Anyone have any resort recommendations for this area of Mexico?

Moon Palace. It is all inclusive and also includes tours. There are something like 15 restaurants there as well.

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Originally posted by Fat Weed Esq:
Moon Palace. It is all inclusive and also includes tours. There are something like 15 restaurants there as well.

Thanks Weed, I'll check it out.

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Originally posted by KKL:
Anyone have any resort recommendations for this area of Mexico?

I've been down to this area 2x in the past 4 years and would highly recommend it.

4 years ago I stayed at Sol Melia's Paradisus Riviera Cancun. This is a smallish all inclusive, decent sized beach, decent sized pool. There are 6 different themed resturaunts and a couple of different buffet and beach food type places as well. The rooms were beautiful, the food excellent, and the service was very good. Buffet was open continously from something like 11-10 PM (a huge plus in my opinion). I have no cons to report. When I was there, there would be a cigar vendor in one of the bars who had real cubans. All this was 4 years ago so the resort is not brand new anymore, but I would gladly go back here with or without my kids.

A months ago I stayed at Iberostar's Lindo Mare. Iberostar markets 3 separate resorts in this area, but they are actually all 1 resort with 3 room sections, each with a different level of comfort. All 3 share the same pool, bars, dining options, etc. Anyway, this is a huge all inclusive complex. I think there were 7 resturaunts. Because of the size, reservations could be hard to get so you need to make them as soon as you get in and take the times available. The pool is advertised as several pools but for the most part is is one long pool separated into sections by islands, bridges, swim up bars, etc. Regardless, it does make each section seem like it's own pool. They also have a wave pool section (it only does wave for 10 minutes 4-5x a day). They also have a small lazy river pool. Overall this was a pretty nice property. It is really big though so it takes time to walk from one section to another for dinner or whatnot. The Lindo Mare was supposed to be the nicest quality of the 3, but I found the room so-so. A/C did not work very well so it was not that cool in the room (not hot either though). The resorts have a separate shopping mall with some decent shops as well as the discotech, a hamburger stand, etc. Food was ok at some formal resturaunts, so-so at others. Seemed to depend on what you ordered. The buffets were ok, but by the end of my 5 days I was about done with the selection. One drawback was that buffet resturaunts were only open certain hours. For example, you could not get lunch before noon. My kids take a nap a noon so this was a huge negative. Get them fed and back to the room by 1, an hour and a half nap, and there goes a lot of the afternoon. Same for dinner. No dinner (formal resturaunt or buffet) before 6. I understand it is a vacation and kids schedules can be relaxed, but for a short trip of 5 days it messed my kid's schedule up for the next week and a half. All in all a nice resort, and I may go back once the kids are older or without them. If I did, I would stay at the cheapest of the 3 Iberostars as I do not generally use the room for anything but sleeping and showering, and all the other things at the resort are open to all.

PS. We considered the Moon Palace resorts but heard they were a little older properties and also had more of a party vibe than we wanted (since we had young kids with us). Not sure this is justified but that is what we heard.

Thanks a ton for your input Joel. I have checked out the Iberostar properties you referred to and I don't think we are going to go there for many of the reasons you have mentioned. Right now my fiance really likes reviews of The Royal Playa del Carmen, however it is a little bit more than we are looking to spend. I am going to do some more research on Sol Melia's Paradisus Riviera Cancun based on your recommendation. Again, thanks!

Gran Porto Real

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Originally posted by Joel 67:
PS. We considered the Moon Palace resorts but heard they were a little older properties and also had more of a party vibe than we wanted (since we had young kids with us). Not sure this is justified but that is what we heard.

Moon Palace is older but still nice. Very family friendly with an all day (into the late evening) kids club and family friendly shows at night. It is not in town, so other than the disco or bars, not a party place. The other Palace resorts in town (Cancun Palace and Sun Palace) are much smaller and definitely snore of a party vibe. Btw, if you stay at 1 Palace resort, you can use any other resort they own, including restaraunts.