Tropicante...Do I need an advance reservation?

[thescot123]

when in Costa Maya, I always use Tropicante. Steve, the owner, is the best and interacts with the guests each day. It is in a wonderful location and has some of the cheapest massages next door on the beach. These massages are about 1/3rd the price of the ship so well worth it.

 

Will be going to see him again next week. Love the cheap drinks and excellent food. He is also number one out of 38 restaurants on Tripadvisor.

 

Check his website out as it will give you menu prices etc.

 

http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g499450-d1421462-Reviews-Tropicante_Ameri_Mex_Grill-Mahahual_Costa_Maya_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

[Thecrush]

Steve is awesome ... willing to come by and sit down and talk sports, weather, or whatever with you! The day at Tropicante was definitely worth it.

[seattleny]

Is Tropicante an AI resort or do you pay as you go. will think there is also some snorkeling in that same area?

[DCP]

It is pay as you go, and a great deal. We have reservations there for our Dec. trip. The massages are to die for, and doing that again too. He also will let you use his phone to call the states if you desire. Steve is awesome and makes sure his guests are taken care of.

[lasefton]

We will be there in January . We have made our revs. And our confirmation came quickly. Sounds like we made the right decision . How was the shopping at the shops near the Tropicante ? Wondering what type of prices they have on items like T - shirts and hats and just sm items ?

[reno3]

We were there in April and will be back on Christmas Day :D:D:D:D

Also when we were there in April we meet a very nice women (I believe) her name is Nancy, she has a little area in the restaurant with books. She asked me to pass the word to others that she would love if people would bring books to leave or trade with her (or purchase ones she has). I will be bring a couple this trip for her. Here is photo of part of the wall of books.

Edited October 20, 2013 by reno3

[chellecruise12]

How is the water there? Deep enough to swim? Lots of sea grass? Do they have kayaks there? Thanks for any information.. :)

[blue_water]

I was also going to ask about the water and beach quality/condition - thanks

[reno3]

try again!

Edited October 23, 2013 by reno3

[reno3]

Water was clear, no sea grass, beach is fine, yes, you can swim. It was a bit windy the day we were there in April. Not sure about the kayaks, I did not see any.

[KansasCityGuys]

We will be in Costa Maya in December and I emailed in the reservation this morning; still waiting for a response.

 

Scott

[bamboo29]

Got mine (reservation) for Feb. after several days

[rvsullivan]

We will be in Costa Maya in December and I emailed in the reservation this morning; still waiting for a response.

 

Scott

 

Hey!! I see you tried a couple of posts earlier in the year looking for a meet and greet. There has been one running for over a year now for the Jewel. If you haven't signed up yet, come on over, we have about 50 right now I think.

[Thecrush]

Even if you don't hear back from Steve, which would not be his normal MO, I would recommend you still go anyway. The "reservation" is not actually required, but is a way to help secure your loungers. I was there a year ago, and when you get there, they lead you to "their area" of the beach that the waitstaff will work.

 

Someone asked about T-shirts and shopping. There is a large souvenir store down the street that has lots of T-shirts. I don't remember prices, but they were inexpensive. And they have all the usual magnets, etc.

[KansasCityGuys]

Even if you don't hear back from Steve, which would not be his normal MO, I would recommend you still go anyway. The "reservation" is not actually required, but is a way to help secure your loungers. I was there a year ago, and when you get there, they lead you to "their area" of the beach that the waitstaff will work.

 

Someone asked about T-shirts and shopping. There is a large souvenir store down the street that has lots of T-shirts. I don't remember prices, but they were inexpensive. And they have all the usual magnets, etc.

 

Thanks, I should have responded earlier, but Steve did confirm my reservation, later that same evening,I sent the request in. I am getting excited!

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

[carlissaandisaacsmommy]

We did Tropicante. It was wonderful!!! The staff was VERY attentive and most of them speak good English. The iguana eggs are amazing and my hubby said the shrimp ceviche was awesome. We both had a massage, which was also wonderful!!!

[tlund]

Just got back from our cruise. Went to Tropicante when we visited Costa Maya. It was awesome. Steve came around several times to chat. The wait staff was great and very attentive. The cost of food and drinks was very reasonable.

 

I would suggest, however, to make reservations. The day we visited, there were 2 ships in port. He was booked with reservations so he didn't have any left over chairs. Two of our friends did not have reservations and showed up later. The guys tried to make accommodations for them with adirondak chairs but all of the other loungers and chairs were taken. Steve says he will hold on to your chairs for 2 hours after your ship docks, however, I think he waited much longer for people and didn't want to give away their chairs.

 

Great place. We would do it again. Also, if you have books that you are finished with, the book shop would appreciate any donations.

[JenMJM]

Just sent in my reservation for March! Fingers crossed! :)

[TracieABD]

Thank you for the suggestion! We just booked and received our confirmation from Steve. Super excited for a relaxing day on the beach with some yummy food and a massage!!

 

I will post a mini-review when I return. :)

[pokerpro5]

I looked into both Tropicante and Maya Chan, and to me there is no comparison.

 

Maya Chan is an expensive all-inclusive, while Tropicante is free with reasonable pay-what-you-use food and services.

 

Tropicante is a short, easy taxi ride from port, and Maya Chan involves a 30-minute ride on a terrible road full of potholes.

 

Tropicante has a beautiful beach, and Maya Chan has cloudy water with a grass problem.

 

If the weather is bad, you are not on the hook for anything at Tropicante. With Maya Chan, there are no refunds unless the ship can't make port.

 

I do realize that Maya Chan is probably a more "high end" experience, but there are just too many downsides (especially the beach and lack of refunds for bad weather) to where I can see it being worth it.

 

I also realize that Tropicante has an issue with aggressive locals trying to get you to buy their crap, but I don't see that as enough of a reason to deal with all of Maya Chan's negatives instead.

 

Perhaps an older couple with no children, who wants an isolated high-end experience with freely flowing liquor, would be better served by Maya Chan.

 

Tropicante definitely serves my needs best, at least from what I can tell from the reviews I've read.

[blue_water]

My response below from another thread concurs, and it's even more of a no-brainer because we're only in port 7 - 2.

 

 

Thanks, I'm sure there are several decent spots. Steve is famous for the service, restaurant, and attention to detail and he's free so it was a no-brainer for us to choose Tropicante in this case. The consistent rave reviews say alot. He responded to my request right away and I felt lucky there were seats available because his place is so popular.

His site is helpful, and his video shows his relationships with other vendors he works with and that clinched it for us, just a very professional operation.