Had a great time at this resort. Room (luxury suite walkout) was fantastic with your own patio and easy access to the lazy river. Everything was super clean (and cleaned daily) and felt very luxurious. We used the patio almost exclusively as we had good shade and could move the lounger to the sun if we wanted. They even took drink orders from us on the patio as well. We really enjoyed the various restaurants and didn't have any issues with seating as I've read in other reviews. We typically would show up right when the opened (5:30pm) and were seated right away. I did hear of some people having to wait a long time if they arrived later. Breakfasts at the al la carte wase fantastic and enjoyed by everyone. Food at the al la carts was a major highlight and much better than other resorts we have been to. The beach isn't great and as mentioned in other reviews is full of seaweed. It is also very rocky as you go into the water and you can't walk very far along the beach itself so if you are a beach person and need this then don't come here. The resort is very quite and has minimal activities, this is something we expected and didn't mind as we came to relax. There is also minimal night life here. I can see where teenagers could be very bored here. Shows were not very good (we went to see a couple and left almost immediately). They have a very well appointment gym, used it a couple times for free weights and had everything I needed. Overall we knew what to expect from doing our research and had a great time. I would very much go back to this resort and get the same room type. TL/DR: Rooms great, Food great, Grounds great, Beach bad, nightlife bad.

Such a beautiful resort, with wildlife (Racoons, Ring tailed Lemurs, and a couple of Cats roaming around). The staff are amazing, namely Yamirel and Alejandra in the Spoon restaurant. These two beautiful souls really made our holiday special. There was also Mauricio, who was a giggle. The waiting staff, Cruz, Luis, and Santiago, to name a few who did an amazing job. The rooms were clean and comfortable. The Zavas Restaurant, the food there was amazing, especially the Coconut & Pineapple Crumble ( I need that recipe, along with how Chef gets his Crumble topping so crunchy). From the room balcony, we could see the sea and hear the waves crumble onto the beach. Yes, there was Sargassum (seaweed), but the hotel had staff trying their best to clean it up every day. The only thing that upset my holiday was the Friday and Saturday night weddings, those guests got very unruly and even though their party was shut down, those guests were allowed to carry on yelling and screaming at each other until 4am and the hotel did nothing, I did call the front desk, who said in not as many words the wedding party money was greener than mine. Please Azul Beach Resort Riviera Maya, Cancun. Find somewhere else for these parties to take place, away from adults (and children) who want to sleep at night, and please make sure they quiet down after the party is done. You have a responsibility to all guests, not just wedding parties.

I will start by saying the hotel in its self is nice, and most of the staff are friendly, but there is a few things that let it down which is why I can’t give it any more than 3* Firstly it was really disappointing that the Mexican was shut and no one told us before arriving it was a shame as we only had Mexican food twice in the 10 days we were there. The food a the buffet it terrible! We tried to avoid it when we could but at lunch there was limited options on some days. One night the buffet was shut & there was an hour and a half wait for the other restaurants which for an all inclusive is not acceptable you should be able to get food easily especially as travelling with two young children. When I questioned the manager about this I got a reply of we can do what we want. There is also no where to grab snacks or an ice cream you have to sit down and eat which sometimes you just want to grab something quickly. Some of tiles are coming off the pool in the kids splash park I caught my 10 month daughter eating one - which is not okay! I feel that we got treat very differently because we were British & not part of the prestige club which is unfair. It says children under 4 can ender the kids club with an adult but we were told we wouldn’t as we weren’t part of that group. Finally there was a racist made about my husbands skin colour which is completely not acceptable! The wedding guests are loud and entitled and we were put in the rooms right by the wedding area which as a family wasn’t helpful. We were woken up many times by them. Be aware of travelling ‘out of season’ which as brits I wouldn’t say it was. I would not want to visit this hotel at peak times. Overall this holiday was disappointing & not what we expected we won’t be returning & wouldn’t recommend.

We have gone to this resorts since 2010 and it has definitely changed in that period of time. The grounds are always immaculate and beautiful. The beach has been hit or miss on accessibility. right now the seaweed is a problem ( just part of it up & down the coast.) If you like sitting on a Bali bed or lounge chair and listening to ocean and feel the breeze, you can find a place away from the mounds of seaweed and smell. The pools are nice and plenty of them. The pool service was unbelievable great where we were in the premium side. Shout to the team of Maurisco, Carlos and the gang. Very engaging and made it fun! The restaurants openings for dinner change daily so plan accordingly if you want to go to them all. While we were there, we only had Spoons ,the buffet, as a choice for Breakfast and lunch. Javier was our man for great service there. I normally dislike buffets but they changed the items for lunch for a very nice variety. Also the ease of getting in and out fast during the day is a plus. Might get very old if you stay for weeks. For dinner, Tapaz was great and our waiter, Baltazar, entertained us royally. As afar as reservations, that is a must. But still be patience if the restaurant gets full. Once you are in the cue, the service works well. Now, while you are there, you will be approached about the Prestige Membership, the loyalty program. They will offer you a massage or Candlelight dinner. If you want to get that & don't mind taking 1/2 day of your vacation away to listen to their presentation, go ahead. But under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, join the joke of a "loyalty" program. The 18 page contract lists all the benefits of the program & then has one sentence at the end of the contract that says they can CHANGE it at anytime. Which means they can remove, withdraw, change pricing, availability, & CANCEL your membership. Which happened to us after 14 "loyal" years. They told us that we have to book with Expedia, not as a member. There are too many other places to visit.

Avoid this hotel…. This was by far the worst all inclusive hotel I have stayed in with my family. Particular warning if you are from the UK and looking to book this holiday. When we arrived the main Mexican restaurant was “close for maintenance”. This meant limited choices, and the remaining restaurants were unavailable on many days of our stay. On Sunday the buffet closed meaning only 1 restaurant was available without booking. With a young family we were told a 2 hour wait for being able to receive any food which was completely unacceptable. After complaining we were told to order room service with over an hour wait. This is a 3* hotel at best. TUI promote as 5T, but the rooms were in need of renovation. The pool was dirty and had tiles missing. My 1 year old even managed to pick up a tile from the kids pool. The food was cold, poor quality and service was very slow. The staff did their best and we’re on the whole friendly but it was very understaffed. We also overheard management explain to another group that the head office “need to make a profit” and this was there excuse for the poor service during a “quieter period”. IT IS ALSO NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. Even thought the hotel was at most 20% full, no rooms were available in the family block which meant we were next to the wedding area and were awoken on multiple nights by rowdy groups who had booked their low budget weddings at this hotel. No options were given by the hotel to move. Also the kids club was unavailable for TUI guests which meant our children couldn’t attend. There is also none of the standard food options you’d expect from any all inclusive hotel for kids. No Ice cream, snacks and your only option in the day was to go and sit in the poor quality buffet, or go back to your room and order room service. We also noticed a disparity in service from those American guests who were party of the “Prestige club” who were given offered the ability to book restaurants and access the kids facilities. Even then the service we saw was by no means the 5* advertised and not worth the travel time for the UK for such a poor quality hotel.