Hotel Stay with Optional All-Inclusive Package at Villa del Palmar Cancun in Mexico

The hotel was great! Service was amazing! We will be going back with our daughter

Villa Del Palmar gets everything right! From the one bedroom suite, 2 bathrooms, toiletries, servicing of the room, quick responses, communication, beach view, heated pool, food, and all inclusive! Groupon, on the other hand, did not get everything right! Prior to traveling, Groupon assured me in an email that I had reserved a king bed and oceanview room! After several emails between me and Groupon, and the hotel, I only had a deluxe garden view room, and Groupon would not fulfill their word! Interestingly, I met another family that had THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM WITH GROUPON saying one thing and providing another! I have never had a problem with Groupon prior to this and have always spoken highly about their products, especially international travel! So I am very disappointed in Groupon this time! Fortunately, the hotel, itself, assisted me in getting a one bed suite, with a king bed and an oceanview ! Luis was the best in helping with that!

Excellent time!!

Great experience The in suite dinner with Oscar and Susana was amazing. They were very personable and catered to everything we asked for. The in suite dinner with Oscar and Susana was amazing. They were very personable and catered to everything we asked for.

Great, until it wasn't, sometimes The property at Villa del Palmar is very pretty. It has a warm, inviting, feel to it. The grounds are very well kept, tons of green, trees, flowers, grass, and the buildings and colors all blend into a tropical setting. We had a two bedroom, three bath, suite, complete with a full kitchen; it was perfect for the two of us and our young adult son and his girlfriend. Plenty of space, bedrooms on opposite sides of each other, separated by the living room. Everything we needed. Unfortunately, the air conditioner in the master bedroom never functioned all the way the whole time we were there. I called 3 days in a row for service, which they did come out, but never fully resolved the issue. Overall the staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. The pool & beach wait staff are happy, smily, & always quick on the drink (beach bartenders Roberto & Carlos). The restaurant teams are the same. Great service. Our son made friends with all the activities team (shout out to Charlie & Paco), constantly laughing and talking and hanging out. Not so friendly, the head hostess at La Casona had an air of arrogance you’d expect to find at a five-start Michelin dinning restaurant somewhere glamourous. While the restaurant was nice, this attitude was not needed. We are beach people. Our ideal vacay is white sand, clear water, nice waves. This is our second time to Cancun and the beaches it would seem, are not why people come to Cancun. Instagram worthy pictures from the sky or boats are one thing. But having come in May and in November, the seaweed was bad both times, and the water isn’t great to walk in from the shore. The sand at Villa del Palmar is nice, soft and white. And they do try to keep up with the seaweed, with a tractor going frequently throughout the day (though also a negative as the diesel fuel smell & tractor sound aren’t ideal while trying to relax in the sand). The pools were very nice. Lots of chairs & umbrellas. Be prepared to tip. This was our fifth all inclusive. Three Sandals resorts, no tipping pressure when we were there. One Cancun a year & a half ago, and only the butler tip at the end seemed obvious. Here, tipping seems almost required - I wonder if others felt this way… Perhaps it’s because the resort isn’t fully all inclusive unless you opt in for that package. In general, the food was somewhere between OK and good. Some was tasty. Some bland, and some not good at all. Nothing over the top. Decent all inclusive with only 1 buffet for breakfast and everything else being a la carte, which is certainly a bonus. Make dinner reservations in advance! IF you use the pre-arrival concierge, know that NOBODY on property can (or maybe, is willing to) help you with any changes or questions. They seem to be separate operating groups within the Tafer group. We booked a $350 private Romanic Beachfront dinner in advance. Two nights prior to the scheduled dinner, we happened to also have dinner at the same restaurant which services the food for the private dinner. The food at La Casona was 50/50. Both my wife & son had the salmon, and it was not good. Dry. Assuming farm raised. I had the octopus, which was a risk I know, and it was just OK. It had a layer of slime on the bottom that would seem possible to have pre-removed. Some wasn’t done enough, some over cooked. So, I tried to contact the pre-arrival concierge and explain we were concerned that we may not be happy with the food. Given the cost, and the bad restaurant experience, I asked to cancel. There was absolutely no budge. And when I pushed, they actually cancelled the reservation but said NO refund, as if cancelling it was a favor. So it was rebooked. The onsite concierge wasn’t any better. Nagging, persistent, saleswomen. They are there to get you to attend a 1.5 hour timeshare meeting next-door. That’s it. They might try to help you with other things, but they will not disclose all options. For example, we wanted to take a short boat cruise. They only suggested, what did sound like a wonderful, 7 hour all day tour, or a short snorkeling tour. During this encounter, I was asked, “why are you so hard to please?” followed by laughs and “but your handsome so it’s ok”. This is NOT acceptable. I did not get their names, but look out for blue or bright red lipstick. If you want to book something, Cancun Adventures in onsite in a tiki hut near the beach, and they were very helpful. Did the onsite concierge desk tell me this, NO. Guess what, a 2 hour sunset cruise is offered! Exactly what we wanted and what I asked for, and they said didn’t exist. The boat ride was perfect. Cancun Adventure team was great. We had the unfortunate experience to need to visit the onsite physician. My wife fell off her wave runner and we thought fractured the top of her left foot. She was unable to stand or walk on it. The staff at the Sea Adventures team was helpful and kind. The language barrier made it a little challenging. The interaction with the onsite doctor was good. She was gentle and kind. She continually referenced a trip to the hospital as an option, which seemed a little odd. Throughout the ordeal, the hotel staff was VERY helpful, allowing us to keep the wheelchair which greatly helped with the rest of the trip. The reaming days at the pool, David the lifeguard was very attentive to ensure we had a nice place to sit and ice for my wife’s foot. It just so happened our sea based tragedy was the same day as our Romantic Beachfront Dinner. My wife was in a wheelchair, unable to walk. So I first tried the onsite Travel Agency for help with he dinner. No go. I called the pre-arrival concierge, and braced for a negative reception. The story seemed farfetched, I understand. First trying to get out of the reservation because of the food, now this. But I have the doctor’s note & drone video footage of the accident, to prove it! Nothing. No exception, and NO sympathy. We let our son and his girlfriend go instead. As much as we love them, a $350 date night on mom & dad is not something we would have normally considered. They had a picture perfect time. The food was OK. The service was good. And the stray dogs on the beach were an added touch (for them, not sure I would have been too thrilled). As an added bonus, at check-out we caught that they charged us for this dinner again, despite having pre-paid. Will we be back, maybe, maybe not. But that’s mostly because the beach does not check off all our wishes, and probably because of the mental scars I have from my wife’s injury. My son and his girlfriend already asked if we could go back next year! If you’re reading this and thinking of going, you should. The property is beautiful, and almost all the people we encountered were wonderful. Do not use the pre-arrival concierge, and be prepared for the onsite sales/concierge team.

Great Couples stay! My husband and I had the best time. Great service from arrival to departure. Dined at all the restaurants and they were all fabulous. Lovely martinis which are hard to find at AI resorts. Stand out service from Juvencio at the steak house, Carlos at the beach bar, Manuel the beach bar server, Carlos at the front desk, and all the hosts and servers at the buffet restaurant. Truly and lovely experience. We will be back! Also, this was slow season, not a ton of people and had a free room upgrade. Love!!!!