The Reef Coco Beach: Great small resort

The staff were great at this hotel, very friendly and hard working. The only thing that was a negative was after we checked in the clerk said I will get someone to help you to your room. The staff member came over to assist us and it turned into a timeshare talk. We told her we were not interested and that was fine. The hotel is at the end of 5th avenue so you can walk easy to the shops and restaurants but are not in the middle of the craziness. The food was really good as well. I would go back  [... read more]for sure.

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Fun and Relaxing

We stayed for a week in February and enjoyed our time very much. We booked in a adults only section and really loved the adults pool and the beach club. The pool and beach for adults only are at opposites end of the resort and took about 6 minutes to walk from one to the other. The food I would say is a little better than ok. Some items are amazing and some are just so so however that really is a very individual thing. We loved the Japanese restaurant so make sure to try and book the moment y [... read more]ou are checked into the hotel all other places to eat do not need reservations. Our room was always cleaned and the fridge filled every day. It was a basic room but did the job however our beds felt like sleeping on a rock bed. We did not ask to move because the monkeys came to our balcony almost everyday. I loved hanging out a the Adults Beach club and they provide lite snacks all day. I was also able to snorkel off the beach and see some fun fish. Water shoes are a must at this resort. The beach is sandy but the water is very rocky. We would return as we did not get to see and do everything we wanted to and had amazing service.

Sandos Playacar Beach Resort: Sandos Playacara

A couple of hiccups. The wifi was difficult to set up until the resort “reset the system”. Several calls to Guest Services were useless so i went to see them and they couldn’t connect either. Several guests were standing around with the same issue, so it was not my general ineptitude with all things high tech. Secondly the room smelled like a swamp when we arrived. The room should be aired out 24 hours before a guest arrives. After the second day the smell was gone as we were able  [... read more]to air it out ourselves by leaving the patio door open and running the HVAC controls on high. The room and resort were quite fine and the staff were very nice. The food was mediocre but there was lots available . We are not “foodies” by any means. Beautiful beach and pool area that were always kept clean. Very happy with our interactions with Trip Central and in general the Air Transat experience. I wouldn’t go back but I would use your services again. gary and bertha

Catalonia Riviera Maya: A week at Catalonia Riviera Maya

A solid trip; great food (minus no ground beef tacos) friendly staff, clean pools, great animation staff (shout out to Migel) well kept grounds and a fairly decent beach. This is a decent 4 star hotel that was worth the price paid. Would recommend! Note to management : need more sour cream, lack of beef burritos / tacos was a disappointment, ketchup sub par, overhearing in the theatre/bar & surrounding area - it gets hot!

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Just What The Doctor Ordered!

Hotel resort is lush, tropical, and pretty peaceful. Highly dense foliage everywhere with nice touches throughout - special cocktails; infused water; excellent activities crew; varied nightly entertainment; excellent service everywhere; high class service at a la carte restaurants. Pretty snorkeling right on beach. Loved our week!!

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Fantastic Resort

Loved this resort from start to finish. They truly treat you like Royalty, as first timers in Mexico we felt safe and welcome. From the airport shuttle to check in and check out the Royalton was very informative and make you feel at home. Great food with an abundance of variety. The entertainment was always top notch and the vibe team during the day kept you active and having a great time. The rooms were so comfortable and beds were great. Outdoor Jacuzzi terrace was great for mornings and eveni [... read more]ngs. The beaches were white sand with little to no sea weed. All in all, this was a great resort and would rate it absolutely 10/10. Will be returning on our next vacation!

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Best Resort Ever

This resort was absolutely stunning! There is so much to do and everything is done so well. The food was also amazing. They even had lots of Gluten Free foods. The staff members were all very friendly and did everything in their power to make sure everything was to our likings. Not great for older people, as some of the activities are quite extreme. Would definitely go back.

Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo: Impressed!

This was my first time at an Iberostar. I have to say I was really impressed. The resort amenities and service are equal to that of Palladium. We loved everything the resort had to offer. Lots for families to do! Great options for dining. Thanks for a great week!

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Nice and New

Overall, this is a lovely resort. It is new and therefore, clean, sleek, modern, and large. There is a convention centre attached to this resort and while we were there - there was a pharmaceutical conference that came in for a few days. They were not disruptive, but they were noticeable in the dining room as they were a large group. The resort has a more corporate feeling to it rather than your more traditional Mexican resorts. Our constructive criticisms would be to explore some improvem [... read more]ents on the wines that are available. The all inclusive wine options were not that good and therefore, you have a take away of almost having had a wonderful meal, but it is marred by the poor wines that are included. You do have the option of purchasing better wines - but our expectation is that there would be some nice all included wines. We stayed in an ocean front premium level room and if we wanted a bottle of wine in our room there would be an extra charge even though they advertise 24 room service is included. The room service is included for food or a glass of wine, not a bottle. We are not big drinkers but premium all inclusive with a private hot tub just seems like a bottle of wine should not be a challenge. You are limited to one towel each. The temperature in the rooms are limited to the lowest setting of 21.5C. It felt much hotter than that in our room but there was nothing we could do about. I understand the concept of cost controls and appreciate that there are no loud drunks at the pool so that is a good thing, however I couldn’t shake the idea that while it is advertised as an exclusive resort with a premium level, it felt like it was run by accountants trying to provide the minimum they could get away with. I believe their cost controls have crossed the border from frugal to cheap and they have lost the concept of focusing on the customer. They have saved money by closing the main place to get lunch (only one buffet in the resort) until 12:30 every day. They saved money by having no food or drink service at the beach. So to the accountants, please give each other a high five for saving a $100.00 and losing a customer. Your books can only show you the profit made from the price the guest paid vs the costs they incurred. You will have no idea about the losses you will incur due to the customers you loose.

Catalonia Royal Tulum: Enjoyable, relaxing, resort!

Check-in: Good, careful of upselling upon arrival, guest service agent sold us Honeymoon package and made an error in offerings so they gave us free Rauxa Show Tickets to compensate. No upgraded room, same one we booked as it was newer renovated and in middle of resort, quick access to beach/pool and other end to lobby. They gave us a choice as we arrived earlier afternoon as rooms were coming back in service from being cleaned. Nice rooms, good beds and pillows, well stocked mini-bars, nice [... read more] service to replace pool towels at your room not at the pool (loved this). Refresh rooms nightly. Great housekeeping, clean rooms. We did not watch any of the shows but heard some were good. Hotel needs a designated professional theatre or stage as at other hotels to have the shows. Entertainment in lobby would have been nice to last more than just an hour while everyone was at dinner and didn't get to enjoy it. Lobby is quite nice, large well appointed, good air circulation, large lobby bar and good space to sit just nothing happening there. Rauxa show, don't waste your money to buy tickets. Entertaining for sure, food was great but small portions, service was excellent, but wasn't the Wow I was expecting. Beach, fantastic! Not a huge long beach but a decent bay to walk from one end to the other. Not too much traffic on beach from those outside the resort which was nice. A few beach clubs on the stretch, some abandoned hotels. Upgrade to Privilege well worth it! Loved having the BLoved restaurant there open all day great food, good service. Beach service by Cesar was awesome. Beach staff serving work hard, so please tip them, they won't forget you. This is not a resort that skimps on alcohol and they serve premium alcohol so tread lightly and be specific on what you want. Coffee is great, OMG fresh bread is everywhere..... Would definitely return, my husband found it a bit sleepy in regards to daily activities as we are used to larger resorts but this was just what the doctor ordered. Would be a great hotel to go with a few couples. Specialty restaurants: We really enjoyed the Grill, not crazy about Italian although service by Maitre D' was excellent as I was not feeling well that night and he seemed to cater to our needs while servers were a little disorganized. Did not go to other specialty restaurants but the main buffet was awesome, had everything you would want, not busy at dinner and very good selection. Main buffet was also amazing for breakfast! No reservations needed at any restaurant and plenty of selection to choose from. Spa massage was not very good. Outdoor area should be like in Punta Cana at the Catalonia Bavaro, no one used the outdoor space and weather was good not too humid and hot. Indoor spa was lovely, gym was there also and was well appointed. Would I return, yes! This was our first adults only and will not be the last!

Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen: Amazing activities and Great Location

Our family had a wonderful vacation. We enjoyed all the restaurants and the entertainment was fantastic. We enjoyed sitting outside of our rooms at night and talking. We created wonderful family memories. There is something for everyone. The walk along 5th Avenue is exciting and there are wonderful items to purchase. Our spa experience was amazing.

Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen: Beautiful property and Amazing Staff

The resort was very clean and well maintained. The staff were all very friendly and happy. As a family of eight, the restaurants were very accommodating. We had a fantastic family vacation. We first visited this property in 2005 and were very pleased that we returned,

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: Gained ten pounds!

Food was amazing!! Drinks are top shelf Staff are hard working and extremely helpful Went about five years ago and again last week Will not wait another five years to return Fun place .................

Riu Palace Mexico: AMAZING VACATION!

The trip to Riu Palace Mexico was amazing. We checked out all the Riu resorts and were extremely happy with our decision! Staff was INCREDIBLE especially Mendez (server breakfast and lunch buffet) and Francisco from (lunch buffet & Mexican restaurant). The entertainment team was AMAZING! (Joe, Waleska, Andrea, the assistant manager and EVERYONE ELSE whom I forgot the names of) They were extremely fun, welcoming and always made sure you were enjoying yourself and felt welcome. All the staff were  [... read more]kind, ready to help and incredible. I cannot wait to go back. Thank you to everyone at Riu Palace Mexico for making my trip amazing & thank you to Natausha from Trip Central for always being able to help out with questions and advice.

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Needs Work

The main buffet needs some work. The furniture is very tired looking and should be replaced. We were very disappointed with the beach area. There are very large rocks in the water which made it difficult and dangerous to swim. The food in the specialty restaurants was quite good. Enjoyed the steak and seafood and Italian restaurants. The rooms were O.K. But given that it is an eco family resort we were surprised at the very large jacuzzi style tub In our room that, if used, would have been [... read more] a waste of water. It also took up a lot of room which could have been used for living purposes.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Overall an amazing resort

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised with the smooth check in process (other reviews spoke of issues and that was not our experience). Our room was well situated and had fantastic amenities (super comfy bed/pillows, fantastic shower, comfy couch, nice table and chairs for room service, 2 hammocks on the patio, excellent WiFi with streaming to the TV, well stocked mini fridge and snacks, etc.) We ate at 3 specialty restaurants and enjoyed the menus, food and service. The main buffet was ad [... read more]equate with something we could always enjoy. The food offerings leaned toward Mexican cuisine, which was not always to our liking, but the beach à la carte restaurant and room service had an excellent burger/fries and club house/fries for occasions we did not find food options we wanted. On one occasion, just because we could, we took the boat to Xcaret park just to have lunch at one of their buffets (more American type cuisine on their menu)! Having access to all the "X" parks was a huge draw for our party of 10. We preferred to use the parks that did not require us to be off resort for the whole day so only went to Xplore/Fuego, Xenses and Xcaret - we enjoyed them all! One complaint about the resort was the limited access to public washrooms. We found it very odd not to have bathrooms close to the pools and in some of the restaurants. Bathrooms we found were a bit of a walk away from those locations and we sometimes just found ourselves walking back to our room (which was not always close!) All in all, a great resort that we would return to.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: February 2020 trip

I stayed at this resort in February of 2020. I'll outline the experience I had during my 7 day vacation here. Keep in mind that the resort has a couple of different sections (Tulum, Coba, and Akumal). I stayed at the TULUM section, So my review is solely based on the TULUM section. I departed on a Wednesday morning from YYZ. I landed in CUN at 10AM. I got on my shuttle bus that took me to Tulum. The bus ride was about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Upon arrival, I attended the front counter where [... read more] I checked in. The hotel staff provided me with a key for the safe as well as a towel card (both subject to a charge if you fail to return them upon check out - around $40 USD). After I had checked in, the staff advised me that my room was not ready yet (the time was 1:30PM). They told me the room would be ready around 3:00 PM. This is an inconvenience after the flight from YYZ to CUN and then the 1:40 hour bus ride to the resort. The staff told me to have lunch and return after to see if the room was ready. I was directed to the buffet where they served breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Each night the buffet had a different theme for dinner (Spanish, Mexican, Asian - food looked the same all throughout to me). When I entered the buffet, I couldn't help but notice several birds on tables picking at the food left over by other guests who had finished eating. I sat at my table and was greeted by the friendly servers who asked me what I wanted to drink and so on. I then headed into the buffet and began to walk to see what the buffet had to offer for food. Nothing special, just your usual burgers (chicken, beef, fish), hot dogs, pastas, a Mexican food section (tacos, cheese quesadillas, piccolo's di Gallo, guacamole), Pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, vegetarian, sea food), fries, and cold cuts. I don't eat seafood so I choose a burger, fries, and some Mexican food selections. I went back to my table and tried the food. Excited to try the food, I ended up being very disappointed. The food had NO TASTE at all. Pizza's were under cooked, burgers had no taste, and fries were soggy. At approximately 3:00PM, I went back to the front desk and was advised my room was ready. I took a trolly to my room. When I got to my room, located on the ground level, I noticed it was VERY OUTDATED. There was a 24 inch LG TV in the room (no options to rent movies), very outdated paintings on the walls. However, the plus side was that the room was clean. After I had unpacked, I decided to go explore the resort - try to locate pools, beach, bars, cafe's, etc. I started walking around. I was able to find one pool which was close to my room. I noticed that the pool was empty - not a lot of people in the pool. I looked closer and noticed that several birds were in the pool. Several birds would just swim in the pool and bath themselves. I was shocked. I looked further into the pool and discovered that this pool was absolutely filthy (dirt, leaves, birds, etc in the pool). I was in absolute shock at the state of the pool and grew disappointed. I then left that pool and walked more where I found the beach. If you are into going to the ocean to float for several hours during the day, I don't think this is the resort for you. This beach had giant rocks placed approximately 50 - 100 meters away acting as barriers. Basically, you were allowed to pass those barriers. I continued my "exploring" and located another three pools, all close to each other (not connected). Only one of the three pools had a pool bar. This was in a sense the party pool. Here they would host activities (games, water Zumba, etc). These pools weren't dirty like the first pool I had been to. The other two pools were just relaxed. Kids would play in them as well (there were no water slides or anything). After spending some time at the pool, I went back into my room to shower and change for dinner. I went back to the buffet and once again, I was disappointed. Not very many selections (pastas, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, etc). Again, NO TASTE at all. After dinner I decided to make reservations at the restaurants on the resort. There were different types of restaurants at the resort. I went to the reservation office was advised by the staff that I was only able to make reservations for 4 restaurants. Odd, since I had a seven day stay. I decided to make reservations to a Mediterranean, Italian, Peruvian, and Brazilian restaurant. The restaurants were OK. Food was a LITTLE BIT better than the buffet. I guess my favourite one was probably Italian. Pizza was alright, nothing special. The Brazilian restaurant was like Copa Cabana (if your from Toronto, you know where I'm talking about), but they had like maybe 5 cuts of meat - chicken, sirloin, pork, and fish). The Medeterainain restaurant was OK. I had ordered a couscous and chicken dish. The chicken was OK but the couscous did not taste good at all. It seemed to be infused with strawberry - kind of weird to me. It's important to note that not all of the restaurants were in the Tulum Section. Some where in the Akumal or Coba, so I had to take a trolly there. I decided to spend some time at the other parts of the resort. I took a trolly to the Coba section. There were probably about 3 or pools here. There were about 2 pool bars. Better than Tulum. Pools were cleaner. 1 of the pools had activities taking place (games, dances, etc). There was also a water park in the Coba pool for the children. Note that there is NO BEACH at the Coba section of this resort, so if you are staying at Coba, you'll have to take a trolly to the Tulum section and walk over to the beach. I also attended Playa Del Carman on one of the days. This is a half day event. A jewelry store called "tour" basically pays for the shuttle to Playa Del Carman (the infamous 5th Avenue - about 30-40 minutes from the resort) in exchange for you to spend 45-60 minutes in their store. BE CAREFUL as the sales staff try to get you to purchase something. Just note that you DO NOT have to buy anything. Once I had finished at this store, 45 minutes later, the bus picked me up and brought me to 5th Avenue where you get to spend 2 hours there. Good time to try any restaurants and buy some souvenirs. After the 2 hours, the driver picked me up and drove me back to my resort. Once my seven days were over, it was time for me to check out. Luckily, I had a late flight departing CUN at 9:30PM. A bus had already been arranged to pick me up for 5:00PM. The resort is equipped with wifi, however it's very slow and only good for 90 minutes. There is an option to purchase the premium internet ($15 USD for 3 days). One night, I decided to purchase the premium internet. I logged on and the screen prompted me to either have the $15 charged to my room or my credit card, I selected to have the room charged. When I clicked "submit", the internet complely shut down and had no access to the internet. I was forced to tether the data on my phone to my computer. Upon checkout, the staff informed me that I had a fee of $15 (USD) for the premium internet fee. I told them that I never even got to use the premium internet as the page had shut down. The Supervisor came down and told me it was my responsibility to advise them that their internet wasn't working. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I paid the fee headed to the airport. Overall, I did not like this resort. The beach had the barriers, rooms were out dated, the food was absolutely the worst part, and lastly, some pools were not clean. I do not recommend this resort for anyone who is considering it. The resort is rated a 4.5 star but I don’t think its close to it. The only positive thing I can comment on are the friendly staff. They were very polite and friendly. I thank them for their hard work at the resort.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Adults Only Resort!

The facility is gorgeous and very modern, not typical Mexico at all. Everything about this place is impressive and very large. Service levels are excellent and staff aim to please. Food is outstanding both at restaurants and buffets. There is always a choice between eating outside or inside. The rooms are spacious with good sized balconies. King bed is huge; spans 8 feet! Love the ceiling fan so one can turn off the air and sleep with open door. There are plenty of toiletries offered and a n [... read more]on-stop supply of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Great time

Delicious food, tons of options. Rooms were clean and cozy. Would've appreciated an extra outlet for charging (only 2 in the superior room) but it was not a big deal. A charge pack my partner brought for his vape made it a non issue. I wonder if they'll add some during renos this spring. Could always find a spot by the beach or pool which was sweet. Tasty a La carte but unfortunately 3 were unavailable because of early reno starts. Still was able to get into 3 and had a great experience. No seaw [... read more]eed problems on the beach, it was gorgeous. Great snorkeling along the beach but they could use a public washroom along there! Maybe I was just blind but didn't see one...

Grand Riviera Princess: Amazing resort!

This resort was beautiful. Lots of restaurants and snack bars to choose from, which all have amazing. Multiple pools allow for you to join in on the party, or choose to relax in peace and quiet instead. Would definitely recommend!