Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa

We recently stayed at Dreams Riviera Cancun as a family of 3, with a 9-year old. We chose to not go far from the hotel this trip as last time we stayed in Playa del Carmen. Transit time was around 30 minutes and we used Canada Transfers for a private van (highly recommend them!). The resort is small in size but has a lot of options for activities and restaurants. Check-in was easy but then things get frustrating. Be prepared to be whisked away to a desk to talk about excursions and credits. I was very annoyed with this and it left me questioning if we will return to a Dreams. The person tried to get us to go to a sister resort for the water park, and even showed my daughter videos of the water park. I chose the all inclusive for a relaxing few days with the sole purpose of not leaving. I had to say “no” too many times, and he kept offering “free” things to throw in. Men, when women say no and say they want to come and relax, just believe them. A few days later I went to the reception area to find the store and was approached by someone again to ask if I wanted to go to the sister location 10 minutes away. NO! At check-out, I turned around to get to my waiting transport service only to be approached by (or me run into) yet another person asking how much I paid and trying to get me to put $500 down for a discounted return. I hated those interactions and spent most of the time avoiding the reception area. The rest of the trip was great! Now on to the good parts.. We got a room with a plunge pool and I highly recommend! It’s not very private as you can look down and see everyone else in their plunge pools but that’s ok. The plunge pool was much bigger than I expected. It’s about 4 feet deep and long enough for a small child or toddler to have a great time if you need a break from the pool. The rooms are a tad outdated but I never mind that. The shower was large and the setup was great. The beds were comfortable. We could hear a lot of hall noise with carts going back and forth and the elevator dinging about 8 doors down. We got used to it after a night or two. There are 3 pools – infinity for adults only, activity pool (largest), and children’s pool. The activity pool has a ton of chairs, and we rented a cabana one day ($100). I recommend a cabana during a busy time to secure your spot and have a spot to rest and nap. When we went (May 10-14), the resort was not at full capacity and the pool chairs were freely available. People definitely saved chairs early, but this was not necessary. The entertainment crew were so fun! They really were fantastic with the kids and hilarious with the adults! The food options were much better than my experience at other resorts. As soon as you check in, make sure to get a reservation for teppan! It opens every few days on the app and you can book it once during your stay (or maybe more depending on how long you stay). The other restaurants are first come first served. We did not wait and the restaurants were half full when they opened until about an hour later. We did not make it to all of the restaurants. Our favorite meals were Himitsu for dinner, Himitsu for teppan, and El Patio. We did not enjoy Portofino. We had lunch at World Café each day because of the options. Most restaurants had kids menus but would also offer buttered noodles or plain ramen/broth. We went to a few of the shows and those were short and entertaining for the kids. The staff are truly incredible! Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful.

We recently took a multigenerational family vacation and I will say we will never be going back to this resort. The rooms and resort appear outdated, the food was mediocre at best, the drinks were watered down (except in the preferred lounge), and the service was abysmal overall. I truly don’t understand how this is considered a five-star resort.

We had a great vacation here. Our kids really enjoyed the kids club and loved Ximena. She was very nice and helped my kids with video games. We had the plunge pool which was great as well.

We have to Dreams about 12 times mainly because the staff has always been so fantastic. The resort is always very well maintained and the rooms are spacious.

My experience was a 5 Oliver from the water Zumba was spot on. Excellent instructor! We loved him!