My 2 cents: Dreams Natura
This month (December) I had the privilege of staying at Dreams Natura Resort in Cancun for a girls weekend. We checking in on Thursday and headed home on Tuesday which gave me plenty of time to explore this gorgeous resort. Dreams is a family friendly all inclusive resort with 6 sit down restaurants, a buffet, 6 bar and a TON to offer everyone! Dreams is part of the AMResorts collection that promises a trip of unlimited luxury and they definitely delivered.
First let me start with the experience BEFORE we even arrived. About 2 weeks before we were scheduled to travel I received an email from the concierge with an attachment asking what our preferences were for our room… this was a perk since we were booked in a Preferred Club Ocean View suite. We were able to customize everything from our mini-bar to our pillow fluffiness (no lie!). This was great because when we arrived in our room we had everything we liked (and it smelled like the scents we chose too!!)
Now let’s start with our Arrival
Our flight was in the early morning so we would be able to enjoy as much of the day at the resort as possible. I don’t know about you but I hate flying in the middle of the day…especially when my destination comes with a pool and/or a beach! Our transfer from the airport was private so we did not have any other passengers and we were taken directly to the hotel. I always prefer direct transfers to the resort so that we don’t spend too much time dropping friends off at other resorts nearby.
Once we arrived at the resort we were taken directly to the preferred club lounge for private check in so things move a bit quicker (they also do this for check out). Our room wasn’t ready quick yet since it was only 10am so we grabbed a snack in the lounge, changed into our bathing suits, and ventured out to the pool for the day. We learned quickly that the adult pool fills up FAST! So for today we grabbed a spot by the family pool. This was a great location to inspect the 3 water slides and lazy river… not gonna lie the water was FREEZING so needless to say, we did not ride lol. Around check in time our room was ready and we headed up to get ready for dinner (and inspected all the personalized items that we got in our room due to that pre-check preference request)
Let’s Talk Dining!
During the time we were at Dreams Natura we were able to experience 5 of the 6 restaurants on site. Unfortunately we were not able to visit Oceana, the seafood restaurant, due to it being closed a couple evenings while we were there. Check out the dinging locations we did get to sample…
Bluewater Grill- Steakhouse
We dined here the first night since we were starving and it was close by. Overall our meal was very good- honestly I am not a steak person so I probably should have known better than to get steak lol but it was not a bad meal in any way. I liked that we were able to try several things on the menu (duh- all inclusive) and the portion sizes were perfect where you left full but not overstuffed. Sadly, dessert left a little to be desired.
Bordeaux- French Cuisine
For the first time in my life I tried snails….yep I did it! and while they were not horrible, snails are not something I will be adding to my menu long term.
El Patio- Mexican Cuisine
I am sad to say this was probably one of our less pleasant experiences. The food was great! but the service left a bit to be desired. The servers were very pushy and it was probably the only meal that we finished in less than an hour. I would say, if you are visiting this resort and have to skip a restaurant, this one might be it.
Himitsu- Hibachi Grill
I always LOVE hibachi and Himitsu did not disappoint! The food was spectacular and they gave you just enough where you did not feel overstuffed, which for me is rare when we go for hibachi. I always leave feeling like I ate too much. Here was the perfect amount! 10/10 recommend! Keep in mind that Himitsu is the only restaurant on the property that requires a reservation if you want a hibachi table.
Portofino- Italian Cuisine
The BEST meal we had on property. While hibachi was 10/10, Portofino was a 12! We literally tried almost everything on the menu because we couldn’t decide and it was all PHENOMENAL!
And we can’t leave our Barefoot Grill, World Cafe, and Coco Cafe! While these were not the “big” restaurants on property, they were great nonetheless. We ate breakfast at the World Cafe each morning where I quickly became a fan of a traditional Mexican breakfast (which was kind of like a taco but to this day I still have NO idea what they are actually called lol). We frequented the Barefoot Grill by the pool for lunch where we could grab a quick burger, wings, or pizza. And where would we be without the Coco Cafe and their 24/7 coffee supply!
Now lets chat pools!!
There are 4 pools at the resort- the adult pool, the infinity pool, the activities pool and the children’s splash pool. For the majority of our stay we hung out at the adult pool, which is for preferred club guests only. This pool also is home to the resorts swim up bar :-).
The activities pool, or the main pool, is attached to the infinity pool and here is where most of the “action” takes place during the day. There was aquarobics, Zumba, and a huge volleyball net set up for guests to play while splashing around. The only pool that was not swimmable was the children’s splash pool. I thought this pool was awesome for families because it was super shallow (like didnt even go to my knees) and was great for younger kids to play in without having to worry too much. There is also a water park for the younger kids located behind the 3 larger water slides and lazy river.
Kids Club
While we are chatting about younger kids and family activities, there is a kids club open at the resort from 10am-10pm daily (you know my mom side couldn’t not visit the kids club just to peek). They have all kinds of fun activities planned from movies to arts and crafts, they even take them swimming and to the night time shows (when appropriate).
There is also a separate space for the teenagers to hang out. It gives them the perfect feel of independence from their parents while still having supervision throughout the day.
After we exhausted ourself at the pool each day we would pop into the preferred club lounge to grab a quick snack (sometimes a coffee at Coco Cafe) and head upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner and nighttime activities. Not gonna lie we watched quite a few weddings from our balcony while we were there I think of the 5 nights we were there, only 1 of them was wedding free. Each night there were at least 2 rehearsals/weddings/receptions taking place at the resort. This was a really cool glimpse into what some of my destination wedding clients might experience. Anyhow, once we were done watching weddings and showered, we would head to dinner and then to the nighttime show which usually began around 8 or 9. They had one main show each night typically surrounded by live music acts in the lobby. Other than that, there was not a ton to do at night around the resort besides the DJ in the night club which didn’t begin until 11pm (way too late for me lol)
Last but definitely not least, my trip to the spa was amazing! I branched out a bit from my usual massage and got a cocoa body wrap (in addition to the massage lol- lets not get carried away!) and it was beyond relaxing. When you book a service at the spa you get a hydrotherapy session as well. I arrived about an hour before my scheduled appointment to enjoy the hydrotherapy parts of the spa which I had never done before. It was a great way to relax before relaxing!
I spent about 3 hours in the spa between all of my services and I don’t regret one minute. I left feeling rested and relaxed and ready for bed. BUT I still had to get to dinner lol….
Our entire stay at Dreams Natura was a wonderful experience. The staff was very attentive and took care of anything we needed right away. The property is gorgeous! I was surprised to see it was a smaller property in the sense that you don’t have to walk far to get anywhere. That was nice, especially when you were grabbing lunch at the pool or trying to walk around and see the sights. Everything was within reach. We only spent one morning at the beach, the sand was a bit sticky and the water was not very clear. The seaweed was constantly washing up on the beach, but I do have to say they did a fantastic job of cleaning it up all day long. The beach was a bit smaller, although beautiful, we just preferred the pool over getting sandy. As a mom, Dreams Natura had a lot of what I would look for for my family- entertainment for the kids, adult space, family friendly nighttime activities, and plenty of sun!
If you have any questions about Dreams Natura or any other all inclusive resort options, email me at s.osterhouse@magicalvacationplanner.com