Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Will not go back

Would not recommend this resort if you want to relax. The constant LOUD music was horrible. It was so loud we had to shout at each other to hear ourselves. The food was great, as was the service but the cleanliness left a lot to be desired. A very big resort with line ups for the ala carts so the only availability was for 9:30 pm and afterwards.

Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun: Happy with Royalton Splash

Lots of areas around resort for adults and children to be entertained. Clean bathrooms and lots of good food! Water park and arcade was just opening up when we arrived, excited to come back to see the resort fully complete.

Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya: An Honest Review - This Will Not Be Short But Hopefully Helpful

An Honest Review This will not be short, but I hope it will be helpful. Some things about a trip matter more to others, some don’t, take from this what you will if anything at all. I have been travelling all inclusive for about 20 years now. I have stayed at multiple 5 star resorts and many times in various parts of Mexico. My husband and I just came home from our 14 day stay at Secrets Akumal. We had a swim-up room. We are seasoned travellers and enjoy days of relaxation and peace as [... read more] well as fun loud party times. We experienced both, We had an incredible vacation. I do also have some advice/tips/suggestions etc.for the traveler and the hotel people in charge. Let’s begin: Hotel Itself: Beautiful, very clean, feels like a tropical paradise including iguanas that have their own homes on property with name signs. Hilarious. Hotel Ambiance: The sounds and smells are incredible. I felt like I walked into a massive spa like atmosphere. The instrumental music (this is around lobby areas and the quiet pool) was calming. By smells I mean aromatherapy slight scent not overpowering just enough to know that it’s a clean, well maintained resort. Swim-up room: Clean, well laid out. Love the long counter under the tv. The furniture was comfortable. NOTE: As a tip for any swim up room people - make sure that you place towels on the floor of your room because they patio portion is fine when you exit the pool. I entered the room still damp with a towel on and almost wiped out. Perhaps there should be a mat by the sliding door just in case? Con: The toilet part of the room has a frosted glass bathroom door. Not a big fan of that. TV : I know it may seem silly on vacation but sometimes you do end up in your room to chill out. They had a decent variety of channels that were in English. HBO channels, CBC, BBC, etc. It was really nice to sit in the air conditioning sometimes and just watch movies. Tablet In Room: This is to order room service, tray collection etc. It was great. Very easy to understand, we simply requested our room service, etc and it was sent. Room Service Menu: Pros: You could add details like “extra sauce” to your order which was helpful Cons: - Limited selection unless you’re in the Preferred Club. Even with a swim up suite. Annoying that you could only order certain items for certain times like milkshakes or smoothies. The food rarely arrived hot. 
Patio Con: I’m a night owl who loves to sit outside and read but the patio lights for our room we had no control over so you couldn’t do that at night after a certain time. I don’t remember the time and it’s just a small note in case that’s a big deal to some people.

Room Service Staff: Always friendly and attentive. Housekeeping Staff: We didn’t see them often as we weren’t in the room. They were very friendly and polite when we did run into them. Con: I had to make multiple calls for them to restock the toilet paper. They didn’t until hours later and gave us one roll. Pools/Pool Area: We were primarily at the quiet pool. Pool 1. It was wonderful. The waitstaff at the pool are fantastic. Always attentive, friendly, helpful. We found there were always plenty of towels, drink options, etc. Ibraham was our pool waiter. They had a pool attendant who stopped by to give us cold scented towels and books to read, etc. I cannot say enough about their efforts. Pro: I also want to mention the cleanliness of the pool area. I’ve experienced other resorts where there can be cups, glasses left over, attracting bugs etc. They were on it when it came to clearing items away. Room Concierge: Our room Concierge was Alejandro. This man is absolutely incredible. He made our stay fantastic. He is the epitome of excellence in customer service. Always friendly, knowledgeable, patient and hardworking. I was trying to learn some Spanish while I was there so he would teach me Spanish words. He made us feel like valued guests. He is a wonderful person and excellent at his job. Speaking of the Staff…. Secrets Akumal staff by far exceeded any staff we’ve encountered on our vacations. Every staff member was welcoming, friendly, kind and patient. I would like to specifically mention some. If you are planning to vacation at this resort these people will make your days brighter. Hostess: Marysol - what a wonderful, charming fantastic person. She made us laugh and has excellent customer service. Thank you Marysol ! Ismael at the fire pit bar. Incredible attentive service. Remembers your drink order days later. Always helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. Thank you. Same bar: the female waitstaff. I can’t remember her name I wish I could. She was wonderful as well. The Animacion/ Activities Team: This team is incredibly hardworking, energetic and amazing. Shout outs: (including activities we tried) We did turtle painting with Oliver. He is hilarious. He made our class fantastic. Con: The size of the object - it’s a fridge magnet that is tiny so it’s harder to pain with even small brushes and the activity takes like 10 minutes. Darios or “D” : We took his water aerobics class and archery classes with him. He is phenomenal. He is patient when he instructs, fun and incredibly friendly. D you’re the best! Con: This class should be longer. When you have a group of people you only get to shoot so many times because of time limits. This is something that is a good con because it means the class is so fun it should continue. Diana “tiny but strong” taught us in the Spanish class. What an amazing woman. She is patient, funny and has a heart of gold. She would run into me during our staff and we would practice Spanish. A true gem. We love you Diana. Miguel: For water volleyball he was so encouraging and fun. He took time during out stay to talk about Canada ( where we’re from) and made us feel incredibly welcomed. Thank you Miguel. Renee and the female Chef ( I can’t remember her name I’m sorry) gave us the BEST guacamole class EVER ! Renee was hilarious ! He had guests including us entertained, laughing and learning. Amazing job- thank you both ! Zayel: Manager on Duty: He was amazing. I was suffering from bug bites and nothing was working so he took time to recommend ice and cooling my legs (BIG TIP FOR THAT) which made a world of difference. He went the extra mile to visit with us and see that our stay was wonderful. Any concerns or questions we had he helped us with immediately.His customer service was fantastic. Thank you Zayel ! Bug Bites: If you unlucky enough to have this happen they are not like regular mosquito bites. Scratching them makes them expand. Heat irritates them. A tip I used was icing and/or then literally sticking my legs in the pool made a HUGE difference. Here is A Tip for the Resort: The problem with the activities is that they were limited by amount of people. Many activities had a limit of 6-10 people which is disappointing. For example pool biking. I didn’t get to do it because even though I came early, I missed out because people had already signed up. This is also an issue because the activities are not only limited to how many people, they are not offered every day. The other issue is that some of the classes aren’t long enough - e.g my archery point. And Last Food/Drinks: The Market buffet was for breakfast and lunch only. It was a nice option. The desserts and sweets were exceptional. Italian - the soup was cold, food was nothing exciting. The portion sizes are humorously small. Bordeaux (French restaurant) - The food wasn’t great. Same small portions. Seaside- not a great selection Himitsu - we didn’t get a reservation in time but we didn’t try that hard. El Patio - the menu was unappealing so we left. This is a hotel that should open their buffet for dinner especially for guests who stay longer than a week. After 2 weeks, the same menu got tiresome and we started eating larger lunches at the buffet to that we didn’t have to go to the restaurants in the evening. Coco Cafe: This is a great option for daily coffee and snacks. Great service. Drinks: The service for drinks was excellent. The fruity drinks tasted like they were mixes instead of fresh fruits. Ratings are hard because they don’t individualize - Here’s mine Service - 5 stars Room - 5 stars Food/Drinks- 3 Programs - 5 (when you can go to them) Restaurant Choices - 3 Hotel Cleanliness/Ambiance - 5 Transport to the Airport - 2 At the end of our trip when they ask for a survey I gave the food better valuation because of the buffet element. Ratings can be hard when they are blanket statements.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Nice vacation at Barcelo Maya Riviera Resort

Beautiful,clean,modern,huge buffet,polite and very hard working servers. The negative: dinner reservations very limited and took an hour to book when restaurant only half full!?! ,distance from airport, very late entertainment and no entertainment showed up on New Years! Resort had many young couples, Spanish speaking European tourists which games at bar were geared to. Snorkelling on site but better at Palace. Need to do own research of amenities at other 5 Barcelo.

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: Royal Decameron will not disappoint

If you are looking for a great resort with a wonderful Mexican feeling, with all the comforts and amenities , you will enjoy your stay here. Does not take long to get into the vibe and feel at home. The premises are very well maintained and immaculate. And yes, plenty of hot water and great water pressure . The food is very good and there is variety. Two hours after we checked in we were enjoying dinner at one of the specialty restaurants; easy accessibility to all five of them. There are many p [... read more]ools including an adult only pool. The beach is spectacular and immaculate. Easy to get beach chairs everywhere and never saw a broken one. A good sign! Service very good and friendly. Can get by well in English. They take entertainment seriously from nightly open air performances to the nightly disco. ENJOY.

Riu Santa Fe: Great resort

Everything went smooth, we had a really fun time. Lots of things to do. And the staff were great. Food and drinks were good. There is a lot of partying going on but they do offer other activities for the non partiers

The Pyramid Cancun: Not Great

We took the ocean front room which was a VIP upgrade. The resort property is great but the rooms are poorly maintained, and the customer service is extremely bad. When I say bad customer service I don’t mean someone didn’t smile back at me. The staff is overworked and look exhausted. The person who checked us in the VIP lounge said he can’t answer any questions, just download their App to look for all the information. It took several days and many calls to front desk just to get co [... read more]ffee replenished in our room. The food is mediocre and all three meals have very similar food items. We were bored of eating the same food by day 2. The ala carte restaurants have long waitlists and the app to make reservations is awful. The room are old and dingy and the bathrooms stink really bad. The resort property is really good though too bad it’s so poorly managed.

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Some Major Problems

We had requested a room beside our son and daughter -in-law so we could baby sit our 7 month old grand child while they attended a wedding at the resort.Not only were we not side by side,we were located in a separate building some distance away. it took most of our first full day at the resort to get the situation rectified. There also was not a crib as requested for the baby in her room and initially this was not going to be fixed until the next day.It required repeated requests and threats to  [... read more]obtain one late on the first night. Housekeeping was adequate, although the inclusion of hand towels was hit & miss, and face cloths only showed up once. Staff were very friendly and wait staff were attentive. We did not observe any COVID protocols in place

Grand Marival Emotions Resort and Suites: Great family resort

When you check in the staff are extremely pushy for time shares. They don’t like to take no for an answer. That started our trip out feeling annoyed. When we asked for our fridge restocked the third time they tried charging us for it. The room is clean and cool we had the ocean view and it was beautiful. The food is good. The best one was the one on the beach. Make sure to reserve when you get there as we were not informed and could only do one reservation. The Mexican festival was fun with am [... read more]azing food. Overall our family had a great trip!

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Very disappointed. This is certainly not a 5 star resort.

Rooms are no better than a Holiday Inn. Small shower in a tub making it difficult for my wife to climb into. We had requested a wheelchair to help get from A to B for my wife. They would not accommodate so we had to rent one. We wanted to have my son who lives in Playa to come and join us for an a la carte supper. No problem to pay for a day pass for him to enter the resort, $110US, but he could not go to the a la crate restaurant unless we got him a room. Food was subpar, often cold, and beca [... read more]use it is a large resort, with a lot of people, the platters were not replenished quickly. We have been to Playa 7 times previously, 2 times at the same resort. All of them were a superior value. I guess it did not start off well as our flight was delayed 4 hours leaving Halifax.

Dreams Huatulco: Great resort, amazing beach!

Service overall was excellent, very friendly and the rooms were clean. COVID adaptations in the restaurants were well executed, although of course nothing beats pre-COVID ability to serve yourself at the buffet but that's no fault of the resort.

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Just like we remembered.

Sitting by the pool having an americano. Reflecting on our first week here. Slept in a bit and missed yoga. Was a bit tired after golfing that beautiful course. We just store our clubs there and stroll over whenever we play. I have been reading all the posts for a few months now and just wanted to add my two cents worth. It’s perfect for us. I can’t think anything but positive to say about this place. Food is off the charts, staff are amazing, property and facilities are so well kept [... read more]. Never needed to save a chair, wait in line, if we can’t find what we needed someone will walk up to us and ask if we needed anything and help us. Vibe is friendly and relaxed at one pool and fun and games at the other so take your pick. Our room is spectacular. And from the rooftop you can see where the sea meets the sky. Not waves but that thin blue line. The Saturday Lobster in the buffet is just like it was last time. The lamb at Alux and Salmon at Maiko are the best meals I have had. There is one difference from last time, which doesn’t bother us, which is the change in drink offerings. There is an up charge for some premium brands, Grey Goose and Belvedere Vodka for example. We prefer Tanquerey which is available. I attached a photo of the premiums. Honestly you can have a different experience than others anywhere and if your easy going happy go lucky kind of people that appreciate the special attention to detail and good things in life you will love it here. Only things I would suggest is fill the sanitizers you have and add more. We all want Covid to be over and still protecting us from coughs and colds while enjoying our vacation is still important. Didn’t see and safety measures in place anywhere.

The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences Playa Del Carmen: Fabulous food

We had a great relaxing time staying in the all inclusive two bedroom suite at the Fives Beach hotel. First the quality and variety of food was spectacular there are prices on everything but almost everything is included with the all inclusive package. Second the staff are friendly and helpful. Third the rooms were large modern clean with plenty of storage space. Room service although a little slow was excellent for the quality of food. There is a 4 dollar charge with each delivery. The negati [... read more]ves include an expensive on site coffee shop difficulty in finding free available beach and pool chairs by late morning no hot water for showers and a very limited beach swimming area.

Riu Santa Fe: Gorgeous

We just stayed at Riu Santa Fe this past week (Jan1-9) and we absolutely loved it. Water, activities, parties, everything one can look for. We are more on the chill side and we still attended three of Riu parties. They have parties on Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat. The food was amazing, staff was great, the room was clean, spaÈ›ios and beautiful and what seemed to be newly renovated. Only downside (not for us in particular) but good to mention was the Steakhouse restaurant. We were not able to get in at [... read more] all and they don't take reservations so you have to line up for it. Even the beach, despite the red flag, was totally swimmable using caution and without going far from shore. Not for kids though. I wouldn't let my kid swim in it due to currents. Great resort, great food, amazing stay, we had a blast!!

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Did not meet our expectations.

We were supposed to be at Kantenah but got moved to colonial without notice. It was a huge day long battle getting a crib for my baby to sleep in. Resort was way too big for little kids to walk around all day. They had trolleys to get around but many times the staff refused to take my kids in the trolleys because it was for “adults only”. Buffets had so much selection and lots of fresh food. However buffet staff weren’t great, we never got beverages brought to our table. The kids club was [... read more] good. We loved all the live music at the resort. There was a massive pool and great water slides for the kids. Beach was disappointing as it had garbage all along the shore line with drug dealers approaching us daily on the beach. The ocean was very rocky, bring water shoes. The zoo animals were completely unnecessary as there was plenty of wildlife to see. We found it very sad to see crocodiles and flamingos pent up.

Grand Palladium Kantenah: lovely resort

we enjoyed our stay at the Grand Palladium, however we were supposed to stay in the Kentanah section and our group was scattered between Colonial and Kentanah...my spouse and I were far from our family with small children ( who could have used our help). We also had issues with securing a baby bed/play pen for which we had reserved many months prior...we were told that it was on a first come basis...The first night was harried needless to say as everyone was very tired and baby would not settle  [... read more]in an adult bed...finally at midnight she went to sleep...only to be woken up at 630 am with a phone call...to say that a crib would come at 9am...(why such an early call)..the crib finally arrived at 10:30 am!

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Grand Palladium Kantenah, Mezico

We recently travelled to the above resort for our sons wedding. We were required to be in Toronto to fly Sunwing at 3:00am for a 6:25am flight . We were advised just before the flight that no plane was available with Sunwing and they instead rented a plane from Portugal with Portuguese flight staff. 6 hours later we took off in the most uncomfortable plane we had ever been on. We were served water and two Oreo cookies for a four hour flight. We did get a $20 lunch voucher from Sunwing in Toronto [... read more] but our only choice was Tim Hortons or Subway. We landed in Mexico and we’re put on a bus for a one and a half hour drive to the resort. Upon arrival at the resort we discovered we had not been assigned a room (there were 40 plus members who travelled for the wedding!) we were given a room on the third floor (we are both seniors but we’re up for 36 hours and decided we had no energy left to go back to checkin to change our room) For the first two days of our stay we had NO room service. Also on the second day we lost all hydro and air conditioning in our unit. I called three times only to be told some one would come. Several hours later my husband called and told them they had 15 min to get someone there to repair the issue and restore hydro. Sure enough someone showed up and replaced an overheated breaker! In order to get our room cleaned on the third day I waited for a housekeeper in another unit and using a translator asked to have the room cleaned which they did. For the remaining g four days we had our room cleaned. Our mini fridge was filled sporadically. We had to hunt down the fellow to get bottled water. The resort itself is huge and absolutely beautiful! The weather all week was 30 degrees. Restaurants were ok at best and we tended to stick to the Buffets for variety. My husband was extremely I’ll with fever cough etc. when we returned home we both tested positive for COVID. There was absolutely no distancing and no hand disinfectant available through out the resort. My husband and I took shuttles everywhere and felt the layout was more geared to younger people and not for seniors or anyone with mobility issues.

Barcelo Huatulco: First time to Huatulco! We are so impressed!

We finally made it to Huatulco, and we are sold! We will return for sure! From the moment we arrived at the airport (we were the only plane that landed at the time!) we found the airport staff and security to be friendly. We got through security within minutes and were on our way to the Barcelo. Such beautiful winding roads and incredible scenery on our way to the resort. Upon arrival, we were welcomed immediately, checked in and offered a special drink at the Premium Lounge. The staff in  [... read more]the Premium Lounge were ALWAYS friendly and helpful. I believe Victor is the name of the gentleman who always made our drinks. Such a nice man. We booked Premium Oceanfront because we want a la cartes every night, ocean front room and nice balcony. We were thrilled with our room! We were even able to have an a la carte on our first night, thanks to the Premium Lounge staff! I did not get the names of the ladies in the Premium Lounge, but they were consistently helpful, always smiling and giving their best to their customers. We were in Room 234. Gorgeous room, comfy bed, amazing view. The one suggestion is to have better coffee in the room. The coffee in the lobby is terrific, but in the room it is way too weak, unfortunately. The only downside to this room is if there are weddings, it can be quite loud until 11:15 PM. We requested to have our room tidied up before lunch, and it was always done for us! Again, the staff are super friendly and accommodating. We had the pleasure of LUZ welcoming us with her beautiful smile every morning at the Breakfast buffet. Breakfasts were always delicious, lots of choices! Lunch was always at La Tortuga because the main buffet did not open for lunch until 2:00 PM. We never had any issues finding something scrumptious to eat at lunch! You have to try the fabulous pork tacos!!! Our favourite waiters were Angel, and I believe Francisco. Angel, our singing waiter was absolutely amazing. He made our day. We feel having a little extra personal service goes a LONG way! Francisco, quieter, but so professional and kind. We always had terrific service in this restaurant! I am sorry if I didn't get everyone's name, but thank you to ALL of you. Making an la carte reservations, having Premium is quick and easy! We prefer a 6:30 seating and enjoyed a la cartes every single night we were at the resort, 6 Italian, 6 Mexican and 2 Japanese. All had exceptional service! We absolutely loved the Italian for the superb and friendly, attentive service, the amazing and talented piano man (that added so much to our time in the restaurant) and of course the food!!! The Mexican was lovely, as you could sit outside and it was very private, and again fantastic service, delicious menu choices and very private and romantic. We were able to reserve the Japanese twice. It is a bit trickier to get into as there is limited seating. Mariano was exceptional. The lady that made the sushi was lovely and the food delicious! We did not eat off the resort. We felt there were enough choices and we wanted to try as much as we could while there! (one suggestion might be to have one more a la carte choice if possible!) Special people that really stood out for us were, Angel, Francisco, Luz and Gabby (first met Gabby in the Mexican) Fernando, the beach waiter, such a young gentleman, so kind and professional. We were impressed with all staff, but these members stood out for just going out of their way to make our stay a bit more personal. Now for the beach - WOW is all we can say! Pristine, clean, no seaweed, swimmable and absolutely lovely. You can also snorkel right off the Barcelo beach close to the island or to the left in front of the Dreams resort. It's not lots, but you can see different fish. You can book to have a kayak for an hour or go on a catamaran ride. The weather is perfect here, not one rainy or cloudy day! Walking outside the resort, you don't find garbage, or litter anywhere. It is absolutely beautiful and safe and friendly. We enjoyed the two shops in the resort and did purchase a few items. We also walked across the street to shop and found more treasures to bring home! We took a taxi to La Crucecita and to Santa Cruz. Very cheap and fun to explore both little towns. We went on one excursion (through WestJet) Fun in the Sun. It was definitely worth the $54.00 per person. We left the lobby at 9:20 AM and were back to the resort just before 4:00 PM. Abel was our guide and Louis Sr and Jr our captains. They were a wealth of information along the way. We were fortunate enough to see humpback whales! We stopped at two bays, one to snorkel at (terrific snorkelling) and one to have lunch! Breathtaking views, secluded bays, fantastic service and scrumptious lunch!!!! I did aquafit most days and did the stretching class once. The instructors were always friendly and professional and fun!! The activities staff were a lot of fun, very friendly and tried hard to get people involved! I could go on and on about this resort and this area. We did try the Fish Spa, even though I had to drag my husband in!!! It was wonderful and the best part being able to visit with Albino and his lovely wife Marta. Our feet felt so nice and soft afterwards. We would highly recommend this spa and we would do this again!! We will absolutely return and definitely recommend the Barcelo Huatulco. Thank you for making our stay absolutely memorable! Dave and Laurinda Heiberg

Grand Sunset Princess: Lovely Resort

Travelled to Grand Sunset Princess the week of December 4 – 11, 2022. Our party had six people, two couples and two singles. Age ranges from 28 to 53. There was my boyfriend and I, we’ve stayed at this resort before, my sister and her boyfriend, our friend Mike and my sister’s son in the third room. Overall, I would highly recommend this resort to anyone, the grounds are lovely, there is a lot to see and do, lots of pools, lots of restaurants, ample wildlife to see. I will return again as  [... read more]soon as I can find a carrier that is NOT Sunwing. Our Sunwing flight to Mexico was delayed 3 hours. The plane was available, they just had no staff to fly the plane. It’s frustrating to see your plane sitting there for hours when you know you should be in the swimming pool already. Unfortunately, Air Canada has a monopoly on Pearson and won’t allow Sunwing to use Terminal 3. So, if you ever see on your boarding pass gate B26, that means you go to B26, cram into a tight shuttle bus, it ambles across the tarmac, down a tunnel under the runways, comes up in no man’s land and you end up at the Sunwing terminal. There really isn’t anything to do in that terminal, one sandwich shop but that’s about it. I’m fairly certain it was on that cramped shuttle bus, that I contracted a cold which developed on day two of the trip after which point, I spent the remainder of the week in bed sleeping. Since our flight was delayed, we ended up landing at the Cancun airport later than expected which worked out in our favour as there was no line up to check in when we arrived at the hotel. We got there in the evening and check in for our three rooms was very quick. We ended up in rooms 3006, 3005 and 3003. I guess someone had checked into 3004 before we got there. All the rooms were lovely, we had upgraded to have swim out rooms. We booked about six months in advance as we really wanted a swim out room. They give you direct access to the pool, a nice quiet area that runs past all the swim out rooms and is also connected to the main pool so you can swim over to the swim up bar if you wish. My sister was in 3005, there was some damage on the floor where previous guests had dragged the furniture around. So, I guess cosmetic updates to some rooms would be in order. The rooms were comfortable, I enjoyed the bed and the pillows. I thought the TV was a little small. I know, it’s paradise and who cares about tv (except I was sick almost the whole week so the tv was my only entertainment). Our shower set up, also in my sister’s room, was a little problematic, the seal around the shower door doesn’t really keep the water in so the entire bathroom floor would end up wet. I can see some room for improvement there, it would mean we’d use less towels to mop up the mess. The mini fridge in the room was stocked well, lots of water, soft drinks, and beers. And once a day someone would stop by and knock to see if we wanted anything extra for the fridge. My sister’s boyfriend locked himself out of the safe and had to have maintenance come open it for him, they were fast and friendly. I also had room service one night in the room, prices were reasonable. Another area for improvement might be the wifi. It seemed to work only sometimes in our rooms. My friend seemed to think there was a limit to how much internet you could use. Again, it’s paradise who needs to surf the net, but my point is, the resort wants you to book all the a la carts on their app, you need wifi for that. The Layout: Is great. Everything is relatively flat so it’s good for people with bad knees like me. Yes, there are three storeys to the resort but there are elevators, one behind each lobby and at the opposite end closest to the beach end of the property. The resort is really like two resorts side by side. You’ve got the Grand Riviera Princess and the Grand Sunset Princess. They run parallel to each other. So if ever you think the lobby looks a little off from what you remember, you might be in the lobby of the other resort. They look like mirror images of each other. The great part about this resort is that you’ve got options on how you want to get around. If you like the scenery, walk in the centre of the two resorts, the paths are lovely and landscaped, lots of critters to see and beautiful plants. If it’s raining and you don’t want to get wet, you can walk through the ground floor of the resort, and it’s completely covered as it winds its way past all the hotel rooms. And if you are lazy like me or under the weather, you can catch the trolly. It runs 24 hours a day. You can catch it behind the lobby, ground floor behind the shops. That’s the main trolly stop, it runs back and forth from the lobby down to the beach area. You can also walk on this path as well and flag down the trolly whenever it goes past, they ask which room you’re in and they stop close to your part of the building. If you are checking in or checking out, you can also request a smaller cart to bring you and your luggage to your room or back to the lobby, just arrange it with the lobby. Restaurants: There are two main buffets, they are right beside each other, one is orange, one is green. They serve the same thing as each other so it doesn’t matter which one you go to. They are on the Riviera side. Most of the a la carts are all above the two buffets, so it’s convenient having all everything together. Also in this same area is the spa, gym and disco. And a sports bar with pool tables and great burgers. For breakfasts if you don’t want to trek all the way to the front of the resort for the main buffet, each of the two resorts also has another buffet that is open for breakfast, it is close to the pools and beach. These little buffets also are a la carts in the evenings. Booking a la carts, they want you to use the Princess app too book. Here is my beef with that, it will only let you book for the room you are in. IE, I was room 3006 and I wanted to book for all 6 of us that were in our party, the app would only let me book for 2 because that was how many people were registered to my room. If you want to book for a bigger group or for multiple rooms, you’ll still have to go up to the lobby to the concierge table and book with them in person. There is room for improvement for the resort to upgrade the app so you can book for larger parties. I can’t speak for the actual food at the a la carts because I never visited any because I was sick. I just made it to the buffets a few times, it was okay. I’ve had better but I’ve had a lot worse too. The resort offers a shuttle that goes into playa del carmen a few times a day. It’s cheaper than taking a taxi. I recommend taking the shuttle to Playa and then taking a taxi back to the resort when you’ve had enough shopping. Our friend Mike ended up with lots of bug bites. Not sure what kind or where from. I think he was the only person in our group that went to the beach so that might be the issue. Don’t forget to pack your bug spray in case. The other five of us never got bitten by anything all week. Perhaps Mike is just the tastiest. Of course, he was also the one that ended up pooped on as well, not sure if it was a monkey in a tree or a bird. Do keep in mind that there is a lot of wildlife around so keep your food locked up tight. I saw the coati’s grab people’s bags and run, I’m sure the monkeys are the same. The cats and iguanas aren’t quite as bold. The trip from the resort back to the Cancun airport was painful, there is construction going on and it’s very slow going. Our return flight home was also delayed by 3 hours and even after we landed at Pearson and went through the crowded shuttle thing all over again, the baggage carousel wasn’t working so that was another hour. I was sick and tired and vowed to never again travel with Sunwing. As for the resort, I definitely need a do over on my vacation and am already dreaming and planning on when I’ll return. It’s a lovely resort.

Riu Flamingos: Nice resort.

We Do Know Riu Jalisco, we were few times and will come again. Nice surroundings, with many Trees close to beach. Good service close to beach, and very nice people. Restaurants always clean and service is awesome. For Christmas was outstanding ! Really wow - breathtaking food and decorating. It was very welcoming and warm. Rooms very clean and drinks always filled up. Thank You For Your Kindness. Best Regards Richard and Yola