Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Beautiful Resort, Mediocre Service

I had my doubts when I booked this vacation. Friends chose the resort based on previous visits. 975 rooms makes for a large and busy resort. My first impression was not one of delight. The lobby is unimpressive and very hot. We were not greeted as we normally are at a 4-5 star resort with a refreshing beverage. We stood in a long and slow line. We arrived well after check-in time of 3PM and yet our room was not ready. The hotel staff did not take our request of 2 rooms being close together. We [... read more] had to request a change. We were placed in the furthest building from the beach. A 15 minute walk away. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained, but on certain days when they watered, the stench was nauseating. When we finally had access to our room, the safe did not work and we had to call to have it repaired. We needed to stay and wait in our room for it to be repaired. Our patio door handle was in pieces on the floor. When we showed it to the repairman he told us to call the front desk. We decide to leave it broken as we didn’t want to waste time waiting around again. The food started off good , but progressively got worse over the course of the week. Breakfast was good. Lunch was decent. Dinner had some questionable meat. The a la cartes had the worst service. You needed to make a reservation the day before. If you didn’t make it before an early breakfast, you were eating at 9PM. We tried the Italian restaurant with a 9 o’clock seating. When we arrived, they weren’t prepared and searched the restaurant to put tables together to seat 7 of us. When we finally sat down, we were greeted with a sour face. No welcome or how do you do. Nothing. He brought us water and literally threw it into my husband’s glass from a distance. Soaking the tablecloth. Took quite a while to take our order. Food was okay. Not worth the wait. My teenage children ordered the pizza which was clearly from a box and the exact same as what they found at the snack bar. The 24 hour snack bar was not always open. We ate at the Mexican a la carte one night. Managed to get a 7:30 reservation. Our server continually mixed up our orders. My brother asked for a Coca Cola and was not brought one until the end of the meal, after repeatedly asking politely. When he finally brought it, he gave it to my husband. We had some really good laughs at the inept service, but it’s not what you expect from a 4-5 star resort. When my husband asked for hot sauce, our server just laughed and walked away. When he came back around my husband asked again and was told the red stuff is the hot sauce to which he replied”no, that’s salsa”. And then he just left again. Bar service was okay as long as you went up to the bar. Poolside service was very slow. Even with a 20USD tip ahead of time. The swing bar down by the beach was definitely the best bar. My teenagers had very poor service and were mostly ignored. They had self serve non-alcoholic drink stands, but didn’t always have cups available. The rooms were kept fairly clean. We always had fresh towels. However, my nephew had been sick in the bathroom. The smell of vomit persisted and was not cleaned off of the toilet. The beach was beautiful. The scenery, breathtaking. Pools were clean. There was a large group of friends and family. 50% ended up quite sick. Vomiting more so than diarrhea which would have been more typical. Many children succumbed to the illness. So we can’t blame it on alcohol in the heat and sun. There were never any chairs available around the pool. You could find chairs on the beach at the far right side. We had a pleasant time, but I would not book at this resort again. If you decide to go, request a building close to the beach. Either building 1 through 5. They have carts to take you to and from the beach area, but it’s hit and miss. When one does drive by, it’s too crowded and doesn’t stop anyway. So to sum it up, the resort is too big, with too many people and the service is not great. This resort is more of a 2-3 star.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Best trip yet

Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal is the best resort we have been to. The place is gorgeous and clean and staff are amazing. We didn’t have to ask for anything, they were asking us. Customer service above and beyond. And yes the food was amazing as well. 1-5 rating a 5+++ And thank you Tanya Smith for helping us with this.

Zel Cozumel: great resort

Smaller resort Very clean and well kept grounds Staff always attentive Buffet was great, Italian a la carte was good, Mexican a la carte was OK and international a la carte service was extremely slow. Hotel caters to golfers so beach and pool were never crowded. Everything closes at 1am. Don't expect too much for night life.

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: Wonderful Resort!

We love the Royal Decameron, Puerto Vallarta. This has been our 6th time at this resort and each time we are met with friendly staff, great food and just a relaxing, enjoyable week. It’s our home away from home 😊 We are never disappointed! I would highly recommend you give it a try.

Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo: Fantastic Family Resort

This is a fantastic family resort. Friendly staff clean facilities, amazing food. There is so much to do on the resort that everyday there is something new to discover. Definitely reccomend for any family.

Holiday Inn Resort Los Cabos: Wouldn't recommend

If you're looking for a 1.. maybe 2 star resort this might peak your interest... We have been travelling to Mexico every year for the last six years now and I have never been to an all inclusive resort where they don't have resort staff walking around the pools offering drinks. There was one bartender at the Dolphin pool bar (Kids pool) who was incredible (Orlando - Personable, friendly and great drinks). Other than that the other bars weren't very good experiences and made different drinks t [... read more]hen what was asked for. The a la carte restaurant was not very good and the "Catch of the day" was quite fishy smelling and not fresh (Ourselves and a few other couples left after dinner to the buffet). Not to mention it is quite cool and windy at night and they don't have portable propane heaters on that patio, only the buffet dining area (which is quite far away from the water so already warmer...) Didn't make for a nice experience when everyone is wearing winter coats and/or blankets at dinner. The buffet is minimal and doesn't have many options especially if you have young kids who don't eat spicy foods or those with lots of sauces. You can however, request a pizza, hot dog, or fries for them (Or unless you want them to eat the fruit loops that are put out for them for dinner...). There were no fresh veggies other than lettuce. However, the morning omelette women were excellent and the omelettes and fried eggs were always great! The fish tacos, pizza, salad, and nachos available at lunch time at the restaurant by the ocean were very good! The rooms are good enough if you're just going to sleep in it as they are very outdated, our toilet leaked and the sink backed up when brushing teeth. (We did notify the front desk of the problem and the staff wasn't helpful as they either couldn't understand what we were saying or pretended not to). We did have a fridge, but they don't stock them with anything. In fact, they aren't even plugged in. We were "Upgraded" to an ocean view room on arrival because they were over capacity for the one we had booked... which is nice and all but not when there is no elevator and you have to pack your stroller up and down 3 flights of stairs with your baby to get to your room on the top floor. (Again we mentioned this to the front desk and they said they didn't have any available ground floor rooms). Is it common to not get face clothes? Again.. I have never stayed in a hotel that didn't provide those. The pools are very cool and not used as much as the pools usually are when you go to Mexico... By our 5th day they had finally increased the temperature in the activity pool but the kids pool is pretty cold. If you're one who likes entertainment this isn't a resort you would enjoy as the entertainment is very minimal. No dinner&show combos nightly like your typical all inclusive resort. No indoor to hold shows like this it seemed.. everything was outside. The thing we did enjoy was the sunshine&blue sky! If you're looking to book an all inclusive it is definitely worth spending a little more to get yourself to a different resort.

Royal Hideaway Playacar: Spectacular resort and service

We loved the property, the service, the staff, the food.....all of it! It was so well maintained, staff always cleaning the property. We actually had no idea it was one of the Leading Hotels in the World, and were very pleasantly surprised. It was a perfect vacation, and we intend to come back soon! Thank you so very much.

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Great for families but with caveats!

Family of 5. Teen, tween and child. Flew Sunwing, stayed for a week. I'll start with the caveats: At the airport, make sure you sit right at the front of the bus. If you're not, check-in will take a long while and you may not get the room you requested. For us it was great since we were first on the bus and first to check in. Others weren't so lucky. Caveat: Don't lose your bracelet. It contains a chip to unlock the door to your room. 100US to replace. Caveat: Like most all inclusive re [... read more]sorts, they'll ask you to join a Sunwing rep for a presentation regarding "joining" the club. First off, the tactics used to entice you to the presentation are misleading. Second, unless you're ready to throw down thousands of dollars to join a quasi "timeshare", don't waste your 90 minutes. Caveat: Reserving pool loungers. The resort claims not to allow this. Far from it! We had to "reserve" our chairs as early as 7am to beat the madness of everyone else reserving loungers. Worst part is some people would reserve loungers and show up for 10 minutes only to disappear for the rest of the day. Staff not much help here. Caveat: If you're a beach person DO NOT COME TO THIS HOTEL unless you're prepared to swim with seaweed. The Sand itself is beautiful until you approach the water. Apparently they hired a company to clean the seaweed on the beach and you can see the little tractor cleaning up everyday however it's been an ongoing issue for years now. The water is murky and brown unless you get lucky with a day without wind which is rare. Caveat: Reserving restaurants... Forget about it unless you're diamond club or from hideaway resort. If not, you need to show up at 6pm (there's usually a lineup) to get a table for any time before 8pm. Guaranteed frustrations there. That goes for all restaurants except for Zen where you can reserve but you have to show up around 230pm to wait in line until they start reserving at 3pm for either 630pm, 8pm or 930 pm. Crazy system! Caveat: The wait staff makes an average of 150 dollars a month so they depend on tips. If you don't tip, you don't get served. Simple... Btw if you like coffee, imo Mexican coffee is not that good. Stick to the cappuccino. Ok now the good stuff Restaurants! Steak House by far the best. Steaks cooked perfectly, and very flavorful. The entire menu was delicious. Italian, Indian, sports base triedand Caribbean are good. Once you get into the restaurants you'll definitely enjoy and service is great as well. Zen is Japanese Teppanyaki and is fantastic. Great food, great entertainment. A definite must. Buffet is buffet. Different varieties, good service but pretty repetitive. Pools are great. Kids pool is fantastic with a whole bunch of things for children. Activities in all pools are great as well. Grounds are very well kept and the hotel and rooms are newer and well maintained. Kids club was great for our youngest for couple hours a day. Kept him well entertained. Take lots of sunscreen please!!!!!! Sun is very hot and we've seen our share of "tomatoes". Overall, this is a good very large family hotel. You'll definitely enjoy! We've been to both Royaltons in Jamaica and Punta Cana. I would rank this in the middle of the group.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Beautiful Resort

The sprawling resort grounds are meticulously maintained. Staff are friendly and go out of their way to be helpful. The food at the buffet was good and plentiful and the a la carte restaurants were top notch. The only negative was the beach. It was rocky and full of seaweed. We didn't swim in the ocean once. We spent plenty of time at the resort's numerous pools.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Awesome resort!

This resort is a foodie’s paradise! The resort was clean and the staff were eager to please. They made my stay very comfortable. The special touch in my room to help me celebrate my birthday was very touching! I felt safe Had a great time and would dedenitly go back!

Iberostar Selection Paraiso Lindo: Amazing resort

Beautiful grounds, stunning beach, excellent food and the service was stellar. Rooms were very comfortable and well situated with the pools and beach close by. The quality of the food as well as the abundant choice of restaurants and buffets along with the 24 hour cafes and ice cream and crepe place just added to the amazing experience.Amazing holiday and would definitely go back to this wonderful resort, Iberostar Paraiso Lindo.

Riu Dunamar: Second Here , love ❤️ it!

We loved returning to Riu Dunamar It was nice seeing many of the staff that were still working there: Rene pool bar is always happy to serve great drinks with a smile Max is always strolling around to party pool with his deink cart and he is simply the best! JC was has entertaining as last year We missed Olimpia so much :( Dolphin is such an amazing waiter , he will make sure you have a great evening every night!!! The BEACH was as breathtaking as last year even after the palace was bu [... read more]ilt , you can walk forever and it so beautiful and relaxing. Five pools and a waterpark , what more can you ask for?! Nightclub on site is great! Entertainment is always good 😊 This resort is secluded and not on the strip but thats the best part for us. If you are going on excursion get your food out of bar fridges prepped in to go containers. Property is clean, A/C works and riu's pretty much look the same all around the world. Shopping on site , you can negotiate a bit off. Worse they can say is no. If ever theres a major problem you can talk to management and they are always willing to rectify the situation. If you go , visit isla mujeres by taxi or rental car. Eat some street tacos, go to MiA resort beach and bring a snorkel. Visit the local shops there instead of tourist area stores and help locals. Go early and spend the day its worth it!! See you again next time !!!

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Overall good resort.

The resort was well kept and the staff was friendly. We found that the resort size was just far to big for them to be able to offer a fantastic customer experience. Food was great in the beginning of the week, started to quickly go down hill as the days went on. Again they are trying to cater to the masses. The beach was lovely, lots of seaweed but the entire coast line is covered. Helpful tip a lovely lagoon is about a 10 minutes walk up the beach from the resort, worth the walk. Store prices w [... read more]ere far to inflated for what was offered. They had some local artisans from playa del Carmen host a night market one evening which was nice. The staff did a great job but I imagine they are flat out all day and just exhausted. Pools were large and clean. Our room was a bit of a walk to the beach about 15 minutes, so we had to attempt to pack for the day. Overall good experience, would not rank high on our must return list of resorts though.

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Love the Mexicans!!

The hotel and grounds are lovely, if excessively spread out. We really enjoyed the personnelle and found them helpful, well-trained and pleasant at all times. The food was copious, although very ordinary, with the exception of the French restaurant. We did have a problem with our first room but the hotel sorted it out quickly. This is a good resort for young families.

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Great resort for kids

Hotel was great. So many options/activities for the children. They were very impressed with the Star Camp, pools and beach. They also enjoyed the play structure and carousel in the evenings. Grand kids were very impressed with the breakfast buffet. While it is a huge resort, there were carts constantly circling to get you from one end to the other if required. We ordered and paid for an upgrade for a birthday party celebration and everything was well received. While most of the service st [... read more]aff could speak some English, answering any questions requiring details for the answer was often a challenge. The staff work very hard. We would return.

Grand Park Royal Cozumel: Awesome

Really enjoyed my stay. This hotel is super clean, layout is very nice, ands small. Not a lot of walking around to get places. Felt very safe, and the food was pretty good, especially the a la carte restaurants. The beach is pretty small, but the snorkeling right off the beach made up for that, and the pools were super clean and beautiful. Love this place, will return.

Grand Palladium Select Costa Mujeres: Beautiful resort!

The resort is brand new and the property and rooms are beautiful. We had an ocean front loft suite and absolutely loved it. There were a few kinks, our roof sprung an air conditioning leak two times resulting in a small flood each time. But repair each time was very quick and caused minimal inconvenience. The food was great and there was lots to choose from. The beach is gorgeous and offers great swimming. We stayed in family selection and enjoyed being close to the beach, having a restaur [... read more]ant in our building, the beach restaurant for lunch right next door, a family selection pool with a great restaurant as well. The boats to get around in were lovely. We had some adult time at the TRS pool when the kids checked out the kids club which was also beautiful. The beachfront pool was also amazing. My only complaint was that it was tough to figure out who to talk to when trying to sort reservations and getting bottles of wine. We met our family host at check in and then couldn’t figure out how to talk to the right person after that. We would go to the front desk at FS and were told they would leave a note but that rarely worked. It would be highly recommend to make this process much easier. We also found the large buffet La Isla disappointing with few options and only dined there once. All in all we had an incredible week and left feeling super relaxed!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Great Resort

The resort was amazing. The food was great, clean rooms and staff was very friendly and helpful. We would go back and stay here. We enjoyed it very much. There is so much to do here, you don’t have to leave the resort to have a lot of fun.

El Cozumeleno Beach: Great resort

Good location not too far from Ferry. Great food and the place is kept clean. Finally we saw Mariachis the last evening we were there. Staff was accommodating and pleasant. We got an upgraded room ( family room instead of two separate rooms as we were a family of 5) . That was fantastic. We had no issues with getting purified bottle water in our room. Found out that the tip we leave in the room was taken from the supervisor instead of the cleaning lady. So we gave the lady directl [... read more]y her tip when we could. Only one bad thing.... the cocktails are made with a liquid of artificial sugar.. like splenda. They taste very bad. Finally one server told us how to ask for the original recipe.... Asucar Natural (in Spanish) We did excursions like the snorkeling but no need to pay extra when you have plenty of fish to see at our own beach. Great vacation.

Posada Real Los Cabos: posda real Los Cabo

One of the nicest resorts we've been too amazing food amazing staff room were awesome great sunrise in morning beautiful weather will be going back for sure but longer next time very on expensive 🤠🤠🤠