The traveling foodie: Club Med Ixtapa

9.9.12

Club Med Ixtapa - Part 1

After an early flight to Ixtapa (45 min. from Mexico City) we arrived to Club Med Ixtapa Pacific.
The resort is located in a relatively new area of the town in a beach called Playa Quieta (calm beach) due to the calm waters. The nice Isla Ixtapa is in front of the resort, stopping the huge waves from entering the bay and providing the calm waters where you can swim, sail or practice other water sports.

Club Med Ixtapa Pacific

Playa Quieta

At the airport, a Club Med representative was there to greet us, we were driven to the resort (30 min. ride - the transfer is included in the fee, they'll either send a van if there's a large group arriving or they'll get you a cab) where we were greeted by a GO (that's Gentile Organisateur, the term that indicates a staff member at CM) who gave us a refreshing towel and a cold drink while he took us for a tour of the resort and explained how everything works, then we were taken to our room, where the luggage was delivered in no time.

Main square of the Resort (where the main bar, main restaurant shop and excursions desk are located)

The resort has been refurbished a couple of years ago, the common areas are spotless, gardens, beaches, pools, bars etc. The rooms are also super clean and spacious. We stayed in a regular room which was big and nicely decorated, the only negative thing was there was no balcony, just a window with partial seaview. In every resort we've been, we've never had to pay extra to get a balcony but I guess that's a CM policy. Also, our minibar was empty and we had to fill it ourselves (or pay extra to be in a suite, where it was filled for free). Apart from that, the room is great, it has a spacious sitting area, TV that can be turned to face the bed or the seating area, a medium closet (some drawers would have been nice though), iron and board and spacious shower.

Comfortable bed - standard room

The all-inclusive formula entitles you to eat and drink whatever, whenever. The food in the main restaurant, El Encanto (open for breakfast, lunch and dinner), is delicious and various, like at lunch: cheese bar, salad bar, pasta bar (which of course we avoided), ice cream and desserts bar, grilled stuff (sausages, burgers, etc), the delicious Mexican specialties like chicharrón con Chile, chicken in guajillo sauce, fish Veracruz style, etc. And the nice women making tortillas and tacos in a special station are great. Every evening there is a special theme for the food and the entertainment: Brazilian, International, Italian, Mexican, etc.

Restaurant El Encanto

If you get tired of having at the buffet, you can have dinner in one of the two specialty restaurants, Miramar and Luna Azul which have a special a-la-carte menu and are open for dinner on alternate evenings. You'll need to make a reservation the day before (they get booked up). Since we were there in a low-season week, the specialty restaurants were closed and we only got to try the Luna Azul, which was great, so be sure to try it if you have the chance.

Luna Azul restaurant

After dinner there are shows prepared by the GOs and music at the main bar or by the beach. Some shows are really cool, like the trapeze night, the pool party and especially the Mexican night (don't miss it!).