Finest Playa Mujeres

Most fairy tales start with the words, “Once upon a time”, so I think it is the perfect way to title this review. Finest Playa Mujeres is my absolute favorite resort anywhere, not just in Mexico. From the moment you arrive, with the “Welcome Home/Welcome Back” to the moment you leave, with the “See You Soon”, you understand the warmth of this resort and staff, making it feel like you are walking into a fairytale. We have been visiting Finest several times a year, since they opened in 2015. Although some of the faces have changed, the staff continues to be the best part of every visit. The Excellence Beach is where we spend every day. Angel, Eduardo, Fernando, Pita, Ricardo, Isabel, Carlos, Victor, & Vick, provide “excellent” service, and attend to our every need. They have become part of our family, and fill the days with hugs, smiles, and great conversations! Speaking of the beach, it is one of the most beautiful I have seen. I never get tired of looking at the turquoise water, with Isla Mujeres off in the distance. If you are an early bird, the sunrises are spectacular! In the evenings, we always make our rounds to each of the bars, visiting with our bartender friends. If you favor delicious cocktails, and wonderful people, look for Daniel, Julio, Giovany, Gabriel, Ovidio, Manuel, Wilberth, Aldo, Cristian, Cornelio, & Alan. If you are staying in the Excellence or Finest Clubs, definitely try a smoked old fashioned, so yummy! All of the restaurants offer an array of cuisines, along with some amazing servers and managers. Dommo, exclusive to the EC, has a great menu! If you are a carnivore, the tomahawk steak is a must! Ask for Julieta, she is super sweet. Lorena and Andres, in Brass, made sure my birthday trip started wonderfully, with a surprise birthday dessert, and song! Our dear friend, Filiberto took care of us in Le Petit. If you like chicken cordon bleu, it is delicious. Our dinner at Shoji was incredible, with special dishes from Chef Nico, and great service from Marco. Enrique, at Tintos & Tapas and Eduardo, at Lizo, also took excellent care of us. Breakfast at Market Kitchen is always tasty. Margarito, Manuel, Freddy, & Norberto made sure we had lots of espresso and mimosas, to start off the day! The Excellence and Finest Club staff are wonderful, especially Manuela, Carlos, Priscila, & Cecilia who helped with our check-in and check-out, along with special requests throughout our stay. Last, but certainly not least, are Dalel, Javier, & Adrian. Dalel, from guest services, is a “sister” for life. We always look forward to spending time with her, even if only a quick daily chat on the beach. Javier, from the food and beverage team, made us feel extra special with delicious treats and special lunches on the beach, as well as wine and cheese deliveries, to our room, in the afternoon. Adrian, the GM of the resort, has been so kind to us on every visit, always taking the time to say hello, and offering his assistance with anything we need during our stay. We took him up on that offer on this trip, for the first time ever, and he was so accommodating. We feel so very lucky to have built these relationships over the years. These wonderful people are truly what sets Finest apart from the many resorts in Cancun. We are already counting the days until our next trip, in June!

Been here for 6 time , i wish they would add more chairs at the beach , waking up at 6:30 every morning to get a spot at the beach is not very convenient , forget about getting a spot around themain pool , there are clearly room for more umbrellas and chairs at both beach and pool . Everything else is great .

We arrived and had to wait about 40 minutes to check in, as we were assisted by a trainee. We ended up paying around $1,400 to upgrade two rooms to the Finest category, but were initially placed in Building 2, which is quite far from everything. Traveling with our 3- and 5-year-olds, it took about 10 minutes to walk to the main areas. We requested to move since the Finest rooms are located in Buildings 4 and 5. We were told availability would open up in two days, which we agreed to. However, even after discussing the plan multiple times with different managers, the relocation process was poorly handled. When the time came, there were delays with transferring our bags, and the new room wasn’t properly prepared according to the upgrade (missing better bath amenities, complimentary beach bag, etc.). We ended up spending about 4 hours without access to any room and had to deal with additional confusion because our new room wasn’t correctly marked as upgraded in the system. The beach and pools were always extremely crowded. My husband had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. every day just to reserve chairs for our family of five—he was probably the most frustrated by this. Housekeeping timing was also inconvenient—cleaning crews came around 8:50 p.m., when our kids were already asleep. On the day of departure, our hotel transfer arrived 25 minutes late. The manager told us we would need to arrange and pay for a taxi ourselves since the transfer was handled by a third party. We were close to doing that when the car finally showed up. The best restaurants, in our opinion, were Dommo, Gusto, La Petite, and the hibachi. Entertainment options were limited and mostly geared toward families, but even then, the kids’ club often didn’t have space in the evenings. If you’re looking for a place with plenty of activities for both kids and adults, this may not be the best fit unless you’re prepared to line up early for everything. On a positive note, the hotel grounds are beautiful, and the beach arrangements are very well done. We also appreciated the attention to detail—even things like the quality of the silverware stood out. The regular staff were friendly and provided good service, but the concierge and management teams seemed understaffed or in need of better training. The Excellence Lounge served some of the best drinks we had during our stay, but the ambiance there felt lacking. The ocean itself was a bit disappointing—there was quite a bit of seaweed, and the water was not the clear turquoise color you might expect. One more note—if you stay in Building 4, be aware that you can hear evening entertainment clearly due to poor sound insulation.

Coming to the end of another excellent family vacation. We’ve tried other places in Cancun but for the whole family, this trumps the alternatives. It’s got everything everyone needs. It’s the right balance between boutique and large enough that everyone is catered for, from food, to drink and entertainment. Adrian, Dalel and Team are excellent. They’re polite, proactive and professional. The Market buffet is leaps and bounds ahead of any other AI option I’ve witnessed. Proper chefs, preparing proper food at all times. (Freddy is a top waiter, also!) The decor has continually been refreshed throughout and everything is always immaculate from a cleanliness perspective. Staff are attentive and engaged across all areas of the hotel. The beach and pools are excellent - well maintained and welcoming. They’re plenty of dining options across the resort - food for all types. It’s an All Inclusive hotel, without ever feeling like that. Nothing feels mass prepared. Kids club is excellent - lots of variety and options for all. 30 mins transfer from the airport. Would highly recommend to anyone considering a family vacation with young kids - it’s got everything you want. We’ll likely be back again for a 4th time soon.

We had a very relaxing vacation at The Finest. We came on the recommendation of our neighbors and overall were not disappointed. The gym was phenomenal- best resort gym I’ve ever been to. They had all of the typical machines, but also had barbells, weight plates, an Assault bike, a skier, a rower, weighted medicine balls, and a separate studio room. The buffet food was some of the best we’ve ever had at a resort. We stayed in a two story suite and it was a great layout and great rooftop views. The only major negative of this resort is you cannot make dinner reservations for most of the restaurants (exception is the hibachi grill- but it boils up days in advance). I have stayed at many Caribbean islands and had club lounge access, and other resorts gave us a personal concierge and allowed us to make reservations at any restaurant. This resort is first come first serve, so if you want an early dinner time, someone will need to wait in line before the restaurant opens. Also, if you are a beech person, the beach is lovely, however there is a ton of seaweed that washes up and remains in the water, so there is not much clear water to swim in. This is not the resort’s fault as they cannot control seaweed, but just a heads up. The bartenders and service staff were great. My children really enjoyed the kid pool area. I had a massage at the spa and it was phenomenal. Overall, we had a great vacation on our first trip to Mexico and would most likely return to The Finest.