Luxury Residences by Villa del Palmar Cancun

It is a beautiful family, friendly resort . It was very clean, safe and had good food when you could find a reservation at one of the restaurants. BUT all inclusive does not mean all inclusive here. Despite advertising that all inclusive included tips, At every meal and every turn, the staff asked for and expected tips. They weren’t shy, and service was noticeably slower the next time if you did not. In addition, each restaurant had meals that were not included (any steak or seafood specials) and charged exorbitant prices if selected (here’s looking at you $200 USD lobster tail). If you want a bottle of wine with a nice dinner, it was 200-300% more than the same bottle would cost in a comparable American restaurant. On top of that insult, if you didn’t book a seat at that restaurant three weeks before you arrived on site, you were eating at 8:30 or later at night in the only available reservation slots. That was consistent across every restaurant every night. I had brought a significant amount of pesos to use as tips, but this constant demand for tips and extra money for meals completely turned me off. I brought my pesos home and exchanged them back to dollars instead and put them back in my checking account. Money was not supposed to be the object of my all-inclusive vacation, but Taffer made it so. In short, greedy.

This was our first trip to this property. First off, it is a very beautiful, well maintained, and well-appointed property. The rooms were spacious, immaculate, and had very good quality furnishings. The staff was friendly and attentive. The food was excellent in the reservation restaurants, not so good at the buffet. The pools and beach were fine. However, all this was overshadowed by their practice of presenting you with a bill to sign for every meal, drink, etc., even though it is all-inclusive. We have stayed at many all-inclusive resorts in the Cancun/Riviera Maya area over 25 years, and have NEVER been to one where you received a bill detailing everything you ate/drank, with corresponding (very inflated) prices and totals that were in the hundreds of dollars even for breakfast or lunch. There was then a place for tip, and suggested percentages based on these crazy prices. Tips are supposed to be included in the "all-inclusive" package. The electronic pads are very difficult to understand, can switch between pesos and dollars, and very small print. Many times at the pool I did not take my reading glasses (no reason to do so), and I could not make out anything on the screen or paper. I had no idea what I was signing and if I was leaving a tip or not. I had one server chase me down to sign one as I was walking away. One day we left the pool without signing one for our drinks/food, and the next day the server chastised me for doing so. No one at check in told us anything about this practice, or that we were supposed to wait around for a bill on the all-inclusive plan. So we left cash tips everywhere rather than sign them, because I could foresee problems with that system. Sure enough, when we went to check out, there were charges for "tips" that we never left. This amounted to a couple hundred dollars. I disputed them, and they produced the paper ones with signatures. They were clearly not my signature, and then they made me produce my passport signature to compare. Who would leave a tip voluntarily and then dispute it? They reluctantly removed the tip charges only after I became visibly angry. The only reason I can think of why they do this is to drum up more tips or something. It is a ridiculous, stupid system and really ruined an otherwise nice stay for us. I will never return to this property as long as they have this practice in place, have never seen or heard of it before at an all-inclusive resort. Otherwise, the place was beautiful and I would return if not for this bizarre feature.

Its a beautiful place with many friendy people. The problem is its an optional all inclusive. That means if you don't take that package, and we didn't you are treated differently. Its very expensive with bartenders serving you very expensive wine in the afternoon know the beach. They also never told us each bottle is 2000 pesos. Very disappointing. Also there is a 15% service charge on everything and the never told us si we were double tipping know everything. That said thd location and beach are very beautiful. I would not stay here again.

Our stay at Villa del Palmar Cancun was extremely disappointing and frustrating from start to finish. This is not a true all-inclusive experience, and the resort suffers from major operational issues. Check-In & Billing Issues The hotel could not locate our $4,000 deposit at check-in and attempted to charge us again in full. This set the tone for the entire stay. Their billing system is overly complicated and lacks transparency. We ended up with over $500 in unexpected tips and fees that were never clearly explained. Severe Communication Breakdown There is little to no communication between departments (butler service, reservations, restaurants, housekeeping, etc.). We constantly had to repeat ourselves, and even then, requests were lost or mishandled. Examples: Restaurant reservations were “confirmed” but not actually booked. Our kids were added to an activity but no one informed us, so we missed it. A pre-booked catamaran excursion could not be found upon arrival. It feels like off-site booking teams and on-site staff operate completely separately. Room & Maintenance Issues While the suite was spacious, the room had serious problems: Dirty bedding upon arrival Strong chemical/paint-like cleaning smell Water leaking into the bedroom and kitchen during rain, creating a safety hazard Over an hour wait for maintenance to respond Food & Reservations Unless you book restaurant reservations before arrival, expect very late dining times (9–10 PM), which is not ideal for families. Food quality on-site was below average Breakfast options were limited Most food tasted pre-made or refrigerated Only positives: room service breakfast and pool bar food were decent. Not a True All-Inclusive This was one of the biggest issues. The resort tracks and prices all food (in pesos) without clearly showing guests what they’re spending. Tips are then calculated on these hidden totals. This creates a misleading system where guests are essentially pushed into tipping more without transparency. Aggressive Timeshare Sales Staff repeatedly approached us about timeshares throughout the stay and did not take “no” easily. This was intrusive and took away from the vacation experience. Final Recommendation This resort has major issues with communication, transparency, and overall service. While the rooms are large, that does not make up for the confusion, hidden costs, and poor experience.

Another fabulous trip to this resort! The staff at this resort are the best. The bartenders at the bar between Davino's and Blanca Blu - Raul and Claudio were exceptional - so fun and recommended great cocktails and tequila too! Fun to watch them mix drinks with such expertise. The concierge staff were great (as usual). Always so pleasant and helpful with reservations and our 'lost and found' issue too! They helped us get back some items left behind and UPS them back to Canada! So appreciated. Thank you Rodrigo Mena, Nubia Fitch as well as Alejandra too! The housekeeping staff were beyond incredible. Every day our room was cleaned to great standards and fresh, fluffy towels always available. The turn down service at night is so appreciated and always a little chocolate treat or pastry! The food experience is so good. Every restaurant, every meal. We usually do all-inclusive for part of this trip but even if you don't, the food is delicious and worth it!! We always make reservations before we leave home, however, there's flexibility too. We love our Elite membership at Villa del Palmar and travel twice a year to Mexico. Kevin and Jared and Angel and Alejandro at the Elite Pool - great guys and give the greatest customer service. Clearly, they love what they do! Thank you. Big shout out to Enrique and H our waiters at VIP Pool too. Always remember our drink order and when we need drinks! Erick at breakfast was so good as well. Eduardo in Garza's Gourmet Food Hall was a great waiter too! One of our all-time favourite waiter's is in Blanca Blu - Ruben!!! Thanks for always making our time there the absolute best. Honestly, the VDP has the most amazing staff. We return, of course, for the weather and the relaxation but mostly for the way we are treated - It's like returning to visit friends. Each year, we have a better time than the last. How is that possible? AND, we meet up with friends who return each year too... making it an absolutely wonderful holiday.