There are literally thousands of All-Inclusive resorts in and around Cancun, Mexico. Trying to find the right one can be challenging and down right painful! It is our desire to try and clear up the confusion by giving our two cents worth and showing some "real" pictures of the resorts. It is impossible to visit them all and some don't need clarification so, we have picked a few to review today and give our recommendations.
El Dorado Maroma:
This beautiful resort is tucked close to the beach on Maroma Beach south of Cancun in the "Riviera" (Not to be confused with Riviera Maya). This is a great resort for families, especially those looking to share accommodations. They have family villas that make family reunions or vacationing in a group more feasible. Destination weddings would also be a fantastic fit for this property. For Catholics that require a chapel, this resort has one on site. This is an option not available at most resorts.
This is one of the options for a beach destination wedding. It is a beautiful beach. Too bad they felt it necessary to put the black tarped mounds here. I'm sure they are trying to create a buffer from the waves but in the meantime the visual beauty of the beach is lessened.
Who wouldn't want this right outside their room? Sign me up. The grounds of this resort are lush and really enhance that tropical feel. I sometimes forgot that I was in Mexico.
This is the view from one of the most expensive over the water bungalos. It is beautiful but I can't justify the price tag. The rooms feel cramped and small. The bathroom on the other hand feels much bigger.
This is the same balcony from a little further back so you can appreciate the disadvantage of the black tarped breaks. Some of the romance is lost by their appreance not to mention the water is still not clear. Love the idea of the over the water bungalo but this could use some tweaking.
I am a fan of the swim up suite. One of my favorite things to do is to lay in or near the water on a hot day, read a good book, and drink a nice cold drink. This combines them all very nicely. If you get a little too warm just roll into the water and take a nice refreshing dip. You don't even have to dry off to get back to your book. I don't see many flaws in this idea.
El Dorado Royale:
This a very large and sprawling resort. So much so, they have golf cart stops (much like a bus stop) to help you get around with a timer that shows when the next cart will be by to pick you up. My guess would be that it wouldn't take you very long to get your step count for the day in at this resort. The grounds are extremely beautiful and have much to offer. That is a good thing since the beach is not the best and it would take a cart or two to get to it depending upon where you are located within the resort.
This waterfall is just a small example of the care and effort put into the grounds at El Dorado Royale. They have done some pretty clever things around the grounds to make them both beautiful and functional. I give them high marks for that.
One of the things I think this resort did right is their swim up suites. The pools for the swim up suites actually connect to something. If you look closely behind the hammock you will see a waterway that leads to a swim up bar. That waterway is actually part of the swim up suite network. So it is possible to step outside of your room, step into the water and swim to the bar. Now, try and beat that!
This resort has a variety of pools, waterways, and bars to help keep you cool and comfy.
I have seen quite a few swim up bars; however, this is the first time I have seen a bed at a swim up bar. Look closely under the thatched roof you will see a bed...right next to the swim up bar. That is a first for me, but, oddly I like it.
Excellence Riviera:
This resort was one of my favorites. If I were to name a theme for this resort it would be artful. The resort is dotted with sculptures, many of them are Mayan in nature, and water fountains. I found the resort very pleasing and though it is big it didn't feel like it was. They have some really nice options available to make your stay just a little bit extra special.
This gazebo, besides being beautiful and centrally located, makes a nice destination wedding venue as well. The resort is dotted with these nice little spots for such occasions.
This is what I call a romantic dinner. Can't beat the view and the location is not half bad either.
The resort has several locations like this one where the buildings are broken up by fountains, plants and sculptures. It give it a nice feel and keeps the vibe relaxed.
This is the location of one of their more relaxed places to eat. Everything seems to be woven with water, fountains, and plants. Very nice touches.
The Grand at Moon Palace:
This is another large resort made even larger by the fact that it sits next to two of its sister resorts. The three resorts combine to create one mega resort. The Grand sports a large water park. At the time of our visit, the water park was still under construction. The resort itself has only been open for a few months by the time we visited. Some of the grounds suffered because of the newness of the park, meaning it hadn't had the time to grow and fill in. It left areas of the resort feeling like it wasn't quite finished. Given time, this will be corrected. Because the resort was so new it was still having some growing pains. It would be interesting to return to see how things have smoothed out. This is very much a family oriented resort. The rooms have two double beds rather than two queens or even a king. King beds were hard to come by when we visited.
Parts of the resort were still newly planted and looked a little sparse while other areas were well grown. You can get a little bit of an idea of that in this picture.
The growth around the swim up suites was well on its way and helped provide a little more privacy from the walkways around the resort.
Some of the best pools were closer to the beach side of the resort. There was an adults only pool in the center of this resort that was quite lovely. Access to the beach was not as open as I would have hoped. It was almost like the beach was an after thought. It is a beautiful beach but there were only a couple of access points that I could find. The sister resorts seemed to have a more open approach to the beach.
The water park, though still under construction when we visited is going to be amazing by the time it is completed. For those staying at The Grand, the water park is included in your room fees. For the two sister resorts; however, they will be required to pay a park fee upon visiting.
The Royalton Riviera and The Hideaway:
This beautiful resort is actually two resorts in one. The Royalton Riviera and The Hideaway. The Hideaway is actually the adults only resort and the Royalton Riviera is a family friendly resort with a children's water park. How does this work? Very nicely actually! The family friendly part is on the opposite side of the resort from the adults only section. The main restaurants are towards the middle of the resort and works as a buffer. I like the lay out of this resort with all things pointing directly to the ocean and a beautiful beach.
Pictured here is the Royalton side of the resort with the children's water park. Designed for smaller children and families. In the middle you can see the Italian resatraunt.
The beach has its own Hideaway section reserved for the Hideaway guest and those that upgraded to the Diamond Club. Its easy to tell apart. The Royalton side has brown chair and brown towels. The Hideaway has blue chairs and towels. Pretty easy to find a lounge chair even when the resort was full.
The Royalton has this beautiful beach all to itself. At the time of our visit there were no other resorts around. It feels very much like a private beach even though all beaches in Mexico are public. Only downside is the seaweed. Stunning beach.
For a very modest $3.00 per person, you can purchase a wristband that will give you unlimited access to their ocean activities. The sailboat pictured here is available with a guide for the same price. We took the boat out several times (they have multiple boats). Also available are paddle boards and sea kayaks.
Each building has swim up suites. Though the pools are not connected, it is a fun way to take a quick swim and cool off before the next activity.
Secrets Akumal:
If I could live at a resort for an extended period of time, this would be the resort. Secrets has mastered the art of maximizing the ocean at all of their resorts. This resort takes the art of landscaping to a whole new level. Everywhere you turn there is a beautiful little nook for lounging, a stunning pool for swimming or soaking up the sun, or a beautiful path through a lush garden area. Every building has ocean views and swim up suites. Nicely designed resort.
The front lobby of the resort is open and offers grand views of the resort over infinity pools. It is a breathtaking view.
The resort is open to the beach and offers both pool and beach views that are quite charming.
Views from a typical room. Not too shabby.
Poolside lounges offer great views as well.
The ocean is divided up by usage. No need to worry about a paddle board running into you while you snorkel. Not that I am concerned about that. I just found it interesting.
Secrets Maroma Beach:
This beautiful resort claims to have the most beautiful beach in the world. That is quite the claim. I do love their beach and I loved swimming in their ocean but to be quite honest, I'm not sure it is the most beautiful. It has beautiful white powder sands and it is quite open so I don't have any complaints on that front. I enjoy the way Secrets sets up their resorts. Again, all of the buildings have ocean views and the resort is wide open to the beach. The grounds are open and inviting with some pretty fun places to hang out or enjoy a game or two.
Sunrise at Maroma Beach is particularly beautiful.
Plenty of lounge chairs to go around both on the beach and poolside. The grounds are lovely.
How about a sunset swim in your swim up suite? Looks pretty nice don't you think?
With all of the buildings angled towards the water, this is the kind of view you can enjoy each morning. Not a hard way to spend your time.
Secrets Capri:
This resort is a smaller resort giving it an intimate feel. Like the other Secrets resorts the buildings all angle towards the beach and the resort is very open to the beach. The resort is beautifu with a little bit of a Mediterranean feel to it but the rooms could use an update. The common areas are beautiful and well designed with some fun touches that brought a smile to my face. For the right person, this is a hidden jewel of a resort.
The grounds are not a lush as some of the other resorts; however, they are very well maintained and groomed. I like the open feel of the resort and bright happy colors.
This happy gazebo would make an excellent location for a destination wedding. If the beach is more to your liking, they also have a beach location for weddings as well. The smaller resort would give a more intimate feel to the wedding as well.
I love these cabanas. I know every resort has them but I love the flavor they add to a resort and the options they give to being out in the sun without being in the sun. Fresh air, sunshine, and waves crashing make me very happy!
The beach is nice and the resort does open up to the beach giving this smaller resort a intimate feel. Plenty of room for everyone at both the pool and the beach.
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