Catalonia Riviera Maya - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2992 reviews

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  My honest pros and cons

  I just wanted to give an honest review as I replay on reviews when we look for our next destination place. Pros: The resort is very nice but is noticeably small. We did really like our room and view, and we really liked that our room didn’t have that Mexico musty smell we have had at other resorts. We did agree our room was probably one of the best rooms we have ever had at a Mexican resort. The snorkeling was really good, many different types of fish compared to other resorts. The breakwater was nice to keep the waves down. Our favourite part was the gated community. We walked a lot in the early mornings and at night. Loved walking through the marina, watching the sea life (dolphins, Manatees and sea lion), checking out the shops and the restaurants at the marina were fantastic! We rented a golf cart and drove around the community, checked out all the beautiful houses, public beach and the cenote. This private community was voted the safest community in Mexico for 17 years. Cons: The room outlets didn’t work, broken tiles in bathroom, air conditioning was dripping water in our son’s room, and the lamps had frayed wires. The biggest disappointment was booking our dinners, and honestly the food all around. They have a new system with an app (and I understand this was new and had some kinks to work out) however many of the staff didn’t know how to help us. It took a day to get an account with the app, as they had problems registering us, so I wasn’t able to book the restaurants. I kept asking front desk but they weren’t helpful until the third day told us to go to guest services at 8am. She told me I had to be signed out of my account to book the dinners. Which blows my mind, as that makes no sense. We found the restaurants mediocre, the buffets were okay but we found the food was cold on many occasions. However the marina restaurants were so good and ended up eating off the resorts ok many occasions (the pizzaria was amamzing!). They do have some snack stations and a craperie (our kids loved the crapes) but said the snack bar wasn’t that great. We like to take the bus places for a few reasons, we can save money and it’s a bit more authentic. However being in the gated community we had to call cabs to leave the community to go to our excursions. However being near playa and akumal it was only 450 passos to get to most places. Something that was very surprising because we have been to Mexico a ton of times and we like to try somewhere new each time; we found some of the staff to be rude and impatient. Normally I would never complain because they work so hard and are always so nice but it was noticeable with a few staff members, one specially at the buffet who was making omelettes, she was pretty rude to the lady in front of us and the lady who helped me with the dinner bookers seems so irritated and annoyed (however she probably had to deal with people every morning with the bookings being difficult). I also want to mention the cenote in the community is NOT swimmable. There is a beware of crocodile sign, it was murky so you can’t see in the water and we did notice some jelly fish. But cool to check out either way. Compared to other resorts there is almost minimal entertainment in the evening. There was only one show a night at the theatre and the shows they had didn’t seem very intriguing compared to other resorts. Generally there isn’t a big night life, besides for the disco club that opens at 11pm (past our bed time lol). The last thing I’ll mention which we did know when we booked is that the beach is rocky and it’s a smaller beach area compared to other resorts. We also found the pools fairly small too, HOWEVER it is a smaller resort all around and we’re aware when booking. It just felt cramped because we have always went to bigger resorts. I would rate the resort at 3.8-4 star in our opinion (based on the food alone) Cheers

  Mar 16, 2025
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  A hotel that is trying to keep its head above water.

  Let's start with the Travel Agency since we booked with Westjet and got a direct flight from Calgary to Tulum wich it was a plus since the bus ride from there to the hotel is cut in half. Once we landed and cleared customs, (The army soldiers will ask you to open your suitcase and inspect it) we head out towards the exit where you will find a lot of people with signs for the arrival, I did not see a big sign that said Westjet and head out towards the small shuttles to ask where did the Westjet representatives were. After been instructed to get back to the airport and "look" for them I finally found two representatives with a fairly small sign that instructed me to go towards the big busses at the other end of the airport. (Make sure that you look for the guys wearing an orange shirt. They are the Nexus transportation company). The process is very disorganized and quite confusing. The bus ride was unevenful and we drove around dropping people at their hotels until our turn. Once we arrived to our hotel we went to our room; We stayed in room 4021 and immediately found an old and tired room that had one main light on one end, an old mattress that was never flipped and showed two huge sags, a noisy air conditioner, a bathroom window that was bolted shot, the patio furniture looked tired and the chairs did not have a cushion. Additionally, once I lift the phone to call front desk I realized that even the phone had a loose cord that will make communication almost impossible at best. We went to the front desk to ask for another room and Guest Services Manager Esther just brush us off in an unpolite way. Then the next morning we were woken up at the sound of hammer and chisel into the building walls; the last thing I would expect in a four star hotel. The bad part is that we did not receive a note to explain this construction operations beforehand. Through our stay I had to go and talk to front desk in three more ocasions over issues with a leaking air conditioner, old pilows a patio light that was never fixed. You may ask, but probably you will not receive. If you want to get a sun chair be prepared to wake up at 7 am and take your towels to save one of the very few and crowded spots available. the beach is very small, and it gets covered everyday with sargasus; and piles of it that people work dilligently to remove throughout the day. The picture here in Tripadvisor is not up to date. the beach has now been cut in half, a large amount of rocks and wavebreakers were installed, and the bay is almost closed. Space is at a premium for these neighbouring properties and snorlelling is poor at best. Now let's talk about the food... The food is flavourful and the service try very hard to be helpfull, unfortunately the menu is set and does not change. Yes, you will see the exact same food every day for the duration of your trip. There are many local dishes available like cochinita pibil tacos, however the tortillas were cold all the time. The selection is unfortunately not good. They have other a la carte restaurants that you book on an app once you are checked in (Make sure you do this asap, space fills very quickly). If you want to go to the Japanese restaurant, you will need to make a reservation at guest services since the restaurant is not available on the app. (FYI, there is no limit on the number of times you can book the same restaurant) We booked the Japanese, the Italian, the Mexican and the Steakhouse. In Mexico the all inclusive Japanese restaurants offer noodles, however, be prepared to receive spaghetti noodles. For the Italian, we ordered a carbonara that came in the form of a watery alfredo sauce, disapointing. The Mexican restaurant was quite good and I will recommend to go to the steakhouse and get the grilled octopus. That was good. Please don't be surprised to see an agouti in the premisses forraging for food. Please do not feed it! I almost forgot to mention that I did not see an elevator to take you to the specialty restaurants, however I may be in the wrong, to access them you have to climb around 20 steps. Our overall experience of this trip is not a great one. We booked the trip to get some relaxation at what we thought it was an adults only, four star resort. The reality was that we stayed in what I could classify as a three and a half star all inclusive resort that offers two levels of service. There is no separation between adults only and adluts with families. A resort that clearly is trying to compete with their surrounding competitors. Unfortunately, the buildings and the grounds show their age, the wear and tear, the rooms are small, dull and outdated, front desk is there to listen to you, but they just can't fix most of the issues or know how to. Please be aware that throughout the property you will find hotel staff trying to "Help you with any issues you may have encountered throughout your stay". The reality is that they are there to try and lure you with endless offers to go to a presentation, where they will try to sell you a hotel membership (Probably something close to a time share scheme). My final thoughts for this trip were that I paid for an overpriced package that was not worth $ 2,500 for an alleged four star hotel that delivered a subpar service and product. I will not recommend this hotel to people that are looking for a nice beach to walk in, good snorkeling or looking to have a good gastronomical experience. This property should be marketed as a standard run of the mill property in the three to three and a half star category and priced accordingly. Another idea may be to seriously consider to close the property; go under a property transformation that may allow you to update your service and elevate the quality. Sometimes less is more!

  Mar 16, 2025
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  True review of good resort

  Lovely resort. Buffet food is excellent and all staff were good. We booked 2 premium de luxe rooms which were excellent with on suite shower rooms. Both had a balcony overlooking central gardens between rooms. Had no problem booking al a cate restaurants - Italian, Mexican & steak room. Steak room was the best. Towels on loungers from 7.30am which are not removed ( so early start) but very hot in the resort ( in the 30’s). Early start because of the midday heat. Pools are noisy with loud music, bingo & aquarobics. Spa is nice but has no lifts so difficult if disabled. Long way from the airport. Def need beach shoes to swim in sea as Rocky

  Mar 16, 2025
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  Worst hotel ever!

  Mexico itself I would honestly tell everyone to go it was amazing. The hotel on the other hand was a disaster. The pool and jacuzzi were freezing cold, not one guest was swimming, apparently the heating system broke a long time ago and they never fixed it. I had booked a wedding on the beach they gave me a table in their beloved restaurant. The staff was absolutely horrible. They argued everything and made me feel like it was my fault, even when their housecleaning stole a personal item from my room. Worst hotel I ever stayed at!

  Mar 16, 2025
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  Keeps getting better!

  Went to the Catalonia Riviera Maya March 4-11th with 6 people aged 22 to 84. This resort never disappoints! Grounds are lush and well kept, food is top notch, rooms are well appointed, pools are plentiful and beach is lovely. The piece that makes this resort outstanding are the staff. In particular, the guest services manager, Irene C. provides fantastic service. Along side of her are her guest services team who bend over backwards to make your trip enjoyable. Big should out to Raphael who is a pleasure to deal with. From the plentiful bars to the friendly staff, don't hesitate to book this place. I have been coming here for 15 years and it keeps getting better.

  Mar 14, 2025