Hotel Marina El Cid Spa and Beach Resort: Beautiful Resort!
We stayed at Marina El Cid in November 2019!
Firstly I would like to comment on the staff at the resort. They were the most accommodating and friendly staff we have ever experienced at the many resorts we have stayed at. Everyone was so friendly and worked so quickly to accommodate any requests and needs we had. The poolside service was continual and quick, and in the restaurants the same!
The grounds were absolutely beautiful, green and lush and extremely well-kept.
The rooms were spaciou[... read more]s and clean and housekeeping was fantastic. We even had nighttime turn down service with chocolates on our bed.
The à la cart restaurants were fabulous and the staff was very fast and friendly. They only have one food court (small buffet) area to eat in in the evening if you do not have an à la cart booked. That was a bit of a disappointment for us.
Overall we love this resort and would definitely go back!
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Paraiso de la Bonita: Not a 5 Star Resort
This property is promoted as a 5 Star resort, but does not live up to expectations. On the positive side, the property is well maintained, clean, and most of the staff cannnot do enough for you. The rooms are large and beautiful, all with an ocean view. The pool was clean, lounges readily available, lots of towels, beach and pool bar service amazing. We participated in a great cooking class and wine tasting. Front desk was very accommodating with currency exchange, taxi requests, etc. Concierge [... read more]went above and beyond to arrange dinners at a sister property on 3 nights.
On the negative side, service levels are inconsistent, especially with housekeeping, minibar, and service in restaurants. We had to request maintenance for our in room safe three times before it was fixed. We requested ice and red wine to be delivered to our room daily around 5. Sometimes it arrived, sometimes it didn’t, sometimes it was white wine, not red. Used dishes were not removed from the room with any regularity. Food was good, but not great. Very limited wines available. In order to receive our resort credits, we were subjected to a sales pitch to join their Loyalty Club. It did not set a good tone for the week.
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Jewel -
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Dreams Huatulco: One of the best resorts i have ever been too.
This resort was very clean, the help was amazing friendly, we couldnt ask for better weather. the food preperation was amazing, liked the idea of how many pools there were and at liest one totaly adult pool.entertainment at the lobby bar was good and lots of different kind of drinks, the washrooms on the resort were clean and working condition and the rooms were very clean. This resort is deffently a return one. LOVE MEXICO.
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great resort with lots to do!
The hotel grounds are spacious and beautiful. Very clean. Perfect for sandy beach strolls and your daily workouts! Great atmosphere for kids of all ages. For kids 10 and under, recommend staying at the Barcelo Maya Beach resort which is to the left side of the property. Beach there is shallow for some distance ahead and has great kids zone with babysitting and activities on site. Great plus is that you can use all resort property no matter where you stay with exception of food/drinks at Barcelo [... read more]Maya Palace which is to the left side of the resort.
Also that right hand side of the resort (Caribbean and Beach section) is less windy so less waves and calmer sea.
If your kids are older, they will enjoy Colonial or Tropical section of the resort which is in the middle of the resort. Beach there is more rocky in some spots, so wear swim shoes. However, it is so much more interesting for snorkeling and swimming with the turtles!! Some kids enjoy more waves which you get there too! There are about 3 water parks for kids 12 and under or so. And one bigger waterslide and serfing that you have to pay for. 3 other ones are free. Beach resort has a pool with swim lanes for those who love their water excersize. Kayaks, wake boards are also available free of charge. Seadoos you have to book and pay for separately.
Food is amazing everywhere and pretty much the same in terms of selection across the resort no matter where you stay. Restaurants are so worth it!! Desert is much better there than in buffets. Our fav was tempura ice-cream with mango ice-cream deep fried. Yum!!
Carribean and Colonial theathers' acoustic is very bad. So take free shuttle or walk to Palace side for better experience. Palace theater has proper walls around it, better sound. Others are open with a roof overtop.
Resort has a mall with everything you need there from clothing to swim gear. Bring your googles or snorkeling gear or you will pay tripple to purchase at the resort ;)
Highly recommend swim shoes to avoid rough rocks in the sea or long-spined sea urchins which hide in the rocks. Very painful as spikes are hard to get out and may need to go to hospital for that!! Easy to avoid though once you know what to look for.
Standard or superior hotel rooms are ok. Clean but dated and need reno upkeep. But it didn't bother us as we were barely in the room. Cleaning service is thorough and prompt. Premium front suits by ocean seem nicer. However there is no rooms on the ocean itself. These are more by the pools that face ocean. Grand Resort is a new adult section opening in Dec 2019 seem very nice and brand new of course. It is located in far right hand side of the resort and next to the Beach resort area where beach is calm.
Beautiful and perfect location for weddings actually. We saw one practically every day ! There are 2 locations they host weddings and we loved by Caribbean and Beach, right hand side of the resort as it is very quiet and not so windy.
We enjoyed our stay this Nov 2019 and will definately consider coming back here again!
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Jewels -
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Dreams Huatulco: Dreams Resort and Spa - exceptional as always
We have been to this resort 4 years in a row. The people that work there are polite, hard workers and very friendly. We have made many friends in the past 4 years going to this resort and there are a lot of return guests every year which is nice to see.
This is a very clean resort, exceptional food and service and the view of the ocean and the weather can't be beat. It rarely rains in Huatulco which is one of the reasons we keep going back besides the exceptional service at Dreams. I high[... read more]ly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation.
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Sandos Cancun: Good Relaxing Trip
Good resort if you do not plan to stay in your room much. The room is more of a 3star rating. Beds,blankets,washroom needs upgrading. Doors for the balcony needs upgrading. No chairs on the belcony. The resorts next door block the sun over the pools so it can get cool early. Not a kids friendly resort. These are my only complaints of this resort.
Good Entertainment each night.
Good food. You can always find food to eat through out the night.
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Eagle -
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Villablanca Huatulco: Wonderful Hotel
Wonderful small hotel! Great staff! Very friendly and helpful. Restaurant was great. Food was well varietied. Breakfast was included. Coffee was super tasting. Grounds well kept. Not noisy. Pool was super albeit small but had sun and shade. Very close to grocery store. 15 walk to nice beach on a small bay, and 15 min walk to centre of town. Numerous and varied restaurants and friendly
people around the town.
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Private -
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El Dorado Royale: Beautiful and Great Service
The resort was very clean, staff very friendly.
For those of you who enjoy good food, you would not be disappointed.
This resort is very much about great service, from start to finish, and good attention to detail.
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RomeroMC -
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Hyatt Vivid Playa Del Carmen: Great staff, location and food
This was the second time at this resort for my wife and I. There was construction going on but we hardly noticed it. The entertainment crew was one of the best that we’ve ever seen. Especially Mauricio, Fernando and a special thanks to Emmanuel Who found my phone and made sure that it got back to me. They really made the trip special and are worth going back for just to see them again. The food is some of the best we’ve ever had an all inclusive and the view from my room was absolutely [... read more]spectacular.
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M&MDV -
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Hyatt Vivid Playa Del Carmen: Amazing resort!
We recently went to hilton playa del Carmen and enjoyed all it had to offer. Half of the hotel was under construction but they kept it clean and quiet. Wasn’t busy as well which was a bonus! The food and service was outstanding...best we have ever had. The rooms were newly renovated and clean. The entertainment staff was kind and fun. We can’t wait to go back!
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Lakemommakim -
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Krystal Grand Los Cabos: Left disappointed
This was our second trip to the Reflect Krystal Grand in Los Cabo’s, and our expectations were high as we received great service the first year we went. We stayed in deluxe accommodation which is on the far side of the resort closer to the main road. Our room was clean, but the refrigerator never worked even after having it replaced and reporting again that it wasn’t working. The shower head needed fixing and we had no hot water. This was fixed within 24 hours. We frequented the adult pool a[... read more]rea, and the beach cabanas were free last year, but this year we were told you had to rent them for $149US a day for 2 people and included premium alcohol. The pool side service was slow, some days it took up to 30-40 min to receive your beverage. The Rissotto Restaurant served good food and for the most part service was good. When asked for a premium beverage they served a non premium alcoholic beverage and tried to disguise it, then went to another bar to get the alcohol when questioned. The buffet was ok, but food was not replenished quickly. A good thing was the weather was awesome and there were chairs available around the pool.
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Lissaa -
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Royalton CHIC Cancun: This not five stars hotel
This our first time in Cancun we loved Cancun nice city beautiful beach but we don’t think we will back to this hotel again: the reason
1) Our room had terrible smell, I cannot stop coughing and we were three people staying only one face towel, we almost every day call for face towels hand towels ......
2)we paid $460 for tent for 5 days then they cut out the last day
3)also they try really hard push us to buy the time share it’s a nightmare, one lady manager has been really rude when w[... read more]e don’t want continued about
4) the restaurants food were not very good they have 8 restaurants we only like three of them the Asian food was worst one bad layout room they have big glass door to get in and table is front the door when each time people in or out the big cold drop wind blows to us they suppose has a Asian style screen in there and people walk through by sides. The food there was terrible the steak house waitress put a long face when we didn’t want a bottle wine..... we only like the Italy and Mexico restaurants
The beach were very beautiful but water were too rough not good for swimming ðŸŠâ€â™€ï¸ only one day was really nice we can swim there.
And my arm hit by elevator door has big bruise after.
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Platinum Yucatan Princess: Fantastic Resort!!!
This resort had everything you could ever ask for! The rooms were great. The food was amazing with lots of choices. The restaurants were fantastic and modern. The facilities were clean and well maintained, including the pools and spa. The staff went above and beyond to assist and were all very friendly. The Animation team, kept us all very entertained throughout the day at the "party pool" and then in the evenings with the shows. Always something to take part in. The swim out rooms were [... read more]amazing and the fact that you can stay there all day, order room service and drinks - is awesome! The only down side was the beach - although it was very clean, well set up and easy to access, the ocean was hard to get into and out of due to the drop off and the ocean floor was rocky - so I would recommend water shoes. Unfortunately this is not something that can be fixed, but for those who enjoy playing in the ocean, this may be a downfall. I however, cannot wait to plan my next stay at this resort.
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Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Great Resort!
We sent a week at the Riu Palace Cabos San Lucas. The resort, room, pool, and grounds, were AMAZIING. We enjoyed the buffet especially breakfast and lunch. Dinner had a lot of choice but is was not the best we have been at. We did not go to any of the other restaurants. The beach was beautiful to look at. Even though we walked on the beach we found it very difficult. You seemed to sink in the sand as you walked. We went to many of the shows. We really enjoyed the artist that played before the ma[... read more]jor show. We did not find that the major shows were as good as others we have seen. We did the tour to Cabo San Lucas and the Arch and San Jose de Cabo. It was EXCELLENT. If it is your first time to Los Cabos it is a great trip.
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Hippie chic -
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Catalonia Riviera Maya: Staff is amazing!!!
The resort is beautiful. However there was construction happening during my stay which was very annoying at 8:30 in the morning when work began. It was very loud and very dusty. Food was amazing at all restaurants!!
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Ocean Riviera Paradise: Good bad and ugly
I'll be short and to the point...
The good:
Rooms are modern, the grill at the adult pool is delicious, the resort entertainment, adult pool and pool parties were a highlight for us.
The bad and ugly:
Food was just ok, mold smell in Eden building and was very strong in our room we had to switch. Pools discolored my bathing suits, beach wasnt beautiful by any means there was lots of seaweed in the water and a strong smell. Front desk staff gave us the run around and tried to pass a regular e[... read more]mployee off as a manager.
We booked excursions in the front lobby and the adult only party boat they booked us on was not adult only and had no gluten free options so I didnt eat for 12 hours.
Anturo at the buffet was an absolute gem, he was very helpful with my food allergy and always made sure i was taken care of. Iliana is the best photographer on the resort, she has a great eye for angles, we loved her!
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TravellingTrio -
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Ocean Riviera Paradise: Wonderful Family Vacation!
I have to say, I was a little nervous prior to going after reading a variety of reviews for this resort....In the end, i am so glad that we chose to stay at the Ocean Riviera Paradise! We had such a great week from start to finish. If you are considering the privilege upgrade, I highly recommend it. All the staff are just wonderful and even made our little girls birthday extra special with some surprises for her. The Privilege upgrade you have your own area, a separate restaurant to enjoy breakf[... read more]ast and other meals. We especially enjoyed breakfast as it was way less busy than the main buffet and a perfect way to start the day. They did an amazing job at making us feel safe and comfortable while eating as our daughter has some severe allergies, Thank you! Our Butler Antonio was amazing and always had a smile on his face and really enjoyed making sure we had everything we needed. We aren't huge drinkers, but even still would opt for that extra touch and personal contact of the privilege upgrade. There is a variety of restaurants for dining and something for everyone. The water park for the kids is great and my daughter loved it. The resort is well kept and a good size with different pools and vibes depending on what you are looking for. The beach is a little rocky for the first entry, but after it was fine. I wouldn't say it had sharp rocks though for where I was walking and seaweed wasn't a real issue at all. I would certainly go back again and really had no issues with our stay.
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Wouldn't Go Back
Hotel grounds were beautiful, MINUS the 5 dolphins held inhumanely in captivity (small pool). They literally sit there and stare at the ocean. They can smell it. They can see it. Simply Cruel. One look brought me to tears. How do other guests celebrate this? If you'd like to see dolphins or show them to your children, please book a boat and show them how Dolphins LIVE not how they are tortured. That IS Torture.
As long as that remains an attraction, I will not pay to visit any Barcelo [... read more]location. Shame on you Barcelo. Boycott.
Other than the cruel and inhumane treatment of the dolphins, the hotel is lovely and the beach is beautiful!!! Simply breathtaking.
The rooms are average and they do have a strong musty smell (you read it in other reviews). Both the Colonial and Tropical buffets have the same stench, but it's less potent in the Colonial than the Tropical. However, you have access to the buffet in the neighboring resort (go through the Maya Mall) and there is no musty smell at all. Though we did find that one has less food variety than the musty Colonial.
Food variety is very good, but all food is very bland. No salt or garlic used in anything. If you want some kick, head over to the sauces station. I enjoyed the salsa verde (green one) but it was not always available. Very disappointed in the flavors. Given it's Mexico, I was expecting at least some garlic or even a hint of spices. Nothing but bland (no salt used even). I found better spices used in Cuba - no kidding.
There is no night life. Period. The shows are, sorry, but they are horrible. Completely horrible. Hard to stay awake through. Solid Pass.
The disco, well, we heard better music coming from the wedding celebrations on the beach. Epic Fail.
Great resort for family travel - it's bedtime after dinner apparently. Not such a great plan for anyone that wants to enjoy nightlife. And I'm not a big party person but I do enjoy one night of dancing/partying while away.
There were 3 disappointments in the room. First, our coffee maker exploded one morning. Slightly dangerous much? The machine was replaced that afternoon and we did have to go without morning coffee (not pleasant). Second, someone that works for the resort, either housekeeping or the person that stocks the fridge, or the person that leaves you chips... One of them broke the stand-up dresser's door. They didn't fix it. They didn't call it in. The whole thing was hanging outward and holding on by the bottom screws. I have a nice bruise from walking right into it. It was repaired within an hour of calling it in. However, where is the pride of work?
Someone that works there broke it while doing their job and they simply left it for the guest to injure themselves? Yuck.
The third disappointment was the shampoo dispenser in the shower. First, yay that they think to provide shampoo, conditioner and body gel!! Kudos. However, the shampoo container must not have been properly installed. When washing my hair (with my own shampoo - we didn't use theirs), my elbow gently touched it and the whole dispenser flew off. Broken shards of plastic all over the shower with shampoo in my hair, trying not to step on the shards, while cleaning them up and rinsing my hair. Fun times.
There was also a very unpleasant waiter in the beach grill and I'm being nice with that word selection. On Saturday the 23rd, just after 4pm, after spending the whole day in the sun, heat exhaustion kicked in and I needed water and food. The beach grill was between the beach and our room. So, we headed to the grill and the waiter that was working the open side refused to give me water, even though I told him I was about to pass out. He got very angry with me - while I'm trying not to pass out, I'm sweating, my head is spinning, color is dropping from my face. Why? Because I wasn't wearing flip flops. Someone was clearly having a bad day (not me, I got the ocean!!!).
After a brief and very unpleasant back and forth (for a glass of water), the security guard came over, at which point the waiter passed me the glass of water. Security asked me what was happening, I said I needed water and wasn't feeling well. The waiter then said something to him in Spanish and I heard the word "Punta". The security guy started to tell me that I needed shoes and I simply said all I need is water. I finished the glass and we went back to the room so I could lay down, cool off and hydrate. I then asked my friend what that word I heard the waiter say, meant. WOW!!! You're kidding me. WOW!
We did have some very pleasant resort staff that show they care about their jobs and the guest experience:
Horacio (bell boy) started us off with smile and service - Great job! You rock! Thank you so much!!!
Martha and Cindy in the gift shop (Maya Mall), Amazing!!! So much fun to interact with.
Luis in the grill bar (yes the same one with the waiter, hence why I was so surprised about the water)… Luis in the grill bar is simply Awesome!!! Thanks for taking such good care of us every day you were there!!! :-)
And of course, the Air Transat resort rep, Alfredo or Alfonzo, sorry I'm horrible with names... now that is service! He's very patient, uncovers what you are looking for and walks you through the whole process. Being that we were two women travelling alone, and hadn't been to Mexico before, he made us feel like Air Transat was with us the whole way and that we were always safe. He gave us some goods tips for when we went out on our own. The best was to turn over our Hotel Bands so they were white and the hotel name wasn't visible. That way any potential scammer wouldn't be able to identify where we were from. Brilliant.
I could have gotten the excursions cheaper elsewhere but after dealing with him, I'd rather spend a little bit more based on service and we did so, happily.
Overall, I would not return to the Barcelo Maya Colonial. I don't appreciate being called names by staff when I'm in the midst of a medical issue (heat exhaustion could have gotten a lot worse). I found the musty stench too overpowering; especially when you are trying to eat. The flavors were lacking despite the variety of food selections and I will not support Barcelo for as long as they hold any dolphins as inhumanely captive as they do.
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Frolzy6288 -
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Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta: Loved this resort!
We were guests of the Hyatt Ziva from November 13 - 20, 2019. We stayed in a swim-out suite in the Club Tower. Our room was beautiful. Although we quickly realized the pool and patio didn't get sun until about 3pm, we appreciated the other pools until then. The sunsets were spectacular. Hearing the ocean surf crashing was amazing.
The level of customer service was above and beyond. Our pool was quite cool, so I mentioned it to the concierge. The next day, it was very comfortable!
We[... read more] enjoyed the food, and appreciated that we didn't need dinner reservations and didn't need to stand in line at diñner time.
The resort was a perfect size - we didn't have to walk far for anything.
Thank-you Hyatt Ziva for a great experience! We'll be back!
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Bonita -
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Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Paradise
Our stay at this resort was beyond amazing. The accommodations were very luxurious and updated. We took advantage of the butler service and ordered scents to our room each night and it was always done in the time frame I requested. The staff was fantastic. The nightly show were the best we've ever seen. Danced every night to the wonderful music.The drinks were great. We loved the adult only. Never saw one drunk person. Everything is shut down at 11:00 pm. If you wanted more drinks you can go to [... read more]the 24 hour bar. The buffet food was amazing and they had a different theme everyday and made food for that theme. We tried 2 Ã la carte, Alux which was amazing the food and service was amazing. We also tried Los Corales which we were told was a steakhouse but it wasn't, they have a self serve salad bar and once you are done with that you flip a card to show you are ready for the meat and they come around every 5-10 minutes with a new type of meat on a large skewer and slice pieces off the ones you want, this restaurant had great service. The pools are beautiful and clean. Getting to the beach was no problem at all, the carts bring you right to the sian Ka'an beach which has a bar and is adult only. The cart ride is about 5-10 minutes and the longest we waited for a cart was 10 minutes. There are also different carts that take you to the other resorts. The beach was beautiful and well maintained. We got there early every morning to get good seats. The infinity pool at the Akumal was beautiful. It was a wonderful experience and I would definitely return again.