TRAVELING COMPANION
  • Traveling Companion
  • Destinations
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Relaxing in Cancun

2/8/2020

0 Comments

 

By Ramon

Ramon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. ​​

Relaxing in Cancun Report
Relaxing in Cancun Overview
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles  Review

Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review 
Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review
Picture
Introduction
During early 2019, I decided to escape the cold in Washington D.C. and head to Cancun, Mexico for my bachelor party. This was my second time in Mexico, after our amazing trip to Mexico City.
I chose Cancun because I wanted a warm weather beach destination that I had never visited. I can confidently say it was one of the best vacation decisions I have ever made. On this trip I had the opportunity to try out an all-inclusive hotel, the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, for the first time. I left impressed by Mexico's beaches, with the Hyatt Zilara brand, and several of the airport lounges I tried on this trip.

Booking Hotel

One of the main reasons I chose Cancun, Mexico was because I had the opportunity to try an all-inclusive hotel for the first time. I wanted a vacation where I didn't have to worry about constantly pulling out the checkbook and my traveling companions would know the vast majority of the cost upfront. There are several all-inclusive options in the Cancun area but I chose the Hyatt Zilara because it was an adults-only all-inclusive and gave me the opportunity to earn points and use my Hyatt Discoverist status.
Picture
Hyatt Zilara Cancun
There are a several things to bear in mind when booking the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. First, as best as I can tell the standard rates are more for marketing purposes and tracking the rate for our January trip it never got close to the standard rate even a week before the trip. Second, the rates at this hotel vary significantly depending on what time of year you book and how far in advance you book. I booked about six months in advance and kept checking for a cheaper rate. Over time the rate fell from $448 per night for one person to $398 per night. Also, the hotel was definitely not full during our stay so I assume that my rate was on the low end for the resort. Third, the rate varies depending on the number of guests and the sweet spot is two guests in a room, however, I ended up having to book a room for one since there was a person who dropped our at the last minute. For example, my room was $398 for one person while a double room with two people came out to $276 per person. Fourth, while these rates may seem high for Mexico they include not just the room but all the food, all drinks including alcoholic drinks, and gratuity. When you consider this the cost per person per day is a good deal. Fifth, the all-inclusive does not include the cost of transportation to or from the airport. Because there were five of us traveling together we booked a car for $270 roundtrip. Since I booked the stay directly with Hyatt I ended up earning 3,392 base and 339 bonus World of Hyatt points.

Booking Flights
​Southwest, Spirit, United, and Delta all offer non-stop flights from Washington D.C. area to Cancun. At the time of booking I had elite status with American Airlines but because I was only going to spend three days in Cancun and the non-stop flights offered reasonable prices I decided not to book with American. While I did not have have status with Delta at the time I had positive experiences with the airline in the past so decided to book with Delta. I booked the non-stop Saturday-only Washington Dulles (IAD) flight to Cancun and came back to Washington Regan National (DCA) with a connection in Minneapolis (MSP). Since I flew this flight in January 2019 Delta moved its non-stop Saturday-only Cancun service for the D.C. area to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport. While I was nervous connecting in Minneapolis during winter I ended up not having any problems.
Picture
IAD-CUN-MSP Route (Flight Routing Map generated using the Great Circle Mapper-copyright Karl) L. Swartz
To top it all off I got the best deal I have gotten since our sub-$200 tickets to Mexico City. In the end this flight was $271 which was a steal for a non-basic economy fare to Cancun! Because of the high taxes and fees which amounted to 49% of the ticket cost and my lack of Delta elite status at the time I would have earned only 695 Delta SkyMiles. Instead I credited this flight to Delta's partner Virgin Atlantic where I earned 1,973 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

Summary
Cancun was the perfect winter escape and left me with a great impression of the Mexican beaches, Hyatt's all-inclusive hotels, and several of the airport lounges. I look forward to sharing my experience and the many reasons why I enjoyed my travel experience to Cancun and my time in Cancun.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    June 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    A319
    A320
    A321
    A330-300
    A380
    Abu-dhabi
    Airport-lounge-reviews
    American-airlines
    Amtrak
    Asia
    Auh
    Avianca
    Barcelona
    Bcn
    Boeing-737800
    Boeing-737-800
    Boeing 757
    Boeing-757
    Boeing-767300
    Boeing-777200
    British-airways
    Business-class
    California
    Cancun
    Central Coast
    Charlotte
    Chase
    Clt
    Credit Cards
    CRJ 900
    CRJ-900
    CUN
    DCA
    Delta Airlines
    DFW
    Dining And Activities
    Dubai
    E175
    Economy
    Etihad Airways
    Europe
    First Class
    Flight Reviews
    FRA
    Frankfurt
    Hilton
    Hotel Reviews
    Hyatt
    IAD
    JFK
    JW Marriott
    LAS
    Las Vegas
    LAX
    LGW
    LHR
    London
    Los Angeles
    Luxury Collection
    Marriott
    Mexico
    Mexico City
    MGM Hotels
    MLE
    MSY
    NAS
    Nassau
    Nevada
    New Orleans
    New York
    Opinions
    PHL
    Priority Pass
    Puerto Rico
    Puerto Vallarta
    Renaissance
    Renfe
    Salt Lake City
    San Juan
    Santa Barbara
    SBA
    Seaplane
    SIN
    Singapore
    Singapore Airlines
    SJU
    SLC
    St. Regis
    Suites
    The Bahamas
    The Maldives
    Train Reviews
    Travel Tips
    Trip Reports
    UAE
    Valencia
    Virgin Atlantic
    Washington DC
    Washington Dulles

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Traveling Companion
  • Destinations
  • About
  • Privacy Policy