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Catherine Banks traveled to the Riviera Maya November 9 through 12. While there, she inspected twelve different hotels to see how things were shaping up after Wilma unleashed her wrath on the area.
Hotels Inspected:
Secrets Capri
Iberostar Tucan
Sunscape Tulum
Bahia Principe Tulum
Palladium Grand
Iberostar Paraiso Lindo
Iberostar Paraiso Maya
Riu Playacar
Riu Yucatan
Riu Palace Mexico
Riu Tequila
Overall Impression:
The hotels we saw were in good shape. Obviously there are other hotels in the Riviera Maya as well as up in Cancun and over in Cozumel where this is not the case. One of the most impressive things we observed was how quickly and diligently the Mexican people were working to restore everything. It is clear that everyone there, from the government officials to the laborers are committed to bringing the destination back to the standard that we all enjoy when we go.
Starting at the beginning, when we flew over the usually lush jungles on our approach to the Cancun Airport we immediately noticed a difference. Normally, the jungle is green and lush. This time, nature's fury was evident as we observed a mostly brown landscape. The damage to the jungle is probably the most shocking sight everywhere you go. The good news is that the jungle will quickly grow back. In fact, each day as we headed out for hotel inspections we noticed a visible difference in the amount of green. We were told that the jungle looked similar after Emily and that it was back in about six weeks.
Landing at the airport, there were places where it was evident that something significant had recently happened. Parts of the ceiling tile were damaged and were being repaired by diligent workers. None of the damage at the airport was such that it would affect the efficiency of an arrival or departure. Additionally, I expect that the damage will be completely gone fairly quickly.
The shining stars were the Riu properties. They showed either very little or NO effect from the storms. They were either not affected, or have recovered the most quickly.
I will let these pictures speak for themselves. If you have specific questions about any of these hotels, please call our office at the number below. Click on any picture to see a larger image.
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| Bahia Principe Tulum | Beach at Bahia Principe | Secrets Capri | Secrets Capri |
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| Beach at Secrets Capri | Showroom at Iberostar Paraiso Lindo/Maya | Rebuilding the Palapa at Iberostar Paraiso Lindo/Maya | Pool Bar at Iberostar Lindo/Maya |
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| Grooming the Beach at Iberostar Lindo/Maya | One of the Pools at the Grand Palladium | Beach at the Grand Palladium | Sculpture in the lobby of Iberostar Quetzal |
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| Jungle at Iberostar Quetzel | Beach at Iberostar Quetzel | Courtyard at Riu Palace Mexico | Beach at Riu Palace Mexico |
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| Riu Playacar | Beach at Riu Playacar (Carnival Cruise Ship off in the distance) | Lobby at Riu Yucatan | Beach at Riu Yucatan |
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| Sunscape Tulum (Soon to be Dreams Tulum) | One of the pools at Sunscape Tulum | Beach at the Sunscape Tulum | View from the Presidential Suite at Sunscape Tulum |
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