Le Blanc Spa Resort

I was here for a quick October trip and spent almost all of my free afternoon sitting by the upper tier infinity pool. Around 3 PM when the sun was shining right across the turquoise water, the pool concierge brought over fresh chilled coconut water and cucumber slices for our eyes without us even having to wave anyone down. Sitting on those thick cushioned loungers watching the waves roll in was an extremely perfect way to unwind after morning meetings. The ocean breeze kept the heat completely manageable, and they even brought little cold eucalyptus towels when it started feeling humid. The food at the French restarant later that evening was delicious too, but honestly just sitting out on that pool deck with an iced drink looking at the Caribbean made the whole stay for me.

We have been to Cancun 6 times over the years, most of which have been spent with Palace Resorts (2 Moon properties, Sun Palace and now LeBlanc). This trip in September was a celebration for my birthday, so we decided to splurge and book LeBlanc. LeBlanc is marketed as Palace Resorts’ premier, flagship property. When booking, they highlight the superior service, excellent beach, Michelin-type restaurants and boast about their 5 Diamond awards. Each room comes with a dedicated butler, who can help to book reservations, make recommendations and is readily available for whatever need you may have. We had booked our room several months in advance, and LeBlanc was well aware of our arrival information (given that they confirmed private transportation a few times leading up to arrival). Upon arriving at the hotel at 1 pm, we were informed that our room wasn’t ready and that we were free to use the hotel facilities. We were to return at 3 pm to finish check-in. This was not a problem and was expected, so we had a bite to eat at the buffet and walked around the property. Once we returned at 3 pm, we were informed that our room still wasn’t ready, and that we could wait in the lobby, that it should only be about 15 minutes and someone would come get us. After waiting for 30 minutes, we asked one of the lobby attendants what the holdup was, and were immediately seated at a desk to finish check in. I have to wonder how long we would have sat there if we hadn’t inquired. During the check-in, we mentioned that we would like to see the other properties, which was an advertised perk at the time of our booking. We wanted to see the other properties for potential future trips. The check-in attendant argued with us that that wasn’t really a perk that was advertised, that they used to ‘allow’ guests to do that, but that now it was a perk only for Palace Resorts members. That was disappointing, but not a deal-breaker. Also, during the check-in, the attendant advised that LeBlanc was scheduled to be closed for renovations, and that Beach Palace was currently going through renovation, so they didn’t want to have 2 resorts closed at the same time. This caused me to see how dated the resort was, something I’m not sure I would have noticed (at least not as much), had that not been pointed out. Also, during the check-in process, we were offered $500 in credit, to be used on anything, if we would sit with their membership team and listen to a 1.5 hour presentation. This is pretty standard in Cancun, but usually there’s a catch to how you can use that money. This one was no catch, so we agreed. During the sales presentation, it’s your standard timeshare pitch (though they’ll spend a lot of energy trying to convince you it’s not a timeshare). It’s a little shocking when the cheapest option is well over $100,000, but they’ll show you the $1 million package, which is supposed to make the cheaper one seem more palatable. Of course, it’s a 1.5 hour hard sell, switching out managers to try and close the deal. The credit money (for listening to the pitch) is credited immediately, and I can confirm that you can use it for anything with no strings. We used ours for 2 tickets to an Xcaret park and private transportation, and it didn’t cost us anything. The ‘resort credit’ that you get with the room, however, does have several strings attached to it (plus an additional 16% fee for using it), so pay attention to the details of that. We noticed several issues in our room; some pics attached showing them. The most disturbing was the moldy pillow case that was on our bed AFTER housekeeping ‘cleaned’ our room. It was facing up, as well, so hard to see how that wasn’t noticed. The rooms are dated and have some noticeable repairs. If you’ve been to other Palace properties, the rooms are essentially no different (most comparable to Sun Palace). There’s essentially no entertainment (nightly shows, etc.) and the resort is very quiet in the evenings (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). The beach has sargassum, same as every other resort along the hotel zone, but in fairness they do seem to be more proactive in trying to clean it daily. There are segregated areas throughout the property that are reserved for Members only, the same as almost all other resorts. The butlers are assigned at each floor, not per room, so it’s not quite as exclusive as it’s presented. That being said, we found our butlers to be friendly, proactive and useful for booking restaurants (which is something you can do in the app, as well). The restaurants (one of the things LeBlanc highlights in advertising) were good, but not really better than other properties. The Japanese restaurant was outstanding, but we were less-than-impressed by the Italian and French restaurants. After we checked out and arrived home, we received an invite to complete a survey. In filling mine out, I highlighted the issues we had and gave an honest assessment. We received a response within 24 hours from guest relations, highlighting our concerns, and assuring us that they would ‘personally’ look into it and follow up with us directly. It’s now been 30 days, and I’ve sent 2 follow-up e-mails with no response, so it feels like that was just more empty promises. Attaching a pic of their response and my follow-up, as well. In summary: LeBlanc is marketed as Palace Resorts’ premier, flagship property. In reality, it’s a dated hotel, essentially no different than any of the other Palace properties. You can get the same experience at Sun Palace for half the price. At the price point, you shouldn’t feel like you need to pay more to be a member or have any exclusions. Given our experience and the empty promise from guest relations, we’ll definitely not return to LeBlanc. It’s questionable whether we’ll return to Palace properties at this point.

Great experience great resort

Le blanc Cancun is the perfect blend of venue, restaurants and staff. The rooms were well appointed and comfortable. We enjoyed the variety of restaurants and each item we ordered was top shelf. The pool area was the best for making new friends from around the U.S. and a few from other countries. The staff to a person were friendly to greet us in passing and providing attentive service in the restaurants and around the pool. I can’t say enough good things about them. We will definitely return to le blanc Cancun.

As always our trip to LeBlanc was great! From airport pickup to check-in all was a breeze. Always Great to be greeted by Joe when we arrive. Food was great Employees were extraordinary ( Lucinda and Yessica at the pools along with our server Chris, Raul and Lobby Bar crew, And Our Butlers Luis and Jarman and BillyJoel, plus our good friend Joel Alphonso. This was also our 35th Wedding Anniversary and our Butlers decorated our room. Eddie in the lobby was also very helpful in helping us Its truly he employees that make the trip memorable. I couple seaweed days but that's minor.