Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya

I will start by saying we don't ever expect greatness! We will always find something to eat, good or bad and we don't like rude people(some management and concierge staff)
Overall, the Pools are nice. There's a louder pool, quiet pool and one in between. Grounds are well kept. Rooms are nice with good views of pools and the ocean. Only downfall on the rooms are the balconies. There is no privacy from the rooms connected to you. Bathrooms in the rooms are up to date with great water pressure in the rainfall shower. The resort is small.
Service. The resort seemed like they were short staff! We only saw our Sunwing rep once. He was absent the rest of the week. Our usual pool server Erika was amazing! Daniel the bartender was great as well! At the Landshark restaurant we had Jorge serve us most of the time. He knew our names the second day! He was a great guy as well. Marianna the hostess in the buffet for breakfasts always had a smile on her face and was very helpful. She worked at the Landshark bar in the afternoons.
Restaurants. Booking the steakhouse and Italian restaurants were a disaster! They cater to the prestige residents and only offered us (5 ppl) 8pm or later. Restaurants were always empty! When we walked by the restaurants, they only had 5 or 6 tables filled. The male in charge or the steakhouse was very rude and pretty much a jerk to our party!
The buffet was closed for dinner 3 of the 7 days. At the buffet in the mornings, they don't use heat lamps so anything not cooked in front of you is cold! The omelettes were great! Only had pineapple two of the seven days, and bananas we only saw 1 day.
Landshark bar was our favorite place. The patio overlooking the ocean was beautiful! But even that restaurant ran out of beer (they brew onsite) and some other food. They were also short staff!

The steakhouse and Italian restaurant had good food. Try the bone marrow! Order the pizzas!

Landshark restaurant had a band one night called Blue Monkey. They were amazing! The singers voice was incredible! Best part of our vacation by far!
Nightly entertainment isn't great! I've seen way better!

Will not return to this resort. Not worth the money. We would go again if it was $1200! [Details]

We had a great time and amazing food. [Details]

Despite not having access to a beach, the resort was beautiful, clean and modern. Most of the staff were friendly and work hard to make sure your stay is pleasant and stress free. Erika (housekeeping), Alain (bartender), Viktor (bartender), Lia (masseuse), Carla (housekeeping), Eduardo (bartender), Adolfo (concierge), Armando (host) are some of the staff that made my stay enjoyable. 10/10 stars for them!
Unfortunately, I couldn't give the service a high rating due to other staff that were undeserving. That being said, staff at 5 O'Clock Somewhere should not be working with guests. I asked for a glass because the “zero waste” cups tasted like dish soap. The bartender seemed annoyed and handed me my drink in a champagne “glass” and said, “here's a special glass for you princess”. It was offensive and disrespectful. I didn't get the name of this bartender but a few individuals at this bar should learn social and people skills if working in this environment.
The food was good but I was extremely disappointed in the drinks. I couldn't find one drink that I liked, except for a few from Salted Rim. This was annoying because I spent most of my time in the pool, far away from the lobby. Firstly, the drinks served at 5 O'clock Somewhere were made with way too much alcohol making them taste bad — and I like alcohol. Secondly, their “zero waste” cups were not being rinsed thoroughly or at all, making every drink taste like dish soap. Huge disappointment.
The point system is a marketing scheme to get you to buy their stuff at Joe Merchants. I would have like to just have my fridge filled and that's it! I'm on vacation, I shouldn't have to worry about these types of things. Speaking of the fridge, it would never get cold enough. Ever.
The spa was also beautiful, clean and modern but the first hour of the experience felt rushed. I wasn't able to relax or enjoy the sauna, steam bath, cold plunge etc. like I wanted as everything was timed. At the price I paid, I should've have been able to enjoy the facility at my own pace. They need a better system to accommodate their guests in this area. I've been to better spas with better prices so this was underwhelming. Overall, it was nothing special for the ridiculous overpriced services. Luckily, the massage was nice and relaxing.
The nightlife is non-existent. The outdoor bars are closed by 6pm and after that you have two options: Salted Rim or Landshark which both close at 11pm. This shouldn't be considered an adults only resort, it should be considered a geriatrics only resort. A retirement home if you will.
The À la Carte restaurants (2 choices) were hard to reserve at a decent time. We always ended up with 9pm reservations and felt rushed because we kept being reminded that the kitchen was closed in the middle of our meal.
Unfortunately, I will not be returning or recommending this resort. I don't think it was worth the price and the gift shop, spa, vendors, steak cuts that were offered at an extra price, screamed GREED!!
The only reason why I'm not giving it a one star is because of the cleanliness, certain staff named above, and the Philly cheese steak at the Landshark restaurant. [Details]

Very welcoming hotel . Cleanliness was amazing. Food was very good with a top mention to The Steakhouse . Staff was very helpful, polite and made sure you were always looked after . The rooms are very well appointed and comfortable, a bit noisy though and could easily hear everything above you . The pool bars were fantastic and the drink quality was very good . They give you a points system when you arrive and that's go shopping and stock your room with treats and drinks for your stay , this was nice to be able to pick what you wanted . [Details]

There is no beach., it got washed away.
The resort is beautiful and not too big. The rooms are comfortable and very clean. They do Jimmy Buffet proud on the decorations and themes without being tacky.
Food is not great. Always cold at the buffet because they only have the food under lights and no chafing dish. The alcohol selection is poor. They only offer 1 red and 1 white wine and the white wine is Chardonnay. For a 5 star they didn't even have a Canadian Whiskey or Corona beer. Yes they have Landshark on the property but they ran out regularly at the pool bars.
No snacks and you had to use points to stock your bar fridge. The options were extremely limited and no white wine option at all for points! Great system for beer lovers but fairly rotten for those of us who like something different.
Service was sketchy at best. No real attention to the guests at all. The Steakhouse was average unless you opted into the Club and were willing to pay many USD.
This was a very disappointing experience, I was expecting more considering it was a smaller resort.
On the bright side there was NO rain and the weather was fabulous. [Details]