Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Good resort for kids
Good resort for kids but not for adults. The water slide and pool was decent. The animals on the resort was friendly and my kids love seeing them. The check in and check out process was a nightmare because it took so long when the line up wasn't long at all. The food was OK, my kids and I was able to eat the food but nothing we really enjoyed eating. The beach area was horrible, we spend like 15mins on the beach and decided we are better off by the pool. The sand was rough and there were lots o[... read more]f seaweed. The room and bed is as simple and old as it could get but we didn't allow that ruin our trip, after all we were only in there to sleep.
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Private -
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Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Amazing vacation!
I'm so glad I talked to Jenn and she got us this vacation! Staff treat you so well, they try to accommodate you, very clean place, amazing food! Tour bookers wouldn't refund our money for an excursion when we were sea sick from a previous excursion. Travelers book excursions carefully but other than that we all had an amazing vacation!
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Bluenoser -
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Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: It was OK
The resort was very large with a lot of walking involved. The rooms were large and clean and the AC worked well as long as you remembered to keep the patio door latched closed.
The beach area was a bit rocky with hard sand. Pools were very large but have tiles missing from them throughout the pool.
The food was good and plenty full. I was disappointed that we could only get 3 a la carts with our week stay.
The grounds were nice , but the site is very large so some things are a fair walk to g[... read more]et too. There was a few spots on the main walk ways that had a strong sewer smell.
All in all not a bad spot for the price.
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Alireza zuie -
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Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Good
The hotel very nice but too many child in all swimming pool and buffet resturan small room sarvis delay
Too expensive when take pic and you need one total good hotel not very good and some people in hotel push you to get your credit card
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Vickie2 -
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Breathless Riviera Cancun: Wondrous location, not enough superlatives
Everything was so beautiful from accommodations to grounds to beach.to pools to restaurants. Have only one criticism and that is that you play music in each restaurant appropriate to the country whose cooking is served. This would set the atmosphere. Forget the rock n roll and heavy base.
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Masonk -
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Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Mediocre resort
Didn't find staff friendly.. definitely our least favourite resort that we have been to. The only positive thing we liked was the beach, which was beautiful. Food was below average and the drinks weren't good.
Wide covered walkways connect buildings, shopping, entertainment so you are sheltered from the hot sun or rain. Concrete pathways give easy access to the beach and all resort areas. Elevators are available in each building so guests can request any of the three floors. Buses with ramps can take you to major locations throughout the resort.
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Travel Bug -
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Barcelo Maya Tropical: Amazing Week at the Barcelo
My husband and returned from a one week stay at the Barcelo Tropical on April 23 and cannot say enough good things about this resort. The beaches were amazing, the pools were crystal clear and the resort itself was beautiful. This resort is great for couples, families and singles. There are enough quiet areas to just relax if that is what you want, if you travel with family there are more than enough activities to keep the younger ones and teens entertained and we say groups of young adults h[... read more]aving a blast. I would go back in a heartbeat and this time I would bring my 19 and 21 year old. Definitely worth going to.
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Platinum Yucatan Princess: Nice Resort
The hotel was well kept and the staff were friendly! The food was so so, with the price we paid I was expecting better quality. The shows could have been better. The fact that you are in Playa del Carmen means that there is not much to do. It's not like downtown Cancun so for the most part be ready to stay on the resort
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Private -
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Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Incredible Resort
Everything and everyone were amazing at the Luxury Bahia Principle Akumal. The staff would go out of their way to please and entertain you. The resort rooms were clean and very roomy. The buffets and a la cart were outstanding. The beaches were beautiful.
This hotel is way more beautiful then the pictures can portray. The staff are so friendly, the grounds are well manicured, the foid is delicious and endless. The location and beach are beautiful, white sand beaches with no rocks excellent for relaxing. This resort is definely a must see and very safe.
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Schulzie -
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Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: An awesome Resort!
We love staying at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda because the food and service is impeccable! This is our 5 time here and we keep coming back every year. The layout is perfect and the staff are friendly as well as the rooms. Clean and everything works.
And if you leave a few pesos the cleaning staff leaves you a nice treat!
We'll be back!
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Private -
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Viva Maya by Wyndham: Good resort
It was our first time in Mexico and we chose this smaller resort. The beach is amazing! Lots of Palm trees for shade and lots of water activities although the seadoos were coming too close and giving off fumes. They should have a designated area. Buffet was small and very basic, comparable to Cuba, I expected more from Mexico, the à la carte were very good tho. No entertainment or live music and no table service we had to get everything ourselves at the bar. Room was clean and they keep the gr[... read more]ounds immaculate. The staff works very hard and are friendly. We're not demanding or picky so we still had a good week but would not return.
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Private -
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Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Under rated
This resort is under rated. It is rated a 3.5 star, but I felt it was like a four star rated resort. The rooms were quiet, but need renovations. We asked for two double beds in adult only section and were told that they only have a king bed and a sofa bed. We later found out that the bungalows in the 60 section had double beds. So. Had to sleep on the sofa bed which was extremely uncomfortable. The pool in adult section needed to be cleaned more often. The restaurants were all great! The service[... read more] was really good, but washrooms often had no toilet paper. The shows were excellent. The wildlife was interesting. The bugs are nasty so make sure you bring good bug spray. They should get a swim up bar at the adult pool and have some music playing. It was a little too quiet. Over all a good resort for family's.
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Private -
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Grand Palladium Colonial: Third visit and still amazing!
We just returned from renewing our vows at Grand Pallidium Colonial resort. Elsa our wedding coordinator was amazing during planning and organizing every last detail. Resort was loved by all 25 family members traveling with us. Resort clean, service and food amazing.
There was a little mess up with room set up with our family of 6 but they worked to rectify asap.
Very happy and relaxing trip
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Danapringle7 -
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Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: An Unbelieavable Resort With Something For Everyone!
Let me begin by saying that we received communication from 2 tripcentral reps while planning this vacation. Sarah Drain and Diane Newick were both wonderful and answered all questions promptly. Thanks ladies!!!!
We just returned from seven days at Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya. What a fabulous adventure this was!!!!! The hotel is beautiful and huge!!!! We loved that quality about it because we are walkers and walked everywhere to try to burn some of the fabulous food the buffets provided. There [... read more]are huge golf carts that jet around the property and shuttle stops if you'd rather catch a ride everywhere. Plenty of drivers offered us a ride concerned that we were missed.
This resort had a daily schedule of activities guests could partake in every day. Dancing, Spanish lessons, air gun shooting, and archery. We did a few of the activities and I know that lots of other resorts have schedules, they tend to be a little unreliable. We couldn't believe how structured the schedule was. Staff was always on time and gracious. There's an ice cream shop and a coffee shop you can frequent as well.
If you are a 'beach chair' person. (We aren't generally) This time of year was a great time to travel because the hotel had enough traffic to keep all the a la carte restaurants open and activities going, BUT you could still get a chair on the beach or by the pool without any difficulty. This property also has SEVERAL pools from the party scene to very quiet. You will find your vibe very quickly. Snorkeling was great right off the beach.
This hotel is situated in a jungle area and there are nature paths you can follow around that were wonderful. They even have bike tours that take about 40 minutes. Tons of Iguanas and Coati's (Mexican racoon that is adorable) birds, a few cats are around but not many. The butterflies are amazing and we didn't have much trouble with mosquitoes at night. They are very environmentally conscious and do their best to maintain the eco system so if you think that taking a picture of an iguana eating french fries would be hilarious, don't do it. They work very hard to integrate humanity with nature, don't be one of the jerks that wrecks that balance.
The food was wonderful and the buffets offered enough daily variety that it was difficult to tire of anything. The a la cartes were good. Have the beef tenderloin at the Steakhouse. It was amazing! The drinks and the bartenders serving them were all great. I cannot stress this enough. Not one staff member at this resort has their hand out for a tip. We actively tipped all week 20 pesos to a bartender or buffet server and 40 pesos to the a la carte servers. 20 Pesos costs us about $1.63. We spent under $100 on tipping. TIP YOUR SERVERS!!!!! The staff is wonderful at this hotel and will treat you well all week but they work hard long days. Tip them, they deserve it.
Our room was wonderful and huge!!! We traveled as a couple but this Junior Suite that we had could comfortable sleep a family of 4. It was clean with a beer, soda, and coffee stocked bar. Tip these people too!!!! We left 20 pesos for EACH for housekeeping and the fridge person. There's also a concierge at the ground level floor of each building if you need anything at all. We had Mario and he was wonderful. This allows you to ask all the questions you'd like without having to spend a lot of time walking or calling to the front desk. I do suggest reading the guide provide in your room. It will clear up any and all questions you might have.
We loved Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya. We are hoping to go again next year at the same time and bring my stepdaughter along who is 13. She'd love the place too I am certain. We also chit-chatted with several guests who have been back again and again. We hope to be those people as well!!!!!
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Kris -
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Barcelo Maya Tropical: Not Bad, Not Great
Not bad, but not great.
The positive: The grounds were beautiful and there was a lot to do during the day as this resort is huge! There were several pools and the pools were nice. There was also a shopping mall, several water parks for the kids, nightly shows, a spa, bowling and mini golf at an additional charge. There were lots of food options at the buffets. This resort is best suited for families with young children. My partner and I didn't mind sharing the resort with many kids. Most of the[... read more] wait staff were great 😊. Especially in the buffet restaurants. There were many options at the buffet and the food there was overall pretty good. My partner lives seafood and he had seafood on a couple of occasions and said it was good. The Japanese (Kyoto) a la carte restaurant and the steak house (Santa Fe) were also very good.
Negatives: The beach is very rocky in most spots which makes it hard to enjoy swimming in the ocean (which I love). You need to bring water shoes. Many of us cut our feet on the rocks. This is not a romantic resort for couples and there's not much to do for the adults after the nightly entertainment is over. It's a quiet resort after 10:30 PM. They could definitely improve the food at the Italian a la carte restaurants. The food at the Italian restaurant was disappointing and we had a very rude waiter there. He was terrible. This is my 4th time in the Mayan Riviera and each time I've stayed at a different resort. I would say that this is my least favourite 4-5 star resort that I've stayed at in the Mayan. It's my least favourite due to the quality of the beach, some of the a la carte restaurants and the fact that it's too large to feel that attention to detail and also there's not much to do in the evenings. It would be nice if they had a piano bar that was open after the nightly show where adults could have a drink or cappuccino. However, if you have young children, this resort is great ðŸ‘. It wasn't bad, just not worth the money for a couple travelling without kids compared to the other resorts you could choose from in the Mayan.
On another note, our Sun Wing Rep was terrible! Our plane was delayed 3 hours in Toronto for our departure. We were not informed at all of the delay. We waited 3 additional hours after our scheduled pick up time in the hotel lobby for our bus to pick us up and take us to the airport. When I called to find out what was happening as nothing was issued in our hotel, I was told that a Sun Wing Rep would be coming to provide an update. No one showed up. Ever. We all waited for 3 additional hours in the hotel lobby with no update or contact from a Sun Wing Rep at all. Terrible customer service from Sun Wing!!
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Ally19672000 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Such a wonderful resort!!!
We stayed at the Luxury Bahia Akumal March 30th-April 6th, 2017 and had the best time. I went with my husband and 18 year old son as well as my parents. The staff here are so incredibly sweet, we just loved them. The grounds are so beautiful. We would enjoy an evening trolley ride to the other resorts (Coba and Tulum) just to sight see. The resort is huge but the trolleys were always only a 5 minute wait to take you anywhere.
The food in the buffet was simply delicious....and OMG the dese[... read more]rts!!! We went to 4 ala cartes, the Brazilian, Mexican, gourmet and Japanese. The Mexican restaurant was so delicious and the entertainment was so fun. The mariachi band were amazing and would go to every table and play you a song and goof around with everyone and were always ready to pose for pictures with you. The Brazilian is a must...so much meat on a stick :) yum!!!!
The beach was just ok...BUT...the man made lagoons were so much fun and had so many fish in them. You didn't usually see too many unless you fed them pieces of bread, then there are hundreds of them. I absolutely looked forward to this every day! I would suggest wearing water shoes as it is quite rocky. My mother is abit nervous of the big waves so this lagoon was perfect for her and she had so much fun....we all did!!! There is an adult beach and infinity pool at the end of the Akumal beach, this was where we spent most of our days. There's an awesome lunch buffet and bar there too, and a trolley to take you back to the lobby or your room. It was heaven!
The rooms were beautiful. Always had an abundance of hot water, fridge stocked and room cleaned daily. The only down side was the hard mattress, however in my parents room their bed was nice and soft. Guess it is hit or miss there.
I emailed the resort prior to our arrival requesting a villa near the pool and lobby as my parents are elderly and they accommodated us completely...we had the best location in my opinion. We stayed in villa 49....so perfect!
Thank you Akumal, we will be back!!!!
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Cathy17 -
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Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Beautiful Experience
I recently stayed at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort while attending a friend's wedding. The resort is beautiful, embracing the natural beauty of Mexico and preserving the natural atmosphere and wildlife. Resort staff were friendly, courteous and consistently helpful.
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Anthony93 -
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Riu Lupita: Hidden Gem! Highly Highly Highly Recommended!
The hotel was wonderful, clean, the food was excellent. There was tons of variety to try out every night, and the restaurants were great. The steakhouse was especially delicious, as well as the Italian bistro and the Mexican restaurant. The buffet was amazing and the food was always fresh and delicious. The rooms were cleaned daily and restocked every second day. The entertainment crew were awesome and did well to entertain everyone nightly. The bar staff was awesome as well and they always prov[... read more]ided a variety of drinks. I highly recommend this hotel. We stayed for 2 weeks and easily could've stayed for another week. It is very close to Playa Del Carmen 5th avenue and although it wasn't a beachfront resort, the shuttle runs every half an hour from morning to evening, and its very short (5 minutes) and even stops by the entrance to 5th avenue Playa del Carmen. Excellent vacation. 5 Stars!