Riu Emerald Bay: Beautiful resort

We stayed here as a getaway after our engagement. We loved the pools, friendly staff and the nice clean beaches. The food was great too. This hotel is good for family and couples it has something for everyone

Hilton Vallarta Riviera Resort: Great potential!

Food drinks and service were amazing. It was very busy so the only compliant would be about the a la carte restaurants. You had to line up at 10am to get a reservation that day. The restaurants were under maintainance when we were there so they accomandate the guests in a cornered off part of the buffet restaurants. Which was fine but the menu was extremely limited as they could not complete all the dishes in the different kitchen. This was super disappointing as we were really looking forward t [... read more]o it and everyone had raved about the Asain restaurant. Otherwise, the resort was great and I would highly recommend as I am sure the restaurant issues have been fixed!

Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf and Spa: Great Resort!!!

I really enjoyed my stay and felt very relaxed and safe. The staff at the hotel were friendly and always had a smile. Love the beach as it was a 2 min walk from our room. Access to swimming pools, restaurants and beach is very close no matter what room you are in. The entertainment team was great loved Hector very friendly. House keeping staff did a great job cleaning rooms. Excellent room service food was great!! No complaints thumbs up! Can't wait to go back.

Azul Ixtapa Grand Resort: nice resort

pros: great rooms with incredible views pleasant staff 3 pools a la carte restaraunt food good cons: buffet food cold to luke warm staff english is limited with some staff bar staff know basic drinks, shooters are one type of drink alot of walking and stairs very small beach cater to local families can only book i day in advance (ie bikes,kayaks) very limited adult a [... read more]ctivities,nnot a place to go if you want to do things must go to sister resort This resort has amazing views and rooms, but the food temperature has to be addressed, I believe this resort target market is young families, so for active couples i think it would be better to stay at the sister resort next door

Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya: 10 Year Anniversary

The wife and I decided to take a trip for our 10 year anniversary and after extensive research, decided on Mexico (runners up were Costa Rica and Jamaica). We chose the Valentin Imperial Maya (adults only) for 7 days through Air Canada Vacations. The resort is about 25 mins north of Playa del Carmen on the east coast. We had an excellent time and were truly blown away by this resort. The flights were another matter, but that has nothing to do with the resort. Everything about the resort wa [... read more]s first class. The service was amazing and the food was delicious. The facility was extremely well maintained and the pools were quiet or loud, depending on what you wanted. We decided to spend most of our time near the party pool with the swim up bars. The resort itself had water features everywhere, nice stonework and virtually all areas were open air, even the common area bathrooms. The weather was very consistent, sunny and ~31 degrees in the day, and calm and ~23 degrees in the evening. The evenings were perfect to walk around in long pants without getting too sweaty (pants required for the restaurants) The downside was the beach. Although it was beautiful and manicured daily, it was quite windy this time of year. Too windy for us to stay on the beach though I did play a game of beach volley ball. The water was warm, but the undertoe was strong and the waves were pretty tall, so we opted not to swim very much. Besides, there was so much happening at the pool that we really didn't want to leave. We met tons of people and the pool activities (which ran non-stop throughout the day) kept us busy. We met around 12-15 people while we were down there and at least 80% of them had been multiple times to that resort (some as many as 10-12 times). The food was to die for. I don't think I've ever eaten so well in my life. There was enough a la cartes to never need buffet food for the dinners, and no reservations were required except for the hibachi. As it turned out, the hibachi was entertaining, but the food was just ok compared to the restaurants. The breakfast buffet had a very wide selection of fresh fruits, meats, eggs, pancakes/waffles, omelette and cereal bars, basically anything you wanted was probably there. As it turned out, we didn't really eat lunch when we were there except for one time, and the lunch buffet was good. Noteworthy items at the a la cartes were the Filet Mignon (italian), sea bass (french), sushi (japanese) and the cold spring rolls from the indonesian restaurant....in fact, the indonesian was my favourite despite not being a big fan of spicy food. But all the a la cartes receive top marks in my opinion. We didn't feel the need to venture off resort, though next time we go I definitely want to goto Coco Bongo's in Playa. We heard a few reviews from other guests and it definitely sounded like fun. The ruins was not a top priority for us and most of them were pretty far away. Chichen Itza was a 5 hour round trip. I did want to do the underground cave swim, but the cost was quite high so we declined. We only attended a few shows since most nights we were completely burnt out....of the ones we say, the fire show was the best. There were only a couple small annoyances. Firstly, the hibachi is insanely popular and we didn't get in on our first try despite showing up at 9am and not seeing anyone in line (our concierge did get us a reservation for the next day though). Secondly, the fire alarm in the room was directly over our bed and had an annoying flashing light...a small annoyance but still there nonetheless. Lastly, the shower in our room didn't quite have an anti-scald shower valve, so it did happen on occasion when the water went from warm to very hot (not ideal with sunburns)...it wasn't terribly bad, just happened a few times. All of these minor annoyances were way overcome with the service, food and pristine facilities. Ultimately, we would not hesitate to stay here again...it really was quite fantastic.

Occidental Costa Cancun: Relaxing Stay

Just back from a very relaxing time at the Occidental Costa Cancun. The staff was friendly and took care of our every need. The food was excellent and the room was perfect. We really enjoyed the "Piano Man" who entertained every evening in the hotel lobby. A lot of effort was put in by the activities staff to keep everyone entertained during the day and evening. While we were there we met people from all over the world and from 6 months to 90 years old. A family friendly resort with things quiet [... read more]ing down after the excellent stage shows put on every evening. We really enjoyed the Italian style a-la-cart restaurant. Only disappointments were that our off resort trip had to be cancelled because the windy conditions on the water and the fact that a nice long walk along the beach is not possible at this resort.

Ocean Maya Royale: Fantastic Resort

We just spent 7 days at the Ocean Mayan Royale.....it was an amazing resort! The service was superb, the staff were very friendly and helpful. Most spoke good English. Our room was very spacious and had a king size bed that was very comfortable. The ground are well maintained and staff are always working hard to keep the grounds looking amazing. Lots of wild life around too which was pretty neat. Food was amazing! All the AL a Carte restaurants had great food and amazing service. Favorite re [... read more]staurants and must trys are the Romantic and Italian. There is a little coffee shop on resort called Mike's.......must try it has amazing specialty drinks and treats. By far best trip we have had yet! Would recommend this resort......5 star!

Sandos Cancun: Great beach.

The rooms are spacious and amenities are good quality. The food was average. Nothing special, surprisingly little local fare. Was hoping for a really fantastic fish taco :( Settled for a pizza. Staff are wonderful. Service was very good, they work long hours while still providing swift friendly service. Tips were always very appreciated and our pleasure. The food over all was basic, particularly the breakfast buffet. Premium liquor was always served. Entertainment was impressive. Trying to get [... read more] 2 rooms together took 3 of our 5 day trip to sort out. Prob a 3/5 overall.

Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Amazing resort

Very large resort, beaches were beautiful, entertaining games in the pool during the day and awsome live entertainment at night. From magic to dancing. Large variety of food at the buffet resturants. I gained weight this trip. Only thing I think they could do better is the service in the resturants. They were understaffed took awhile to get a clean table and drinks during busy hours.

Dreams Aventuras Riviera Maya: Excellent Family Resort

Thanks to trip central, we were able to travel to Riviera Maya and stay at DREAMS Puerto Aventuras. This is an excellent family resort. The pool and the beach are right next to each other. The beach area was private, clean, and super relaxing. The resort offered lots of fun activities. Their kids club was amazing. The evening shows were mostly great. The rooms were very clean. The staff were extremely friendly and caring. The only con to this resort was the food was bland.

Live Aqua Cancun: Amazing Resort

We've coming to Cancun and the Mayan Riviera for over 15 years but have yet to stay at Live Aqua - until now. This resort is a 5 star ++ The service is exceptional, the food the best, and the attention to detail is impeccable. It was the best hotel/resort experience that we've ever had, not just in Cancun, but at any resort: period. We'll be back !

Grand Decameron Complex Bucerias Trademark: Decameron Resort Bucerias

We booked our trip to Bucerias through an agent with Trip Central - the agent was courteous and efficient. We flew AirTransat to Puerto Vallarta on March 30th. We were to leave at 8 a.m. After boarding the plane, we sat on the runway for one hour and were then told that there was a mechanical problem and we would have to deplane until the problem was fixed. We then sat waiting in the Calgary air terminal until 3:30 p.m. when our plane departed. We were compensated by AirTransat with a $20/ [... read more]each food voucher during the wait and a $100/each coupon on future travel with AirTransat. It was unfortunate that we spent the first day of our vacation in an airport but we were thankful to be safe. I had read numerous reviews of the Decameron Resort prior to booking and based on noise concerns from previous customers, I requested at time of booking with the Trip Central agent, not to be housed in complex 3 or 5 during our stay. On arrival to the Decameron Resort, we were told our room was in complex 5. At this time, we verbalized our previous request of not being in complex 5 and were told there was no choice. We went to our room in complex 5 (it was now 9:30 p.m.) and found our entry door directly facing the disco and live entertainment show which was currently in progress. The volume of noise was unbelievable - it was loud in the room with the door closed, TV and noisy AC unit going. As we had been up since 5 a.m. and were now looking for rest, we returned to the hotel desk and requested (very politely, I might add) to change rooms. We were then moved to complex 3. If we thought in complex 5 that we couldn't be closer to the disco and noise, we were wrong as our new room was worse. We were keep awake until 1 a.m. by the noise from the show and disco and were less than impressed with our first day of our trip and with the staff at the hotel desk who clearly placed us in a room worse that before. I might add that a key reason we did not want a noisy room is that we have a child. We ended up moving rooms again 2 days later, which wasted more of our vacation time with having to pack up our room and have luggage at the front desk at 11 a.m. and then return at 3 p.m. to be given keys to new room. One female desk clerk who seemed to be in charge, was less than accommodating, never cracked a smile and appeared burnt out. She's clearly working in the wrong profession. Apart from our noisy room, the Decameron served our basic needs. It is a clean, no frills hotel. The food is adequate. The drinks are served in very small, probably four oz, plastic cups and also very basic (no fresh fruit). The majority of the staff are friendly and accommodating. Our favorite part of the resort is the fantastic beach front. We will not be going back to the Decameron because they did not honor our one and only request and did nothing to try and rectify our problem and offered no apologies in the end. Our advise to anyone going to the hotel - flash dollars with any requests.

Azul Ixtapa Resort: Family resort

The resort is beautiful and very clean not overly big! This resort is very family oriented so lots of children and a ton of things for the kids to do! We did not travel with kids so we looked for the adults only pool and there wasn't one! The ala Cartes were great but the buffets were very small with the same foods every day...you can only book 3 ala Cartes a week! Kayaks and bike tour was fun to do and included!

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Amazing resort and food!

Great resort, large pools and amazing food! Beach was red flag every day so didn't get to go in the water but very nice sand! Amazing restaurants! Great for resort for families! Only suggestion would be to have more cabanas and loungers!

Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Beautiful resort!

Very large resort, with trolley transportation to various points. There was beautiful sand onthe beach, but the sea here is not so beautiful, with a small sectioned off area for swimming and some stones underfoot. The pools,on the other hand were really nice, the food was good and there were snack bars at the pools and not too far from the beach ,which were like small restaurants, with a good variety of food, so you never went hungry and you didn't have to return to your room to get dressed [... read more] and go to the main buffet. Just put on a beach cover-up and your flip-flops and you're set. There were no shows on some nights; they would have karaoke instead, at 9 PM The a la carte restaurants were great, especially the Mediteranean and the Gourmet.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Royalton Riviera Cancun - Hideaway

This hotel was fantastic. Everything about the visit was top notch. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left the staff was warm, welcoming and went above and beyond to help us. The rooms were clean and comfortable, especially the bed. I read a lot of reviews that the mangrove facing rooms should be avoided, however we loved it. The Mangrove facing rooms were the quietest on the resort, there was lots of wildlife to look at and the sunsets were gorgeous over the mangroves. Addi [... read more]tionally there was absolutely no smell. One small criticism is that perhaps they could install some sort of shade which can be pulled down on the balcony as it does get excruciatingly hot out there during the day. The food was fantastic and there is a lot of choices of places to eat, we went during the U.S spring break so without Diamond club reservations it can be a long wait, however this wasn't really an issue if you went right at opening. Also likely not an issue if you avoid spring break. Beach is great, it was windy so there was some seaweed but the resort is great about going ahead and getting it cleaned up, not a big deal. The beach could use some more shade, there isn't a lot of places where it is shady and unless you are diamond club you need to pay 75.00 U.S to rent a day bed. One hint....if you ask the beach butler after 4 you can chill there for free, but need to find your own way until then. One other small note, if you make friends with the staff they will go out of their way to find you a shady spot, even when there are none to be found. Towel game doesn't really matter here, they remove people's things if they have not come back for awhile. Normally they do this when other arrive and cannot find a spot. The butlers at the pool and beach hold onto their things and keep them safe until they return. If you are looking for adults only, I would suggest staying at an adults only property. The Royalton is good for offering the best of both worlds, but most of the amenities are on the adults only side and there are a lot of children and teens on the main side, so if you want a quiet kid free vacation try and the VIM instead. That being said the property on the side of the adults only portion of the resort was starting some construction while we were there, it is our understanding that they are expanding the property, so it may offering more in the way of adults only in the future. Still overall it was a great stay, the property is amazing and I haven't seen better entertainment anywhere in the area! One night there was a sea doo in the main pool and a man with jet boots flew around the pool, it was awesome! Additionally do check out the fire show and the Mayan show, they were a must see. From the staff, if you have the chance to meet Estoban, Emilio, Elizabeth or Ashanti ...take some time to get to know them. They were our favorites and went WELL above and beyond for us!

Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen: great resort Gran Porto Resort and Spa

The rooms are spacious and very clean. The hotel is not huge but big enough. The lobby is small but very homey. The people who works there are very nice and help you with any questions you might have.Enrique Vazquez at the restaurant is excellent with the people... he will help, guide you any way he can. If there is a table you like he will always make sure you get the same table. It is not a big beach or a big pool but the workers at the hotel make it work. Always a chair at the pool or towels  [... read more]no need to go early to reserve.The liquor is international and your fridge in the room is always filled. I like this hotel because its small and cosy. You are close to 5th ave. one block away.

El Dorado Maroma: Paid a lot and got very little.

This was my 12th visit to the Cancun/Mayan area and my first ever review on a travel web site. Felt compelled to write this. Best thing about the property it is very clean and well maintained. It all ends there. From the time we arrived to the time we left, it was as if someone was always trying to sell you something. If it wasn't time share, it was spa, the need to buy a $$75-$100 bottle of wine on the beach to get food service (ridiculous) or indigenous jams in the front lobby and most  [... read more]restaurants(very weird). For the price we paid they should have given them out as a departure gift. Couldn't get food at the beach or the pool. That's a first. The resort was under staffed for the entire time we were there. I'd recommend they shift their labour investment to less management/sales agents and more wait and kitchen staff to serve the guests. The wait staff that they did have on were just not set up for success. Felt sorry for them, especially in the Italian restaurant. Far too many tables to serve. I understand you will need to wait from time to time, but when a restaurant is only seating 40% of their tables at peak dinner times, again ridiculous. Notwithstanding this, they have the advantage of knowing exactly how many guest that are on their property every day, not being staffed/prepared is unacceptable, especially as it hails itself as a gourmet dining experience. Property was at 82% occupancy. Can't imagine when it hits 100%. The fitness center was very small, and always far too hot and humid. Many people noted this on the sign in forms, in the comments section. again nothing was done about it. This room was definitely an after thought. The food overall was ok, not gourmet. The Mgt. should do a bit of competitive shopping to see what some of the other resorts are doing re "gourmet" and the quality of the food offering. They have a lot to learn. The best restaurant on the property was definitely the near the beach, served up great lunches. The ala carte's were disappointing, except maybe the Asian. The biggest disappointment we experienced was with the front desk mgt. and staff. Upgraded to a presidential suite. When we viewed the room and the upsell was happening, it had a full stocked bar with 5-6 bottles of alcohol on the TV credenza and a full compliment of snacks. confirmed the upgrade, went back to the room to unpack, asked the bellman where the bottles and snacks went?? wasn't included in my $150 per night upgrade, REALLY??!!. This service is standard in most resorts for a lot less and without an upgrade. Never met my "concierge for the first 3 days!! Weren't introduced at check in.When I did happen to run into him to discuss my absent room turn down service, he commented ...."oh I have been calling your room, where have you been??!! I guess he could have left a message, which is why it was bs. Never heard of voice mail I guess. a useless service at this property. Even after this connection never saw or heard from them for the rest of the week. I understand they have a pillow service and other customizable services????? Missed our turn down service 4 of the 7 nights, even after pointing it out to the front desk team. One night they came to do the turndown at 10:25!! No one took ownership, a constant complaint around the pool. Yes the beach is beautiful. The seaweed is even more grand and it stinks all day long. They do their best to clean it up. One pile was left down towards the 14 block for 2 days. The front desk staff are dealing with conflict all day long, of course from disgruntled guests. When we checked in someone was complaining quite vigorously about not being happy about something in particular. Seemed to be non stop. This was a precursor for the week. Not worth the money. Never go back

Secrets Huatulco: Great resort, relaxing vacation

We stayed for a week. The hotel location and setting is fabulous. Very quiet and relaxing. Great service. No identification bracelet, no need to rush for a chair at the pool or beach, and also no beach towels cards. Simple and efficient. Rooms are modern, clean and all have an ocean view (better or worst depending of where you are located within the resort). The only thing they need to fix is the problem with outside groups/corporations renting space in the resort for different events/meeting. [... read more] Reading the past reviews I noticed this is a common trend. A big group from Revlon was there for a couple of days during our stay and on their final night they had a huge celebration that lasted until late. They were loud, obnoxious and disturbed the resort normal night time quietness. We couldn't sleep until past midnight.... I understand is about money, and probably these corporations pay big bucks to be there, but the resort officials need to stay on top of the problem and promptly address any disturbance issues when they arise. Other than this I totally recommend it. Beach is shelly, and waves pretty strong, but it did not stop us from swimming in the ocean every day.

Occidental Costa Cancun: Wold go back

I loved everything at this smaller resort. Room, food, service, pool, bars, the close proximity of everything, cleanliness, location. The beach was very small but I knew that when I booked and it was still lovely. The only thing is we paid for ocean view with a balcony, and we got stuck with one that was only big enough to stand on. You couldn't fit a chair on it...whereas almost all other rooms had huge balconies with chairs and hammocks. It didn't ruin our vacation at all... just felt the extr [... read more]a 500.00 wasn't worth it. I still want to go back. Had a great time. Andreas at the buffet was was a rock star server..the other guys were great too. Great staff.