Senior Citizens Homes and Resorts

For most of this week I was in Huatulco at the Quinta Real. It is a stunning resort. Very relaxing. The rooms are wonderful. The beach is as good as I remember it. The food is well done. And on Monday through Thursday at this time of the year it was relatively uncrowded.

I was there to collaborate on a book I am doing with a friend from Mexico. We got a lot done. But I was struck with one thing. Each night they leave you a card with a couple of chocolates on it which has a phrase of the day - something witty. But it also presents the day of the week in three languages. On Wednesday morning I remembered that I had seen a similar set of notifications, without the chocolates, in two other places - preschools and senior citizens homes. Both of those are trying to get their students/residents to get into thinking about time. In a place like the Quinta Real - that is also a problem - but a great one to have.

I was last in Huatulco about a decade ago. At that time there was only one major hotel in the bay. It was a good hotel and we thought it was worth coming back to but for a lot of reasons we never came back. Now there are several good hotels in the area - the Quinta Real is clearly the best - but there is a Spanish chain and then a couple of others. One night we went to a restaurant in the old part of the city which was pretty good. One night we also went to dinner at a place that I remembered with different owners but is now called Don Porfirio. Service and food were very good.

I have never bothered to travel to the major Mexican beach locations because I can see Americans in the US. When I met with the then governor of Oaxaca the first time I went he said it was his plan to have a resort which was typically Mexican - not another Cancun. From my couple of days there this week I think that dream was realized.

The Quinta Real is far from a senior citizens place in spite of the daily reminders about where you are in the week. It has 28 rooms - so service is personal. Each of the rooms is appointed with some interesting chairs and other furnishing. The pools and the beach are relaxing. The two major pools cascade into each other and give you a good view of the bay.