Ultra Luxury Cancun Riviera Resort

Our favorite thing about yhe a Resort was the Entertainment Staff. The staff made the week so much fun, from teaching cooking classes to water aerobics to treating our children like family in the Explorer Club. It was a fun, fun week! Oh, and the food...AMAZING!!!

staff was unreal over the top . the rooms set this location apart from others it was like home . we took 52 people with us for the wedding i would recommend destination wedding this would be the place . the staff was very professional check in was great worst part of the trip was having to say good bye to the staff after the job they did with my daughters wedding

Amazing resort and an amazing animation team that really is fun, entertaining and super sweet. With adults and especially with kids, they are super fun. Personnaly my kids 10 and 12 loved them and participated at most of the daily activities. You ll simply love them!!!! Food is good especially the coffee shop.... Super clean with no bugs whatsoever Staff is polite across the board Juan, Geo ( diego), Orlando, david, javi, manuel and Etziel... We loved you U made our vacation extra special Special thanks to Jorge Gomez Book yr vacation at Now Jade

The few reviews I did in the past were mostly to worn others to avoid the places were we had bad experiences. This one would be the first to fully praise the location. We spent 9 days in Riviera Maya and had an amazing time. We go to an all-inclusive every year and this would be the first time I would happily come back to the same place for the second time. We have been to Rio, Iberostar, Sunscape, H10, just to name a few. We are hard to cater to group: traveling with friends and children of all ages with very different activities and food preferences, this was the first time when everyone was happy. Huge credit in our experience goes to the entertainment team Juan, Orlando, David, Paul and Jio! They were amazing in making sure everyone has good times and I feel they were instrumental in our amazing experience! Would come back just to see them lead the Zumba class every morning. Riviera Maya are lucky to have this group.

I have stayed in all-inclusive resorts in Bulgaria and Cyprus before and I just came back from my first 5 day experience in Mexico. I was originally supposed to come with my girlfriend but since we broke up I decided to come by myself instead of paying the ridiculous cancellation fees charged by Flight Centre and Sunwing. I was anxious about doing the 5 day trip alone for fear of being bored but it was such a great experience that I'm already looking to go back, maybe this resort or another, in March. The resort is in very good condition. The lobby was spacious and elegant. The restaurants and buffet are nicely decorated and maintained. The pool area was undergoing a few renovations to the bridges but no other issues. I had the basic room with two comfortable double beds, a couch, chairs, desk, table, balcony with furniture etc. The bathroom was huge with a walk-in shower room and jacuzzi tub for two. The mini-bar was regularly re-stocked with the basic beer, water and soft drinks. I am not a picky eater but I had no complaints about the food in Riviera Maya. The was abundant variety at the buffet and the taste was good. I ate at the Asian place; my date and I were too drunk to taste the food but it seemed pretty good, I think. The French place (Mercur) was very good but the portions were very small. Not a problem since you can order more and more until you are full. Cin Cin (Modern/Fusion) was very elegant and had an excellent menu as well. Castaways had a nice lunch menu and was located near the beach. The 24hrs room service menu was surprisingly great and I wish I had the opportunity to try all of it. The burger was surprisingly good. The bars are well stocked but they do not always display the top of the line liquors. If you ask you will get them. The house red (Santa Carolina Merlot and Cab Sauv) is rather mediocre but the house sauv blanc (also Santa Carolina) is quite good. All the staff are very friendly and professional. The entertainment team was very hard working and went to great lengths to ensure the guests were kept active and entertained. The pool area always had some sort of show/diversion going on such as latin dancing, massages etc. There was also nearly constant volleyball at the beach. Overall it was a great experience and I think the people that give poor reviews and low ratings are unreasonably picky or exacting. You're getting a great experience for the price you are paying. If you want top-notch royal treatment and unlimited luxury,pay $3500+ a person and you will get it. Otherwise you will have a great time at Riviera Maya.

We just got back from our trip to the Riviera Maya. Everything was wonderful, staff was friendly and the beaches were beautiful! Francisco was the best bartender we met. The drinks were delicious, and he always made sure we were having fun. Had a great time!

My wife and I stayed at the Riviera Maya Dec 5th-15th and were extremely pleased with our experience. The resort was a short 25 minutes from the airport and when we arrived at the resort we were greeted with cold cloths and a welcome drink which was much needed after the long flight. By the way there are no wrist bands at this hotel. We were directed to the reception desk to check in and were given a few room options to choose from. We had booked an ocean front junior suite and the fact we could choose a room to our liking was fantastic. We viewed the rooms and chose room 5408 in block 5 on the fourth floor. We had our own hallway and the room was all buy itself with an amazing view of the ocean. When my wife and I opened the door we were floored by the room and the amazing view. The room had a king size bed, all modern fixtures and a very modern and classy dcor. The room had 2 double sinks, jacuzzi, separate toilet area as well as a rain drop shower head and 2 large windows overlooking the ocean. The bed was extremely comfy and the room had a seperate sitting are with a swivel flat screen tv which we were able to watch the Seahawks game on whooohoo!!!!!!! After we got settled we went to the mix bar and has some drinks made by Darius. All I can say is WOW! Great bar overlooking the ocean with superb service and drinks. He made us some special drinks that knocked us on our butts. lol. Great service from a great fellow. This bar became a familiar place during our 10 day stay. Darius and Francisco did a great job keeping the drinks flowing and people entertained. We made it a point to eat at all the restaurants and we are glad we did. The food was very good except for the Mexican. We were very disappointed by this. The buffet was very good for both breakfast and lunch and had a good variety each day. There was no issue getting bacon and there was a chef that would made your eggs to order. We ate dinner at the restaurants each night early around 6:30-7:00 and had no issues getting a table. Spice, Capers and Cin Cin all had excellent quality food as well as very good service. The service in all locations was great and we had great servers in all areas. We spent a bit of time in the sports bar but did not want to stay too long as there was a Bronco's game on. Almost every person we encountered at the resort, from the check-in staff, housekeeping, to the bartenders/servers were great except for the 2 bartenders working the lobby bar at night. The resort needs to send them back to the beach to rake seaweed. Poor attitudes and poor service. For this reason we stayed clear of the lobby. Arsenio at the lobby bar was great. I am an early riser and spent many hours by myself exploring the resort and beach area. I found a spot on the preferred beach that was perfect and we spent the remaining 9 days there basking in the sun. There are no towel cards and they are available in multiple locations. There is a very large family orientated infinity pool that can get very loud and there is a very quiet adults only which was more to our liking. We spent a lot of time with Cesar and Zepeta at the Reef bar and were both a real pleasure to talk to. They went out of their way to ensure we always had a cold drink in our hands. We had a server on the beach named Marscial who was also fantastic and very attentive. He made it his mission to ensure we were always topped up. Great job! Like I stated we spent most of our time on the preferred side beach and it was kept very clean by Octavio. He worked extremely hard and was very conscious and thorough when cleaning up garbage, seaweed or other debris that has come ashore. This fellow needs a big pat on the back. If you see him give him a cold water and a tip. I wouldn't think they share in the tips that are handed out in most areas of the resort. We left the resort 2 times, 1 to go to Puerto Morales for lunch and 1 to go to Playa Del Carmen for shopping. Puerto Morales is a great little fishing village and it was a great place to have lunch. We bought our alcohol and snacks there so we could help out the locals vs purchasing the same things at duty free. Overall the prices were very close and I am sure the town appreciates it more. Playa was ok but the local shop keepers are too aggressive for me. There is a new resort that has been built on the property next door which is now completely ready. Amazing that it took less than 1 yaer to complete from a bare piece of land. Overall this resort gets a solid A for effort. You have wonderful staff and a beautiful resort. Please take the time to acknowledge the staff mentioned in my review. Thank you for an excellent vacation.

My son and his wife had a destination wedding at the Riviera Maya Resort this past July 2013! We had never stayed at an all inclusive resort before and we were "very impressed". The beach wedding was well planned using their wedding planner. (we still watch the wedding video often). The service was excellent as they "aimed to please". They met our group at the airport and cared for our luggage right to our room!! The restaurants were excellent and we especially liked the Asian Restaurant, sushi was superb! We took 2 excursions arranged by the hotel concierge and we loved both especially the "Mayan Excursion". We stayed in the premier suites that overlooked the ocean and pool and the view was awesome and the room always "clean". Thank-you Riviera Maya for the excellent stay and great memories!!!!!

Incredible week at the Riviera Maya. Updated, smaller resort only 20 mins from the airport. Incredible food and service, clean, lots of comfortable lounging areas, modern, great little coffee shop. We were there for a friends wedding and if you are considering this resort for your own wedding, I would highly recommend it. We were upgraded to the premiere suites because we were part of the wedding party, but even the regular rooms exceeded any I have ever seen. Highly recommended!

This is a nice hotel wich offers good beverages and cocktails (try the mojito), great food in every restaurant and even in the room service. The rooms are clean and comfortable and some of them have a great view. Thanks to Dj Manuel, who made our nights with our favourite music.

We ended up at the Riviera Maya hotel for a wedding - we stayed a week with a bunch of friends. Honestly it was a lovely hotel - we upgraded our room which I thought was completely worth the extra expense as we were away from the "party pool" The restaurants were just great.. and I honestly preferred that they didn't take reservations as you could just walk up when you were ready. They also have a coffee shop on site.. which I loved! The entertainment was on par for Mexico - some was tacky - some was decent.

We just got back from this resort. We had a great time. The food was good - especially the Asian restaurant (Veronica was a great server as well!). Very relaxing trip. Zepeda and Cesar were our favorite servers! They work very hard and made sure we had a drink in hand at all times! Riviera Cancun was as good as any of the resorts we have been to.

Myself, Husband and 9yr old Son stayed from Dec1st to Dec 12th and once again the Riviera Cancun excelled in every way. It was a real pleasure to see Rafael in the preferred club again and as always their efficient check in process made us feel special and very welcome. I would suggest upgrading to the Preferred Section of the hotel as you are made to feel special and the room size is fantastic. The Preferred rooms have a very large bedroom with a separate living area which suits us perfectly as we need to work in the mornings which we can do in the living room without disturbing anyone else. The petit fours in the preferred lounge in the evening are very yummy and never disappoint. This is the first time that we have really benefited from the Entertainment Team and thanks to Juan, David and Manuel, they really made our Son's holiday. They work very hard to ensure all guests requirements are met and we loved the Crazy Game that was played every afternoon. A truly 5 star team who will do their utmost to entertain you if you want. They also respect the other guests who do not want to participate so they have the balance just right. As this is our 4th visit to the Riviera Cancun, we have seen many improvements this year. They have replaced the mattresses on the beds and put in new soft lighting which is a great improvement from the old ones. This hotel obviously really cares about their guests as they are constantly looking at ways of improving their service. The Food is amazing, our favourite is Mercure - French Restaurant which serves fantastic snails which our son ate every time he went and also delicious Filet Mignon. The restaurant service team couldn't do enough for you and if there is anything you wanted you just had to ask. My husband craved some fries one day which were not on the menu at the Carnival Buffet that day, but Leonardo went out of his way to get some from Castaways for him - excellent customer service, thank you Leo. There is a great selection of restaurants and food, although I think Capers could be improved as coming from Europe we didn't think the food was very authentic Italian.. but that's just a small gripe. We met some amazing people who all had great things to say about the hotel and agreed that customer service is king. Thanks to Jorge who does a fantastic job of managing the restaurant service team. He has certainly improved the service we have received over the years and seems to have some great ideas for the future. As our son gets older I would like to see a Teens Club as he is now too old to go to the fantastic Explorers Kids Club and not always old enough to participate in the daily activities round the pool. Fantastic Family friendly hotel with an awesome staff and our stay was made extremely memorable by Rafael and Isabel, Jorge, Leo and Jesus as well as the entertainment team. Lastly thanks to all the great people we met for making our holiday even better. Awesome Hotel with excellent Food, Rooms, Cleanliness and most importantly their outstanding customer service.

My husband and I love Mexico and have visited various areas many times, including several times at the Riviera Maya. We spent 7 days at Riviera Maya from December 1-8. We stayed in a preferred junior ocean front junior suite. The room was the highlight of our trip, because we had a corner room on the 3rd floor with views of the adult pool and beach from one small balcony, and sweeping beach and ocean views from the big front balcony. The room was big and had lots of light, though the bathroom was somewhat dark. His and her closets were nice, and the bed was very comfortable.One of our greatest pleasures on a beach vacation is to sit on the balcony, relax, watch and listen to the sea. We loved watching the pelicans dive right in front of us. We had a jacuzzi on our balcony, which we only used once, but it was wonderful to look out at the sea from a big bubble bath. I had read many reviews before choosing this resort, and was concerned the beach would be a disappointment. It was perfect for long, beautiful walks. There are also several good places to go into the water. A wonderful feature of this resort is that several restaurants have great ocean views, and the resort is built around the ocean. Water sports such as kayaks and hobie cats were available.

Our group enjoyed this resort. Pros - Variety of good tasting food, great drinks, great service (Darius was a fabulous bartender at the beach bar), many pools (wish one would have been heated), nice rooms, and right next the beach. Cons - lack of entertainment, distance to major cities, and night life. Overall - a great trip for the price.

I spent seven days at Riviera Maya, from Nov. 30th- Dec.7th, with my wife for our tenth wedding anniversary. If you are a low maintenance person who is looking to get away to a clean hotel, with great staff, nice beaches, pool, and good food, this place is for you. My wife and I room was very clean and was cleaned daily. They actually send the maids around twice, once in the morning to early afternoon for the regular cleaning and again in the evening to check that everything was done to your liking and to make sure you have plenty of towels, water, soda, or whatever else you might need. This hotel can be what ever you want to make it. If you want it to be a nice, quiet, relaxing vacation, stay on the beach or at the adult only pool. If you want activities and party atmosphere stay at the family pool where the entertainment team has stuff going on all day to keep you involved all day to 7pm. In fact they issue a schedule every night of games and activities that will be going on every hour on the hour the next day. Let me also add that I don't think this is a resort for young single people. This resort in my opinion is more geared toward couples and families being there is not a clubbing type atmosphere for singles to be hooking up. My recommendations, if you are visiting this resort, are as follows. Don't stay preferred unless you have/want to. It is a waste of money that can be spent on excursions and souvenirs. Preferred at this resort just means being adult at Now Jade. There is nothing the preferred club visitors can do that any adult on the resort can do. Its more of a no kids thing. But if you are an adult you can participate in everything preferred accept the lounge without being preferred. Hang out with the entertainment team Juan, Javier, Orlando, Manu, Itzel and Geo. These people are awesome, high energy great people who are personable and keep you involved your entire stay. They were hilarious. Also visit the Mix Bar by the beach after 4pm to hang with Darius. He is the best bartender on the beach and is the closest you'll get to a party atmosphere at the resort. The drinks he makes are incredible and he'll keep you "Happy My Friend". All in all this a good resort with potential to be great. The only thing that would push them over the top are better nightly shows. The Magician is horrible. He does tricks that you could do at home. He claims to have been a Vegas regular, but you'll soon find out why he's not there anymore. They also have a comedian who was more a juggler than a comedian.They are clearly trying to have something for the kids. My suggestion for them is to have family shows at 7pm and have adult only shows at 9pm.

This resort is definitely a great pick. We had not 1 problem. We had excellent service from every aspect of this resort from being picked up from airport, to arriving at resort, to bartenders, to pool activity team, you name it, they did an awesome job! We have already decided that we are starting to save up for another trip to this location. We stayed in Building 1 room 1423.. We were asked at check in if we would like to upgrade to a preferred suite. We thought about it, and we are so glad we didn't. We had an awesome view, and we have a jetted tub in the bathroom with the amazing view, the same amazing view from our balcony. That view you can also see while showering. You are hardly in your room so to upgrade for a room with a tub on the balcony and a bigger room i feel is a waste of money. We had plenty of space, and i would pay for a view like that over space any day. Looking up at the balconies that had the tubs on them in the preferred suites, you would not have privacy at all. So like i said we were very glad we did not waste time on upgrading. Our favorite person was Francisco who works at "The Mix" bar. He was ready for work everyday and always had a smile on his face! He does an excellent job pleasing each and every person that walked up to his bar. There is also a worker by the name of Zeus who walked around the pool areas on the Adult only side and the activity pools and just always had a smile and was always looking for ways to help or start a conversation. I freaked myself out before this trip by reading reviews from people saying they had bad experiences. Every bad thing i read was proved wrong because we had the best time. I tried so hard to remember peopls names and what they did just to make sure i had a review that would help someone. The best thing this resort does is has a activity team that is by the pool everyday starting at 8am. They pass out sheets of paper in the night and slid them under your door, so when you wake you you know the activities going on all day long and let me tell you it is very entertaining and it gets people going, and gets people involved. My favorite thing to watch everyday is at 10am they have zumba by the pool. So many people get involved, it is very fun to watch. One day they had Spanish cooking lessons, they have Spanish speaking lessons, water volleyball, water polo, ping pong tables, dance parties. It was raining one day so almost everybody cleared, they grabbed a speaker and hooked it up blasted music pushed people in the pool, got volleyballs out, set up tables to jump off through hoops. They just made sure people stuck around to have fun regardless of the rain. Amazing activities group. The food choices are amazing. We went to Capers the first night. We learned very fast that the portions are small but being all inclusive you can order what ever, how ever many times so we ordered one thing and then would order another thing to try. Capers is the Italian resturant and i believe was the best of them all. Spice is good but you can only eat with chop sticks and when we arrived we chose to sit at the table with a grill on it so they cook in front of you, well we didn't know it was considered "a show" so the menu they hand you is what you get to eat because that's what they cook. We had asked to move because i didn't like anything on that menu and would prefer to order off a full menu. Another thing i stressed way to much about and i wish i would have known more about before hand was the dress codes. They are not strict what so ever, we stressed if we would be able to get sat and eat not following correctly, and as soon as we would get seated we would see other people walk in with items of clothing that in the dress code was not allowed like flip flops or sleeveless shirts. So don't over think the dress code, because they are not strict. We only left the resort 1 time, and that time was to take a taxi ride into Cancun and go to aqua world and do the sub see tour. You get on a boat that takes you out to the reef, to get on another boat that you go down below and sit and take a tour of the coral reef and look for fish, sting rays, turtles, sharks. It was a great experience to have tried but i will be honest with you. That taxi trip take about 40 to 45 mins to get there, the boat ride out to the reef was about 30 mins, and the tour took about 15 mins. Taxi rides are very expensive its $45 a person one way if you are heading to Cancun so if you are looking to go somewhere off the resort i suggest you book a trip that has taxi price included. For us booking the sub see our taxi ride round trip per person was only $17. Taking the trip to go on this tour and seeing the Cancun Hotel Zone we absolutely loved the location of the Riviera Maya. It is in a quite location and NO traffic and there are people but not an over crazy amount and we never got asked 1 time from anybody to do a time share, or buy something. You can totally relax at any place at anytime and nobody bothers you. I really hope this review helps someone because like i said somewhere in this review i stressed so much about things because of the negative reviews i had read. None of the negative reviews that i had read prior to going even happened to us. We never had a bad point. The last thing i will say is DO NOT BUY souvenirs at the resort. The same things i was going to buy at the resort from the shops i found at the Cancun Airport for way cheaper! And the airport had better choices of things!! :)

This resort is great. The rooms are beautiful and the service is perfect. There are 2 pools and the the pool that doesn't allow children is very relaxing. The food is decent for an all inclusive resort. This is a great place for families or couples

I returned yesterday from spending five days at Riviera Maya. The thing that stood out the most was the amazing service, specifically Darrius at the beach bar. He made every night so much fun! Francisco that worked during the day always made us smile, so very friendly. Damaris at the adult pool and on the beach was so prompt and always had drinks for us. All in all the resort was okay, but the staff was amazing!

5 of 5 starsReviewed 4 weeks ago Our entire family met for the second time at Riviera Cancun Resort and everyone was pleased with the vacation! The entertainment was FANTASTIC! *Manuel and the other staff kept us entertained by the pool with zumba, volleyball, pilates, and the service was fantastic! We highly recommend this resort!

Went out to celebrate my sisters 30th Birthday. We had a wonderful time, only complaint was the drive in was a little rough due to the rain they had prior to when we came out, but it was fixed during our stay. Service was excellent at Riviera Maya. If you had a problem in your room, ex: door, or safe they were there in less than 10 mins. Staff at the Desk or anywhere on the resort was always helpful and accommodating. If you want to go for supper though their is no reservations, so best to go around 800 or later when the herd of people have gone through. Pool entertainment was great always trying to get everyone into the fun. At night Darius always got the party started at the mix. If you go you must ask for the rainbow shots, make sure you have a few friends to pass around some shots

We just vacationed at the Riviera Maya with another couple and had an amazing time. The rooms were clean, the food excellent and the staff was happy and worked hard. We had upgraded our rooms to the "Preferred" rooms which gave you more space, a separate lounge with wifi access and top shelf liquor and food, and access to certain restaurants. It was worth the upgrade. There is a separate beach and pool area for Preferred guests- the bartenders- Calixte and Zepeda were AMAZING!!!!! They truly catered to their guests at the pool and beach. They really went over and beyond. Marcello was also truly geared to making the NOW vacation spectacular. He really helped our group especially when we brought back our catch of the day. He helped us get the fish cooked in one of the restaurants and took care of all necessary paperwork.

Trip was wonderful. Great upgrade to the Preferred area. I really loved having the club access for a quick drink or bite to eat for the kids. We also watched NFL in there, which was much better than taking our kiddos to a bar. Entertainment staff at the pool were a highlight. They really got to know us, in a non-bothersome way. We loved the Zumba, Night roof soccer, Water polo, etc. They really need more access to canned beers. Most high end all-inclusives have more options than 1 draft beer. Canned beer was at a premium which seems funny to me. If they serve high end liquor, they should look into this. Spice was awesome and so worth the LONG wait to get in. Wish they had better ways to use the non-buffet restaurants. Rooms were very nice. Be careful of the nosiums. My daughter had 30 bites on her as she is sensitive to them. They should spray more for bugs. Overall we LOVED this place. Great trip.

This resort is great. The rooms are beautiful and the service is perfect. There are 2 pools and the the pool that doesn't allow children is very relaxing. The food is decent for an all inclusive resort. This is a great place for families or couples

Our entire family met for the second time at Riviera Cancun Resort and everyone was pleased with the vacation! The entertainment was FANTASTIC! *Manuel and the other staff kept us entertained by the pool with zumba, volleyball, pilates, and the service was fantastic! We highly recommend this resort!

We just vacationed with another couple and had an amazing time. The rooms were clean, the food excellent and the staff was happy and worked hard. We had upgraded our rooms to the "Preferred" rooms which gave you more space, a separate lounge with wifi access and top shelf liquor and food, and access to certain restaurants. It was worth the upgrade. There is a separate beach and pool area for Preferred guests- the bartenders- Calixte and Zepeda were AMAZING!!!!! They truly catered to their guests at the pool and beach. They really went over and beyond. Marcello was also truly geared to making our vacation spectacular. He really helped our group especially when we brought back our catch of the day. He helped us get the fish cooked in one of the restaurants and took care of all necessary paperwork.

We (my wife, daughter, and myself) were at this resort for a week from November 17 to November 24 for our wedding. Overall our stay was great and everything was what we expected and had hoped. Isela the wedding planner was great and got everything setup as we had planned. She works very hard and does a great job. The entertainment staff was a huge hit with our entire group of 32 people. We all got to know and have plenty of fun with David, Orlando, Gio, and Itzel. They had us all laughing soooo hard at times. They were always willing to so some fun/silly stuff to entertain the guests...like the "dolphin" show and bingo. They did a good job interacting with the guests while not being overwhelming. They made pool time fun everyday without a doubt. They work very hard and they deserve lots of credit. We loved the ale carte restaurants. Our favorites were Spice and Cin Cin. For lunch my favorite was Castaways. My wife preferred the buffet for lunch. The Coco Caf was a great addition. It's a coffee shop that included (obviously) the has lattes, coffee, iced drinks, and sandwiches/bakery. The room service was pretty good but it always took a while. The bacon situation needs to change for sure at the buffet for breakfast. The bacon was held hostage behind the guy that makes the eggs. You always had to ask for bacon and sometime it was not easily/willingly served. I have been to numerous all-inclusive resort and bacon has always been out an available for everyone without having to ask for it. A few of our guests actually had some major issues getting bacon on a few occasions. A manager had to get involved and only then did they get bacon. This is one thing that MUST change here...the bacon needs to be out in the open. The rooms are amazing! We paid for an ocean front room since it was our wedding/honeymoon and it was worth every penny. The views were amazing. We took a previous posters advise and requested room 1419 (building 1, forth floor, ocean front) and we got it. This is the best room at the resort in my opinion. It has 3 balconies, one with an outdoor shower on it that we used everyday. The room is the only ocean front room on the forth floor. Simply amazing! The rest of the room was the same as the other and it was very roomy. The bathrooms are especially nice. We knew some people that upgraded to the preferred side and they did not seem to crazy about it, other then for the free Wi-Fi. We paid $77 for Wi-Fi for 7 days on the non-preferred side. It work fine for us. Check-in and check-out were quick and smooth for us and the direct transfers with Apple Vacation/Amstar worked out nicely. Over all the staff at the resort was courteous and willing to make the quests happy. There were a few exceptions, but overall good. Darius at the Mix bar was fun to hang around. The Sports Bar/Disco got to be pretty fun at night when there were groups in there. Even when there weren't groups there, we made out own fun. The staff there was very good too. Overall I was impressed with the resort and we are very glad that we choose this resort for our wedding. If we could have gone back we won't have changed anything. Some of our guests had a few issues (bad room locations, rooms not being ready, etc.) but overall everyone had a great time.

Had a great trip here, this place puts on a great wedding. What a beautiful place. One issue was our whole group got attacked by bugs. I believe it was at the beach bar with sand fees however a doctor thinks it's bedbugs. The staff are incredible here, very friendly and a small tip goes a long way. They will go out of their way to make you happy and comfortable. Love the pools and the entertainment staff are a blast.

Just came back from a week at the Riviera Maya and loved it! Our first visit to this property was in 2010 right when the resort opened and it was beautiful, but the service was not quite there yet. This time everything was perfect! DO NOT listen to the negative reviews that some have posted. I consider myself well traveled and visit the Riviera Maya region every single year for Thanksgiving. Have stayed at just about every single all-inclusive (4 stars and up) and this hotel rates as one of my favorites. The resort has beautiful contemporary suites with beautiful views, there is a separate sitting area a few steps below the sleeping area. The bathrooms are huge equipped with a Jacuzzi tub, separate shower, double vanity, WC with a door (really helpful when with a family of 4). I usually don't spend much time reviewing the rooms, but this hotel room is so roomy we never felt cramped. The food was great...the buffet is basic (same as most all inclusive restaurants), the al carte restaurants were all very good. I liked that there are no reservations, its first come first serve with a wait list that is typically 15-60 minutes. It was great because we would put our name in, go to the lobby bar or walk the grounds while waiting for a table. We heard people complaining about the wait times, but I find it a waste of energy...your on vacation in paradise...put your name in and relax at the bar. The Explorers kids club staff was great! our kids are 6 and 8 and they LOVED it. Activities are planned out in 30 minute increments and are both indoors and outdoors. The Mix Bar and Darrrrrrrrrrius was great in the evenings. He's a great bartender that makes the evening a blast for the guests, offering up creative cocktails and a funny exaggerated accent (he loves to roll his R's). Pools are beautiful and clean. Landscaping is mature and lush. The beach is great and this part of Puerto Morelos has gorgeous turquoise water (unlike the north end of town that has cloudy sandy water, like at Now Sapphire). The staff works very hard here and if you tip a few bucks here and there they try even harder. Yes, you should still tip at an all-inclusive (even though they say tips not required these people works their tails off and a few dollars gratuity is greatly appreciated). Although I am one that likes to try a new resorts every year, I am highly considering coming here again next year for a third time :)

We just returned from our 10 day vacation at Riviera Maya, Nov 17th-27th. We went with a big group of friends for our friend's wedding. Our room number was 1322, which was an ocean view suite. We couldn't have asked for a more spacious, beautiful, clean room with a large balcony overlooking the ocean. We enjoyed the sunrise right from the comfort of our balcony, but getting down to the beach only took us a minute as well, since we were right by the staircase. The beach was nice, very private. If you're not one for the ocean, there were plenty of pools to swim in. Water in the pools was always very clean and warm. Staff was constantly cleaning everywhere. It actually surprised us how much attention they payed to little details. Rarely did we walk by a staff member not saying "Hola" and smiling. They were very welcoming and helpful everywhere. I must say, our days spent by the pool wouldn't have been the same without the entertainment crew: Itzel, Orlando, Juan, Manuel made an effort to make sure we had a blast ! Drinks were brought to us all day. The Buffet was delicious with countless choices, many deserts and fruits as well. Staff in the buffet was always friendly and welcoming. We dined at the French, Asian and Mexican restaurants as well, great food, friendly service. Our overall experience was great, our two daughters (9 & 10) had a wonderful time too. We can only recommend Riviera Maya for both adults only and families. We certainly can hardly wait to return !

We stayed at the Riviera from November 17-23rd and had an awesome time. We met so many nice people. The food was delicious and atmosphere was incredible. I looked at all the reviews before coming here and came to the conclusion that all the bad reviews came from people in New York and New Jersey and after meeting some of them during the week I now understand why...they are just negative by nature. We hung out in the Adult Pool most of the time, Calixto and Zepeda were incredible bartenders, they appreciate tips and don't expect or beg for them. Our group gave them plenty of tips and ti*s. They made it fun and kept the Corona Light Cans coming!! I'm terrible with names but would like to shout out to Madison and Tyler from Ohio, a real nice young couple, Matt from Jersey who was also a great musician, Ryan Malkowski and the entire wedding party from Pittsburg, all the Boston folks, Michigan folks, Maggie and Dominic who bought cowboy hats for everyone in the pool Tuesday. We stumbled upon Darius at the Mix bar one night on the beach, he's a one man band! He has a great accent and pours a mean "Special Drink" you tell him "Sweet or not so sweet" and he'll take care of you!! We always ended up in the Lobby bar in the evening where a group of us from the adult pool would all meet up and continue our soiree. It was a lot of fun!! Thanks to the entire staff for an incredible week! The weather was perfect!!! If you want free WiFi you must upgrade to a preferred room. It is well worth it. After the new hotel next to the Riviera is complete they will share the cost of the road maintenance and it should be all rebuilt. If your looking for a clean, entertaining place with a great staff come here, we will definitely be back. Special thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Jeff , Captain "Tin" McGraw and Tennille, Ray and Michelle and everyone else that shared a laugh with us during the week. God bless and Happy Thanksgiving.

We spent a week here and have nothing but good to say. The food was great, lots to choose from. The Wait staff was great, very attentive & nice. It's great for all, the entertainment staff by the pool area were awesome, something was always happening and they would sit and chat with you too. If you wanted just adults around, they had that pool & bar area too. The beach was beautiful even though I preferred the cleanliness of the pool. Love the whirlpool tub & the waterfall shower. Bonus!! The hotel gift shops were great too. If you don't like to haggle with the locals, it was a best bet.

The staff made the stay worthy and wonderful. The entertainment team : Orlando, Gio, David, Juan, Itzel, Manuel,Paul, Javi and DJ Manuel were GREAT in entertaining my family with fun games and interesting classes; I enjoyed their crazy games, Zumba ( thanks to Michelle Douglass too), massage and sushi classes ; the shows that we watched : Urban ,Carribbean, Circus, Magic and Cowboy Lasso were fantastic;enjoyed the Cubanos, Darius ( bartender in The Mix ) and Xemen ( bartender in the lounge and Sports bar) are fantastic; Ana, Kayla, Mario and Sergio in the food service are attentive; tried eating in Spice, Cincin, Capers and Coco Cafe and the Castaway and Carnival and the food room service and we have no c/o -- wonderful experience --wish I could remember all the names so that they can get compensated with their wonderful service. The Amstar personnels including Eduardo Aguilar are very informative with different activities available and very accommodating ;housekeeping was flexible in cleaning our room when needed; the person who did the sushi class was excellent; the crew who did the massage class knows what they are doing - tried the different massage techniques that they taught me to my patients and they love it!

Came here during half term a single mother with 2 children and it was raining most days. I can't rave enough about the service in the restaurants The people that made the holiday though were the reception staff when my iPhone charger broke they charged it every day for me and the best part was the entertainment team without them our holiday would have been rubbish!! Itzel, Orlando, Manuel, Geo, David and Paul these people are amazing and all need a pat on the back for the great job they do. Make me want to save up and come back!!!!

We just returned from a week at this resort on Saturday, Nov 23rd, 2013. It was a very nice resort with very friendly staff. Food - there was a great selection of restaurants and all of them had great food. Even the buffet was top notch. Drinks/bars - there was never too long of a wait to get drinks. I can't comment on the top-shelf booze because I never requested it. I stuck mostly to cerveza and mojitos. Mojitos were dynamite. Pools - we stuck to the main pool most of the time. Lots of kids there, if you have a problem with that. We enjoyed the fun atmosphere. Walked by the quiet pool, very nice, but too quiet for us. Entertainment staff - very fun, very engaging. I did not take part in any of their games or events but I watched a lot of them. Very funny, they danced a lot, and got good crowd participation. When you meet Juan, you'll know him right away for his dry wit. He is hilarious. David is the smallest team member. He is a ball of energy. Itzel was also one of the most enthusiastic members. Always dancing and getting the crowd to join her. Weather (although you have no control over this) - was awesome. The forecast for the entire week was rain and clouds although we only had 2 hours total of daytime rain the entire week. The weather was gorgeous. Rooms - very modern, very clean, MASSIVE bathrooms, great AC, fridge stocked daily with 4 waters, 4 modelo, 2 cokes, 2 diet cokes, and 1 sprite. Tipping - we tried to tip the serving when convenient and we had money. They were very appreciative. When we didn't have money, they did not come across like they were expecting a tip.

My wife, daughter and daughter friend, spend a fabulous week at the Riviera Maya in Cancun. We had 2 rooms and they both were very big with a living room setting on a lower level and the upper had the beds. The bathroom was huge with double sinks and a jacuzzi for two, even the shower was huge with suspended shower head that any tall person could fit under. The food at the breakfast and lunch buffet offered many cultured dishes to wish we heard all the same comments that it had something for everyone. The night restaurants offered a variety of Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, French and Asian food. The great thing was that there was no reservations made just first come first served. We got to know the Now Entertainment Team the best and got to know Juan, Manual, Orlando, Geo, Javi, Itzel and especially David. The Entertainment Team helped make our week very enjoyable with pool arobics, pool events, dancing, spanish lessons, beach volleyball. water polo, zumba, crazy games, bar tending contest, yoga and bocci ball. There was also outside events such as Para Sailing and Jet skiing. There other outside events but we did have the time to do them.

We decided to spend Xmas in a hotel instead of at home like we used to, and we chose this hotel because we have been here before. The staff is so polite and helpful and the animation staff really makes the difference on our vacations. We really enjoy their activities. Especial mentions for Laura, which made us feel like we were with family. Food is great and the Xmas dinner was superb. The hotel is just beautiful, and very romantic, especially at night.