Absolutely Not Worth It
Aug 9, 2026 kathrynmnyc San Francisco, California
This was one of the most disappointing resort experiences we’ve ever had. For a resort that markets itself as a family-friendly, upscale all-inclusive, the level of service, communication, and overall experience was shockingly poor.
We traveled with our extended family and had three separate reservations. Months before our trip, we contacted the…
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This was one of the most disappointing resort experiences we’ve ever had. For a resort that markets itself as a family-friendly, upscale all-inclusive, the level of service, communication, and overall experience was shockingly poor.
We traveled with our extended family and had three separate reservations. Months before our trip, we contacted the hotel multiple times by both phone and email to make sure each reservation was properly documented under the correct guest’s name because we were arriving at different times.
Despite all of that advance communication, when my brother arrived with his family, the hotel refused to let them check in because I wasn’t there. It took 3 HOURS to resolve the situation and get his family into their room. Imagine arriving at a resort with your kids after traveling and being told you cannot check in even though the hotel had been contacted months in advance about exactly this situation.
And it didn’t stop there. We were given rooms that were not what we had booked.
Our air conditioning also barely worked. In the Riviera Maya heat, this is completely unacceptable. You should not have to spend your vacation sweating in a room at a resort that is charging premium prices.
Then came the wedding.
On a Thursday night, the hotel hosted a wedding directly outside our balcony with blaring music until 11 p.m. Again, the wedding itself wasn’t the issue. Resorts host weddings. The issue was the complete lack of communication. Nobody warned us that there would be a wedding outside our room, nobody told us how late the music would continue, and nobody offered to move us to another room. We had young children who needed to sleep.
When we went to the front desk, the staff were incredibly unhelpful and rude. The attitude was essentially “too bad, deal with it.” There was no attempt to find a solution or make the situation right.
And then there is the resort itself.
The food was mediocre at best, nothing terrible, but certainly nothing that would make us want to return.
The beach was completely unusable during our stay because of the sargassum. I understand that sargassum is seasonal and not something the resort can control, so I’m not blaming them for the seaweed itself. But the smell throughout the property was absolutely awful. At times, the entire resort smelled like a dumpster.
The entertainment was another huge disappointment. There was essentially no nighttime entertainment. A little music in the lobby was about the extent of it. Daytime activities were practically nonexistent as well. The activities staff looked completely uninterested, as though they would rather be anywhere else. There were no meaningful fitness classes or organized activities, just a gym.
For a family resort, the lack of activities was especially disappointing.
Ultimately, the biggest problem wasn’t the sargassum, the wedding, or even the mediocre food. It was the complete lack of customer service. Things happen at resorts. Rooms can have issues. Weather happens. Weddings happen. What separates a good resort from a bad one is how they handle problems.
Dreams Aventura handled virtually every problem poorly.
We paid for a family vacation and instead spent far too much time dealing with check-in problems, incorrect rooms, an inadequate AC, noise, and a front desk that seemed completely uninterested in helping.
This resort is nowhere near the level of experience it portrays itself to be. We will absolutely not be returning, and I would strongly recommend families consider other resorts before booking here.
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