Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Natures Paradise

Beautiful resort, well kept, clean, and lots of wildlife just outside your door. The salt water pools were just the right temperature to feel nice and refreshing when needing a break from the sun. The staff were super friendly, and the drinks excellent. My only issue was with the buffet restaurant. there was hand sanitizers placed at various locations, but rarely did people use them. No gloves were offered for the handles throughout the assorted food trays, therefore basically no Covid protectio [... read more]n at all except the mandatory mask rule and the temperature check upon entry. Also found the food temperature was a little cool, basically room temperature by the time I got back to my table. The coffee, juice, wine service was hit and miss, some days were excellent and others required getting up to find someone. Otherwise I fully enjoyed my stay.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Enjoyable Resort

This is neither a pro or a con but it is approx. an hour and a half bus ride to the resort although, as we arrived during rush hour and took an hour and 45 minutes. In regards to Covid protocols, all the staff wore masks at all times, both indoors and on the beach. If you forgot your mask one was provided at every venue and you were also provided a plastic glove at the entrance to the Buffet and Beach Restaurants. The Resort This is a very large resort comprising 2 resorts rolled into one [... read more]. The largest part is the Riviera and the other section is the Mayan. Overall it is a lovely resort with an abundance of natural foliage and very small areas of manicured landscaping. You have the feeling of being in the jungle. There are very few shortcuts and you really have to stay on the walkways. There is a lot of walking involved in getting around this resort. This resort is very handicap aware and we found quite a few quests getting around on motorized wheelchairs. As an observation, getting to the water at the beach might pose a problem as the sand area is in 2 tiers but the pools are lovely and there are 3 available to use. Rooms Pros: large, well laid out, beautiful decor. Bathroom is also gorgeous. Waterfall shower is unbelievable and the water pressure and hot water are great! Beds are comfy. Plenty of seating and sleeping room. There is also a built-in desk for your laptop. The rooms also have a 45 inch flat screen tv with lots of channels. They like soccer in Mexico so you can always catch a game from most of the mainstream leagues. Cons: The rooms have a long built-in shelf under the tv which is nice for holding small stuff but there are no dresser drawers so you have to use your suitcase to hold things like t-shirts and underwear. You will also have to bring a face cloth (flannel for you Brits). I know Guest Services says they are supposed to be in every room but Housekeeping says not so. It’s hit or miss as to whether or not you get any.This is an observation only but the bathroom doors with the exception of the main door shut completely or lock, which makes getting ready a little more difficult when you're staying with children, or people other than your spouse. The shower doors also have a gap, which can make a mess if you aren't paying attention. Food Pros: between the buffets, snack bars, a la carts, room service and pizzas, you won't go hungry. You can always get pizza or burgers and fries for the pickiest eaters. There is a lot of variety. Breakfast for buffet, pizzas or beach snack bar for lunch are always a win. Breakfast Buffet, if you want waffles you will have to get your server to get them if you are in the buffet before 8 am. The omelets are good, just made differently than in Cuba. Here they ladle the egg mixture onto the grill and saute the vegetable fixings separately. They then add the fixings onto the cooked egg and then roll it up to serve you. Of note are the smoothies, the green one was fabulous and I had one every morning, At all the buffet sittings you will find a wide variety of appetisers. We didn’t use the buffet for lunch as we elected to stay on the beach and used the beach restaurant. You could get a large assortment of items ranging from pork chops, grilled vegetables, stewed tomatoes (delicious), to hamburgers (very good patties), hotdogs, a full range of salad items, fresh fruit, and tortilla chips with chili sauce, cheese sauce and refried beans. The dinner buffet was similar to the breakfast buffet with a large assortment of appetisers and then a large assortment of entray items. You could also get something freshly grilled from pork chops, chicken and once or twice fresh fish. I should mention the desserts are extremely good, cakes are moist, rice pudding of a very high quality. The chocolate ice cream was the best I’ve ever eaten.There are lots to choose from so you can always find something you like to eat. They don’t use alot of spices so you might find the food under seasoned and not really hot, just mildly warm. You won't starve, but don't expect to be saying the food is great all the time. It's good and edible. Some things are hit and miss. Con for me is that there is very little in the way of fresh grilled fish either in the Beach Restaurant or the Buffet. The Restaurants We got to eat in all except the French Restaurant as it’s for members only. My ratings are as follows: The Japanese was by far the best. The chefs were skillful and very entertaining in their presentation. I had the octopus. Fantastic. The Mexican I had a dish native to the area, it was roast pork and the flavours, omg. The Mediterranean, both of us had the seafood platter, featuring a full squid (calamari), mussels, shrimp, clams, a fillet of fish and an oyster in a sauce. One serving would have fed us both and still had left overs. The Steakhouse My partner had the T-bone steak and it was cooked perfectly to a delightful medium rare with the medium slanted to the rare. I had the beef rib which was tough and dry. They are getting better at cooking beef but they have a long way to go. The Italian was good, I had the lasagna, it was very meaty and I elected not to have the soup as it was just too much food for me. My partner had the ravioli and really liked it. The Brazilian restaurant was good but it's a lot of meat. You get chicken wings, then 2 different sausages, chicken breast, beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin, brazilian beef, and cooked pineapple. It was too bad that they over cooked the brazilian beef as it is known to be some of the best beef in the world. The Thia This was the worst meal I had at the resort, Simply awful. My partner had the fish dish which he liked so not everything on the menu is bad. Beach Pros: water is nice. Beautiful view. Nice location. Snorkeling was ok, but to be fair I believe there were storms at sea most of the second week which made it a little hazy, but def had a good time when we went. Cons: I reserved our beach chairs and umbrella each morning by getting to the beach at 6 am and usually by 6:45 all the lounges were reserved. Of note, I saw a lot of sunrises. They need more chairs for the beach. There's just not enough to accommodate the crowd they have even by half or less. Pools/games Pros: pools are large and well taken care of. They had multiple games during the day and entertainment. Animation team organized lots of beach volleyball and the ball was always available for anyone who wanted to organize a game. Bars Pros: The drinks are strong and the service is great. The bartenders and waitresses will NEVER let your drink go empty, even on the busiest of nights. That also includes the beach service. My favourite place in the evening was the patio in front of the Coffee Shop, great coffee, live entertainment and you can smoke your cigar. It was lovely. Cons: Not every bar made good mixed drinks, Lobby bar was the best. I asked for a gin and tonic in the Sky Bar and it was made with sprite, not nice. As I’m not much for a mixed drink I was disappointed in the alcohol that was available. If I stay there again, I will bring a bottle of my preferred beverage and bring a flash to the bar. Entertainment,There is a large theatre, it has many tiers so it will accommodate a large number of people. There is a show every night on a 7 day rotation. I only watched the Rock show which I enjoyed. Starting at 7:30 there is a singer or small duet at the coffee shop stage, at 9 is the theater show and then at 10 there is some entertainment in the Sky Bar.There is usually some entertainment in the Lobby Bar. The other night it was a sax player. Overall the staff is impeccable. The grounds have for the most part been left in it’s natural state, the wildlife is fantastic. There isn’t anything that would make me say don’t at least try this place out and decide for yourself. The minute complaints I have can be out weighted by all the positives. We would more than likely return if our travel companions wanted to go to this resort and I would anticipate anyone else who tries it would also.

Allegro Playacar: Beautiful grounds and beach !

As nice and clean pools, grounds, beaches are, the rooms, dining, and evening entertainment still need more work to be done. Television sets and phones, not in a good functioning state. Most people are accommodating and friendly at the resort. Grateful for all the assistance whit fixing things, not in order ie water leaking from the bathroom above, air conditioning, and tv.

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: Beautiful Resort

Very beautiful resort. Great beaches with soft sand and warm water, with fish swimming all around. Nice huts and lounge chairs on the beach. Great party pool and nice quiet lazy river pool area. Drinks at the piano bar were amazing. Food was really good. Loved the new coffee and dessert bar. Grounds are beautiful being very lush and forest like. Good nightly entertainment with piano bar and house band for dancing. Service was great. Never had an issue finding someone to answer questi [... read more]ons or manage needs. Covid test was easily scheduled at the hotel and completed on site with no issues. Our second time at this resort and we were very pleased.

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: still set a high standard

pros - grounds and beach are beautiful - staff is top notch - room was modern, comfortable with daily cleaning thorough and efficient - essentially no reservations in al la carte restaurants cons - mixed drinks seemed a little watered down from what we remember

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: Great Resort

Resort met all our needs ,,, great beach, clean pool, great food and good service. Lobby staff and concierge were especially helpful. One negative lack of hooks, cabinet or some kind of shelf to place toiletries in the bathroom. This is a problem at most hotels. Also, likely due to COVID rules, foods are individually proportioned which tends to allow some food items to lose freshness more quickly since they dry out easily.

Riu Tequila: A Beautiful Resort Geared for the young

First of all, with all Covid concerns, they did an excellent job. Masks worn, temperature taken, continuously mopping and wiping things down. The resort is beautiful, almost like beings in a forest. The food was pretty good. Lots of vegetables and fruits. If you had dietary restrictions, I think you could find a good variety of food here. The pools were nice. Entertainment was pretty good, REALLY LOUD. My only complaint would be. The ocean is far away. One shuttle that seats 7. Can't  [... read more]understand why you don't have at least two shuttles taking you to the beach. Also why not offer a shuttle to take people from their unit to dinner. I have knee issues so found the walking painful many nights. I would not recommend this resort to someone with mobility issues, it is big and an effort if you like a beach, plus quite a step down when you go into the water. Tons of chairs and shade at the beach once you get there. Overall our vacation was relaxing and enjoyable despite the amount of rain. My Trip Central consultant was amazing.

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Great time spent

We enjoyed our time at Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an very much. The entertainmemt was diverse and great. The only downside was the room that we experienced some issues with. For example, there was construction noise in the mornings or there wasn't some essentials provided (klinex, laundry bag, ...) that we had to ask for separately. Overall the room needs some upgrades in terms of decoration, ... A la carte restaurants were hard to book.

The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences Playa Del Carmen: Beautiful Resort

Hotel and grounds were absolutely breathtaking. We loved the "jungle" in the middle of the resort with monkeys, coatis and birds. Watch your step while walking on the boardwalk going through it. I tripped on an uneven board (in the dark) and fell flat on my face - OUCH! We only managed to enjoy the Thai restaurant as everything else was booked solid. The buffet restaurants were pretty good, food was luke warm. Definitely try The Olive tree restaurant by the beach! It was amazing! Ou [... read more]r only complaint was the annoyingly BAD 70's disco type music at the pools. It was at every pool - there was no escaping it. We would much rather listen to the waves and some Mexican or top 40 music. We did also miss having a nice big lobby to sit and have a drink. The outside area by the lobby lacked enough seating.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Excellent Resort

We are very pleased with our choice. Barcelo Playa Colonial lived to our expectations. We spend 9 nights at this hotel. In this time of Covid we were really pleased to see that the hotel has taken all measures to ensure not only the safety of their guests but also that of their employees. Guests are required to wear masks when approaching employees and the buffet food stations, which to us makes a lot of sense. There is hand sanitizer and a pad to stand on at the entrance of every buffet, rest [... read more]aurant and bar. Body temperature is also checked before you enter these rooms. Overall a good value for your money and an excellent family hotel Service at the buffets was a hit or miss Kids swimming pool was awesome Beach very beautiful, but rocky. If you don’t have water shoes you need to find a path to get into the water Food was great Our specific room had a very strong musty smell, but overall a good value for your buck

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Amazing

We enjoy our stay at this resort. The staff members were mostly very friendly. There are a of bars nearby to fill your every need. There a large variety of foods, healthy and non healthy. The entertainment and shows are very good.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Amazing resort

Nice clean rooms. Great food selection at buffets. A la cart food was good but small portions. Lots of great beach area. Getting to and from rooms can be a bit confusing. Overall very happy with resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Great Resort

Akumal was a great resort, Stayed Nov 22-29, 2021. Food was good, drinks were good, lots of lounge chairs available. Beach was very clean no seaweed a bit rocky in places for swimming. Pools were always clean swim up bar was not open. Very long line ups for COVID test but we paid an extra 10.00 and had the lab techs come directly to our room worth the extra cost. Would return to this resort again. Only downside is the 2 hr bus ride from airport.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Amazing resort 💯

Everything was top notch! We booked again in 4 weeks. Stayed at Akumal but could go to Tulum for dinner which we did last 2 nights , the buffet there is incredible!! We were very happy with this resort, on top of our list for sure!

Akumal Bay Beach and Spa Resort: Perfection

This resort is amazing! Food and drinks are top quality. The employees are attentive and very outgoing. All rooms are ocean view with a tub on the balcony. There are sea turtles down the beach and a few shops worth visiting. Only complaint is the distance from the airport, not so bad if you do your own transfer. The resort is on the smaller side so you can easily distance from others during covid. Highly recommended!

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Sandos Caracol

The resort was OK but was very dated. The rooms were not the ones we booked and they could not change because they were full. Covid protocol did not exist. The food was not very good. The best part of the stay were the trips away from the resort.

Grand Riviera Princess: Grand Riviera

This resort is very large and spacious . Lots of pool areas . The beach area is also large but busy , which is expected. The beach restaurant is good but the bar is very busy when we went. Activity Coordinators are fun. Staff is pleasant. Drinks are good, with Internationals brands that was not extra. Rooms are spacious and standard. The cleaning ladies are good, they do come early.. so leave your do not disturb sign at night. The nightly entertainment was good. Since the club is closed  [... read more], nothing after 11pm but the sport bar is open.. My only issue with the resort is the all the Buffet food was cold..Whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner..COLD COLD COLD.. Unless your are getting omelette or pasta from the grill, made to order, everything else was COLD. They need to find a better system than heat lamps to keep food warm..Also , this resort did not have breakfast smoothies , like most other resorts..( just saying)... The specialty restaurants were good. I like the Thai restaurant..

The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences Playa Del Carmen: Beautiful resort but unfortunately food quality was horrible, many of us fell sick because of the food we had

Beautiful resort but unfortunately food quality was horrible, many of us fell sick because of the food we had. Even variety of food/fruits was limited. Room service was very slow. Main lobby reception area was very small,

TRS Yucatan: Downhill

We went to this resort last year. We paid when we arrived on this visit to have our own pool. A larger than average pool. The pool jets never worked. After many complaints nothing was fixed. When we complained on the way out they said oh well! Also the river had a nasty smell. We rarely saw people cleaning but we only were around people for eating since we had our own pool. Not as good ase first visit. Sorry that we had friends come down when it was so so. Wish we had gone to xcaret i [... read more]nstead. Way more to do and better service

Riu Palace Mexico: Excelent resort in every category. Definitely a quality step above the nieghbouring Tequela and Yuchatan Playacar RIU resorts

Our room location was adjacent the Yuchatan resort, which was noisy at night. Great front desk people, very helpful and dedicated with any request. Buffet workers, cooking staff, and outfront greeters were very human and personable, hand selected, you can't train people to act and honour guests as they do with humility and grace. Cleaning staff were polite and thorough. Our chose of vacation resorts, wherever, will always be RIU resorts. This is our 3rd RIU resort visit.