Enjoy a All-Inclusive Hotel Stay at Palmar Beach Resort & Spa in Riviera Maya, MX. Just steps from white-sand beaches!

Amazing hotel!! The hotel exceeded our expectations! The room was clean, modern, and very comfortable. The staff was friendly, helpful, and always available. Breakfast was delicious with a wide variety of options, served in a lovely setting. Great location – close to the city center and public transport. We would definitely stay here again! Also the animators were amazing – super friendly, energetic, and made every activity fun. They really made our stay special! Especially animator Spider

Plenty of good, some not so good, be careful if a swimmable beach is your priority So a friend and I were looking for a short (5 night) Cancun getaway, went to this place on a deal with a time share presentation. Some context. This property was recently bought by Tafar, and when we were there they were doing a "soft reopening." The resort was only at about 20 percent occupancy. This was a little weird at first, but we got used to it by the second day. The benefits are that you don't have any of the usual crowd-based annoyances you experience at an all-inclusive. There were so, so many empty pool chairs! None of the 7 am reservation nonsense. No reservations were needed for dinner. There wasn't a lot of nickel-and-diming, either. Sun beds were free and open for anyone to use. Room service was free. The resort was well-staffed, too, with plenty of people to help. A word about the staff. They were extremely friendly and well-trained, and ready to help with any reasonable request. Javier in the beach restaurant was a particular standout. Tip well and in pesos. We left around 100 pesos in the restaurants after meals, 100 a day for the housekeeper, and tipped 20 per drink at the bars. These are not huge tips when you convert to dollars, but the staff really appreciates them. The entertainment staff was fairly small and didn't get a lot of takers for some activities during the day, but they were around and they tried. There wasn't a lot going on at night. The highlight for us was karaoke night in the bar, which was really fun, and could have gone on at least another hour. There were two restaurants open each night, which was plenty given the occupancy. If you're there for at least 4-5 nights, you'll get to try all of them. All of the food was extremely good. The dinner restaurants had interesting menus and everything was well-presented, served hot, and was a good experience. We did NOT go to the Michelin restaurant as that was extra (about $280 per person for a set menu). For breakfast and lunch there was a kind of "main" restaurant open near the beach. There were buffet items at this restaurant, but it's not the traditional all-inclusive buffet. You can get bagels or fruit for breakfast, but mostly you order off the menu. The main pools were super nice -- a great temperature, clean, and HUGE. They snake around corners and under walking bridges and just keep going. They main pool we sat by (which had some "premium" sunbeds we were allowed to use anyway had a swim-up bar. There's also a swim up bar at the adult-only pool. There's a separate kids' pool with a small waterslide on the other end of the property, near a pizza shack that served terrific pizza. The beach was a disappointment, as one of the reasons I wanted to come to the Caribbean was the beach. It was narrow and just covered with seaweed, and the hotel didn't seem to take any abatement actions. We did wade in, and the bottom was super rocky -- and I was wearing snorkel booties. For that reason, I won't stay in this area again. I prefer the much nicer beaches in the hotel zone. This hotel labels itself as 5-star, but it's... not. There are a lot of little details that just need work. Apparently they are updating the rooms (we saw a refurnished one on the time share tour) and when that's done, they will be much nicer. There's nothing really wrong with the rooms, they just look dated, and not very well maintained. Most of the bathroom counter is hogged up with huge, unnecessary bowl sinks. The WC has a lightweight door that's frosted and just not... very private. I don't know why hotel designers think that even people sleeping together want to hear their partner poop quite so clearly! Just use a real door, it's not that difficult. We had a maintenance issue with the AC vent dripping water that we reported, but it was never addressed. They put down a towel under where it was dripping. There are ants all over the place, including at the pool areas, that the hotel doesn't seem to do anything about. There is no food service at the pools, only drinks. In my view, a 5 star resort should have a simple menu of burgers, sandwiches, and snacks available to order poolside or on the beach. They did have "lunch popups" on a couple of days, where they would do an outside lunch near (but not at) the pools. The food at both of the ones we went to (a Mexican barbecue and burgers) was fantastic. The food quality is definitely a highlight of this property. (If you want to eat at the pool, you can get a pizza to go from the pizza stand -- on the days it's open.) If you go on a deal for the time share (they call it vacation club) -- they tell you it's 90 minutes, but it's really 3+ hours. You meet your salesperson at 8 am and go to breakfast with them at the breakfast restaurant. Then you go on a tour and then back to the sales center. We got out at about 11:15 or so. Our salesperson was very nice, easy to talk to, and personable. But facts are facts -- they want you to make a huge investment with a lot of complex details "today," in the room, with no chance to do research, read reviews -- I don't know how they talk anyone into it, honestly. Be prepared to say no several times and to speak to several sales staff before they finally let you go. Overall, I had a good time, and for what we paid it was a good value. I would not pay ~$300 a night or whatever their advertised rates are, because a beautiful, swimmable beach on-site is important to me, and this property just doesn't have one. (And I'd say that even without the seaweed issue.) If you go, be nice to the staff and tip well, they deserve it.

My vacation Very upset not made aware of Seeweed and Soft Opening. We had to leave resort 2 days to get away from smell . Wasn’t happy about price we had to pay for an excursion a front entrance. Trip Advisor much cheaper. No entertainment. .. just DJ. Karaoke had 2 people wife and myself. Positive- The staff was very nice and enjoyed the food . Better communication required making Clients aware of soft opening, seeweed, smell and lack of entertainment!

Missing it Already! The resort hosted a large group of us from the US, and I had a lovely time! The rooms are stunning, and the grounds are kept exceptionally neat. I cannot say enough good things about the staff, they all went above and beyond to make our stay fantastic! From Alexis bringing us nightly room service, to Marcelo making sure all of our transportation issues with an excursion company (booked online) were resolved, Wilberth waiting on us in Zama (restaurant), and Manuel serving it up at the Zak adult swim up bar - thank you for everything, you are amazing!

Unforgettable vacations at Palmar Beach I almost never write reviews, but this time I must because of the exceptional help I received from the resort’s lifeguard named Gregorio. I suffered a minor cut, and Gregorio rushed to assist me. He was caring and professional. I felt like he was treating a close friend or family member. I was very grateful for his assistance. I also enjoyed the pool bar. Please stop by for drink with the best bartender in the resort, Bettyna. She will make sure you get the best drink in Palmar Beach. I also encourage you to visit for the best pizza in the resort. Jesus was one of the best servers. His energy and pleasant smile will make your day. He and the chef run the small pizzeria in the resort. Thank you to Gregorio, Bettyna, and Jesus for an unforgettable vacation at Palmar Beach.