Travel Dates: June 23-30, 2026. A husband and wife in our early 70s.
My apologies in advance for the long review but I’ve always enjoyed reading long reviews by others. Here goes…
General:
This was our ninth visit since 2019. Overall, our experience was excellent. It rained one night for about half an hour but, other than that, the entire week was sunny and hot! Kinda like the tropics.
Airport-Arrival:
Arrived at Cancun Terminal 4. Immigration was not crowded, so it only took about 5 minutes through the e-reader line. (Keep the receipt you get!!) Waiting for luggage took about 20 minutes. Got randomly pulled over by Customs and they did a cursory inspection of our bags. After that, smooth sailing.
UNICO Check In:
The hotel provides a shuttle but since 2021 we preferred to use a private shuttle. The past few trips we used Kalido Travel and it was reasonably priced for round trip in a private van. They were right there at the airport upon arrival and were right on time to pick us up at the resort upon departure. Totally great experience and we will use them again. It took about an hour and 15 minutes. This varies depending on traffic. Use the restroom before you leave the airport!
Arrival and check-in went really smooth. Our host’s name (Mendoza) was provided and we were all checked in. We were then shown to our room.
Room Accommodations:
Room number was 6408 (Building 6, 4th floor, room 08). Great view!.
The room was spacious and immaculate. Fridge was well-stocked, bed and pillows were perfect, balcony had a great view of the pool area and ocean, plenty of closet and drawer space, Wi-Fi was good but very sporadic this trip, plenty of bathroom amenities, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, hair dryer, plenty of towels (sometimes) provided by housekeeping service every morning but no turn-down service in evening this time, slippers and robes, safe, ironing board, etc. A scale was provided…but unused!
Buildings and Grounds:
Like the room, the grounds were beautiful and immaculate.
The beach had the standard sargassum and they did their best to keep it clear. Like shoveling in a snowstorm. We preferred the pools anyway and spent our entire week there.
Staff:
ALL the staff members were extremely friendly. Some remembered us from previous trips and that made us feel extra special! Apparently, they have extremely great memories!
Some outstanding Superstars were:
Alejandro Mendoza---Our Host. He visited us every day to verify our restaurant reservations and to see if we needed anything. He was able to get us into the Mixology event which was quite entertaining! Much appreciated! And thank you for decorating the room for the anniversary celebration!! We will definitely ask for him next time. Gracias por todo, amigo!
Rudi, Manuel, Antonio and Josh--- Luggage Service. On time, very friendly and very helpful. Thank you!
Raymundo---Primary Escondida Pool Server. Very friendly and kept our Yeti glasses full. Tito’s and tonic; Modelo con hielo. Don’t forget your sunscreen, amigo!
Diego and Christopher---Escondida Pool Concierges. Thank you for the towels and chair set up!!
Marlene---Legendary Membership Customer Service. Extremely pleasant and fun to talk with. This was our fifth year to meet up with her and we were glad to catch up.
Jaz and Raja---Legendary Membership Customer Service. Thank you for all of your assistance and information! And Raja, thanks for playing my song on the sound system!
Dana---Hostess Cueva Siete. Great to see her again since she moved from Mura House! What a fantastic smile!!
Luis---Mi Carisa Server at breakfast. We had Luis twice. Extremely fun, personable and efficient. Thank you for your service!
Jazmin---20.87 Hostess. Very pleasant and personable! She’s been there several years and always had pleasant greetings for us. Thank you for being so nice! The other Hostess was really great also but we didn't get her name.
Christian---20.87 Server. Very attentive and friendly, Muchas gracias, amigo! We also had other great servers but we couldn’t read the dark name tags.
Astrid---20.87 Server breakfast and lunch. Exceptionally excellent personality and fantastic service! Gracias por su amabilidad!
Susan---20.87 Server dinner. Great service! Gracias!
Angel---Mi Carisa Dinner. Great Service and great sense of humor!! Much appreciated!
Alberto---Bar Balam evenings. Lo mejor! Thanks for the 43, amigo!! Hasta pronto!
Julio---Avec. Thank you for the extra order of mashed potatoes!! Mmmmm!
Overall, as is mentioned often, the staff everywhere was great! Unfortunately, the name tags are very dark and hard to read so we didn’t always get their names.
Dining and Drinks:
We made our required reservations through the Prearrival concierge email about a month ahead of arrival and everything was perfect. We ate at all the restaurants and enjoyed our meals at all of them. The menu selections had changed in some of the restaurants this trip. Sadly, some of our favorite dishes were gone. But it was nice to see some “basic” dishes for those of us (me) that are not into the eclectic selections. Service was also much better this year than last year, but the Servers seemed overwhelmed at times. Bring back some bus staff to help.
We also picked up coffee each morning at Inez and picked up some pastries each night for a “starter” breakfast the next morning.
We didn’t eat at the pool this year but the menu had a lot of great choices. We ate lunch at 20.87 most of the time which was really good…and cool! It would be nice to have the pool menu items available in 20.87 and prepared in that kitchen. A basic lunch buffet would be even better!! We had pizza one day by the pizza oven and that was great! The iguanas are progressing in perfecting their begging tactics!
We ate breakfast at 20.87 buffet all but two days and it was excellent with a great selection.
Drinks were good. If you have a favorite brand of alcohol, ask for it. If you think your drinks are too weak, order two or ask for an extra shot on the side. And pace yourself…drink a bottle of water every two drinks!
Attire:
Breakfast and Lunch---shorts/swimsuits/tee shirts/tank tops/flip flops. Ladies need swimsuit cover ups; men need shirts (Tees, tanks, polo, etc.). Dinner---Casual. Most ladies wore really nice dresses and most men wore a nice shirt (Hawaiian or polo) and shorts. Flip flops or sandals were common at dinner.
Communications:
Every staff member spoke English. Some better than others but communication was easy. I wanted to learn more Spanish, and they wanted to learn more English. Lots of fun!
Airport-Departure:
We used a porter at the airport to haul our bags. Well worth it! He checked us in and took our bags to the Southwest counter. We had already paid our VisiTax online. At US Customs we didn’t use the Mobile Passport Control app this year but we have in the past. This app is highly recommended. Fill it in beforehand and when you land, click the “Arrive” button, it will take a selfie of each of you which will be uploaded for when you got through US Immigration/Customs. Worked slick!
Suggestions, NOT complaints, for UNICO (These have been suggestions for the last several years. We’re still waiting.):
Name Tags with highly contrasting letters so we can read the staff member’s name better without asking. It’s really hard to stare at someone’s chest to try and read their name tag! We have been suggesting this for several years and even the staff would like to see this happen. Would this be hard to accomplish?
Weather Channel on the TV
At La Escondida (the Quiet Pool), the chairs on the wooden decks were packed so close together it was hard to have a quiet conversation with your spouse without everyone hearing it. Plus, it was hard exiting and entering the chair area. Stubbed toes, bruised shins, and lots of “Excuse me’s”. Please space them out a bit more…or make a larger deck!
Housekeeping was excellent but, on several days, they didn’t provide sufficient towels. E.g., no floor mat in bathroom, not enough washcloths or hand towels. Tipping made no difference. Maybe a checklist for consistency? Four bath towels, four hand towels, four washcloths, two floor mats. Check the Kleenex box. It shouldn’t be hard to do. PLEASE!
The refrigerator and water were not consistently stocked on a couple of days. We had to call the front desk just to get more water bottles. They did respond within 15 minutes though.
Maybe a small shelf in the toilet area above the toilet paper.
It would be nice to have a direction sheet for the light switches. We never did completely figure them out. Just keep pushing buttons until something happens.
Maybe have two small resin chairs on the balconies instead of just the couch. It would be nice to sit out there and look at the ocean and grounds. We’re all paying for that view from the room. Sitting on the couch requires you to constantly be turning your neck. UPDATE! They did replace the worn-out couch cushions with new, firmer ones. Our backs thank you!!
Several years ago, my wife had suggested to maybe have a free short “Nature Tour” to show off the animals, birds and plants/trees. The grounds are beautiful. Own it and show them off with a tour! The coatimundis were few and far between this year. They were quite cute but quite pesky last year.
Unfortunately, more and more reviews are saying the resort needs refreshing and is starting to show some wear and tear. This is understandable but Resort prices continue to rise, as does the competition in the Riviera Maya. Quality needs to rise proportionately. Management should each anonymously spend 2-3 nights in a random room to get the experience. My wife has suggested that they have their abuela go through the resort with a pad of paper and several pencils.
OK, a few disappointments this year (sorry):
No evening turndown service. We used to really look forward to that when we would come back to our room after dinner! Fresh towels, chocolates, etc. It was a really nice feature of UNICO. Again, prices are going up. services should not be going down.
No paper menus (except Avec dinner and 20.87 at lunch). QR codes only. As some of us age, it’s harder to read, scroll and expand on our phones. On several occasions we tapped something incorrectly and the menu disappeared. In addition, most of the Servers are unhappy with them because customer can’t just point to a menu item on the page or they had to wait for them to relocate the menu on their phones. And many of us don’t trust QR codes because of scams. Just sayin’.
Suggestions for Guests:
Bring plenty of extra electrical multiplugs with USB plugs and maybe an extension cord or two.
A dim nightlight plugged in by the coffee maker or bathroom is great if you get up in the middle of the night.
Yeti glasses and plenty of disposable straws. The resort does not provide straws.
Plenty of tip money as these staff members work hard to please.
All of the walkways and hallways outside the room doors after a rain are slick! Wear proper footwear.
Print out all of your travel documents as well as photocopies of your passport, credit cards, insurance cards, prescriptions and keep in your room safe.
Leave your expensive jewelry and watches at home.
Purge your wallets of all unnecessary items. Only bring one or two credit cards, insurance cards, driver’s license along with your passports.
We made a spreadsheet of anticipated tips needed each day and put the cash in separate envelopes marked with the days of the week.
Purchase a luggage scale. Your bags may be heavier on the way home. Ours definitely were!
Sunscreen—a minimum of SPF 50 or higher is recommended. Apply it liberally and often!
Plenty of Ziploc bags for cameras, phones, tip money, etc. while at the pool. Rainstorms pop up with little or no warning.
Hooks to hang pool bags onto the umbrella ribs if it rains or to keep them away from the cute, but pesky and stealthy, coatimundi and birds when you’re in the pool!
Insect repellent with DEET. We encountered no mosquitos this trip, but you never know.
Join the various UNICO group pages on Facebook. LOTS of great information!!
Check out many of the great YouTube videos about UNICO.
Same with the VisiTax. Watch the YouTube videos and pay it! We paid online about 30 days out. Nobody has ever asked for it but better safe than sorry.
And bring plenty of manners, smiles and Holas!
Bottomline:
We TOTALLY enjoyed our stay and will definitely be going back! Muchas gracias to all the staff that make this resort extra special!
