town where I currently am.
We got up this morning with the girls and got them out the door (well, let’s be real, Robyn got them out the door) and then drove ourselves over to my parents to give them our car, which they are using while they have the girls. My dad graciously delayed his morning Peloton ride and drove us to the airport. Our flight was at 10:42 and we arrived at the airport at 9:36. When we checked in the computer told us our flight was closing soon. Normally I think we would have been nervous about this timing, but for some reason we really didn’t care. Also, we couldn’t have gotten there any earlier unless we left the house before the girls, and that wasn’t happening. Our entire check in, bag drop, and security took under ten minutes.
We tried to buy some magazines but there was literally nothing and I couldn’t bring myself to spend $15 on the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, which was the only thing that interested me. We bought some waters and a tuna wrap and headed to the gate. When boarding started, they called anyone with disabilities and then Mosaic customers. Well, I guess there wasn’t anyone who needed extra assistance or any other Mosaic members because we were the first ones on the flight. This is Tzvi’s dream. He had all the overhead space he could possibly want. It was a very exciting moment for him. I was very happy for him and did not even complain that now we had to spend extra time on the actual plane. Row 1, seats A and B. Solid.
We took off about 40 minutes late, which I guess is pretty good considering the mess travel is right now. The flight was about 3.5 hours and was fine except there was no live TV and there were zero decent movies or tv shows to watch on JetBlue’s on demand system. Also notable was that during landing (literally like 5 minutes before landing) a woman got up to pee. They told her she had to sit down immediately and she said it was an emergency and she couldn’t hold it. I mean, I get that people have bladder problems and I want to give this woman the benefit of the doubt, but it’s not like I saw her go to the bathroom ‘just in case’ during the few times they announced we’d be landing soon. Anyway, I think she made it out of the bathroom in time (that, or she landed on the toilet).
We were second off the plane (the people across pushed off first) and went to passport control. There were four different lines and some man told us to go to line number 3 for US passports. Ends up line number 3 only had one woman working it while the other lanes had several, and there seemed to be people with US passports on all of the lines. Thankfully we weren’t too far back in line, and it got way longer behind us.
On the plane they had given us a customs form to fill out. I had re-read our blog from last year, so I mentioned to Tzvi that last year he’d apparently not filled out the form correctly, which caused a delay at the airport. Tzvi filled it out but said it was so simple he couldn’t figure out what he could’ve possible done wrong. Well, when we go to the passport line a woman was standing there saying “please make sure you filled out the entire form.” Sure enough, Tzvi hadn’t filled out the entire form. I guess that’s probably what he did wrong last time too. [Tzvi: in my defense, the form was stupid. It had three parts – a top that the passenger fills out, then a middle that says ‘Official Use Only’ and then a bottom that the passenger also fills out. Who reads below the 'Official Use’ line???] Thankfully we realized this before it was actually our turn (as opposed to last year).
Finally, we made it through and hurried to baggage claim, only to wait about 40 minutes for our bags. They made an announcement saying that every bag has to be scanned and that’s why it takes so long, but later we were told they are just short staffed. Tzvi was getting pretty agitated so I let him sit near the carousel to watch nothing happen while I moved on the side. Eventually our bags came out first and someone asked Tzvi who we paid to make that happen. He couldn’t even answer that it was probably our Mosaic status because he was already in a huff racing out of the airport. Well, apparently one of the bomb sniffing dogs thought me suspicious so they pulled me back. Tzvi was like “WHAT NOW?” Yea, go annoy the border patrol agents, that will get you out of the airport faster. The woman emptied my bag and was like “no fruit?” No… but thank you ma’am for checking. Anyway, I think the dog smelled a plastic wrapper that I had wrapped a banana oatmeal muffin in. We walked through the line of people trying to sell you rides and finally made it outside where we were met by our Rosewood representative. Of course by then Tzvi had to pee again. We stood there waiting for a while for Tzvi to come back from the bathroom. I was wondering what was taking so long when he called and asked where we were. We hadn’t moved, he just walked right by us when he left the bathroom.
We walked to our car and started our trip. The ride is about 40 minutes. Like last year we rode in a huge white SUV from the hotel. We had Coronitas, some Mexican candy, water, cold towels, and control of the spotify playlist. They also asked if we would like Tequila in our welcome drink. We said yes, but I don’t remember last year being given that choice.
We pulled in to the resort and were so happy to be back. As soon as we stepped out the car there was a woman standing there with a tray of green drinks (with tequila) waiting for us.. We checked in, met our butler Lili and trainee butler Gabby, and together we took our boat ride to our suite!
All along the way through check-in people kept saying “welcome back.” We now have the distinction of being returning guests. It’s really common to speak to someone at this hotel and have them tell you, ‘we come every year’ because it really is the perfect resort. Well, now we get to join those people.
Our suite is the same type of room as last time, but this time I think there is less vanity space because it is a connecting room. The suite has an eating area, a bar, a couch and then a big bathroom with the world’s largest bathtub and a shower, which itself has a door that leads to an outdoor garden with another shower. We have a large outdoor space with a sofa, chairs, a table and a private plunge pool, all secluded and overlooking the lagoon.
We walked into the suite and our butler gave us a tour of the room and made us a Mezcal cocktail. There were also delicious fresh chips and salsa. We decided to go for a quick swim in the plunge pool and then I went to the gym. It’s a nice gym (with Pelotons) but today I opted for a tread bootcamp with Jess Sims. They have a treadmill with slats here so I always like to take advantage of that. I came back and we got ready for dinner.
Dinner tonight was at La Ceiba, which is a dining “experience” to say the least. Last year we opted not to do it because it seemed too expensive if you’re not eating meat (it’s a prix fixe), but then one of Tzvi’s clients, who frequently visits this hotel and got married there told him we had to do it because it’s the best dining experience at the hotel. Well, she was right. Tzvi can explain.
[Tzvi: To start, I’ll explain the setting. The La Ceiba Garden is a huge garden that’s next to the pool, and is actually where they grow a lot of the fresh herbs that they use in all of their restaurants at the hotel. It’s a beautiful setting, and features a huge Ceiba tree (it’s just a type of tree).
When we arrived, we checked in and were handed tequila cocktails. There was a large fire at the entrance, just for drama. Then you walk through the rows of herbs and find two long tables set for dinner. There was a live band and several high tops where people were sitting eating chips and guac. There were people seated at all of the tables. We were torn between being nervous about being social and really wanting the guac, but ultimately the guac won, so we chose the table with the couple that looked youngest and inserted ourselves. They were seated talking to Nacho, who is the Guest Relations Manager of the hotel. They were from Michigan and were very nice.
We ate a lot of guac and then someone announced that it was time to be seated and that everyone should find their seats. We walked over to the long tables and found that every plate had a name on it. We found ours and sat down. Turns out we were seated across from the couple from Michigan. To our right we met a foursome from Texas – two brothers and their wives. On Tzvi’s left the card said “Juan Pablo” and even before he sat down Tzvi knew that was the head chef of the hotel (I think he’s pretty well known in Mexico and often featured on the hotel’s Instagram). To his left was a lovely family from Liverpool – mum and dad, two brothers and their girlfriends, one of whom was an actual model. As the night went on we spoke to everyone. Everyone does something interesting and impressive and are in big industries like steel and oil. And then there’s us.
Anyway, they started dinner by having Nacho give an introduction of the experience and the garden. Then chef Jorge “presented the menu”, which was written on a huge board being held up by two of the hotel staff. He went through each course and explained that corn was the central theme of the evening and would be in every dish. Then the meal started and we went course by course; of course we had a vegetarian version of each dish.
The first dish was a caesar salad with a baby romaine heart. The second course was a striped bass, which Steph actually ate and didn’t hate. The third course was supposed to be steak, but we got a sweet potato and a mushroom thing, which was actually very good. Next they brought a plate of petit fours and then a corn ice cream dish for dessert that was delicious. I have to say everything tasted super fresh and clean and was just delicious.
The whole time they kept refilling our drinks and it was really fun to sit and talk with people, which is something we don’t ever do on vacation. Truthfully we got pretty lucky with the seating.
After the four courses were over they started serving straight tequila. Juan Pablo had us drink his favorite Mezcal, which was a bit much for Steph so she had tequila. We just kept talking and were having a great time; at one point it started raining on us but just never moved. Eventually we looked around and there was no one left in the garden except for us, Juan Pablo and the British family. You’d think the night would be over at that point, but Juan Pablo invited us up to the bar for a nightcap.]
Steph: All of a sudden the chef, Tzvi, and the British guys disappeared into some room behind the bar and we didn’t see them for 20 minutes. So, it was me and the models (because really all three of them could have been models. Tall, thin and gorgeous. Jews just are NOT built that way). We got margaritas and talked at the bar.
[Tzvi: Juan Pablo took us into a small room behind the bar where he keeps his private collection of liquor. We tried mezcal and Mexican rum and talked for a while. The only photo I have from inside that room is of a bottle of mezcal, but I have no idea why I took the photo or what was special about that Mezcal.
Then we rejoined the women at the bar and Juan Pablo told us about the time he went to a Jets-Giants game at Met Life. Apparently, whoever gave him the tickets was well connected because he said he was on the field. It must be so fun meeting all different kinds of people and forming relationships all over the world.]
It was after midnight when we finally said goodnight and headed back to our room. When we walked in we saw that they left a few truffles as a parting gift after dinner. I also found that I had gotten multiple bug bites, including two on my face (is Zika still a thing?), but otherwise I’d say we’re off to a great start!
