| I just returned from the Ixtapan Spa vacation and thought I would share my experiences with you. I thought the trip was great. I enjoyed being pampered and would definitely go back again. From what I understand the hotel had been renovated and the lobby is lovely. There is a room with lots of couches and coffee tables, etc. along with a piano player in the evening so you can enjoy the evening talking with friends, etc. There is also a bar in the lobby with a few tables and bar service to the many tables in the lobby where you can also play cards, scrabble or just get together with people you meet at the spa.
The room I shared had two double beds and was fine except the bathroom was small, no tub, only a shower. Some rooms I understand have terraces. Also available are bungalows that are very lovely. They are situated around one of the pools and the spa restaurant. The Spa restaurant was OK if you like spa food and the regular restaurant had Mexican food, fish, steak, pasta, etc. A hamburger with French fries was nowhere in sight!! Desserts were plentiful , the flan was very popular.
Upon arrival you are given a small bunch of flowers for your room. Nice touch. You are instructed that there is orientation that evening. At orientation, you are told about the facilities and given a program with all your treatments, times, and the names of the persons who will give you the treatments. The doctor introduced himself and told us appointments. can be made to see him.
There were two trips to Taxco one at 10AM and one at 1PM. (Note: our group in was large enough that the spa gave us a free day in Taxco). There is a store called Andre's that has Elsa Perretti jewelry that is made for Tiffany, the dangling heart, the bean, some earrings, the Eternal Circle, etc. at very, very low prices. After some confusion, we were all notified about our group cocktail party. (Note: The spa is great, some of the internal communications are a bit vague). There were delicious hors d'oeuvres, wine, margaritas, etc., all you can eat. Very, very nice.
Though you are assigned spa treatments, you can change the times and even substitute one treatment for another or add a collagen treatment to your regular facial at an extra cost, or perhaps eliminate a hair treatment and take a parafin foot or hand wax instead. They're very flexible. You can also get stone massages, body parafin waxing, herbal wraps at additional charges. Additionally, next door you can go for the thermal Roman baths. This was delightful. For about $25 for one hour you can have your own private room for one or two with two beds and your own Roman bath and a bathroom. It's very hot so you can only stay in the water about 20 minutes and then you lie down for about 20 minutes to cool off. Really nice. You can also get facials and massages there.
You can also participate in the following: 7AM walk, hard or easy, aerobics, salsa aerobics, water aerobics, yoga, gym with weight- lifting machines, etc., golf lessons, tennis lessons, 9 hole golf course to be increased ($50 for 9 holes), A computer is available for a charge . There is a store at the hotel where you can find a beautiful selection of jewelry and OTC drugs. There is a small area in back of the hotel where you can buy clothing, bags, hats, etc. We called it Rodeo Drive. There is also a great shop in town called Mary's with beautiful jewelry. I found that this place plus one other and the hotel store were more than enough. There is also a pharmacy in town which we found out has Renova (under the Spanish name) for $7 rather than the $75 we have to pay for it here with a prescription. One of our group bought up the whole supply. Also, there are two places, Rosey's and Gina's, where you can buy face/body creams that they make. There are side trips to the ruins which I understand have now been modernized and there are many many steps. Note: some of the side trips had extensive walking and climbing.
Thanks for a great time, C. Lupi from New York.
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