Riu Flamingos: Decent Resort

This resort was okay, we ended up chnaging rooms the 2nd night we were there because we found a cockroach in our room. The bedsheets need to be replaced as they are covered in stains! Food wasn’t the best, we had better in Cuba.. very boring and repetitive! We ended up leaving the resort twice for dinner because we were so hungry and wanted good food Customer service was good

Dreams Huatulco: Absolutely fantastic

Everything was immaculate. Staff amazing! Service was incredible. Beautiful beach with easy access. Snorkeling for all levels. Restaurants were great and loved that no reservations were necessary. Safe safe safe. Short ride to town...

Sandos Playacar Beach Resort: Better than OK

Food was good and as long as you headed to dinner before 7, was ok to get into all of the a la carte restaurants. Beach was fabulous but the Elite Club took over the section closest to the resort along with the main pool so everyday we had to walk past to get to and from. The pool in the family section by the beach was nice but they didn’t have a proper food offering there so you had to leave the beach to eat lunch. Pools were also not heated so getting in was “brisk”. Rooms were a goo [... read more]d size and sufficiently appointed but not luxurious. We were with our (almost) adult children and their room was close but they didn’t give us adjoining rooms which was irritating. Staff was uniformly pleasant and helpful and it was a short trip into Playa del Carmen if you wanted to venture in. The town is very built up and touristy so not much authentic Mexican culture to be found there. Overall it was a very good vacation and we definitely enjoyed ourselves and we would go back, but would probably look at other options first.

Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach: Return trip to Cabo

This is my 4th time to Cabo, my first time at Sunset Beach. PROS - beautiful setting, location and buildings (away from tourist traps, quiet, built into the hills). Everything was very well maintained and manicured. You can see both the sunrise and sunset from the resort, it's breathtaking. The bellboys and front lobby folks at both the market and maun lobby were fast, efficient and helpful - room service was prompt and tasty all but twice - all rooms had ocean views, with the best being  [... read more]from the top floors. Ask for the 4th floor in the villas, we did and were given an amazing room by their front desk at the market - nearly all the waiters were very friendly, we tipped accordingly, especially on Christmas eve and day - when our safe malfunctioned, guest services had someone at our suite inside 10mins, and he fixed it right away - the golfcart drivers were really friendly and efficient. Our driver came quickly to pick up our bags on the way out. The same on our arrival. I tipped 10usd both times - the pool waiters were a great feature, you were served food and drinks at your lounge chair - the free shuttles to the sister resorts were a great way to visit Medano Beach and go down to the marina without paying for a taxi - the maids were amazing, they did a fantastic job. On a day when we requested no service (there is a button in your room), they followed up with a call to ensure we had all we needed. - the brunch on Sunday and on Christmas day were great, as was the Christmas eve Mexican feast - the staff had a ton of patience for some very rude and demanding high maintenance guests. I wouldn't have been able to hold my tongue, kudos to them for handling so much of it with grace - the sky pool was beautiful, and it was also nice having our own smaller, communal pool outside of our villa CONS - difficult to get around (resort is large and all uphill/downhill, relying on golf carts for small children, elderly, high heels or to get to opposite ends of the property). We opted to walk a lot. - consierge or guest services could not get us a Christmas tree in our room, even a tiny one, even when I said I would pay for it. It was my sons' first holiday away from home and we went without a tree. To his credit, the gentleman at guest services did ask around for us. - there are coffee pot and filters in the rooms but, you had to buy coffee grinds and cream/sugar, which resulted in us having to order room service daily. Same for water, as per below. - No water bottles in the room, we had to use either room service or, during open hours, a bar - once room service took 1hr and 40min (breakfast) and once my youngest son ordered a burger well done and I didnt notice until he ate a 1/4 of it that it was raw. It also arrived cold. - My youngest son and I broke out in hives on the 4th day; we're both allergic to bed bug bites and my son kept waking up with welts like mosquitoes but we never saw any in our room. It wasnt until our last night at bedtime that I actually saw bugs, but we had to be up at 6am so we had to tough it out. I put my sons in head to toe long sleeve PJs and socks. - The buffet at breakfast was far too small, save for Sunday brunch and Christmas day, given the amount of people they seat. - the beach is not swimmable, though for me this isn't really a con as I don't normally visit Cabo for this, but I had my sons for the first time and they like to swim. Again for me it's not a con and not what I visit Cabo for. We used the shuttle to the other resort, however, and were able to swim at Rose/Medano Beach. - I was very disappointed in how little anything was done in the way of Christmas activities. I follow most of the local resorts in the area on IG and a lot of them seemed to put more effort into holiday activities for the children - there was no balls or sports equipment for rent, and virtually no activities unless you're childless and can visit their sister resort, Pacifica. There is also no evening entertainment. - I understand there are both EP and all inclusive at this resort but constantly being asked for your room number and signing for every single thing you ate/drank became tiresome, especially since we still had to wear the "look at me I'm a tourist" wristbands - we were only a family of three, a rollaway bed was something we were provided at the Hyatt Ziva but not here. My youngest son is 10 and we shared a bed here. - be aware that the resort will try to sell you a timeshare as soon as you arrive. If you suffer the 2hr "breakfast" sales pitch, you are rewarded with free goodies (pro!) but trust me when I say you suffer for it (con!) You must bring your spouse if you have one, which means your children have to go, too. If you like free things: before you arrive at the hotel go online and check out Cabo Expeditions, what appears to be the largest and most dependable tour/excursion operators in the area. Choose an excursion and tell the pitcher of the sales breakfast you'll attend (2 days from then, dont go the day after you arrive) if your excursion is covered for you and your party. If you arent up for that they'll also give you a spa credit or free meals at one of the $$$ restaurants. - we rented a cabana at the sky pool that was supposed to come with a bottle of prosecco, a cheese platter and a fruit tray; we didn't receive any of that but were still charged 55usd. My 13yr old son was served a pina colada with rum, despite his wearing the underage wristband -There were 2 days we couldn't get a single spot at any of 3 pools

Secrets Huatulco: Great People...Great Resort

We had an amazing time at Secrets Hualtulco. The staff was friendly and welcoming and did everything the could to make our trip great. The food at times was a little disappointing in relation to other Secrets resorts we have experienced. Once again, Felicia from Trip Central helped us to get everything organized in three short days. We love Trip Central and how easy they make everything for us.

Riu Dunamar: Fantastic Resort

================================================================================== Very well kept, clean, great services with good foods. Hotel can use more public washrooms facilities. ==================================================================================

Riu Palace Baja California: Amazing Resort

The food and service was second to none. The atmosphere and scenery is beautiful. There are three items that I would recommend being looked at: 1) when someone is too drunk instead of giving them a bucket to throw up in, take away their band so they can no longer drink for a period of time. Any kind of fighting the persons should be kicked out of the resort. 2) the stairs need to have a strip on the bottom of the stairs, the brown seems to blend into the next stair making it a trip hazard.  [... read more]3) Do not let vacationers put their own music on, the resort picks the music and that is it. There seem to be a lot of tension when one group wanted their music and not everyone appreciated it. If the resort is in control of the music that will eliminate discussion on music.

Hyatt Vivid Playa Del Carmen: Very Good Resort

Beautiful resort, Very clean grounds and pool area, the room was very comfy and was well stocked with drinks. The food was okay, the beach area got crowded with the locals so therefor we had to move back up too pool area. But overall a nice resort.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Excellent place!

The grounds were always in tip-top shape. Line ups to get drinks always moved quickly and smoothly. Restaurants were amazing + buffet had tonnes of different food. A lot of different pools, so you're bound to find at least 1 that suits your needs. Shuttle to the beach only takes around 5 to 10 minutes.

Ocean Maya Royale: Good htl

Everything in this hotel is good except one thing . The night entertainment area is small and it is not very intersting to watch it . It needs a big upgrade in that regard . I wiuld still recommend this hotel for everything else .

TRS Coral: Great resort

This resort is great . A wide variety of good restaurants .The quality of service is absolutely phenomenal. Check in was very easy and pleasant . The butlers are there to make your stay comfortable. They take care of all your needs , from restaurant reservations to pick up confirmation .the service by the pool and on the beach is great . I would go back to this hotel without a doubt

The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences Playa Del Carmen: Great Resort!

The rooms were new, clean, and comfortable. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and maintained. The beach area is soft light brown sand with very few rocks. The sandbag wall is a ton of fun. The beach wait service is fantastic. There are a ton of a la carte restaurants and all have amazing food and good service. The resort is medium sized as far as rooms and guests go, but it is large in area. It was a long walk from the new section of rooms to the beach. There are shuttles, but they n [... read more]ever seem to be where you need them. The cenote is a very unique and amazing feature of this resort. Seeing the monkeys was a highlight of our trip! There are a lot of pools on the property but only the main infinity pool is heated. The lobby is small and closed in. There is no space where you can hang out or play games or have a drink. The evening shows are outside without a lot of sitting space. We didn't stay for the duration of any of the shows as they did not hold our interest. The buffet was not as large as any other resort we have been to. The food was good and there were adequate choices. The food area was quite crowded and there weren't a lot of tables. We went over Christmas break so we paid a lot more than we would have at another time of year. This is a great resort for $2000 per person, but at peak times, you don't get more even though you pay more. Overall, this resort was great for our family vacation!

Ocean Coral and Turquesa: OK Resort

Good resort in general. 30 mins from Cancun Airport. Room was OK, very small bathroom, very loud air conditioner, view of trees only (building 4), pool was freezing, some a la cartes were great, buffet was good.

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Thumbs up !!!!!

-very nice place to stay -French Brasserie,Tokyo Tepparyaki and Trattoria Pizza e pasta restaurants were very good. The Mexico Lindo restaurant not so much .The buffets are really good . The beds and pillows are awesome, the room was clean .you really don't need to leave the resort everything we think is there except if you want to go the ruins . Ocean was rocky in most places when getting in, lot of lounge chairs. Really nice water parks for the kids , and nice pools for any age . All [... read more] the people that work there are great hosts!!!

Ocean Coral and Turquesa: Great all-inclusive with much to offer

We really enjoyed our 9-night stay at Ocean Coral & Turquesa over Christmas. We had been to 2 all-inclusives in Dominican Republic (Hard Rock Casino - Punta Cana & Dreams La Romana) in the past which we had really enjoyed. Ocean Coral met & possibly exceeded our great experiences in DR. The beach is huge (the hotel has a very, very long beach -- much longer than most, if not all, of the neighbouring resorts). Our kids (18, 16, 13, 13) had a great time as well. Lots to do, many restauran [... read more]ts to eat at, nice staff, etc. The weather was very good overall. A couple of evenings were a bit coolish & it was good we had brought our long-sleeved options. Had some great day trips to Tulum, a cenote and a bike ride to Puerto Morelis. Plus a snorkelling outing which was excellent (which we did through Light House Tours at a great price & with excellent guides). Kids loved playing beach volleyball - everyday! Food was great. Seafood was very fresh & very well prepared at each restaurant. Meat options were also excellent. The variety of food options at the various restaurants was great. Coffee shop was also excellent. We didn't get a chance to try the Japanese restaurant as it was very booked up & we left it too late to try making a reservation (when we called there were no openings for a few days which was too late in our case). Lots of good entertainment each night was fun as well. Only complaint would be noisy neighbours a few nights which we were quite easily able to deal with. Guest services often didn't answer calls but call the room service number instead -- they were very responsive & able to redirect calls to front desk.

Hotel Dos Playas Faranda: To be expected...

A few positives... the food is good, the ocean is beautiful, and it's a pretty good location. The negatives the beds are extremely uncomfortable, the bars close at 12 and unless you are willing to throw a few pesos for every drink and meal the service is subpar. Pools were freezing, we didn't see anyone in them all week and the walking paths are not in the best condition. All in all it's what you would expect in a 3 star..you get what you pay for.

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: 5th time back for 1 month stay

This is our 5th time back to the resort. We stayed a full month, which in the end was not long enough, for us! This resort has many returning guests some up to 20 years and many that stay 2-3 months. A sign of a consistent, valued resort by many of us. I have written several in-depth reviews of this resort, which are posted on trip advisor, so I will just highlight some of changes and give a quick overview. Everyone’s expectations can be very different and so in order for you to be a [... read more]ble to read our review you can understand what we look for in our vacations. We look for a nice beach, mature adults not a lot of party people, friendly atmosphere, clean hotel, controlled smoking areas. A variety of food selections, and various extra items such as bikes, boogie boards etc. As well as quick access to the countries culture. The town is within walking distance of the hotel, lots to discover and great options on restaurants. It is our understanding the hotel is under new management and it was very apparent that the staff were on edge through this trip. We were happy to find many of our favorite staff members, still remained at the resort even with the new ownership, we even met a few outstanding new ones who have joined the Decameron team. We still received the same amazing and friendly service as we have come to expect from this resort, although many of the staff seem to have limited English skills. Give them time and in a year they should be up to speed. In the meantime It was very challenging to order your eggs how you want them cooked as this staff member english understanding was very limited. She really tried. However, often we had to get someone to translate or simple hand gestures worked at times. We mainly ate in the small restaurant by building 5, except at dinner time. The grounds are kept in tip top shape; you can see the gardeners working hard every day to keep it looking amazing. No hummingbirds this year which was a bit of disappointment. The hotel has several zones set up, the quiet adult pool area, which is very quiet, no kids and no loud music. The rest of the pools can be more active. They do monitor it to ensure the kids and loud music is kept in control. They have some work to do on the smoking rules. It was not uncommon to see people smoking right under the no smoking signs. It was kind of disappointing as many of them were fellow Canadians, who should be accustomed to limited smoking areas. The day to day staff do not enforce the rules and you do have to ask management to do something about it. It was very frustrating through the vacation, especially when trying to eat our meals, enjoy beach or pool time. They put out ashtray around the pools which suggests that smoking is open to the pool area. They need to designate a smoking pool area in the adult zone as we found we had to move often. The same on the beach, as well with folks simply dropping their butts on the beach where can be washed into the water. The food was acceptable but they do have some work to do on it. A bit different this year with the management changes. Most of the meats were in a lot of sauces. There is always options and variety. Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies. Each night they have a different theme in each of the large buffets. Last year they offered more carved meats this year we could only find that option at dinner in Flamingos. They do offer A La Cart meals which are worth going to. The Italian is the most popular. Many people line up very early in the am to book these. By early around 6 AM. You can only book for two nights and can only book for parties up to six unless you bring another person with you. The bookings start at 730 and they do get you through the line fairly fast. Also you have four choices in dinner sittings. Wifi is not available throughout the resort. It can be slow depending on how many folks are using it. There are two spots, however the one by the main check in desk seems to be very buggy this year and you could not stay connected. They have upgraded their TV channels, however not many Canadian channels which is a big disappointment, given that the resort is primarily Canadians and Mexican folks. We were there during the grey cup and it would have been nice to watch in the sport bar on the resort. We did go across to the local sport bar and had great food drink and an enthusiastic crowd. Great fun! Hubby went back often to watch the hockey games. The beach is wonderful for those that like to walk, you can walk for miles and miles, keeping in mind at that time of year it has a bit of slant. The waves were higher than normal this year, so many folks really enjoyed boggie boarding! You can get them for free at the sport shack, they also offer Kayaks and you can sign up for a fun short sail. The beds are very hard! We did request a fridge for medications but was never fulfilled. We had to continue to get an ice bucket to keep things cool. This year they did not clean up the beach as well as they have done in the past, not sure why this is the case, this could be improved. Keep in mind that the beach loungers are plastic and after a time can get uncomfortable, many of us simple bring or purchase a blow up lounger which work great! Often people leave them behind for the next person to enjoy. You can get your blow up filled in the small store or at the bike rental. For a small fee, sorry not sure what it is. They have also changed to small water bottles in the rooms rather than the large once, being focused on the environment seems like another poor contribution. It is best to bring your own drinking glass, especially if you wish to have a straw as they do not have any straws in the resort. Which is great! This year they moved from plastic disposable glasses to washable ones. Lots of folks ended up with stomach issues, including our group, we are speculating that is due to them not washing them well enough. After the second week the cups disappeared and the disposable ones were brought back. Given so many folks were sick this year, far more than in our previous visits. I think they could perhaps add some hand sanitizers, or even better bring your own. Several people in our group got sick and had to visit the resort doctor. They loved her and she really took great care of them. This is also a fee service. Given we were there for a month, I wanted to go the gym every day to bike. The bikes were broken and in very poor condition. I would have used other equipment but I have mobility issues and that is the only piece of equipment I can use! I am hopeful they will address this for next year. Sometimes we booked dinner late (8:30) and we did find that we need a snack late afternoon, unfortunately none of the bars offer any snacks. I think offering some tortillas and salsa might be a great upgrade. The safe in the room is recommended, you need to know it is an extra daily charge. It is important to also budget tipping. The staff work hard for very little pay and the tipping helps them out a lot. It does go into a pot for them to share among each of their teams. If you plan for it you won’t get tip fatigued. Canadians do not leave loonies or toonies, they are useless to them. Peso is best but dollars also work. US or Cdn. We did find a lot more grumpy people this year as well as some new cultural folks that were not that friendly. So it did change the atmosphere somewhat. We heard Air Transat has added new routes which may reflect the differences. We booked our trip with Trip Central, with Air Transat, we will be back again next year. Jenn Black our travel agent was outstanding, as she is every year.

Secrets Aura Cozumel: Wonderful Getaway

We enjoyed our stay at Secrets Aura. The staff was very friendly, especially our bartender, Santiago in the Preferred Lounge. We found the food very tasty, the resort very clean. Our only disapointment was that they did not have nightly entertainment. You'd think an adults only resort would be a little more lively at night.

Krystal Grand Los Cabos: Fabulous Customer Service

This was our second time staying at the Krystal Grand in Los Cabos. We booked our room in the altitude tower and the view was spectacular. The entire resort is so clean, and the staff are friendly and very helpful. The food was good in all of the venues with lots of selection. We will definitely go back again!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Unbelievable service

We continue to return as the employees give exceptional service. Early morning breakfast at Cozumel with Kary & Andre is a great way to start the day. Suggestions for dining..leGourmet, Mashua (best salmon) Portofino (Italian, we however recommend the tuna). Rooms are clean & a request for a bed topper was handled promptly. The gardens are lovely, well maintained property. Best are the people, courteous,friendly & hard working.