Hotel Xcaret Mexico

Prior to our trip we emailed several times to arrange dinner and activities. We have been to the adult resort before (Arte) and were aware that reservations fill up. Several emails over a month before our trip and not one was ever returned until two days before we were to leave…of course everything was now full and we were unable to get ANY of our food reservations. We also wanted to coordinate our rooms. We were traveling with 7 of us and needed two rooms that were near by. Needless to say they had us in completely different buildings across the property. It took almost an hour to try and get rooms somewhat close to each other at check in. Again, all of this could have been avoided had they responded to emails, we even make several attempts to call the resort and no one ever answered. So we ate at the same restaurant for a week… Then when we went to check out and received the bill, they had charged us $200 for a “no show fee” to one of their parks…except we DID go and all their photos that they try to sell you prove it. Yet, they actually made us show them photos from our phone and attach it to some email with another form, to “prove” to them that we actually did go. Needless to say, I’ve traveled all over the world and have NEVER been treated like this at a resort...especially one where you spend $20000 to take your family of 7. I’ll will never be back and I’ll be sure to let everyone know of our experiences at Xcaret, including our travel agent.

The reviews before this one really hit all the right points, so I will keep mine short and just point you to the things to read about further, below. The resort is wonderful in terms of its rooms, pools, and staff. The food is also fabulous, which is surprising for an all-inclusive. Yes, there are a few duds; but every sit-down restaurant was fabulous, and the big buffet at La Central was shockingly good too Just avoid the small buffet places. Maintenance was also good. We had two problems, and both were fixed within 10 minutes. The problems? The concierge system is awful, and yet the resort requires you to have advanced reservations for excursions and also the non-buffet restaurants. You need to start emailing and calling no later than 4 weeks before your trip, and expect to have to send 10-15 emails before they respond, if then. I called many times also, ultimately pretending I was a travel agent making a new booking (they answer that line) and getting transferred to the concierge, who finally helped. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO ALMOST ANY OF THE EVENTS OR RESTAURANTS. The problems continue on property. We ordered room service three times, and never did the food arrive. Never. We arranged transportation with the concierge to ride to the airport, but when we got to the bus they had no record and were very nasty about it (especially Judith) until I was able to prove that they were wrong. We reserved tennis courts and when we showed up they again had no record of it. Check-in and check-out were both terribly slow. And at check-in they offered us two rooms that were 10+ minutes apart, even though we are one family; and our "2 queen beds" become "1 bed plus a terrible sleeping sofa". (They ultimately gave us two rooms nearby each other, but garden view when we had paid for river, and still with the terrible sleeper sofa instead of the beds.) And they run out of towels at the pools all the time, which is annoying, and they forget to reset things like water bottles and soap when they make up the rooms. Overall, we had a great time, but the above failings are disappointing for a hotel at this price point. One last thing, for MANAGEMENT: in addition to hiring someone to solve the above organizational problems, have someone check the installation of the toilets. In both of our rooms, the toilets were not installed correctly, which meant that the water would continue to flow after a flush unless you very intentionally pulled the lever up. That must be wasting a ton of money/water across the property, and it is easy to fix.

hope this review reaches future guests before they make the same mistake my family and I did. I want to express my deep dissatisfaction with our stay at this property. We chose this hotel expecting a premium, seamless, and well-managed experience, especially given the exceptionally high nightly rate of over $2,000. Unfortunately, what we encountered was the complete opposite. One of the most unacceptable issues was the inability to access dining. While the resort heavily markets a wide variety of restaurants, the reality is that many of them are effectively unavailable unless reservations are made weeks in advance—something that was never clearly disclosed prior to arrival. As a result, we found ourselves in the absurd position of staying at a luxury resort where we could not dine at the majority of its restaurants. Although there are buffets and a few restaurants that do not require reservations, these come with their own problems. Guests are expected to wait in line anywhere from 30 minutes to over 2 hours just to be seated. To make matters more uncomfortable, staff at the buffets closely follow guests around while they look for a table, which feels intrusive and inappropriate rather than helpful. At times, staff also repeated that the food is “for guests only,” which is confusing and unnecessary—of course we are guests. Additionally, the presence of multiple adults-only restaurants within what is marketed as a family-oriented resort is frustrating and limiting. This further reduces already scarce dining options for families, especially considering the brand operates separate adults-only properties. When we attempted to address these concerns on-site, we were repeatedly left waiting to speak with management, and no meaningful resolution was ever provided. This level of service is completely unacceptable for a property at this price point. At over $2,000 per night, guests should not have to struggle for basic access to food or spend their vacation dealing with avoidable operational issues. The resort feels overcrowded, poorly managed, and misleadingly advertised. Honestly, the best part of our trip was leaving the resort to dine elsewhere—where we finally experienced good food and normal service. Save your money and go elsewhere. You would be far better off spending a similar amount at another hotel and paying separately for meals than dealing with the frustration and disappointment we experienced here. We cannot wait to leave the property. Honestly we are so upset that we booked a week at this property and wasted our family vacation and money here.

It is almost midnight and I am still trying to check in. We were first given keys to another party’s room, which as one would imagine caused quite an uproar when we entered the room without knocking. Next we were given keys to a room that only had one bed for a party of three adults. When I returned to the desk for a third time I was told that the room we received satisfied the reservation despite the obvious issue with sleeping arrangements. The person on the desk said there was nothing he could do and I would have to speak to the manager when he arrives in 30 minutes. Each time I go up to the desk I have to wait in a 30 minute line so this has been going on for 5 hours and I am just desperate to get my family in a bed. They will not refund a penny off the 18,000 we have paid for the trip. We are set to spend 6 days at a hotel we have no desire to be at. Would never even consider staying here again and I am tired and furious. If you want to sleep in a hotel room I do not recommend you book XCARET because evidently they will just give away your room.

The worst guest service experience I have ever had- certainly this hotel is not worth the money. When I booked the $ 2000 dollars a night room, weeks before my visit, I was asked to fill and submit a guest form so the “guest services” team could reserve park and restaurant visits. The person who asked me to fill in the form stressed the it was necessary given that restaurants and parks filled and they might not have space. Two weeks before the trip I spent some time filling it and sent the form to the guest service email provided. A week passed and I did not receive any response or confirmation from guest services so I emailed them again to confirm they had received the form. Finally a woman named Gabriela answered telling me one of the restaurants I had booked was full on the day I requested. So I emailed back to give her other dates times and to ask her to tell me when there would be availability. Not only did she never respond, she did not book any of the park visits and other restaurants I had requested in the form. I learned this when I arrived at the hotel. And what did the hotel do? Absolutely nothing. Not even in a 3 star hotel have I had to chase concierge and guest services. So, I am stuck with the massive and busy buffet restaurants (not greatest food) making long lines and paying 4000 for 2 rooms. In line with this, room service is a disaster. You order food and drinks and sometimes they simply do not arrive. Pretty hellish. Not worth it. Go to any other hotel in Playa del Carmen. I have stayed at Grand Velas and there is absolutely no comparison. This hotel has a shortage of staff and at least the staff working in guest services has no training. Only positive thing are the nice and patient waiters who serve diners in the massive buffet restaurants. They try their best. But again, if possible, save your money, avoid frustrations and go to any of the other beautiful hotels in the area.