Ken
02-26-2004, 01:48 PM
Posted by Ken on January 24, 2001 at 09:21:47:
We just returned from a 1 week stay at the Gala resort in Huatulco with our 2 kids aged 2 and 4. Overall, the vacation was great! Nothing but sun and heat for 7 straight days! The resort was all it was offered to be. The rooms were standard hotel rooms, always spotless,(take a small alarm clock along as there were no clocks in the room)with the added advantage of a free mini bar which came in handy. Ask for a room away from the disco and mainlobby bar. The grounds were excellent with a beautiful main pool area with 2 shallow pools for the little kids to splash around in as well as 2 adult only pools and lounge areas built right against the retaining walls overlooking the beach offering great views as well as being away from the noisier main pool area. The main pool had a swim up bar which was nice given the heat. For those that preferred the beach, there were more than enough palapas to go around without the need to get up and reserve one at 5 a.m.. Service to the beach area was available although not very frequently but there was always a bar 10 seconds away. The beach itself was great. CAUTION: Be careful of the undertow with little kids. There were several days when the undertow was pretty strong.
Food-the resort offered a buffet for dinner every evening from 7-10 p.m. with a different theme each night. For an all inclusive the food was very good and well above average. There were also 3 other full sefvice restaurants (Italian, Mexican & oceanview grill) which offered great food and pleasnat service. Children were permitted but only at the 6:30 sitting. Breakfast and lunch were excellent and food was always being freshly prepared at the grill. Our kids preferred the beachside restaurant for lunch for excellent pizza, hamburgers and fries while we preferred the main buffet area for the daily grill offering. We were all more than satisfied (new waist size will attest to that!) with the food and the service. For those weary of Mexico there is nothing to worry about here, no one we know got sick. If you get sick its more likely from consuming too much fruit and drinks.
As for activities there were more than enough to keep everyone busy from snorkelling right off the beach to kayaks, sailing, windsurfing and seadoos (extra charge for motorized activities). While we didn't take any excursions, there were numerous available. In the evenings there was the lobby bar for pool and drinks as well as a nightly theme show put on by the staff of the hotel which while not Las Vegas calibre they were entertaining even for the kids. Other than that there was a disco which opened at 10:30 which with kids we never got to.
Town: With all the activities in the resort we found no real need to leave. There is literally nothing withing walking distance of the hotel to see other that 1-2 restaurants and a couple of gift shops. We did take a 10 minute cab ride into one of 2 local towns which had little to offer other than a few quaint restaurants and cafes and the usual jumble of gift shops. 1 hour was enough. It was nice just to get out of the resort and feel like you were in Mexico.
Kids Club-The resort proved to be a perfect choice for a family vacation. The kids club on-site offered activities from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and again from 7-10 p.m. The facilities were great for kids 2-6 who are content with playing in the wading pool, climbing the jungle gym, playing in the sand, playing video games and watching movies (some even in spanish). The typical day started off with the kids playing video games then doing activities in the pool followed by arts and crafts or playing outside until lunch. Depending on the # of children, luch was either served in the kids club or the kids were taken to the buffet restaurant for lunch. Make sure if the kids are going to have lunch or dinner with the camp that instructions are given to the counsellors on what the kids should and should not eat. During 1 dinner we saw 4 kids eating trix cereal for dinner and our kids would have being doing the same had we not stepped in to bring them a real meal before going off for our dinner. After lunch was movie time followed by other indoor activities followed by more pool activities. Our 4 year old preferred coming to the beach at 3 p.m. and often returned to the kids club from 5-6 if there was a special activity that interested him. The kids club alos offered evening activities from 7-10 with dinner from 7-8, supervised activities from 8-9:30 (mini-disco on several nights which the kids loved and was hysterical to watch) followed by the staff show from 9:30-10:30. This was great as it left us a few quiet evenings to have a quiet dinner without the kids and the kids had a great time. Having the kids club offered the best of both worlds: time to spend with the kids as well as a few hours of time to ourselves. On the day we were leaving both kids wanted to go to the kids club, so we new they were enjoying themselves.
CAUTION: the club is not the best supervised and I would be very careful with kids under 4 as kids were often left unattended and wandering around the kids area. They could easily have fallen off the jungle gym or fell into the pool. After the first day (when are 2 year old had an incident in the pool) we only put the 2 year old in after the swimming activities were over (he had his afternoon nap in the airconditioned nursery where they had cribs and playpens for the kids to sleep). The staff also had to be reminded every day to keep the kids shirts and hats on while in the sun as well as to offer them something to drink a few times each morning and afternoon. The first day, the kids were given nothing to drink until lunch and were found outside without any hat ot shirt on despie the 80++ degree weather. Most of the staff were great with a good attitude and warm and caring however, there was 1 in particluar who seemed to have no interest and rarely got up or actively tried to keep the kids busy. (It also seemed that the kids club staff were hired more for their looks and performing ability for the shows than qualifications with kids.) Another small problem was that several times the kids were left with one staff memeber who did not speak english and the kids got upset when they asked for things and the counsellor did not respond as she did not understand. This is not to say that we would not recommend the kids club, but just take an ounce of precaution and leave instructions with the staff on what your kids require. It was not club med quality programming but as the kids had a great time it was certainly adequate. Keep in mind also that this was January and there were only 10-12 kids in the club. Perhaps during busier times the club is better staffed and knowledgeable. If the kids decide they want out, the staff often will take them around the resort looking for the parents.
We would definetly return and again let the kids go to the kids club, just make sure that proper instructions were left with the staff and the occassional spying on the kids especially during swim time.
Overall we would highly recommend this resort for families as it was one of the better all-inclusives we have been to.
We just returned from a 1 week stay at the Gala resort in Huatulco with our 2 kids aged 2 and 4. Overall, the vacation was great! Nothing but sun and heat for 7 straight days! The resort was all it was offered to be. The rooms were standard hotel rooms, always spotless,(take a small alarm clock along as there were no clocks in the room)with the added advantage of a free mini bar which came in handy. Ask for a room away from the disco and mainlobby bar. The grounds were excellent with a beautiful main pool area with 2 shallow pools for the little kids to splash around in as well as 2 adult only pools and lounge areas built right against the retaining walls overlooking the beach offering great views as well as being away from the noisier main pool area. The main pool had a swim up bar which was nice given the heat. For those that preferred the beach, there were more than enough palapas to go around without the need to get up and reserve one at 5 a.m.. Service to the beach area was available although not very frequently but there was always a bar 10 seconds away. The beach itself was great. CAUTION: Be careful of the undertow with little kids. There were several days when the undertow was pretty strong.
Food-the resort offered a buffet for dinner every evening from 7-10 p.m. with a different theme each night. For an all inclusive the food was very good and well above average. There were also 3 other full sefvice restaurants (Italian, Mexican & oceanview grill) which offered great food and pleasnat service. Children were permitted but only at the 6:30 sitting. Breakfast and lunch were excellent and food was always being freshly prepared at the grill. Our kids preferred the beachside restaurant for lunch for excellent pizza, hamburgers and fries while we preferred the main buffet area for the daily grill offering. We were all more than satisfied (new waist size will attest to that!) with the food and the service. For those weary of Mexico there is nothing to worry about here, no one we know got sick. If you get sick its more likely from consuming too much fruit and drinks.
As for activities there were more than enough to keep everyone busy from snorkelling right off the beach to kayaks, sailing, windsurfing and seadoos (extra charge for motorized activities). While we didn't take any excursions, there were numerous available. In the evenings there was the lobby bar for pool and drinks as well as a nightly theme show put on by the staff of the hotel which while not Las Vegas calibre they were entertaining even for the kids. Other than that there was a disco which opened at 10:30 which with kids we never got to.
Town: With all the activities in the resort we found no real need to leave. There is literally nothing withing walking distance of the hotel to see other that 1-2 restaurants and a couple of gift shops. We did take a 10 minute cab ride into one of 2 local towns which had little to offer other than a few quaint restaurants and cafes and the usual jumble of gift shops. 1 hour was enough. It was nice just to get out of the resort and feel like you were in Mexico.
Kids Club-The resort proved to be a perfect choice for a family vacation. The kids club on-site offered activities from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and again from 7-10 p.m. The facilities were great for kids 2-6 who are content with playing in the wading pool, climbing the jungle gym, playing in the sand, playing video games and watching movies (some even in spanish). The typical day started off with the kids playing video games then doing activities in the pool followed by arts and crafts or playing outside until lunch. Depending on the # of children, luch was either served in the kids club or the kids were taken to the buffet restaurant for lunch. Make sure if the kids are going to have lunch or dinner with the camp that instructions are given to the counsellors on what the kids should and should not eat. During 1 dinner we saw 4 kids eating trix cereal for dinner and our kids would have being doing the same had we not stepped in to bring them a real meal before going off for our dinner. After lunch was movie time followed by other indoor activities followed by more pool activities. Our 4 year old preferred coming to the beach at 3 p.m. and often returned to the kids club from 5-6 if there was a special activity that interested him. The kids club alos offered evening activities from 7-10 with dinner from 7-8, supervised activities from 8-9:30 (mini-disco on several nights which the kids loved and was hysterical to watch) followed by the staff show from 9:30-10:30. This was great as it left us a few quiet evenings to have a quiet dinner without the kids and the kids had a great time. Having the kids club offered the best of both worlds: time to spend with the kids as well as a few hours of time to ourselves. On the day we were leaving both kids wanted to go to the kids club, so we new they were enjoying themselves.
CAUTION: the club is not the best supervised and I would be very careful with kids under 4 as kids were often left unattended and wandering around the kids area. They could easily have fallen off the jungle gym or fell into the pool. After the first day (when are 2 year old had an incident in the pool) we only put the 2 year old in after the swimming activities were over (he had his afternoon nap in the airconditioned nursery where they had cribs and playpens for the kids to sleep). The staff also had to be reminded every day to keep the kids shirts and hats on while in the sun as well as to offer them something to drink a few times each morning and afternoon. The first day, the kids were given nothing to drink until lunch and were found outside without any hat ot shirt on despie the 80++ degree weather. Most of the staff were great with a good attitude and warm and caring however, there was 1 in particluar who seemed to have no interest and rarely got up or actively tried to keep the kids busy. (It also seemed that the kids club staff were hired more for their looks and performing ability for the shows than qualifications with kids.) Another small problem was that several times the kids were left with one staff memeber who did not speak english and the kids got upset when they asked for things and the counsellor did not respond as she did not understand. This is not to say that we would not recommend the kids club, but just take an ounce of precaution and leave instructions with the staff on what your kids require. It was not club med quality programming but as the kids had a great time it was certainly adequate. Keep in mind also that this was January and there were only 10-12 kids in the club. Perhaps during busier times the club is better staffed and knowledgeable. If the kids decide they want out, the staff often will take them around the resort looking for the parents.
We would definetly return and again let the kids go to the kids club, just make sure that proper instructions were left with the staff and the occassional spying on the kids especially during swim time.
Overall we would highly recommend this resort for families as it was one of the better all-inclusives we have been to.