Selection Riviera Cancun: Beautiful!!

Excellent option for a wedding! The food was delicious and the staff were greeting us all the time. IMPORTANT: The A/C did not work well and the bathtub "on" button was very difficult to press I wish I could stay longer!!

Oleo Cancun Playa: Fantastic adults oriented, relaxing resort. 4.5 out of 5!

Oleo is sleek, sophisticated, relaxing, and quiet. If you want boutique, adult oriented, friendly, and clean- a safe place to relax with good unlimited food and drinks, you should consider Oleo. I stayed for 8 days in late May, 2018 with my teenaged daughter. POSITIVES: - The food overall. The breakfast buffet, Mediterranean restaurant, and Japanese reservation only dinner restaurant were all great with a decent selection whether you are a meat-eater or vegetarian. I have diet restrictio [... read more]ns and preferred the Azul buffet restaurant as I could create my own plates and the chef was able to cook me fillets of fish with no oil fresh on the grill. We experienced no abnormal stomach issues while at Oleo. I didn't drink much but the couple of glasses of wine I had during my stay were decent. The red wine was chilled which I found refreshing. - I had a positive interaction with all of the staff members I spoke to during my 8 day vacation. From the cleaning staff, to the front desk personnel, the waiters and cooks, everyone is polite, attentive, and happy to help you out. - The room is spotless, airy, and if you are lucky enough to upgrade to an ocean view room, the views are breathtaking. We upgraded at the resort during check in. The bed and linens were clean and comfy. The bed was firm but not in a bad way with tons of pillows. Your mini fridge will be re-stocked daily with cans of pop (Sprite, Coca Cola, Fresca), a couple of beers, and Cristal water bottles. No mini bar or hard alcohol FYI. - Poolside & beachside service means that you can get snacks (burgers, fries, tacos, guac & chips, etc) and drinks brought to you while you relax. You can also walk up to the poolside seating area to sit and eat if you'd like. - There is a BestDay travel agency booth in the resort and they are super helpful with booking you excursions. I ended up purchasing 2 adult tickets for Chichen Itza, Aventura Park/Dolphinaris, and Tulum including lunch and transportation. I did tons of research and was confident that I got the best price possible from a reputable excursion company. Bring a lightweight day pack for your excursions. You can leave it on the bus and as you will need your bathing suit, towel, sandals, hat, sun screen, etc. - The resort Wi-Fi was good and easy to connect to. - There were NO MOSQUITOS on the resort during our stay. During our trip to Tulum we got swarmed and bitten quite a few times but both my daughter and I never wore bug spray at Oleo and had no issues. - Although the water from the shower and sink was non-drinkable, it had no funky smell and was ample and hot. Unlimited Cristal bottled water could be found anywhere and was safe. Tastes similar to Dasani when refrigerated. I used ice in my drinks and had no issues with that either. I inquired and it's brought in, in bags from a treatment facility. - Through reviews it's apparent that you can (and it's suggested to) bring $1 USD bills to tip, it's never asked of by the resort workers and you are not treated any differently whether you tip or not. I tipped some of my favourite employees by choice but never felt pressured to do so. In fact, you will feel more pressured to tip everywhere outside of Oleo, tour bus guides, at the airport, etc. A FEW FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: - A/C was room controlled and worked perfectly but our clothes could never dry fully in the room. The humidity and moisture cannot be escaped when you are that close to the ocean. Expect your bags to come home heavier then when you left and leave some space so you don't max out your weight restrictions. - There will be a few people with children at Oleo. I personally don't recommend bringing kids under the age of 13 to this adult oriented resort. There are very few kid activities to keep your child entertained and scantily clad adults relaxing and enjoying their vacation. This is Oleo's target guest and unless you have a more mature child that's into sand, sun, and chilling then this place is not recommended for kids. - You will encounter vendors trying to sell you various things on the beach. They are not aggressive and a simple "no gracias" kept them at bay. - The beach was full of waves and red flags every day of our vacay. We still stayed within the shallow (waist high) water and had fun in the waves. Lifeguards were present and kept an eye on everyone. The day after a big evening thunderstorm, the beach and water was full of seaweed. You may encounter this if you come during hurricane season. It dwindled down and we swam in the ocean again about 30 hours after the storm. - While there are very few animals or pests on the grounds, there are lots of black crow like birds. When you finish your outdoor meal, you need to cover your plate up immediately or they will swoop in to finish up your scraps. All three of the dining restaurants are completely enclosed and air conditioned so if you are not fond of birds, you can easily avoid this! - The resort is located very close to the airport, at the very bottom of the hotel zone. This means you will be the first or last stop for most things. Keep this in mind for airport transfers, excursion pickup / drop offs, and taxi's to town. Arriving to the hotel we were the first ones dropped off of our shuttle. Going to Chichen Itza and Tulum we were the first picked up (nice because you could choose your preferred seat on the bus) but the last dropped off. Going to Aventura park/Dolphinaris, on the free shuttle was a super short ride as Oleo is the last stop before the park. Also the first stop going home. If we had gone into town, the taxi ride would be longer and probably more expensive then most hotels as it's further away. OVERALL: Oleo Cancun Playa is a solid adults oriented resort and I'm glad I booked through tripcentral. My rep, Melanie Johnston was super helpful and made sure that I got the lowest price (cheaper than if I booked the hotel and airfare separately) and provided me with all documents necessary for my trip. She was available via phone or email for any questions I had and followed up via both phone and email to ensure I was set and prepared for my trip. If I go to Cancun in the future, I will definitely look into staying at Oleo again and will definitely book through tripcentral.

Hyatt Vivid Playa Del Carmen: Not coming back (No Stars)

The resort is still beautiful, but under new management many things has changed and not in a good way. 99% of previously served stuff, who actually have built THE ROYAL brand was...FIRED. For all time we stayed, we've seen only TWO familiar faces, whom recognized us. The rest are all strangers. Their slogan is "Home away from home"... it is not anymore ... it is more like motel now. We've seen much fewer people around the pool. That indicates the popularity is rapidly dropping. People are voting [... read more] by their wallets. In general, service quality has dropped. Pool entertainment is poor. The local travel agents from Best Day where looking at us as at Martians and showing some attitude for no reason. On our way back, we've met a couple, whom also were long time patrons, were also not planning coming back anymore. It is definitely not worth premium prices the hotel is charging for what they offer. The sister hotel "Gran Port Real" was re-branded to ... "Panama Jack" !? Am I missing something...Panama Jack versus romantic "Gran Porto Real"??? Anyway, it was our first destination in early 2000's. We loved it back then and it looks much better than The Royal. Room prices are also still very attractive. On conclusion: bye bye THE ROYAL :-(

Riu Dunamar: Perfect for young people that want to party

The food was great at all places, 24 hour food in the sports bar where the computers and pool tables are. You can order tim Hortons style Frappuccino their that are so good in the morning. Also burgers and bbq chicken by the pool fall right off the bone. Sooooooo good! There's 3 pools. One is quiet and relaxed, one has music playing and has a swim up bar and the 3rd one is more party mode. It's where most of the party crowd is. Also swim up bar with a DJ and foam party once a week. The beach is  [... read more]beautiful and can walk forever. The room was perfect, I asked if I could have a good room and the desk was cool and gave me a great view. It also has water slides on the far side of the resort. It is a pretty large resort. I also met really friendly people to hang out with. I recommend this resort to anyone looking to have a fun vacation but also if you just want to relax. You can do both their.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: only okay

Very nice grounds. Far too large though and major tons of walking. Food was quite good, excellent variety and excellent presentation Service varied from Excellent to Mediocre! Beach was bad...a ton of stinky algae. Pools quite good with good service. Facilities varied and quite good. Shuttle service hit or miss. Would not recommend it.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Ok Resort

I was at this resort for 10 days for a wedding. The resort is large and a lot of walking. Not good for people that can’t walk long distances. There are golf carts but few and far between. They are mostly for the premium Guests. I stayed in a superior suite which was very nice but needed drawers for your clothes. The buffet restaurant food was pretty good. But the service was atrocious. We mostly set our own tables and served our own water and did without coffee most times. Our last evening [... read more] we did the buffet and finally had a female server who was amazing. I think her name was Asurus or something like that. We tipped her very well and thanked her for her amazing service. The alacarte restaurants were ok. But we had made a reservation way ahead for 17 people and they could only accommodate 13. So 4 if our group walked out. The restaurant was not full but they could not accommodate us for some reason. This was upsetting. We found that the alacarte restaurants were not full but we were told by the concierge they were. Very poor organization. Servers need to be trained properly in the buffet restaurant too. Also Air Conditioning was not on in buffet restaurant most of the time. It was way too hot to eat in there sometimes. The lower lobby bar area was also unbearably hot and humid they need fans there. Our housekeeping lady Guadeloupe was amazing. Very friendly and pleasant. This was a five star resort I thought. I think I would give it a 3-4. I had a good time mostly because of the family I was with. The grounds are beautiful but some of the concrete walkways need to be attended to. Very uneven. A lady in our group tripped over a raised concrete slab. The lazy river was amazing. The pool we went to was not always clean. The gift shop should take US dollars.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Excellent resort

The grounds were very clean and well maintained. Very pleasing to the eye. The staff were friendly and courteous. One thing to be improved is the musty smell in the rooms due to humidity. The sulphur like smell every once in a while.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Modern, newly built resort with many amenities! EXCELLENT food and restaurants!

Amazing hotel. Very nice decor; very modern, while also being very culture specific. Lots of amenities; including bowling which was unique to a all inclusive! Restaurant selection was very good, and quality was SPECTACULAR! Very nice rooms, supportive beds.

Secrets Vallarta Bay: Expectation Met

I went to Secrets with a friend and we each paid the single supplement to have our own rooms. It was a good call as the rooms while pretty offer little privacy...understandable as the resort is geared toward couples. It appears that all rooms have an ocean view which is a positive point for this resort. Ours rooms were clean and comfortable. The resort is small which has its pros and cons. The pros are that it's a quick walk no matter where you want to go. The cons are that there is no quiet  [... read more]pool or area. When the entertainment team is doing entertainment during the day you hear it at all pools and the beach. However, you can see and hear the ocean from the pool area. You can also hear the great live music from the lounge that is played each evening between 9-11pm from your room. After that, you will hear the sound of the waves. So if you want to go to bed before 11pm, bring ear plugs if you are sensitive to noise. Some of the restaurants are on the NOW side which is owned by Secrets, but it is a family resort (Kids allowed). 3 restaurants and a cafe are on the Secrets side. So some of your meals could have children if you eat at the NOW side. We only had a crying baby at the Mexican restaurant. I think the Italian Restaurant on the NOW side may be adult only. I did not notice any children at the Japanese restaurant and there were only older children at Castaways (Surf and Turf). The food was amazing. Well prepared, fresh and tons of variety. No reservations required except for the special Japanese meal where they prepare the food in front of you. You do not need reservations for the regular Japanese meal where you order off a menu. The staff were very accommodating overall. They were friendly and seemed to enjoy their work. We heard about some guests partying on their balcony until 1:30AM and apparently it was hard to get staff to take care of the problem. We were told by one couple that they had to call the front desk 2-3 times and they felt that the issue was not handled properly. So much do that they said that they will not return. I personally had an issue with housekeeping on my last 2 days and with a late check out that was not entered into the system. I believe that I could avoid these problems if I returned by asking that my room be cleaned before 5pm and I recommend getting your late check out request in writing. A couple told me about Secrets in Los Cabo which is bigger but has a quiet pool that looks over the ocean. I think that might be interesting to check out.

Grand Oasis Sens: Over Rated

This 4.5 star hotel was worse than a 3 star. First, 11 restaurants hell no; its more like 2! Second, 10 bars mmmmmm yeah more like 2 again. Third, let's just say when there was a thunderstorm ppls bed were floating above ground. Thank you!

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Pleasantly surprised

My main concern when booking was food quality given it was a 5 star resort. I have not been to Mexico in many years so I was hoping it would be more than a step up from Cuba or DR and it was so much better. Ala cartes every night. All were very good except the Mexican at Tulum oddly. Had to trolley to the beach and the other two resorts which was not a big deal. Overall good value.

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: One of a kind.

The grounds are beautiful. The resort is clean and it has a Mexican feel to it. It is done in bright colours and very festive. The staff is friendly and helpful. Every Thursday night is Mexican night with music, vendors and it is a lot of fun for everyone young and old.

Dreams Aventuras Riviera Maya: Excellent resort

Room was very clean Bed very comfortable. Food was very good. Service excellent. Would return. The beach had too much seaweed. That was the only complaint. But when we told front desk they offered a shuttle for hotel next door to use.

Hotel Xcaret Mexico: Amazing Hotel!

This hotel was amazing! The hotel itself was gorgeous, the food delicious, and the staff incredible! The parks and tours included are amazing! A lot of culture, nature and adventure in every single activity you do. One week was not enough time to do everything they have to offer. The hotel is huge and full of surprises, as are the parks, so be prepared, and have in mind what you really want to do as one day might not be enough to cover all activities in one park; especially Xcaret and Xel-Ha; th [... read more]ey are massive! My favorite experience was the Xenotes tour. The natural scenery of these magnificent cenotes combined with all the fun activities to do in each of them was truly a life experience I will not forget! The level of customer service was outstanding. Every person I interacted with during my stay was extremely polite and helpful. This is what customer service should look like! I tried to remember the names of everyone I got a good service from, but would honestly have to list every single person I interacted with. Thank you all for making the difference between a good vacation and an outstanding one. Will be recommending this hotel to all my friends and will definitely go back!

Friendly Fun Vallarta: Disappointed

We have been to this resort at least 5 times previously and always had a great experience. This time however it was NOT great. The hotel is undergoing construction and the beach restaurant is being rebuilt. The result was that the resort has one less restaurant at present. When we arrived on Wednesday in the afternoon the other two restaurants were closed for dinner and the only one open was on the mezzanine level and you needed to sit through a program in order to eat. There were bright constru [... read more]ction lights shinning directly at our windows making it difficult to sleep. There was constant construction noise during the day as well. With the beachfront restaurant closed, the previous most enjoyable evening dining on the beach was cancelled. Our room had a water leak from the bathtub and so after showers the floor was extremely slippery. The staff were very friendly and outgoing. Unfortunately we will most likely not go back to that resort given this latest experience.

Riu Santa Fe: A wonderful stay!

The Riu Santa Fe is the fourth Riu hotel we have stayed at. and it did not disappoint. The hotel was beautiful and comfortable, the pools incredible, the food first class and the service staff friendly and helpful. This was the first time we came with a young child and my only comments about this particular experience is that the noise level from music, loud speakers and loud drinking partygoers was non stop. We were lucky enough to be housed in a building a little off the beaten track but the [... read more]re were many times that our rest/sleep was interrupted by loud music ( pool parties)and voices of guests who had had considerable amounts of liquor to drink. While I appreciate the fact that we all come to an all-inclusive for different reasons, partying and hollering in the corridors at 4:30 a.m spoils the holiday for the rest of us.. Perhaps placing families with babies and young children in parts of the hotel as far from the high noise level areas as possible could keep everyone happy. I will definitely return to another Riu in Mexico, but I will check first to avoid the ones the are well known as 'party hotels'.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Fantastic resort

Clean very friendly lots to do lots of variety of where to eat ..........................................................…..........................................................................................…..........................…

Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Our 4th time to the Bahia Principe

We had a great time at the "Bahia Principe Sian Ka-an. The check in was done in no time at all. We spend 7 days at this very nice resort. Since we are elderly ( 85 ) We are not during any excursions any more, we have them done on our earlier travels Our first outing was to the Hazienda, a free trip from the resort to do some shopping.Even our trip to the beach was a one time experience. We preferred the quiet pool area,with sun shine and a drink. Our room was very nice, and big, with 2 air cond [... read more]ition and 2 fans. Our room was 40211 close to the lobby, The walk to the lobby and Buffet was a 5 Min. walk.The food is very good and plentiful also a great variety. . We met 2 waiters Walter and Jonathan that were outstanding in our mind, 2 very friendly and helpful young men in any way. So were others but these 2 young men were outstanding. The personal at the reception were always helpful and friendly in giving advise in a friendly manner.We went to a sit down Restaurant , were reservation was recommend, the "Alux", excellent food , excellent service and very friendly personal .I would recommend this Resort to any body, who is looking for a relaxed vacation.

Riu Dunamar: Great Resort

Riu Dunamar was a great place for a relaxing, stress free week to unwind. The resort grounds were absolutely fantastic, the pools were never crowded, the beach was beautiful with plenty of lounge chairs and the staff constantly kept the resort clean. The food was great, the buffets had a lot of variety and the restaurants were quite impressive (both decor and food), however the 24 hour snack bar lacked variety having not much to offer other than burgers and hotdogs that had to be heated in a mic [... read more]rowave. The quality of the room was very high and the ocean view was stunning. However, the minibar staff was not helpful since they only delivered water twice during the week forcing us to fill water bottles at the buffet on multiple occasions. Furthermore, the elevators were located quite far from most of the rooms which required a lot of walking to reach a room on the top floor and/or closer to the ocean. Finally, the daily entertainment was good, the main show each night was entertaining while the day time activities were okay. It was fine for a 7 day stay but would have become repetitive if we stayed any longer. Also, travelling anywhere off resort was difficult since it is located at least 30 minutes from anything. Overall, I would recommend this resort and would return.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Great Time!

We stayed in the Tulum resort for a bachelor party and had a great time. Despite some bad weather for the first couple of days, the resort itself was awesome! The resort is quite large so you will be doing lots of walking unless you catch a shuttle at the lobby. The rooms were nice and equipped with AC , the food was pretty much the same in the buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner, unless you book an a la carte which were pretty good. Overall a solid resort with good food and good alcohol, da [... read more]ily entertainment. What else can you ask for?