Aidan Wood
First, I’d like to say that I’m a little confused by the number of poor reviews this resort has received. Let’s start with the service: the staff are exceptional—exceptionally polite, accommodating, warm, friendly, and genuinely eager to make guests happy.
The rooms are very nice. It’s not the Majestic, folks, but the amenities, bed quality, shower, and cleanliness were all very good. The minibar was restocked regularly, and there was only one day when my room wasn’t cleaned. Otherwise, it was spotless, with thoughtful touches like neatly folded bedding, replenished toiletries and towels, and attention to detail.
The food was good overall. The Italian and steak restaurants exceeded expectations, both in food quality and service. The Mexican restaurant had just changed its menu during our visit, so the server was understandably a bit confused. Service was slow, and honestly, the food wasn’t great—but the staff’s effort helped us overlook that one experience. The special dinners in the Preferred area, as well as the Oceania restaurant during the day, were very nice. The Asian fusion restaurant was also excellent.
That said, on our fifth day I came down with a pretty bad case of food poisoning, possibly from the pork wrap at the beach grill or the hot buffet in the Preferred Lounge. I’m an adventurous eater (ceviche, seafood, etc.) so I partly blame myself but we didn’t eat off-resort.
The resort itself is a bit older and shows some wear in areas like the Core Zone (kids’ club), theater, sports bar/club, and a few other spots. However, it performs very well for its price range.
A couple of things worth mentioning: I was on the first floor on the pool/ocean side, and it was exceptionally noisy at night due to weddings happening almost every evening. The AC barely drowned out the noise, though things generally quieted down around 11 p.m. In the mornings the staff are out early so I was often awake by 6AM (banging of karts in the hallways) but it was usually to know when to go grab a few beach chairs.
There were also a lot—and I mean a lot—of small kids: babies, toddlers, and children under eight. I was traveling with my nephews, so we expected kids, but the sheer number made it harder to relax or enjoy the pool at times. You could opt for an adults-only resort, of course. But it’s worth mentioning that I’ve been to many all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and Punta Cana (DR), and this was by far the most kid-heavy resort I’ve experienced.
On the plus side, it’s a small resort, which makes getting around easy. The Preferred areas and perks are nice, though they may not be worth the extra $900+ CAD.
There also really isn’t much of a beach. There is one, but it’s artificial and located on a lagoon. If you’re looking for the soft, white Caribbean sand, you won’t find it here or nearby. However, the resort is within a gated community, and being able to wander the marina, explore local restaurants and shops, and watch the dolphins was fantastic.
In summary, this is a solid 4/5 resort for service, location, size, and amenities.
Kyle Nicholson
I booked this trip spontaneously for a three night stay and I paid for the junior room with a tropical view. Check in time was 3 PM, but by 1 PM my room was ready which was great and they also treat you as a guest from the minute you enter the property.
My room was clean and the housekeeping/service was very consistent and detail oriented as they would fold miscellaneous clothes and clean up phone charger cables very creatively.
The pools are nicely built and appear pretty clean and when I was at the resort, it wasn't too busy so I didn't have any problems finding my own space on the pool deck. The beach is nice looking, but is often very dirty and nobody really swims inside of it.
The highlight of my trip may have been the spa as the services were amazing and it's very nice looking which was relaxing and a one of a kind experience.
Just like most parts of Mexico, the food was amazing and I had zero complaints especially with the buffet option.
I'd say this resort maintains its five star resort title well.
Deseree Limon
Honest review. I am only giving this hotel 2 starts because the service was good the view was beautiful and the room was nice. But none of that is worth it when the lights go out 2 to 5 times a day it was so dark one time I couldn't see my baby standing right in front of me. Thank god she was off playing at any other distance. And thank goodness our grandparents were on the first floor because elevators were out. The water also went out during our stay there. The food in my opinion is not worth it. Very cheap very poorly made we did like the Italian restaurants it was pretty good. Kids club is not secure enough for my liking. And if you have kids I would not recommend getting the preferred package because they don't allow kids in the pool bar area which is where most of our family was so we could not join them.
Megan
It's somewhere between a 3.5 to a 4 star for us.
We chose this hotel for hosting our wedding group based on proximity to an offsite wedding venue.
Preferred club is a must. I drink aperol spritz, and the premixed "spritz" they offer on non-preferred club bars is honestly disgusting. They ran out of aperol for 2 days which was disappointing since it's the only thing I drink.
What they do well :
- Amazing for families. So many activities, engaging experiences for kids.
- Coffee is pretty good. I liked the coffee bar on the main floor.
- The disco is fun (after a few drinks especially hahah)
- The town of Puerto Aventuras is a cool novelty experience for guests who may not have wandered off resort otherwise. Rent a golf cart and go around the area, it's fun to explore.
- The layout of the hotel is really good. Perfect size especially if you're with a large group. You can see all your people quite often.
- Really a lot of choices for experiences at the resort. Waterslides are fun for adults and children. Barracuda bar with swings was super cool.
- My guests in general seemed happy with the resort.
- Dining experiences like the dining on the beach was super special.
Cons :
- Employee who was working at the hostess stand at Mexican restaurant on December 9 had an appalling attitude.
The experience at this restaurant was very poor.
- They call themselves pet friendly, but the pet is not allowed basically anywhere. In addition to that, the policies of not allowing the pet to be in the room for cleaning makes sense, but that meant we only had our room serviced 2 times. Based on this, it's actually reducing the amount of service you get significantly. So explain to me how $65 USD a day makes sense for having a pet in your room? Which reduces the service you can even get? Most hotels pet fee is $50-$75 per stay, which would be more sensible. This is just simply not a pet friendly experience. They allow the pet to be there in the room, but that's about it.
- The day of our wedding we were leaving the resort for multiple hours with our pet so we asked to have the room cleaned that day, which didn't happen.
- We stayed over 1 week, so I thought it was sensible that on the day they finally came to clean the room, I asked for the sheets to be changed. I left a large tip in anticipation of a clean room with fresh sheets. That didn't happen.
- Multiple times before my sister arrived I asked to verify that her room would have a baby crib in it when they arrived. I was told for Sure no worries it will be there. They were arriving late after a long travel day, and I didn't want to have any delays. It was not there upon arrival even tho I had confirmed multiple times.
Unrelated to the resort, but If you're flying with Westjet or an airline that includes nexus tours for your transportation, I suggest you upgrade to a private shuttle or don't use that option. The guests who used the nexus tours option were left waiting at the airport on arrival for multiple hours before even beginning the long drive to the hotel.
On the week of our trip, there was a lot of mosquitoes, so I recommend bringing bug spray.
Even though there are some shortfalls, I would likely stay here again if the price was reasonable.
Jeff B
The staff wasn't always friendly. We had lots of issues and mixups with the initial check in. Room wasn't well cleaned at check in. The pool bar was constantly out of simple drink ingredients and beer. The hotel did a poor job of preserving availability in preferred areas, often letting guests that did not pay for preferred access enter.
2 resteraurants were mostly closed, causing major back ups in the ones that remained open.
Food was great. Nice beach area (not quite enough seating).
Nice proximity to the Harbour and area, but be prepared for a LONG transit from the Airport to the resort and vice versa. This makes for a very long travel day once factored into a flight from western Canada, and sitting in an Airport.
My Booking
