Have you ever had an experience that you look back on and think “Gosh, that was beautiful and a disaster all at the same time”? That sums up my recent vacation at the all-inclusive Artisan Senses Riviera Maya.

Let me back up. My sister-in-law Jena and I knew we were overdue for a little girls trip away. And since we both travel blog (you can find her here on Instagram), we knew we wanted to try out not one but TWO resorts that are quite different from each other.

BUT. I have celiac disease and therefore there’s a lot of research that goes into selecting a resort to stay at. The first place we selected was Panama Jack Playa del Carmen, which after some googling and review reading, I knew would be great for eating safe gluten free food.

We also wanted to try a place that was a little off the beaten path. My other sister had previously stayed at the adults-only Artisan Senses and loved it for it’s boutique feel. It’s super small, and right on the ocean. No, really, I mean right.on.the.ocoan. All all rooms are directly ocean facing with beautiful balconies. It looked beautiful online, so I was willing to explore further.

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Because it is so small, I wasn’t able to find any reviews pertaining to gluten free food. So, I emailed and called with a litany of questions and was assured that yes, they have gluten free items on their menu, the chef is fully trained and can accommodate any allergen, they have gluten free bread, flour to make pancakes and other baked goods, and can make unique meals outside of meat, seafood, and vegetables.

I had SO MANY questions. And they answered them all satisfactorily. I didn’t believe them in email, so I called….twice. And I thought we were set!

I even called two days before we arrived just to make absolutely sure everything would be perfect.

But guess what? We arrived for our first evening, and it wasn’t perfect. Not even close.

The front desk knew nothing of my gluten free request. In doing a little research, the hotel had new owners and most of the staff had turned over. So, none of my prior conversations mattered anymore, and I was thrown into a whole lot of uncertainty about whether I would be safe or not.

And since we arrived at dinnertime, I was about to find out very quickly.

The resort has two restaurants: one upstairs on the rooftop, which has a set menu for each meal, and one downstairs by the beach and pool, which has a different theme and menu each night. This one requires reservations.

The first night we ate in the upstairs restaurant because we hadn’t had the opportunity to make reservations yet. The waiter was somewhat knowledgeable of what gluten free meant, but it was clear he had no clue I was coming, as the reservations department had previously assured me. He was very kind and told me that the chef knew how to prepare safe gluten free food, but I couldn’t talk to him because he didn’t speak English at all. Talk about nerve wracking! I was terrified.

Luckily I had brought along a translated card stating the accommodations I need. That helped, and the waiter brought it to the chef. I chose to keep things very simple with a steak, salad, and risotto – all naturally gluten free choices. The food was okay (not great) and I didn’t get sick. Whew.

The next morning, the challenges really started. The breakfast staff, although very kind, had absolutely no idea what gluten was, and they spoke very minimal English. And once again, the chef couldn’t speak any English at all. I again used the translated card, which did help, but my food arrived with garnishes that I was guessing weren’t gluten free.

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I was just too unsettled to continue, and we spoke to the front desk and let them know we needed to leave because they were not able to accomodate my needs as promised. This is difficult as in Mexico, you typically cannot get a refund when cancelling within 14 days of your stay.

After this discussion, they promptly sent Juan to speak to me. Juan was the brand new hospitality manager. He certainly had no knowledge of my prior requests, but understood my needs and promised to be my conduit to the wait staff and chefs.

Juan assured me that the chefs did indeed understand what I needed, and he would double-check everything involving my food. He also promised to be on property for every meal, to make sure I had one single point of contact. This made me happy, because Juan spoke excellent English, and communication seemed to be a large part of the issue.

He took a copy of my translated allergen card and also asked me to write down everything I absolutely couldn’t have as well as a list of the foods I enjoy and would like to eat. That way, they could customize menu items for me as appropriate.

Lunch and dinner that day were indeed better, and I was much more confident in ordering with Juan there to help. For lunch I ate a fabulous octopus salad and fish tacos. They truly were fantastic, and I ended up ordering the fish tacos every day! At that first lunch, Juan was there to help with all communications. He also secured us reservations for the downstairs themed restaurant for the rest of our stay.

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At dinner that night, Juan was there to speak to the waitstaff and chef. He had clearly worked with them to review the menu, determine what I could and couldn’t have, and also created a special dessert for me. I again felt much safer and confident that I was receiving safe food.

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But what I found over the next couple of days was that if Juan wasn’t there, everything fell apart. For example, Juan had personally purchased gluten free bread and chocolate muffins for me. He told me they were in the upstairs restaurant for my breakfasts.

The next morning at breakfast, Juan hadn’t arrived yet, and when I asked my server to bring out the bread so that I could review the label, they brought me regular bread! They still had absolutely no idea what gluten free meant. Come to find out later, Juan had placed the items in a separate cooler with my name on it, and he was so perplexed as to why the staff couldn’t find them. He later brought the chocolate muffins out to me by the pool, which was nice.

The rest of the stay was rocky, and if Juan wasn’t there, I was quite nervous about eating. I was never full-out glutened, but I am quite certain I was cross-contaminated. I frequently didn’t feel well after meals, and it took a couple of weeks for my stomach and joints to feel normal again.

So, clearly that was the disaster portion of the stay. And the beautiful part? What was actually good?

Well, the staff was truly kind and did try their best. Shout out to Juan, as he was completely blind sighted and truly worked his tail off trying to accommodate me. The drinks were plentiful and BIG, and the bar staff even delivered drinks right to our patio! Juan sent us a bottle of champagne one day while it was raining, which was a nice gesture (he also sent chocolate-covered strawberries that had a granola topping, which I declined as I’m sure they weren’t gluten free!).

The resort itself is stunning, and it’s very quiet. It’s right against the ocean, and the rooms are huge and beautiful. Jena and I enjoyed the large tub on our patio overlooking the ocean, and we spent a lot of time just staring out into the ocean talking and dreaming. We may have even skinny dipped a time or two. Because when on a girls trip…well, you never know what may happen.

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Before leaving, I did meet with resort management again, and they were open to receiving feedback and making improvements. Now, I’ve heard that line before (see my blog post about The Grand at Moon Palace), so we’ll see if it rings true. I have Juan’s direct contact info and told him that I’d like to come back after improvements are made to determine if their gluten free procedures truly changed. But I’ll be bringing extra snacks with me, just in case!

Want more info about my stay, or have you had an experience like this? Drop me a comment below! I’d love to hear from you.