It is beautiful from inside and out. The lobby is gorgeous and clean. There was always people cleaning everywhere. We were welcomed with a drink and check in was a breeze. There were no funky odors that we could detect throughout the building. The bed was fine for me. The room was clean, well stocked mini bar, and we had a balcony overlooking the ocean which was wonderful. There was a separate area with a couch and television set. There was a stain in the tub and one of the sinks didn't work too well. We used bottle water to brush our teeth at night.

We quickly made reservations the moment we checked in and couldn't get a reservation for just one night. Tapas was ok, had better in the city and the Brazilian was either too dry or too salty. Krystal was a great place. Couldn't make reservations for the Japanese restaurant. The dinner buffet wasn't very good, breakfast was a lot better. There is quite a selection of food, but its a hit or miss. I also wish they had a larger selection for room service.

The beach is quite small but Riu Cancun is just next door and you were able to use their facilities. The pool was great. There were people always willing to help you where ever on the resort.

Good experience from a first timer in Cancun.

Beautiful Hotel - the lobby was beautiful. The rooms were beautiful, the lobby bathroom was gorgeous! Clean - very clean - every morning the lobby was filled with staff dusting, wiping, sweeping, vacuuming etc...I cannot say enough about the hospitality - fantastic. The staff in the restaurants were superb! I eat at a lot of restaurants and the service was that of any high end restaurant I've been to. I know tips are supposed to be included, but I'm sure these people are not earning a living working at the hotels. We tipped and they appreciated it. Buffet restaurant was excellent. Steakhouse very good - Tapas was very good. Did not try the Japanese, Italian or Brazilian restaurants (heard the Italian restaurant was very good). Make your reservations the minute you check in - they fill up quickly. The pools were very nice, only 1 pool bar though and it got very loud in the afternoon. If you have children, the "childs pool" is a joke - it's no more than a 6' diameter and 1' deep. Unfortunately, if you do not get out to the pool by 7am to reserve your chairs and umbrella, you will not get a primo spot for the day. If you like long walks on the beach, you might be disappointed. Now for the rooms: we did not have a problem with our air conditioning what so ever - worked very well. Of course we went in July so humidity filled the room pretty quickly if we chose to have the door open. Make sure everything in your room works - our bathroom fan and tv remote did not work, but we delt with it. Unfortunately, I did not like the beds, for me they were hard and I did not sleep well at all. The first couple of nights I heard every little noise ie: doors closing, drawers opening, people being rude yelling in the hallway at midnight. I think the hotel should do a better job at setting just a few guidelines for the guests like...no walking through the lobby with barefeet, wear a coverup or shirt when walking through the lobby or eating in the restaurant. The last thing I want is to look at someone's bare belly , man [--] or harry back while I'm eating my food and for the sake of self respect, clip your toenails before you go on a beach vacation! This didn't happen in abundance, but it happened. If I were looking for a romantic, quiet, luxurious stay I probably would have been happier someplace else. Would I go back?....If the group I was going with really wanted to then I would, but I would like to try other all inclusive properties first. :>)

Repeated this year the family trip of 13 we took last year with 14, after taking a vote. Last year I titled my comment "Declining Excellence". This year I'm titling my comment "Return to Excellence".

Spent 7 wonderful nights at the hotel we have known since its inauguration, having visited 9 times and lived its declining excellence. To our very pleasing surprise, we found the hotel back to where it had been and should remain. But take notice, our criticism is entirely aimed at headquarters in Mayorca, Spain, not at the hotel management and personnel, who have been excellent from the very beginning.

Service has always remained excellent and we have consistently only had praise for all hotel personnel, from Ramon Urbano (Manager) and the two Javieres(deputy managers), passing through the Reception people (its chief Diana and her deputy Cesar, but also Teresa and others) and bar attendants all the way to the room cleaners.

What has improved significantly is the quality and presentation of the meals at all restaurants, although some drinks continue to be below acceptable level, not because they are not properly prepared, but because the quality of the alcohol is not premium (we would recommend adding more premium tequilas and rums).

The one caveat we have, which seems to be increasing in importance, is the poor condition of the beach. For reasons beyond the control of the hotel, but well within its power to correct, rocks, stones and pieces of construction leftovers in the form of cement pieces of all sizes, are increasingly coming into sight (and the feelings of innocent feet) as the ocean continues to wash out sand that was placed on cite some time ago. The hotel can and should assign employees the task of cleaning the very small beach (and therefore, premium to the hotel precisely because of its small size). During the 7 days we were there we never saw a single hotel person cleaning the beach from those stones and cement pieces. We did see them sweeping the accumulated algae, but never actually taking out those rocks and cement pieces.

So our recommendation to future guests is to take with them beach or sea shoes to avoid injuring their feet.

We have no new comments on the rooms, since we have never had problems of the sort mentioned by some reviewers in the past. We have never experienced hard beds (since they are indeed healthful and we like them), non functioning air conditioning (at times they have not cooled as expected and have been quickly corrected upon our request), non functioning bathrooms (again, the same as with the air conditioning).

We do have a new comment regarding guest behaviour. In the past, guests were less noisy and less rude than at present, for the simple reason that in the past the hotel catered to a different group of tourists (usually older and better educated, with enough income to pay the higher rates). Today, as a result of company headquarter's policy of prioritizing full occupancy over everything else, which has led to lowering of rates and making up for loss income by reducing food and drink qualities, the average age and income level of hotel guests has fallen, with obvious consequences. For the first time in over 9 visits, we experienced guests drunk on more than one occasion and witnessed unbecoming behaviour and rudeness.

Nonetheless, our congratulations for the good job done by Ramon, the two Javieres and Reception Desk personnel as they have had to deal with the consequences of the market share - full occupancy policy of Mayorca.

This hotel makes for a great getaway! For the money, this place is fantastic! Paticularly if you enjoy trying the various daquiris and drinks by the pool all day. The staff is so helpful and so nice. The pool and beach are beautiful. The lobby is beautiful.

The food was good. Plenty of variety. Is it 5-star like a Ruth Chris steak house?No. But the vegetable are very fresh, the meat is good quality. Overall a much better spread than the buffets at Sandals or on Carnaval or RC cruises. They were constantly refreshing the buffets too. One night, they even have an infused tequila tasting at the dinner buffet with different fruit-infused tequilas. You can always get salad, cheese, pasta, tortilla chips, beans, chili, pizza etc and then the main dishes vary from night to night. There was always a good selection of cooked veggie dishes. Chocolate fondue fountain for dessert along with ice cream and other treats. Breakfast had different egg dishes, waffles, omelette stations, a bunch of different yogurts, fresh fruit, nachos, quesadillas, bloody marys. Room service wasn't spectacular, but its fast and free. The club sandwich was a good snack.

As to the liquor, they have Bacardi Anejo, Bacardi 8 Anos, Havana Club Reserve, Chivas, Finlandia Crandberry, Southern Comfort, Smirnoff, Corona etc. But no Grey Goose, no 10 Cane etc. The wine is OK (mostly from Chile) but the champagne is pretty good. No light beers in the room and I don't remember any at the bars (although maybe they had some domestic light beers). Probably 10-15 different types of daquiris at the pool bars. They will make shots for you. Mimosas at breakfast. They don't have redbull, but they sell it (including sugar free) across the street at a little mini mart so you can make a drink in your room with the in-room vodka and rum dispensers.

They have plenty of bottled water. As to people's complaints about getting sick - remember, this is Mexico and you can't drink the water. This also means that you have to be smart - brush your teeth with the bottled water, don't open your mouth in the shower etc. If you leave the hotel, be careful with fresh fruits and veggies. The hotel drinking water at the pool and restaurants and water for cooking is purified - just not the water in the room. But they give you so much bottled water, that it is not an issue. If you're worried about getting sick, just bring some Cipro from American. It costs like $10 and your Dr. will easily write you a Rx for it.

As to the crowd, I would say mostly couples and families. Not too many groups of singles. Adults were mostly 25-45 from America or England.

The hotel is next door to the Riu Cancun, a sister hotel. The RPLA guests can use the Riu Cancun but not vice versa. The Riu Cancun was more of a younger party crowd and a fun place to go for a night. From the hotel, it is about a 1/2 mile walk to the main Cancun clubs (Carlos and Charlies, the City, Hooters, Dady O, Bulldgogs etc). Senor Frogs is farther. The hotel does excursions to the clubs where they took you there for free and you could buy a wristband at the hotel so you didn't have to wait in line at the club.

Yes, the bed was a little hard and the pillows weren't the best ever but the bed wasn't terrible. It's just not a Westin Heavenly bed. But the room is clean, the towels were decent quality, the water pressure in the shower was good.

Overall, we were impressed how well-maintained and clean the hotel was, how well-staffed it was and how nice the grounds are. Is this the Rtiz Carlton? No. Of course not. But look at the price difference - how you can you possible compare the 2. This hotel costs comparable to the Marriot or the Westin except this one includes food and alcohol. So it's a great resort and a good deal but don't expect Frette linens and lobster tail. It's very relaxing, gorgeous views and a great time. We would definitely go back!!