GO AHEAD, TAP THAT CLASS
GO AHEAD, TAP THAT CLASS
When I lived in Minnesota, I needed an annual trip to a warm-weather destination to thaw my bones. Now that I reside in Colorado and we experience 300 days of sunshine a year, I don’t have an excuse to travel to Mexico other than the fact that I love a warm weather vacation and a pleasant tan during the winter months.
I was supposed to go to Mexico the week of Thanksgiving, but something came up, and I couldn’t travel then. Instead, I booked a quick trip for February 11-15th. It was the first time I booked through Costco Travel, so I am excited to share that process and experience with you.
COSTCO Travel: I am a researcher at heart, so I will spend hours over many weeks looking for the best deal. Costco Travel is usually one of my first stops while researching to see their available deals. They typically have great deals on flight and hotel combos, plus some Costco gift card incentives based on how much your vacation costs.
For example, my trip was priced at $4,207.19 for two people, which included four nights of all-inclusive accommodations (oceanfront king room with Aqua Club access) and one-stop first-class flights on United Airlines.
What makes booking through Costco Travel unique?
♥ Often, a travel purchase includes a Costco Shops Card (what they call a gift card) based on the cost of the trip. This booking would receive a $209 Costco Shop Card in the mail four to six weeks upon their return.
♥ The deal also included a $50 daily resort credit that could be applied daily (not cumulative) to a room upgrade, spa services, dinner upgrades (specific wines and meals), etc.
♥ Finally, the vacation package includes round-trip transfers from/to the airport and resort. Due to COVID, I upgraded to a private transfer, which is reflected in the price.
You do need to be a member of Costco to book through them. We are working on a unique BEING BOUJEE offer, so stay tuned for an update; hopefully, you will soon become a Costco member!
AIRPORT TRANSFER: The round-trip transfer was included in the Costco package; therefore, after going through customs in Cancun, you head out the doors to your right. Before you arrive outside, you will go through a barrage of people trying to sell you tickets to various excursions. I highly suggest you keep your head down and tell everyone, “No, thank you,” as you proceed outside.
Once you arrive outside, you will see people holding signs for various transportation companies, including taxis. Since I booked through Costco, I looked for the person holding the Costco sign. The employee checked me in and directed me to the shuttle area. From when I exited the airport to getting in a private shuttle, it was about 20 minutes.
RESORT: I selected Live Aqua Resort for accommodations. Why? Because they are BOUJEE! It is the first adult-only exclusive resort I stayed at, and I could tell the difference. No kids were running around screaming or splashing in the pool. The only splashing in the pool that occurred was from intoxicated adults who inadvertently fell into the pool. The kid-free environment was pleasant and might be added to a future requirement list for selecting a resort.
Before arriving, I booked an oceanfront King room with Aqua Club access, but I requested an upgrade to an Aqua Suite upon arrival. The upgrade was available for an additional $250 a night, and I was able to apply the $50 daily resort credit to the upgrade.
AQUA CLUB: The benefits of the Aqua Club include the following:
♥ Private check-in/out in the 5th-floor lounge
♥ Appetizers and top-shelf liquor are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the 5th floor lounge
♥ Private butler service
♥ Two pressed garments per day (I loved this feature!)
The butler’s service was terrific! BEING BOUJEE would like to give a special shoutout to Rodrigo and Mario. They were terrific butlers and easy to communicate with at any hour via WhatsApp.
What can a butler do for you? Pretty much anything. They can assist with unpacking and packing (WHAT?!? Crazy, right?), dinner reservations at Mb, cabana reservations, spa reservations, and assistance in planning any special celebration you would like to happen during your stay.
AQUA SUITE: The Aqua suite was impressive! I was in room 2003, opposite the new resort being built next door. The Aqua suites are at the end of the hallways, so if you want to be close to the elevators, there are better choices than an Aqua suite.
The aqua suite has 1.5 bathrooms, two rooms divided by a large sliding wood door, a bar area, two large screen TVs, a sectional couch with pullout, a sizeable round hydrotherapy and chromotherapy Jacuzzi, and a large outdoor balcony with a table, four chairs and two loungers.
A suite comes with the following amenities:
♥ Champagne bottle with strawberries and chocolate
♥ Pillow menu
♥ 30% Spa discount
♥ Daily complimentary cabana with 20-minute foot massage
♥ Unlimited free access to the humidity area in the SPA
♥ Pillow menu
The room has so many features that I don’t know if they apply to all rooms or just an Aqua Suite. For example, the patio door curtains open automatically every time you enter your room. In addition, the curtains are controlled by a panel on each side of the bed and by the living room couch in the other room. That was a BOUJEE feature I could get used to in my daily life. The panel on each side of the bed also controls the lights. A Bose Bluetooth speaker is available in the room, and a TON of hanging space where the closet lights automatically turn on as you open the closet door.
The view from the balcony of the aqua suite was amazing! It is oceanfront, and the incredible view can be seen from the bed!
RESTAURANTS and ROOM SERVICE
Hidden Garden: Located outdoors in the center of the resort, it serves Asian-style food. I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know how good it is. I met a couple there who enjoyed eating dinner there.
Open for dinner only.
Café Deli Boutique: Located inside the gift store. This is the place to check out if you are looking for a fruit cup, sandwich, or pastry during the day. I didn’t find it until my last day, so I only enjoyed a cheese and pickle cup (an odd combination) for the ride back to the airport.
Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Varenna: An outdoor Italian restaurant that serves Calzones, pizza, paninis, salads, pasta, and more! I didn’t know this restaurant existed. Otherwise, I would have been there daily! I had pizza delivered to the cabana one day for lunch, which was delicious!
Open for lunch and dinner.
Room Service: Room service has an extensive menu available and usually takes 30-40 minutes for delivery.
Open 24 hours a day.
MB: The only restaurant that required reservations when I visited, and it is only open for dinner. The menu is Mexican casual, but I didn’t find much stuff on the menu I would eat. A shoutout to the chef who made me a grilled cheese sandwich for my main course.
This is the only restaurant with a dress code. Males have to wear pants and closed-toe shoes.
Open for dinner only.
Seacorner: An outdoor restaurant on the beach with a menu focused on seafood. The view is fantastic from this restaurant. You can find it near the swim-up bar pool.
Open for lunch only.
Azur is a casual restaurant with a menu including Mexican, North American, and South American dishes, an olive bar, and tasty thin-crust pizza.
Open for breakfast exclusively for Aqua Club members and everyone for lunch and dinner.
Sushi Station: Need an afternoon Japanese Sushi snack? This is the place to stop by and grab something quick to take outside or up to your room. Again, I didn’t try it, but I heard it was delicious!
Open for dinner.
Siete: An all-inclusive resort can only exist with a buffet, and Siete is the place, although COVID limited the buffet experience. They serve a breakfast buffet, which is fantastic, but at dinner time, you order off of a menu instead of a buffet being offered. I loved the breakfast buffet, but I preferred something other than ordering off of a menu for dinner.
Open for breakfast and dinner.
BARS
There are plenty of drink opportunities at the resort. The poolside service is fantastic, and the servers always stop asking if you need anything.
Aka Bar tends to be where people hang out at night. The younger crowd goes to Egos bar. Due to COVID, there weren’t any chairs set up by the bar, which tends to be a fun way to meet new people.
Some nights, you will find live music outside the Aka bar to enjoy. I only wish there was an inside/outside bar with live music. Enjoying the evening breeze while sipping a cocktail and listening to live local musicians would have been great.
The small refrigerator in your room is stocked with soda (Coke products), two different types of beer, and water. There are no liquor bottles in your room. Some people suggest picking up a bottle of Rum at the airport if you want to mix drinks in your room. I would stop at the Aqua Club lounge to pick up a drink to bring to my room. Truthfully, by 10 p.m., my liver was screaming for a break anyway!
POOLS
The property has multiple pools, and all but one pool is connected.
The swim-up bar pool is separate; I refer to one as the party pool. There is usually an afternoon DJ playing music, the drinks flowing easily, and the pool gets warmer and warmer as the day goes on. The pool temp may increase because of the sun; however, as the only swim-up bar on the property, people tend to stay in the pool to pee instead of visiting the restroom. Ha ha!
The infinity pool was the coldest and the windiest pool when I visited. However, the views from it are spectacular.
I spent a lot of time reading my book in the pool closest to the walk-up bar. It was quiet, close to the bathrooms and the bar.
What I love about the pools at Live Aqua is the amount of sun shelf space available. While there aren’t chairs on the sun shelf, you can easily lounge on the shelf while still getting your tan on.
There is one hot tub on the property that is relatively large. This is the place to hang out with 30 of your closest, new friends on an overcast day.
HOLIDAYS, CELEBRATIONS, and ENTERTAINMENT
The team at Live Aqua goes all out to celebrate special personal occasions and holidays or events happening worldwide. I am there for Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl.
For the Super Bowl, some employees wore football jerseys during the day and were excited about the Super Bowl party that was supposed to happen on the beach, but due to possible rain moving in, it was held in the convention center.
If you wanted reserved seating at the Super Bowl party, it was USD 40 per person, including a bottle of liquor of your choice (from a limited list). I heard some rumblings from other hotel guests complaining about reserved seating costs. I had bought my ticket earlier in the week as I thought it would be a fun experience on the beach. However, the party in the convention center was just okay.
The resort also went all out for Valentine’s Day. There was a huge art display on the beach and a love theme throughout the day. There was a special famous couple “parade” during the day by the pools, where employees dressed up as famous couples. It was cute.
I loved being somewhere new for the holidays and would highly suggest it.
If you are looking for a resort full of evening entertainment, there is a better one. One night was a Circus theme, and they had an acrobat show over the pools while a buffet dinner was served. This was the only evening entertainment event held during the four nights I stayed at the resort.
During the day, you can join a few entertainment activities if you want. Activities included bracelet making, mixology class, yoga, pool aerobics, Zumba, volleyball, food class, Bingo, etc. There was no pressure to participate; if you didn’t pay attention to the activity schedule, you wouldn’t even know an activity was happening.
DOG FRIENDLY
Don’t tell Rudy, but Live Aqua is dog-friendly! The cost is MXN 2,000 per stay per room, including dog lodging and extra cleaning.
Only small or medium dogs with a maximum weight of 20 kilos (44 lbs) are allowed.
Dogs are not allowed in any restaurant or pool. They can only be in your room or a circulation area, such as a corridor or other specific areas the hotel identifies.
To bring your dog, book directly with the hotel and add the dog-friendly option to your reservation.
It seems like a lot of work to bring a dog that can’t enjoy the beach. If you want to travel with your dog to Mexico, I suggest you read our story about living on the island of Isla Mujeres for a month, where they have a dedicated dog beach!
PACKING LIST and PACKING TIPS and TRICKS
LeAnn is a mentor and the ultimate BOUJEE glamour gal. When she left daily drudgery behind in favor of following her own personal path to joy, she made a promise to herself that she would help others do the same. All she’s ever wanted is to do is stay healthy, live her best life, and give back to others by introducing them to their inner BOUJEE.
