Luxury Residences by Villa del Palmar Cancun

We just got home after 6 nights at VDP. I wanted to share our amazing experience! Firstly, we have never been to Mexico. We have always been a little nervous due to all the usual scare tactics you hear about it, so when we booked this and then heard about the February safety concerns on the other side of Mexico we were a little apprehensive. We decided it was worth a try as we really needed a vacation and had insurance and we tried to avoid all the "news" stories about it. I will say for the record we never, ever felt unsafe from start to finish. The airport was really fine (just be smart and be aware of your surroundings!) and the Qwantour drivers (we booked through VDP) were terrific. We didn't leave the resort only because our kids wanted to spend about 23.5 hours a day in the pools but next time we would definitely plan excursions. Our room was a 1 BR on the 4th floor of building 3 and although it was technically a garden view we still had a nice view of the water! So, that was a win. It was more than comfortable for two adults and our two kids (11 and 7) to share a pull out couch bed. We could have also had a rollaway but chose not to. Balcony was great, especially for the one time we ordered delicious room service and ate outside. My 7-year old said it was the fanciest dinner he ever had. Water pressure in the shower wasn't great but not a deal breaker. The room had lots of closet and shelf/drawer space for us as well as comfy robes and VDP logoed flip flops. They provided snacks (MnMs, Snickers, peanuts and other light snacks) and drinks in the fridge daily (tons of drinking water fanta, sprite, coke, selection of beers). We tipped the housekeeping staff daily in pesos and left notes in Spanish for them if we needed anything specific. We have been to all inclusive resorts in other places and our family would agree that the variety of food options and quality of the food at VDP were excellent compared to other places we have been. The only exception would be the quality of steak at La Casona. My husband was very excited for this restaurant but we didn't love the steaks. That being said, we still had fun there, enjoyed appetizers and drinks and live music and of course the service was terrific... The steak at Zama and Davino were better. The service at VDP is excellent. Everyone that we came into contact with had a smile and a kind word, were willing to deal with our limited Spanish vocabulary and treated us very well. We appreciated a number of the staff there, specifically Jared at the front desk, George, Luis, Antonio and many others who provided amazing wait and drink service and were wonderful to chat with and very helpful. We did bring pesos for tips and they appreciated any and all. There is a window where you can exchange money if needed. Many others tipped with USD and they were ok with that too. We had lunch and dinner at Zama - both meals were excellent - we enjoyed steak tacos, chicken tinga, a pork and pineapple dish and a bunch of apps and drinks. They make an amazing guava margarita. We thought the Bites Bar had great food to eat around the pool - chicken nuggets, pizza, guac and chips for the kids, fish tacos and the burgers were also great. Kids loved the virgin pina coladas, mud slides and Miami vices, while the adults enjoyed all the margaritas, pineapple mojitos and Blue Hawaiians. Caprichos breakfast buffet was a lot of fun - lots of Mexican specialties to try as well as American favorites. Our kids loved nutella on... everything? Amazing fresh fruit, little donuts, bagels and lox, as well as yummy chilaquiles with eggs most mornings. Their green juice is to die for. I didn't have a cup of coffee that week - the juice kept me going. The kids enjoyed the dragonfruit/strawberry/banana smoothie and the fresh OJ. They have a smoothie menu, juices, coffee, tea and a full bar there as well. We absolutely Davino's - excellent service from Antonio and food (lasagne, the steak, the pizzas, the salads, bolognese!!). We were on a wait list for dinner our final night and talked to Antonio about getting an actual reservation and he was able to pull strings for us and gave us a fun send off dessert. It pays to ask! The activities staff by the pool were so fun!! We did water aerobics and had fun watching water polo, volleyball, games and a paddleboard contest. They made the pool time even more fun for sure. Our kids painted some cute items from one of the kiosks by the pool and lots of other families had hair braided - definitely stop by and ask about these (cash only). The ocean was rough (yellow/red flags) while we were there so we didn't spend a ton of time in, but we did take walks on the beach daily and the water was warm. The sand is so soft, like talc. The sunrises and sunsets were beautiful too. There are crazy amounts of cool birds and a few iguanas around the resort - that was also fun for the kids (and the adults)! There is a great shopping area we didn't notice until later in the week - I highly recommend walking out the front and turning left towards their sister hotel and there are a bunch of small clothing + gift shops, a deli and ice cream cart near a carousel. As for the hard push on the VIP breakfast/timeshare presentation, we were happy that we were prepared for this. We politely declined on the arrival day (they drop this during the check in process when learning about the resort/checking out the map etc). We also received 2 phone calls to the room to try to schedule this, but we declined and they moved on. The other issue we had was with pool chairs around the main pool - two of us were up each day before 6 to leave personal items on the chairs to hold them for us. That pretty much sucked. I'd love there to be a better rule for this as even by 6 am most of the chairs were already held for people by staff for the Elite and butler customers. We would love to come back next year - we felt that this place checked all of our boxes - fun, family friendly, great food and service all around.

We did the all-inclusive package. Excellent stay. Great beach and pools with more than enough space without any issues finding seats. Restaurants were excellent with great food and ambiance. We were well taken care of by the friendly and helpful staff, specifically: bartenders Adrian, Raul, Claudio, and Antonio were superb, Enrique was an amazing waiter by the pool, and Erick was great for breakfast and lunch.

We visit Villa Del Palmar Cancun frequently and always have a wonderful stay at the hotel - everything from the atmosphere to the service exceeds expectations. During the most recent visit, the staff went above and beyond to make the experience memorable for my family. A special thank you to Cesar at breakfast for starting each day on such a positive note, and to Kevin and Angel at the pool for their attentiveness and friendly service. Raul, our waiter by the pool, is always fantastic, ensuring we had everything we need with a smile. And Antonio at Davino restaurant continuously delivered an exceptional dining experience. A special thanks to the activity staff for keeping the kids entertained with Bingo and Blackjack in the pool!

​My family and I truly cannot say enough good things about Villa Del Palmar. From start to finish, the experience was fantastic. ​The Service: The staff is absolutely amazing. A huge thank you to Ernie and Alfredo for everything; they made us feel like family. They even made a point to come to say goodbye to us before their shift ended because they knew Friday was our last day. ​The Perks: Having 24/7 room service is a huge plus—they are always just a phone call away if you need anything. The daily activities were also a highlight—very fun and well-organized. ​The Pool/Beach Side: If you take care of the servers, they really take care of you! We tipped Edgar $10 USD, and he was incredible all day, bringing us drinks before we even had to ask. ​The Food: Everything we ate was great. While we tried the room service breakfast (which was a nice experience), we actually found the buffet to be even better. ​Overall, it's an all-around great place. I highly recommend Villa Del Palmar for your next getaway!

Great experience overall. Resort was clean and well kept. Staff was very nice and helpful. Special thanks to Ruben at the pool for being very attentive and courteous. Will definitely visit again.