Hotel Xcaret Mexico

I waited until my second visit to write my full review so this will be pretty lengthy. I went exactly one year before also in 2024 before the opening of their new hotel area. First, the hotel is absolutely stunning in so many ways. There are so many details the developers/owners/architects thought of and the hotel itself doesn't overwhelm the natural beauty of the area and the natural environment that envelops it. There was great respect taken to represent both the heritage of Mexico along with the beauty in the forest. The proprietors/planners made sure to give people ample options and anything they could think of in the way of food, drinks, natural park components, and entertainment. The food is delicious in most places and of very high quality (more details on this below). Second, the staff of the hotels is also mostly pleasant, attentive, and insightful. The first time we were there my husband and I had a very unpleasant experience at check in because upon arrival there was no inclination to meet or greet us by any staff and we had to lug our belongings back and forth until someone was able to direct us on where to go. The second most recent time, because we had private transportation and were in the newer part of the hotels, there was immediate attention and assistance from our arrival and we were pleasantly greeted and directed toward our respective areas for check in. Upon arrival we realized that as "members" when the reservation had been made by the member group we had been promised we would be in a specific area of the hotel and when we did our check in, we were placed in a completely different area. Realizing that the front end members services was over promising and being impractical about what they were committing to members leaving front end staff scrambling to attempt accommodations and leaving guests to question the validity of things that had been offered. This trip we had 3 butlers that would assist us with things like finding new restaurants, moving around the hotel, and guiding us so we had a pleasant experience. Rebecca and Juan Pablo were of utmost attentiveness and kindness. They have a commitment to their job that makes you feel welcome and comfortable and are wonderful in their assistance to you on your trip. Having butlers was a new experience to us this time around, because although they were accessible last visit based on our reservations, we did not use them and didn't feel a need to reach out to them for anything until this most recent visit. Room for improvement: The hotel is massive and divided into two "phases", aka the older part and the newer part. Both areas have beautiful rooms and restaurants, the older area is much closer to the beach and cathedral, the newer area is much closer to the parks and accessible to the buses for transportation to the parks and the water taxis that also take you to the parks. I make the distinction between the two areas because when you travel from one side to the other, you can see a difference in service levels. This most recent experience had mixed responsiveness in the way of service and hospitality. There is much room for improvement regarding the management of both facilities and continuity of uniform high quality service. What I mean by this is that as my husband and I walked around the older phase of the hotel, we could tell there were "pockets" that had been recently ignored or fallen off the radar of management. At one restaurant by the beach we ordered drinks that were pretty bad in way of concoctions. There was a comment made by one of the staff that lead me to believe they had a new employee that hadn't been properly trained yet making the "specialty cocktails" for that location. Down further closer to the beach, we had a waiter who was servicing the lounge chairs that had zero experience with alcohol. I found this out because she took our full drinks away as my husband and I were wading in the water, even though we had our belongings on either side of said drinks and had our personal things on the small table where the drinks were as well. No biggie, however when I asked her to replace our drinks after she took them away to toss, she brought back what she only knew to offer which was a very much lower quality tequila and some mix that I had never heard of nor wanted. She tossed an expensive drink and brought us bottom barrel replacements. We did not drink these new drinks because they were pretty bad. My annoyance at this situation was compounded by realizing that a chair lounge directly behind us with 4-6 EMPTY cups that were stacked, had never been cleared or touched. So, I'm not sure if this person was just targeting us for tips or being lazy or both. Lastly, the restrooms in this area were the only restrooms in both facilities that were an absolute mess and dirty internally in the stalls and outside in the bathroom area, I don't mean sand, I mean just a disheveled mess of untidiness and lack of maintenance. I also noticed the service quality for the older phase restaurants was lacking versus my husbands and I's first visit from 10/24 before the opening of the new hotel area. We specifically ate at the sushi restaurant Xingao both times and had a waitress this time around who had a bad attitude, failed to check in on us multiple times, and the food itself coming from the back end failed in comparison to our over the top first experience the first time here in 2024. We also ate at the Brazilian restaurant Cuevas both times we visited in 2024 and 2025. In 2024 we were over the top with our experience and quality of food and options. I was so excited to come back and we even made it our last dinner because it was so amazing the first time around. All I will say is this second time we sat at our table for over 20 minutes before any meat or service was provided. We had to actively get up and walk over to the hostess and Supervisor who was conveniently just standing there instead of checking in on guests and request that someone go by our table and assist us. The experience did not improve much from there unfortunately in the way of the food and when I was informed that they had removed the small potato cheese ball bread from the menu I was shocked. Isn't that what MAKES a Brazilian experience?! It feels like overall, the hotel developers and management are expanding faster than they can actually manage. I hear they are further expanding in the coming years and adding new phases and areas for more people to visit. I really hope that as they continue to develop all the beautiful areas of this hotel they monitor very closely the experiences they are offering their customers both new and old. It felt like when resources are stretched thin in the way of training or follow up with employee expectations and accountability or/and they are hiring desperately and not training properly. A lot of the new area employees are over the top in the way of hospitality but in a natural "I love what I am doing" way, but when you walk around the older phase of the hotel the employees are tired, over worked, malcontent, in bad spirits, or actively trying to show you they are underpaid or undertrained. Management needs to take a closer look at what is happening in both areas before committing to new areas and expansion. We will likely be traveling again this year to visit at some point and I do hope my experience in both areas improves, whether with training, replacing bad employees, or perhaps paying them living wages that help incite them to be happy at work. It would be a complete shame if a place like this were to lose its magic because of overreach on the CEO to try and force growth before tackling all the nuances of a positive experience and make sure that is completely managed in a way that reflects their own desired experience when dreaming up this place in the first place. Lastly, the hotel itself also needs to keep a closer eye on what the members services team is promising people because when it comes time to fulfill those promises, they are falling short. It seems they have zero communication with the actual hotel staff so over promising and under delivering falls on the shoulders of the actual Xcaret staff. This is a bad look.

I have been a member since its inception in 2017. The expansion has created a family centric environment to the determent of adult guests. It is not the magical place it once was which catered to both families and adults. I will not be returning

Upon check in - one of our first and best interactions was with Samuel who took our bags and immediately made us feel comfortable even given the vastness of the multiple buildings throughout the resort. Fernando and Neftali were also amazing every time we saw them at the rooftop pool of Casa Luna. Such an amazing trip, very fortunate to stay at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and have access to all the parks too! 10/10 highly recommend.

Stayed at the Royal Oak in Ripon where the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. the room was pleasant, warm and well equipped and the evening meal and breakfast delicious.

January in Mexico was wonderful! Perfect low 80s weather. Resort is huge and gorgeous. We upgraded to Casa Fuego which was a world of difference. The food at the Fuego restaurant was top notch and a welcome change from the general buffets. Poolside was never crowded and drink orders were very timely. It was our first experience having butler service, and we so enjoyed guidance from Alejandro Barrera, Juan Pablo Velazquez, and Brandon Albavera. It was fantastic having immediate support for reservation changes, park tips, and arranging anniversary treats. More than once they appeared just when we were lost or confused with locating a restaurant or arranging transportation. Magic!