The view we got every morning. Not too shabby.

Our latest couple’s trip is in the books and it was an all-timer.

After our family trips to New Orleans and Disney, Kelsea and I decided that for our first parents-only trip of 2024 would be a restorative one. We wanted to go on a vacation with little to no itinerary and plenty of time to chill out. After a little bit of research, Kelsea’s brother recommended we stay at Hotel Xcarate Arte.

A super sick mural we passed every day on the way to/from our room.

The place looked nice, that’s for sure. It was all-inclusive, too. That was another massive plus. When I checked out the food and saw not only the variety but the quality of the chefs, I was all in.

Our travel to Mexico was completely uneventful. Customs took forever but in my experience that’s nothing out of the ordinary. When we arrived at the hotel, we were amazed at just how beautiful the place actually was. The pictures didn’t do it justice at all.

It was just as beautiful at night as it was during the day.

It only took a half hour or so to realize that if we didn’t get a lay of the land, we were going to find ourselves lost and confused a lot. We spent the afternoon before our first dinner walking around the premises and scouting all of the places we’d be visiting over the course of our stay - The gym, the restaraunts, the spa, etc. It was a lot like playing a new open-world video game. Once you learn the map, things get much easier.

Our mornings always started off the same way - We’d walk up to Cafeteria, the resorts coffee shop, and grab some caffeine. Kelsea’s drink of choice was a Mocha Latte while I went the iced coffee - Both made almond milk. After that, we’d go back to the room, journal, then head down to the gym.

I’ve seen a lot of hotel gyms in my day but this one is probably the best I’ve ever trained at. Tons of treadmills, ellipticals, spin bikes, and even a stair master. Dumbbells up to 50. A cable crossover station. A functional training rack that had a TRX and a landmine attachment. A Smith Machine. Plenty of machines, too - Pulldown/low row, chest press, shoulder press, seated curl, leg extension machine, lying leg curl, and even a Weighted Crunch Machine. Much like the rest of the resort throughout our stay, it was never that busy and we were able to get in and out in about an hour.

Our meals there were so fun. I can’t possibly describe them accurately here because between three tasting menus in four (Xaak, Encanta, and Chino Poblano) nights, we probably had 30+ different dishes. As with most dining experiences like that, we didn’t love everything. There was nothing bad, though. Sometimes it just got a little too wacky for our Floridian and Texan taste buds.

In addition to the higher end dinners, we also visited Mercado De San Juan and Cayuco for their breakfast and lunch buffets. The variety at both is off the charts and we never left hungry. Every night after dinner I’d drag Kelsea to Mercado so I could get a little more dessert. I’m not a fan of Mexican pastries at all and I’d say the dessert options were my biggest disappointment, but it’s a tiny gripe. They had some solid ice cream at Mercado that kept my dessert belly full.

Before I forget, I need to talk about the service at this place. Impeccable. I never saw the bottom of my water glass. All of our servers were incredibly nice and moved with machine-like precision, whether they were explaining what we were being served, clearing our plates, or refilling our drinks. All of the meals in our tasting menus moved at the perfect pace. It was incredible. We never walked past an employee without being greeted by a smile or an “Ola!”. Just an amazing customer service experience all around.

The hotel itself is extremely walkable, so Kelsea and I made an effort to go on walks after our meals. We loved the especially scenic route of traveling from our casa to the peak of the on-site church, situated high above the resort. Going up and down that hill every day made sure we kept clocking our steps. We averaged 15-17k per day which is roughly what we do at home.

So what was bad about our trip? Well, the only real negatives about the whole excursion were completely self imposed.

First off, Kelsea and I forgot sunscreen. I know. Rookie mistake. We had it out and ready to be packed, it just never made it into our bags. We also didn’t pack our hats. Those missteps combined with a strong breeze that masked just how hot it was led to some gnarly sunburns. The resort supplied sunscreen but it felt like it was SPF 3, so we both got sufficiently nuked. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a sunburn that hurt to the touch but I was roasted to a crisp. Kelsea, with her fairer skin, got it even worse than me. This made our massage just a little less enjoyable than it could have been, to say the least.

Second, we drank too much one afternoon and it effectively scared us sober. Now, nobody was blacked or anything. I was drinking Miami Vices and Kelsea was having margaritas, but the time (and the drinks) got away from us and before we knew it we had to sober up very quickly in time for our dinner reservations. Kelsea’s drinks were a lot stronger than my alcoholic Slurpees, so there was a point where she was touch and go. We ended up making our dinner reservations and it was all good, although I think we’re both still recovering.

This day was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back for us when it comes to booze.

When Kelsea and I met, she had been sober for a year and I barely drank. In no time we were both drinking together (as young couples often do) and having a blast, making tons of memories along the way. However, as we’ve aged, our priorities have changed. So have our bodies. We just can’t recover like we used to and the physical effects of alcohol just aren’t worth it anymore.

We had this romanticization of day drinking in our heads. We imagined it would be easy to get a great buzz and just feel like nothing happened by the time night rolled around. That’s just not the case these days. I’m 42, she’s 35. We’re not Spring chickens anymore. Drinking is fun in the moment but it makes us feel terrible, disrupts our sleep, and affects the overall enjoyment of our vacations. Day drinking on vacation in tropical locales was the last vestige of our old lifestyle but it’s time to say goodbye. We are officially sober. Now and forever. Personally, I won’t miss it. I thought I would but after this trip: Good riddance.

Even with those negatives, this was still our favorite parents trip ever. The accommodations, the food, the ambience…. We can’t recommend Xcarat Arte enough.

We can’t wait to go back, either. (With sunscreen.)

Sunburns, Salsa, & Sobriety: Cancun 2024

Ch-ch-changes