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Please tell me about your experiences of AI family resorts in Mexico

8 replies

lovedogsandcake · 17/02/2020 19:45

Hi all,
Having rejected the initial idea of Thailand (corona virus) and Dominican Republic (Haiti, tummy trouble) we are now looking at a holiday in Mexico.
We have a budget of 6k for me, DH & DS11 and are looking for a decent family AI resort with spa and sports/water sports etc.
We usually have a villa in a quiet part of Cyprus so this is all completely new to me and have never stayed in a hotel with DS.
Looking to travel for 10 days during the Easter hols....
TIA

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jolufc · 18/02/2020 07:12

Grand Palladium was great.

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SJaneS48 · 18/02/2020 08:22

We stayed here (www.occidentalgrandcozumel.com/index.asp) years ago. It’s on Cozumel which is an island off the Playa del Carmen - there’s a regular ferry that takes you over. It’s a sizeable Resort at the end of the island with multiple restaurants and pools. The rooms are huge and it’s a very pretty place! We didn’t take our DC as we were on a second honeymoon but it was very popular with families (mostly American) and it had a kids club & entertainment. Cozumel is well known for diving - we didn’t do that either but there are great snorkelling trips and lots of watersports.
Cozumel isn’t huge and you can hire a jeep and drive around the very attractive coastline. There is a large old Mayan ruin in the centre of the island (it used to be a pilgrimage site for women with fertility issues) that was virtually empty when we visited - the lack of visitors made it more personal, wandering around this old site in the middle of the jungle!

We did go over to the Playa del Carmen which was lively with lots of bars, restaurants and tourist tat shops and very set up for the tourist trade - I preferred the less touristy Cozumel! We went to Tulum which was interesting.

This stretch of coastline has had problems with seaweed so do check Tripadvidor reviews before booking anywhere! I really liked the Grand Occidental & we had a really laid back stay, sipping cocktails and watching flamingos flying overhead!

One final thing to be aware of (apologies, post is a bit longer than intended!). There is a lot of wildlife which does include tarantulas. They don’t obviously come near you on purpose but something to be aware of if DC are running around barefoot. We found one in the grass next to our balcony which we could have easily trodden on!

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SJaneS48 · 18/02/2020 08:24

PS - we went in April too and the weather was just great - good time of year to go!

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lovedogsandcake · 18/02/2020 17:35

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, I will have a look at these suggestions. I find the pressure of finding the perfect holiday so stressful!

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allfurcoatnoknickers · 19/02/2020 15:47

We just got back from Paradisus Playa Del Carmen. It was amazing - we stayed in the family side of the resort and it could not have been more child/baby friendly. They provided a load of baby toiletries for us, and even a tiny baby robe .

We splurged on Family Concierge for the "free" airport transfer, but it was so worth it.

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sidsgranny · 19/02/2020 15:50

We are going for our 3rd visit to Grand Palladium Kantenah in April. Have also been to Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal twice. Both are fab hotels!

The Spa at Grand Palladium is gorgeous - not so much at the Bahia.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

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Tulalula · 19/02/2020 16:00

I've been to at least 6-8 of them.

Any Dreams hotel will be ok. Hard Rock Hotel is great for drinks and teenagers. Paradisus in Cancun was awful.
Fairmont Mayakoba was great!
Finest in Playa Mujeres is probably the best I've been to.
Grand Velas was too expensive and didn't live to the hype.

Happy to help with more in detail reviews :)

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lovedogsandcake · 08/03/2020 15:57

Hi all, sorry terribly rude of me not to have replied. I seem to have missed a notification of responses. So, we had booked the SENSATORI resort in Riviera Maya but received a warning that there is a hotel being built next to the resort which may result in some disruption! As a result we have decided to move to the Riu Dunamar hotel in Costa Mujeres. Main drivers for this hotel were the sports facilities for me and DH and the water park for DS11, who is adamant that he doesn't want to try a kids club (hoping he'll change his mind just for an hour).
I'm hoping that we will all enjoy it.