My friends and I recently had the misfortune of dining at Chambao Cancun, and I must say it was a truly disappointing experience. It's taken me a couple days to come down from my anger to even write this review. From the moment we arrived, the sweltering heat made the entire dining area unbearable, leaving us drenched in sweat throughout the entire meal. It was incredibly uncomfortable and not at all what one expects when dining out. They did move our table but it was still hot. We knew it was a semi outdoor experience but we had been to a restaurant the day before where it was comfortable.
Our group went to Chambao for my friend's birthday as she had attended in 2022 and raved about the food, experience, and service. When our waiter greeted us, he asked if we wanted birthday shots. Of course we said YES and assumed they were free as he suggested Lemon Drops. Needless to say, we were wrong... I specifically asked for a shot with dark liquor. They asked me 3 separate times and took over an hour to deliver 1 shot. Our other drinks took an eternity to arrive, and even simple orders seemed to be lost in a black hole. We watched as other tables were served before us, despite arriving later. The wait staff appeared indifferent and failed to provide any explanation or apology for the delay.
To add insult to injury, we were overcharged for items we never even received. They charged us $22 USD EACH for 8 bottles of water! When we brought this to the attention of the staff, they acted as if it was our fault, showing no remorse. We eventually got them to lower the total to 4 bottles because it was no way we had 8 bottles. Even still $88 USD for bottled water is utterly ridiculous. Then, the checks were a mess! There was food on my check that I was told was sold out, drinks we didn't order, and people's orders mixed up. Every time they went to "fix" our check, the staff was gone for 20 minutes or more leaving us to waste more of our vacation time.
If that wasn't enough, towards the end of our meal, we were shocked to find ourselves being chased out of the restaurant, as if we were attempting to dine and dash. The issue was with them not accepting a Discover card but that was not told to us at the table. It was a humiliating and entirely false accusation, leaving us feeling disrespected and deeply offended.
Overall, my experience at Chambao Cancun was nothing short of a disaster. The scorching heat, excruciatingly long wait times, subpar food, and accusatory treatment make it impossible for me to recommend this establishment to anyone. The decor, ambiance, entertainment are top tier but so are the prices to accommodate all of that. Our experience at Chambao did not live up to the hype nor did it equate to the amount of money spent and wasted 4 hours of our long awaited otherwise stress free vacation. At their price point, we needed and more importantly we DESERVED better. Especially being there to celebrate our friend's birthday. read more