BookIt.com Verified Traveler Marisa from Scottsdale, Az

"This was my first trip to Cancun. The only reason that we went down there was for a family wedding. My husband never was comfortable with the thought of traveling to Mexico. We were completely surprised! We felt totally comfortable at the resort and never felt that our safety was in jeopardy.

What you need to do - be privileged. Some how when we booked, we selected that we wanted to be upgraded to the privileged side of the resort; meaning that we got to eat at one of the restaurants that over looks the ocean, got to sit and sun bathe on a different side of the beach. We had WIFI all over the resort, including the beach and pool area. I am not sure if the WIFI is part of the privileged part or a normal hotel benefit (The other hotels in the area did not have this option). BRING SUN SCREEN - greater than 30 SPF....you will burn.

If at all possible try to get a second or third floor so that you can leave your balcony door open at night. We did not have a bug problem at all. There were mosquitoes at night. The air conditioner only works when the balcony door is COMPLETELY closed.

We had an all inclusive package. The drinks were pretty weak and the service was on the slow side but what can you expect with all inclusive at the price point that we paid.

We did go to wedding at one of the resorts less than a mile away that was reported to cost ~600 per person per night all inclusive and we were not impressed at all with their beach or drink service.

We would be more than comfortable to travel to this resort again in the near future."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Marc from Columbia, Connecticut

"First I would like to say that the hotel employee morale seem to be much higher than any of the Caribbean islands I've ever been to. It may be because some of the employees have eight hour shifts and receive one day off a week although I heard that the average salary can be as low as six dollars per day. One day I noticed a young boy smiling and saying good morning to me while cleaning the sand ashtrays with a paintbrush and imprinting the HC logo and seemed to be enjoying his job. This tells you that these employees take pride in their jobs and appreciate the value of employment. The beach service for beverages was consistent and the service was performed as quickly as possible with one person by a kind man named Eureka. The cocktails served at the beach bar after 12 noon daily until midnight were served with a smile and a fist bump from one of the fastest bartenders I've ever seen in the Caribbean. The hostesses that seated you in the à la cart restaurants and the buffets are also some of the hardest working and most underappreciated employees by guests. These girls seated thousands of people a week; month after month and very really seemed to get the kind of attention that bartenders and waiters received. As described by many posts, yes the rooms were simple and basic although we upgraded to honeymoon suite in order to insure that some of the amenities that we were used to receiving in other resorts as standard luxury were made available. The housekeeping services do an adequate job, but nothing I saw was over the top and the housekeeping services barely met my expectations for the level of Rome were paying for. From our experience most Caribbean islands as well as Mexico had a hard time keeping up with laundry services; hand towels, face cloths and bath mats seem to be an item that is scarce and hard-to-find, replacement of these items are limited and you are better off recycling these yourself to ensure that you will have them the following day. Your bed sheets may be changed every third day as a standard operating procedure, but if you elect to change them sooner you may place and environmental green notice card on your bed to ensure that the sheets are changed. The air-conditioned units worked excellent and removed the humidity out as necessary. The ceiling fan was vigorous and provided more than enough air movement if you preferred not to have the AC unit on. It is my understanding that there are a standard of rooms that may not even have AC conditioning units, so would be wise to ensure that the standard of your room includes that amenity if that is important to you when booking this property. I will have to tell you that seven out of the eight nights that we were at the resort our bottled water was not replaced and we needed to call for it even though we left the maid three dollars per day gratuity. I even left dollars inside the minibar refrigerator thinking that a minibar boy replaced them as I've seen this time but other resorts. Later to find out it was the maid who restocked the minibar. Three types of carbonated sodas are provider in the minibar, but orange juice, cranberry, & apple juice is not available at any time. If it was not for the tapas rooftop lunch included with the privileged upgrade and the limited chances for dining one time per week for the standard package unless you get honeymoon package which gives you an optional second chance to dine in the tapas restaurant I would've been thoroughly disappointed with the food options and availability. As for the food items that I did order in the à la carte restaurants, I found them to be good quality, pleasantly prepared and garnished and seasoned very blandly. The reason why we chose this resort was because of the Maroma beach reviews on all of travel magazines and websites. They claim that the stretch of beach is one of the top 10 in the world, due to the length you can walk in both directions, the depth of the beach, the quality of the sand, the water visibility and clarity, and the lack of coral and rocks beneath your feet and walking into the water. The second reason why we chose this resort was because of the value and availability for the time that we needed to travel. Of course if I wanted to go next-door to my right to the Secrets Maroma and pay $750 more per person or go to my left to the Maroma Beach villas $6000 for non-all-inclusive you have that option to do that. Overall I would recommend this property to people who understand what they're getting when the book the property. If you are the type of people that expect your all-inclusive resort to provide you with everything on scale of 1 to 10 to be in eight or higher than this may not be the property for you. Americans should not to set their standards too high and to realize that you can stay at other resorts for less money and receive a higher room class and better food, but you will need to except the fact that the property may have coral rocky small beach in the Riviera Maya /Cancun Mexico area. The spa offers a small and beautiful sanctuary for luxury personal services & our service levels there were within of the highest standards I've seen the Caribbean, English will not be the first language in the spa and you should anticipate that. The beach towel service is available in your room upon your first day check-in and then you will need to change daily if you prefer between the hours of approximately 8 AM and 6 PM at the beach out by the main pool. If I had to make some recommendations regarding this property I would request that the privileged component of this hotel become more important. There should be a privileged bar by the beach or pool with no kids allowed. It would make sense to have another pool constructed between building 4 &6 were most of the privileged guests stay. The pool does not necessarily seem to be a retreat like the beach; it seems to be a loud and obnoxious place to organize games and theme dancing. A separate pool for privileged guests may create another peaceful environment for guests who may want to read, nap, or have a quiet place to swim and relax. As mentioned by many posts; the privilege lounge is less than inviting. I have never been to a resort that offers a concierge, privileged, or VIP lounge with so few amenities. It is apparent that with the 2 mile bumpy gravel dirt driveway coming in to the resort area from Highway 307 that has remained this way for eight years is a telltale sign that they are getting by on a very thin budget. That is why there a post's stating that the booze appears to be watered down or switched with a lesser quality spirit in the name brand bottle that you desire.

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