By Lisa T. Bergren

Heading to Cancun, Mexico on a family vacation? When you walk into Lahia, the view takes your breath away. It looks like a five star hotel with massive glass windows that look out upon the prettiest infinity pool we’ve ever (EVER!) seen, then on to classic Cancun’s white sand, turquoise water beaches. We stayed in 801 Aire, rented through LahiaCondo. An agent was waiting for us when we arrived, and we were shown the entire facility, as well as our condo—which was great.

Checking In…

Plan on about an hour for this orientation and registration with the administration office. There is an option to register your fingerprints, giving you “fingerprint access” to the elevators; you also need to put cash (pesos) on account for the bar bill—no cash is exchanged there except for tips. We liked the feeling of security—especially since an elevator goes directly to your condo alone!!—but the grandparents with us could never figure out the fingerprint pad and we were only given two room “keys” that allowed you to use the elevator.

The fingerprinting option is only available to owners and special guests; the other option is to pay an additional $100 deposit for two additional cards. (We thought it was worth the hurdle to get the fingerprinting done and not have to carry key cards down to the pool.)

Groceries & Food at the Pool

Lahia offers grocery delivery—definitely do this the first night, as the grocery stores and Costco, etc, are about a half hour distant and tricky to find if you’ve never been to Cancun before. Just order the basics several days ahead via the concierge/your property manager so you can settle in to enjoy the property and not be stressed.

Food and service down at the pool bar was great. Nothing fancy on the food front, but fresh and a terrific deal. Try the ceviche! I was hooked! And the guys are so friendly. There’s a lifeguard on duty 7 days a week, reportedly, the only condo complex to offer such coverage, but I noticed they posted “no lifeguard.” Basically, I think he’s there for liability issues, but they definitely want you to keep an eye on your own kids. And our kids couldn’t get enough of that fantastic pool.

The Rooms

Our rooms were huge and beautifully appointed. Towels (for bath and beach/pool) were provided. On the beach side is the massive master bedroom with jaw-dropping views and the sound of pounding surf. On the back side are the two other bedrooms, each with two queen beds, each with their own bathroom—which is where the kids and grandparents went! It was a perfect set-up for an extended family. On the back side, there are great sunset views over the lagoon, but be aware there is some traffic noise. That high up, none of our back bedroom dwellers were disturbed by it–it’s just not quite as romantic as the sound of the waves…

Service

Keep in mind this isn’t a hotel even though it feels like one. A maid came every day (except once for her day off and once when something happened and she couldn’t get there.) She basically did the dishes and swept the floors/surface cleaned. One day she couldn’t get there until about 4:00, which was a little bit of a bummer—we had given up on her and did the dishes (which I wanted a break from!) The “concierge” seems to also be the general manager on site and often has employees in her office, so we waited several times for 10-20 minutes to see her. Try and consolidate your needs when you go–cash on account, dinner reservations, etc. That said, she was extremely nice and helpful, verifying reservations for ziplining, etc. It’s all in your expectations…

Extra Services

And speaking of expectations…you can get a 50 minute massage for $25. WONDERFUL. My father-in-law, who had never had one, went and loved it. I did a “couples” massage with my tween, and my teen had her own. And then I went back another day for one. Fabuloso. Just schedule when you get there–I tried to do so ahead of time with the concierge—but nothing was on the books when we arrived. Fortunately, they had lots of openings. If you have someone showing you the property, you can have him/her help you schedule your first appointments; the girl at the desk, when we arrived, spoke very little English.

A Place to Yourselves…

Because few of Lahia’s condo owners rent their units out, it it felt like we had the place to ourselves. At night, looking up from the pool, only twelve units had lights on. The beach was empty, for the most part. We were stopped several times by people walking the beach, to find out more about Lahia. Clearly, people were drawn to the setting (at the bottom of the hotel zone, near Club Med) and the quiet nature of the property. Idyllic! We made almost all our own meals, with one special night out to a steak house we loved, Puerto Madero.

Lahia Condos—Cancun, Mexico from theworldiscalling.com on Vimeo.

If you’d care to read more on our experiences, including our excursions to Puerto Morelos for snorkeling, Ek Balam for Mayan ruin exploration and Selvatica for ziplining, click on the links. And if you’re heading to Lahia/Cancun, enjoy! We would love to go back!

Full Disclosure Statement: We received a discount on our lodging in exchange for providing a video for the management. But we’d honestly send our family and friends to this place—it was that great.

Have you been to Cancun? Where’d you stay? Would you recommend it? Comment below!