JW Cancun
I went down to the JW Cancun for the weekend 7/15 to 7/17. I was oblivious to the fact that a hurricance was headed that way until I had already checked in at the airport and was reading USA Today waiting for the first flight. The weather was pretty normal up until Sunday morning when it was cloudy and the waves were a bit bigger than normal. The hotel still looks good and the pool IS awesome. They upgraded me to a "JW Suite" which was pretty nice (I'm spoiled becase my first stay there I was upgraded to a beachfront full suite on the 2nd floor - SWEET).
I noticed the Weather Channel guys there Saturday in Beachwalk Rest with "WC" caps on. They chose the JW because it is a designated hurricane refuge and the ballroom is built to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane. The hotel did a good job keeping guests informed with info sheets under the door every morning and providing airline phone numbers, etc. They started nailing everything down pretty early though. All day Saturday there were no lounges on the beach even though the weather was pretty normal. They had guys crawling on the roofs the whole time trying to nail down any loose roof tiles.
I flew out Sunday at 1:40 PM on Continental and the airport was a zoo. Continental did a great job getting the flight out almost on time. The airport was due to shut down at 2:00 pm but I think they relaxed that a little so the 5 planes behind us could finish loading up and get out.
I love Mexico but I have to agree it is still Third World in many respects. The government decided that because of the coming hurricane they needed to suspend all liquor sales Sat, Sun and Mon (minibars thankfully "overlooked"). I got to the airport early expecting mass chaos and figured I'd have time to eat at TGI Fridays behind the security line. Once again, in infinate Mexican wisdom, all restaurants and shops were closed when I got there at 11:45. Thousands of passengers milling about and all the restaurants closed! I found a news stand open and dined on Pringles and Diet Coke.