Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: A few hiccoughs

The grounds were nice. The food was good. It was difficult to get dining reservations unless you opted to buy a bottle of wine and then you can get in whenever or wherever you wanted. Very difficult to get a chair by the pool as early as 6 AM because the towel holders hold all of the chairs and tell everyone that they’re taken unless you offer money. It’s definitely not a five star but it is a relatively nice four star. I would recommend this hotel but I would have to give out full disclosur [... read more]e and let the person decide. I had no interest in filling out

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Love this place!

Beautiful grounds, great pool and friendly staff. The food was great as well, although slightly less variety at the buffets than during our previous visit. Masking compliance by staff was excellent, however I would have preferred they wear KN95s or medical grade rather than fabric ones. COVID19 testing organized by the resort was easy and quick. We had our PCR results in approximately 12 hrs.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Recommending for a great time away .....full review so read away:)

We have just returned from Barcelo Maya Beach and are looking forward to our next visit. From Booking with Martine Reid to departure home our trip was a wonderful experience. We spent 15 days at the resort and a few none issue items that we just went with. 1.Arrival in Cancun- easy, no problems with the provided transport other than a longer than necessary wait for a couple who were duty free shopping and held up our bus, I prefer a direct drop off as the 2 hotels we had to stop at added [... read more] about an hour in total to the trip but again that is my preference, Barcelo is about 70 mins away from the airport and the bus had great AC, working toilet and great cold beers and canned Margs for purchase. 2.Checkin- It is at 3pm and onward.. we had requested 2 beds and they had 1 king so it took until 430 pm to get our room, we had some lunch, wandered about to get an idea of where things were and then got our room. Checkout-easy and no issues at all and the bus was direct with no stops to the airport.. 3.Room 1315- it is Tulum building and the room was great, clean, mini fridge well stocked, large towels, quiet and a top floor with the garden view. AC worked great a room key is used to activate it, lots of hot water in the shower and no issues at all. 4.Beach-looks exactly like all photos, kms of white sand beautiful warm ocean... if you want snorkeling head to the opposite end by the Plaza and it is rocky so water shoes are a suggestion. 5.Pools and Towels- huge pools and lots of space to float about, towels are bath sheet size so no need to bring from home and the Pool bar... a fun place to sit and watch or participate with the Activity Team but be prepared as it is loud from 12-4pm 6. Shade, sun and lounge chairs-tons to use on the whole resort so no need to get up early to towel mark a chair. 7. Restaurants/Bars - Main Buffet-hit or miss but there is always something to eat, (they are learning service so drinks are a bit slow to arrive but again its vacation so no need to rush about anyway) -Captain Morgan's for lunch- always fresh pasta, pizza, salads, burgers(as big as your hand) and a great spot for some shade during the day to sit and chill, the Managers, Marayil and Enrique were lovely to speak with and they brought us fresh Mango Margarita's to the pool and they were some of the best Marg's we had the whole time... -Room Service- not included in the All Inclusive pricing but definitely worth the few dollars for great sandwiches and a salad instead of going out for a night -A la Cartes- -Italian was a delish experience , we went a few times as it was fabulous, highly recommend it -Tokyo for Japanese, a great meal and show and again we went a couple of times, highly recommend it -Mexican- it was ok.. we both felt rushed, it was too dark and the food was not what we expected.. It was good but again not authentic feeling or tasting. -Strikers Sports Bar- Great place for some bar food, a fun atmosphere but expensive for Bowling (15 US a person) Arcades games fun for kids and a bit expensive but the Air Hockey was a fun hour! Drinks: The drinks were a hit and miss at all bars we tried as everyone makes it their way.. only a couple that were definitely off the mark but for the most part they were great..they made for some great laughter so again not a big deal as you just order another one if its not what you wanted or like but for the Supreme package you do not get access to anything other than house liquor so be prepared as I did not know this. Beer in room was Corona but on tap was Montejo I think and it was great and cold.. Bottled water at the bars and pool and it was always chilled Spa- Highly recommend it and the coupon at checkin was fabulous.. you pay this on arrival at the spa so credit card is needed and again its in US. Dolphin Show- free and fun to watch or you can pay to swim if you like. Nightly Shows- start at 930pm but good for an hour to unwind, open air and lots of seats and all age friendly. Venture Park: We did the go carts and Zipline and it was fun and scary for a first timer but its on site and no need to leave the resort.. it was 35 US each and a good way to spend and hour and a half. There are great shops on site and a Mexican Market for all your souvenirs including string hammocks and a great Tequila shop that is comparable to duty free and when a taxi to 5th Ave is 25-30 US each way it was easy to pick up what I needed without the Playa craziness as much fun as it is. We had a great vacation and our on site rep Johnny assisted with our PCR test booking and again no issues and his check in and check up on us was appreciated. n We didn't do tours off site this time but many folks did and the prices seemed to be the same as every time we have visited. Masks were mandatory for public spaces (going into restaurants, shops etc but not in the pool at the bar and all staff were masked the entire time... Covid protocols were in place and we felt quite safe and most people were respectful of each others space and if the staff can wear masks, we found no issue in having ours at all times. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions I can answer but again , we had a great experience and Martine's help from Trip Central from start to end was really appreciated.

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Better this time

Beach is awful, only rocks at the Sian Ka'an part. You have to go to the Tulum part of the resort at Kay beach, there you will find a 50-75 ft of beach which has a few rocks only. Food at buffet was good. A la carte Alus and Japanese excellent. 300 of 420 rooms rented to a film production co. at the moment, therefore pools are empty and you can get chairs at any time. Shows are good esp. cirus. Staff I find were extreamly nice, more than usual. House keeping also good. Lucio and my butler Kathia [... read more] went out of their way to make us happy. They were true professionals. Was here 2 wks in Dec. and this time it was way better.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Wonderful vacation at Barcelo Beach, Mayan Riviera

The Barcelo beach resort is an older resort but it is well cared for, beautiful lush grounds, several clean pools, lots of shaded areas to get out of the sun and beautiful beach with plenty of lawn chairs to relax under the palm trees. The a la cart restaurants were delicious, especially the Japanese one! The buffets had lots of variety, meat was always tender, but tended to be the same foods all week which I didn’t mind. Top notch entertainment at night! There are several Barcelo resorts th [... read more]at we could visit and use their facilities and bus pick up every 15 min to shuttle guests was a bonus. Very big resort! Lots of young ppl there but when they returned from late night outings tended to be a little noisy running through the corridors before getting to their rooms. Otherwise very quiet. All the ppl working at the resort were friendly and worked quietly. I especially liked Susie who led the daily water aerobics class. Even though pandemic is basically over, I still found staff always wore their masks, took guests temperature before entering restaurants. Excellent week! Highly recommend Barcelo!

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Excellent experience-despite Covid

This was our second stay at this resort. We chose to come back because of the access to the Xcaret parks you get when staying at the hotel. The resort was doing many things to keep guests safe (despite many guests not participating) Things like mask wearing and hand washing were enforced, in particular at food locations and while using resort transportation but were more lax around the pools (despite the lifeguards all holding signs that said “masks mandatory”). It appeared that many guests [... read more] were taking advantage of Covid testing offered by the hotel, as evidenced by the line up at the medical center, but we opted for self administered RT-LAMP tests we brought from Switch Health. All in all we felt very safe and no one in our group contracted Covid as a result of this stay. The resort itself is beautiful and the parks are great fun. The food is good - we could always find something to eat. Favorites were the hamburgers from the poolside stand, the beachside restaurant Las Playas, a la carte dining at Xin-gao and Las Cuevas. Room service rarely disappointed as well. Unfortunately, the cost of this hotel is now out of what we feel comfortable spending in terms of returning, but if it is within your budget, this hotel does not disappoint.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: A Great Resort.

We recently spent a week at the Blue Bay Esmeralda and were pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this resort is. The food was very tasty, selection could be a bit bigger but everything had amazingly delicious flavour, right down to the dessert. We have traveled to many resorts over the years and this was the first time we truly enjoyed every meal. The drinks were a hit and miss, rarely tasting the same but always cold and served quickly by awesome bartenders! (Tipping helps) The facil [... read more]ity was clean and employees wore masks at all times, indoors and outdoors, which we thought was pretty exceptional considering the heat and the long hours they worked. The resort is very large and spread out. The walkway from the main area to the beach is about a 5-7 min walk through a gorgeous jungle like path, or you hop on the cart and it’s a quick ride to wherever you want to go. The resort is also home to a variety of wild life, from monkeys to raccoons, deer, beautiful birds, and more, all of which make for an entertaining experience. Our first room was in Building 6, which is in the section furthest from the beach, but close to the second pool. The main pool is by the beach along with a buffet and few bars. After our second night we changed to a swim-out room in building 3 which was closer to the beach. This Suite (#3117) was spectacular, two bathrooms, a king bed and a separate sitting area. Staff really seemed to do their best to serve you quickly and seemed glad to see you. Definitely one of our best experiences with resorts in Mexico. The one downside was the beach, not much of a swimming beach and the chairs are situated quite a ways back from the water. So if it’s for the beach you go, then you may be disappointed but the pool by the beach is awesome as is everything else in our opinion.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: good resort! disappointing rooms

The hotel beach was very nice the pools were great and there were lots of chair options id recommend walking the whole beach to get the best parts. the food was very good and i am a picky eater there were lots of options the Italy was not very good the rooms were old and the air was not good nothing dried and everything was always damp masks were mandatory at bars and restaurants the took you temp when going in to buffets and all the workers were in masks the whole time. we liked everything bu [... read more]t the rooms we even switched rooms because are air was not working and it was still not good in the new room i also had to fight with front desk to move us when are room was set and stuck at 26 it was 28 out side for reference this made the first two days very stress full.

Platinum Yucatan Princess: Interesting resort

Amazing 3 star resort nice property poor room service Sometimes room done well no consistent room service no clean towels when shampoo and other products gone need to call front desk halls dirty nice beach bar.need Beach shoes for rock beach . Many times server forgets to put alcohol In drinks unless you watch. Would not go back

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Great Resort - Staff made it special

Well maintained property. The rooms are a little dated compared to the other hotels on this giant resort. The staff made it special for us. Always a friendly smile and conversation. Temperature checks entering the front of the hotel and at all restaurants. Have to wear a glove when using the buffets. Some people seemed to ignore that requirement.

El Dorado Royale: Loved this resort! I almost cancelled.

Thankfully my travel agent encouraged me to try this resort! Beautiful grounds, hundreds of palm trees, restaurants were great! Favourite breakfast-Cocotal, lunch - the health bar if your into salads and sitting at the ocean. Dinners, there were a few favs - D’Italia villas. Nothing was crowded because the property is large enough that you can freely walk along the paths along the ocean. With 12 pools you will enjoy a daily swim - never a shortage of loungers. We had a great time every evenin [... read more]g - entertainment was a lot of fun, from live-shows to concert, bands. Something every night. I have been to a few 5 star resorts, this one is now one of the best. Staff is professional and personable. It was so relaxing, and everyone we spoke with was having the best experience as well, most people we met had been there before- some 10 years in a row. I think my husband & I will come here at least 2 weeks every winter.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Great resort!!

We stayed at the resort between January 27- February 10 and we loved it!! Food was great, entertaining team was awesome. Resort and beach was very clean, staff were very friendly Most of all we were there with 2 kids, 11 and 8. My 8 years old loved the kids club. Every single day they had some new activities and fun things to do for the kids. The only thing is gym is very run down and very small. Some restaurants we couldn't get in or book in advance, even if we stayed for 2 weeks, it was booked [... read more] straight through. Overall it was great stay, perfect resort and we would be more than happy to stay again!! Special thanks to staff at the kids club!!!

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Great Experience - again!

The resort continues to offer excellent service. The buildings and grounds are exceptionally clean. The staff are friendly and are very accommodating. With regard to COVID-19 we felt completely safe and found that the staff were very diligent. I was happy to see the change to the water dispensing systems as a means to reduce the amount of plastic waste.

Platinum Yucatan Princess: Fantastic resort

The grounds were immaculate, rooms nice and clean, pools the cleanest I’ve seen and food and drinks where great! The staff are very attentive and will help you with anything you need. The beach was great for lounging.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: BCCT acceptable, Rivierra stunning

Hi. First, our travel agent was absolutely amazing. She did save our trip. We went to Mexico Barcelo resort at the end of February. Barcelo is split up into 6 resorts. The 4 in the middle, Beach, Caribe, Tropical, and Colonial (BCCT) are just typical. The BCCT are all connected and does not matter which you stay at. It’s one big resort. If you’re only there for the weather, then the BCCT is for you. The Palace is an upgradable option. My experience there was limited and can’t comme [... read more]nt accurately. The Rivierra is the adults only portion and it is definitely worth it. We had booked at the Beach resort of the BCCT. I always start with the bad. No fault of the resort, our neighbours stayed up til 5am everyday. They were students and kept me awake with with various noise. The other bad, Our room was cleaned every other day, not that we’re merry, but it feels good to have it cleaned during COVID. The good. The resort is beautiful. The gardens were immaculate. The beach was stunning. The pools were amazing and different. There are lots of animals to see. Everything else at the Beach resort was a typical all inclusive resort. Food was ok, room was typical, nothing too much or memorable in comparison to the many other resorts I’ve stayed at. Due to no fault of the hotel, the neighbours caused me not to sleep for 3 nights. The hotel could not do anything for me. My travel agent somehow did and had us moved to the Adults Only Rivierra resort. It is connected to the BCCT so it’s more of a different section than a different resort. The Rivierra. First with the bad. At 5:30, the sun goes behind the building and the pool doesn’t receive sun. Another bad is the building is located or one side and my steps went from 11k a day at the BCCT resort to 21k a day at the Rivierra. So be prepared to walk if you want to see all the resorts. The good. The Rivierra was stunning. The entrance will make your jaw drop. The corridor is constructed so there is always a sun beam coming in. The room was breath taking and every room has a jacuzzi on the Balcony. We watched the sunset while in the jacuzzi. Our room was cleaned twice a day. This buffet was nothing like I’d ever seen before. I had a porter house steak made to my perfection in this buffet. The pools were very large with more than enough room and the beach had way too many chairs with a lot of space. Note- due to the sun setting in the back of the building, the premium rooms with a swim up pool are not worth it in my opinion. The rooms view the sunrise and not the sun set, so sometime early afternoon, its in the shade. The grounds themselves are amazing. There is a lot to do. The bad. With all the activities it is very poorly advertised. Only on the last night did we find a piano bar where someone would play. The good, there is a lot to do if you go searching for it. Mini golf, bowling, zip lining, shopping. Kids water parks, various shows at the theatres, casino, finding the elusive monkey, etc…. I would recommend the BCCT to those that just love the weather, beach or the pool. If you want that jaw dropping wow factor and be pampered, the Rivierra is the perfect resort for you.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: 5 th visit to Barcelo

The resort is large and offers a lot of amenities to visitors. Nice pools including lane pools and gym. Large pools and really nice beaches especially in front of the maya beach. Food is pretty good we ate breakfast at the buffet and went to Ala cartes in the evening. Book your Ala cartes as soon as you arrive to ensure you get reservations. The only negative is the party crowd who pulled fire alarm two nights in a row and some noisy late night people coming home. Best server is Irene Sanchez a [... read more]t the Maya Beach pool bar.

Grand Riviera Princess: Great experience

All was clean, employees were very respectful.and kind, great variety of food. I expected the rooms a little more updated. The beach was nice. Avoid going on reading week or March break. Amazing covid protocols in place and respected including mask wearing indoors, gloves and temperature taken at entry.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: We had a great time!

By day 2 we already knew we would come back. The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and courteous, and the beach was pristine. We felt very taken care of and it was a lovely place to relax and recharge!

Catalonia Riviera Maya: Hotel needs improvement

We went to this hotel six years ago, in 2016- back then, it was a relatively new hotel, peaceful, with kind staff. For a family of 5, including 3 little kids, this was a dream. We couldn't wait to go back, especially to the Privilege Family suite, which boats two bedrooms, a huge bathroom and an outdoor bath tub- perfect for any child, large or small! Unfortunately, after our two year covid wait, we found that the hotel wasn't the same anymore. For starters, it wasn't the quiet family experi [... read more]ence we had hoped for. Loud, obnoxious groups of people, each carrying their own speaker, roaring their music, took over every pool area. They drank, were loud, splashed water- it didn't matter the group. As the day went on, the louder each crew got. It wasn't a very pleasant experience for us and our kids. There were never enough beach towels. People would hoard their towels from pervious days, wake up really early in the morning, and reserve all chairs. By 8:30am, there were no towels and no chairs. There was a huge amount of people, in comparison to the first time we went. We found staff not as friendly, the beach wasn't cleaned for days after huge lumps of seaweed came to the shore, and there was never enough food at the buffet- or if there was, there would be only the last bits of eggs or bacon, which were by the time we ate, cold and soft. On the plus side of things, the Privilege room and Executive side of the hotel was quiet and clean- a perfect oasis for our family to relax after a loud day at the pool. The restaurants that you need to make reservations for upon entering also were very tasty: our favourite ones were the Mexican one called Albrijes and this Asian- fusion cuisine called Bloved. Very classy, fancy and tasty. The Japanese restaurant was also very good. The wifi is awful. We still had to have meetings and do work from home, and it was impossible to get a good connection. The walk to the marina lets you get some distance from the hotel and its food- full of restaurants, shops and a walk along the marina. Six years ago, I would have definitely recommended this hotel to people- however, this time around, I wouldn't recommend a loud, noisy place for a family with kids. The PCR test was also a disaster. We signed up for our times, and found two lines- one with people- like us- who had PCR times set, and the other full of rowdy Americans getting their antigen tests without having to have made a reservation. Because of this, two lines were going into one little cabin, each person getting tested by one nurse. We waited there with three kids for two hours, listening to loud people get drunker as they waited and as time went on. The plus side? We received our answer within hours, so we were ready for our flight. It was lovely to be in the warm sun, see the ocean and the beach and have a brief escape from the cold winter up North; however, the ambiance of the hotel has gone down, much to our dismay.

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Wonderful resort

I absolutely loved this resort from start to finish. It was very clean everywhere. The people are very friendly and very attentive to your needs. The room was lovely and I don't think there would have been a bad view from anywhere. The food was outstanding. They had every kind of fruit you could want. Their buffet was always fresh and had an enormous amount of never ending selection and variety. They catered well to children by way of their food selection and the pool activities with all the sl [... read more]ides and fun stuff there. The beach was lovely but you will need a pair of water shoes to enter in the ocean. There is sand beyond but you have to get past the coral, which is hard on your feet. The pools on the resort were huge. There were also two adult only pools which I loved. There was soft serene music playing in the background too. They all have their own bar as well. The drinks were phenomenal. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone. I will go back for sure and stay longer this time. I loved it there!!!