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Guest Reviews: 14 comments found for this hotel: 11 :: 3

This year 2006, we have spend 15 days in the 5 stars Hotel Paradisus Riviera (of The Melia chain) - also member of the respectable --The Leading Hotel of the World--. The personal was very friendly and paid a lot of attention to our whishes. The decoration of the Hotel - especially by night - with all the lights was just spectacular. Unfortunately, we have also experienced several serious concerns. Security was not optimum, even in the rooms, and thefts seems to be relatively frequent. General speaking, the mix of various level of services (standard, corporate and royal services) are not appropriate, as they are competing each other, on the same infrastructure. It is simply not possible to gather in the same hotel the mass tourism and the personalized way of life. So we just would like to mention that a chain of hotel will never be or should probably never be a respectable member of the --Leading Hotel of the World--. Standardization and personalization cannot be good friends!
Patrice Müller, sarapatrice@hotmail.com, 2006-10-04

Just returned from Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We stayed from 25 Aug to 1 Sep 2005 and picked Royal Service. The staff was almost overly attentive and knew our names by the second day. We had absolutely no problems reserving a palapa by the adults-only (RS) pool. In fact, the attendant would come each day and ask if we wanted to keep it for the next. The scented pillows in the room were wild. They would bring a new pair but leave the old. By the end of the stay we had 11 pillows on our bed. The only fault we could find - mentioned on other rating boards and by guests during our stay - was the --private transportation-- to and from the airport. They can't seem to get their act together on this one. Reassured the evening before our departure that we would have private transportation, we were hustled out in the driving rain to a van full of people from other hotels heading to the airport.
Gene, e-mail withheld, 2005-09-06

We loved the Paradisus Riviera hotel! We were there from Mar11-18/05. The resort itself was spectacular! The hotel, everything from the lobby to the pool area, is very impressive and beautiful. The rooms are spacious w/ marble floors, large bathrooms, sitting room area with a patio and king sized bed. I felt like a queen! The service was excellent. We got to know some of the servers that week and they were all very nice, professional and helpful. You really felt like they cared about your holiday. I heard from previous reviews that people complained about the temperature of the pool and the sea grass in the sea. The pool was cold, however on the hot days it was quite refreshing. It is a very large and impressively beautiful pool with a fountain and tiled chairs for sunbathing. The sea was clear, blue and warm and did have a bit of sea grass. The sea grass was cleared every morning off the beach by a tractor so it didn't build up. The beach was beautiful and the sand was so white and soft. The only complaint other couples might have is that there was no nightlife except the shows. The pub/bar was dead. One night the lights weren't even on. Ha ha. The resort lobby bar was lit up with lanterns and that's where most people had drinks at night. It had a great atmosphere for a few drinks after or before dinner. Which leads me to the food! It was awesome! The all-you-can-eat buffets aren't good for the waistline but great for an all-inclusive! The 5 restaurants were great. My favorite was the French and the Japanese. The reservations for dinner at night were a bit of a pain since you could only reserve from 9am-4pm.Other guests lined up at 9am on the dot to reserve so you had to be punctual in reserving since space was limited. If you didn't have reservations the regular restaurant was still great. There were tons of kids. Apparently ages 7-under are free. It was great for families. There were lots for the kids to do. Including meet knew friends! Ourselves, we don't have children but we didn't find it annoying. It was fun seeing them have a great time. Which in my opinion is better than drunken 18 year olds! Ha ha. One other thing, we woke up early every morning (between 6-7am) and we'd reserve our beach chairs/huts then since they filled up fast. I noticed other people would --cheat-- by leaving their towels and books out all night. Including the beautiful beach huts with beds. The beds were so hard to get! People would --monopolize-- the area's all week. We even witnessed family’s fight over them! All areas around the pool were beautiful though. Overall I give the Paradisus a 10/10 for service. A 10/10 for the hotel/resort itself. The beach and water a 9/10. The pool a 9/10 (for temp). The room a 10/10. The spa 8/10. If you decide to go on a tour we highly recommend Xelha and Tulum. They were both amazing and wonderful! Hope this review helps! I hear this resort is one of the best! If you don't like kids, pick an adults-only resort. Thanks!
Kristy, e-mail withheld, 2005-03-25

Paradisus Riviera Cancun was terrific! My kids were so happy there. To get girls hair done is a little expensive. The staff is incredible; you couldn't meet people ever so nice! The kids club was just amazing for kids. The leader of the club Fernando is the most wonderful person! He just wants your kids to have the best time of there life! Lots of fun things to do! The food was great! They had a Japanese, Italian, French, Mexican, surf and Turf, and the buffet! I tried everyone except the Japanese, which I heard was okay. The waves at night were amazing. The pool bar was great. They have tons of umbrellas for you to sit under. Here's just a little tip for you, there is only 6 or 7 huts on the whole resort. If you want one you better wake up at 6am and race down and put some stuff under the hut. It will be saved for you. People race every morning for them, some people even go at 5:30am. There are showers down near the beach. The one thing about the ocean is that it has a lot of seaweed. Which is not a problem. There is an adult's only pool, which has huts also. Though many pools. They have staff driving around in little cars that you can take a ride form your hotel down to the beach or if you would like a tour! The hotel is spotless! The rooms are fantastic! Marble floors, a safe. Balconies are nice. The mini fridge is nice and is always restocked! This hotel was the best place I have ever been too! I hope you will take my advice and stay here because you will not regret it! I would be back there in a second!
Sydney Sallsin, e-mail withheld, 2005-03-06

Paradisus Riviera Cancun was a beautiful hotel with first class staff. The major inconvenience were the four power outages, which caused us to miss our reservations at L'hermitage, and eat dinner in the 'dark' at 'Mexican night'. It seemed as if the hotel was opened for business before it passed inspection! One evening when I was taking a shower the water stopped! It finally came on 45 minutes later followed by brown sludge! I called the royal service desk, they had a hard time understanding English-never called me back. I must say, I'll stay at the 'Palace Hotels' and I could not recommend the Riviera Cancun.
Timothy R. Toole, e-mail withheld, 2004-09-24

We just returned from our honeymoon at the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. We had a terrific time. It is truly a beautiful resort with great food, great service and friendly people. The rooms are very clean and lovely. There were many things to do during the day. The beach at the resort was not the greatest due to the reef. There was lots of seaweed and the water was murky. This was the one disappointment that we had. If you are vacationing for pure relaxation then this is the place for you because there isn't much in terms of --nightlife--. If you are in the mood to party then Cancun is the place to go. It is only a 20-minute ride from the resort. We would of liked hotel shuttle service to and from Cancun, but the hotel does not offer this. A taxi ride into Cancun costs $25, one way. We did take a couple of the day tours offered through the resort at an additional charge. Xel-Ha and Tulum are worth the money. Amazing sites to see and the best snorkeling ever! All in all, the Paradisus Riviera was a perfect choice for our honeymoon destination. It deserves its 5 star rating!
Nancy and Robert, e-mail withheld, 2004-07-13

This was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had. And the Paradisus Riviera Cancun is very beautiful. But it is far from Cancun nightlife and reservations for dinner every night is not an easy process. But I would definitely return for the relaxation and pampering.
Jennifer Mays, e-mail withheld, 2004-07-09

If you don't want to sit around and drink, the Paradisus Riviera Cancun is not the place for you. The --entertainment-- in the evening is awful....bad lip synching to American tunes. All there is to do is to sit in the lobby and drink. Also, the reservation system for dinner is awful. There is no spontaneity, you have to plan three days in advance, and sometimes, they have no reservations until 9:30-10:00 at night. We had a constant stream of ants in our room. We will not be returning here.
Nadine Eder, e-mail withheld, 2004-04-13

Beautiful trip! Paradisus Riviera Cancun is one of the best hotels I’ve ever been in, I don’t know why its 5 stars and no GT but who cares, friendly service, very good food, very nice rooms, etc. I was only five days but those were the best vacations in my life. The only --bad-- thing is that it’s not close to Cancun downtown but as I said when you are in a hotel like this you don’t need to go out of it.
Francisco, e-mail withheld, 2004-04-09

Loved Paradisus Riviera Cancun, gorgeous site and beautiful rooms, friendly and helpful service. Only 1 complaint, it is a child friendly hotel, but reservations for dinner only start at 6:30 pm, too late for kids, also have to stand in line 2 days before to get a reservation at one of the restaurants. Otherwise, a beautiful vacation.
Dianne Erdos-Rush, dijer@sympatico.ca, 2004-01-26

I wisked my husband away for an early anniversary celebration. He didnt know many details of the trip. He was completely exhilarated by my plans and my choice of resorts. In fact he loved it so much he has already said we will definetely go back to the Paradisus Riviera Cancun. Make sure you are diligent about your room selection. Ask nicely for a third floor room and you will most likely have a great view. We had a corner room with a jacuzzi. It was well worth the extra money. Especially when it started to rain, we took cover under our private terrace and ran the hot water and just listened to the waves roll in. The service was great and the people were fabulous. It was exactly how Paradise should be. There was only one thing I would change... I would have made our trip longer. There is so much to see and do and not enough time. Dont forget to spend a day or two doing nothing. Those are the best days. My best advice is to have a game plan but then rip it up and see where life takes you and dont forget to smile. That is universal! Enjoy your trip. Tell everyone I said --Hola--.... I love that word.
Shelly, just4kicks@cinci.rr.com, 2003-02-20

I loved Paradisus Riviera Cancun, it was the best place ever!!! I met a ton of people and loved everything about. I wanted to stay there forever. Though that 7 days seemed like an eternity of paradise. I love that place and still wish i was back there everyday. Once you get there you wont want to leave!!!
Meagan, msham19@yahoo.com, 2002-11-07

This is definitely the best vacation we have ever had. The all inclusive package at Paradisus Riviera Cancun was great because we got to eat and drink (even alcoholic drinks) as much as we want at ALL the different restaurants they offered (which is five). However, if you are looking for a REALLY wild resort, this probably wont be the one for you seeing as it is not actually in Cancun and close by. The people there were so friendly and always went out of their way to help you. We recommend taking the shopping tour (one day), go to tulum (half a day) and go to xel-ha for one full day... We only had one problem and that was mosquitoes and burning. Make sure you bring bug repelent, a cream that gets rid of itchiness and definitely wear a lot of sunscreen. I am not kidding, I have never been burnt in my life until this vacation.
Samantha, e-mail withheld, 2002-11-04

Paradisus Riviera Cancun is TOP NOTCH! The service was wonderful!
Jennifer, jenntheten@hotmail.com, 2002-10-12

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