Catalonia Playa Maroma: lovely, laid back resort

We loved this resort for what it was: smaller than many in the area, immersed in a jungle-like setting with lots of greenery and wildlife and replete with an international vibe (lots of French and Italian speakers, more of a family or mature adult setting rather than a party setting. This is what we were going for. We particularly enjoyed the food and Beloved and feel the privileged rooms were worth it for this restaurant alone. The buffet was fantastic for breakfast but we really preferred the  [... read more]a la cartes for dinner, which were all good. Our only major beef is not with the resort at all, but rather with sunwing, an airline that has had dozens of well-documented long (24+ hr) delays in the last few weeks and keeps touting weather as the issue, though staffing seems to be the major problem. Our flight was cancelled on the first day and then majorly delayed on the second, getting us in at 11 pm. I'd advise Canadian travellers to use air transat or another airline, if possible, to get to the resort right now. But the resort itself is lovely and my family would return in a heartbeat.

Barcelo Huatulco: Great place to stay

We just returned from our trip to Huatulco which we booked thru trip central with Erin Thunder who helped us with the entire booking process, which she was amazing to deal with. We stayed at the Barcelo which was all common areas and rooms were very clean and well kept. The food was great we tried all food areas offered during our stay and it offered a great selection of dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All the hotel staff were very helpful and friendly. The beach area was fantastic but [... read more] you had up be up early to get your spot for the day. We will definitely stay there again in the future...it is a great location and will use trip central to book our return. Huatulco has the best weather we experienced and hotel didn't let us down at all.

Dreams Puerto Morelos Resort and Spa: Amazing Resort!

This hotel, pools/grounds was absolutely amazing! We were a family of 8 (3 daughters with husband/boyfriends). We had the absolute best time and made so many memories. We knew the beach wasn't the best before going and we were ok with that as we are more pool people anyways and this resort has 9 amazing pools! The food, staff, entertainment were all excellent!!

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: 2 star resort at best

We were very disappointed in our stay at blue bay. Alcohol was water down and the food was horrible the buffet was better than all the restaurants other than the Italian was ok. No night life. If you wanted a chair on the beach or pool you need to get up at 6am or you won’t get one.. Friends we went with had no air conditioning and it took them 3 days to switch rooms. Beds are very uncomfortable We will never stay there again

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Wonderful time at Barcelo Maya

We stayed at this resort for two wonderful weeks and had an amazing time here. Everything went smoothly from check in to check out. All the staff we dealt here were very helpful, friendly and professionally. We ate at the buffets with plenty of options to choose from and food was always hot and tasty. We also ate at all the a la carte restaurants and enjoyed everyone of our meals. Our room was very nicely decorated in traditional Mexican charm. It was always kept clean by housekeeping, and had n [... read more]o issues asking and getting an extra towel or facecloths. Our mini fridge was always restocked. We enjoyed our time at the beach and the pools with just enough fun activities happening there. We found the loungers to be the most comfortable and plenty of pool towels. We would recommend this resort to our family and friends.

Paradisus Cancun: Paradisus Cancun

Nice hotel. Except layout of where our room was located. We had to go up the stairs across and down the stairs to reach our room. Love the bracelet room key. Not enough lounge chair at the pool and beach. Had to get up at 5 am to reserve lounge chair. Enforce time limit when people just leave towel on chair. Friendly staff. Good food selection. No shallow end at pool. Rooms are dated.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Amazing resort!

Ocean Riveria Paradise is an amazing resort. Definately recommend staying here. Food was spectacular we did not have a single bad meal. Location is amazing because you are close to downtown playa del carmen and very close to a lot of the excursions that happen in the Riveria Miya area. Service was amazing. 10/10.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Amazing Resort for families

My wife and I took our kids (girl 8; boy 5) for a 7-day vacation to the Bahia Principe Grand Coba. In short, it was amazing. We loved our trip. - Food was great. We also really liked the Japanese Tepyniaki and the Indian restaurant. - Pools are huge with tons of chairs and huts (you can show up at 10am and still have shaded huts, or show up anytime and have a lounge chair but in the sun). Kids also loved the waterpark. - Beach was really cool and clean. Tons of fish swimming at your feet a [... read more]nd not too rocky compared to other Mayan Riviera resorts. - Service was excellent. - Room was very clean. - tons of wildlife which is always fun. Lots of iguanas and coaties. - Finally, the greatest thing was the Kids Club. The staff there are amazing. Kids were always looking forward to it and didn't want to leave. They rehearse during the day and put on plays in front of parents at night and its wonderful. kids did Moana, Frozen, and a talent show. A big thank you to Yuli, Ami, and Karla! Only con is the distance from the Cancun airport. About an hour and a half depending on traffic. But its well worth it for this resort. We will likely go again next year.

Melia Puerto Vallarta: Very Good Resort

Cleanliness around the whole resort was outstanding. Rooms could do with some upgrading but were clean. Buffet was great. We wished there were more selections for a la carte restaurants or have some American type choices on the menu that you didn’t have to pay extra for. Staff was amazing especially the bar tenders and waiters (Edgardo) (Diana)who worked tirelessly to keep up to the busyness. Entertainment was okay but not great. Singers in the lounge were amazing . Front desk people were  [... read more]pleasant.. 5 stars to Hector who was so accommodating and did everything he could to make our vacation a positive one !!

Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya: Outstanding Resort

Just got back from Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya. Wow, best time ever. 3 pools to lounge around in. Beautiful beach. Always had a choice of where to eat, never a shortage. Top notch cuisine and service.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Best place ever

Highest marks in every category from food to grounds from customer service to activities. I have never been to a resort I would return to until now. Seriously 10/10 Clean, spacious inside and out, price good, variety of food , evening shows great, quantity of food, towels and alcohol. Even other customers I meet were awesome to be around and happy. I have not one thing negative to say except I wish I could have stayed longer.

Allegro Playacar: Beautiful beach

This hotel was exactly what my 18-year old and I needed, amazing beach and ocean access, good food and drinks and entertaining shows at night. Unfortunately, two of the three restaurants were closed while we were there and if you look for anything to eat after 10pm, you are out of luck. The rooms are comfortable (two big beds) and we were lucky to be right in the middle between the main restaurant and the beach. I liked the layout of the resort with all the smaller buildings with rooms and the t [... read more]wo pools. Also, if you look for a little shopping, Playa Del Carmen is an easy 20 minute beach walk away with lots of shops and restaurants. The shows were great and the staff was very friendly. I would go back because of the beautiful beach and relaxing atmosphere.

Ocean Coral and Turquesa: Good fun

We would recommend the Mexican restaurant for lunch and hitting the a la carte for dinner. The la carte fills up quickly so we needed to book at 8am when the reservation for the day opened up. And if you want a lounge chair be sure to get out there early. We had good fun participating in the events. The silent dance party was our favourite. A fun stay with decent food. We would go back and close to town.

Planet Hollywood Adult Scene Cancun by Royalton: Average resort but not 5*

Grounds are well kept. Rooms are very musty smelling very damp need a dehumidifier . Our shower had alot.if rust in it. Maids did bed everyday. Everyone was very friendly. Needs more lounge chairs & more on Adult side. Beach was beautiful! Lots of food options but never hot. Overall I would recommend for family not so much adult.

Occidental Cozumel: Great Resort

The resort grounds/ gardens were gorgeous! It felt like you were in a botanical garden. We stayed in the Royal section which has its own pool and restaurant, which is amazing if you want a quiet area to relax! The royal restaurant was truly amazing! Food was always presented beautifully and tasted even better! We also enjoyed the food at the Mexican and Italian restaurants! The seafood restaurant is gorgeous as it is on the Ocean, unfortunately we did not like the food which was very disappointi [... read more]ng as we love seafood. The seafood restaurant in our opinion should be the best restaurant in the resort as it is on the Ocean!! The buffet restaurant had a good variety of food but we found it very noisy and often waited for an outside table for this reason. The rooms were clean and comfortable. The beach was adequate, however needs some palapa or umbrellas!!! All of the staff were very helpful and pleasant! We never felt like we were putting them out by requesting anything! We would definitely return to this resort!! We would pay the extra for the Royal section as the restaurant and restaurant staff were amazing!!!!

Las Brisas Ixtapa: Great resort

This is a really nice resort with lots of amenities. Some notes. There is no swim up bar. There is a beach bar and pool bar with waiters. They are great. No music or entertainment. This is a pro and a con I think. We took our own speaker and played our own music quietly, it worked well. The food is very good. The Brisas II restaurant outside is amazing!! Food is fantastic (have the tomato soup!). The Italian restaurant is also good. Did not care for the Mexican. The buffet is pr [... read more]etty good, lots of options. You can also ask for a menu and depending on your plan it's also included so keep it in mind. We had the beach club option, it was worth it. If gives you a small buffet breakfast on the 20th floor. As well as a nightly happy hour from 6-7 with snacks. We found it well worth it. You won't get any drinks in your room, but if you are beach club then you can take drinks from the bar there to your room. For example we took a couple of beer to enjoy on our balcony daily and kept them in our fridge. It was nice. The bed was great, we had a king size. I find with many resorts the bed is typically terrible, this was the first time that it was awesome. The beach is private, again pro and con. No vendors, but also if you want to walk the beach its short back and forth and can get boring. The waves are deadly b/c of the small bay. I got rolled on the first day and I'm still paying for it on my knee!! Not good, do not your back on a wave!!!! Tough lesson learned! The people are friendly, again it's quiet. It's a much older crowd. We are mid 50s and I would say the avg age is 70. Easy walk to Ixtapa to explore. Enjoyed it.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: 3 stars max

Deffienetly not a 5 star resort. No pool bars, no shade, can't get a lounge chair unless ur awake at 5am. Food was always cold. Waited in line for 25 minuites a day for pasta. Not very many options. Wouldn't let us check in 1 hour early to our room. Checkout took 1 hours in line.

Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya: Best Resort we have been too

Great resort, amazing and courteous staff and 5* food, with plenty of amazing menu options. This place has it all, Including good accommodation, beautiful grounds and nice sandy beach. The drive from the airport was 1.5- 2 hours, depending on traffic. Air transit rep at the hotel was non-existent. There was no information about the transfer back home found in the travel office at the hotel. Shout out to our tripcentral travel agent! She was great!

Melia Puerto Vallarta: Moldy start

We were assigned a room on the less than desirable first floor that reeked of mold. The patio door lock was shaky, no bathtub and the beds were hard. The “view” was a patch of grass. After a very uncomfortable night we requested a new room and Hector, Melia’s magnificent desk manager took great care of us, moving us to a higher room with king bed and partial ocean view. However, after that first night inhaling mold spores, I developed a horrible chronic cough that lasted for the rest of my st [... read more]ay then miraculously disappeared when I arrived back home. Other than that we were very impressed with the food, drinks, service and facilities. They could do something about the lounge chair saving thing though. Towels were out reserving groups of chairs VERY early every single morning of our 10 day stay.

Riu Cancun: Riu Cancun February 2025

We went to the Riu Cancun All Inclusive Adult Only for two weeks in February 2025. We have returned rather disappointed. This is partly due to our fault of not booking something for ourselves earlier. We are two seniors who love to dance, enjoy music, swimming, walking etc. Resort: This is a large resort ( number of rooms). It is a concrete structure with not much greenery surrounding it. For some reason there is an echo in the reception area and in [... read more] the restaurants. Everything is very loud. The Resort was very clean. Staff: The staff in all sections of the Resort worked very hard to satisfy our needs. They were all kind and helpful. Entertainment: Most of the evening entertainment was geared to a younger crowd. Over two weeks we saw 4 shows that appealed to us. Almost no " English" music as played. The music in the Disco was good, but with the Fog Machine smoke and drinks spilled on the dance floor, we were unable to dance/stay. Every week there is a Pink Party, White Party and Purple Party held at the Riu Caribe. A shuttle transports you back and forth. People dress in pink, white or purple clothes. They get their faces painted. At the Caribe the party is in a shallow pool. Everyone has a drink and the music is very loud. A large bubble machine or two, squirt bubbles into the pool. There are VIP seats around this pool. Not sure who gets to use them. We were not allowed in that area. These parties did not appeal to us at all. Washrooms: There were very few washrooms. There were no washrooms near the pools or the restaurants. Beach: There was one beach that was rocky. You could not swim there. However, it was a relatively quiet and peaceful space. Did not have many chairs and even fewer umbrellas. There was another beach, but the waves were pretty rough. It either had a yellow flag or red flag. There were a limited number of chairs and a few umbrellas. We walked along the beach past the Riu Palace and a number of other resorts and came upon a beautiful beach where we could really swim. We sat under a tree, on the sand. We spent our mornings and early afternoons there. Room: Our room was large and had a spectacular view of the water. It was kept very clean. The decor was a little dated. We had asked for a King Size bed. What we got was two single beds pushed together. Lovely balcony with two chairs, a table and a clothes drying rack attached to the wall. We had to change rooms once because of the noise from the outdoor bar that woke us at 2 am. Dining: The buffet restaurant was very good. You could sit and eat in an outdoor area or inside the dining area. The Japanese A la carte restaurant was Ok. The other two were nothing special. Distance: As guests of the Riu Cancun we were allowed to visit to other Riu's. We walked to the Riu Caribe. It took us almost one hour. We were not out for a leisurely stroll. The other Riu ( Dunamar) was going to cost us USD 30 one way. We did not check this one out. There are some stores outside the Riu Cancun. Downtown Cancun was too far for us to walk.