Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun

Nothing advertised was available during our stay (September 20-21, 2025). We booked this resort based on the information provided by Expedia. Advertised seven (7) restaurants - Only 1 restaurant was open for breakfast (8 till 11:30) same restaurant reopened for lunch (12:30 till 5pm) and then, same restaurant for dinner (7pm till 9) No breakfast buffet as advertised, no 24/7 room service (only 11am - 11pm) and thats if they answer the phone. 5 pools are advertised but only 1, booked the premium swimup room that lacked hot tub outside our swimup room, hot tub inside our room (both hot tub did not have hot water - cold water) Property lacked so much that was advertised. BEWARE IF YOU BOOK THIS RESORT! Rude staff!! They don't care - this property was sold last July 2025 and no one cares about the guest that are paying to stay here!!!

Soft opening. It was quiet and clean. The room was huge. A lot of the restaurants weren’t open so our selections were limited but it was l delicious.

🚫 Palmar Beach Resort Riviera Maya / Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún — Zero Accountability, Hidden Renovations, and Misleading Practices 🚫 I booked what should have been a dream family vacation, but instead I experienced one of the most deceptive and poorly handled situations I’ve ever encountered. 📅 Booking & Sale In May 2025, I booked two rooms at Palmar Beach Resort: a Deluxe Ocean View 2 Queen and a Family Suite Ocean View with 3 beds, plus roundtrip transfers. Everything was confirmed under Tafer Resorts and tied to my Tafer Rewards account. On July 1, 2025, the resort was sold to Iberostar. Guests were not notified. At the end of July, I even confirmed my shuttle service — yet no one mentioned the change in management, the renovations, or that the property was no longer operating at a 5-star standard. 🔍 How I Found Out Weeks before my trip, I tried to show my family the Palmar website and saw it redirected to Villa del Palmar Cancún. When I called, I was told our reservations would be automatically moved to Villa, which I accepted. Later, I was told the opposite: the only options were to cancel or pay significantly more to move to Villa — and that what I was being offered was the “best deal.” Iberostar was never mentioned on that call, and I later learned the property wouldn’t even officially be part of Iberostar until November 2025. 🤦 Service in Limbo I corresponded with Miztli Ameyalli Cabuto Miramontes (Tafer) and Jairo Too (Reservations Manager, Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún). Jairo did his best, but admitted the property was stuck in corporate limbo. Upper management at both Tafer and Iberostar pushed responsibility onto each other. No one resolved the problem. 💸 Hidden Costs & Broken Promises The Villa option came at a significantly higher price — nearly $200 more per night — even though I was first told the transfer would be automatic. The entire mess started because the Palmar website redirected me to the Villa property with no explanation. After the “automatic transfer” promise, I even went online and booked all of our dinner reservations at Villa. Only later — when I was told we would be forced to stay at Palmar instead — did I have to cancel all of them. 🛠️ Renovations Hidden I asked directly whether the property was under renovation, if all facilities would be open, and if there would be nightly entertainment. Only after pressing did anyone admit: yes, renovations were ongoing. This was never disclosed upfront. ⚖️ The End Result After weeks of contradictions, hidden costs, and zero accountability, I was left with two options: cancel or pay significantly more. I cancelled, received a refund, and had to scramble to find new accommodations just days before my family trip. ❌ Final Verdict This resort is not operating at a 5-star level. It’s under renovation, in transition, and run with no transparency. ⚠️ Travelers beware: Palmar Beach Resort was sold July 1, 2025, but guests weren’t notified. The property is not even officially Iberostar until November 2025. Renovations and changes are hidden unless you press for answers. Management refuses responsibility, leaving guests stranded. Don’t just take my word for it — read the other reviews. This is not an isolated incident.

First off, the hotel cannot help mother nature and sargassum. Yes, that's awful, not their fault. They would fix it if they could. NEXT however...excellent and exceptional quality and service here!! From the moment you step out of your taxi, until you leave! The service, staff, waiters, food, drinks and all of it, gets a 💯 and A+. The spa/massage was awesome as well, very lengthy, not just in and out! Wonderful so be ready to spend some time in there! The only bad thing is the beds are like sleeping on concrete! I can't understand this because everything else here is so wonderful. They are the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life. They really are. These people are so genuine and caring. Such tender, beautiful souls, broke my heart to leave them. They rely on their tips to live there, please remember this. They work long, hot hours in the sun. They maintain the grounds beautifully here. Iberostar just bought them so hopefully they will do something with the bedding, although I was told they "WERE NEW" beds. They about killed me and totally ruined my trip! Oh did ì hurt! That's fixable however! As I said,,, everything else really awesome and the people and the service were absolutely wonderful. I would have enjoyed this vacation to the Max, because they were just so wonderful. If it wasn't for my back and the BAD BED! It would have been a 10 plus. Purchase an egg crate or something when you come but you won't want to Miss out on the rest of this beautiful resort and its quality staff, really! The food is great! Go! Enjoy yourself and have a wonderful fun vacation! Oh...AND..buy the upgraded room! It's sooooo worth it! Great rooms, rain showers, patio w/hot tub, great pools, stocked fridge, Sergio 9‐5 will be there around pool to help you out! Love ya Serg!

We stayed 4 nights at this resort then 5 nights at the Hilton Tulum. This resort definitely had some aspects we enjoyed more than the Hilton. It's a small resort which means we could easily walk everywhere and not have to wait around for trams. It was super empty there, which was almost eerie, but nice and quiet. Their restaurants didn't require reservations so we could show up to whichever one at any time within the window, which I loved. The desserts were all pretty bad but the meals were good. We went to all 4 restaurants and enjoyed them all, but liked the Italian and Mexican the most. The staff were all very friendly and accommodating. The breakfast buffet had nice touches with an omelette station and a fresh smoothie station. The pizza place was great for lunch. Their teen club was empty so they didn't say anything to my family when we went in and played ping pong and foosball with our kids. There was zero entertainment at night and very little activities during the day. They had a few board games available in the lobby to play, which we did one night. There's a shuffle board court near the water that we played. The Latino bar in the lobby had a good DJ that we enjoyed dancing to on our first night. However, it was a little awkward because there were only 2 other ppl in the bar. The pools are super huge and fun to swim/walk through with bridges to go under and swim up bars (there was nothing special about the Hilton pools and no swim up bars). However, the water was really cold in their pool, maybe because of the size of the pool? The pool needs to be renovated, however, mosaic tiles are missing everywhere. From a distance it looks super nice, but up close, very old. The biggest downside at this resort is the lack of beach. You can't see any sand, only a mountain of seaweed. Gnats were swarming near it and it was stinky. I really would have liked to have been able to walk the beach if not swim in the ocean. There are some weird things with the rooms. The towel bar is at hip height in front of the sink, making it difficult to stand close to the sink. Very strange placement. The shower has a frosted window on the bed side of the room so we could see the outline of the person showering. Loved having the jacuzzi tub in the room. I wish there was a hot tub by the pool, but it seems like most resorts don't have one.