Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Best Vacation Ever!

To be honest, I don’t have much to compare to as this was my first time in Mexico and my first time at an all inclusive hotel, but this trip has set the bar high. I talked to others who have vacationed at all inclusives in Mexico who were at the resort while I was there and they said this resort is the best for food, fun and service and that I started with the very best and nothing else will ever be comparable. I felt I got a great deal and was very happy with my garden view room.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Beautiful resort

Every thing in the resort is top notch, amazing staff, this is our 4times to stay at this resort. Excellent variety of food and entertainment. Beach and location of places to enjoy your stay are well planned.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: A resort for everyone!!

Overall a very good resort. Activities for all ages and good entertainment. Very busy as this resort is typically booked out so be patient with A La carte wait times.Always buffet if you don't want to wait. Be sure to read your room directory as there are charges you may not be used to. i.e. only 2 beer per day in mini fridge. pay extra for more restocking. Late check out is $10 USD per hour however some people were not charged. We paid $2 USD per day environmental tax. Seemed a little more t [... read more]han the 25 pesos per day regulated by the government. There were some theft issues around the pool.( cell phone, sun glasses). Watch your stuff. Other charges: calls from room, room service after 11pm etc. Overall a great resort. Just learn what the extras cost.

Iberostar Waves Tucan: Very good experience

Iberostar Tucan was overall a good experience and we would definitely go back. We were celebrating our 3rd year honeymoon anniversary. There are a few things to note though. The air conditioning in our room wouldn't go below 20 degrees celcius as a setting but never actually went low enough to get to 20 anyways, was a hot sleep. Also we had one of the restaurants in close proximity to our room and the staff were banging things (cleaning out large sinks and such at all hours of the morning,  [... read more]1 am, 5am, etc.) This woke us up a few times and when we tried to call reception they didn't speak any English so it took us going down on the 4th day of our stay to complain before we could get a relatively peaceful nights sleep. Oh and the pillows were waay too stuffed, cranked our neck way too high. We were super impressed with the food quality and service of the staff, they were exceptional. The best part of this resort are the beautiful animals and jungle that it occupies. The monkies and coati's (like cute little mexican racoons) were adorable. Was amazing. The shows were really good too. Another spectacular thing about this place was it's beach, definitely one of the best beaches I have ever been to. We loved that Iberostar is trying to be more Ocean conscious and are using reusable water containers, no straws and such. Cleaning staff were excellent and the pool was just lovely. Waiting staff in the buffets and restaurants were all very professional and made our food experience like a date every time. Other than the sleep quality, this was one of the best resorts we have ever been to.

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Exemplary of a resort that checked all the boxes!

THE GROUNDS: First of all, the grounds are impeccable. The colours are beautifully bright, the flora design welcoming and calming, and various Mayan-inspired statues reminds you of a rich culture worth exploring. BEACH: Secondly, and most importantly for me, is the beach & ocean. I'm not sure what allows this beach to be some of the best I've had but it was just lively enough for us to have some fun whilst also allowing for fantastic scuba diving & snorkeling. The sand is clean, soft, and pl [... read more]entiful. The bars are sprinkled just far enough apart that you can grab a drink, go for a stroll, and hit up another bar to get a refill when your drink is done. That being said, I tried a bunch of different drinks where I asked the bartenders for suggestions. They never disappointed. Whether you just want a light cocktail, a stronger taste, or just a refreshing blend of flavours, they know what to serve. FOOD: The food was excellent and the restaurant-staff were incredibly accommodating to my friend, who is also a celiac. They prepared various dishes with separate cutlery, made off-menu adjustments, and double checked every dish for her. We were very pleasantly surprised. Just make sure you ask. Just because it's not on the menu, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. DIVING: I'm also a huge fan of diving and the on-site Dressel Diving Centre was INCREDIBLE. The staff were incredibly helpful and customized our packages to fit our individual needs. The instructors insist on a level of safety I haven't experienced in Mexico before and made some of my first-time diving friends much more at ease. The waters are beautiful and there are plenty of excursions to explore, or just beautiful reefs 3-7min away by boat. If you like deeper dives, just make sure you request it well before hand as it's not an often-requested trip but they're happy to accommodate. If you're afraid of bad weather, they also have great back-ups. There were two high-wind days and we still had a day of diving left before our departure. They took us to a close-by cenote where my friend could complete her Open Water Dive Certification and I could explore a completely different underwater world. WATER SPORTS: The pools alone are GREAT. It's huge and interesting if you just like floating around or getting some exercise in to combat the copious amount of calories you're bound to take in. But then there are also the water sports. They have over 10 jet-skis, a bunch of paddle boards, kayaks, clear-bottom kayaks, snorkeling equipment, water bikes, and more. What was different about Barcelo, is that those toys are actually used! I've seen too many resorts where they claim bad weather and never bring out the equipment. Not Barcelo. It was out every day and they tested the jet-skis every single day. ENTERTAINMENT: I wasn't expecting the Mall. The Arts section was fantastic and I found amazing pieces to bring home. Keep in mind, I've never had an interest in buying myself anything to bring back from Mexico. Until I explored the stalls at Barcelo. As for the shows, it's sad that they have two shows on every night at the same time, so you have to choose wisely but I doubt there's a disappointing show. They bring in artists from outside the resort and pair them with some of their own talent. Live music, excellent dancers, beautiful singers (live, not lip synced), plus treats like circus performers, magicians, and more. Thorough entertainment every single night. SERVICE: So friendly. So helpful. If you have a language barrier, they will find someone to help and they have a multitude of information available in various languages. Guest services never had any line ups if we ever wanted to book anything and they always knew what we wanted even though may not have! I highly recommend this resort if you like space to move around, entertainment on site, and a fantastic beach to relax on. I wanted a place to break away and enjoy the ocean, swimming, and food. The friendly atmosphere made it a place that I will return to. SOON.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Awesome and meh

I love this resort. This was 2nd time, staff are amazing - so friendly and wonderful, love the beach, food is decent, my only complaint is room maintenance. We had a pipe burst at 1am, our room flooded and I slipped in water and broke my arm. From what I heard from other guests, this was not a rare occurrence. Having a broken arm on vacation sucks but I still love this resort and would come back.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Terrible experience

Where do we begin. Let’s start with this is my first survey I’ve ever done. After double digits trips to Mexico and all great experiences this one has to be the worst. First hotel I’ve been to that the stores and shops don’t except USD. I’m from Canada but have always travelled with US currency. Well not at the fabulous Grand Sirenis. Now let’s talk about the wonderful food. A different theme every night decor wise. Well decorated with the exact same choices as the night before. Fi [... read more]rst time since 2007 Resort food actually made me sick. 4 out of 6 travellers actually in our group. Pretty sad when you need to make egg salad sandwiches for breakfast because it’s hard to mess up boiled eggs. Was pretty excited about all the advertised activity’s for the kids though. Oh wait they were advertised and really didn’t happen. I’d rate this resort a solid 1-2 out of ten. Resort itself is beautiful. Beach is rough and rocky.

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Third time to this amazing resort

It's a quiet bit of heaven – with access to the larger sister resorts with more restaurants, pools, and the beach. The grounds are lush with trees and plants as opposed to the wide open landscaping of most resorts. Staff are great. You have free access to the 3 other Bahia Principe resorts. We spent 1 day at the resort pool but the others at the beach. We never had a problem getting chairs at the beach or pool. It's a 8-10 min ride to the beach and other resorts. We love it here.

Iberostar Waves Quetzal: Great resort with tons of wildlife

I stayed at the Iberostar Quetzal with my friend from Feb 3rd 2020 to Feb 10th 2020. It was our first time in Mexico. The resort itself was very clean, the workers do anamazing job keeping the landscaping very tidy no garbage anywhere. The resort is very ecofriendly and recycles! The rooms had everything needed in an all inclusive resort. We were in room 2843. The balcony looked out to the buffet restaurant and 2 bird cages where 1 of the peacocks would sleep on everynight. There was wild life e [... read more]verywhere. They would mind their own business. I love animals and loved seeing howler monkies, agoutis, coatis, tortoise, iguanas, squirrels, parrots, peacocks, phens, flamingoes and many other birds. There was a jungle you could walk through that was lit up at night and had many Mayan statues and waterfalls. It was the best part of the hotel. Inside our room it had a safe, fridge that they would stock with beer and pop. Kinda wish they would put some juice as I don't drink pop or beer but it wasn't a big deal. The cleaning lady made lovely towel creations everyday. She cleaned and made our beds everyday and gave us fresh towels. The food at the 3 buffets were pretty good. Cozumel, Tulum and Uxmal. Breakfast was always my fave meal! I was expecting more meat and fish/seafood options being an island and its what I am use to but it wasn't too bad. The guacamole was def the best. The chips tasted stale? My friend is a vegetarian and she found some of the foods not labelled properly. Some foods that were labelled cheese quesadia actually had ham in it. We tried 3 a la carte restaurants the Tex Mex (Mexican) the servers were very cautious of my friend being a vegetarian and kept letting us know if there was any meat inthe meals which was nice. The tacos and apps were ok nothing special. Not sure if its the corn used for the tacos that I am not use to but they tasted old to me. Not a fan. We tried the La Gondala (Italian) the apps were very good I ordered the fish pasta which was alright, pasta tasted very doughy. My friend ordered the tortellini in cheese sauce. The menu didn't specify if there was meat inthe tortellini and she didn't ask but there was meat in them so she mentioned it to the server and they brought her the cheese and spinach ravioli instead. She enjoyed them. The Steak house a la Carte was my favourite because I am a meat eater. The apps were good. The meal itself was the best! I ordered the sirloin steak, rare and it came with corn, potatoes and some broccoli. My friend got a vegetarian plate with some stir fried veggies, broccoli, potatoes and corn. She enjoyed her meal. There was soft serve ice cream at the Uxmal but at the outside area which was great but my fave was the vanilla ice cream inside the buffets or at the ice cream shop by the beach. The drinks were good not too strong but I found the bar tenders not as friendly from most places I've visited. They would serve spanish people first and I would try my best and order in spanish but I would be waiting a while for a drink. And I am not a person who tips bar tenders. The waiters around the pool and beach would order drinks for us but sometimes forget to bring them back or take a while and we would be gone before we would get them. I'd rather just get my own drink. The beach was awesome! White sand which the workers cleaned the seaweed every morning. There were not many locals who bothered us. If they did come to us we would just say no thank you and they would move along. The ocean was amazing, clean and not rough at all. Some waves but nothing crazy that you couldn't go in. The only thing I didn't like is we were only allowed to move our beach chairs to the sign which was far from the ocean. But I made sure I didn't leave valuables in my beach bag. The entertainment crew were very friendly. They had some very fun activities and funny shows at night. There were 2 guys who went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable, Chocolate and Flower. They are great entertainers! We walked to Playacar shopping centre which was a 10 min walk from the resort but it was very safe as it was all tourists and hotels inthe area. They had the best souvenirs and prices for them. We did all of our shopping there as the shops inthe hotel are expensive and double the price. If you can make it out to 5th ave. This is another tourist area which is safe. There are tons of shops and night life. Even went to Walmart. Alcohol at the bars were very cheap as well. In all we had a great time. Beach and the animals were the best part!

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Wonderful Resort

When we arrived we were upgraded to Diamond club. Wonderful clean rooms, food was beyond what we expected and the pools were all wonderful. Definitely would recommend this resort. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Ocean Coral Riviera Cancun: Clean and Quiet Resort

We visited Ocean Coral at the beginning of February for 7 days. The resort is really close to the airport (about 20 minutes) which was a big selling feature for us. Here are a few other reasons we enjoyed our stay: -rooms, restaurants and grounds were immaculate - large selection of food to choose from - no matter where you are, you are close to the beach - the view from the Privilege restaurant for breakfast was beautiful! - we were quite close to Puerto Morelos for shopping - excellent [... read more] room service which is included with Privilege - really enjoyed the Creperie -very impressed with the wifi performance from the hotel right to the beach!! Some things we did not like: - the relentless sales approach for their time share. They will tell you it is not time share...but it is! Their "free shopping excursion" and "special breakfast" is simply another sales tactic. It was not worth us losing a day away for a sales pitch. - while the staff cleaning the beach of sargussum our first few days was diligent, they became neglectful midway into the trip All and all this was a lovely belated honeymoon. We experienced good and bad service (to be expected) This is a solid 4 star resort. As a side note, we had the most amazing agent we have ever come across! Thank you Jill Klacza for your patience and help with planning and booking our trip!

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Good for adults and kids

This is a really nice place that is set up to be a super-fun time for kids and which has quieter kid-free places and rooms for adults only....and the rest of the place is fine for both! My hubby and I went. If my grown kids were younger, I would have taken them here for sure. Excellent water park with slides, etc. suitable for toddlers all the way to adults. I did a couple of the really scary huge twisty slides and shrieked my way through all in one piece. The staff are consistently grac [... read more]ious and helpful. The service at restaurants is excellent. The steaks at Riviera are divine. Oddly, the steak at Los Lios (sp?) in the upgraded area was thin and leathery. Very odd. The Brazilian grill is grand for carnivores and is open for kids later on so we adults can eat our meat quietly earlier. This resort is built within jungle, not over it. Lots of walking throughout. We counted 20 different animals and birds we saw. There is a clear commitment to its being an eco-resort. The cenotes are neat but not very big and I didn't think very good for snorkeling (we brought equipment, didn't use it). The general swimming pools are active and fun; the one pool for adults only is tranquil. AND they have a big warm outdoor hot tub for adults which was so relaxing. NO TIME SHARE! Really! We were not bothered ONCE while there by people trying to sell that. Incredible. The shower in our room did create floods until we used a potato chip bag to force redirection of the water, but I think this wasn't a common problem. It was not broken, more a design flaw. Whatever, no big deal. And at least on the ground floor, do be sure to turn off the bathroom fan when done or it will pull up fumes from the drainage system. Again, just common sense. Great place all around and I'm going again for sure!

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Absolutely Fabulous Resort

We stayed 9 days at the Del Mar this time. (2nd year in a row to this resort). The staff are ALL amazing. The grounds are immaculate....not one blade of grass out of place. It is so clean because the workers are always on top of everything. The shows were also fantastic. The dancers and singers work so hard to perfect each show. Finally, the food was delicious. Ate at the Japanese a la carte twice. All around good time at this resort

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Blue Bay Grand Esmeraldo

We spent a week with friends at the BBGE. It was a nice clean resort. we were in number 8 bldg. over by the smaller pool. Very loud at night time. Hallways are uneven stone and every time a suitcase or cart went through the hall it was very loud. Lots of late night partiers kept you awake half the night with laughing , talking or knocking on doors. We were nearer the Black and White sports bar and buffet and shops. Also nice sized pool where we were located that was convenient with a ba [... read more]r and nice buffet restaurant where breakfast , lunch and supper could be got. The only negative is wish they had a few outside tables and chairs there. We would come back to that area in the evening and have a drink but have to sit on the loungers or stand around. We ate at the Mexican, Italian, and Steak house. Every meal we had was great. Main buffet was good but the buffet over in our smaller area was best. The night we got there we went to sports bar for Super Bowl and thank heavens they had big screens in a couple of ballrooms. The main area of bar was so loud you couldn't hear anything. We opted for a ballroom area and they had waiter service there and lots of munchies for the game. I heard the shows were great at night but didn't go see any. Had the opportunity to take the trolley over to the other section and it was a huge pool and steak house was there. Interesting watching a cat wonder through the rafters watching everyone. also outside the Italian, Asian and French is a very nice lounge area to sit and enjoy a drink. Loved seeing deer in the back of our room and many. many Mexican raccoons. Although they were everywhere running around as people would feed them despite lots of signs not to. They would come around pool area and pilfer through bags to see what they could find or steal any food you may have. Would have much preferred a room facing pool area instead of back and woods. We could have at least sat on balcony at night and enjoyed a drink rather than try to sit by pool uncomfortably. The lobby area was nothing to elaborate on as it had no bar area or anything. Very small and unfriendly in my opinion. Shout out to the pool bartenders though Ignacio and Alberto. they took very good care of us each and everyday. Also our favourite waiter in the pool buffet area was Fernando who was there till day we left and Severino. Overall was a good vacation with good friends. would recommend it but not sure I will go back to that one.

Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen: Awesome resort

Food was very good. Place was super clean. Very friendly staff. We felt an improvement from 5 years ago. We knew the beach sucked , but we were ok with the pool. Location is outstanding , walking distance to 5th ave.

Ocean Coral Riviera Cancun: Okay resort but would not return

Pools are nice beach ok but lots of seaweed. Biggest problem is trying to go to alacart restaurant's they tell you that you have to wait up 2 hours to get in or not available at all then suggest you go to the buffet which is not the greatest. Rooms are dated and could use some work.The other problem is getting pool chairs need to be up at 6am to get a good spot all chairs are gone by 7:30. As soon as you check in there is someone wanting to explain things to you but is a sales pitch asking to g [... read more]o for a breakfast meeting.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Great friend and family vacation!

Back from a wonderful vacation as a group of 11. This is the fourth time to this resort and it didn’t disappoint. From the service, lush grounds, pools and beach we all found the resort perfect for our group. The lavish grounds with the flamingos, peacocks, iguanas and cotis as you walk the grounds is the best part as so natural. Another great feature is the shopping centre with the taco stand, coffee cafe and crepes for an afternoon break. The resort has great shuttle service as well to tra [... read more]vel you to and from various points through the resort. Love the Iberostar chain and will be back! Cheers Kelly

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Fabulous for families

We were thrilled with how modern the room was, the service was great. The food wasn’t at par with what we are used to. But not far off. The entertainment was great along with the atmosphere. We were happy that it was family friendly although catered to adults alone. The beach was better then we anticipated. Loved seeing all of the fish right there !!! Would highly recommend. Would go back without any doubt. Thank you

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Beautiful Resort

We have traveled to multiple destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. This resort, although not our best, had a lot to offer. All rooms renovated, buffet food always hot and fresh, restaurants decent (Japanese excellent), grounds are beautiful with a relaxing vibe (surrounded by lush nature), water was rough for snorkeling while we were there but apparently very good, coffee shop and icecream shop were an added and delicious bonus. Most of all, the staff were friendly and helpful...always.  [... read more]Only con would be the beach. It was rocky, as was the water. Still beautiful landscape though. We would highly recommend this resort.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Beautiful Resort

We really enjoyed are stayi Hotel was beautiful lots of things do > We will return next year again Loved it Food was great location was good People were very friendly Staff were friendly . Room were clean and tidy