Barcelo Karmina: January 6th to January 13th 2017

Sunwing Flight 5* Manzanillo Airport 2* (long wait times) Barcelo Karmina Lobby 5* Check in 2* (long wait times) Rooms 4* (hard beds, dated, broken tiles, doors but clean and maid service wonderful) Resort Layout 5* Food 4.5* (nice assortment buy layout is unusual) Beach 3.5* (small but given the resort location in a bay, they created what they could) We both enjoyed our visit to the Barcelo and will be back.

El Cid Resort Castilla: Fabulous Friendly Resort

The hotel was well positioned clean airy from the front desk to the rooms and everything in between. The pools were well equipped with plenty of towels and chairs. The bar service was excellent both at the pools and restaurants and bars.The A La Carte restaurants were very relaxing with excellent food and a very elegant feel to them. The two buffets had an excellent variety of foods.At check in the staff at the desk were courteous and knowledgeable with the Bell boys right there to serve you. [... read more] The maid service was good there was no shortage of towels or hot water. The beds were clean and comfortable with the rooms spacious and comfortable.The location was excellent on the beach with bus service right out the front door to the downtown and central market .It was a short walk to the rest of the Zone whether you went north or south there was plenty of shopping bank machines and convenience stores all reasonably priced. The only two things that could have been better were the fact that men had to wear sleeved shirts at the indoor buffet. I understand this is a health rule but it should have been advertised better than a small sign at the entrance. On our third day the outdoor buffet which was the lunch buffet was closed for cleaning so we had to go from the pool to the inside buffet where the men were told they needed sleeves on their shirts which required them to go back up to their rooms to get a different shirt. The other was internet access. It was $10.00 US dollars for 24 hours access which I have no problem with. BUT unlike other places it is 24 CONTINUIOUS hours . Other places is 24 hours that you use over a period of time like 7 days.OVERALL I would rate it 10 of 10.

El Dorado Seaside Suites: Nice resort

Just came back from El Dorado. Friendly staff, excellent service. Grounds beautifully kept. This is the sister resort to the Sensimar so you can use their beach as well which is good because the El Dorado beach is narrow with coarse sand and rocky, I think because it takes a few years to clean it up. Food was not as good as I've had at other Mexican resorts. Dinners were better but bbq lunch was dry and terrible like it was cooked in the main kitchen and then reheated. Both hotels share a ma [... read more]in restaurant but ED does not have a breakfast restaurant so you have to walk the 10-12 minutes or wait for the tram. Walking is more reliable. Would prefer to have a closer breakfast restaurant since the race for the beach beds is fierce! But this is probably true of any resort. Design of El Dorado is such that everyone has an ocean view which everyone desires. Problem is, is that the v shape creates an echo chamber and you can hear the party as long as it goes on. If you bring your ear plugs it's fine. The spa employees are out on the beach every day several times a day hustling their expensive services. Pools were too cold to swim in.

Occidental Cozumel: Fantastic week

The hotel was very nice. Very clean. Personnal very profesional. Food was very good. I had a very good service in the hotel. Cozumel is and Island to visit. The only thing is from downtown we where a little Bit far. So we have to take taxi each time we go to downtown.

Dreams Huatulco: Breathtaking resort

The resort was beautiful. Staff was all very friendly. The beach had great sand. A lot of excursions available. Beautiful place for a wedding. Close to town. Great bar just across the street. The entertainment was great to watch.

Moon Palace Cancun: Exceeded our Expectations

We booked Moon Palace for the golf. Our expectatations for the resort itself were not that high because we typically stay at Adults Only Luxury 5 stars. The resort, the grounds, the rooms and service were all outstanding- the golf was great as well :)

Riu Flamingos: Early 2017 at Riu Jalisco

We just got back from our 4th trip to Riu Jalisco. As usual, the weather was to die for; sunny and 28 degrees during the day and 20 at night. The room and most of the amenities of the resort were top notch. The only minor criticism would be the cable stations were all Spanish speaking with the exception of the dreadful Fox News. It would be a bonus to have ESPN , CNN or a major American network. It is good to have an alternative to the caberet style offering each evening. I would like to  [... read more]also mention that the hotel staff were so friendly and accommodating. G and S

Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda: Relaxing time

We went to Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda the first week of January, 2017. It was our first all-inclusive trip with our two girls, ages 8 and 10. So, our review is with limited comparison! The resort itself is pretty clean, the grounds are immaculate, and the staff are friendly. I would say our first impression was not the best, as the check-in process took a VERY long time. When we finally got to our room, we found that their were no beers in the 'stocked fridge', and a family of 4 room is onl [... read more]y given 2 towels. We left a note everyday (and tip) for extra towels and a stocked fridge to fix that problem. WIFI is only given to you for one device. We opted to pay for the extra 3 passwords for the week, but I'm not sure if it was really worth it, since the WIFI was sketchy at best. I highly recommend downloading a lot of Netflix shows on your devices before leaving for your vacation! The food was pretty good. Breakfast and lunch are always buffets, with several locations. Our kids could always find something that they like.... in particular, hamburgers, pizza and hotdogs. :) The dinners are your choice of a la carte or buffet. We chose the restaurant option, and enjoyed all meals. The main pool is nice and big. The kids loved wandering through it and playing with their new friends. There is also a smaller pool away from the beach, which is nice if you prefer a 'quiet area'. I have to admit, that we were disappointed with the 'kids club'. It didn't look great, so we never left our girls there, nor did they want to be there. Its nothing against the workers in that area, but the kids club was away from the pool and beach, which obviously, our kids wanted to be near. Thankfully our girls are at the age where they will quickly meet and make friends at the pool, so they enjoyed playing this way instead of in a 'club atmosphere'. The beach is very nice, however please note that there is seaweed that the staff constantly cleans up, and it is a rocky bottom. Our girls only went to the beach a couple times since they couldn't see the bottom, and was very rocky. The sand is very nice though. Overall, we spent most of our time poolside. I suggest 'picking your chairs' early... people place their towels on a set of chairs, and they are claimed for the day. We preferred the shade, so we started going down around breakfast time to 'claim' our 2 chairs before heading into the buffet. Most importantly, the bar is excellent. Lots of options, including our Canadian Club rye. :) I did see a lot of people bring their own travel mugs, which made sense, but we're rookies. Overall, we really enjoyed our week of relaxation. My only caution would be for families who really need a kids club. I'm not sure if I would use that aspect of the resort. We did see some rooms with their own 'swim out' area... never actually saw a person in that little 'runway pool'... I wouldn't really recommend paying extra for that feature. Everyone is by the main pool.

El Dorado Seaside Suites: Beautiful resort

The new part of the resort is beautiful. The rooms are spacious and very nice. The whole resort staff are friendly and will do anything to make your stay enjoyable. There is really no beach yet on the new side but a very nice, but small, beach on the Santimar side (older side). The food was amazing! We loved the Italian best. The activities and night shows were plentiful. We had amazing weather too.

Azul Ixtapa Resort: Amazing place

This hotel is north of xtapa near playa Linda. A very beautiful location right across from ixtapa island. Very clean resort but has lots of stairs but there are elevators to use. Food was very good for resort food but strong Mexican influence. Snack bar was great. Burgers. Fries. Pizza. Pools were warm to swim as well as the ocean. Lots of free activities like kayaking, sailing and biking. The beach isn't real nice sand but very wide and level. It was easy to walk on and push strollers [... read more]. We had a great time here fir 2 weeks. Very family oriented. Had a great waterskide spray park, wading pool and kids club

Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas: Truly a Palace

Having stayed at adjacent Riu Sante Fe twice before, this was a nice upgrade! The food quality was quite a bit better . Nicest change was to get rid of the early morning reservations to get the alacarte restaurants. Instead it was first come first serve, and if you weren't early enough for first seating, they gave you a buzzer/blinker, to let you know when table is ready. Very clean resort, and good staff! Location is great, about a 20 minute walk along beach to the Marina. Spa was disappointing [... read more] as steam room was't working. Bar drinks were quite good, although wine could still be improved. I usually brought my own, ( 5 minute walk to Walmart, for good selection and reasonable price) the buffet was often a better choice than the alacarte, although bee loved the Mexican rest.

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Good family resort

Grounds, Public areas and pools were clean and rate excellent, Room needs more furniture(chairs and another night table in our room) but was clean, Food in International was best , Mediterranean, poor, Italian a mix

Dreams Sapphire Resort and Spa: Amazing resort

We were there for a wedding about 20 guests. The wedding was amazing. The hotel staffs were attentive to our needs. Amazing service from dining, bars, front desk etc. I would recommend to friends and family.

Barcelo Huatulco: Lovely staff and beautiful resort

We felt our two week stay was amazing. The staff was exceptional in every department. Management was also over looking the departments to make sure top quality service was provided. The food was very good. The rooms great but a/c never went below 21.5c. The beach clean and ocean awesome. The adult pool was great when guests followed the rules about not letting kids play in area. The life guards tried there best to control it. More signs needed around pool stating No Kids. One should be placed at [... read more] shallow end off pool where you walk into pool. This would help as the one on island of brush is hard to see, obviously from certain angles. Ricardo the manager we saw the most was wonderful. The only other improvement would be to have specific smoking areas by the pool. For those of us with health issues it would be a great comfort to know that smoking is in specific areas so we could avoid them. Free internet at resort would be an added bonus as all restaurants across the street provide this service. For as much as we pay for this resort it should be included in our package. The weather was unbeatable. Every day was sunny and hot. We loved our two holiday and will be back. The restaurants across the street had amazing food and great service. A nice break from the resort.

Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya: Beyond expectations!

The variety of areas to sit during the day was beyond expectations. Beach, near the beach, near or at the pool, and the lazy river -our family (wife, daughters 12 & 15, & me ) all found our favourite spots than ranged from quiet to lots of action. I wanted to snorkel and was not disappointed, probably spending 2-3 hours/day in the water right off of the shore. There were fish in the shallows and when going out a bit deeper there were tons of fish. The room was excellent. Beautiful bathroom a [... read more]rea and lots of space in the main part of the room. The balcony was a nice extra and also served well to dry clothes! The food was amazing. The buffet had a theme most evenings which gave some variety, but the food that was there each and every night (and morning) was of such variety that one always found excellent choices. A couple of hidden gems are the beach BBQ and the beach buffet that was set up each day. The food from each was a great mid day change of menu. We had read a lot about booking the ala carts, but I would not set my focus as these being a highlight. They were on OK change up from the buffet. If you have kids, they will prefer the buffet! I would give the Brazilian a 2/10, Mediterranean 6/10, & Japanese 9/10. The resort grounds are quite amazing. They look so spread out (on a map and from the balcony) but you can walk anywhere in about 5-10 minutes. The bike tour each morning is something to do early in the stay so you can take advantage of some of the sites that they show you. After spending 7 days there, we could not find something that we were felt short changed on - it was a fantastic family vacation spot that we will do again.

Breathless Cabo San Lucas: Breathless resort vacation

The breathless resort is the best place I have stayed in. Food, service , rooms , the view, location.... Nothing but 10/10 Walking distance to town, the mall , and of course Cabo Wabo ... Define gel be going back again Sunwing flight wasn't so good... 4/10 for them ...

El Dorado Seaside Suites: Fantastic!

Fantastic resort. Employees couldn't do enough for you, always pleasant and smiling. Very hard working people. Grounds were beautiful and lush. Never any lineups for meals, only 2 restaurants required reservations. No wrist bands required. I would highly recommend this resort.

Dreams Sapphire Resort and Spa: Wonderful resort!!

Great staff,great grounds,great food and great selection to choose from and all kinds of drinks and if they don't know give them the recipes and they'll do their best to make it to your taste!!! I will have to go back for sure!!! I feel like they've just spoiled me for any where else that I might consider. They've set the bar very high!!! Oh most of all this place is clean every where even their section of beach more so than the rest of shore line!!!!!

Grand Oasis Cancun: Just ok

Some good restaurants, but too long of a wait to eat. No service by the pool or beach witch makes it difficult to enjoy a few drinks. Also it's very loud in the rooms at night. It's a party resort. Our room was nice and clean. I don't recommend this resort for families with kids.

Akumal Bay Beach and Spa Resort: yoga sets it above the others

The yoga instructors are excellent! The diverse offerings of yoga styles throughout the day assure that anyone's needs and capacity will be met. The tibetan bowl meditation, and some of the live musicians were a thrill. The massage therapist is very talented. All the staff are extremely friendly and professional. Too bad the resort owner get away with paying worker so poorly. The grounds and beach are cleaned every day. Lifeguards and security are vigilant, gardeners always working. Fine food ca [... read more]n be found, with superb service. The snorkeling off the beach is nice, but sadly the coral is mostly dead. Poor turtles, in ancient habitat taken over by humans! There is huge potential to shift from the beach binge client to the yoga, snorkel, sea kayak, and cultural or ecology day trip client. For the most part this is just another all-inclusive sun resort, with the usual shinanigagns.