Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun, By Karisma

Notes about our trip: -We did not travel with children, and our main goal for this trip was to sit back and relax. Due to this, we have no feedback for the kids areas, hotel activities and shows. -We were there the week before Memorial day weekend, so the hotel was not crowded. We did not see seats being reserved at the pool. Getting into the restaurants for dinner was very easy. The Good: -The pools: if you are a pool person, you will love this property. If you are a beach person, I recommend looking at another hotel. -This was the first time I traveled to an all inclusive and did not get a bunch of bug bites. -Drive time from Cancun airport to the hotel is about 20 - 30 minute ride. We used Happy Shuttle for our transportation. -The staff: very kind and helpful. This excludes the front desk and star prestige "concierges". -LOVED the 24 hour cafe. The Bad: -Buffet: needs some more variety in their food offerings. -Maintenance: we had two rooms in our reservation. One room's AC worked great. One of the rooms would only cool if it was set at 18.5 celsius. You change that to 19 degrees and the unit would not cool the room. Maintenance did come out to the room 3 times, but since the room was technically "cooled", they noted that nothing else could be done. If you like rooms to be freezing cold, please note that the AC may be hit and miss. -There seems to be some miscommunication between the management and front desk people. For example, our reservation included free access to the hydrotherapy area at the spa. Once we got to the hotel, I had to talk to multiple people to get access to this benefit. The front desk sent me to the spa, the spa sent me back to the front desk, the front desk tried to send me back to the spa, but I made them come with me to the spa. After this third trip, the spa staff members noted that they would talk to their manager and get back to me the next day. After all of this, the access to the hydrotherapy was provided. -The confirmation email we received for our reservation does note for a tax to be paid at the hotel. The email noted that this tax is $3.70 USD per night/per room. During check out, the front desk noted that the "Environmental tax" is really $5.00 USD per night/per room. The price provided in the confirmation is simply an "estimate" and/or the hotel will round up these numbers if paying with Mexican pesos. I understand that this is not much of a difference, but combine this and the issue with the hydrotherapy access, if felt like there was a lack of communication and transparency from the management and front desk staff.

I truly enjoyed our stay at the Iberostar Selection Riveria Cancun! The resort grounds were stunning! Very luxurious and well maintained. The staff was always cleaning. I loved how they were consistently cleaning the sargassum on the beach, sanitizing the pool area wiping things down. The pools were nice and spacious but the beach is small and the water isn't clear. Very murky right now due to the access seaweed. Service at the swim up bar was really good but there weren't any staff walking around taking drinks orders. I really enjoyed how they had a quiet pool. The food was actually very good for an all inclusive. The breakfast buffet doesn't have any non pork breakfast sausage or bacon options. The a la carte restaurants were really good! Sometimes the service was a bit slow. The ice cream shops was SO good! They had a ton of activities everyday. Don't miss the Sunset Ritual. It's so beautiful and spiritual. I even had fun making crafts and at the foam party. Every night there was a show and a DJ set. The entertainers were actually very talented. The cocktails at the restaurant were very good. I wished the swim up bar had an actual menu. I especially enjoyed their Cava. Our room was gorgeous! We had a Oceanfront Corner Suite and it was truly oceanfront. The balcony was HUGE! It could fit about 50 - 60 people on it standing. There was 2 couches, dining tables and a day bed. Some of the chairs need be replaced though. Our room included a Jacuzzi tub by the window, had SO much space, bathrobes and so much storage. The staff overall was really friendly and accommodating. They were always willing to go the extra mile and be helpful. Just a few notes: - Bring a refillable water bottle for their filtered water stations. They don't use plastic water bottles - There are alot of iguanas walking around and a couple of raccoons at night - Download the app, guest services is very responsive on it I would definitely come back here again!

This little diamond in the rough is definitely worth a visit! The resort is nice and compact almost giving it a Boutique feeling. There are many pools with an abundance of chairs and finding a spot, no matter what time of day it was, was never an issue. We were greeted by someone from Star Prestige upon arrival, completed check in with Ivan in the Stat Prestige lounge and then were escorted to our room by Mike from the fantastic team of bellies at the front entrance. No matter where you are on the resort and who you interact with it's always pleasant. The hospitality was so refreshing and the smiles made our stay that much more special than any other resort I have ever been too! The food was excellent at the Italian restaurant. The buffet was ok, small but you can always find something to your liking if not super picky. We did try the Spanish, Mexican and Caribbean restaurants and they weren't our favorites but we are a bit picky and not fish eaters. The beach is not that turquoise Cancun water, small sand area with Bali beds and loungers available. They are planning on continuing improvements to the beach so I am looking forward to returning to see them. The heart of this hotel is with the amazing staff and I cannot name them all but the ones that truly made our stay feel like we were staying with family were Mauricio at the members pool, Mike at the front entrance, Laura at the Italian restaurant, Paula the massage therapist and Jesus at the members pool.

It’s a Gem just 20 min drive from Cancun airport. You can’t find a resort with this price and service in that area. If you’re looking for a mid size resort with excellent food go for it. I booked from their official website that saved me $100 per night compared to anywhere else. There is no booking needed for La Carte restaurants which is a wow. We’ve tried Italian restaurant and David our waiter was amazing guy. We also tried Caribbean restaurant which was good. the buffet had good variety of food with high quality. It’s a bargain. But if you’re looking for a nice beach I won’t recommend this resort.