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Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun — 
Location: Beachfront -
20 minutes from Cancun Airport
All-inclusive - 494 Suites
Description from resort website: Royal Service guests enjoy preferential exclusive services - 6 Restaurants - snack bar - 6 bars - Three swimming pools -
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Club House offering a variety of sports and games including ping pong, volleyball, aerobics, water polo, beach soccer, yoga, etc. -
Spa part of the "Leading Spas of the World" with Beauty Center, steam baths and sauna (with separate areas for women and men), two jacuzzis, relaxation lounge, massage rooms and a selection of treatments (additional charge) - Fitness Center: two steppers, two training bikes, weight center and two Stairmasters - 2 tennis courts - Nautical center: kayaks, windsurfing, water bikes, sunfish sailing, snorkeling and diving (reservations required) - Children's swimming pool - Club for children 2 months to 4 years open from 9am to 5pm - Mini Club for children aged 5 to 12 years, open from 10am to 1pm and 3pm to 5pm - Shopping trips to Cancun 6 times a week. - Fun Pub Karaoke, with open bar and dance area with DJ from 10pm until 2am
 ~ Reviews posted on this page ~ 12
 ~ Mexico Resort Reviews Index
 ~ Mexico Travel Forum
Have you stayed at this resort? Share your vacation experiences with others.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Melissa Lewis, West Chester, Pennsylvania |
July 2009
Arrival: July 3 - July 14
This was the best!! Friendly? Helpful extra! Paradise ! Pool great/beach beautiful/restaurants great food /fast service+ room service ! I took my niece from r.I..We both loved it. well go back again! Not a wild / party place.Peaceful.
Rooms:
Very clean/Spacious/nice views/perfecto !!
Restaurants and Bars:
Great service/yummy foods/fresh fruits.The best !!! Bar teber angel and his pal excellent !! mucho !!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The best cleaned beach sand every morning !! Just a little seaweed/big deal!! New England has a lot / It was fine the little bits/not huge clumpy pieces !!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Xcaret/a lot of walking. have good shoes. My water shoes killed my feet by the end of day I could barely walk.other than this it was nice. Animals / snorkeling/ Mexican Shows etc.
Other Comments:
I'd give resort A 10 + the best !!!
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Missisauga, Canada |
January 2009
Jan. 2009. 5 days
My husband and I have travelled to many Caribbean destinations and always stay at 4 and 5 star resorts - this hotel is definitely 5 star.
The layout of this resort is such that everything is a mere couple of minutes in any direction.
As the hotel was not at capacity they upgraded our room to be in the Royal area. The rooms are fabulous, clean - not one bug. The beds are firm so I went prepared with a small but adequate sized foam pad to use - glad I did but my husband had no problems at all. The minibar restocked everyday.
The staff were courteous and helpful. The grounds immaculate. the pool top notch but FREEZING!! All public bathrooms were amazingly clean. And the ocean area is groomed several times a day. Not many beach or pool activities except for the aerobics or salsa lessons.
The food was good. The buffet is rather small but adequate. The poolgrill is actually a la carte and in my mind would have done better just to go in and roam about buffet style and get what you want so we ended up going to the actual buffet for lunches - no problem. The a la carte restaurants had mixed reviews depending on who you talked to. The ones we went to did not disappoint.
The bars are great. But the over all music throughout the resort is pretty sad. Not much authentic mexican music - I don't need to hear it all the time but nice to know you are on vacation and not stuck in the land Zamfir.
There isn't much in the way of night life. They have your regular evening show - 9 to 10 and then the people seem to migrate to the lounge bar for awhile before visiting the "Fun Pub" that they say is their disco...but not so much.
I would not recommend this resort for partiers or singles. There are alot of young families and they have a great kids area for them. If you don't like alot of kids - maybe look else where. And they were many older vacationers. Not a place to really meet people - best to go down with your own group if that's a possibility.
In saying all of that - I would definitely recommend this resort for a relaxing beautiful holiday. I would definitely go back - with buddies in tow.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Troy ~ Calgary |
May 2007
For a quick background, I/we have travelled various four star and five star resorts in the Caribbean. This is our first trip with the kids (6 months & 4 years) which lent a whole new twist to our trip.
The Paradisus is definitely a five star accomodation with very few reasons to dispute otherwise. Our trip was taken in mid-March 2007.
Food & Restaurants - THe buffet was easily the best of any accomodations I have experienced in the Caribbean. NOt everything was perfect but being from Canada, our expectations are quite different for food. I thought the a la carte' restaurants were really good (although the French one left something to be desired) with the steak & seafood cuisine being outstanding. ORder the steak & lobster. Unbelievable. The only downside was the booking practices which consisted of lining up at 9:00 in the morning and only booking two days in advance.
Service - Nothing but extremely accomodating. Excellent for booking tours.
Night LIfe - The shows were good but after that the night life was nothing spectacular. NOt for single folks anyway.
Pools- THey are not heated so it has to be quite warm to make a person want to go swimming. THe practice of reserving chairs with towels is ridiculous and, in my mind, the one thing this resort should eliminate. THere are a few haciendas near the pool which, I believe, should be reserved for families with small children or seniors. Too many people just move towels and pretend like there was nothing there to begin with. WE also saw a waiter/waitress maybe once a day which was a major disappointment for such a highly rated resort.
Beach - ANybody who complains about this beach is too spoiled and should go to the Pacific Ocean beaches of Mexico before they even try to compare.
Kids Club - WE had a gal named Carmen who was very sweet and patient with our kid(s). They aren't big on watching them 24/7 but it's a fairly safe environment and our son had a ton o' fun. I would recommend this very highly. WE also secured a babysitter one eveing and although expensive, was very professional ( she wouldn't even put her feet up) and kind.
All told, this was an excellent experience for my family and I. I would not recommend this resort for single folks or for those looking to take a "boys" or "girls" trip. This resort is perfect for families and friends.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Anne and Jeffrey |
December 2006
My wife and 18 month old daughter just returned from 7 days at this resort December 2 to 9th 2006 and thought we would share our thoughts with your readers,as we have used your site for years and appreciate learning about destinations from fellow travellers.
As a bit of background,we have stayed at 6 different all inclusive resorts in the last several years from Anse Chastenet in St.Lucia to Breezes Jibacoa and El Senador in Cuba and resorts in Puerta Plata in the DR and in Margarita Island,Venezuela.We have travelled extensively in most parts of the world and so have seen many styles and types of accommodation.
Without a doubt the facilities,rooms,pools and dining rooms truly are world class and worthy of their five star rating.
The flight was a direct one from Ottawa on Westjet, which unfortunately was delayed by almost 2 hours ,so we did not arrive at the resort until close to midnight.The resort is short bus ride south of Cancun which was ideal given the late hour.travellers staying in Playa del Carmen, had a substantially longer drive as the highway is partially under construction and is slow even late at night.
Check in:
The Paradisus lobby has to be seen to be believed, and is stunning.Dramatic lighting,reflecting pools and waterfalls galore and an abundance of exotic tropical flowers.We were checked in very quickly and shown to our room which was app. 500 square feet on the third floor of a 3 storey building.It was all marble,gleaming hardwood furniture and a bathroom with good lighting,towels and a bidet for those inclined.The mini bar was stocked with excellent Modelo beer,water and sodas.We requested a room change the next day as we preferred a King size bed and they happily obliged moving us to a building closer to the center , which was good.
Grounds:
Again, extremely impressive.Even Donald Trump would be happy here! The huge main free form pool (not heated) was pristine and featured submerged chairs,swim up bar,water fountain,bridges etc.There were plenty of chairs and lots of shade if desired.You would never sit for more then a few minutes and not be offered a drink by the roaming waiters.The other pools catered to the kids club and the separate Royal service part of the resort.
Kids Club:
This was the main reason we chose this resort as it is one of the few we found that offers to look after your under 3 child. As those of you who have a toddler know, it is nice to be able to have someone else look after your child for a bit if you want a break to swim, eat in peace etc.Paradisus had been recommended by several internet sites for this and we were not disappointed by this aspect of the resort at all.The Club 4 is run by Rosa and she and her assistants ably look after toddlers and even 2 month olds, with skill and warmth that is impressive.We felt no hesitation leaving our daughter in her care and she seemed to be having a very good time with the other children.
Food and Entertainment
Caribbean buffet-very good and massive amount of choice.The 5 a la carte restaurants were also very good, with the steak house being the stand out.One negative is that you have to book these places in advance and you can not book all of them at once when you arrive as they only allow you to book 2 days in advance.This means we had to line up at 9am to book them on 3 separate occasions-Not a good system!
We saw the Fiesta evening night show and the dancers and costumes and music were the best I have seen at an all inclusive-it even caused our baby to clap!
Disco Fun Pub seemed nice but didn't personal experience it.Lobby bar with lots of comfortable sofas and chairs and candle lit was gorgeous.
Beach:
Beautiful sand, lots of chairs and palalpas for shade,but because it is facing a coral reef, the water is somewhat cloudy and not the crystal blue clarity you see 25 kms north in the city of Cancun.Some guests were complaining about this and the seaweed in the water, but nothing can be done about it.They do constantly rake the beach to make it as desirable as possible,but they are dealing with a natural phenomenon.
Sports:
We are tennis players and the 2 courts are in perfect shape with good nets and lit at night for 10USD per hour if desired.Book with the concierge the day before if you wish to play between 9 and 11 when it is cooler.
Catamaran sail boats,Sunfish's and paddle boats,kayaks all looked in good shape.Good beach to run ,basketball net on one of the backs of one of the tennis courts, table tennis,air hockey,beach volleyball very popular.
Who would like the Paradisus?
Firstly, families with small children, who want a first class resort that exceeds expectations.Anyone who wishes a truly beautiful resort with very warm staff.
Lastly,people who are annoyed by seeing lots of strollers and toddlers around.
A very good experience that we would recommend in a heartbeat.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Marlene from Canun
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October 2005
I booked a holiday with Sears vacations as always this time we booked at this hotel, very disappointed with the management and the treatment that we got going to this resort. I booked in December of last year at the Rui Cancun and it was a dream vacation best I ever had this was a disappointment.
1. Air Canada vacations: great flight fantastic service going and coming and on time both ways.
2. Arrived at the hotel at 12:45pm, was told we had to wait till 3:30pm till our rooms were ready in lobby or we could go eat and come back at 3;15 and maybe our room would be ready. It was 34 degrees celcuis...a balmy 98 degrees with a humidity factor which made it seem like 104 degrees. The lobby is not air conditioned just fans wearing fall clothes because when we left Montreal it was 4 degrees.
This wait was over 3 hours till we could get into our rooms after traveling since 4am in the morning to get to the airport, checkin ect, we were exhausted and wanted to get to our rooms and change. The first person we spoke to when we checked in was called Armando he was extremely rude an told us to wait and that was the best he could do. It seems that everyone coming in has to wait till 3pm for check in no matter what this is a waste of valuable vacation time. The hotel grounds are beautifully done with pools and thatched roofs I think I have booked a winner when I realize it was a loser.
We finally got a room with two double beds. There were no king size available maybe Monday or Tuesday we should just push the beds together to make them into one bed I fell between the cracks day two,this was from a very rude desk clerk called Armando.
4. We offer to upgrade ourselves into a beachfront with royal service, or beachfront or anything to get a king-size bed, however we are told there is no availability as the are renovating the hotel and are only using the 36 rooms of the usual 96 beachfront at this time. I speak to a ******* who promises me as she is the manager of the rooms that she is in charge of and she is the only person who can make these decisions. She was a waste of my time and my efforts as you will soon see. She tells me to push the beds together and this is the best solution till Monday or Tuesday.She is very rude and not accomadating. her main answer to me for anything that I ask for is a solid NO!
5. the double beds are very hard, I have a sleepless night tossing an turning Monday comes I go back to the front desk an am told at again 3-4pm that day a king-size bed will come available in another building that day Sona tells me to go an take a look.One such room has underwear thrown on the trees outside it and the walls of the room have ink or felt pen all over the walls near where the luggage stand is. The room smells very bad like mold. it is a very dark room. The next room has a air conditioner problem and wont be fixed till later but the room also has a funky smell.We opt to stay where we are till Tuesday. I go back and say we will stay till the next day Sona makes a face at me sort of saying that I am too fussy!!
6.They push the two beds together and we sleep separately there is no solution except to change rooms,no one in the hotel thinks out of the box and figures perhaps in another building that is not being used they can take a king-size bed out of it and replace it with what we have. I have another sleepless night and am so exhausted. We realize that the front desk only knows one word which is NO and they are not compassionate nor do they have the people skills to deal with any issues except to pass the issue along. The front desk staff is very anal and are very hard on clients we were not the only people experiencing this treatment. I had to scream loud in order to get the room . One other couple asked for a king size bed and was changed again to another double bedded room they were not too pleased and said it was their second time coming to the resort and said the service had changed and it was not the same it was poor.
7.Tuesday morning they tell us that a room in our building which is number 6 will be vacant at 4pm we can see it I go an take a look the room stinks like cigar smoke and that is last straw I go postal at the front desk saying I am asthmatic and need a smoke free room Sona says they will clean it and air it out and fix it for us. she is shocked because this is non smoking room.
We than speak to the manager of the front desk called Iberto or something like that who promises us a nice surprise that we did not get because he forgot us, and is never there when I go to meet him. This is Tuesday, nothing is done to appease us or our issue.
8.The smell of the disinfectant is so bad we take it anyways because at this point we feel that the room will clear .We wish to sleep together as a couple and I wake up with asthma attack that night an every night after and have this cough along with my partner who is also experiencing very bad allergies. The room now smells like a funky mold. It is so bad that we now are taking anti histamines to counter the attacks and are coughing an sneezing all night.
9.I call the front desk and ask them to clean out the air-conditioning vents when the guy comes in to open it a very large dust bunny the size of my head falls on the floor, he puts something in it and it smells again of something . Another guy comes in the room and takes a towel and cleans it all out both vents and says it is very dirty, however I am now wheezing and taking more ventolin and leave the room for the day. My boyfriend comes back to the room and says he is not feeling good and keeps having coughing fits. I keep spraying my ventolin and take my allergy pills. The room is a cave of mold and allergens. Other people in the resort are complaining of the same thing, and no king size beds along with poor service from again the front desk.
I than on Thursday get in touch with the Air Canada rep who was very nice named Juan Luis, and was shocked at the treatment that we got and calls the front desk and finds out that the manager forgot about his promise for a nice surprise for us and we get a bowl of bruised fruit and a cheap bottle of Mexican sparkling wine for our problems. The wine is worth $3. in the market place and we don't drink it or touch the bruised fruit as this is a second thought after the manager had to be reminded about us and the bed issue and how we were treated upon arrival at the front desk and I realize that we don't mean anything to him or to his staff.
I am tired, my cough is still going on and I will wait a few days to make sure before I go back to my chest specialist.
I saw allot of the staff coughing too with the same dry cough that you cannot stop.
The other staff in the restaurants were great and my Air Canada rep was amazing however they do not make the rules the front desk does.
The beach is murky because of all the seaweed which is the time of year the other areas were kept very clean, immaculate, the food was good.
If you asked me would I recommend this place to anyone the answer today would be NO because of how they dealt with the situation. They treated us like poor clients they did not care about us or the room issue. This is not treatment that anyone would get from a 5 star this is treatment from a no star resort. Other people were complaining of the same treatment one person got two double beds, and came a few years before and saw the detieration of service another person had to wait over 4 hours for their room to be ready and was shocked to find the air conditioner not working properly. Alot of people were coughing there.
In my opinion because I have traveled so much this was very poor service for what we paid and expected. They seem to cater to the tourists that come from Spain and give preferential treatment.
We as Canadians and Americans were not treated the same way. The Spanish tourists had the best rooms and service.
Everything starts with the front desk at check in and how you are treated and this was unacceptable as this resort is expensive. and has bragging rights. I was not impressed with being forgotton and given that cheap surprise.
However we were not impressed I wrote about my comments to the Rui Cancun and had amazing service they were wonderful to deal with. I am saddened by my choice on Riveria Mayan will not go back to that resort which is owned by Sol Melia, and would not recommend this place. We were constantly harrassed at the hotel to visit their other resort and aggressively each day.
Next time I will go back to the Rui's that is where you are treated well.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Tim
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September 2005
To start off let me introduce myself, we are a very well traveled family,
vacationing at least twice a year, mostly in the Caribbean or Mexico. We
have been on a half a dozen cruises, have stayed or visited 15 islands, and
three cities in Mexico (some twice). It is myself, my wife and our daughter
6, who did not accompany us on this trip. The following are my opinions, I
found this website to be very helpful in picking my destination after
Hurricane Emily closed our initial hotel, the Grand Xcaret, and I want to
give others a chance to choose this property first.
Beach (B): Yes there is some sea grass; no it is not enough to ruin the
beach experience. The water may not be as clear as some areas of the
Riviera Maya, but that is due to the beautiful coral reef a few miles out
that provides some of the best snorkeling I have ever seen. So you have to
give a little to get a lot. The beach has soft white sand, small waves
great for children (again I believe due to the reef), you hear the waves
gently lapping against the sand, the sun shining in a cloud free sky and any
concern about the small amount of sea grass just floats away. They were
building more palabas the week we were there to help relieve any
overcrowding of which I saw none.
Pool (A): The main pool is very large, with a swim up bar with stools, and
loungers built into the pool so you can immediately cool off if you’ve had
too much sun time. It has a zero entry for the kids, (the bottom slowly
drops off, like walking into the ocean) and a small horseshoe shaped Jacuzzi
like structure on one side to enjoy. The activities pool always had
something going on, it was great having a separate dedicated pool so that
you never felt bad about ruining someone else’s time. There is also a Royal
Service adult only pool, but I’ll go into that in the Royal Service Review.
Food (A+): Now you may think that food is not one of the most important
parts of a vacation, but you would be very wrong. If is not prepared
properly, your trip can be ruined by illness. If the food is not good
enough to eat, you will spend money elsewhere to buy more. If the food is
not constantly changing, it can damper the feeling of being pampered on
vacation. All of the a la cartes were excellent, the French (yes I know I
was surprised too) was outstanding, the duck was just as good as my local
snobby 4 star restaurant with much better service here in Mexico. The
buffet always had at least one hot station where they cooked your meal to
order, a healthy choice section, fruits, salads and entrees. Nothing was
repeated, that is some buffets will have the same thing on each side to move
people through quicker but here everything was unique and delicious. You
must remember for the most part this is a buffet, it is better than your
local chain buffet restaurant back home but it is not gourmet.
Service (A+): Really outstanding all the way around. Special recognition
must go to Juan at the Capri restaurant (Mediterranean), Rosalino at the
buffet was always spectacular we looked for him every time he should be
given a promotion or something. Hector at the Royal Service was alone worth
the extra money; he made our stay so much better as our concierge. Roman at
the Royal pool was excellent he really went out of his way for us several
times, even the few problems we had (too small to even mention) were washed
away by his outstanding service and excellent drinks. The butler and maid
service was always right on top of any needs we had. Room service was
prompt and better than many hotels I have stayed at. Everyone from the
gardeners to security to bell boys was excellent, we felt welcomed and never
felt as though they were fishing for a tip (although we did tip). The
animation staff was fantastic always getting people involved and doing a
good job of getting the party started and then maintaining that atmosphere.
Rooms/Grounds (A): The grounds are nicely landscaped, with informative
signs on the plant life around you. I tend to like more of a natural or
wild landscape but it is hard to argue with the work that obviously went
into creating a really nice environment that helps to constantly remind you
that you are on vacation in a beautiful part of the world. The lobby was
wonderful, nicely put together and the lobby bar was terrific. The little
ponds found throughout the property added nicely to the overall ambience of
the hotel. The rooms were outstanding; I’ll save the extra features for the
Royal Service review. The rooms were cleaned thoroughly, everything was
always stocked, the furniture was well kept and in good shape, the king size
bed was firm, but I prefer that anyway.
Royal Service (A++): Worth every penny. No standing in line to make
reservations, a private adults only pool with reserved cabanas, in the main
pool there are maybe two and you won’t get them unless you’re up by 6 am.
At the Royal Service, there were plenty, one call the day before got one
reserved for with your name on it, literally. Roman at the pool and Marcel
deserve another thank you. The beach was the same way, you had a reserved
palaba, and a bartender on hand to cater to your needs, the beach was
private for Royal Service. We had the Jacuzzi on the balcony overlooking
the ocean, in one word AMAZING. We used in several times; the butler will
come put candles, incense and set it up for a romantic rendezvous. All in
all worth the extra money, you can’t really put a price on it, there were
many advantages to being royal service, if available we use it at any hotel
or cruise and this easily compares to those plans as well.
Overall (A): I am glad that we switched, I was really impressed by this
hotel, and I will recommend it to my friends, my travel agent and this
website. You will have a good time, any negatives you hear are grossly
exaggerated, and are usually from people who do not know how to relax, it’s
a vacation, enjoy it. By all means if there is problem, they will fix it, a
couple had a complaint about their room and they were promptly moved. I
want to say hi to Erin, Rob, Stacey and Tate who we met down there and had a
great time with. Go to the Paradisus knowing that you will have a great
time and it is well worth the money.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Paul ~ Virginia
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April 2005
My family of five (kids 6, 13, 14) recently returned from a week at the Paradisus Riveria Cancun. We procured a package with a charter airline from Vacation Express, and flew out of Dulles in Northern Virginia, with a connection in Orlando-Sanford.
We are fairly experienced with all-inclusives, having also been to Club Med-Paradise Island, Swept Away-Jamaica, Boscabel Beach-Jamaica, Breezes-Curaco, Barcelo Maya-Mexico, Occidental Allegro Punta Cana-Dominican Republic.
Location
The Paradius Riveria (PR) is located about 30 minutes south of the Cancun airport, making the transfers from the airport much more convenient than our trip to the Barcelo Maya, which is probably another 45 minutes south. The PR is several miles north of Puerto Morlenos, and about 25 minutes north of Playa de Carmen.
Accomodations
We were in two adjoining rooms in building 9, which had a very nice garden view. The rooms themselves were among the best we have experienced. Both had a large sitting area with a pull out couch. One room had a king, and the kids room 2 doubles. The rooms were well appointed and included a stocked mini bar with water, sodas and beer. The bathrooms were equipped with hair dryers and large sink counter space. The rooms had both the 2-pin and US-style 2 prong electrical outlets. You didn’t need to put your room key in any device for the A/C to work – the A/C worked very well.
The beach front units come with what they call Royal Service. They are equipped with whirlpool tubs on their balconies. The Royal Service benefits included a reserved place at the beach with its own bar and waiters, its own pool, a lounge area with its own internet access, etc.
Food
We rated the food overall a cut above our other experiences. I believe the key reason is that most evening meals are provided at ala carte restaurants versus buffet style, which you normally tire of after a few days.
From our perspective, the best restaurants were the Capri and French restaurants – the service and menus at both were very good. Get the flaming crepe desert at the French restaurant – it is exceptional. We ordered a bottle of wine off the menu at the Capri, which we paid extra for, but found that if we ordered the house wine they provided very serviceable wines for no extra charge.
The Japanese steak house restaurant was pretty good. We found that the restaurant was uncomfortably warm.
The steak and lobster restaurant was a disappointment. The steak was very tough, and you had to go to the buffet area to get your salad and deserts. Also, the Mexican restaurant was just ok. We also had an uninspired waiter that evening that further detracted from the experience. There is also an Italian restaurant in the area that is the buffet for breakfast and lunch, but we didn’t eat there.
We ate twice at the buffet that is co-located with the evening show. We enjoyed our first dinner – it was quite good. The second experience was not very good.
The buffet for breakfast and lunch was good, but the area served from was fairly compact and could get crowded. They also had a grill on a deck overseeing the beach that was good for salads, sandwiches, nachos, pizza, etc.
Most of the ala carte restaurants required long pants and no sandals.
Entertainment/Shops/Sports
We found the evening shows to be the best we had seen at all inclusives. The dancers were very good. They also had a good circus show one evening.
The resort seemed to be family oriented. We used the kids club for our six year old several times, and he enjoyed it.
They had a disco, but it didn’t seem to get a lot of use. It was heavily used while the NCAA bball games were on.
The resort has a fairly large general merchandise store, a clothes store, and a jewelry store. On most nights, a vendor sold cigars. On several nights, they had local craft type vendors come in, but it was minimal.
We play tennis. They had 2 courts, and you needed to plan ahead to get your preferred time slot.
My 13 year old daughter and I took the dive instruction and went on a dive at the reef located off the shore from the resort. It was a great experience. We found the instructors very professional and attentive.
Beach/Pool
The beach is very small compared to a number of resorts we have been to. In comparison, the Secrets resort next door had a much larger beach. There were strong breezes during our entire stay, so the surf was fairly rough.
There are 3 pools. The main pool is very large, with a swim up bar. They have a small number of cabanas. You need to get up and reserve your lounge chair by 6:30 am or so or you will likely be out of luck at the main pool.
There is a family pool, with a baby pool and a larger pool.
The third pool is reserved for those in the Royal Service accommodations. There always seemed to be open chairs and cabanas there.
Excursions
We took the hotel-provided transportation to Playa de Carmen. I wouldn’t do it again, since the bus was sponsored by a jewelry factory south of that town and it included an hour-long stop there. I would take a cab.
This was our second visit to Playa de Carmen. It has a long shopping/eating district along 5th Avenue, which is several blocks up from the sea. A nice place to visit.
We spent one day at Xcaret, and eco park. Its main feature is an underground river you snorkel thru. We had fun at Xcaret, but prefer Xel Ha down by Tulum.
We went snorkeling off a catamaran we took from Maroma Beach. Believe the outfit was Paradise Adventures or something similar. We visited several reefs for snorkeling, and a third area to dive for star fish. It was fun.
Overall Assessment
In our post trip discussion, the consensus was that PR was our favorite or near favorite all inclusive to date. From a facilities and service perspective, it lived up to its 5 Star rating.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Liette ~ Canada
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March 2005
We love to travel to the Paradisus Resort having already gone to the one in Cuba , Punta Cana we decided to try Riviera Maya Cancun.
So the thruth is that all together I would rate this Hotel a 5* but the beach wil have a 1* only. It is all true unfortunately what the other wrote about being durty, it was awful the water was full of herbs and the sand not that terrefic better in Cuba and Punta Cana.
The food GREAT 5* finally cause the other places the meat was so hard. Love the filet mignon at the French restrnt.
The Royal Suite was lovely with the Jacuzzi on the patio.
Also, the entertainment was very diversified.
BUT for couples it is not the Best RESORT it is a FAMILY Resort with LOTS of children and carriages all over the place. Even at the restaurant late at night and in the lobby. So be informed that it is not so Romantic for couples who would like some quietness at the restaurant in the evening.
PS:It will be for us to go with Adult only resort next time.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Yvonne --- USA
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May 2004
My husband and I including our 2 kids ages 11 & 8 had a wonderful time at eh Paradisus Riviera Cancun. The kids club was great. Fernando who leads the kids club was very professional. My kids tend to be timid but immediately took to Fernando. He made them feel welcomed and searched out for them everyday. The food was exceptional as well as the service. I would not hesitate to recommend this facility. WE HOPE TO GO BACK IN 2004.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Helen --- Ottawa, Canada
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February 2004
My husband, my 3 year old and myself just got back from the Paradisus in the Mayan Riviera and I have to say it was by far the best vacation I have ever had in my whole life. We've only been home for two days and already want to go back. I can't say enough about this resort. The rooms are immaculately clean and huge and the maid came in every night and turned down our bed and left little chocolates on our pillows and flowers in the towels. The beach is fine white powdery sand and there are lots of little huts if you want to get out of the sun. There is a little bit of sea grass along the shoreline but they are constantly cleaning it and it didn't bother us at all, we still sat in the sand and made sand castles. The water is clear and warm and most of the days the waves were not too rough so it was perfect for swimming. We didn't spend a lot of time at the pools but we would go up in the afternoon to the pool bar and have a drink and there are so many different areas to it that you could have all the privacy that you wanted or if you wanted to be more social be at the swim up bar. My daughter just loved the little pool beside the kids club - they even had floaty things in the pool for the kids to play with and a gorgeous little play ground. The food everywhere was amazing, even if you are a picky eater you could still find something that you would like. We ate at all the reservation restaurants and they were wonderful as well, you were well taken care of and the food was fabulous. I think we would have to say that the lobster at the Reef Grill was the best, but the French Gourmet restaurant came pretty close, especially if you get one of the outdoor tables, it's extremely romantic and you feel so spoiled. They have a great program for the kids age 4 and up, but even for those under the age of 4 they have a daycare in which they provide you with a walkie-talkie to communicate with you if you leave your child. They had face painting in the lobby at night, they had a clown come in and make animal balloons and a pirate on the beach looking for burried treasure and they played games and danced on stage in the evenings. The staff were the friendliest and most helpful I've ever met in my travels, I feel like we actually made some good friends with some of them and hope to see them again. All in all I would recommend this place to anyone, whether you are looking for a romantic get away or a family vacation that you will never forget. It is definitely a 5+ resort!!
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Dexter
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September 2003
In June, 2003, my wife and I went to the Paradisus Resort in the Maya Rivera. The experience was definitely a mixture of the good and the bad.
The hotel was beautiful and the grounds were immaculate. Our room was roomy and very nice. The pools were beautiful with lots of available lounge chairs. The big pool was occasionally crowded with lots of children and teenagers but, by and large, that was the exception not the rule. The "royal" pool on the other hand, always seemed almost deserted.
I love all Oceans and beaches, but the water at the resort was filled with seaweed and was not the
same vivid color as in Cancun. Still, it was the Ocean, the sand was nice and white and the sounds were there. All in all, nice and relaxing, which is what a good number of vacationers were doing, just laying at the beach for hours on end. I can handle just laying around for a couple of hours but that's about all.
There seemed to be a good proportion of quests from Europe. I would quess that the US and Canada tourist were not the majority. Most of the quests were well mannered and polite. One couple from
the US was raising quite a fuss about having to obtain reservations at the specialty Restaurants. It was a pain getting the reservations but it was posted everywhere that you were required to have them.
The food at this all inclusive hotel varied between fair and absolutely terrible. The French Restaurant
and the buffet were only fair. The others we tried were just about inedible with the last night at the open air beach tables enough to make you cry. Imagine a beautiful night, with perfect weather, the surf so close you can feel the mist , and steaks so tough a machete is needed to dent them.
All in all, a nice resort for relaxing and enjoying the sun. The next time we go to this area of Mexico we will choose Cancun with it's prettier Ocean and beaches, more things to do, and not do an all inclusive.
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| Paradisus Riviera Cancun - Cancun |
Lisa, Ricky, and John --- USA
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July 2003
My family (husband, 18 year old son, and myself) just returned from a week at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun (July 19-26, 2003). We traveled through Vacation Express from Nashville. We had a wonderful week with beautiful weather. We tried to upgrade to Royal Service through Vacation Express, but because we had 3 in the room, they would not do it. So, we upgraded through the hotel. Our travel agent took care of contacting the hotel and making the arrangements. We paid an extra $100 a night to upgrade to an ocean front/Jacuzzi Royal Service room. It was well worth it to us. With the Royal Service you have a separate check-in, they take care of all your restaurant reservations, and you have the service of a Butler for the week. He takes care of your room, makes reservations for palapas at the beach or adult pool, fills the Jacuzzi, brings special pillows, or whatever you need. Our butler was Al, he was wonderful. The palapa reservations are exceptionally nice. The ones on the beach are in front of the Royal Service buildings, and there is a bar right there for you to use. The pool for Royal Service is an adults only pool with its own bar. It is nice and quiet. There are these wonderful palapas that are built up from the ground with a king size mattress and wonderful large pillows and a thatch roof. They are wonderful for afternoon siestas (which my son took several afternoons). There are also nice lounges with cushions and umbrellas. It is very nice considering that the main pool is swarming with children.
The resort is very nice. I will admit the beach is not as nice as in Cancun or even in Playa Del Carmen. There is a lot of seaweed, but they are constantly cleaning it up. The water is calmer here, no large waves like in Cancun. We preferred the pool.
The food was very good in the specialty restaurants. The buffet was just average. Our favorite was the French restaurant, L' Hermitage. The food was excellent and the service was great. We ate there on three occasions. On the last night, my husband asked if they could do a shrimp appetizer (which was not on the menu) and they fixed it with no problem. The Lobster Thermidor was wonderful, the Beef Fillet cooked just right, and the Chocolate Mousse was to die for. We also ate in the Japanese restaurant, Sumire, and it was very good. The only complaint was the heat in the restaurant.
The shows each night were very good. The dancers were wonderful, and the costumes great. It is a typical resort show, with lip sync to the music, but it was entertaining and worth staying up for. Most of the shows are at 10:00 pm, but 2 of the shows are at 8:30 during the special buffet dinners. We went to the Mexican buffet, it was just average. Our son enjoyed the Fun Pub (disco) each night. They had Karaoke one night, and he found that very funny watching all the people try to sing after a day of drinking. He also took the resort scuba class ($40) and did a shallow dive. The dive guide pulled a huge lobster out from under a rock for them to see.
The rooms are nice and large, with large bathrooms. We never felt crowded with three in the room. The air conditioner was not as cool as we like, but we made do.
I can highly recommend this resort for a wonderful vacation. It is only about 20 minutes from the airport. There are daily shuttles to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. We just enjoyed the rest. If you have any questions, contact me at rljwats@comcast.net and I will try to help you.
Thanks,
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Last updated: July 13, 2009
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