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Maramo/El Fuerte...our favorite place for a relaxing day and great service

CruiseMomTX

By CruiseMomTX,
in Costa Maya

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CruiseMomTX

CruiseMomTX

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When in Costa Maya we always go to Maramo/El Fuerte and love it, nice and quiet, great service, food, drinks, etc.!  We first found it probably 5 or 6 years ago and have always gone back.  We have used the tram or taxi to get there and a few times got off at the lighthouse so we could walk there and see if we could find anything that looked better to try and always end up at Maramo and very happy.  It's pay as you go and we always get drinks and food, occasionally we make sure to get off the ship bright and early so we can also enjoy breakfast & lunch there.  Lorenzo has been our waiter since our first visit and we were glad he is still there, our last visit was March 2020.  I usually get a massage and it used to be $20/hr/full body and went up to $30 its the best $30 spent!  I can't believe they charge so little even with the increase for a great massage on the beach, way better than any I've received on any ship.  We even tipped more than our usual for my massage and later on when it was time to head back to the ship we decided to walk towards the lighthouse a bit before we got a cab.  Well Lily that did my massage comes chasing after us, I felt bad as we did not notice for a bit, she said her boss was on the phone and wanted to make sure of what we were charged and left for a tip.  I'm not sure if they thought she overcharged us or what but I told them she did such a great job we wanted to leave a large tip especially since we haven't been able to come there in over 2 years.  She was very happy and glad we got it sorted out for her.  I'll try to post a picture of the sign and if that works have some others to post as well.  

 

 

IMG_7147.HEIC

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c-leg5

c-leg5

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3 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Great pictures.   Always thought El Fuerte was just a hotel and the restaurant open for dinner to guests.

 

But might be a good alternative to Krazy Lobster now that Tropicante isn't what it used to be.

Isn’t it right next door to Blue Reef @crewsweeper ?

 

I see AI options on sale for a reasonable price on 3rd party site. 

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CruiseMomTX

CruiseMomTX

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Yes Blue Reef is next door it looks like on the map.  Maramo/El Fuerte is a small hotel but they let anyone come sit and use their chairs as long as you buy food & drinks and we have had breakfast and lunch there.  It's usually pretty quiet anyway so we were glad they are still open and with the same great service and food.  We have tried other things but this time got onion rings and nachos both were great and the habanero sauce they serve is very hot but delicious.  Lorenzo was showing us the catch of the day and the table next to us ordered one and they looked to enjoy it when it was served, I don't like fish and they were huge otherwise hubby would have liked to order one.  

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Greenhopster

Greenhopster

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On the Meraviglia 12/23 - 12/30. We decided to go see Lorenzo at El Fuerte. It was a good idea. Lorenzo was a lot of fun. Took great care of my wife and I. Kept us in drinks and served our food at a 4 top under a palm tree, to make it easier to eat. The beach and lounge chairs were just great. I got a 1 hour message from a very professional and trained Massuese. No fees just pay for drinks, food, and massage if you get one. Beach very clean and no weeds in water. Will go again for sure. Make sure your cabbie takes you to the El Fuerte. It's a little further down (3 or 4 blocks) then where they like to drop you. No extra charge.

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nasamom

nasamom

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On 1/9/2023 at 3:34 PM, Greenhopster said:

On the Meraviglia 12/23 - 12/30. We decided to go see Lorenzo at El Fuerte. It was a good idea. Lorenzo was a lot of fun. Took great care of my wife and I. Kept us in drinks and served our food at a 4 top under a palm tree, to make it easier to eat. The beach and lounge chairs were just great. I got a 1 hour message from a very professional and trained Massuese. No fees just pay for drinks, food, and massage if you get one. Beach very clean and no weeds in water. Will go again for sure. Make sure your cabbie takes you to the El Fuerte. It's a little further down (3 or 4 blocks) then where they like to drop you. No extra charge.

 

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Roseydaisy11

Roseydaisy11

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On 1/9/2023 at 2:34 PM, Greenhopster said:

On the Meraviglia 12/23 - 12/30. We decided to go see Lorenzo at El Fuerte. It was a good idea. Lorenzo was a lot of fun. Took great care of my wife and I. Kept us in drinks and served our food at a 4 top under a palm tree, to make it easier to eat. The beach and lounge chairs were just great. I got a 1 hour message from a very professional and trained Massuese. 

Was the massage on the beach?

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CruiseMomTX

CruiseMomTX

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There are taxis inside the port area and prices are the same but they try to squeeze 4 people in and we prefer our own so we walk outside the gates down the road to get a taxi.  

 

Yes the massages are pretty much all on the beach.  

 

Lorenzo is not longer at El Fuerte/Maromo but at El Kracken.  We tried El Kracken last week while in port and much prefer El Fuerte/Maromo. 

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CruiseMomTX

CruiseMomTX

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I posted this on our roll call for our Radiance 2/27 cruise.  We were on the Allure 1/22

 

We just got off the Allure today and did visit El Kracken while in Costa Maya and decided we definitely like our regular place, El Fuerte/Maramo, better.  The service is great but that was about it.  Massage they wanted more but when I said I usually pay $35/hr down the road she lowered the price and then did a bait and switch.  A lady did my sample massage and I told her I would come get one in a bit and when I went she was not busy and acted like she was the one going to do my massage.  Well I go to turn over and see its a guy I never even saw standing around doing it.  I'm fine with either a male or female masseuse but he didn't even do that great of a job.  Even if you are not sitting there for the day Lilly at El Fuerte has consistently given me a fantastic massage!  We even helped talk a couple on the fence about doing a massage into one last time we were at El Fuerte and they came back to their chairs telling their friends how fantastic it was.  We ordered our usual onion rings and natural (no meat) nachos to compare and they were just lacking, even used canned cheese like you get at the movies on the nachos.  I'm glad we tried it but won't be going back.

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c-leg5

c-leg5

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31 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

There are taxis inside the port area and prices are the same but they try to squeeze 4 people in and we prefer our own so we walk outside the gates down the road to get a taxi.  


I wouldn’t share a taxi now they are overcharging.

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c-leg5

c-leg5

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14 minutes ago, LHARTWICK said:

Are Krazy Lobster and El Fuerte equally as good??


Krazy Lobster seems to have taken over some of the smaller locations to the side so it now occupies a fairly long stretch of beach. It has reasonably good food and service but is certainly busy and I don’t find it particularly relaxing.

 

El Fuerte is a small hotel beach bar so will be quieter. 
 

Good is subjective depending on what your priorities are. The middle of the malecon is all “busy ”, with the same stretch of sand and ocean with frequent vendors.

 

ETA, I believe they both have PAYG options still, although I have seen package rates advertised for El Fuerte, so easy enough to try both.

Edited by c-leg5
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lifes-a-beach

lifes-a-beach

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We ported here on Allure on January 12th, a Thursday.  There were 3 other ships there, a German ship called Mein Shiff 1, MSC Meraviglla and, I think one of the medium sized Carnival ships.  The German one and MSC both looked as big as Allure or bigger.  The malecon was absolutely packed with people and KL was too.  So crowded that service, which is usually very good, was overtaxed and almost nonexistent. It was the least fun half day we ever spent in Majahual.  And by half day, we left at like 1:00 it was so crowded.  Moral of the story, Majahual doesn’t have the capacity for that many people and never will.  We’ll be there again in a couple of weeks and will wait and see what the people count is before going there again.  Damn I miss the old days of Blue Key when there was a beach, clear water and not another person in sight.  Sadly, those days may be gone for good.  

Edited by lifes-a-beach
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