Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Wonderful vacation

My son and I visited this resort in March. Really like the Royalton chain overall. This one in particular has an exceptional fitness centre and dedicated trainers. The catamaran with snorkeling right off the beach was perfect too. Rooms are the perfect size and well kept. The staff was very accommodating and friendly, food excellent. Would go back!

El Cozumeleno Beach: Sadly in need of an update!

Staff were for the most part friendly and helpful. Pool areas lovely. All rooms appear to be ocean view. We were 'upgraded' from gardenview to third floor with obstructed view. Laughable...Room was in disrepair, old tired and dated. Needed paint and a good overhaul. Bedside table lamps falling apart; flood type bulb pointed at ceiling! Reading out of the question. No clock in room and could not see my watch at night. Muy importante to know time, the reason will become apparent. Shower moldy. So [... read more]fa in room dirty and very worn. Bed was comfy as there was egg crate type foam on top of mattress. Towels and sheets worn dingy and grey. One buffet and one a la carte. Food a huge disappointment for Mexico. (We have lived in Mexico and had the best meals in town). The beach towel and chaise lounge hustle is a fiasco. People reserving over night, all day, and chairs not used. When on vacation I don't want to,line up 50 minutes prior to concierge opening up at 8 a.m.for same day dining reservations. Up at the crack of dawn to reserve chaise at beach or pool, hope no one takes it. No clean glasses in room three days running. Asked housekeeper in Español, told to go downstairs or phone housekeeping. I begged at lobby bar finally.We tip housekeeping well BTW. Too bad as hotel has huge potential to be a finer resort. Needs serious upgrades in rooms. Staff members Hugo, Rocio, Helen, Oscar excellent!

Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar: Great time

We had a great time at this resort. The pool is huge. During our stay a section of the pool was under repair so one pool bar and the waterfall part were not operating. There was still plenty of pool and another pool bar open. It was a bit of a hike to the one open pool bar and it was March break so the timing wasn’t ideal for repairs. The Beach was great with plenty of chairs for everyone. The grounds are beautifully maintained and massive.Rooms are well kept and staff is generally friendly. T [... read more]hanks Joe the bell boy for all the golf cart rides our son loved it. The food was always fantastic. Buffet was great. We were only able to book one specialty restaurant out of the three we were supposed to get at a time that worked for our toddler. (Before 8:00pm). I recommend making your reservations right away at check in which is a bit of a pain as you have to sit with staff after a long day of travel and they try to sell you on club memberships, day trips and such. Overall a good experience and we had lots of fun.

Sandos Cancun: Very good Resort

Hotel was excellent,staff as well,excellent food ,rooms are very good and clean,can’t complain about anything about Sandos...pool staff great Israel,Danielle,Fillippe,Elisabeth,the cooks all bar staff ,especially Stephen at the Japanese restaurant

Sandos Cancun: Small and attentive resort

This is the first review I've written in ten years going south, so it's short & to the point, the way I like them. Pros: Nice property, nice rooms, great staff, really good restaurants, (no reservation, no issues) Cons: Over-shadowed by the monstrosity next door (Secrets) leaves the pool area covered in shade at 2:30 PM daily, (move to beach). Have to request a mini bar re-fill. A BIG issue for me, was the constant hotel push to get us to come to a sales pitch to upgrade to their "member le [... read more]vel" pkg.

Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos: Beautiful resort

Resort was beautiful. Staff very friendly and made a real effort to remember you. Food was one of the best I have had at an all inclusive. The view from the resort were amazing. Fantastic to be able to watch whales from resort.

Decameron Los Cocos Guayabitos Ramada: Beautiful Place

We stayed in Building 4 from March 04th to the 20th Pro's -Great food, great variety and lots of it -Very clean rooms and resort -Very well maintained - Rustic old Mexico feel and atmosphere - Smaller resort (240 rooms) -Very friendly and helpful staff -Modello light and dark on tap (I hate Corona) -Enough Palapas on the beach for shade Con's - You have to pay 85 pesos per day to use the in-room safe (Money grab) -Loungers are terribly hard and uncomfortable. Should upgrade to th [... read more]e mesh type - Sometimes hard to get change from the front desk for tips - Nightly shows start at 9:00 P.M. which is a little late for us old people :) -No early morning coffee available near building 4 - The umbrellas around the pools are immovable so sometimes hard to find shade Tips -Don't sit under the trees on the beach for shade unless you like the birds pooping all over you (But some say this is good luck :)) -Bring or buy an air mattress for the loungers (100-150 pesos if bought there) -Book tours through Alicia's on the beach (The same or cheaper than at the hotel) -Restaurante de Mariscos Pineda & Wanda's Burgers and Ribs (Mushroom Burger) are both great places to eat

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Never board

This resort is a smaller gem attached to 3 other resorts in the Bahia family. It was the most quite and had the best food of all. Furthermore, if one wanted more excitement, they could simply shuttle down to a sister resort and participate in the excitement at no extra cost. All together, the resorts had everything one could ask for.

Allegro Playacar: Poor rating due to poor management

The grounds, rooms were very clean. Food was good. Management needs improvement for front desk. There was a mix up regarding our rooms. You put in a request in for building 57, we could not have them unless we paid for upgrade of 300. We could not afford that.You do not get want you request. The only availability was 38, Michele and Mahlon got the front upper level but we were behind them looking at another building. It was the only one available. We arrived at 11 and they told us our room would [... read more] be available until 3. Come 3 o'clock, they wasn't available. My husband was pretty mad because we were waiting to long.He demanded to go somewhere else but air transit was not there, so we had to wait. It should not take 4 hrs. to get our room. He demaned to see the manager but it was nothing they could do. It was very hot and we were tired. I had a headache and not feeling good. It was 4 o'clock before we received the key. At that time we would take anything. The next they tried to push a membership on us. Not a good thing. We would not go back to that resort. There was a big misunderstanding with us and the rep. for barcello. They told us they would like to talk to us over breakfast but didn't relize they were taking us for ride and wanted to show us the Occeantile Xcarlet. Nice resort but not interested. We misunderstood them on wed., we thought we were having breakfast on the resort. We asked us to take s back, to be with our friends. If they would have left us on the resort, we would have set down and listen. They were very pushy. The maids were good, kept the clean. Pool was clean, beach was good but a lot of seaweed. They cleaning it all the time. Food was good, you did not go hungry. Food available all the time. The location was good, close to playa del carmon. Close to town The bar tenders were good and entertainment.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Family Vacation

Very clean resort with friendly staff. The facility is lovely with lots of pools. Its laid out like a small town. We upgraded to an ocean view room in the Eden section. Nice size room with a generous balcony and charming deck furniture. The beds were very comfortable. Great shower and jetted tub. The food was mediocre for the most part. They did have room service with the exception of breakfast. That was disappointing for us! We would have enjoyed breakfast on the balcony. While the staff was f [... read more]riendly, the service was typically slow. It appears as there was not enough staff to provide efficient service. We've been to many resorts and this was the slowest. The Japanese and steak restaurants were the best. As well as the ice cream shop and the cafe. The beach pizza place was excellent! The buffets were poor. The kids enjoyed the teen club and the bowling alley was very cool. Some little kids came in the teens club and saw some the more grown up video games and my son was concerned about that.The beach was pretty good. The seaweed was minimal . There are some rocks in the swimming area. When the water is calm you can see them easily and avoid them. Otherwise just start swimming! The slides in the kids pool were very slow-kid comment.

Melia Puerto Vallarta: 3.5 star only

Service people are friendly & work hard. Food was fairly good but a lot of it I couldn’t or wouldn’t eat. Signage was missing at times especially to indicate if the food contained seafood. Pool bathrooms are kept clean but hotel rooms need a thorough cleaning as do all of the surfaces around the pool and the wrought iron tables/placemats in the main buffet. Too often found dishes/glasses/cutlery that was supposed to be “clean” wasn’t. :(

Fiesta Americana Riviera Nayarit: great resort

one of the better resorts we have stayed food was typical Mexican food, with the exception of there al carte. Italian and steak house were great. very clean resort. well kept. extremely helpful staff, always willing to go the extra mile. prompt and courteous. extra shout out to hector the head concierge, great job

Las Brisas Huatulco: Huatulco: Natural setting, beautiful views.

Las Brisas Huatulco was an amazing site. Natural setting, lots of birds (excellent bird watching guided tour included), good nutritious food (boring menu if you have a long stay as it repeats the food choices), amazing staff (all the way from arrival to food management, groundskeeping, and housekeeping). Beautifully maintained gardens, smooth tenis court, great soccer field, super clean pools, 3 crystal clear beaches (all swimmable and accessible). Quick transportation if not inclined to walk th [... read more]e many stairs and paths available (pick up spots all have phones to call for quick pick up). Lots of hiking available to site seeing (phenomenal ocean views wherever you turn). I found the children's program (Angelitos) not being used because there is no transportation to the site from the Lobby or elsewhere in the property and it is far from the hotel rooms or the beaches. They had 3 staff and no kids the 3 times that I went to try to use it for my child (did not use it in the end). Beaches were beyond beautiful, super clean and tons of fish, urchins, and crabs to spot and watch. Away from the crowds. It is not a party hotel for young people (no disco), which was perfect for family and older adults. There is daily entertainment by an amazing team of staff (with pretty good dance training as well). Adults and kids in my family enjoyed every show. On the weekend, they bring vendors to sell crafts. Rooms: stayed at a basic room (no balcony or living room) but amazing ocean view from the windows. Loved the shower heads and the comfortable double beds. There was even a cloths line in the bathroom to hang bathing suits. Cannot say enough about the beauty and quietness of the place. if you want noise and party too, you can seek it out by the pool side and snack bar or the evening entertainment, but if you want to sleep in a hammock and enjoy your drinks, that too is available. Dislikes: having to pay for snorkeling mask (other resorts include it in the package) for 5 people adds up.

Barcelo Huatulco: Barcel Huatulco

Staff was very good. The food and restaurants require more effort, and also the special restaurants aren't open every day. The location is great, rooms were fine. Did not use pools beach was very nice. Few more showers from beach would helpful. May want to add a few more beach chairs and huts. Enjoyed the people and found it to be very safe. Thanks for a relaxing vacation.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Fabulous huge Resort

We have traveled different resorts in the Mayan Riviera over the last 4 years and found this resort to have beautiful manicured grounds along with well maintained buildings / walkways. It is a huge resort and enjoyed all the large promenades which were used for walking pedestrians only and not motorized carts. There are numerous large pools and play pools for children so we never felt crowded. The availability of lounge chairs either around the pools or at the beach never posed an issue. Plent [... read more]y of water sports and daily beach activities. We attended 8 A-La-Cartes during our stay and found the Mexican and Japanese our favorites and also found resort staff were always friendly and courteous and picking up a drink at any of the bars was always quick. The night shows in the theater were OK but the sound system there was terrible. We checked in Feb 28th only to discover an electronic music concert called Deja Voom starting up that Thursday night down at the far end of the resort. That was the beginning of 3 sleepless nights due to the bass sound being so loud along with the partying attendees coming back to their rooms and carrying on until wee hours of the morn. When we booked our resort we didn't have any idea of concerts at the facility so that was quite the surprise. Before ever booking again I would be cautious and review any upcoming concerts venues during our potential stay there. Overall 7 of our 11 days were great!

Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo: Beautiful and perfect resort

Everything was amazing, the grounds were beautiful and the pools were salt water so great for the skin! Staff was so friendly and helpful. Food was delicious, I ate wayyy too much! There was tons of activities for me and my kids, plus the shows in the evenings were so much fun!

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: The right vacation place in the wrong resort

We decided to try the Bahia Principe Tulum after searching the internet for possible vacation spots. Admittedly, our travel was less than pleasant to begin with. Our flight was 3 1/2 hours late in departing, no fault of the resort. However when we finally arrived, the room we had been assigned did not have functioning air conditioning. No offer of an alternate room was made while they tried to repair the problem. When we finally did get functioning air conditioning working, we realized the rea [... read more]son for our poor sleep was not the room temperature but the slab of concrete that was called a mattress. I have had back surgery and a need a much firmer mattress than my honey however what we slept on could have been substituted by the floor tiles without a noticeable difference. Getting home made a big improvement. The main restaurant/ buffet was good, not exceptional. Next, the resort seems to use grey-water (that's water that was formerly in your sink, bathtub and toilet) for irrigating the grass and trees. It doesn't smell very good. In fact, it smelled like we were walking through a septic tank on the way to and from the main buffet restaurant. Believe me, it made both me and my wife to nearly vomit up what we had just eaten at the nearby buffet. I can only assume the signs placed in various locations to keep off the grass were not there to prevent wearing paths in the lawn, more likely it would be a health hazard to have skin contact with the grass. Don't expect to be able to do much of anything interesting in regards to snorkeling on the beach. There is a breakwater set up along the southern edge of the beach which provides some reduced wave action however the water is chest deep at best. No lagoons or bays available. There was paddle boats, para-gliders, hobie cats and wave runners available for some above water action. Of the a la carte restaurants I managed to try 5 of them. I recommend the Tequila (Mexican) and the Brazilian Rodezio as top choices. When getting your drinks at the various bars you may have to specify which liqueur needs to go in the drink otherwise the default seemed to be tequila. It doesn't work in a pina colada. Remember the phrase 'sin tequila' (pronounced seen tequila) meaning without tequila. Additionally, we were approached multiple times throughout our stay to attend the 'time-share' presentation or buy some cheap bracelets or get a massage. It seemed this practice of wandering sales people had the full sanction of the management of the resort. I came south to escape the snow and ice, not to deal with repeated sales offers. As a result of my experiences at this location, I cannot recommend it for future visits. I will be advising my friends and family to other resorts which I have visited.

Riu Emerald Bay: 3rd time is a charm!

This was our 3rd time at this resort and we will be back. I have seen some negative reviews on here and you have to remember you get what you pay for. This hotel is not the Palace but it is a great deal for the price. We have stayed at various riu resorts for the last 18 years and have not had a bad experience. Yes there is construction going on for a 300 room extension (which includes a couple of new pools and what looks like an awesome kids pool) but we did not hear the constructuon at all a [... read more]nd our room was on that side of the hotel. There was no issue with the waiting time for the elevators. The buffet has a wide selection at every meal. There is a swim up pool bar, a busier pool for activities which was a bit warmer for the kids and there was a quieter pool. There are plenty of chairs around the pool and on the beach. Visiting Mr. Lionso restaurant along the beach is a MUST. The food is outstanding. The only thing I wud recommend is that the Riu change their policy on lost/misplaced beach towels. No one is looking to steal your towels. We were travelling with teenagers and they wander around and leave things behind. Charging customers for towels that are likely rounded up at the end the day is a bit of a crime.

Dreams Jade Resort and Spa: Now Jade - great ocean views ... great infinity pools

This resort is beautiful with great ocean views. The rooms were large enough and clean. Restaurants and Buffet were above average and room service was prompt and tasty. The resort was on top of the seaweed on a regular basis as needed so the beaches were walkable and swimmable. Being close to Puerto Morelos was great and we walked there regularly in 45 minutes. The entertainment team needs some work and the evening shows were adequate. Good food, good drink, great resort overall. It wa [... read more]s are 2nd time there.

The Fives Downtown Hotel: The very best!

They made my vacation so beautiful. I was initially worried as I was traveling solo, but soon as I got to The Fives, I totally forgot about my worries. They had a staff who's job is literally help you book all activities. Also a great concierge service that just knows Playa Del Carmen so well. Everything was perfect! Especially the hotel's proximity to 5th Avenue and the Beach. I was so lucky and blessed to book The Fives Downtown. Until next time!