
15th February 2025
Having been reminded yesterday that Google thinks Pollards Mill is a resort hotel, we have decided to give ourselves a day pass. We arranged with the hotel management to have clean sheets and after a comparative lie in headed down to the breakfast buffet. We were not the first guests down to breakfast.


By all inclusive standards the choice was sparse but homemade yoghurt, papaya, banana, nuts and seeds and a bottomless tea/coffee we were happy and sat down to enjoy this and to contemplate our day.
As we were sitting there on the patio looking out to the distant sea we were reminded of another day pass some 20 odd years ago. As resource strapped backpackers arriving in Mexico, we were approached at the arrivals gate and lured into a free all inclusive day pass to another resort hotel on the basis that we took part in a marketing meeting. Moon Palace… the name still sends a strong reminder… nothing is ever free. To be fair we were vulnerable.. we had just arrived from the comfort of six weeks in the West Indies and landed without a hotel booking, and only a smattering of Spanish. We may have been vulnerable but we became extremely strong very quickly. After being driven in a lush air conditioned leather seated sedan to the resort, through the golf courses and up the palm lined drive we were welcomed into this enormous entrance and ushered into our day pass!!! .
Firstly we had breakfast … a lavish buffet feast, tables laden with exotic fruit, eggs made to order, pancakes waffles, fried everything, toasted everything, breads pastries … I’m sure you have the picture … BUT we sat down to eat with one of their sales people. And so it began.
This was hard sell territory like we had never experienced before. We endured breakfast, then joined a group of other vulnerable people; but too be fair they looked like a much better bet than us; for a film about the resort and investment options. There were cheers and rounds of applause as some poor sucker signed up. Afterwards we were sat down with a junior sales guy, the fluffer who wanted to know what our reservations were. Then when he had no success they wheeled out the big guns. The boss man arrived who had all the answers to our reservations… of course.
I am sure you will be delighted to know we resisted all the pressure and collapsed into the pool and swam up to the bar and there we stayed for what little remained of the day. No amount of free Margaritas would make up for enduring that onslaught, especially given that sort of holiday is so far off our orbit, Moon Palace might as well be in outer space. . . You have been warned.
So back to our day pass at the very benign in comparison Pollards Mill. We anticipate a day of reading our books, swimming in the pool, maybe a nap and absolutely no pressure, sales or otherwise. Having said that the resort management has already skimmed the pool of leaves and informed us we need to make the bed.
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