Back in May I was the lucky winner of OMC's Travel Blog contest(http://onmilwaukee.com/visitors/articles/travblogwinner.html) and on the weekend of May 21st my husband and I set off to take advantage of our trip to the RIU Palace Riviera Maya in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

Most of our usual vacation are self-planned and more off the beaten track so I wasn't used to some of the rules of taking a charter vacation package. For those that want to have minimal planning and control this is perfect. It was a bit of an adjustment for us, but worked out well regardless.

We flew out of Chicago O'Hare early Thursday morning (7am flight = Out the door here at 3am). We would have preferred Milwaukee but there were no flights offered from here. The flight was uneventful on USA 3000 airlines and we landed early. Aside from the package, we had booked and paid for our own private transfer to the hotel to save time. I highly recommend this, so you don't have to wait for other passengers and stop at other resorts.

We got to the RIU at noon and were happy to be able to check in right away. They gave us a complimentary upgrade to their courtyard view room (versus our pre-paid garden view) and we loved it. The rooms were perfect, including balconies, jacuzzi tubs and an all-inclusive mini-bar. Overall the whole resort was also beautiful and clean. All the staff were super-friendly and it only increased as we practiced our Spanish with them.

We told ourselves this would be a relaxing trip, so most days were just filled with eating some food, and then promptly getting into the pool (and swim-up bar). There were always plenty of lounge chairs available and we never had any bad weather. The restaurants for dinners were excellent, and we especially loved the 'gourmet' place called Sir Olivers.

Overall it was a great trip, and I only wish it had been longer. We flew home on Sunday, leaving our resort at 8am. During our trip we also met quite a few great people from the US, Spain, France and Armenia. As well, I was estatic to meet some guys from the Basque region of Spain which is near the top of my list of 'next places' to visit.

So, thanks OMC for a great trip!!! Hope you do it again next year and someone else can have lots of fun.