Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya

This was my first time experience at an AI resort and I was extremely disappointed. Our room was clean and comfortable but when we checked in, the bathroom was missing the included toiletries, a bathmat, and robes. The hot water was very inconsistent and most times we tried to shower, the water was either cold or lukewarm. The gym lost power when I went to workout and didn't have towels despite multiple guests asking for them during the hour I was there. I was excited that they had a Peloton bike but the seat was completely stuck in place and when I attempted to adjust it, the handle broke right off. As for the beach access and pool, that was fine though the pool was cold (not heated). The food was by far the most mind boggling part of our stay. It was truly atrocious and borderline inedible. I work at a hospital and the the quality was worse than a hospital cafeteria. Even the breakfast was gross. I was shocked that this resort is rated 4.5-5 stars. It was a very bad value for what it costs and I would not recommend it to anyone. We checked out a day early and are still waiting to see if we can get a refund. The speed at which the woman at checkout printed out a "an early checkout explanation form" made me think this happens often. I thought Hyatt was better quality than this.

Overall, while it is a smaller resort, it is well laid out and very clean. Beach was very walkable and even though there was a lot of seaweed, they did a great job cleaning it early every morning. While there are limited restaurants, the food was good, however, the buffet was small and the service at the buffet was sub-par. Pool was very clean and there were plenty of chairs. Special recognition to: Javier our server at Lola and breakfast buffet, Ivan at Capri Grill, Norma at the Capri Grill breakfast, Abe the bartender at the Club Level Lounge, Abe our Club Level poolside server. Diaz who was our UVC representative was awesome.

Before our trip I reached out to the Pre-arrival Concierge, Iana. Iana was wonderful, responsive and helpful she did a lot to make our stay wonderful. When on site, we were surrounded by attentive staff who prioritized our happiness. The service we received from Ariel in the club lounge and from Jorge and Nelson in the pool bar was unmatched and truly superior. We enjoyed the Club level which is new to the resort and they are still working the kinks out. The food was good, much better than a lot of resorts. Our room was great, not perfect but clean and cared for. We met a lot of really great people that were staying at the resort and for us the people we met and the level of service will bring us back.

We had a wonderful stay in March for 1 week at the Hyatt Zilara MR. I would not hesitate to recommend this resort and most likely will go back again. The staff are the nicest of any resort we have been to and we have been to about 10-12 in the area over the years. The resort grounds and beach area are immaculate. The evening entertainment is a notch above others we have been to. We especially enjoyed the 3 tenors, the Mexican heritage show and the pop music impressionist group. Evening bingo was fun. AI food is AI food, we didn't starve! Everything is well presented and the servers are responsive. Our favorite were the breakfast buffet and the Capri/Italian restaurant. The drinks were good most of the time. The sargassum stayed away while we were there (TG) as that was a big worry for me. My biggest gripe was the slippery shower and bathroom floors. They are polished large slabs of marble and I found them treacherous when wet. We used the gray towels from the pool to cover the bathroom floor as sometimes the cloth shower mat was not replaced.This is an older resort and the room could use some sprucing up but nothing major. Just some nicks on the doors and drab paint color. I found the bed and 4 pillows comfortable. We had a king ocean view room on the 3rd floor. I really liked the guest/clientele. Most ppl were over age 45 and everyone was respectful and just lovely to chat with. The most fun was the (free) but please tip, catamaran ride to the cenote with Miguel. He is at a table with blue tent on the beach on the construction side. FYI, We could see but did not hear the construction. Brought my floaty hammock and enjoyed the pool most of the time but did some ocean swimming. Enjoyed the Aperol Spritz demo in the pool, made a bracelet and took part in water aerobics every day. We did not go on any excursions as we just wanted to get some sunshine after a long cold winter.. The coatis did not bother us, but they are food driven, There was a cute family of them running around and the resort kitten is quite friendly. We did not pay for elite or cabanas. We were able to get lounges by 8 am. FYI, if you try to save a lounge chair they will take away your stuff if you leave it for more than 45-60 minutes. It says 30 minutes but we only saw them remove stuff after about 45. I think it depends how busy/crowded they are. I was not supposed to be at this resort but due to weather we had to postpone our trip, lost our original resort and our travel agent suggested here. I was very nervous and read loads of reviews before I went so I am paying it forward with my review. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it. We had a very nice time.

Decent experience overall. First room given to us was missing furniture. They gave us a 2nd room that had a sewer smell and was always humid. We just stayed there. Smell was on and off. All staff were great and food was okay, not great, except for breakfasts. Pool area was nice, beach was nice except for the sargasm. The resort was actually nice and weather was great. Staff were excellent. Hyatt could do better with some aspects of the resort.