Accommodations and food was good. The room was fairly standard and clean. The food lacked variety but the selection was authentic Mexican. There were beach and poolside lounging options and it was easy to secure a space. The price was very good and it was a great value. The vendors were not too pushy and the beachside massages were awesome. Staff were all very friendly and the weather was amazing.
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Oceanlover85 -
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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!
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Grand Sens Cancun: Excellent Vacation
We had a great time at the Grand Sens from Feb 4th - 14th. We stayed in a standard room, which was kept very clean by staff and had a view of the ocean and pool. Buffet was decent, and we tried all the a la cartes with the exception of Benezuzu as you need to pay for that one if you don't have the Sian K'aan upgrade. White Box had great wood fired pizza but Careyes was our favorite, we did that one twice for lunch and twice for dinner. Pirate show, Burlesque show and Caberet were all excelle[... read more]nt and a lot of fun. Our favorite staff were Lizette and Hervin at the beach, they treated us like old friends and offered very attentive and friendly service. Luis and Hugo at Careyes also provided great care in their service. Beach was not large, but full of soft sand and you could walk out quite a ways into the ocean as there were few rocks or seaweed. Two suggestions - Bali beds at the pool should be replaced with loungers to offer more available seating area. If you didn't get up early enough to reserve a spot you had nowhere to sit as there were only ten beds available and no other ways to sit by the pool. Second, please replace the broken plastic beach loungers, they are a danger to guests who might get injured using them and as there are fewer wooden and blue mesh lounge chairs than plastic ones, they are usually what remains behind for guests who don't get up early enough to reserve the more comfortable chairs. Other than that we have no issues with the resort, it was a great time and we would return.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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Marival Emotions Resort and Suites Riviera Nayarit: Simply the best
Finally, a resort we were fully enjoying in every aspect (as an extended family):
- 20-30 minutes away (depending on the traffic) from the airport
- clean rooms with functional A/C; furniture reasonably dated
- thoughoutful layout and scenic view
- clean territory and amenities
- AWESOME food selection at the buffet and snack bar
- WARM swimming pools
- lively animation
- quality Kids/Teens club (arcades, pool, pingpong, air hockey)
- convenient ocean access
My only issue was quite a[... read more] bit of smoking by the pools and at the lounge area. Overall, amazing. Definitely coming back.
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Annie -
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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
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Drmr5600 -
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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.
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YoginiCarol -
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Riu Palace Baja California: Resort offered great dining but activities were limited.
We visited the Barcelo 9 years ago and wanted to experience it again. The resort is very clean and offers beautiful and lush surroundings. Rooms are spacious and comfortable. Love “La Palapa†for breakfast and the Italian and Sunset Grill for dinner. The Caracol had a really great lunch menu. Our only disappointment was having to book reservations for a la carte restaurants daily rather than in advance and that wifi was costly for regular guest. We were not informed of the “premium†opt[... read more]ion. All in all a great vacation.
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Cheryl -
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El Cozumeleno Beach: Amazing Resort
It was the best vacation I have ever been on we will be coming back next year a hope to stay for 2 weeks love every bit of it food .weather , room was excellent . Thank you so much for the amazing holiday.
Cheryl & Melissa
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Cmaggs55 -
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Sunscape Cancun Resort and Spa: Wonderful Family Resort
We stayed at the Panama Jack Cancun hotel in early February 2020. I was celebrating a milestone birthday and they had decorated the room beautifully and left cake and chocolates.
This is a smaller resort than we have been to before but they still had plenty to do through your the day.
There are 2 buffet restaurants and 3 sit down restaurant one Italian and a Mexican and a casual healthy restaurant. We didn’t eat at all the restaurants because they don’t take reservations so you eit[... read more]her have to wait 8 pm or you have to eat at just before 6pm. I think that they could improve my rating of the hotel by taking reservations. I would have liked to eat more at the restaurants but my kids are generally impatient and liked to options that the buffets offered. The buffet were rotated for an Asian options and then some kids of grill style. I would have liked to see more Mexican tacos available for every meal as I love them and could eat them all the time. My favourite part of the whole resort was the coffee shop which was always stocked with fresh baked goods and cookies and you could get a expresso or latte. My kids loved the chocolate cookies and the iced coffees. The staff at the coffee shop were lovely. We thought Luis at the coffee shop was fabulous.
The beach was amazing and it was super fun to play in the waves and boogie board. The kids loved the waterslides and pool. Adults were not allowed on the waterslides which is unfortunate as I like a fun waterslide! My kids 9 and 11 yrs old were not into the kids club and felt it was too babyish for them. They have the hash tag for 13 yr olds and up. I think this would be a great place for kids 10 and up as the teens were not into going to it so the facility is virtually empty. Some of the staff were super rigid about the age of restriction of the kids. We had to asked for special permission from the manager for our kids to use the hashtag and once they had permission my kids would hang out there every day. It’s a beautiful room and it is a shame that it is not being used by the older kids. I believe they need to lower the age limit as the kids club doesn’t appeal to the kids under 8 yrs old. They need something for the tweens.
They had some great shows in the evenings at 8 pm. I would highly recommend the fire show on the beach and the forest circus, and the magic show with the dinner. The Latin and Mexican dancing was great too but didn't Interest my tween boys. The lounge bar has some great bands as well. There is no disco at the resort.
We really enjoyed our stay and I would recommend it ! Wish I was back there now !!
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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.
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Be mine 14 -
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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.
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TVWINE -
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The Pyramid Cancun: Fantastic Resort!
This was our second time to the Pyramid at Grand Oasis and we discovered and tried a few more restaurants. Our room was clean with lots of towels, the beach was great although it was windy the week we were there. The evening entertainment is absolutely spectacular. VIP check in/out was fast and efficient and the staff are friendly and courteous. We would definitely recommend this resort.
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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
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Toots -
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Buenaventura Grand Hotel and Great Moments: Great resort!
We have been at this resort 3 times over the past 3 years. The grounds, food and especially the staff are exceptional. Always someone willing to help. The access to downtown is a big plus to our time there.
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Angus1234 -
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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
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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.