Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Love every minute!

Traveled to Blue Bay Grand Esmerelda for a last minute vacation in early January 2018. Overall we were very happy with the resort and would recommend visiting! Our room was near the back of the resort which meant we had about 10 mins walk to the beach but the plus side is that we were very close to the quieter pool, main buffet, front desk, booking excursions, gym, and a smaller buffet. We requested to move to closer to the beach and the staff was very accommodating, but we ultimately decided to [... read more] stay where we were. The food was amazing and there was no shortage of fresh guac which won me over! We had no trouble getting into any of the a la cartes, very easy to book and all were pretty good. The drinks were great, tons of selection with the option to ask for premium booze. Would highly recommend making the 10 min walk on the beach (to the left) as it leads to a beautiful cenote.

Catalonia Yucatan: Great resort and a safe area

The rooms are a bit dated (especially the bathrooms) but they're very well kept and clean. My friend upgraded to a "Privileged" room and her bathroom was a lot nicer (renovated, large walk-in shower) although the room was similar to ours. We had a room overlooking the pool (had asked for a quiet area). It was quite noisy during the day but by 10-11pm, it was completely silent so we had peaceful nights. The food is solid at all the restos. For the a la carte, we tried the Spanish, Italian, Japane [... read more]se and steakhouse. The Spanish wasn't good (better food at the buffets and I got food poisoning). The Italian is solid. The Japanese and steakhouse were fantastic. The water was great - not too deep and very calm with some rocky areas. The resort has plenty of activities to keep busy with - kayaking, snorkeling, biking etc. Also, it's within a gated a community so we felt very safe walking/biking outside the resort and into the little town area. Lastly, the staff is wonderful - very friendly and helpful. There were a few times where I dined by myself at the buffets and it took half the meal for anyone to even give me a glass of water, but will give the benefit of the doubt and thinking it might have been due to a shift change since otherwise the service was great.

Grand Sunset Princess: Beautiful resort-food disappointing

We returned to the Grand Sunset Princess for our third time. We haven't been here for 6 years and some things have changed. First, let me say that the resort is very well maintained, the grounds are immaculate and the rooms still look good. We did stay in the Platinum suites so I cannot say how the other rooms are but ours was nice. The Platinum pool area and bar are well worth the money and the staff in this area are excellent. Staff everywhere on the resort are accommodating and very fri [... read more]endly except Jose the shuttle bus driver (we called him smiley because he never did nor did he ever speak other than grunt). Our only complaint and it's a deal breaker for us....the food was NOT good. We only ate in ala cart restaurants so no buffets. Again, the last 2 times we were here the food was really good but not any more. The only two out of 7 that were good was the Italian and the Japanese. The rest were pretty BAD. We heard this complaint over and over again from other guests. Ok I lied I have another complaint- don't go here if you don't like raccoons roaming freely around...under your chair, on the beach, by the pools EVERYWHERE. They are everywhere...hundreds of them. My wife was a nervous around them and that's no way to spend your vacation. They are called Coatis...they are in the raccoon family and they are not shy around people, it's not uncommom to see 10-12 of them in a group while you are walking around.

Sandos Playacar Beach Resort: Beautiful beach and great food - a few annoying things

Positive: beautiful beach (resort is on a wide and very long stretch of sand, crystal clear water), lots of shade and lounge chairs in the adults only section of the beach, great food, lots of restaurant choices, attentive and friendly service, we stayed in the old section of the resort which was the closest to the beach and the room was more than adequate although a little dated. Negative: insufficient frequency and capacity of shuttle service within the resort (which can be a problem for a re [... read more]sort this big with 1000 rooms), they have a beautiful spa but the jacuzzi is always lukewarm instead of the 32 degrees they advertise, there is no wi-fi in the rooms and very poor wi-fi in the public areas, the minute you arrive they book you for a presentation to try to sell you the resort membership program (in exchange for attending the presentation we were upgraded to a "golden" bracelet which gave us access to the adults-only section of the beach), this is a family resort that caters to children so there were lots and lots of kids everywhere, we did not have access to the "members only" areas of the pool and the beach which was annoying.

Iberostar Waves Quetzal: Amazing Resort and Food!

Lots of activities to do throughout the day from beach games to obstacle courses in the pool. Excellent entertainment shows at night. Good beach with swimming area. If you want to get a lounge chair at the beach should get there early as people tend to claim them early. The restaurant reservations fill up fast so book before you arrive if possible, but the general buffet is excellent and has different features every night so I wasn’t disappointed that we didn’t get to try many of the restau [... read more]rants.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Awesome place!!

What a well kept clean resort!! Amazing staff and help and assistance whenever in need. The entertainment was Vagas quality and the restaurant and bars were fantastic!! Food was out of this world... And everything was very easy to navigate!! Pools were clean big an had entertainment and fun games daily.. Music was awesome Aswell!! "the beach was nice a little small but clean and easy to get to!! We will be back for sure!

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Great Resort

Our fourth time to the Barcelo Maya and we have really enjoyed every stay there. The beach, pools, grounds and resort are all beautiful and very well maintained. The resort is huge with lots of amenities, so we typically don't leave the resort and still find plenty to do. We were in Tropical and had friends staying in Caribe we visited daily and according to my step counter I averaged more than 16 kms of walking per day...that is how big the resort is. Our last two days there, the resort was  [... read more]completely full for a concert on the beach and we still found chairs by the pool and the beach with no issues. But the resort was very obviously more crowded and the food choice and quality seemed to go down a bit at the snack places on the beach. Our meat choices went from steak, chicken fish and burgers --- to burgers only? Our only complaint would be how loud the hallways near the rooms are. Due to design and the fact it's all hard materials (tiles and concrete) it sounds like any noise or talking in the hallway are coming from right beside your bed, though I think that is normal for all resorts in the south. Bring ear plugs and know you'll likely only sleep from midnight till about 7am with a couple of wake ups thrown in. We will definitely go back again as the resort is very well run and maintained.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Amazing resort

Beyond expectation all view hotel with exelent service! The rooms and restaurants are designed very creatively, cosy, modern, relaxing and nature wize. The food was gourmet and delicious. The infinity pool is heated.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Best resort!

This is the only resort I’ve seen that embraces the beauty of its country and strives to keep it that way. On our trip we saw peacocks, coati, iguanas, flamingos, and more while walking the grounds. The staff is unbelievably kind and always go out of their way to make sure you’re having a good time. The food has a huge range in variety and caters to any pallet. You’ll find different hits and misses at each restaurant you visit. The beach is stunning and the earlier you get there the better [... read more] chance to pick a good spot. Only downside is that the pools get pretty chilly with no sun but the bars will keep you warm with endless drinks. I was heartbroken when we had to leave but would go back in a heartbeat.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Beautiful Family Resort

The Resort is very well kept up, the staff are always smiling, always cleaning. The grounds are excellent. It is an excellent resort for young and old. There are lots of things for children of all ages to do.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: HUGE Resort Great Service

Service was fantastic at the resort. A big thank you to Christian who helped us throughout the week. It’s very large so getting around had to be done mostly on the golf carts. Was disappointed that the Coba Beach wasn’t within walking distance. The worst part of the trip was the 9 hour wait at the airport compliments of Air Transat for the return flight. The phone app didn’t give any updates and even after we found out about the delay, it still showed the flight as On Time. Wouldn’t use  [... read more]Air Transat again I don’t think. We had also purchased the Royal Golden upgrade through Air Transat. Not really worth the extra $$. Overall, a good time though. :)

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great resort!

3rd visit to the hotel. Each time was great. Food is great, and so is all the wait/bar staff. Making dinner reservations was disappointing this time. Only managed to get 3, and had to pay for 1. But it was worth the $20. Found to pool water a bit chilly this visit.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: More complaints from guests at reception than there were people checking in

Whilr the grounds are tasteful and well maintained, the service has to be the worst that I've ever encountered in any resort. We were forced to change rooms three times. Upon check in, we were provided a room on the 3rd (top) floor and every morning at 7:30, heavy hammering would start in the roof. Despite complaints, the noise continued until we were moved to a roof, where I literally felt ill. It was so damp and humid & the stale stench of mould in the bathroom made me want to leave the [... read more] resort and forfeit my wasted money and remainder of time at this disastrous place. We booked a massage for the 2 of us and upon arriving at the spa, there was only space for 1 of us. About 4 days into the trip at this "all inclusive", we found out that we were being charged $25 per person for room-service breakfast. The above is only the tip of the iceberg and based on the hundreds of guests that I saw each day at reception complaining about their stay, I would recommend that looking at another resort would be advisable.

Ocean Coral Riviera Cancun: Wonderful holiday

We had an amazing time at the ocean coral turquesa! Food was great, staff were wonderful and the grounds were beautiful! Beach was amazing!! Very clean resort and no seaweed on the beach! If there was any they quickly cleaned it up. Would go again in a heartbeat!

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Sandos carocal

The hotel is incorporated directly into the local jungle life, which provides the most unique and fascinating environment to vacation in. The animals and fauna really provide an inviting experience. However, the poor experience during check in and check out leave a lot of customer service to be desired. No matter what time of day, there was always a long line of people checking in or out with minimal hotel staff working. My experience was 45-60 minutes on both check in and out with only a  [... read more]couple of guests in front of me in line. The accommodations also left a lot to be desired. The majority of my travel group had room complaints, including no working A/C, no running water, doors not locking properly, smells of sewage and septic, and even inconsistent house keeping services. I was travelling with a group of 20 ppl for a wedding, and we all had the same points of concern. All complaints focused around our rooms and our experiences with hotel reception. The restaurants, amenities and the bar/food/entertainment staff were all amazing

Grand Sunset Princess: Wonderful resort with amazing service!

We spent a week here from Jan 6-13, 2018 in the Platinum Suites. The resort is very clean and inviting, a bit dated, but overall very good. Its a very nice size for walking, there is a shuttle but we didn't use it as its only 10-15 minutes easy walk from one side to the other. There are numerous areas to congregate both in the pools and out, so everyday can feel like a different resort. The common garden areas with fountains in the center are beautiful in the evenings with multiple private seati [... read more]ng areas. The staff are ALL very friendly and helpful. The resort is obviously paying attention to customer service and asked for our feedback a couple of times during the visit. We loved our bartender Sebastien, he was a delight! The food at the buffets is pretty standard, fresh and tasty for the most part. You need to try the various sauces that are hidden around the buffet to spice it up. My favourite was the Fondue a la carte dinner. A unique experience for Mexico and really good. My only complaint would be the fact that we had a ground floor suite and the Coaties (raccoon type animals) made in impossible to use that space. They are very aggressive and one tried to claw through our screen door, luckily the glass was closed at the time. Next we will get a swim out or a higher floor. Overall I would recommend this resort as a good value for the price and would certainly go back.

Dreams Aventuras Riviera Maya: Amazing 5 days!

It was my first trip to Mexico and resort with my daughter and three grandsons therefore I have nothing to compare it too! But from my personal experience I enjoyed everything from the flight to the food the resort and especially the people who work there! They really give their all entertainment was great and my grandsons totally enjoyed their time in the pool and the kids club was amazing! I totally recommend this resort for families with children it is a small resort compared to others but  [... read more]perfect if you have young children!

Grand Oasis Riviera: Wonderful Mexico

We arrived to Grand Oasis Tulum on January 6th. The resort is beautiful. Check-in was HORRIBLE. Very disorganized front desk - people trying to check in and others complaining about their rooms. Once check-in was complete, the remainder of our vacation was wonderful. We were in the Adults Only section (Sian K'aan section) which was lovely including our own pool area, swim-up bar, lobby and a few restaurants. The resort is quite small (not a lot of walking), but very beautiful. The grounds [... read more] are amazing, beach awesome, and the staff are great. There are a variety of restaurants for lunch and dinner - no reservations required. The buffet restaurant is large with lots of choice.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Great Time

Very enjoyable from the moment we walked in. All the staff are welcoming and happy, the rooms were clean and spacious, the beach was close! Having the combination all the resorts (Bahia Principe) for use allowed for much more options and tons of restaurants. We really enjoyed our trip here.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Beautiful grounds, tired hotel room and mediocre food!

The Grounds at Barcelo are very well maintained and beautiful. The property is huge with four shared resorts or five if you are staying at the Palace. The rooms in the Caribe building Labra were very tired (unless you were in the row of Premium rooms at the end of the building that had all been renovated). The tile floor grout was black due to its age. The bath tub was all chipped in areas where they attempted to cover it with liquid enamel. I didn’t feel like the room was as clean as it shou [... read more]ld be for that level of resort. Having a balcony was completely useless because all of the balconies have a solid concrete wall surround so when you sat down all you were looking at was a solid concrete balcony wall. Each property has its own buffet and we tried Beach, Caribe, Traditional and Colonial. There is a different theme each night at the buffet but I found regardless of whether it was Mexican, Spanish or Japanese the food was pretty much the same with a few exceptions. Very disappointed in particular with Mexican theme night as I was expecting a far better attay of Mexican inspired food. The guacamole is all mass produced and not fresh like you would expect being in Mexico. We paid an extra $40 US to eat at the French restaurant at the Palace and it was not worth it at all. The food was ok. The waiter was fantastic but we were both extremely disappointed with the food. We went to Xplore on an excursion one day and my 16 year old son said the food at the included buffet there was better than at the resort! For an inclusive resort they have far too many things that are not included such as bowling, the water park, mini golf, wave rider and also a small little carousel in the Mayan Mall area that they charged to let the kids ride on. So much for all inclusive! Undecided whether I would return to Barcelo. I would likely try another chain to see if it was better value for the money for an all inclusive.