Eric and I knew we wanted to do something fun, and preferably out of the country, for our babymoon. While we initially wanted to head to Europe, we opted for something a little easier, and picked Cancun. We had been to Cancun for a day after our trip to Tulum in November 2021, but weren’t able to enjoy it very much since I was in month 2 of pregnancy and feeling pretty sick. We had LOVED the hotel we stayed at, and decided to come back and give it a full chance.
Day One
We checked into CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort, which is where we had stayed on a previous trip. The hotel is a bit dated, but is HUGE and right on the water. They also have these incredible suites at the end of the hall on every floor that have a separate small living room, and a massive balcony, and unlike hotels in the US, our SNA’s (suite night awards) have always been accepted here.
The other great thing about this property, is that it’s attached to the JW Marriott, and between the two hotels there are SO MANY restaurants on premise. We arrived pretty late at night on day one, and so we had reservations on premise at Mikado Japanese Restaurant. Unfortunately, being pregnant, I could eat any of the sushi (which looked SO GOOD), but we did find plenty of other delicious items on the menu, including some sushi rolls with cooked fish. I can’t wait to come back and try this spot again post-pregnancy to get more of the menu.
Day Two
We woke up in paradise on day two. This view is from the bed, and you can see a bit of just how massive our balcony was, and a view right out onto the water. Seriously, these rooms were huge, and there was so much space both inside and outside. We’ve already talked about how perfect they will be for when we take our first family vacations, as the small living area has a pull out couch and would be perfect for a kids room.
Every morning on our trip we started with coffee at the little store/pizzeria they have in the lobby. In the mornings, they have coffee, pastries, and tons of breakfast sandwiches, and then halfway through the day they switch and have fantastic pizza. The coffee was great, and it was so nice to have everything you could need contained within the property.
We got to the pool early (a nice side effect of not being able to stay up late drinking!) and snagged seats right by the edge overlooking the beach. The pool area is massive, and has tons of seating both shaded and in the sun, plus multiple bars, including a swim up bar in the pool. They also have workout classes in the mornings, so we got to watch a fun group doing Zumba while we enjoyed our coffee.
The La Isla restaurant at the pool is surprisingly DELICIOUS. They have a super extensive menu, and we tried SO many things while we were there. The quesadilla was recommended by our waitress, and it was fantastic. Everything always came out super quickly, and was so fresh.
Fun fact, the hotel also has a service on staff with an actual falcon. At first we thought it was just to entertain the guests, and then on this trip realized that it’s actually to scare away any birds that might come and try to steal your food. Anytime there was a bird that landed in the pool area, they’d send the falcon after it. Very interesting tactic for sure!
For dinner we headed out of the property to Lorenzillo’s, a spot on the bay known for their lobster and seafood. We had great seats outside on the patio, and timed it perfectly to watch the sunset.
The food was incredible. You get to go inside the restaurant and choose your lobster from their massive tank, and then they have a gazillion different types of preparation you can pick from. I opted for the coconut lobster, and it was one of the most delicious and decadent lobster dishes I’ve ever had. Eric got a garlic wine sauce for his, and we split both, along with a few appetizers.
Towards the end of dinner we had some fun guests! There were a bunch of gators in the bay, and this guy just kept hanging out right underneath our seats. The photo doesn’t quite do justice to how big this guy was – easily 8 feet long. The restaurant staff said that this is a pretty normal occurrence, so keep an eye out if you’re here dining at night!
Day Three
After grabbing our coffee on day three, we headed back down to the pool area. We asked at the pool desk about the cabanas on the beach, and were amazed to find out that they were only $100 for the whole day, AND that they normally come with an appetizer, a bottle of champagne, and bottled water. When I mentioned that we wouldn’t drink the champagne, they gave us a discount even further, which was so nice of them. This is SUCH a good deal, and honestly I was surprised they weren’t taken already for the entire trip.
The cabanas are huge. Behind the chair I’m in above there is a full lounge couch that could easily sleep 4 grown adults, plus they had beach chairs set up in the sand in front of us. We went ahead and booked it for the rest of our trip.
We ordered from the La Isla pool restaurant again for lunch, and this day the standout was the garlic shrimp. It was cooked perfectly and was SO flavorful.
We ended our beach/pool time a little early on this day to be able to do a bit of shopping. I’d realized that I forgot to bring anything to wear home on the plane, and it was going to be SNOWING when we landed back in Denver. We popped over to La Isla Shopping Village and got some clothes for me from La Boutique Palacio, the main department store in the shopping center, and then I treated myself to a little duty free shopping at Gucci. In the main hotel zone they have a number of luxury brands, and it’s a great way to get a discount from the prices in the US by at least saving the tax!
For dinner, we had reservations at Sasi Thai on the property. The restaurant is in front of the hotel overlooking the main street in the hotel zone, which is also the direction of the sunset. They have live music every night, and it was such a great atmosphere. Plus, the food was amazing, AND they made me a non-alcoholic lychee martini, which really just made my night.
Day Four
We spent our last full day lounging again in a cabana by the beach, getting in as much sun as we could, and reading as many books as possible.
Before dinner, we stopped at one more shopping area, the Luxury Avenue at Kukulcan Plaza, to grab me some shoes I had been eying for a while. This shopping center was small, but SO nice, and reminded me a lot of the luxury shopping areas in Asia.
After shopping, we headed over to Harry’s Prime Steakhouse & Raw Bar for dinner. I will say, going to a steakhouse when pregnant is a little depressing to me. I’m a rare plus ribeye kinda gal, and think it’s a crime to eat a steak without a good cabernet. That being said, this spot has SO MUCH on the menu outside of steak, so we were able to try a bunch of fun appetizers and sides. We did get a small steak to share, but had to get it pretty well done. Honestly the highlight was this creamed corn that I still dream about, and can’t wait to go back and have again.
At the end of the meal, they also bring around these massive cotton candy stands to each table. It was a nice lighter dessert to end the night with, and makes for great photo ops.
Back at the hotel, we stopped at Champions, the sports bar on premise to watch some of the UFC fight that was on that night. The bar is a very typical sports bar with a ton of tvs, lots of beers on draft, and a standard bar food menu. It’s a great place to post up if there are any games on that you want to see while on vacation!
Day Five
We woke up on day five so sad that we had to leave in the afternoon. This vacation was honestly SO relaxing, and we had such a good time just soaking in the sun and eating delicious food.
We can’t wait to head back again, this time with baby Harper in tow! Let us know what other restaurants/attractions we need to add to our list, and anything we should add to the itinerary now that we’ll have kids on the trip!
