We enjoyed our week at the Catalonia Riviera Maya. We were here years ago and a few things have changed, but overall a good experience. Reception is friendly and the check in went smoothly. Although the shuttle bus from the airport to the resort was quite late and therefore our arrival was much later that night than anticipated. Catalonia Riviera is part of the Catalonia Yucatan and also includes a Privileged section. Rooms - We did not upgrade to the Privileged; however, we heard from other guests that the rooms in the Privileged building include suites and have a small pool or tub on the higher floors. Our trip package was for a premium room, and we found it to be roomy enough with a king size bed and updated bathroom. Cleaning service came daily; rooms were always clean, towels changed, and the bar fridge replenished daily. The patio door didn't lock properly, but no problem on the upper floor. The bathroom window wouldn't close properly, but maintenance came within the hour to fix it. Security and Concierge service - We noticed security regularly walking the grounds. Beach and pool concierges also regularly do their rounds. They check for loungers that have not been occupied for a long period of time. As in many resorts, guests place towels out on the loungers at the crack of dawn and don't show up all day. I don't think there's any enforcement on this unless it's a reminder to guests. Typically, we had no problem finding loungers around 8 AM in the morning. Mexico has strict smoking regulations and therefore, you won't see too many guests smoking at the Catalonia resort. If any, they'll be very discreet about it and try to smoke where there are very few people. It's my understanding that resort staff have the authority to enforce this rule and potentially can remove your wristband. There are no "designated" smoking areas for guests. Unfortunately, this rule may deter tourists from visiting Mexico. I'd suggest reading up on the rules first. Pool/Beach - There are basically 3 pools: the Yucatan side pool (2), the Riviera side (2) and a pool designated for the Privilege guests. Both Yucatan and Riviera pools have shallow areas for small children and each side has a pool bar. Bartenders make awesome drinks and are very busy. Pools are well maintained; every day staff are cleaning the pools. The beach is not like a typical Punta Cana or Cuban beach. The Privilege guests have a small, designated area, but it's not fantastic. There's a boardwalk in front of the Riviera side beach, as it's rocky with no sandy shoreline, but a lot of people go snorkeling in front of this area. There's another small beach in front of the Yucatan side that is sandy with lots of loungers. The sargassum seaweed was washing up a lot, but the staff were cleaning it up daily. Bathroom facilities are close to the pools and kept clean. Bathrooms are at the Snack Bar/Grill and beside the Mercado Buffet. Grounds - The grounds at this resort are nicely manicured and there's not a day that goes by that you won't see gardeners pruning, raking and trimming the trees and cutting down coconuts. Restaurants - There are 4 ala carte restaurants: Toscana Restaurant (Italian), The Grill (steakhouse/chicken/pork), Ayami (Japanese) and Alebrijes (Mexican). Getting an ala carte dinner can be very tricky until you master the process. Firstly, you require the app. Someone at the front desk can set this up for you. Each restaurants' menu is listed on the app. Ala carte selections can be made starting at 8:00 AM in the morning. Sometimes you can log on a few seconds early, but don't wait until 5 past 8 because likely all the ala carte dinners will already be gone. This can only be done on a daily basis, not a week at a time. Unfortunately, this is a process that many guests disliked. I'd suggest having the restaurant already selected before 8. Then you'll see a calendar showing today's date in green on the screen, select today's date. If the date has a red circle around it, the ala carte is fully booked already. Then enter the total number of dinner guests, your first name, last name, phone number, email address, # of adults, # of children if applicable and time you want to reserve. The time is set in military time; so 18:00 is 6 PM. Some people said they bypassed the country code for the phone number, so not sure if it's relevant. Click reserve/confirm and you'll get a yellow check mark showing and an email confirmation of your reservation. There are 2 Buffets (Brisa or Mercado) that are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each restaurant is very accommodating if you have food allergies, the chef will walk around the buffet with food recommendations. The selection is reasonably good, but if you find it too repetitive, try an ala carte or venture out to some of the local cafes/restaurants within the gated community of Puerto Aventuras. There are a lot of shops there and it's a nice walk to the Marina. The BURGER does not require reservations offering a patio type setting. The BLoved is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner but is only available to privileged guests. The Creperie (next to the Yucatan pool) is great for a treat or snack. They offer ice cream, sweet and savory crepes, and coffee. It's open from 2 - 6 pm. There's a Hot Dog stand across from it. Ma Loo is on the Riviera side and offers fantastic smoothies from 10 - 4 pm. Entertainment - Pool entertainment team works hard to entertain everyone and does a fantastic job at keeping guests busy and having fun. If you want a quieter scene - there's the beach. The Theater offers nightly entertainment, depending on what you like. Kids will love the Disney night. The Abuelo Bar has nightly entertainment, and everyone gets up dancing. Again, the entertainment team makes it pretty lively. Although, it would be nice to have a bar lounge area with some mellow music like jazz/piano where you can have a conversation and hear each other. Overall, this resort is a nice choice for families and couples, young and old. There are ramps and accessible options. The resort is not huge, so great for people who want to avoid walking for long distances to all the restaurants, bars, etc. It is a little far from the airport and takes a little over an hour to get there, so if this important to you keep that in mind.…