As of 2026-10-02

What still has to happen

Booked so farNothing

This week

  1. Book DL 646 for all 7 todoExactly one nonstop a day from Detroit, roughly 130 seats, holiday week. Seats are the risk, not the fare. Book before watching the price.
  2. Decide the New Year's Eve plan todoSecond largest line after lodging and it gates everything else on the 31st. Three approaches priced in the New Year's Eve options. Recommendation is the potluck pickup run, with a private chef as the zero-effort fallback.
  3. Call Pujol and establish their booking window todoNot on OpenTable and nobody knows how far ahead they open. This is the birthday dinner and the biggest unknown on the board.
  4. Book Ling Ling for 29 December todoChecked on OpenTable 5 October: a party of 8 on 29 December has 15:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30 and 20:00 open, and the 15:00 carries 750 reward points. Nothing is holding it for us. Take 20:00, which is what the itinerary assumes.

On a date

  1. Hold Ling Ling on 2 January as the Pujol backup todoThe 4 October release date has passed and the panic was unnecessary. Checked 5 October: a party of 8 on 2 January still has 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30 and 20:00 open. Hold one until Pujol confirms, then release it. Cancelling an OpenTable booking costs nothing, so there is no reason to wait.
  2. Maximo Bistrot opens about 2 December for 2 January todoWednesday 2 Dec 2026Their window is one month out, not 90 days. Different rule from the rest.
  3. Call Em about when the holiday week releases todoTock says "Em has not opened reservations for 2 ene." Not sold out, not yet open. 19 December is open, 31 December is not, so they are holding the holiday week back. Phone +52 55 6450 1302.
  4. Settle the rooftop at midnight with the host todoSunday 1 Nov 2026The confirmation lists quiet hours 22:00 to 08:00, which the listing's rules summary did not show. Midnight on the rooftop on 31 December sits inside that window. Message Manuel and get an explicit yes in the Airbnb thread, in writing, before building the night around the roof. There are exterior cameras on the property, so this is not a rule to test quietly.
  5. Second Casa KM payment of $2,251.42 comes out todoMonday 14 Dec 2026Auto-charges to Google Pay. Collect from everyone before this date, not after. It lands eight days before the 22 December refund cliff.
  6. Pull the 2026 New Year's Eve takeaway menus todoWednesday 25 Nov 2026Angelopolitano and Madereros publish theirs in late November. Prices on file are from the 2023 cycle. Order by 28 December.
  7. Decide whether to keep the flexible Fives rate todoSunday 13 Dec 2026Last day the flexible rate refunds.
  8. Last partial refund on Casa KM, 16:00 listing local time todoTuesday 22 Dec 2026After this there is no refund at all. The booking is already committed.

Decisions needed

  1. Pujol's private room needs 8 and we are now 7 todoThe private dining room carries a minimum of eight tasting menus at MX$3,795 each. At 7 we either pay for an eighth cover we do not use, about $223 wasted, or give up the private room. Em takes parties of 3 to 8 and fits 7 with nothing to negotiate, so it is now the cleaner booking. Ling Ling and the balloon both need re-quoting at 7 as well.
  2. Confirm Volare flies 2 January 2027 todoThree questions: do they fly that date, can they hold a private basket for 7, and what is the 2027 holiday rate. 2 January is a Saturday in the busiest week of the year.
  3. Flexible or non-refundable at The Fives todoFlexible costs $133 more each and refunds until 13 December. Given the headcount only just settled, flexible is the safer call.
  4. Room-only or all-inclusive at The Fives todo$98 more each for full board. The room can be booked before this is settled.
  5. Decide the 3 January flight home from Mexico City todoNow one traveller rather than two. They should look at a connection and save about $1,040 against the $1,893 Delta nonstop.
  6. Lock the 2 January dinner todoPujol is the incumbent. If the balloon stays on 2 January, an a la carte room suits a fifteen hour day better than a nine course tasting menu. See the birthday dinner options.

Housekeeping

  1. Collect a deposit from everyone todoBefore anything non-refundable is signed.
  2. Check passports and sort travel insurance todoValid at least six months past 8 January 2027.
  3. Email The Fives about the environmental tax todoSources disagree badly, from under $25 for the whole stay to $270. reservations@thefiveshotels.com.
  4. Start the group chat for all 7 todoPost dress codes. Gin Gin Cibeles is formal attire and a couple of the others have codes.
  5. Build the website from data/ todoFramework undecided. See the open questions.

Already settled

  1. Confirm the beach leg headcountStill 6. The person who dropped on 12 October was one of those flying home after Mexico City, not a beach traveller, so every Riviera Maya figure stands and The Fives residence still splits 6 ways. It also means only one person now leaves after Mexico City instead of two.
  2. Book Casa KMBooked 18 October 2026 for 29 December to 3 January, 6 adults. $3,836.93 all in, $639.49 each. Confirmation details are in private/casa-km-booking.md. The rate had risen about 29 percent from the 12 October quote of $2,944.
  3. Resolve headcountSettled then changed twice. Now 7 in Mexico City, of whom 6 share the accommodation as two couples and two singles, while the seventh books their own hotel. Dinners, flights and the balloon are sized for 7. Beach headcount needs rechecking, see the open task.
  4. Verify both properties still availableChecked 2026-10-02 on the operators' own engines. Both open.
  5. Settle whether Fives quotes include taxThey do. The engine prints subtotal $3,739, VAT 21% $785, total $4,525, taxes included. Earlier planning had grossed this up on top, overstating the beach by about $250 each.
  6. Settle whether Quintonil can seat 8It cannot. Caps at 6 in the main dining room, 1 to 3 at the counter, and they ask guests not to book multiple tables to be seated together.
  7. Settle whether Airbnb totals include feesThey do. Airbnb now displays all-in pricing.