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Maya Chan beach club mexico

umpisoccer

By umpisoccer,
in Costa Maya

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  • 3 weeks later...
happymanitee

happymanitee

Posted
Posted

We went to Maya Chan on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving on the Liberty OTS.

When we got to the port, we tried to follow the directions to the meeting spot. We were supposed to leave the port and head towards the big Mayan pyramid. We could see the pyramid from the ship, so I didn’t think we would have any trouble. But, we had a hard time finding our way out of the port area. We seemed to wonder around forever trying to find the exit. Finally, we made it out of the port area and the rest was pretty easy. The sign for Maya Chan was easy to find and the guy there spoke English, so that was nice too.

 

We signed a waiver, got wristbands, and were loaded into a van. We were in the van with one other family. The other family was nice and said I could sit in the front row and they could put all the kids in the back few rows, but I said I would be fine in the back. So, my kids and I were in the very back and my husband sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. Well, I’ll tell you... the back was ROUGH. The road is bouncy and I mean very bouncy. On the way back, I sat with the adults in the first row and it was a much better ride. Still bouncy, but not as bad :)

 

Once we arrived, there was a host there to great us and tell us about the property... where the bathrooms are, etc. Then, someone showed us to our cabana. Some of the areas are just a palapa with chairs, but ours was more of a cabana with a hammock and chairs for all 5 of us. They immediately brought chips, salsa, and guacamole and took our drink orders. Our kids ran off to swim and float in the floaty chairs. When the waiter brought our drinks, I told him to just set the kid’s drinks down (virgin strawberry daiquiris) because they were all out swimming. But, he said,”oh, I’ll just bring them out to them”. So, out to the water he went with his tray and 3 drinks for the kids. The look on their faces was priceless. They aren’t used to drinking ‘fancy’ drinks in the first place and they especially weren’t used to being served while floating in the ocean.

We had fun floating in the chairs and rowing in the kayaks. I even tried stand-up paddle boarding. It’s harder than it looks and I struggled getting up onto the thing. I’m 42 and overweight, so everyone got quite a laugh watching me try and repeatedly loose my balance and end up in the water again. Sure, I need to loose a few pounds, but I don’t let that stop me from having fun and it was a good time.

 

My husband and kids took the kayak out to the coral reef, but he didn’t bring any snorkel gear with him. It was pretty far out there, He said he wanted to get snorkel gear and go back out, but they never did.

 

Lunch was amazing and everyone enjoyed it- even my picky youngest child. After lunch, the hostess announced a drink making competition for all the kids. Because it was Thanksgiving break, there were SO many kids. Each kid got a chance to go up into the tiki bar and make a drink with all of the ingredients she had up there. One kid even added chili powder to his drink, which sounds disgusting, but his family members and the hostess all said it was surprisingly good. He ended up winning the prize, but my kids still loved making their own drinks.

 

A hostesses then came around and asked us what time we wanted to leave. We could choose as late as 3:30 (all-aboard was 4:30 I think), but we chose 3:15. Around 3:00, she came back by to remind us to start packing up and to meet her at the entrance. When we got there, the van was waiting to take us back.

 

Overall, it was an amazing day. Some other things to note: everything is included except a massage and tips. When we got there, the masseuse came over and introduced her herself. I can’t remember the price, but it was very reasonable. My husband told her maybe later, but then she was pretty busy after lunch and he never got one. So, if you want a massage, it’s probably best to do it before lunch.

Also, there was sea grass on the beach and the water is a little murky. It wasn’t too bad and we still had fun, but it isn’t crystal blue waters and white sand. The ocean floor had a little bit of a lake feel instead of an ocean. All of these things seem unimportant because the service is so amazing.

As for tips, there is a tip box at the exit. The hostess let us know that we didn’t need to tip anyone individually throughout the day. She said that if we felt inclined to tip, to just put something in the box at the end of the day and they would all split it. I like that system much better and we dropped our money in there as we headed to the van.

 

We had a great time! I will be back in Costa Maya in 2019 and I would definitely go there again, I’m still going to research other options, because I like to try something new each time, but there is a good chance I will do Maya Chan again.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Luvmypups

Luvmypups

Posted
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Ditto what Happymanitee said. Maya Chan has been our go to place in Costa Maya for the last several years. The service and hospitality make up for the seaweed and cloudy water. Can’t wait to go back in March!!

 

 

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Speasda

Speasda

Posted
Posted
We went to Maya Chan on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving on the Liberty OTS.

When we got to the port, we tried to follow the directions to the meeting spot. We were supposed to leave the port and head towards the big Mayan pyramid. We could see the pyramid from the ship, so I didn’t think we would have any trouble. But, we had a hard time finding our way out of the port area. We seemed to wonder around forever trying to find the exit. Finally, we made it out of the port area and the rest was pretty easy. The sign for Maya Chan was easy to find and the guy there spoke English, so that was nice too.

 

We signed a waiver, got wristbands, and were loaded into a van. We were in the van with one other family. The other family was nice and said I could sit in the front row and they could put all the kids in the back few rows, but I said I would be fine in the back. So, my kids and I were in the very back and my husband sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. Well, I’ll tell you... the back was ROUGH. The road is bouncy and I mean very bouncy. On the way back, I sat with the adults in the first row and it was a much better ride. Still bouncy, but not as bad :)

 

Once we arrived, there was a host there to great us and tell us about the property... where the bathrooms are, etc. Then, someone showed us to our cabana. Some of the areas are just a palapa with chairs, but ours was more of a cabana with a hammock and chairs for all 5 of us. They immediately brought chips, salsa, and guacamole and took our drink orders. Our kids ran off to swim and float in the floaty chairs. When the waiter brought our drinks, I told him to just set the kid’s drinks down (virgin strawberry daiquiris) because they were all out swimming. But, he said,”oh, I’ll just bring them out to them”. So, out to the water he went with his tray and 3 drinks for the kids. The look on their faces was priceless. They aren’t used to drinking ‘fancy’ drinks in the first place and they especially weren’t used to being served while floating in the ocean.

We had fun floating in the chairs and rowing in the kayaks. I even tried stand-up paddle boarding. It’s harder than it looks and I struggled getting up onto the thing. I’m 42 and overweight, so everyone got quite a laugh watching me try and repeatedly loose my balance and end up in the water again. Sure, I need to loose a few pounds, but I don’t let that stop me from having fun and it was a good time.

 

My husband and kids took the kayak out to the coral reef, but he didn’t bring any snorkel gear with him. It was pretty far out there, He said he wanted to get snorkel gear and go back out, but they never did.

 

Lunch was amazing and everyone enjoyed it- even my picky youngest child. After lunch, the hostess announced a drink making competition for all the kids. Because it was Thanksgiving break, there were SO many kids. Each kid got a chance to go up into the tiki bar and make a drink with all of the ingredients she had up there. One kid even added chili powder to his drink, which sounds disgusting, but his family members and the hostess all said it was surprisingly good. He ended up winning the prize, but my kids still loved making their own drinks.

 

A hostesses then came around and asked us what time we wanted to leave. We could choose as late as 3:30 (all-aboard was 4:30 I think), but we chose 3:15. Around 3:00, she came back by to remind us to start packing up and to meet her at the entrance. When we got there, the van was waiting to take us back.

 

Overall, it was an amazing day. Some other things to note: everything is included except a massage and tips. When we got there, the masseuse came over and introduced her herself. I can’t remember the price, but it was very reasonable. My husband told her maybe later, but then she was pretty busy after lunch and he never got one. So, if you want a massage, it’s probably best to do it before lunch.

Also, there was sea grass on the beach and the water is a little murky. It wasn’t too bad and we still had fun, but it isn’t crystal blue waters and white sand. The ocean floor had a little bit of a lake feel instead of an ocean. All of these things seem unimportant because the service is so amazing.

As for tips, there is a tip box at the exit. The hostess let us know that we didn’t need to tip anyone individually throughout the day. She said that if we felt inclined to tip, to just put something in the box at the end of the day and they would all split it. I like that system much better and we dropped our money in there as we headed to the van.

 

We had a great time! I will be back in Costa Maya in 2019 and I would definitely go there again, I’m still going to research other options, because I like to try something new each time, but there is a good chance I will do Maya Chan again.

 

 

Just back from our trip to Maya Chan and the above is pretty spot on. A few things to add-

 

1. Massage is $25 for 30 minutes and $45 for 60 minutes

2. Ride is VERY bumpy - took us 25 minutes (realize she said that, but worth emphasis)

3. Lunch is a taco bar with steak, chicken, fish, pork and all toppings. The fish was sea bass and was the best, pork dish is very close second. Try the pico - very fresh.

4. Exiting the port - challenging is an understatement, if you can get to the pool area, you are getting close. Keep heading away and to the left of the ships to exit. Good luck

5. They make a very tasty limeade drink - good refresher between adult beverages

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SquishTheWhale

SquishTheWhale

Posted
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We went back in October and I kept meaning to pop some comments on here but never did!

 

Most of what has been said already was also our experience. The port is a maze but we asked someone outside the chocolate shop and they pointed us in the right direction. I think we may have been unlucky with the time we arrived at the pick up point as we waited around 20 minutes before being put in a taxi with others who arrived later. The waiting area was a grubby looking shop with plastic chairs and huge ants crawling around. It was brutally hot so I wasn't massively impressed with the wait. Not a great first impression but I knew it would get better.

 

The ride as stated is very bumpy. Sit back and be glad it's not your own car's suspension being destroyed. I was worried my husband would freak out a bit as he is super safety conscious but he got through it with only several comments about how we were all going to die.

 

Once we arrived everything was just as the reviews say- wonderful service and the food was so good. Drinks good too- I'm not a big drinker but enjoyed some mango daquiris. My husband liked all the juices you could have as he'd been complaining about juice not being in the UBP lol. We tried kayaking and paddle boarding, to my surprise I was up and away on the paddle boards straight away! I'm a fit person but my balance sucks and I couldn't stand up when we've tried surfing before. They are large and fairly stable so don't be afraid to give it a go. Fighting the current can be tiring though. The water was fairly clear and no huge amounts of seagrass, not much to see snorkelling though.

 

We were on honeymoon and they put us up a little sign and a bottle of fizz on ice. Didn't drink it but much appreciated.

 

The massage lady approached us early on and I asked her to come back later as my husband was snorkelling so I couldn't ask him if he wanted one. She took this as us both definitley wanting a massage and came back to collect us both later. It was ok but not great. They chatted to each other in Spanish while working which meant I couldn't just relax and listen to the sea. When they finished we got an 'Is done' and a rattle of their tips box. Wouldnt bother if we went again.

 

What I really enjoyed most about the day was when I took time to just sway in a hammock listening to the sea. I'm quite a high strung person and find it hard to totally let go and relax, but I achieved some degree of serenity that day. Its a very peaceful and natural feeling place.

 

Overall I would reccomend- I'm not going to rave about it or book a cruise just to go back like some, but it was a very nice way to spend the day.

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