This is part of a series of blog posts about my travel experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a single person, working from home, I feel fortunate to be in a position that allows me to travel to different destinations. As a travel advisor this is something I would do during "normal times" to experience different places and properties, but I feel that it is even more important now to "test the waters" to see how it feels to travel and let people know about it. Fortunately, my experiences have been very positive overall, and I have learned from them. I believe that wearing a mask is very important, and I eat almost every meal outside. I also believe that there is greater value in all-inclusive resorts because of the fact that you can remain in your "resort bubble" for everything. While you don't get to experience as much local culture this way, I feel that it is an excellent option right now, and Le Blanc Resorts in Cancun and Los Cabos offer top-notch accommodations, food, and service. I would for you to experience it for yourself, so please contact me for more information!
LE BLANC ARRIVAL
Prior to my stay at Le Blanc, I stayed two nights at Dreams Los Cabos, which is less than a mile away. I had asked at Dreams if it was possible to walk to Le Blanc since it is very nearby, and I also asked if there was a sidewalk. I guess if you are there every day and drive, you wouldn’t notice if there is continuous sidewalk between the two resorts. In fact, there wasn’t. It was fine, though. It really only took about ten minutes and was perfectly safe; however, there was not a continuous sidewalk. With a suitcase and the hot sun, it wasn’t the easiest walk. I made it, though, and the people who greeted me at Le Blanc were sort of confused that I arrived on foot. After I explained why I walked and why I was there, the welcome was very warm, complete with hand sanitizer and masks.
The lobby is pretty spectacular, as it looks out to the ocean and the pools. The feel is very chic, with beautiful furniture and details like fresh flowers. I was offered a drink and asked to wait for a few minutes until someone was available to help me. It was about a 5 minute wait, and I was shown to the check-in desk. The front desk agent was seated behind nice desk with two lovely upholstered chairs, and a plexiglass screen separated us. I was offered a welcome drink and warm, weighted pillow for my shoulders. He took me through the simple check-in process, including a quick overview of the property.
Then, since my room wasn’t quite ready, a butler escorted me to Blanc Ocean, their seafood restaurant that overlooks the ocean. I was seated in the far corner of the restaurant in a very comfortable bench overlooking the ocean. I ordered several dishes because the menu has so many things that sound delicious, and they were!
I sat there for a while so that it would be closer to the time for my room to be ready. I was told they would email me when it was ready, but since it was quite hot, I decided to go inside to wait. I visited the cafe and had a tiny opera cake, which is one of a myriad of beautiful options there. I decided to go sit in the lobby and wait. Within 5 minutes, I was told that my room was ready, and I was escorted up to the 7th floor. All of the rooms are sealed when you arrive to show that they have been sanitized and that you are the first person to enter. The room is so beautiful, but I quickly got ready to go cool off at the pool.
ROOM
The room is technically accessed from outside. You walk through the lobby to go through the elevator, but once you arrive on the 7th floor, where my room was, you are in a bit of a breezeway, which is perfect for COVID concerns. It also provides a nice view of the mountains behind the hotel.
As you enter the room, there are quite a few wooden doors on one side, all of which are closet space. The entrance to the bathroom is on the other side. The tile floors throughout, as well as the marble (granite?) bathroom walls are beautiful. There is an enormous vanity with two sinks, a walk-in shower, as well as a beautiful soaking tub. The toilet is in a separate little room. Bulgari bath amenities are used at Le Blanc, which is my favorite.
My room was equipped with a king bed, which faces a large television. There are mats on the floor with slippers so that your feet don’t have to touch the cold tile. There is also a lovely desk and chair that faces out to the balcony. The balcony is a nice size, with two chairs and a small table, and the view of the resort and the ocean is amazing.
I should also mention the mini-bar, which contains water, beer, soda, and juices. There is a coffee maker with Lavazza coffee, and there is a liquor dispenser with vodka, whiskey, and tequila. I believe you can also request gin, if you prefer that. The room also has a bottle of wine, as well as a small bottle of tequila as a gift.
Another wonderful feature of the room is an aromatherapy diffuser. You can request complimentary aromatherapy from the butler, and I highly recommend it. They also have a pillow menu, and you can request your butler to prepare a bath. My butler actually suggested a bath for me one day, and I accepted his offer. I typically don’t like baths, but I loved this. He poured a glass of wine for me and left a chocolate by the tub before he left the room for me to enjoy the bath. It was fantastic!
POOL
There are four pools, which are in sort of a palm formation, and they all have views of the ocean. The pool closest to the ocean is an infinity pool that directly overlooks the ocean. The chairs that this pool fill up quickly in the mornings. All of the pools are fantastic and have plenty of chairs and umbrellas.
A wonderful feature at Le Blanc is the pool concierge. There is a team of people wearing blue shirts and khaki shorts who will find you almost as soon as you walk towards a chair at the pool. They will bring two towels—one for you to lie on and one for under your head & neck. Not only do they bring water, but they also provide bowls of ice to keep the water chilled.
In addition to the pool concierge team, servers provide food and beverage service throughout the day. Also, each day, a different station is set up in the middle of the pool area, and the offerings vary. Certain days, they have tacos & guacamole, sometimes it’s hamburgers & hot dogs, and other times, it is churros (SO GOOD!!).
I’m not sure whether it is every day or only on certain days, but pop-up entertainment showed up at the pool. One day, while I was doing the aqua spin class (spinning in the pool), a man on stilts arrived. He was amazing!! Another day, a saxophone player showed up and played for about an hour. These pop-up experiences are nice surprises since you never know what is going to happen. They brighten an already amazing day.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
The food at Le Blanc Resorts is a major selling point for me. I enjoy beautifully prepared food made with quality ingredients, and that is what you consistently receive at Le Blanc. Le Blanc Los Cabos has more restaurants than Le Blanc Cancun.
Lumière is a beautiful French restaurant with multiple course dinners, complete with amuse bouches and excellent service. It is an experience!
Blanc International is the most casual restaurant, although it is a beautiful, open space with some outdoor seating. It is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and as you are seated at a table, you have a server, but you go to different stations to select your food. There are a few dished items that you can take to your seat, but other selections will be served by someone behind the counter. At breakfast, you can have freshly made omelettes. Unfortunately, I never had lunch or dinner at Blanc International, so I will have to return to be able to report on that. I do know that it becomes a steak house at night.
Blanc Pizza is a pizzeria with excellent Italian decor and a brick oven. The salad in the photo was way more delicious than it looks. Really, it was probably the best salad I had during my stay. The pizza is not their typical pizza because I asked if they had a gluten free option. Well, they do! You really miss out on something when you have a gluten free pizza, so my review of it would not be fair. A couple of days later, I had a bite of a regular pizza, and it was wonderful!
Blanc Asia is a pan-asian restaurant. According to the website, it is Japanese, Thai, and Chinese. The interior is absolutely beautiful, but at my outdoor dinner, I enjoyed a sushi roll, tom kha gai soup, pot stickers, pork belly, and mochi for dessert. Thinking back on this, it was all delicious. The pork belly was amazing, and the tom kha gai was unusually tasty.
I already mentioned Blanc Ocean, where I had lunch when I arrived. Because of its location with outdoor seating overlooking the ocean, as well as its menu, it is possibly my favorite restaurant at the resort. The menu includes a variety of ceviche, tacos, hamburgers, and meat or seafood entrees, and it is all delicious. I is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I hear that the breakfast is excellent, but I always ate breakfast in my room before it opened at 7am.
Our final dinner was at Mezze, which is Lebanese. Honestly, I don't remember what I ate, but it was wonderful. Here are some pretty pictures of all the little dishes I had!
Finally, I have to mention the beverage portion of food & beverage. They really are excellent. The cocktails are craft cocktails, and particularly at the bar called Fire, you can have really creative drinks. The wine list is far more extensive that what you find at other all inclusive resorts. Often, you will be offered red or white, but at Le Blanc, they have the wine list on an iPad. There are probably 10 reds and 10 whites that are included, and there are many, many options of wines that can be purchased. We also had a wine tasting, which was fun and informative, and which is also an activity that can always be arranged for guests. It was also a BEAUTIFUL evening, with the full moon shining over the palm trees.
SPA & FITNESS
Hydrotherapy is included in each reservation, and I also had a 25 min massage. My time at the spa began with the hydrotherapy, which takes about an hour. A member of the spa staff acts as your escort and takes you through the sauna, ice room, steam room, and pool area (more about this in my post about Le Blanc Los Cabos). Then, you have an opportunity to shower and relax before having a treatment. My 25 minute massage was excellent. I actually fell asleep while it was happening, so I guess that speaks to the level of relaxation. By the way, occupancy is limited throughout the spa, and all employees wear masks at all times.
I have to mention that I took part in a number of fitness classes during my stay. I went to the morning yoga class three times, which takes place on a terrace overlooking the ocean. The classes were excellent--both challenging and rejuvenating. I also did an aqua spinning class, which is when they put spin bikes in the pool. It wasn't really difficult, but it was a fun environment and a decent workout. The most difficult thing was a workout on a board in the pool. They call it "Aqua Body Strong," and in addition to the workout, there is the element of balancing on the board. I'm glad I did it! Finally, since personal training sessions are included at Le Blanc, I scheduled a time with a trainer. I didn't know if it would be a generic thing where he took me through some machines or what, but it was a very personalized weight training session. The trainer was very knowledgable and considered my needs, and I've actually been inspired to work out more since I've been home!
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
It is safe to say that I highly recommend Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun or Los Cabos. From the time you arrive until the time you leave, the service is over the top. There was one time when I was late eating lunch and was starving, and that is the only time I felt like the service was lacking. When I'm that hungry, I'm not in my right mind, so I understand that they were not able to drop everything and instantly bring me tacos! Outside of that experience, I truly have only great things to say about Le Blanc. Everything I ate was delicious, my room was beautiful (and I miss it!), the pool was amazing, and everything is immaculately clean. Please contact me to inquire about Le Blanc Cancun or Los Cabos for an adults only experience or about Palace Resorts for family friendly resorts!
Ah....I almost forgot to mention the Luxury Sunset Sail we did on the first night. I was amazing, and it is an excursion that can be arranged through the hotel. You are picked up at the hotel and taken to the marina, which you board a sailboat. The whole thing lasts about 3-4 hours, they serve you food & drinks, and the service was excellent. It's a must do activity, for sure!