A vegan holiday in Cancun
The story behind the holiday
There was a lot that happened (or didn’t happen) before and that motivated us to book this holiday.
we hadn’t been on holiday (outside of the UK) for ages, even before COVID struck
I can’t remember the last time we had a beach holiday
we were both tired from the effects of having Long COVID
we wanted to get away but we needed to book something that ticked the following boxes:
it required minimal thinking
we’d feel content even if we didn’t plan any excursions etc
meals would be taken care of
vegan options wouldn’t be an issue
So with some back and forth with a few travel agents, we found out about and booked, a trip to Cancun.
Who we booked with
We were going to book with Hays Travel in Harrow. Kate and Amanda had been wonderful in helping us find something that suited our needs. The trip that we were about to book was provided by Tui. Just as we were about to book, we remembered what happened when we last booked a holiday with Tui! It wasn’t a good memory!
We had booked in a Tui store. Their customer service after we’d booked was awful! We rang Tui’s customer services and were told that because we’d booked in a store, they couldn’t help us. Had we booked online, they would have been able to alleviate the concerns that we had!
This recollection made us realise that it might not be a good idea to book with Hays Travel and that we should go to Tui directly. We didn’t want to assume so we told the Tui rep what happened before and asked if we would have been OK if we’d booked with the travel agent. The agent explained that Tui stores and Tui online now act as one but third-party travel agents aren't covered in the same way and Tui wouldn't be able to help us if we had any issues. For that reason and only that reason, we decided to book with Tui.
We later found out that Tui has a special arrangement with Hays Travel where they’ve agreed to help if customers have any issues.
So…after all that, we booked with Tui and we were all set.
Arriving at the resort
We got to the resort, El Dorado Seaside Suites after 9 pm so the exploration had to wait! :)
In the morning, there was a meeting with the Tui rep, which we attended. Between that and the tour that followed, we learned a lot about the resort, the offerings, key members of staff, excursions and more. It was a good start!
We asked the rep about vegan options and he told us what Hays Travel and Tui had told us:
They cater for all dietary requirements. When guests arrive at any of the restaurants, they are asked if they have any dietary requirements and they will be catered for. There’s no need to worry.
The Rep followed this by saying that they have a Guest Relations Manager who’s wonderful and should we have any issues, we should go to him. The Guest Relations Manager’s name was Alejandro Carrillo. Whilst we were waiting for the tour, we met Alejandro and we mentioned that we were vegan and we shared what we had been told so far. He asked if we were happy to share our numbers so that we could let him know when we made a booking at any of their restaurants so that he could liaise with the chef and ensure that we were catered for. We did this and I can’t tell you how important it was for our trip.
The resort
Where we ate
The resort had loads of restaurants onsite. They all had a different feel, they offered varying cuisines and some had a theme. It was so good to have such a variety of options.
Seaside market
From my recollection, this was the most informal restaurant. It offered loads of options through its buffet. I haven’t got any photos of this restaurant as we only ate there once.
Beach BBQ
This was like an outside café. It was lovely to sit outside and watch the waves while we ate. I haven’t got any photos of our meals here either.
Mia Casa Dorado
There were two Italian restaurants. One was a themed restaurant and the other wasn’t. The themed one was gorgeous and worth dining at simply because of the set up.
Culinarium
We absolutely loved dining at the Culinarium. We had breakfast there nearly every day. We liked the staff and their enthusiasm. They really enjoyed veganising various dishes and then watching through the door, to see our reaction to them. Suraj really remembers enjoying their fruit platter. I remember it being a stunning restaurant with lots of light and greenery where we smiled and laughed with the staff and enjoyed some fantastic meals.
La Carreta
This was a Mexican restaurant. We ate there a couple of times. The main thing I remember is how creative the chef got with the dessert. He made an amazingly decadent chocolate dessert which we wanted to devour. However, if I remember correctly, we weren’t expecting dessert and were really full from everything we’d eaten before. We felt so bad because we wanted to eat it, we didn’t want to waste it, especially because the chef had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it but we simply couldn’t finish them. After that, we made sure we saved some room for dessert and we were really glad that we did!
Arrecifes
We enjoyed many meals here. Nearly all of our meals were outside, facing the water and there was something very majestic about it.
The chef was absolutely amazing! He looked after us so well. He made things for us especially, veganising traditional Mexican dishes which were absolutely delicious! I remember the first time I had the muffins, I didn’t want to eat anything else! They were soft, warm, fluffy and absolutely delicious!
Gourmet Pub
I enjoyed the vibe here. It wasn’t somewhere you’d go for a quiet dinner but the restaurant was filled with upbeat songs, which I couldn’t help but sing along to. The food was great too. In particular, I remember one of the staff asking what I’d like to drink. I chose to have a Virgin Piña Colada not realising that it wasn’t vegan. That was no bother because she found a way to veganise it and it was delicious! Other than that, the dessert was something that the chef made in front of us and it was captivating! Some other guests said it was worth going just for the dessert! :)
Klay Talay
This was their Thai restaurant. It’s known for being their best place for dining and it gets booked up quickly. We had a meal there and without getting into lots of detail, I didn’t like it. I felt like the waiter was big-headed because of their reputation. He didn’t consistently display that he understood what vegan meant and he made errors with the food. The staff urged us to return for a better experience but it wasn’t too different!
Driftwood
We went to Driftwood a few times. It was covered but part of it was on the beach and that was open. It was bright and spacious.
Mia Casa Sensimar
This was the non-themed Italian restaurant. We sat in the part of the restaurant which was mostly glass. It had a really nice feel to it. I remember us loving the desserts here.
Is there anything left to say about the food?
Seeing everything above might make the entire experience look as if it was effortless and luxurious. It wasn’t. Here’s why:
we found that their menus had dishes marked as vegetarian when they contained meat
there were a number of occasions when chefs confused vegan and gluten-free
during one meal we were given conflicting information about the bread by different members of staff
at times, this left me wondering and doubting whether what I was eating was vegan or not
However, I have no regrets because the Guest Relations Manager, Alejandro Carrillo, relentlessly worked on improving our experience by talking to us, asking for feedback and then acting on it to ensure the meals and the experiences got better and better! If it wasn’t for him and his efforts I’m not sure what I would have done.
How they’ve learned from our experience
Alejandro arranged for me to meet one of the managers so that they can ensure there’s no repetition of this! How?
training their staff so that they understand what vegan means
improving the labelling on their menus so that the term vegetarian is used accurately
having a bank of dishes to ensure guests who want plant-based meals are catered for effortlessly
I would love to go back to see the impact of what they put in place and to enjoy the fruits of it.
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