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Thanks Marcy!
I wish I could say it is great to be home, but ....well...vacation is just better! I love to share, so here are my thoughts for you!
 
-As usual the greeters were right there when you got through with your luggage, and referred to their list and wisked you onto you bus. There as no waiting or dilly dallying. There were four resorts on our bus, all
right in a row, so no long bus travel for anyone. The microphone on the bus was broken, but our guide made  the best of it and went seat to seat answering any questions. Nice short ride!!
-Check in at the resort was easy, I was the only one there, and they went quickly as I told them I really wanted to try to make dinner, and I did.
-They have made some nice upgrades to the resort! The spa was done, beautiful, more on that later, and they added a new pizza place with pizza, ice cream and a bar by the main pool. This was a super place to grab a late afternoon bite. The pizza was really good too!!
-My room was in the last building by the ocean as requested, no king bed though, but that was OK. Some of the online reviews had said these rooms could be noisy from the disco and this was true, but if your air conditioner was running you couldn't hear it. The room was clean, but simple, as expected. The tub was peeling and had some rust, but as I told you, things like that don't really get to me. It was a cheap place, you get what you pay for. If this had been the case at the Paradisus, I would be annoyed, but I knew this was no 5 apple place. BUT, there is nothing wrong with it at all.
-Food was good, nothing beats those fruit smoothies in the morning, always plenty of choice. The pork was usually tough, but lots of great fish, and funny, funny signs with lots of misspellings :)
-Service in the buffet and sit downs was super. The bars could be a little slow, but if you made an effort to get to know the bartender, their speed improved tremendously.
-The entertainment staff was super! Typical resort cheesiness, but fun. They worked hard to get everyone involved. There was always someplace you could go to get away from them if you wanted to also.
-The beach was spectacular! Nice and long so you could walk and walk.
-The IFA staff was the first of the resort staffs to be out in the morning raking the seaweed. The water does have some minor little floaties, which I know people complain about, but it is the ocean afterall! Not a bother to me, nice soft sandy bottom, no rocks, and refreshingly cool. They have taken down all their palapas (sp?..the huts) so if you wanted shade near the beach you had to be up early, there was plenty further back. Our place was also a lot more full than
the others I walked by, and our people got up earlier.
-The open air market is just next door which people flocked to bargin everyday.....not me, I spent my money at the spa.....
-The spa was great, much nicer than the rest of the resort, so kinda funny, the sharp contrast.  Cheap for what I am used to here in my area, and she was very good. One of thecouples I met had an open air couples massage and they couldn't stop raving about how wonderful it was. They had a great variety of offerings. The gym looked nice too, and was always busy....I walked the beach for an hour or so each morning...a much nicer workout I think.
-The transfer home was right on time, and got us to the front of the line, after I went through...about 15 minutes...the line was across the airport, then they started boarding early and we took off almost half an hour early, a nice treat.....they have also opened a couple of new shops in the airport which were not there last year for souveniers and duty free. That was nice. The prices were what they were at the resort.

Overall, it was great! The place is a good value for the price you pay for it. I would recommend it to anyone who is not picky like me.
Hope I helped you!!!
Now, be on the look out for a good deal for me for next year! I want to step up a little, and try to get something where I can stay longer and my friend can stay shorter.
Thanks for everything, it was great doing business with you, I have already given your name to three others! :)
Melinda

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Hi Marcy,