Four months of a lockdown in Canada has made many people stir crazy. Especially those who are “soul travelers”. After monitoring the news on a daily basis, I found the perfect change of scenery which was also a perfectly safe place.
Many airlines, resorts and destinations have adopted safety protocols in order to safely open tourism. The first destination that opened their borders (although they were never technically closed) was Mexico, which happens to be my favorite place to travel to! As a result, my first trip after the halt on travel was to Mexico.
I stayed at Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun, a resort owned by AMResorts. AMResorts are known for their upscale quality and 5-star service. To summarize everything in one sentence: it felt like life was back to normal.
Getting there felt very devastating with empty airports and very few flights operating. Click here to see my article on my first post COVID-19 flight from Toronto to Cancun.
Transfer to the hotel
First, the welcoming staff asked me which resort I was going to, and offered me hand sanitizer. The use of a mask for both representatives and passengers was required. Also, transfer companies have reduced the number of passengers allowed in the vehicles, in order to abide from physical distancing guidelines. Certain seats had a sign telling travelers not to sit there. This has been implemented almost everywhere in the tourism industry. Even in airports you will see signs that tell you to leave certain seats empty. The use of masks was mandatory. There was also posted signage about COVID-19 and effective prevention measures. Clearly they’re taking this seriously.
Arriving at the hotel
All resorts have adopted advanced sanitation, cleaning and disinfection measures. Upon arrival, the staff were there waiting to give a warm welcome to their arriving guests. First, I was given alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Then I was asked to wipe my shoes. First, I had to rinse them, and then wipe them to dry.
The front desk had plexiglass shields, in order to keep a safe distance between the staff and the guests. This was on top of the fact that all staff members were wearing masks. Guests were not required to wear a mask. And just like in stores and airports, there were signs promoting physical distancing.
After being welcomed by the warm and friendly staff, my temperature was taken. They were using better technology than airports. I had to stand in front of a camera which would detect someone’s face and show the person’s temperature on a monitor. The camera only shows the temperature if it detects a face. If I moved away and would put my hand in front of the camera, it would show the image but not the temperature. Only after seeing that my temperature was not exceeding 38°C, they gladly checked me in. I also had to complete a health declaration form, which confirmed that I was virus-free.
Room
When I arrived at the room, there was a door hanger badge on the door handle, stating that that the room was cleaned using the resort’s Cristal International Standards process. All amenity kits including shampoo, body wash and conditioner, as well as the remote for the television, were presented in vacuum-sealed packaging. The same was in effect for drinking glasses. I opened one and used it to drink water, and the next day, it was replaced with a new glass, also put in a vacuum-sealed package. This shows that AMResorts is fully committed to ensuring advanced sanitation, cleaning and disinfection measures. There was also a card which assured clients that room hygiene standards had been implemented.
Restaurants
Every restaurant had hand sanitizer at the entrance, which was mandatory before being seated.
Some resorts require guests to make a reservation for the a la carte restaurants. AMResorts does not require any reservations, except for the Japanese restaurant where the food is cooked in front of the guests. Surprisingly, even that restaurant was open. The maximum number of guests allowed at one table was 6. I’ve been to other resorts which had similar restaurants, and up to 15 guests were allowed at one table. This shows another example of how resorts are adapting to physical distancing and sanitation measures, in order to have as many services available to guests as possible upon reopening.
For all restaurants, the tables were spread at a noticeable distance. The maximum at one table was 6. If there was a larger group, they would have to ask upon arrival.
Also, for anyone who had cameras or anything else, a hangar was provided. This was in order to avoid items from being placed on the table.
Ordering Food
New dining safety procedures had been implemented, and most dining venues had limited capacity. Now Sapphire had certain restaurants open on certain nights. In order to reduce human contact, menus were provided in a way that one can open them through the phone. There were two options:
- Scan a QR code which was displayed at each table, and the menu opens up on your smartphone. However, that does not work on all phones. It didn’t work on mine.
- Below the QR code was a website title. The title ended with .info. When someone opened that website on their phone, it offered the dining options for all restaurants. One would first click on the restaurant, then the meal period, and then the menu would display. I used that all the time, and it was a great way to minimize human contact.
For anyone who does not have a smartphone or is not tech savvy, physical menus are still offered on a request basis. Being on vacation mode, I once forgot my phone in my room and they offered me a physical menu.
The same procedure was also available for room service. There was no physical menu in the room. One would simply need to select room service.
Buffet
The buffet was a totally different story. The maximum number of guests allowed inside was 10. The buffet was arranged in such way that staff would stand in front of where one would enter to get food and plates. Guests would have to ask the staff to give them a plate and what food they want. The staff had masks and also gloves.
Milk and juices were not on the buffet. If someone wanted milk or orange juice for breakfast, they would have to ask their server, who would bring it to them. The same procedure was followed for soda at lunch or dinner.
The omelette station was surprisingly open.
Preferred Club Lounge
When I had booked my trip, I was told that the lounge was closed. Upon arrival, the check-in staff threw a surprise at me: the lounge had just opened the day before. The maximum capacity allowed at one time was 10 people, after which one must wait outside. With the hotel being at 30% capacity, I never ran into the situation of trying to use the lounge and having to wait. The maximum number of guests I saw in the lounge throughout my stay was 7, with me being the 8th. These rules are in effect while there is no vaccine.
In the same time, the lounge was only open from 15:00 to 22:45. In other words, even though the lounge was open, it had less hours. This comes from hotels having to reduce staffing hours due to low occupancy. It was a miracle that the lounge was open, as other resorts I had looked at did not have the VIP lounge open.
Entertainment
Throughout the day, it could be seen that the staff were trying to offer as much entertainment as possible. Most bars were open, and when someone would walk up to a bar, they would be provided with hand sanitizer.
Most activities were taking place in front of the pool. There were yoga lessons, and even events that looked like a party. There was also a bracelet-making class where I made 5 bracelets. Even before the bracelet-making class I was provided with hand sanitizer.
In all, I had a total of 2 “lazy days” when I didn’t do any excursions. On those days, there was never a moment that I was bored at this resort.
Evening shows
There were no shows in the theater. Instead, musicians were playing music in the lobby. Only the last night when I was there, which happened to be July 4, they had a show for the 4th of July celebration. The show was done in front of the swimming pool, and wooden seats were spread out as per social distancing rules. I was then told that the shows will be starting that day, and will be at that same spot. Therefore, it can be seen that the more weeks pass, the more services are resuming at most resorts.
Of course, it takes time for managers to discuss how to offer those services in such way as to promote physical distancing and limit the possible spread of COVID-19. But the fact that new activities and services kept starting shows a positive sign to the tourism industry.
Shops
The shops were open. There were physical distancing signs in the stores (just like at any other store in the country). There were also signs telling customers to avoid touching the items. Before COVID-19, signs would say “you break it you buy it”. But now, customers are encouraged to not touch the items at all.
Tour Desk
Just like the front desk, the tour desk had plexiglass in front, in order to avoid human contact. Once the tour desk closed, the desk would be sanitized and the monitors would be covered.
Other services
The same procedure that the restaurants adopted was also offered for other services like the spa, and for any services that are subject to additional fees. For example, if a couple was to stay there and tell the staff that it’s their honeymoon, they could simply look up the services on their phone and ask for a romantic dinner reservation. As a result, instead of having physical contact with a binder that was touched the night before by someone who didn’t show any symptoms, one can look up all those services on their mobile device. This is an example that shows that the travel industry will indeed emerge better than stronger than before. The advantage of using technology to look up services is good not only for reducing COVID-19, but any sorts of illnesses that one could get exposed to.
Excursions
Most of the excursions were operating. The thousands of cenotes across the Yucatan Peninsula were open for travelers, along with the famous Xcaret park. More parks opened the week I was there, as well as the following week. That same week, more and more resorts across the peninsula were also opening. The only attractions that were closed with an unknown opening date were archaeological sites. This is because thousands of tourists visit those sites every day. So, I participated in excursions to cenotes, Xcaret and visited a local Mayan village.
On every excursion I did, my temperature was taken before boarding the tour bus at the resort. The tour buses had seats blocked in order to practice physical distancing, the same way that the airport transfer bus had. My temperature was also taken upon arrival at Xcaret.
Check-out
The night before my departure, housekeeping left a pack of sanitizing towels in my room. This was amazing, and shows that they’re adapting to travelers who are nervous about traveling. The towels can be used for your hands, or to sanitize your luggage.
Upon check-out, many hotels provide a survey for their guests to provide feedback. Sometimes it is left in the room, other times it is provided upon check out. This resort had their survey done on a tablet. And the tablet was also presented in vacuum-sealed packaging. The staff told me that after someone fills out the survey, the package is replaced before the same tablet is provided to another guest.
Now Sapphire Riviera Cancun truly deserves more than a 5-star rating for both their safety measures as well as the activities offered. To me, the 7-night stay at this wonderful resort truly felt like an escape from the new normal that the world has had to adapt to. I can say that I felt safer in Mexico than I have felt during the entire 4-month lockdown in Canada. I even told the staff that I’d rather stay at the resort and sleep in the lobby than go home to Canada.