Riviera Maya

Pool was nice. Didn't like no fresh fruit at pool bar. Room was nice

We have vacationed at the Excellence Riviera Cancun more than 15 times over the years. Some might suggest that we branch out but the amenities, location and especially the outstanding staff keep us coming back. While we're sure that most staff deserve excellent reviews; these are the women and men with whom we engaged on our recent trip and with whom we have the utmost gratitude, affection, and respect. The following staff members are listed in no particular order, but it should be noted that these superb folks keep us coming back. Laylan: Manager for the Excellence Riviera Cancun. There were 6 people in our group. After multiple travel delays and challenging incidents, we arrived at the resort tired, hangry, and irritable. We encountered further frustrations when we learned that our booking agents had not shared some of our specific requests with the resort. Customer service is often a thankless job, but we say thank you Laylan for all that you did for us. We recognize you and your enormous efforts. Your professionalism, effectiveness and calm approach turned grumpy customers into grateful customers. Thank you. It's important to note that an organization is only as good as its employees, and employees like Laylan help make the Excellence Riviera Cancun a terrific resort. Miriam: beach concierge in the Excellence Club. Miriam was an absolute delight. She was energetic, friendly, courteous, efficient, and professional at all times. Miriam went above and beyond, treated us like royalty and could always be counted on to provide excellent customer service. She was a highly effective team player. Thank you, Miriam, for your unceasing commitment and dedication. You always went the extra mile and as such, you are a wonderful ambassador for the Excellence Riviera Cancun. Eleuterio: resort gardener. While always busy with his numerous tasks, Eleuterio went out of his way to engage with us. This is a man who does extremely well with guests. He made us feel most welcome with his friendly, welcoming, and gracious manner, all the while, approaching his duties with passion (the gardens and grounds are beautiful). He was charismatic, thoughtful and customer focused, also going above and beyond. Eleuterio is a loyal and exceptional ambassador for the Excellence Riviera Cancun. Well done. Moises: pool waiter in the Excellence Club. Once you've met Moises and experienced his humour and infectious laughter, you will never forget him. We met Moises years ago and are always impressed with his dedication, high energy, efficiency, loyalty, and professionalism. He is a joy to know. Moises is a thoughtful, conscientious, and excellent team player who puts the comfort of guests first and foremost. A highly skilled and competent employee, Moises is also a remarkable ambassador for the Excellence Riviera Cancun. Carlos Senior: waiter at Magna Restaurant in the Excellence Club. We enjoyed 2 experiences with Carlos Sr. He was attentive, proficient, friendly, courteous, and professional. A skilled server, we noticed how other staff treated him with respect and dignity – obviously a fine mentor. Amir: waiter at Chez Isabelle (wine cellar). Here was a man with impressive knowledge and skill. With 6 people in our group, Amir exemplified professionalism with his friendly, respectful, and excellent customer service accomplished in an elegant and sophisticated manner. Alberto: waiter at Oregano Restaurant. Last but definitely not least. We have known Alberto for years in his many roles at Excellence. We are very proud to count him as a cherished friend. When I asked my wife Wendy to describe Alberto, she said, “kind; a lovely man!” While true, Alberto is also a loyal, dedicated employee with a wonderful, positive disposition. His talent and customer service are stellar, and his hard work takes the resort to new heights. The Excellence Riviera Cancun is fortunate to have Alberto on their team – another fine ambassador. Until next time Alberto . . . Phil and Wendy H. * * * * *

Perfect, smaller hotel with beautiful beach access, bali beds and beach palapas. We never had trouble finding a place to sit if you weren't picky about beach vs. pool. Amazing "turtle talk" with Alejandro - lots of protected turtle nests on the beach. Sting rays right in the water, coral reef not far off shore. Easy snorkeling. Paddle boarding at various times in the day - even for beginners. Staff are friendly and hard working. Food was very good in the specialty restaurants and the buffet had a large selection of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our 14 year old son was sometimes bored - there is a kids club up to age 12 but the teenagers don't have many activities. We traveled with parents (75 & 80) and it was perfect for them - not too big of a resort. Easy to move around. Quiet - not a party scene at all. There are LOTS of repeat guests so they definitely are doing something right! Options for excursions from the hotel to surrounding areas. Great for relaxing!

This was our first trip to Mexico, we had great fun. We stayed at the palace, really nice room, great staff, excellent facilities. Will come back for sure!

Very clean hotel, great customer service and friendly atmosphere! Food options were excellent. We enjoy our stay ! It is not front beach hotel but walk to the beach is only 5 minutes.

It was a wonderful first time experience. The staff were nice, and the food was good. Some food did come out raw, due to staff rushing to keep up with guests. The room was clean, the only issue were the small ants that came from a pin size hole in the wall, which we blocked and sprayed with bug spray. Beach and pool area was wonderful, other than the ignorant/self absorbed guests that would “reserve chairs” and not even be there. Im not sure what needs to be done or what could be done. That to me was a major issue as we were travelling with a large family including kids and an elderly couple. I would definitely go again.

My experience is not a positive one, After 4 days of travelling due to westjet's strike I was extremely tired and was refused access to my room before 3 eventhough I confirmed with the cleaning staff that it was ready. I had the get the GM involved. The staff at the front was extremely rude. The food was the same everyday and the information given during the hurricane Beryl was minimal, they told us to look at the tv to get the info necessary but it didn't change for two days, I would still be in my room. The a la carte restaurant did not open for 3 days and the buffet food was always empty waiting to be refilled. I am guessing they did not have enough staff.... I was sick for the last day which was not pleasant assuming food poisoning. I was part of a group that arrived the nest day and it was no different for them. This is definitlely not a 5 star at the very best a 3.....

Bahia Principe Grand Coba is a nice resort. It's our first time in Mexico. We like the pool, the buffet and the beach.

Firstly, it's hard to find information on this online so for the beer lovers out there - they serve Dos Equis lager and ambar on tap. That being said if you don't get to the ambar by about 4pm they run out at every bar or restaurant which is not good since the lager tastes watered down. This led to me drinking much less during the trip which I suppose is a health benefit? On to the review of the resort. Upon arrival the check in process was quick and friendly. When we arrived to our room we noticed two things right off the top, the bedding was tucked in and appeared made, but the sheets were dirty, and the TV was broken, but usable (black vertical line center left of screen, for which i made a service call). The rest of the room was in good shape. Despite making a service call upon check in and told someone would come and fix it, the tv was not fixed/replaced during our stay. All following days bedding was clean after housekeeper tended to room. We had strong wifi signal in our room and all over the rest of the resort. The buffet/service This is a two parter. I'll address service. Serving staff were very friendly, but slow. This type of thing typically isn't a huge deal as buffets you obviously serve yourself, but with one annoying exception - water/drinks which you must wait for. Sometimes you will wait 10 minutes before serving staff will bring you water. This is ordinarily an annoyance, but it becomes a bit unbearable when it's about 35 degrees Celsius in the buffet and seating area. On many visits I attempted to go and fill up water on my own and I was told to sit down and they would bring it to me, again after a lengthy delay. I think the satisfactory solution to this would be to have a self serve station for drinks (or for the very least, water) as you have for the buffet. The buffet area itself a situation of good, bad and ugly. The good: Also a pro tip - there is a room on the far side of the buffet area you can sit in that is slightly air conditioner and does not have mosquitos. Arrive to the buffet early and make your way to this room immediately. You walk through the entrance into the food area and it will be the large room on your right hand side. Use this room as often as you can. After sitting in the main buffet seating area with the fountain you will understand why this room is so valuable. The bad: The food is not good. I am not much of a food guy. In fact if it's edible I usually give it a pass, but even I hated the food here with the exception of the Spanish food. All other food seemed tasteless or poorly done/overly seasoned, borderline inedible in some cases. They could not seem to find a middle ground here. The ugly: Food handling or food sanitary issues. Half way through the trip I came down with a food borne illness, and I ate exclusively at the resort. I've been trying to pinpoint the origin of the illness and I have narrowed it down to either the Tuna at the Japanese restaurant, or from the buffet earlier that day. In any event I was sick for the remainder of the trip. Mosquitos. The main buffet eating room swarms with mosquitos making it incredibly uncomfortable to sit for more than a few minutes to eat. I am not talking one or two mosquitos either, at times I would be swarmed by about 20 at a time. This is not a problem in the other eating area though. I listed the service at the food truck as a negative as well. This is solely because they are overwhelmed due to volume. It is not a criticism of the staff working there. Same goes for the lobby. While service is slow everyone is pleasant. The grounds: The grounds and pools were very nice for the most part. You can tell the groundskeepers put in a lot of work to make sure everything looks good and the grounds were in a good state of repair. The pools were also pretty good with the exception of nearly every light fixture below water level which was loose or protruding, and not by design. This needs to be addressed. Otherwise the pool tiles were all in great shape. The kids area pools and water parks were excellent. My kids spent many hours there and they never grew tired or bored of the pools or water slides. Swimming with dolphins was a great bonus. This was one of the reasons we chose this specific resort and they delivered. The kids got a great experience interacting directly with dolphins in their area and they loved it. The evening shows were pretty awesome, especially the urban light show. The resort is pretty far from playa del Carmen or cancun, so day trips out that way can be pretty expensive if you're using a taxi. There is a collectivo that passes by the front of the resort that you can catch to head into playa del Carmen, before jumping on one I'd suggest you tubing it to see how it works to avoid confusion/problems. All in, there are too many issues to consider this a 5 star resort. I wouldn't even consider this a 4 star. I would consider this to be firmly into the 3-3.5 star territory. Not to say it's a bad resort, but temper your expectations if you choose to stay here. While we enjoyed our time here for the most part, there is nothing really compelling us to return to this resort in the future.

Catalonia Playa Maroma will always hold a special place in my heart! My family went to this place when I was 14 years old and my parents have gone annually the last few years. We decided to to visit Catalonia as our first trip as a couple and my partner's first time travelling ever! It was an absolute dream and my now fiancé proposed on the beach! The resort photography place captured the moment beautifully for us to remember for the rest of our lives. We highly recommend this place if you are looking for a vacation!