I live in Paris but I’ll write in English a) to thank my Canadian friends and b) most French visitors read the English reviews but not visa-versa.
I've just come back from the Catalonia Playa Maroma hotel (20april-5 May) and had a really fantastic experience, which I’d like to share.
Site and Hotel: larger than average (at least 1400 capacity) hotel built on at least 5-7000 sq m of almost virgin mangrove and what is referred to as Yucatan "jungle". Really this hotel has something for everyone:
Nature lovers-long walks on the grounds, amongst thousands of trees of many varieties, hundreds of birds and animal life; coatis, racoons, iguanas by the dozen, small mammals, monkeys etc etc. A beach front amongst the most beautiful on the Yucatan peninsula and a wonderful little stand with a very experienced and friendly nature guide supplied by the hotel who provides surprising tours of the grounds and history of the place and its human and animal occupants, all for free with passion and a smile, at 4.00 pm every other day .
Fun lovers-a 20-25 strong mixed animation team composed of hotel (Mexican) Italian and French (few but active) animators for the sports, dance, Spanish lessons, beach volley, evening entertainment, nautical sports ....and other aqua-gym activities to mention but a few. All with a: you want to join in? fine you want lo laze around drinking margaritas and pina colladas ...also fine, attitude..... No pressure, no hassle, no particularly loud public announcement or disco 'Costa del sol' music as some very difficult visitors have mentioned in other reviews. On the contrary some very agreeable classical or soothing music and nature sounds along the main walks, some modern compositions around the pool area and some young music on the beach front.......and that only at certain hours and with moderation. Nothing to make your hair stand up or ruin peaceful holidays, if that’s what you're looking for.....
Food and drink lovers: fair to excellent cuisine, unlimited quantities (even 10 min before closing), long opening hours, no substitute products ( good whiskies, Smirnoff vodka, Danone yogurts, Kellogg’s cereals, excellent meats........) central bar open 24/24 and absolutely, no .........tourista. The only way to catch it is to drink and eat outside the hotel !!!!!!! or perhaps drink the pool water and even then I’m not sure because, although this is not the best conceived pool in the world (perhaps far from it) its care and cleanliness is remarkable (for a hotel of that capacity....) The only problems is the choice ......too much of it and the fact that none of this is inductive to .....diets!!
A special note for the surprising Thursday night Mexican fiesta event with Mexican foods, wondering musicians with large sombreros and deep voices, Mexican artisan stands with various and surprising local products all with discretion and good taste. To cap it all, the evening show/spectacle the night I went, was a delightful "brazil" show put on by a professional troop that was more Rio de Janeiro than the famous carnival itself....... I hasten to add that the male dancers were ...... almost as good looking as the female ones, as my wife pointed out....
Finally, for the Service, security and cleanliness freaks (.....like myself) - if the other aspects of the hotel mentioned above get 18 & 19/20 ratings this chapter gets full notes, 20/20 !!!!!!!!! In all modesty, as a business traveller I can say I have visited...and revisited all the five continents (except Australia...perhaps) but I have rarely seen better service or security in a hotel !!!!! It's not just that the service is efficient and professional (most 4 and 5 star or all "palace" class hotel have good to excellent service) it's just that here, they do it with a smile........ almost a pleasure. Not a "...don’t forget the tip" smile, not even "...my supervisor or the camera is watching" smile.....but a real, honest, simple smile that says "welcome to México, welcome to Maya country and welcome to our hotel" smile, which I’m not ready to forget. It really seemed to me that the harder the job: gardeners, maids, waiters and waitresses, bar staff ......the more sincere was the "olla" and the smile.....if only a guest takes 5 seconds to look at these hard working faces or read the name on the badges that all personnel carry.
No long faces, no .....why are you making my life difficult, no....why don’t you speak Spanish, no ....oh no not you again, no....everyone has to make a living and this is my job, faces ...... how do they do that with their 8-10 hour days, 6-7 day weeks and change 3 times post per day (all personnel rotate between the different bars and restaurants at different hours of the day or days of the week) I will never know !!!! What I do know is that these people, essentially Maya, were the real icing on the cake and they made my and my family's stay worthwhile with or without tips !!!
Just a word on security; every room has a free, practical, modern safe of which i made extensive use. Not that it was necessary, because discreetly, and efficiently every block of apartments, every hotel access from the surrounding areas (land, sea or even jungle it would appear) had a security personnel or a qualified life guard to make sure that nothing happened to us or our belongings. Oh this is not a George Orwell, big brother or look at my flashy uniform presence .....just a, can you please unlock my safe, sorry I forgot my key again.... and is this the right way to the tennis courts presence.. Just for the anecdote and just to give you an indication of how seriously they take these matters; I asked for a light bulb to be changed and the maintenance quy was discreetly accompanied by a security man all the time he was in my room !!!! one of my kids left the room door open for 5 min while they were inside playing and a security quy politely knocked on the door to see if anybody was inside and asked if everything was ok..........now I find that pretty rare. So again top marks for the personnel but also the hotel management who put these procedures in place and hired this personnel.
After all these accounts it seems almost repetitive to mention that in practically all of the hotel and rooms .......you could eat off the floor !!!! I mean these people even clean up the jungle !!!!!
No I'm not joking, there is an army of gardeners and maintenance personnel that constantly cleans the paths, sweeps up the leaves and picks up by hand all cigarette butts, chewing gums or lost Ray ban sun glasses left behind by mindless or careless tourists. Fortunately for us even $200 sun glasses find their way to the reception in all instances except when stolen by other tourists !!!

Now when all is said and done, and so as you don’t think I have been paid or drugged to make these comments , on the down side; the hotel infrastructures, except the lobby, reception area and main restaurant, date a bit.
The rooms are large, bug free, clean, but basic. The sanitary installations in some rooms (not ours as it happened) could use some freshening up.
The swimming pool design and conception singularly lacks imagination. But really who cares....... with one of the most beautiful beaches on the Maya Riviera at less than 25 meters, with post-card white sand, turquoise waters and shady coconut trees for the almost exclusive use of the hotel guests since the whole of the Playa Maroma complex comprises 3 hotels all of which have their own stretch of paradise beach (including a five star, SPA hotel next door forbidden to under 18eens !!!!!) Mind you their guests who have paid double the price seem so bored that they come to the Catalonia sea front for the animation and the lifeguard supervision!!!
Ok there are 4 or 5 loud Italians, at least 6 boring French, no less than 8 north Americans who drink more than their fair share of alcohol but lets face it .....you cant discriminate against human weaknesses and I’ve never been to a hotel that didn’t contain these guests - only the nationalities differ from region to region.


Personal advice -
Do NOT try to walk to the main road (its a 20-30 min walk which in the Mexican sun is a guaranteed sun stroke)......call in a taxi and pay $5 dollars to take you there !!!! Believe it or not they do it!!
Do NOT buy tour operator excursions at the hotel-rent a car at the reception (ask for Moses or "the prof" Arturo) and do it yourself for 1/2 or a third of the price. Do not forget and don’t hesitate to pay the $33 extra dollars for the franchise ($1100) waiver for a hustle free location. Cars vary from 60-150$ according to category and duration. (if you're not into driving go to Playa de Carmen and buy your excursions there - less cost and they come and pick you up at the hotel!!)
Do NOT go over the speed limit 80-100kms; this can be a costly exercise as YOU WILL encounter 4-5 police controls from the hotel to TULUM for example.
Do NOT (or avoid) driving around after dark. Most Mexicans are wonderful but their driving manners leave a lot to be desired-further more in their cheerfulness they tend to drink throughout the day so by night fall many are drunk behind the wheel !!!!! No joke.
DO NOT forget your card at an ATM machine. Unlike in Europe your card is delivered several minutes AFTER your cash so beware!
Do NOT go to XEL-HA unless you like overweight Americans and got rich quick Mexicans who are there for the all-inclusive. At $75 dollars per head, its overpriced, over commercial and way overestimated. Instead Go to YAL-KU lagoon at AKUMAL playa (not town, beach) you will see far less kilos and many more fantastic fish in a friendly amateur diver environment for the extravagant price of $7 (seven !!) to which you can add $10 for the renting of your snorkelling material for the whole day. Believe me I paid 5000 pesos for a family of 5 at XEL-HA just to get bored all day.
While at AKUMAL beach go to the other of four closely guarded secrets (for the initiated only). At the entrance of the private resident’s complex you will walk through the ecological and diving centre. On the other side you will find the public beach of Akumal which contains a completely free and natural turtle breeding and feeding ground. If you're equipped and a solid swimmer dive in, swim 750 metres to where you see the boats and other swimmers and admire!!!! Corals (or what’s left of them after the cyclone) beautiful turtles, all kinds of fish and more than the occasional 1.30m BARACUDA !!!!! in 2 meters of water sitting there staring at you as if you were bait. This of course is only an impression, because they’ve never been known to attack people here given the enormous quantities of fish around and the very frequent visitors who come to admire them. Seriously impressive nevertheless!!!!!
If you not at the top of your physical condition, rent a small boat, with others, for $18 per head. Boat pilots, will drive you out, show you around, loan you materiel and even really nice quys like Victor will dive in with you and swim you around what's there to see. Not bad for the price, eh? Now you know why the operators keep it a secret. You wont see any land excursions to Akumal Playa per se. They only include it in costly quad, 4x4 or boating Excursions!!!
Do NOT miss the pyramid of Cobà. Rent a car, go there, pay 48 pesos to get in and get a guide for 300-320 pesos (the group of 4-6 prs !! so get someone to share with you) and discover all about Maya history. Then DO NOT HESITATE to rent a "limousine" for 65 pesos which will avoid you a 30-40 min. walk in the scorching sun to the pyramid and back, a trip well worth making and a price well worth paying. On the way out of the car park (25pesos) stop at the control point and ask for tickets to the closed Cenote Tamcach-Ha 10min from the site for 40 pesos per person !!!
Probably the 2-3$ the best spent in my life. I will say no more about this quasi mystical experience (the third of the closely guarded secrets) because it has to be lived from A to Z without insights.
Do NOT hesitate to go for shopping or a night out at Playa de Carmen, just get some walking shoes the main tourist road is 2 kilometres long and pedestrian only !! Good deals can be made on everything especially silver jewellery.
Do NOT forget that almost everything is negotiable. Mexicans are in general honest, easy going and very welcoming people.
Finally do NOT be afraid to travel around on public transport. Both public transport buses and “collectivos” can pick you up ANYWHERE and take you almost ANYWHERE on the main roads, for next to nothing. ex 120 pesos for 5 people from the hotel to XEL-HA via Playa de Carmen (at least 75km and 90 mins.) on a comfortable public bus we waited 5 min for!!!!!
Do NOT forget to take towels and swimming suits when you go to TULUM; the beautiful beach behind the ruins, if a little crowded, is a must on a hot Mexican day.
Finally, when in TULUM ask for the fourth closely guarded secret, 3kms on the main road back to the hotel you will, perhaps, find (access is all but obvious) on a bumpy residential sea-side road CASSA CENOTE!!
This is a seemingly small, barbed wire fenced, open air Cenote, 30 meters from the sea. Do NOT be put off by the view from the road or the badly shaved, suspiciously-looking man who will ask you for 20 pesos per person without a receipt. Pay him and dive in this pond like structure with beautifully clear waters, an underwater link with the ocean, amazing and varied fish and bird life and several hundred meters of canals and passages meandering through the mangrove for the most daring or experienced amongst you!!

If you have managed to struggle through this essay-like review you will have gathered that we have spend 15 unforgettable days both in this hotel and the surrounding area. It was a rare and wonderful experience that I wish to you all !!