I don't know what hotel some of you stayed at but this hotel held up more than its end of the bargain. Yes- the rooms were a little smaller than shown on the site but who stays in the room anyway ?
The beaches were being reclaimed but there were plenty of chairs and cabana's to be had. The view is amazing and the food was more than what I had expected it to be.
I guess if I had to complain about something I could say the drinks were quite weak during the day and they got much "heavier on the pour" as the night progressed. I mean we were on the beach all day and I don't think we saw one drunk person until dark, I have been to many all inclusives and the drinks were the only down side.
The grounds are absolutely beautiful and the staff was friendly and efficient. Hats off to the entertainment staff. They worked their butts off all day and still had enough energy left to put on nice shows every night. The hotel is located close to a shopping center out the door to the left and a 5 minute cab ride to cinco avenido.

We did a few tours and I must say that the Garrafon reef tour out at Isla mujeres was definitely the highlight to our trip. I booked it online for $89 through cancun tours. We did the Royal garrafon. Our hotel is just past the line that seperates the mayan riviera so our van ride to the boat cost us an additional $15 but we had no choice but to pay it . It is a full day ...and we were not disappointed--they had the swim with the dolphins(xtra charge) a fantasy snorkel with sharks and sting rays-awesome
a reef snorkel which was probably the best snorkeling I have ever done.there were manarays and beautifully colored fish everywhere. we rounded off the day with zip lines.I'll tell you it was quite a workout but I gotta say so worth it . Isla mujeres is undescribably (is that a word) beautiful. That is what paradise looks like !! There were even more things to do but we snorkeled most of the day . If your looking to get your money worth this is the ticket and definitely bring you camera for some fabulous pics. The tour included all your food and beverages ( both alcoholic and non) for the day so bring your appetite.
I cannot wait to go back I had a favorite place (jamaica) but that has been replaced with Mexico--I felt safe there and I had a most relaxing and fun trip ! I will definitely be back.

To try and keep this as simple and short as possible a word of advise: You get what you pay for! Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst hotel I've ever stayed at, but it's not even close to the best either. My partner and I have travelled to Mexico several times this past year. She has TAN which is like a time share but you don't get to pick your hotel, just the location and a certain amount of weeks and then they tell you where you'll stay. We figured we'd use one of the weeks that she had and get away since the room was already paid for- we just had to pay for food and flight. We were told that this was a 30+ hotel and no kids. Wrong. Not like we don't like kids but when you don't expect them to be there it was a little bit of a surprise. Anyway, we were there I guess on a "Promotion" Basiclly that means they try to sell you into thier Occidental First Club, which is a vacation club. Mercedes (our rep) was... animated. If you have to sit through the presentation just be patient. This hotel is not a good representation for what they're trying to sell you. The other reviews are pretty spot on. The walls are really thin so if you have noisy neighbors it's a drag. There are good points to buying into the club if you travel often though. The friends stay for FREE was huge for me, just couldn't afford it. Anyway, because they wanted us to buy in we got a little bit of an upgraded room. It was OK that's it. They did have a mattress pad on the bed which was so helpful since the beds are usually rock hard in Mexico. So expect a hard bed. Food was ok, and so was the staff. I guess I'm just spoilied and know that I've stayed where it's better than here. Dreams Hotels are Outstanding FYI. I will give kudos to the night time entertainment staff. They worked their butts off all day and put on a fab show every night! Oh, and yes the birds make a bunch of freaking noise, but what are you going to do when you're visiting their home? One lady we met brought ear plugs. Might be a good idea if you're a light sleeper. Oh, last bit of advise. Invest in some biodegradable bug spray online www.mexitan.com has some (Skeedattle) and it's so much better to smell like lemongrass then DEET every night.

This place was horrible. Here is a recap of the week.

We arrived June 28, and were given a disgustingly dirty room, with broken A/C, no soap, towels, broken safe, no drinks in room, and a bed that was as hard as a rock. The lighting fixture were covered in what appeared to be calf skin, and they were wet, sticky, and smelly. The bathroom was filthy, and looked like a child did the construction work. Dont let your clothes in the bathroom they will get soaked because the shower has a small piece of glass that covered maybe 1/3 of the shower. We were what they refer to as "First Club" or VIP, and were given even the wrong TYPE of room. We were given an economy/standard room instead of our VIP suite (with a bar, kitchenette, larger TV, etc.). After we complained that evening about the room to get it switched, they couldn't move us until the morning. First thing in the morning we switched rooms, and were still given a Standard room, but atleast the A/C worked and it was habitable. The bed was still hard as a rock, but it was like that in all of the rooms.. The room was open to the outside at the ceiling and there were geckos in bugs in all of the rooms. Shorltly after we switched rooms, our passports were stolen out of our room. It was reported to the staff who simply said "no, that doesn't happen" They told us NOT to report them stolen at the police station, and gave us a run around for almost 2 days as what we should do. Finally I called the US consular in play del carmen, and she straightened everything out for us. The pools close at 8pm which i thought was strange, and there were barely any activities to do after that. On a Good Note the entertainment was awesome! The food was ok, but made me sick for 3 days while I was there. No, I didn't drink the water. Some of the employees at the front check in were helpful, and maybe one of the First Club employees. The other first club employees were useless at solving any minor problems. They tried to double charge for spa services and took almost 45 minutes to remove ONE massage from the bill. The setting was nice, but some of the quality of craftsmanship was very poor. Railings were hanging off of the stairs, some stair tread were loose and rotting, and the doors had about a 1/2" gap the whole way around them. The rooms were barely soundproof and you could hear the people in surrounding rooms even when they were just walking around. Oh and we had to have our safe unlocked two times by security because it kept freezing up..
"Satellite TV" that they claim to have consisted of 24 channels that were so fuzzy i might as well had an antenna, and there was exposed wiring in our room.

So basically

-Customer Service was ok for most people
-VIP customer service was horrible (odd right?)
-Food was ok
-Rooms were disgusting and cheaply built
-Entertainment was AWESOME
-Evening activities did not exist
-Security is poor and were not willing to help when our passports were stolen
-Amenities misrepresented

Let me tell you the plus side.

The hotel is set in beautifully kept, well manicured grounds, which are home to a variety of harmless wildlife, including iguanas, lizards, birds and some little creatures whose name escapes my memory, but I believe are a cross between a hare and a squirrel. The hotel atmosphere is pleasant, the staff (without exception) are first class, the waiters are especially happy, efficient, eager to help, nothing is a trouble to them. Can't fault the food, either, there was something for everyone's taste and I am not a person who is easily pleased as far as food is concerned. Here is another bonus point, the cutlery and crockery were beautifully clean, which is something of a rarity, even in some of the higher rated hotels. The entertainment is first class, didn't do much during the day, but there was always something for those who wanted to. The evening entertainment was professional and polished, very talented dancers and superb costumes. The pool area could benefit from a bit of TLC. A nightly hose of the loungers and tables would help to spruce up their jaded appearance.

Now to the downside, which I consider to be a major problem.
Having read lots of reviews of this hotel, I feel that I must have stayed somewhere completely different. The 4* bedroom was definitely no better than a 2*, but in fairness the bed was kept spotlessly clean and I did get used to it.

BUT, the bathroom was the worst I have ever had the misfortune to use. The decor was dowdy, patched up plastered walls, scruffy, marked. The bath was absolutely disgusting, it was possibly spray painted, old, tatty horrible. It was an insult to the standards of decent people. I honestly did not hear a favourable comment from one other person.

Good news however. I understand from a reliable source that the rooms are to be refurbished. So fine for future guests, but that is no advantage to me. I would possibly return to this hotel though only if the bedrooms, but especially the bathrooms were brought up to date and would merit its 4* rating.