Just returned home yesterday, and wanted to share my thoughts while memories are still fresh. Overall we had an amazing time! For comparisons, we travel to resorts like this with our kids (ages 6 and 9) 2-3 times per year, and I can think of only 3 family resorts that were better and lots that were worse.
Special shout out to the entertainment team who were so wonderful with our kids, Jessica, Gustavo, Alex and Alberto. Bingo, crafts, pool games, they do it all. Also the sombrero painting with Stephanie on Friday at 4 was so fun and they have ladies do hair braiding and face painting I think wednesdays.
Also thank you to Nicholas the most amazing bartender anywhere, he’s at the mermaid pool, Herberth (who made our daughter a special pineapple birthday treat and was so kind daily - he’s such a hard worker and so friendly always!!!), Angel and Luis servers at the mermaid pool, and Roxana who helped us to get cabanas daily and was such a sweet friend to make there (she does babysitting too!)
We liked hanging at the mermaid pool rather than the others, it was the right mix of fun and relaxing, and they heated the water there so it was the perfect temp. The lazy river and grotto pool were cold by comparison and we didn’t try the activity pool by the beach bcz it was too noisy and busy for us, but they do have live music and events there. There’s something for everyone to enjoy your idea of a perfect day.
The service here is wonderful, everyone is willing to help and is so friendly.
The water slides area kept my kids entertained for a while each day after getting coconuts daily at 11 from the juice bar by the lazy river, but mostly they had fun at the mermaid pool. The ocean was unfortunately unusable given the massive amounts of seaweeds which the resort cannot help, but they do keep the beach area clean. The cabanas on the beach are always available due to this, but hard to get by the pools and the resort was only 60% of capacity so i imagine the chair and cabana game is tricky during peak seasons.
I was glad we were preferred to have the cabanas for our kids, and also for the preferred club bar to hang out at night as the only other option is the lobby bar which is way too small and crowded for such a large resort. The resort churns out weddings, 3 per night it seems, and there is no where to hang out or just “be” other than the small lobby area if you are not preferred.
The evening shows are terrific! The performers are so talented, definitely make sure you go to see them. The magic show in particular is mind blowing. I was selected as a volunteer for one of the tricks and I can tell you it’s real. I’m still trying to figure out how, like truly amazed and shocked 😳 but don’t sleep on going to the shows after dinner.
A few downsides: the pillows are very lumpy, like very strangely lumpy. All of them. I kept having them replaced thinking surely there are decent pillows somewhere, but no, they are all lumpy. And the beds are really hard, so if that’s your thing you’ll sleep great. I asked for mattress toppers which some resorts have, but was given extra comforters. This was still appreciated because I can report that the AC works fantastically, and my husband likes to pretend hes in the artic, so my kids and I put those extra blankets to good use.
As for the food, it is just ok. Some days for lunch they have tacos or paella at the main pool, otherwise we got sandwiches made. Evening options are Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican, seafood and Brazilian steakhouse, And 2 are always closed on a rotating basis which I thought was frustrating given the already limited selection. There is also a French restaurant but if anyone is under 13 you cannot use it. I feel that’s ridiculous given it’s a family resort with the majority of guests having kids under 13 with them. If adults want adults only dining they can go to secrets next door, so why limit options at the family resort?! So you won’t go hungry but you also won’t love it is my honest opinion, and I’m far from a foody. Myself and lots of guests found it very odd that there is no Italian option given that’s such a crowd pleaser for kids, in fact you cannot get pizza anywhere at the resort, not even for lunch or room service. They do have burgers, chicken fingers and pasta with red sauce or butter always available for kids.
As mentioned, you have access to secrets next door, so if you get the chance to check it out you should. We ate Italian there one night and enjoyed it, and they have more sitting areas at night to relax with a drink ( small lobby bar, and way too loud nightclub, but get a drink from one of them and walk outside to find a chill spot).
Overall we had a great time, and it’s truly the staff that makes the trip so wonderful. Bring lots of tip money and be generous with it as they all work so hard to provide you a memorable experience. I was honestly appalled at the number of people that didn’t tip or seemed to tip poorly, yes I’m judging, don’t be those people. You can afford to come on vacation so you can afford to tip generously.
Unrelated to just this resort; I’m not sure if many people know but you can book private transportation to and from the airport on booking.com. I paid only $50 each way for my family of 6, and amstar quoted $150 each way, so I hope this is helpful.
