Tulum was a pre-Columbian, walled Mayan city that is located on a cliff on the Yucatán Peninsula…read moreoverlooking the Caribbean Sea. It was inhabited from the 13th to 15th centuries and played an important role in defense and trade. My husband and I toured the Tulum ruins with a tour guide. The site was walkable, although the weather was very sunny and hot. We saw the structures El Castillo, a castle overlooking the beautiful shore; the Temple of the Frescoes, which has wall murals; the Temple of the Descending God; Casa del Chultun; and many others. The ruins were roped off, so we could see them only from a distance and not touch them, but they still looked impressive and interesting. We also enjoyed seeing wildlife such as iguanas. We have visited other Mayan ruins in Mexico and in Belize, and in comparison, I do recommend visiting Tulum.

Our 2nd time to Tulum Ruins was great! We joined a tour this time and enjoyed it. Our guide was…read moreknowledgeable and very accommodating when questioned. We went on a March weekend and was surprised it was not crowded which was great. I would love to come back during sunset next time - the dramatic scenery, combining ancient ruins with a beautiful beach and the ocean view, will definitely be worth it!

Rio Secreto was an amazing experience!…read more I went to Cancun for a girls' trip, and honestly, I was very nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I tend to get anxious about new experiences, but I always try to push myself--knowing I'll be happy I did afterward. When you arrive, check-in takes place in a hidden, lush area with benches. A short video plays so you can get an idea of what Rio Secreto is all about. After that, you check in, sign your waivers, and meet your guide for the day. We totally lucked out--our guide, George, was incredible! The guide makes all the difference. George was full of life, personality, and knowledge. He truly immersed us in the caves and shared so much about Mayan culture. I can't say enough nice things about him! Your guide then takes you by van to the Rio Secreto caves, about a 15-minute drive on an unpaved, natural, and bumpy road. I don't get carsick, but if you're prone to it, you may want to take something beforehand. The ride itself is scenic and surrounded by lush greenery. Once you arrive, you'll find lockers, showers, bathrooms, and seating areas. Be prepared to remove all jewelry, as it's not allowed in the caves--the water must remain pure. You'll take a quick shower before putting on your wetsuit and water shoes (they provide them, or you can bring your own). You'll also wear a helmet with a light. The facility is extremely clean and well-maintained. I was genuinely impressed by how often they sanitized the equipment, floors, and bathrooms. Once you're geared up, you take about a 10-minute walk to the caves. Before entering, you'll participate in a beautiful Mayan ceremony meant to cleanse your spirit--and take a quick group photo. Important tip: You cannot bring your cell phone! Let it go and just enjoy the moment. A photographer will take pictures throughout the tour, and trust me, it's worth it. Walking and swimming through the caves while listening to George share stories about the Mayans, the legends, and the discovery of Rio Secreto was truly magical. The water is cool at first, but you get used to it quickly. Floating through the crystal-clear water surrounded by stunning cave formations took my breath away. After the tour, you're treated to a delicious meal--including handmade tortillas! An amazing day and an unforgettable experience. Highly recommend Rio Secreto!

My first time in Cancun. I heard many great things about Rio Secreto had a wonderful time …read more.. Highly recommended our guide was Ricardo he did great job explaining everything very friendly and informative. Thank you Ricardo

**A Day of Sun and Discovery: Chichen Itza Adventure, local lunch buffet, and cenote visit**…read more I recently had the opportunity to visit the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, and I must say, it was an unforgettable experience! Despite the scorching heat, our group had an absolute blast exploring this incredible site. **The Weather: A Sizzling Challenge** Let's get the obvious out of the way - it was HOT. Like, "I-can't-even-wear-my-sunglasses-because-their-frames-are-melting" hot. The sun beats down relentlessly, making every step feel like a marathon. But, as they say, "no pain, no gain" - and we were determined to make the most of our day. **The Ruins: A Treasure Trove of History** As we ventured deeper into the site, our eyes widened in awe at the sheer scale and grandeur of the ancient structures. The Pyramid of Kukulkan (El Castillo) stole the show, its intricate carvings and stairways a testament to the ingenuity of the Mayans. The Temple of Warriors, with its 9 pillars, was another highlight - each one adorned with symbolic carvings that told stories of battles and mythological creatures. **Cenote** We were also lucky enough to visit a local cenote and were thoroughly impressed. Despite the short visit, the experience was refreshing and rejuvenating. (about an hour 1/2 or so) The water was crystal clear and a perfect temperature - a welcome respite from the hot Cancun sun. The calm and peaceful atmosphere made it easy to unwind and relax. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to cool off or experience the natural beauty of Cancun, I highly recommend checking out one of these local cenotes. Don't expect to spend hours exploring, but do expect to leave feeling refreshed and invigorated. **Tips and Takeaways** * Bring sunscreen. Like, a lot of sunscreen. * Bring a canteen filled with Ice and water * Wear comfortable shoes - you'll be doing a lot of walking. * Take breaks in shaded areas or under umbrellas to avoid heat exhaustion. * Don't miss the acoustics demonstration at El Castillo - it's an impressive display! * Be prepared for crowds and long lines during peak season. * Consider booking a guided tour to get a deeper understanding of the site's history and significance. Thank you NOE and team!

Our tour guides, Miguel & Carmona were very helpful and knowledgeable. The deluxe tour package to…read moreChichen Itza and the cenote was well worth it. I was truly impressed with everything they planned for us.

If you're looking for a truly unique dining experience in Playa del Carmen, Alux is worth the…read moresplurge. Dining inside a beautiful cave and cenote creates an atmosphere unlike anywhere else we've ever been. We started with the shrimp appetizer and beef carpaccio, followed by the steak tacos, beef tenderloin, and the chef's beef special. Every dish was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. We also enjoyed dessert and drinks, which were the perfect finish to the evening. The highlight, beyond the incredible setting, was the service. Obi and Beto took exceptional care of us all night and made the experience feel special from start to finish. We also took the cenote tour, which added another layer to an already memorable evening. The bill came to about $400 for three people, including appetizers, entrees, dessert, drinks, and a soda, so it's definitely a special-occasion restaurant. But between the food, service, and unforgettable cave setting, we felt it was money well spent.

2.5 stars You're…read moreabsolutely paying for the experience and atmosphere here. Walking through the cave, the lighting, the underground wine cellar where you pick your own bottle -- it's undeniably impressive and makes for great photos. For a birthday dinner or special occasion, I understand the appeal. That said, once the novelty wears off, the food and overall experience just didn't justify the massive bill at the end. Nothing was bad, but nothing really stood out as unforgettable either. The oysters were fresh, the drinks were solid, and a few dishes looked better than they tasted. It felt more like a place designed for the "wow" factor than for truly exceptional dining. Service was fine, but the pacing and attention didn't match the luxury pricing. In an area like Playa del Carmen where there are SO many amazing restaurants with incredible food, drinks, and atmosphere for a fraction of the cost, this one just felt hard to justify. Glad we experienced it once for a friend's birthday, but it's probably not somewhere we'd return. Great cave. Great photos. Average value.

We just returned from an 8-day, 7-night stay in an Excellence Club Ocean View Swim-Up suite, and I…read morecan confidently say we will never book another room type again. The Excellence Club experience is absolutely worth it and made our vacation feel even more special. What keeps us coming back to Excellence Riviera Cancun isn't just the beautiful resort, comfortable rooms, or incredible food, it's the people. The staff genuinely treats you like family and makes you feel cared for from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave. We made it to every restaurant during our stay, and the dining exceeded our expectations. Magna's tomahawk steak was phenomenal, but Basmati completely stole our hearts. It was hands down our favorite restaurant, and the food was a 15/10. We were talking about going back before we had even finished our meal. The service is what truly sets this resort apart. Amable went above and beyond every single day. She quickly learned who we were, remembered what we liked, and always took the time to chat with us and make us feel special. By the end of the trip, she felt like family. Saying goodbye was incredibly emotional. She gave me the biggest hug before we left and told us she couldn't wait to see us again in January. She truly made our vacation unforgettable. Joel was another standout. We bonded over our love of reading, but what impressed us most was the care he put into making each day special. Every morning, our daybed was perfectly prepared before we even arrived, with towels laid out and everything ready for us to relax. He remembered that we were celebrating our anniversary, and he and Raul surprised us with the sweetest towel art in our room to celebrate. After noticing how much I loved fresh coconuts, Joel started bringing one to me every afternoon without me even asking. It's those thoughtful little touches that turn a great vacation into an unforgettable one. Excellence Riviera Cancun continues to set the standard for what an all-inclusive resort should be. Between the exceptional staff, delicious food, beautiful accommodations, and the added benefits of Excellence Club, it's become our favorite place to vacation. The biggest compliment we can give is that we were already planning our next trip before this one ended. We'll be back in January, and I'm sure many more times after that. Thank you to everyone at ERC for another unforgettable stay. We already can't wait to come home.

This is simply my favorite place in the world. Every single staff member you interact with is…read moreincredibly kind and helpful. They are very accommodating, and as a vegetarian will always make sure you have amazing food-- they have plant based menus too. The options decreased from last year but it's still great to have any options. This resort is gorgeous and managed well, and has lots of fun activities. The programming team does an incredible job.

This place has it all. Seriously…read more Incredible stay all around. The service is truly top tier. The staff are attentive, friendly, and always make you feel taken care of without it feeling forced or over the top. The entire resort has a luxury feel from the moment you arrive. Everything is beautiful, calm, and extremely well maintained. The pools and beach are great, and the whole place just feels polished and relaxing. The rooms are especially impressive. Spacious, elegant, and spotless, with a very high end feel that makes it easy to unwind and feel comfortable right away. Overall, it was an amazing experience and easily one of the nicest resorts I've stayed at. Would absolutely come back and highly recommend it.

One of the most amazing experiences of my life! The beach was beautiful lots of activities for…read morekids. Grand class was adults only and absolutely stunning but walking distance from the kids friendly ambassador. There was transportation to get anywhere in the resort. Zen the more jungle focused hotel was Also beautiful. All inclusive 24 hour room service unlimited food and drinks and refillable mini bar. Cocina de autor which is a Michelin star restaurant was amazing , the wine pairing is extra but it's worth it. Piaf has great French food , Frida , Luca , sen Lin and Chaka are kid friendly I missed Chaka but the other three are really excellent. The bistro at grand class is great and azule is a great more casual buffet. There multiple bars the pools and the beach which is beautiful have food and drink service. Some activities are included and the spa is beautiful. My suite was over 1000 square feet with a plunge pool on my balcony. Getting chairs early is key at the pool and the beach. There are bars a coffee shop multiple boutiques gyms and activities. One of my favorite was catch of the day on the beach for lunch . There is a kids and teens club and a kids spa. Beautiful place for a wedding, I saw multiple during my stay. The food is really good! They have a mini golf course most of the year. There is night security and the resort is gated. They have mocktails as well as cocktails. The staff is really friendly. Tipping is optional but tipping in American money is recommended it will get charged to your card. There are three pools not including the spa. One at the grand class ( adult only) , zen, and the ambassador. The ambassador and grand class are walking distance from each other. This resort attracts more than Americans. It's beautiful and a world class resort.

This all-inclusive adults-only resort is top-notch. We did book during hurricane season, so the…read morecost was cheaper than average peak summer prices. However, despite the cloudiness here and there, we had sunny days! The light rain was during our sleep time and truly brought a great breeze to the evenings and mornings! The service, food, and activities were planned for relaxation, good health, and fun! The staff were very sweet and accommodating; all are Spanish and English speakers, so there is no language barrier. The staff learn your name, are always friendly, and continuously check on you for whatever your in need of. It doesn't matter if your lounging by the bar or jist passing them by along a walk way. The food was phenomenal. Apart from the average buffet, they had an assortment of restaurants and food that would meet anyone's needs. They are careful to ask about allergens at every host and server experience. The activities included exercises, fun, and entertainment ranging from fire shows and singing to dance performances. The rooms were beautiful and spacious! They have a collection of wildlife who live on property and leta just say adds a special charms as you walk along the way. Oh don't let me forget there is a continuous spa music playing throughout the resort too. You are meant to relax and they've figured out just how to do it. I am excited to rebook and return. If you have yet to book a trip to Cancun or an all-inclusive adults-only experience, this is your sign to book it at the Valentin Imperial Maya!

My wife and I travel a lot, and I must say this place is definitely at the top of our list. She's a…read moretravel agent, and I travel around with her, trying the resorts so she can recommend them to her customers. From the time we got here, with the ease of the check-in, to the rooms, the food, the amenities, and just the overall service, this place is run like a well-oiled machine! This is an older resort that still has the older Mexican Hacienda feel, with all of the modern upgrades and additions. You can tell they've put a lot of work into keeping this resort as authentic as possible. There was clearly a lot of thought put into every change and upgrade that was made to this resort. Our room was a corner suite at the end of the resort overlooking the ocean, the Dunas Suites. We thoroughly enjoyed getting up every morning to watch the sunrise, drink our coffee, and start the day! We had our own private pool, which was great to come back to and just soak and talk at the end of each day. The room and accommodations were absolutely top-notch! The food was absolutely amazing! We typically don't do the buffet, but we tried it, and it was the nicest buffet we have ever been to. We tried a variety of the different restaurants, and they were all absolutely amazing! For anyone that is a foodie, this is probably the best food I've ever had at an all-inclusive resort. They have three pools here: the Silver, which is a smaller pool in more of a natural setting; the Golden Pool, which has a lazy river and goes from Building 6 to 8; and then the main pool, which is one of the largest pools we've ever seen at a resort. It's HUGE! What I liked about it is they had two different bars there, and they have rafts available, which is super convenient as we usually bring our own. And yes, they have a lot of high-end booze and make some really good drinks at the pool bars! Each night after dinner, we would end up at the Plaza España! On our way, we would stop and get a churro at the churro cart, which I highly recommend, and then we would finish with a few drinks from the La Plaza Bar and live entertainment, which was usually a DJ or a live band! The later it got, the livelier it became, as the dance floor was a pretty hot attraction! A must-stop is Café Sisal, which offers hot and cold coffee drinks, fruit drinks, a variety of different sandwiches and pastries, and of course, their ice cream! This is a big resort, and if you are staying toward the oceanside, I would strongly recommend utilizing the golf cart services. We would at certain times, but a lot of the time we found a shortcut by the big pool that cut the walk in half. They have so much to offer, with a variety of different daily activities. Overall, this place is absolutely amazing, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for an all-inclusive resort in Riviera Maya.

NOTE: this is now Hyatt Vivid resort…read more junior suite room was a nice big size that still included two person jetted tub. fan in bathroom which is nice. all-inclusive resort and we tried these restaurants Dolma, Asiana, and the Pelicanos. all were really good especially the asian place. the coffee shop is 6:00-11:00 amazing hours. everyone is very nice. umbrellas are in closets which will well needed for the humid showers.

We had a really good time at this adults-only resort. There are plenty of activities where you can…read morebe busy or choose to relax and enjoy your time. I was not approached by anyone offering to sell me anything or attend presentations. Staff were super friendly and helpful during our stay. There's a main pool and a quiet pool. So you have an option where you want to be based on your interest. Night shows were great with some fantastic performers. I wish that there was more Mexican themed shows or music but I guess they try to accommodate that the majority of guests were from Canada and USA. Some of the restaurants rotate being open for dinner. Your best bet is to make reservations ahead of time. You can always show up but might have to wait depending on the time. Overall food was good. Drinks were ok but as a social drinker, I wasn't impressed with my 1-2 drinks/day during my stay. I think I had one drink that I found really good. Beach area is not private and you might have people approach you to sell you stuff or services. A polite "no, thank you" works great. Location and proximity to 5th Avenue made it a great place to explore the area. Although filled with tourists, you also get some local interactions. I would come back to this resort in the future.

Stop reading and BOOK THIS RESORT RIGHT NOW!!!! The first…read morequestion I always ask myself when looking at resorts online is: I wonder if it really looks like the pictures!? Yes. El Dorado Maroma lives up to all of the wonderful pictures you can find online. Just like the other Karisma resorts it is stunning! Definitely happy we booked and had a chance to stay at another great luxury gourmet inclusive. I'm giving this resort 5 stars as follows: *Beach - the beach is beautiful. Water is clear and there wasn't a lot of seaweed nor was it rocky like other resorts in riviera maya. There's even a little private island not too far off shore that you can kayak or swim up to. Plenty of lounge chairs and cabanas available. *Pool - Clean and well maintained. We spent a lot of time at the smaller pool with swim up Bar 24. The bartender Antonio was so friendly and made a cocktail that he called "Antonio's Especial" that my husband enjoyed. If you want to take a break from swimming there's a vendor with various ceramic items you can paint. At night you can purchase cigars and enjoy the live entertainment. The main pool has fun activities during the day and a few cabanas and lounge chairs. *Staff - Lovely staff. Very friendly and courteous. *Food - It's a Gourmet Inclusive and the food met our expectations. Consistent with the other Karisma resorts. My favorite dinner was at Mio Italian Restaurant. So, just make sure you book El Dorado Maroma!

This place is NOT LGBTQ friendly. My friend was called a slur by a HOTEL EMPLOYEE. He was filming…read morethe sunset and was able to capture the employee saying it to him on camera. When my friend confronted him and asked if it was him in the video, he agreed but then denied he called him a slur. The hotel only gave my friend half off his massage and transportation to the hotel. For the amount of money we spent at this place, this is RIDICULOUS. The managers and employees are all complicit and allow this horrible behavior to happen. They are extremely unprofessional and the massage therapists also offer happy endings in their services, saying they work off of commission. Este lugar NO es amigable con la comunidad LGBTQ+. Un empleado del hotel insultó a mi amigo con un término despectivo. Mi amigo estaba filmando la puesta de sol y logró grabar al empleado diciéndole el insulto. Cuando mi amigo lo confrontó y le preguntó si era él quien aparecía en el video, lo admitió, pero luego negó haberlo insultado. El hotel solo le ofreció a mi amigo un 50% de descuento en su masaje y el transporte al hotel. Por la cantidad de dinero que gastamos en este lugar, esto es RIDÍCULO. Los gerentes y empleados son cómplices y permiten que ocurra este comportamiento horrible. Son extremadamente poco profesionales y las masajistas también ofrecen servicios sexuales, diciendo que trabajan a comisión.

Grand Moon Palace is a good option for a short all inclusive stay in Cancun for families with young…read morekids. The kids enjoyed the water park and the bounce house room. The beach was filled with red algae with we were there so we only spent a very short time there. I suggest to book dinner reservations on the first day as the restaurants can fill up quickly during the summer. The buffet is decent, and our group loved the taco station in the morning with fresh made tacos. Staff was super friendly and facilities were clean.

Ok so this isn't a bad resort however it is a little confusing to navigate - there are multiple…read morepools and multiple restaurants acresso three resorts that are all the same hotel. They have golf carts that take you from building g to building and a shuttle bus from hotel lobby to hotel lobby . I don't like how people who pay less for different t hotels other than the grand can come to the grand and swim in the pools etc . Why pay extra ? The drinks don't taste like the other hotels in the area - the pina colodas don't have flavor nor does any of the blended drinks . The swim up bars have like one bartended and the service is slow compared to Splash - Natura - paradises and planet Holley wood . The grounds are secluded by trees so doesn't have an open fell where everyone congregates -