Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya: Fabulous!

We recently returned from a one week stay at Secrets Capri. Everything about this resort was just wonderful. The resort is a bit smaller but I think that allows the staff to add a personal touch to the guests. The room was large and exactly as shown on the web site. The food was terrific and each restaurant knew when my husband had specific food allergies without us even mentioning it. The beach is nice and we went for long walks to enjoy the weather and view. We spent a lot of time by the p [... read more]ool and were impressed with the daily entertainment. On most days they had something different but it was tasteful and very fitting for the resort and its guests. The evening shows were also really impressive. They hire professional entertainment and most of it was great. We especially liked the Queen tribute and casino night was a blast! The best part of our experience was the staff. They are all outstanding and hard working. We were very impressed by their professionalism and attitude. If you’re looking for a huge party resort, where they blast loud music all day, this is not the place for you. But if you are looking for a chic, and elegant experience then I highly recommend it. I would certainly return to this resort.

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: From Snow to Sand and Heaven

We had enough of the cold up north and decided to jet down to our favorite are, the Mayan Riviera. We were recommended to stay at this lovely resort, Valentin Maya, Not disappointed. Short ride from the airport (

Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun: A Wonderful Resort

We stayed for one week in Late March. We absolutely loved and enjoyed the week. The staff was the highlight, in my opinion, courteous, accommodating and kind. The best service ever! The rooms were spacious and the king size bed was very comfortable. The entire property was spotless! The food: Although a matter of taste, we did not enjoy at any of the restaurants. If anything, we found the food amateurish and mediocre. Our least favourite was the Japanese that for some reason, was the mo [... read more]st popular. The meat was tough and everything else was tasteless. The buffet However, was delicious with a decent variety of dishes. The service in all restaurants was exceptional. The nightly shows, except the Mexican show, we’re not enjoyable to us, but everyone seemed to have fun. We loved the grounds, the beach and the pool area, but the music filtered throughout the pool area was unnecessary. The only quiet area was the beach. Overall, we loved our stay and would highly recommend this property to our friends.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Great vacation

Food was good at the buffets. Our favorite specialty restaurants, French amazing, Steakhouse very good, Seafood, salmon was delicious. Any concerns we had were addressed promptly and without question. Pool was clean. Only used the pool by the beach once. Shuttle service came regularly. Servers were very friendly and efficient. Weather was great. Another entry (steps) at the small pool would be nice. Climbing up on the ledge can be difficult for some, including me. Would return.

El Dorado Seaside Suites: Can’t wait to return!!

The resort is gorgeous and immaculate. The staff go above and beyond at all times. I have never stayed anywhere else that pay so much attention to the guests. Entertainment was awesome!! Great bands. 80’s, Jazz, reggae. The had it all. The food went beyond anything I imagined. Definitely try the “Stone Soup” it’s so good!!! Would highly recommend this resort!! It was the most relaxed I’ve ever been on any vacation. The spa is not to be missed.

Allegro Playacar: our second visit

We really appreciated the smaller size and very personable staff at Allegro Playacar. Everything is convenient , the grounds are immaculate and very beautiful. The beach is first class lined with palm trees never a problem finding a lounger unlike so many resorts. It is especially convenient for taking tours or just getting a cab into 5th Ave.,Playa del Carmen. Our second visit was every bit as enjoyable as the first.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: AMAZING!! Soooo Beautiful !!!!

This is the most gorgeous resort ever. The rooms were a good size, up to date, well supplied, and lovely, the linens were excellent quality. The water pressure was good and temperature well controlled with quick hot water available, and all was well taken care of. The grounds and buildings are always well maintained. With the canals and interlinking pools and the wildlife, what a well planned and gorgeous place. The eco/nature theme is done really well, with the nature paths, and there are rui [... read more]ns actually on the property. It's cool to see the monkeys and all the variety of birds up close in their natural habitat. Our balcony faced the trees and monkeys and birds were a regular sight at the balcony. It's an easy boat ride or short walk to the Xcaret park from a couple of entrances right from the resort. The beach is small but lots of sand, and palms, and 3 levels to choose from with the platform beds or hammocks on upper levels. It could possibly use more beach chairs. The swim area isn't much deeper than a pool, and is calm which is great for families or those just wanting a relaxing time in the water. The buffet restaurants are huge with lots of variety, and there are lots of a la carte restaurants to choose from with excellent food, and bars in good locations. They even had a sports bar. There was entertainment each night, and what we saw was all very good, and they were thoughtful to include entertainment for the kids at earlier hours. They have lots of stores on site, and merchants coming in with crafts, etc. various evenings during the week. The people are friendly and all very helpful. It was a wonderful stay, leaving me to want to go back again very soon, we just LOVED IT !!!

El Dorado Seaside Suites: Winter Escape

This will be my first time writing a resort review, but I thought I had some good information to share. I will start with saying that the El Dorado Seaside Suites is a very large property, however they have shuttle service that runs very frequently so if you have mobility issues it would be too hard to walk every where being so spread out. It is also over 80km from the Cancun airport so take note of the long drive to your destination depending on the time you arrive, we happen to hit rush ho [... read more]ur and it was pouring rain adding more time to the trip,so it felt like a very long drive. The food is amazing ... with many dining options. There is a Starbucks in building 6 but take note it is not included in your package so you will be paying for that separately, two Cappuccinos was about $8 US and they didn't seem to have any evening hours, so we just started ordering our coffee at the restaurants .. A coffee bar would have been nice at certain times... They offer plenty of daytime activities, wine and tequila tasting, foam party in main pool, name that tune, coconut painting to name a few and the entertainment team were awesome. They are plenty of things to attend in the evening after dinner.... they had a fire show, and a circus show while we were there and often different areas that have things going on rather then at a main theatre like other resorts but, there is entertainment, it just seemed to be a little more low key and on a smaller scale. We had a oceanfront swim up jacuzzi suite, in the Infinity section. It was on the 2nd floor and from our deck there was a lazy river that ran around the side of the building, at first I thought this would be great however it was covered and shaded so the water was very cold. The lower level oceanfront pool swim out rooms have direct access to the main pool but take note those rooms seemed to only get sun in the morning and do cost more. I would say it was harder on the Infinity side by the pool to get full sun then shade and usually its the other way around, finding shade is never a problem here the seating areas around the pool have tons of palm trees above you. If your a sun worshiper you might want a spot on the beach instead, but the beach on the Infinity side is not great for swimming its very rocky. But there is a lovely sandy beach on the palm side of the resort for wading but again no swimming its very shallow. So if your a beach lover you may be disappointed. The resort staff are wonderful no complaints. I think this resort is very suitable for some much needed R& R, its a nice winter escape, it offers great service, great food, comfy beds and nice clean rooms everything is well maintained and all deserve the 5* rating. However for me I didn't like the access to the pool (climbing a few levels of stairs to get into the pool )and the beach was not my favorite and then the long drive from the airport so for those personal reasons I may not recommend this property.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Great resort ... but a few things to note

The Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda is a great resort. The beach is wonderful with lots of water activities: catamaran, kayaks, swimming (rocky bottom but just walk down the beach and you can find a sandy spot to swim). The buffets were great with lots of variety each day, the main buffet had the most variety. The a la carte restaurants were good. My favourites were the French restaurant and the Mexican restaurant. The oriental restaurant had slow service and the food only okay. We did not make it t [... read more]o the steak restaurant as we saved it for our last day and it wasn’t open that day. I was not aware that some a la carte restaurants were only open some days. The staff were friendly and helpful. Our first night was not the greatest though. We arrived at 9pm and were given a room with one king bed (I was travelling with a friend and we requested 2 beds). If that were the only mishap, it wouldn’t have been bad but our room smelled of sewerage, mold and had at least 50 mosquitos in it when we arrived. We requested a room switch and were told that we could not switch until the following day. That night the air conditioner dripped all night long and when we woke up the next morning there was a puddle of water an inch deep. Luckily we didn’t leave any bags on the floor or they would have been wet. We were switched the next day into building 5 and had no other problems for the rest of the trip. Our travel agent Dianne was wonderful. One of the Air Canada Vactions staff at the resort was rude and unhelpful when I approached however we spoke with a different representative the next day, her name is Anna, and she was absolutely wonderful.

The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences Playa Del Carmen: Great stay at The Fives Azul

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this resort. We travelled with our 1.5 yr old daughter and the room setup and layout of the resort made it enjoyable. We had a ground floor, 1 bedroom suite steps from the pool. The pools are spread out along most of the rooms so most people are close to a pool. This was perfect for us as we could be at the pool with our baby monitor and baby napping 20 feet away. The double balcony allowed us to easily slip outside when she napped as well. The food was good  [... read more]for the most part. The room service food wasn’t great. The downfall for us was that there are no informal dining options or places to grab food to go. Our little one wasn’t interested in sitting down 3 times a day and it also made it difficult to find snacks for her between meals. Unfortunately my husband and I both got food poisoning one night after eating at the Koh Thai restaurant. The beach is small but nice clear sand and water which they work hard to maintain. The grounds are very lush and extremely well maintained. Despite the food poisoning we would likely return.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Beautiful

Its a lovely resort it was second visit..was there about 7 years ago....I love the walking ..and the food was excellent especially at the beach lunch buffet ...we however could rarely find a place to sit at the pool or on the beach but what ever I'm away from the canadian cold so I will sit on the ground I'm so happy to be on vacation....staff were great and always friendly ...all in all very happy 😊

Breathless Riviera Cancun: Exquisite attention to detail.

The hotel was just breathless! Very clean and so much attention to detail! Workers and staff everywhere all the time working very hard to ensure all the guests have a beautiful place from the beach to the front gates! Each was very clean at all times. The only down sides I would have to say is that their 24 hour buffet isn’t 24 hours. It closes at 4pm daily and the main restaurants are open only at 6 so you have to go to the beach pool area for burgers etc. Room service was great but alway [... read more]s 1 hour wait so make sure you aren’t starved! Also on the last night before we left I had put my two piece bikini on a chair on our swim up patio to dry, which is accessable only to the other 4 rooms adjacent to us by pool, when I woke up in the morning to get the suit, my bottoms were missing. I checked the pool and the area around, also in our room in case I miss placed it. I waited till getting home to check my baggage thoroughly and yup they were taken. I don’t know why someone would take someone’s bikini thongs, I know they were super cute cause I bought them just for this trip, Anyhow other than that I have no complaints about this place! Don’t get talked into the “club” presentation. We were told it would take 90 min but 2 1/2 hours later, 😳 but they paid for our excursion and a show so I guess it was worth it.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Amazing Resort! If you're looking for good food and Beach this is your spot!

We were skeptical to book because the pictures looked absolutely amazing, but sometimes things are different when you get there. I must say we were not disappointed! The service, food, Beach and really everything was perfect! We upgraded to a swim out room and I would definitely recommend the upgrade! The food was probably our favorite part of the whole trip! Every single restaurant aside from Tex-Mex we loved! Eldorado was our favorite and Hunter Steakhouse! The Caribbean BBQ on the beach was a [... read more]lso an amazing experience! I did think the nightly entertainment should be extended for longer hours, but the other Resort had lots going on after 10 p.m.. The beach massage service is based on tips and they are absolutely amazing and way cheaper than the spa. Tip Victor well and he will cater to your every need! I was disappointed when I saw the spa prices. Vacations are expensive enough and I've never seen Spa prices that High ever! However it did look wonderful, but I doubt they could beat the massage service on the beach! In a way we booked just for the spa, but ended up getting massages everyday on the beach instead and we're just as happy! If you're worried about the beach I was in the same boat reading some of the reviews on here. They have a bobcat that goes all morning taking the seaweed off Resort so don't worry! There beaches are some of the better ones I've seen in Mexico. Sand all the way out and no Coral or rocks to worry about. However with that being said the snorkeling around the resort is a little boring, but their snorkeling Excursion is amazing! I would definitely recommend the catamaran snorkeling Excursion. Is its only $50 and is so much fun and 3 hours long! Definitely worth it. We saw a couple sea turtles, but the crew ahead of us saw a hammerhead shark! So there is lots to see! Another perk I liked about this resort was that Grey Goose was not a top-shelf liquor that you had to pay for. We didn't figure this out until our 5th day so I thought I would mention it on here! Take advantage! All the drinks were amazing! They don't cheap out on anything at this place! I hope this review was helpful. Also, there is construction going on for new resort on the other side of building 1 so I would recommend if you are there to ask to be facing the pool so you don't have to look at it. Although it might be nice to look at the ocean every morning ❤. The swim outs facing the ocean (building 1), and in building two or three are the best ones! We were in building 1 facing the pool and they were a little cold as they didn't get much sun during the day. But I still loved it! So amazing to be able to wake up and go on your patio and dive in! Another bonus is that you are only 10 minutes from the airport!

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Excellent Resort for the 2nd Time!

Extremely clean resort. Staff, waiters, bartenders, all awesome people. They took care of your needs promptly. Easy check-in upon early arrival and room was ready and clean which was a bonus. Food once again was fantastic at all the Al a carte restaurants. Beach was much better this year as previous year due to the seaweed but only mother nature can fix that! Only negative is that there could be more beach and pool chairs available.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Wonderful vacation resort

The Barcelo Maya Palace is a wonderful resort. The staff is friendly & always smiling. The food was first rate. I tried many different drinks that I thoroughly enjoyed. The on sight shopping was very good. Our tour guides to Tulum & Playa Del Carmen were fun & informative. The rooms & the whole complex were clean & well kept. We would certainly consider returning for another fun filled vacation. The only down point is that people reserve the lounges by the pool early in the morning (7am) so t [... read more]hat there were no lounges available when we came out later. Most of these lounges were not occupied most of the day.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Great Resort

First time at a 5 star for us. Enjoyed all the amenities. It was busy as it was the US March break so lots of kids on the Royalton side. We spent our days in the Hideway area but enjoyed most of the restaurants. Was difficult to get into the Japanese restaurant. Like the idea of the door 'key' on your bracelet. No worries about carrying around a door key. As per previous reviews, it is a strange way to clean off the weeds from the beach. They use a bobcat. You would think tha [... read more]t the first pass in the morning, they would use some type of rake. We had an ocenview room which faced also the Hideway pool with balcony Jacuzzi. The hot water for the Jacuzzi was very slow. Also no instructions on how to plug the drain. After a while, found a lever behind a panel on the Jacuzzi. Trip back home which was via Sunwing was delayed 1 hour.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Grand bahia principe coba Mayan Riviera

Lovely resort. Suite was nice and clean. Lots of restaurants for a LA carte dinners. Kukulcan buffet restaurant had huge variety of food. Air Canada Rep really helpful with planning excursions. On the down side, floor dangerously slippery in Kulukan buffet and lobby stairs. Alot more tip requirements than I expected. My daughter's brand new laptop stolen from our suite. Was too big to put in safe box. Bus ride from airport was two hrs.

Riu Playacar: Great resort all around.

Very clean, great food choices, lots to do for couples and kids/families. Shopping is across the street. We were very sceptical about visiting Mexico but had a great time with the kids 3 and 7 months. We felt very safe and would definitely return.

Iberostar Waves Quetzal: Another terrific week

We loved the grounds and staff. A jungle in the middle of the resort with loads of animals roaming about was a pleasure to walk through and see everyday. The beach is incredible as it enabled a 3 or 4 km walk everyday. Food is good. Staff are excellent and super helpful. Very safe, very clean.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Fabulous resort

Fabulous resort. We were well received at the hotel no problems. The only thing that was negative is trying to find the right line to catch the plane. Not organized at the airport or signs and people from sunwing were not available. My ride to the airport was 45 min late because we were waiting for one more couple that finally never showed up in the end leaving us 2 min to spare before hoping on the plane then they changed the gate to upstairs instead of down so we ran and made it at the last mi [... read more]n. We were tired and stressed