Just returned from a week at Club International (or VCI). Overall we had a great time. For some background: this was the 15th resort we’ve stayed at in Cancun and the Riviera Maya and we’ve stayed in a wide range of choices in both the EP and AI categories. We’re in our mid 30’s and we took our 1 year old and 4 year old and chose Club International based on priced, good reviews, and the need for a calm beach and 2 bedrooms.
I’ll try to break down my review on value (price paid for what we got). I found the resort to be a 3-3.5 star resort in comparison to other Cancun strip resorts, but for what we paid (about $100 a night) I found it to be a 4.5 star resort for value.
Check in was very simple. We asked and tipped for a good room(we actually booked through a vacation web-site, and not an owner, so we didn’t know what room we were getting until we arrived – I have no idea if the tip helped or not, but I was pleased with the location we were given). Interestingly they give you a room card and let you charge everything on the Royal properties without requiring you to give them a credit card first. Our bags showed up promptly in our room and they immediately brought a crib and high chair.
Rooms: I’ll give a B- grade. They were furnished and updated fine, but they were noisy. We had a 2 bdr, 1 bath –B unit. Unfortunately, the bdr. with the two single beds gets a lot of noise from people walking by and the workers pushing carts is very noisy. It was just too loud for our 1 year old to sleep in there peacefully so we ended up with the crib in our room. We also had to run the fan on high to have enough white noise to drown out the room next to us (the fan was loud). Beds were a little hard, but not bad and typical for Mexico resorts and they had plenty of pillows. The kitchenette was a blessing to have and all the appliances were in good working order. We enjoyed our balcony that overlooked the pool and we could even see a bit of the ocean. The rooms can be challenging with a 1 year old as the table is glass and of course the floor is tile so keep that in mind if you’re traveling with little ones. Also, the crib was very low and we had to keep a close eye to make sure our baby didn’t dive out of it when he woke.
Pools: B-, There are two pools – one has a nice kid’s area which ranges from 2-3.5 feet or so the other is about 4.5 feet throughout. The kid pool worked out great for our two kids as it was deep enough for our 4 year old to practice her swimming and feel comfortable. The only downfall was they were freezing cold and the kids pool got shaded by 3 or so. My 4 year old got earaches from swimming in the cold water (I get the same things), so that was kind of a bummer. While the pools were smaller by Cancun standards I loved the fact that there was plenty of chairs available at our pool (what I call the “pool to person”ratio was excellent!) – I really appreciated it when we visited the Sands and saw how crowded the area around there pools were. Plus they had the good mesh chairs – I hate those plastic white ones.
Service: B , I thought the service was great, but I’ve found the service at most Cancun resorts to be excellent. Maid service was exceptional and we tipped heavily at the end of the week. Restaurant service was hit or miss. Bellhop and luggage handlers were prompt and helpful. Maintenance was very quick when we called to have our safe fixed. The guys that handed out the towels and worked at the laundry were very nice and helpful(laundry was nice to have and was one reason we were able to pack so light). I did like so many things that make life easier when on vacation: the aforementioned laundry, the shuttle service, on-site grocery store(pretty expensive by the way – at least twice of what most items were in town), DVD rentals, etc. At first I was getting annoyed by the soft sell of the interval ownership and felt the welcome on Sunday morning and beach party were a waste of time(though beach party had free food and drinks)! However, once I told the guy assigned to us that there was no way I was buying he left me alone.
Food B+, I thought the food at La Palapa restaurant was generally very good and the prices very reasonable. We ate lunches and dinner there, but didn’t try the breakfast which I also heard was good. My daughter enjoyed the kids menu which was very reasonably priced and is often hard to even find in Cancun. She had the hot dog and hamburgers. We tried the club sandwich, chicken sandwich, and the Mexican treat for two for lunch – all good. For dinner we really enjoyed the tequila, coconut, and grilled shrimp, and fajitas. Soups and salads were all good, desserts were yummy(and we generally don’t care for desserts in Mexico). Ironically, the only big disappointment was the Mexican buffet night – just a really poor effort. I felt like I was at a bad all inclusive with a lot of mystery dishes even the fajitas served then weren’t as good as the dinner off the menu. Drinks were all good and reasonably priced.
Beach – C, While the beach was nice and deep and good to lie out on the there was lots of sea grass in the water and some rocky areas. Plus, it’s actually so shallow that you couldn’t even swim in the area roped off.
Grounds – A, I loved that the resort had well manicured grounds with mature palm trees around the pool and on the beach. I really noticed the contrast when I visited the Sands and noticed how cold and sterile it seemed in comparison.
Some other general things: There wasn’t much going on for entertainment at night which was fine with us. My daughter liked the bands at the restaurant when they had them a couple of nights and watching the “pirate” ships every night when they pulled out for their excursions. This place is best suited for older folks and families though sometimes those two groups sometimes come into conflict(I felt sorry for the older couple that had a room by the kid’s pool and went inside everyday when we arrived!). I can’t quite put my finger on it but I felt more comfortable at this resort – the last few times in Mexico I felt like I really needed to watch every receipt and count my change etc. Because this resort caters to the same clientele year after year you never feel like you could get scammed or slighted at this resort. They really cater to Americans here as you can tell from everything by what brands are offered in the resort grocery store to presenting your dinner bill in USD. I guess that can be perceived as either good or bad.
One last note if you’re thinking of booking this resort and want to stay at the top of the 7 I would also take a look and compare to the Ambiance Villas where you can also get 1 and 2 bedroom rooms. I would say they are very comparable. We stayed at the AVs last year and my wife liked it a little better there she thought based on how great the beach and ocean were there and our particular room that we had was huge. I gave the nod to Club International based on the general upkeep of the resort. Definitely price out both and compare.