Cancun's Hotel Zone or Zona Hotelera is where most tourists stay if they want to be at beautiful beaches.
There are so many hotels/resorts, but there are also boutique hotels. There are some bug shopping malls and entertainment areas, especially the La Isla Paradise Experience, which is a shopping mall and entertainment zone. There are also small restaurants (I highly recommend "La Tia Juana"), which are reasonably priced, like 400 pesos for 4 adults (without alcohol).
The beaches on the east side facing the Caribbean Sea are beautifully maintained. There was a huge seaweed problem during the summer of 2022 , but in colder temperatures like in Dec 2022, they are hardly there.
Buses are frequent (every 1-2 mins) and cost $12 pesos/person, which is approximately C$1. They drive extremely fast! 5-7 seconds before arriving at a bus stop, they will open the doors (which take a few secs to open) to save time. They kind of expect you to get off/on as quickly as possible. If only transit systems in Canada/USA were that cheap and efficient!
There is a "Luxury Avenue Boutique Mall" which has around 200 luxury brands on sale.
There is a large supermarket and pharmacy called Soriana Super Kukulcan Plaza, which has groceries at good prices.
There are several convenience stores like Oxxo, Circle K, and 7-Eleven. You can buy SIM cards there.
There is 4G and LTE mobile service, but it can be extremely spotty. If you can get reception, just move 10 feet away, and you might get reception!
Review 2022-137 read more