Ocean Maya Royale: Exceeded Expectations!!!!

My wife and I just returned from the Ocean Maya Royale on Jan 14, 2015 and I have to say we were both surprised with how good this resort is. Food, service, housekeepers, bartender, english speaking employees, clean well manicured grounds..... it was soooooooo nice. I have to also say, free WiFi in rooms, main lobby and even on the beach, I have never been offered so much service for the dollar you pay. Our BD TRAVEL rep (Andres / Drewski) was over and above, he actually let me use his personal  [... read more]phone to coordinate with friends that were at a different resort to meet up on a particular excursion. Oh and he's from Thunder Bay too. Ha. Thanks so much to all the staff and look forward to returning in the future.

Akumal Bay Beach and Spa Resort: Wonderful Resort

Had a great vacation. This resort had the best beach and swimming that we have encountered on any of our past vacation retreats. The rooms were very clean and well kept. The only thing that they should do, is make the bathroom and shower stall a little more private and also provide dresser drawers rather than cupboard shelves. The view from the balcony was amazing. Every room has an ocean view and the Jacuzzi hot tub on the balcony was a fabulous treat. Every room has one. The food at all the re [... read more]staurants ranged from good to excellent. Our favourites were the Buffet, the Seaside and the International Gourmet restaurants. All of the staff were fabulous. Extremely friendly and helpful, especially Oscar at the front desk and Alejandro the manager of the Buffett restaurant. Oscar went out of his way to procure us a snorkel kit, due to guests borrowing the equipment, and not returning them so others could use it. They should charge a fee for those who keep the gear longer than an allotted time or keep it overnight. On the bright side, the snorkelling is amazing and only a short distance off the beach. Saw so many large sea turtles munching on the sea grass on the bottom, along with hordes of fish (thanks to Oscar and Alejandro). The entertainment is a bit on the quiet side, but this is what most of the people vacationing here were after, very relaxing and peaceful. They did have some good bands playing in the evening under the thatched pavilion, even requested some Freddy Fender songs and they were sung beautifully. The paddle boarding was wonderful, could only manage to do it on my knees though, getting old. The bartenders were great along with the drinks. They made changes to some of my drink requests account of being diabetic. All in all, we had a wonderful time and would definitely return again.

Sandos Playacar Beach Resort: Excellent resort

Stayed at Sandos with my wife from 6/01/15 thru 13/01/15. Overall I would say it was a very pleasant first time experience. Food: The buffets were constantly being replenished with food. The food was well prepared and there was always chicken, fish, beef, pork so something for everyone. To avoid getting bored with the food we rotated the 8 restaurants each day; the French restaurant is remarkable for Mexico, and we recommend the sea bass at the beach. Amenities: spacious & cleaned every day. Bea [... read more]ch: large, well maintained. Shows: many for kids. But what I remember most is the exquisite Espresso in the morning, lunch and dinner. Good value for money, especially if you come with kids.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Beautiful resort except for the beach

The resort (surroundings) buildings, outside landscaping are all beautiful, food including restaurants a la Carte and buffet are 4 stars but the big des appointment is that there is no open beach, there is only a man made basin

Grand Palladium Select White Sand: Our Wonderful Family Christmas Vacation!

The grand palladium white sands is a very large lovely hotel on a beautifully landscaped property surrounded by lush vegetation. The gardens and property are taken care of daily. This hotel has four lobbies which covers a large area, and if needed, a small train travels regularly to the other lobbies. The beach is beautiful, however, the red flag was out over two days with high winds and there was seaweed accumulated along the shoreline which was surprising, and we were glad it was removed the n [... read more]ext day. We enjoyed relaxing by the swimming pool surrounded by beautiful Palm trees. At lunchtime, I loved the freshly grilled fish by the beach. Dinner at the steak house and Mexican Restaurant was excellent. The Japanese Restaurant was good, the chef put on a good show, except he added too much soya sauce to the food which made the meal too salty. The buffet restaurant had an excellent selection of food to choose from. We all enjoyed the Creme brûlée desserts at the restaurants. Our room was lovely, spacious, and very clean. Unfortunately, our daughters room had a fridge which did not work all week, even after three requests for repairs! Our balcony faced a forest which was nice and private. We had requested a king size bed, but they could only provide two double beds which was disappointing. The bed was nice and firm, but the pillows were too hard. My husband and I went to the spa one day and had a relaxing 80 minute massage which was great. Afterwards, we enjoyed the lovely spa facility...well worth it!! We explored Tulum, Coba and visited Playa del Carmen. We had a great time!

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Great resort / service amazing

Grounds are nice, you feel like you're in the forest/jungle, nice birds around the area. Service was great all the time. Golf course was in great shape. Trolley to thE beach or the other bahia resort was fast. Compare to the other bahia I really had the feeling that I was in the best hotel and all staff was providing extra level of service to us. Overall was great, i recommend it

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Loved this resort!!

From the moment we checked in I was impressed by the organization, order, cleanliness and overall welcome we were given. Check in was a breeze and we weren't forced to wait in line with 40+ other guests, Barcelo's staggered arrivals made this so easy. The food was awesome, recomment the a la cartes but the buffet was fantastic also. The beach was a little rocky in parts but nonetheless beautiful. Pools were clean and well maintained and our room was lovely. The staff was courteous and helpful. I [... read more] will definately return!!

Viva Maya by Wyndham: Nice place hotel

Clean and good location beach wast good time of the year but definitely recomonded this location close to 5th street by walking close to Starbucks it is a nice quiet and safe place to walk around definitely recomonded

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: Fantastic resort

This was our fifth time to the resort and each time the standard gets better and better. Service, food, cleanliness, gardens and rooms are always kept to a five star standard. From the moment you arrive at the resort to the moment you leave every time service is always with a smile.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: A beautiful trip!

Recently turned into a "luxury" hotel. I agree. The grounds, impeccable, the food wonderful and the staff genuinely happy, friendly and accommodating. All our needs were met. I will be going back for New Years Eve 2015!!!

Grand Sunset Princess: Fantastic resort! Something for everyone!

This resort is super clean and absolutely beautiful ! We have been here 4 times and even got married here. I would and have recommended this resort to many people.. Who also loved it! The food was amazing..the buffets and a la cartes both. So many choices! Beautiful new kids area, fun poolside activities and entertainment . Having a swim out room was the best part! The beach wasn't the greatest but the rest of the resort makes up for it!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Beautiful Resort

Recently my husband and I traveled for our honeymoon, the resort is absolutely beautiful, well maintained and very clean. The room are a good size and comfortable. The staff all very pleasant and make you feel very welcomed, we didn't really spend time at the beach as the waves were very high so couldn't swim and we personally prefer the pool area. Watch out for ppl trying to sell you on the privledge club, it's very annoying and unless you want a second mortgage you won't want this. We were dis [... read more]appointed that nothing was done by the resort special for our honeymoon but I think that could be a disadvantage from it being so large is you get lost in the shuffle unless your ready to make a fuss to get what you want, not worth it at that point. Overall I'd recommend this resort as long as you don't mind the size of it, it truly is beautiful.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Great family vacation spot!

This is a wonderful family resort. Very clean and comfortable rooms. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. Nice added touches such as the ice cream parlour and cafe. Friendly staff at resort and spa. We will definitely return.

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: A little disappointed

Great pools, beach a little far from rooms, food plenty of variety but nothing amazing, not the cleanest room service, Not too many beach chairs, watch privilege club for a $11,000 offer might be really pushy. Pricy over all

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: OK value for the money

The hotel is a solid three star. The food was fine. The guest service was OK. The rooms were nice. I found that the maid service was very good. The only frustrating issue I had was on the first night. The lock on the sliding door was broken. I called the operator, front desk and guest services five times in a span of 2 hours and was given the promise each time that they were sending someone right away. My son and I did not have lunch and were starving for dinner. The problem did not get addresse [... read more]d until 7pm with a man placing a piece of wood in the door frame. Upon our return from dinner, the lock was fixed. The nightly shows were OK. After attempting to watch three of the shows, we stopped going. Also, for people that like to watch tv at night, they do not have 10 English tv channels they have three at best.

Excellence Riviera Cancun: Great resort, not so great service

The resort itself was amazing. We absolutely loved the swim-up room. The food for the most part was very good. The NYE dinner wasn't great, but can be expected when they were serving probably close to 1000 meals. We didn't get to try all of the restaurants as they had a beach buffet one night, the NYE dinner, and we also had dinner on the beach as part of the honeymoon package. The only restaurant that we ate at and didn't particularly enjoy was the Italian one. The Indian restaurant was definit [... read more]ely our favourite meal. The spa was absolutely amazing. The facilities were top notch and the service impeccable. My wife says that it was the best massage that she has ever had, and the therapist even put a fancy braid in her hair during the scalp portion. Being able to do all of the hydro therapy and the massage together as a couple was a really nice experience. Where the resort fell short was in the service. With a few exceptions (our pool waitress, the Asian restaurant, the spa, and our beach dinner servers were fantastic), the service left a lot to be desired. It appeared at times as if they were understaffed. The staff that they did have on often seemed unhappy, or didn't care very much about the guest experience. You would often see staff socializing with each other, while ignoring guests. There was little consistency with things like the minibar being restocked as some days is was restocked early morning, other days very late in the day, and one day extremely late after we asked three times to have it done. With the exception of our last day, the maid service was not what I'm used to. Some days it only consisted of them making the bed and replacing towels. Our bathtub was dirty for 2 full days at one point, and they often left without sweeping up sand off the floor. If the service was on par with other resorts that I've visited, then we would definitely go back, probably multiple times. But I don't see myself spending that much money again for that kind of service. It really is too bad, as we absolutely loved the resort. I would rate the physical resort 5+ stars, but the service 2.5 - 3 stars.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach: Beautiful resort, terrible service

The hotel is absolutely beautiful, but I would never go back there again. The service was awful. I was injured in the spa (by the massage therapist) and the hotels only concern was having me sign a waiver that they are not liable. Beyond that, upon checkout, they charged us for the spa service, kept our bags and wouldn't let us leave the resort on the transfer to the hotel prior to us paying for this horrible spa experience.

Grand Riviera Princess: Second trip and still wonderful.

This was our second trip to the resort and it did not disappoint. Wonderful staff, rooms, dining, beach and resort. We would certainly go to this resort again. Great value! The resort is quite large, so people with mobility issues may find that difficult, however they do have regular shuttles between areas of the resort. We enjoyed the exercise.

Dreams Sapphire Resort and Spa: Great hotel

Example: What did you think about  this hotel? (grounds, public areas, rooms, dining, features, etc.) Great hotel, staff very kind and helpful. Lacks more live music at night. People danced when there was a live band playing, but this was only twice. We missed more latin music to dance every night. There was not much to do after a few shows other than a club with very loud music and for much younger crowd even though most of the guests were older. This hotel needs to have live latin music ever [... read more]y night like most resorts in the Caribbean where we are also taught how to dance at the beginning. I was also hoping to have some snacks, fruits, tea, coffee, juices, etc some where in the lobby when restaurants were closed. If we were hungry after restaurants closed, we had to get room service and they were usually very busy and it took long time to get the food. When it is late most people want just a snack, and the worse, we couldn't have any hot beverage after athe cafeteria closed (tea, coffee, herbal tea) for the ones that don't want to drink alcohol or had enough alcohol beverages. I really miss this and it is quite simple to make it available. Also, the beach must be cleaned in a more efficient way to offer a nicer beach. But overall, it is a great place to spent a week and I recommend it regardless. I suggest to be very careful with the people offering tours because somehow they will also offer time share and take your time.

Akumal Bay Beach and Spa Resort: Beautiful Beach

The Good: The beach is beautiful, great snorkelling on most days, well taken care of. All sorts of palapas, bar service on the beach. Yoga mats set out all over. They also put towels out with books for people's enjoyment which no one ever used. Most of the food was excellent, especially the gourmet restaurant. We didn't try the Japanese or Mexican, but the buffet was great, the Brazilian, not so great, the food on skewers was mostly raw inside, wouldn't recommend it. They have a 24 hour snack ba [... read more]r, which was great when we showed up the first night. They also have 24 hour room service, which we used once and was ok. They have a one man band as well as a 3 piece mariachi band that wander the resort beach area and restaurants. There is also a sushi/bar right on the beach, the sushi was great. Pools are in excellent shape. The resort was spotless, every where you looked someone was cleaning. Our room had a king size bed and was really comfortable. They were beach towels in the room, also robes and the view was amazing, the washrooms were basic shower and toilet, no indoor tub, and the toilet didn't have a private door, just a swinging glass door that was open on the top and had a big gap where it should have come close to the wall, the small fridge was stocked daily with 2 beers, a bag of chips, chocolate bar, 2 juice boxes, sparkling water, spring water and 3 different cans of pop. The service was amazing throughout the resort. The drinks were cold and the cappuccino's were excellent and for the most part the food was very good. Now the bad. There was very little entertainment in the evening. The music in the front lobby was jungle music or something weird. I get they are trying for the wellness thing, but it was not very good. In the lobby bar during the day the music was horrid as well, some sort of electric thing. The really bad was that there was ongoing construction, which we knew about, but didn't think is would be done in the room above us the whole time. They would start around 7:30 every morning, banging and hammering, sawing, etc, it was horrible. Then the maid would come banging on the door around 8 am, expecting you to get out. It was quite shocking. Then on our 2nd last day, there was a horrible odour of sewer gas and when we came back to our room in the afternoon, we couldn't get rid of it. It seemed to be coming through the air conditioning, so no air that night, which meant not much sleep, then constant banging first thing. As for recommending this resort, I'd say wait until the reno's are done, which are almost done in the building we were in, and there is still one whole building that is being worked on. It needs some work to get it up to the 5* rating they are hoping for. So we had a good time, we got to snorkel with the turtles, rays and barracuda's just to the side of the resort. We found the little village of Akumal, with some markets, vendors, artists, etc. just a walk down the beach. The drinks were cold and the cappuccino's were excellent and for the most part the food was very good.