Long review, but worth sharing for others' awareness: My wife and I stayed here for 4 nights in mid-March with another couple, and honestly had one of the least satisfying vacation experiences. We've stayed at other similar all inclusive resorts across Mexico, and this was easily the worst. Both couples booked the same room type (ocean view suite) and requested to be near one another, yet when we checked in together, our friends were upgraded to a private roof terrace suite (a $5,000 complementary upgrade) in one building, while we were placed in a different building that was a ten minute walk. We asked if we could be moved to a room near theirs, but were told it was apparently not possible because they had been preassigned before our arrival. We were then brought to a concierge who, within 30 seconds of talking to us, told us that he'd like to schedule a 1.5 hour breakfast with us on Saturday morning to discuss our next visit to the resort in exchange for a $50 spa credit...we hadn't even been shown to our room yet and the guy was already trying to sell us. We instead asked for an overview of the property, restaurants, pools, etc., which he sprinted through with minimal detail. We then asked where he'd recommend we eat lunch - he showed us the closest restaurant to the lobby (an Italian restaurant) and then disappeared - no follow up or anything to show us the rest of the property.
Later in the day, we were told to access the resort's website to make restaurant reservations and see the daily schedules. However, since you can only make reservations once your stay starts, all the normal slots at virtually every restaurant were already taken. Similarly, you can only sign up for a workout class in-person during the morning hours - my wife and her friend went over first morning to sign up for pilates, only to find out that the class was already full until the following week. We ended up having to make a few late dinner reservations since they were the only available options at that point. Similarly, we were most looking forward to eating at the resort's Michelin restaurant - Maria Dolores; we called 2 months in advance to make a reservation, then again 1 month in advance, and both times were told that they only take reservations 2 weeks out. So, we then called 2 weeks out and were told they had zero availability during our stay. On our first day, we checked again to see if by chance they had any availability, but were given the same answer. Yet another disappointment.
On our second night, I got an email from the resort asking how the first 24 hours had been, and I pretty much wrote what out this review. I got a call/text from one of the concierges saying they got my feedback and could miraculously move my wife and I to a room closer to our friends (despite adamantly saying they couldn't when I initially asked), and that they can fit us in at Maria Dolores the following night, even though we were consistently told there were no available reservations whatsoever. I thanked him for his help and accepted both offers. The next morning, I was told to pack up everything in our room and call the front desk when we were ready to move our stuff so that a bellhop could come by and help us. I called and was told someone was coming to help, waited and waited, but no one arrived after 30 minutes. I called again, and was given the same answer, yet another 30 minutes passed and still no one arrived. I called a third time and was given the same answer, so I asked if I could just move our luggage myself to the new room - the person on the phone said there's no need because someone would be there soon. After another 30 minutes, I called again and was relayed to a manager, who told me that the new room wasn't even ready, so we wouldn't be able to move yet; instead I should just leave my luggage in the room and someone will move it once the room is ready...nearly 2 hours mid-day wasted sitting in my room waiting for a bellhop that never showed up.
Later that afternoon, I went to the front desk to confirm whether our new room was ready and if our bags had been moved. He confirmed and gave me two new bracelet keys to access our room. We then walked the ten minutes to our new room, but our bracelet keys didn't unlock the door. So, another ten minute walk back to reception to re-calibrate the bracelets, and then another walk back to the room. The new room we were given was the same as our original one, except worse: closet doors wouldn't close all the way, so the automatic light stayed on; broken shower head that was stuck at a low height, unclean furniture and bathroom counters. and a few other small things. At this point, I pretty much gave up on the resort - we didn't want to complain and be moved yet again, so we just stuck with it for the remaining 1.5 days. Constant errors and just an overall lack of quality service made it impossible to actually relax; only on our final full (third) day were we able to unwind a bit by the pool, despite the fact that there was only one waiter servicing 25 or so people at the quiet pool, walking around every 30 minutes to take people's orders, even though the resort was crawling with staff.
Assuming most other guests didn't have the same bad experience as us, it's worth noting that other than Maria Dolores, the food at this resort is truly below average. I know you can't necessarily expect high quality food and drink at an all inclusive resort, but as I noted, I've been to several other similar properties in Mexico, and they all had far better food options - particularly the Mexican food. It really just seems like communication and coordination at Aterlier is pretty much nonexistent - it felt like every staff member was pointing us in a different direction and passing us off instead of actually solving our problems. As the title of this review notes, this truly felt like a 3 star hotel with a 5 star cost - bad service, low quality food, and minimal options for activities made our trip here not worth the money and unenjoyable.
