This was my first time in Mexico and my first time staying at this hotel. We were here for a week and most of the service up until the final day was very good. We checked out in the morning but left our luggage with the concierge as our flight wasn’t until the evening, and we were given wristbands as temporary identification to pass the security point (which is, importantly, a very long walk up to the main lobby) for when we returned to the hotel. This was flawed in and of itself because it was a plain white paper wristband with no indication on it at all as to what it was actually for, or where we’d got them from, but we were told that once we showed ID, security would call the front desk/concierge to confirm and then we’d be let through. We went back to the hotel in a taxi and did as we were told: showed our wristbands, showed ID, and even gave them our checkout pass. Security then talked for a while on the phone to confirm, but understandably, the driver wasn’t keen on idling while we waited for the confirmation from security and left us there at the security checkpoint in humid 30 degree heat, surrounded by flies and insects. However, because we’d already waited nearly 10 minutes by the time the driver had left, Uber charged an additional 20+ pesos on top of the $150~ we’d already spent for the additional time the driver spent waiting. We then waited an additional 15-20 minutes for security to confirm our identity and send a car for us as, like I mentioned, the actual hotel is a long walk in terrible heat, and bearing in mind we were also trying to stick to an already generous schedule so we’d get to the airport on time. Eventually the car did come and took us up, but the entire situation needlessly took about 30 minutes to get through and wasted a lot of time we’d set aside to make sure that we didn’t have to rush around for no reason.
Other than this, our stay was generally good. Some restaurants were definitely better than others, most of the restaurants had very good service, and most of the staff in general were very friendly and helpful. Some restaurants were also closed when we came, which wasn’t mentioned to us, nor could we actually find any information as to why. I would recommend booking the popular ones (especially the steakhouses) ahead of time on the app, as they do fill up very quickly, although most of them do allow walk-ins, depending on how busy they are. We also attended one of the live shows, which was fun but nothing to write home about. The swimming pools were clean and well-maintained with plenty of sunbeds and not too busy when we went. Also note that the extra activities, eg. the spa, bowling etc. come at extra cost.
I will also mention that we came in late June and this is in the midst of seaweed season, so there’s an unpleasant smell outdoors, sort of like eggs, when you’re facing the sea, as well as a lot of bugs on the balcony (if your room is on the oceanfront). To be fair to the hotel, there’s not a lot they can do about this — they already do clear excess seaweed from the shore/beach in the mornings — but it’s definitely something to be aware of.
This isn’t necessarily specific to the hotel, because lots of taxi drivers are this ridiculously expensive, but it costs about 50USD to get a hotel taxi into town (20-30 minute drive) whereas you can book an Uber for under $10. Similarly, don’t bother asking local taxis for prices, because it’ll be five times as expensive as you can find it on Uber, which offers local taxi services anyway.
Overall, the experience was good but that last day really ruined things for us. For a five star hotel charging five star prices, I just think that we didn’t receive five star service.
