Luxury Residences by Villa del Palmar Cancun

We were sent to this resort due to a flight cancellation and got to spend two wonderful nights here. The food here was sooooo good, the staff are amazing, the rooms wow, wow, wow. The beach was so beautiful. Pools are awesome different temps for all your preferences. There is never a wait for anything they clearly have their process nailed down. Highly recommend ... (only downfall is lack of night life which we weren't there for that so for us 10 out of 10). We can't thank Westjet enough for sending us here.

The positives: it's what you would expect from a large all inclusive. It's a well maintained property with great pools and beach. The food is surprisingly really good for resort food. We were there at peak period over New Year but it never feels too crowded, and it is extremely family friendly. I am not normally into these kinds of vacations but it is hard not to enjoy it here. Where the hotel can improve: - In order to get sun beds you either need to go down at 6 in the morning or bribe the pool staff who reserve 90% of them. It's a nice income for those staff but it is a racket. - You need to book the specialty restaurants weeks before you arrive. When you get there, they are often half empty but still won't seat you and even if you have a reservation they will order you to go and sit down and wait. The main restaurant at dinner isn't great. - The hotel staff generally are delightful, friendly and attentive. The exception is the front desk where some of the staff seem to have contempt for their customers. The default answer to any request is no. If you ask again, speak to the manager etc., the answer is always yes but it is exhausting. Not the hotel's fault but arriving at Cancun airport is awful. Expect to have 100 people descend on you offering taxi services, which are massively overpriced, you can negotiate. They will tell you Uber doesn't work at the airport which is a lie, it does it is just quite hard to find where to meet them. Leaving Cancun we had no problems and no lines, but friends had 2-3 hour lines to check in and get through security and passport control.

My family and I hosted a family reunion for my mother's 80th birthday and all stayed together at the Villa Palmar. There was 15 of us total ranging from age 10 through 86 with a number of teens/young adults. Overall, our experience was great. The 2 bedroom rooms were HUGE and incredibly spacious and really enabled comfortable sleep for our family of 4. Having a washer dryer in the room was terrific and we utilized room service a few times. It does take extra time to arrive but helpful to have. There is daily housekeeping plus turn down service when you request. The beds were incredibly comfortable and we all slept great. The rooms are not modern/new persay but the size and set up were so comfortable and had everything you need to be comfortable so that was great. We experienced no issue with noise level. We overall had a very positive experience with pre-arrival planning. My sister, through alot of effort, was able to prebook dinners for our large size and I was able to pre-order a delicious chocolate cake for my mom's bday party (which we hosted in our spacious room) and book spa visits at a discount. The food overall was a B+ for an all inclusive. We have stayed at a few all inclusives in Mexico and typically do not expect much from the food, but at Villa Palmar, we actually really enjoyed our meals at the Italian place, Mexican place, and the sports pub. We did not enjoy the steak house. The daily breakfast is solid. I am vegan and I experienced all the chefs to be very helpful in making adjustments and the breakfast chef made me a tofu scramble or avocado toast by request several times. We have alot of food allergies in our family and we experienced all the restaurants to be very good about managing this. The one issue we faced was the arrival transportation. It was booked/paid for as part of our package and the company they hotel uses never showed up despite calls and confirmations and we had to pay $160 out of pocket to reach the hotel at night. Moreover, on the outbound they booked us a pre-paid taxi but the van they secured was incredibly old (driver was very nice) and not comfortable. I hope they find a new transfer company. It was nice to be next to the Garza Blanca and walk around their property. We have stayed at GB in the past and do feel like the Villa Palmar was more family friendly and more of our speed. Getting pool loungers is not easy so most people drop their stuff off early in the morning to claim beds. One stand out item was how good the service was. All the wait and service staff are very hard working and work hard for their tips which we did provide at every meal/drink service as tips are not included for that. The spa was fine. It is nothing stand out but solid. The younger kids enjoyed the pool and all the kids/teens enjoyed the free paddleboarding and inflatable gym they have on the water. The ocean is easy to swim in and the beach/ocean are right outside the hotel. We left the property a few times for outings including a few fun aftns of tennis and pickleball at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center (15 min uber) and a day of snorkeling around and at Playa Mujeres (highly recommend) Net net, highly recommend this hotel for families. Give the age of our parents and wanting to keep an eye on tweens/teens, the resort size is perfect. Lots of areas to walk but super easy to meet up or find people.

Perfect vacation spot! Beautiful beaches, not too far from the downtown, easy access to Isla Mujeres. A very warm, welcoming vibe overall. Rooms felt clean, comfortable (hammocks on each patio is a huge plus), and with the all inclusive package the value is great for what you can get. Amazing food/restaurants, room service, pool side service, activities, essentially as much as you can eat and drink… all included! Service was amazing and all staff were as friendly, helpful, and welcoming as they come. Staff members would remember us each day, go out of their way to say hi and have a quick chat, make us feel special. Couldn’t say anything bad about this place. Special shout out to our pool side server Eric who made our trip all the more better. Eric went above and beyond making our trip better than we thought it could be. Remembering what we like to drink each day, finding us seats at the pool, just doing what he could to further the relaxation, comfort, and overall good vibe.

The resort was beautiful and luxurious. We loved the people, food and amenities. Service was fantastic. Our only real complaint is that after every meal, after every drink they bring you on the beach, after any service at all ... they stick a tip calculator in your hand asking for a tip. Even if you're all inclusive. We left tips every time and brought cash to do the same. BUT it's essential that you understand the calculator (or phone) is in pesos, and you need to understand the conversion rate or you'll WAY over tip. The lowest suggested tip on the phone is 10%, but the food (even as an all inclusive) very expensive. While you may be eating for free, the bill may add up to $250 and a 10% tip is going to be $25 dollars. That adds up very quickly. No one told us this or explained this to us. Our first meal when we arrived was a couple of burgers, fries and drinks, but was nearly $100 total (had we not been all inclusive), but the tip that was suggested in pesos was 10%, 12% and 15% ... all way over tipping. You can change the phone to English, and put in US dollars. Just make sure you understand, after everything you do, they're going to ask you to tip. We thought it was a bit excessive.