Grand Sunset Princess: Wonderful vacation!

My husband and I had such a great week at GSP. Weather was perfect and the resort was absolutely beautiful. Pros to this resort: Absolutely gorgeous grounds. Kept up so nicely. We barely saw any garbage or a thing out of place. Everything was very clean. We has a swim out room and I highly recommend it! The resort was big, but we enjoyed walking and getting in some exercise. We both liked the size of the resort. The entertainment was great. Entertain staff was super fun and the nighttime [... read more] shows were fun. Downsides: Not your resort if you want a beautiful beach. Honestly, the beach isn't that bad...it is just very seaweed filled which didn't bother is too much but it's not that gorgeous white sand, turquoise watered beach. Not the resorts fault of course! It was still nice to hang out on Food: Our review for the food is kind of neutral. For a resort, it wasn't bad. For a 5 star resort in Mexico, we did expect a bit better. The lunch and dinner buffets were not great. Breakfast was hit and miss. The ala cartes were pretty good. We enjoyed the steak house, the french, the teppenyaki, the seaweed, and the Italian. We didn't enjoy the Mexican. However, at every restaurant, and desserts were terrible. :( Ive had better desserts at every other resort (even far less than 5 star) we have ever been to. That was disappointing. There wasn't a ton to do a night, but that's not a big deal. A quiet night isn't the end of the world! The WORST thing about this resort....which isn't really the resorts fault.....the smoke!! Smokers everywhere. It was overwhelming and stinky. I wish there was designated smoking areas. Especially for a family resort, not nice. Overall, we had an amazing time. Loved the staff, Shout out to Manuel from sunset breakfast buffet. Miss it already!!

Melody Maker Cancun: Resort with Identity Crisis

We stayed at this resort the first week of March 2019 for one week prior to the spring break kick off. I'll start by saying that this hotel advertises itself as "the biggest party hotel in the world". We didn't know this when booking and started to see the advertisements in the airport to our amazement. With such a statement we were expecting something kinda awesome and started to mentally prepare. Although revamped and under new management, the building is a little old and tired. Its best f [... read more]eatures are the amazing pools which get covered up for some of the special events. Bottom line up-front is this resort is having a bit of an identity crisis. Following are a few aspects that were noteworthy of our stay: ATMOSPHERE The reason why I titled this review "Not what you expect" is because I feel like this will ring true for all those who come to Melody Maker regardless of why you are coming meaning that its not really delivering for any target market - party'ers or relax'ers. I've been to a few other resorts in the same area and there is always a bit of a "formula" for how these resorts do business. This one doesn't really follow the formula. Firstly, for "the biggest party hotel in the world", things sure did wind down early. The pool music, and bars all close by 6:30pm and you are left with the 2 restaurant bars and 1 small lobby bar inside the hotel. Two of these bars close by 11pm and the other stays open until about 1am. I say "about" because staff are pretty eager to shut down, so at around the 45 min mark, the priority becomes closing up shop vs getting guests their final call. Further to the bars, there is no night time entertainment aside from a small sing-song band in the buffet one night (of 7) who was quite good. Now; that being said, I think a lot of people come to this resort for the concerts. During our stay we had one featured DJ on the Thursday night but this wrapped up by 11:30pm. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool, great stage with light show and all, definitely a high-lite of the trip. The downside of the concert focus is you loose access to the primary pool area which has a negative impact on the remaining pool and beach areas. So my point here is if you are thinking of avoiding this hotel because you think it will be too crazy, I don't think it lives up to its claim so perhaps re-consider. If you are looking for the crazy party vibe, the lower pool area "Delirio" had DJ's playing during the day which you can hear on the beach and was a pretty bumping area. If you like people watching, this hotel is full of young "influencers" looking for their next insta-moment, so lots of tiny bikinis and buff lads strutting their stuff, which makes for decent enough entertainment if you're into that. There were almost no young children even though its not an adult only resort, yet perhaps it should be. Age-wise there was the full range of people but with a definite majority in the 21-35 age range, most of them Canadian, at least when we were there. Overall this hotel is in a weird in-between market struggling to define itself. OTHER ATMOSPHERE NOTES -There seemed to be a sewer problem while we were there. Lots of strange and passing smells of sewage that would come and go throughout the resort. -Line ups at the lobby were constant. We got lucky and only waited about 20 min when we arrived late at night. -Getting drinks can be slow in some areas. The lower pool, and beach you wait about 30 min on average, even when you go to the bar yourself. TIP: Once you find a good bartender, just keep going to him. Treat him well and he will treat you well. They all tend to work the same bars so you will know where to find the ones you like. -On our last day our check out was at 12pm and our “all-inclusive pass” expired at 3pm, even though our shuttle didn’t pick us up until 6pm. This is a terrible policy, we didn’t arrive until 11pm. What are they really trying to save here? Felt like - "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" FOOD/ROOMS Moving on to the amenities, the food was typical for a resort. Nothing really stood out as fantastic, or particularly memorable, although some stuff was terrible (again, typical). There are three restaurants (Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean) and the buffet. We ended up getting bored and eating off the resort at the near-by mall a couple nights. We recommend La Parilla overlooking the lagoon, staff is great and literally you can’t walk by without them grabbing your attention 😉 … all joking aside, the food is great and reasonably priced (you should definitely buy the picture). To note, the resort’s beach side restaurant attached to the hotel is extra to the all inclusive, which we found very strange and never partook. We traveled with my Dad who bought the VIP package, so we got to see the range of what this resort has to offer. They had a big ocean facing room with a Jacuzzi patio. Ours was Lagoon facing with no patio. Overall the rooms were nice and clean, our bed was "okay", kinda lumpy with a topper thrown on as an attempt to make the mattress go a little longer but fine overall. My biggest disappointment of the entire trip was the lack of hot water in the shower (again March 2019). We only managed to get a hot shower a couple times throughout the week. We spoke to other guests, and some were in the same boat, while others had no issues. TIP: If you get in your room on the first day, and notice the water isn’t hot, just ask to be moved right away because it didn’t improve. They refill the mini-fridges in the rooms everyday, which is great. Buffet was good with lots of variety. There is a “nice side” of the buffet room which we preferred to sit at, but there seemed to be random rules to getting a seat… “sorry closed” even though the place was half full. It was very strange. Even my Dad who had the VIP bracelet couldn’t get seating most of the time. Since this hotel only just opened in December 2018, I think they suffer from general procedural inconsistencies that they are trying to work out. STAFF/SERVICE: The staff and the service are good. People are trying hard to ensure you are having a great trip but areas like the lobby you can see that the staff are getting berated with frustrated customers so they seem tired and/or frustrated when you speak with them. CONCLUSION: Overall, we enjoyed our trip and found it to be an interesting experience that I've never had at other resorts. I think they will keep improving if they are able to survive their first couple years. If you are ok to go with the flow, party or relax, you will probably come away feeling the way we did. If you're someone who is looking to experience "the biggest party hotel in the world" I don't know, maybe its what you make of it. If you are looking for a quiet relaxing resort, perhaps this one is not for you. If you want a bit of both than we recommend!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Amazing Family Friendly Resort

Our stay here was fantastic, rooms are very clean beds were comfortable. The food was fantastic the Peruvian/Japanese fusion a la carte is a must :) Lots of things to keep the kids occupied and having fun, for all ages. Was our second stay here definitely will return and highly recommend!

Riu Palace Peninsula: Amazing resort

Loved the beach area, we had a double balcony with fantastic ocean view. Staff were excellent. Food very good. I have already recommended this property to numerous friends. Loved the whirlpool tub in the room with view to the ocean.

Haven Riviera Cancun: Stellar getaway!

After many days of searching/researching all inclusive resorts in Mexico, I took a leap of faith and booked a 1 week getaway at the newly opened Haven. It turned out to be a great decision. The resort is modern, with minimalist details. The rooms are well equipped and spacious. I highly recommend the swim out room...pure relaxation! The food was top notch. All the restaurants were delicious. Room service was a major bonus!!! The beach is the only downfall to this resort. Expect mirky  [... read more]water with lots of seaweed, however the pools are well worth the trip! The resort was quiet, ideal for lots of R&R. You must go now before the crowds find out about this hidden gem!

Grand Palladium Vallarta: Beautiful resort

Grounds and ocean pool were amazing. Service in the Family Section was amazing as was one particular older gentleman server in the pool restaurant by the slides. Food was mostly a 3.5 star. We had an excellent time, third visit. We were actually married here and went back for our ten year anniversary with two little kids in tow. Made some great new memories. The servers treated our 8 month old baby like royalty!!!

El Cid Resort Castilla: Paradise, great resort.

The rooms, the facility was fantastic. Food , drinks and staff went above what we expected. The only disappointment was their coupon book. What a farce. Spend $6,000.00 to save $1200.00. The location of the facility is excellent.

Riu Caribe Cancun: Amazing Resort

The Riu Caribe was an absolutely beautiful resort. We stayed there from March 2-9/19. The hotel was just the right size, with excellent service, food, pools and beach Breathtaking views from our balcony. The room was very clean with lots of room. Loved the fact that you could get on any local bus just steps out front of the resort and go down the hotel zone to do some shopping in some great Brand Name Stores. 20 pesos to ride the bus one way - it only too 8-10 min to get to a huge outlet mall. [... read more] Felt very safe in this area. Would definitely recommend this resort to anyone and we home to return to this resort again next year!!

Ocean Coral Riviera Cancun: Amazing trip

AMAZING FOOD, AMAZING SERVICE! Beach has lots of seaweed but they try there hardest to maintain it! Pools are beautiful!! Entertainement was also pretty good. Lots of stray cats in the restaurants which did bother some people, but other people loved them. All al la cart restaurants were amazing!! Great for everyone!

Grand Sunset Princess: Very disappointed

All the hotel features were good. The food selection was good. We found you only got good service when you tipped. I had a clothing item stolen from my room. One of the service people went through are suitcases and we complained to the front desk, but nothing was done. We have stayed at this resort twice before and had positive experiences.This experience was very disappointing first we asked for a quiet room, but our room was close the pool swim up bar where there was always loud music. Second  [... read more]women’s pants were stolen from our room with a replacement value of $100.

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Great Resort

This resort is beautiful, amazing food and very clean. BUT if you don't like kids everywhere then you might want to book at the Hideway at Royalton. Adults only and that's where I will go next time. It didn't ruin our trip but my kids are grow up now & I like the quietness better. Staff were amazing there and quick to get back to you if you had issues. Rooms were very nice and clean. Food was the best I have had in Mexico & I've been 5 times...and my friend 7 times. Now the smoking...they [... read more] do allow smoking everywhere outside so if you are totally against smoking you might not like this. There are no barriers for smokers..they can smoke everywhere except restaurants and rooms. Can get a bit annoying if you're by the pool, ocean or watching the shows and you get beside a chain smoker that really doesn't care and puffs away. But it's Mexico and pretty much all resorts are like this. You want restricted smoking areas go to Jamaica. I stayed at the Riu Palace in Montego Bay and they have smoking areas & even on the beach as well. Beaches have the depth to swim & sand bottom...but water is murky not clear blue which was a bit of disappointment. But once again didn't ruin the trip we could still get cooled off. I would definitely return to this resort but go the Hideaway. It's attached to the Royalton..and you get use of the entire resort...just gives you a private beach area and pool with adults only for a quieter vacation. I would totally recommend this resort for younger families. The kids pool area is unbelievable and the kids would have a blast!

Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach: Wonderful resort

Very nice everything ,the hotel ,the pool ,the beach ,the restaurants ; the lobby open to the garden ,the wieu with the birds ; the food was very good and tasty ,fresh fruits many colourd.We enjoy all these very much .

Secrets Vallarta Bay: Fantastic Resort!

My wife and I could not be more happy with Secrets Vallarta Bay. Staff, service, food, drinks, entertainment..everything about the resort was top-notch. Definitely recommend for couples looking for an adult-only vacation.

Catalonia Royal Tulum: Underwhelming Vacation

Overall we enjoyed our stay but we would not return. PROS: Grounds, Customer Service, Rooms, Pool, Beach We stayed at this resort for 5 days and have to say that the customer service was impeccable! If we had questions or any issues (I.E. malfunctioning safe), we were helped right away or someone sent to our room within 30 minutes of placing the call for assistance. The resort grounds, pool and beach were all absolutely beautiful! Simply walking around on the resort grounds was a treat with  [... read more]the abundance of trees, ponds, birds, bridges and friendly local wildlife in the resort itself. CONS: Food, Sales staff, Beach, Night life Sales staff: there are a ton of staff in white uniforms that walk the grounds "ensuring your holiday is good", but the moment you respond or stop to talk, they start the sales pitch of how to cut out the middleman for your vacations and go through them instead. We had the exact same person approach us to have the same exact conversation each 2-3 times a day every single day we were there: "where are you from, hows the weather back home, how long are you here for, etc" trying to engage us into their 60 minute sales pitch. Food: we chose this resort based off the good reviews for food and we were very disappointed. We tried almost every restaurant (not the "exclusive package") and found they all lacked significantly in flavor. We even tried the room service and ordered the enchiladas and caeser salad our last night. It arrived very quickly but when I ordered, I mentioned that I was allergic to avocado and needed to ensure there was none in the dish - to which they replied that I was good and there would be no avocado. They then sent a side dish of guacamole on the same plate as my enchiladas. Not only could I not eat what I had ordered but when my husband tried to eat them, he said the filling was slimy (chicken and onions were the only filling) and it was tasteless and stopped after 2 bites. I shared the caesar salad with my husband, which was pretty good flavor wise but the pool of water at the bottom was less than appetizing. The only delicious meal we had our entire trip was at the Cancun airport on our way home (Guy Fieri's - so good!). Beach: a lot of seaweed! The sand and water were lovely and the beach setup for lounging was great. However, the amount of seaweed was surprising considering the reviews have not reflected much. It took all morning for the staff to clear beach of seaweed and by mid afternoon you were once again hopping over mounds that stretched the length of the grounds. Personally, I don't view it as a big deterrent for this resort but something to note for your stay. Nightlife: not a lot going on while we were there (Monday-Friday). They have a few bars open until 2am but it is a quiet resort so if you're looking for a party, you might want to look elsewhere.

Canto Del Sol: Ok resort

Buffet was ok same food as 4yrs ago. A la carte was good Rooms ok but they try to give you a crappy room unless you complain Activities not near as good as 4 years ago Hotel seems to mostly cater to time share people/seniors now which is fine if wanting a quieter place

Riu Cancun: Fantastic Vacation

The Riu Cancun is our favourite Riu property. The entire resort is spotlessly clean and modern. The grounds, plants, and beach are looked after with the utmost care and all staff go out of their way to smile and help in any way they can. The food is always fresh and there is a great variety of dishes and restaurants as well. The atmosphere is very relaxing and we felt completely comfortable and welcomed at the resort.

Riu Emerald Bay: Excellent vacation at the Riu Emerald Bay

The Riu Hotel Emerald Bay Mazatlan was our first visit to a Riu Hotel. We recieved our check in on the bus on the way to the hotel which was a bonus. I personally do not like heights and had hoped to be on a lower floor. We were on the 16th floor and I thoroughly enjoyed the views from our room. The last night we upgraded to the zaccuzi suite and now we would definatley book a zaccuzi suite for the whole vacation next time. The suite was beautiful. At first glance the hotel is very impressive. T [... read more]he hotel is situated at the north end of Mazatlan away from the noise and crowds of the golden zone which was great for us. The hotel overall is very clean, the rooms, pools, grounds and beach area very very clean and well decorated. There were ample beach and lounge chairs, we never went without. The staff is amazingly friendly and quick to serve. The guests were also well behaved. No waits at the buffet, only twice before dinner we waited for the elevator to go up from the beach and a very short wait at the bars if at all. Anytime we had an issue like a burnt out light bulb, mini bar or even when we broke a glass it was promply attended to and the front desk called within the hour to confirm our issue had been attended to. The buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner were delicious with many choices. We had dinner at the asian and the Mexican restraunt. The asian restraunt was the best asian food we have ever had at any resort we have stayed at in Mexico. As far as the construction, in the day there was little interuption from the noise. It was interesting watching the workers from our room. I am sure the additional services will enhance experiences at the Riu. I have absolutley no complaints except having to leave to go home. I would highly recommend this hotel. I would for sure stay at the Riu Emerald Bay again and all other vacations anywhere I would will have a preferance for a Riu hotel. I should mention Sunwing was great, we took 2 excursions. One was the city tour our first day and the information on Mazatlan was extremely informative. The second tour was the Sensation catamaran that showed us the ocean view of the city. Both tours were excellent. The only improvements maybe would be the enertainment and check out. The entertainment was at times not suitable for children and the dancing music was repedative. The cultural enertainment was very good, but the entertainment could use an upgrade. Big lines at check out, but when it was our turn it was quick, efficient and perefct timing. The wait and congregation in the lobby gave us time to say our goodbyes to the friends we made. There is no comparision to other hotels in Mexico we have stayed. Thank you Riu for making our first visit to Mazatlan amazing.

Camino Real Zaashila: Wonderful Hualtuco

Smaller resort with best views and a well set up layout Balcony to pool to the ocean all close, great if you don't like a lot of walking Best lunch with a great view Service excellent. Rooms are a good size but starting to get a bit dated

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Disappointed

Our first Air Transat all inclusive stay at the Kantenah 2 years ago was very enjoyable, as we were with a group of approximately 70 family and friends for a wedding celebration. This most recent vacation went very well until we arrived at reception. The room we were assigned had 2 double beds, which was not acceptable. We upgraded to a junior suite with a larger bed. Upon arrival at our room, we found it un-made, requiring cleaning from the previous occupants. We returned with our luggage to [... read more] reception and were eventually moved to another junior suite. Other than being tired and hungry from the day's travel, we finally got to our room at 10:15 pm. Everything went quite nicely for 2 days until we returned to our room at approx. 12 AM to find the bathroom and immediate area flooded from the 3rd floor above. Cosmetics and medications were ruined and everything else was soaked. Now it is 1AM and we are moving to another suite. Needless to say our vacation is losing some of the sparkle we had been anticipating. Other than talking to the customer service manager about our experience , we continued on with our vacation hoping for the best. We like the Palladium Kantenah and hope to return next December. I know we don't live in a perfect world, but the lack of concern was less than encouraging. We expected more from a five star resort. Disappointed!!

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Fantastic resort

Totally recommend this resort. Had a little mix up with our rooms for the first couple days but they ended up resolving it. If you want top notch food options, quality and service I’d totally recommend this place. Coffee/dessert/ice cream shop is amazing, all included as well. Also like the fact you don’t have to carry a room key (your bracelet is your room key)or towel card with you, total plus. Beach had some seaweed but I hear it’s because of a recent hurricane from another area and th [... read more]ey are trying their best to keep it clean. Definitely coming back to this resort! Tip: If you need two queen beds in your room call hotel before showing up to let them know or you’ll likely end up with only one king bed.