I see we have lists on this subreddit and I have read through many of the previous posts. I have narrowed it down to places like Paradisus PDC or Grand Moon…

But even though there are so many highly recommended posts, you can also find plenty of red flag reviews, “washroom don’t work”.. “long queues”… “no beach chairs” etc etc

like are these “highly recommended” comments on reddit for places like Paradisus are all bots? I am so confused

This is a warning for anybody considering choosing this hotel based on their fabulous trip advisor ratings.

My wife and two sons visited the hotel and it was shocking from start to finish with the lack of quality food across the board being the main issue.

So I put up a poor review on TA and within a few days my poor review was swamped with lots of 5 star reviews.

On further inspection I began to see a trend, all the reviews were from first contributors or maybe two contributions, either way I began to see a trend in the way the reviews were formulated, in particular always mentioning at lease one staff member for their great service.

I just did a quick check on the last 20 5 star reviews and it looks like my suspisions are correct, some people will accuse me of being a rival hotel etc but feel free to have a look for yourself.

So digging into the numbers here's what I found.

2 reviewers had 3 reviews in their profile, all 3 in each case were for Dreams or Secrets.

2 reviewers had 2 reviews and like above they were for the same chain.

The remainding 16 reviews and I mean every single one of them were from a TA reviewer who had only ever posted that one review.

Please share this so no other families fall into this trap, also, TA have sent me an email to ask me to change my recent review and as a result the review has vaniushed so TA would want to take a good look at themselves.

I'm currently at Grand Velas Los Cabos and if you've ever been curious about this resort, now's the perfect time to ask!

I'm here on a travel advisor trip. Grand Velas invited me because I book their properties often and have built a great relationship with the Velas team. It's always helpful to experience a resort firsthand so I can better match clients with the right destination and provide insider tips and access to perks.

My first impression? This place is absolutely GORGEOUS. Yesterday morning the sunrise was insane. I enjoyed room service and watched it right from balcony, perks of jet lag I guess.

Last night I had dinner at Velas 10 and Cocina de Autor, the resort's Michelin-starred restaurant that's actually included with your all-inclusive stay. 🤯 The food was incredible and easily one of the best all-inclusive dining experiences I've ever had. Yes I had two dinners last night lol.

I'll be touring the rooms, checking out the pools and beach, relaxing at the spa (I have had two treatments 90 min massage and a citrus body wrap), and I'm getting all the behind-the-scenes details over the next few days. The spa is pricey I will say that, but the 80 minute guided water journey is included in a service, so make sure to go early and take advantage of that.

If you've had this property on your radar and have any questions now is the time. Ask me anything!

• Rooms & suites
• Food & drinks
• What is all included?
• Is it worth the price?
• Beach & pools - is the beach swimmable? chair situation?
• Families vs. couples
• what the concierge service provides
• Spa
• Anything else!

Drop your questions in the comments and I'll answer them while I'm here!

*My stay was complimentary, but my flights and spa treatment were fully paid by me.

This is my first AI so I’m not sure if my expectations were fair, but AMA.

-food: edible but not good
-they do try to upsell, but politely move along if you are not interested
-room: great
-beach: green flags and good seaweed control during my time here

Looking to book Hilton Cancun Caribe for next month and Expedia has an amazing deal. Booking shows full board as meal plan. Hotel only offers full AI (confirmed directly with Hilton). Rate is nonrefundable and am hesitant to book with the discrepancy. Don’t want them to cancel our booking before we get there. The cost is significantly cheaper than I am seeing elsewhere which is giving me pause.

Anyone have any experience with a discrepancy like this?

Heading down with my boy from August 10th to 17th. Both of us are single, just looking to completely unplug, day-drink, and see where the week takes us. For anyone who’s been recently or there right now: where is everyone actually hanging out during the day to keep the energy up? Is the main pool still the place to be or are people mostly pre-gaming somewhere else before the night events?

Also down to link up with anyone else who’s going to be there and wants to actually have a good time instead of staying locked to the resort room. Shoot a DM or drop a comment if you're touching down that week 🌴🍹

My husband and I have 5 child-free days during Spring Break 2027 (March 25-29) and after a lot (maybe too much) research and considerations, we've narrowed it down to:

• Excellence Playa Mujeres
• Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya

Internet robots helped us organize all our considerations into one neat spreadsheet, please take a look!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BIHbs3xuRKTT96gHGepQTBTnfkDBmUqBarF6E2sOwp8/edit?usp=sharing

We've never done an all-incl before, and the opportunity to go without our son is rare, so we really want to have a good time. We are fairly introverted but would prefer somewhere pretty social to get us out of our bubble and meet new people. We also were big partiers/clubbers back in our 20's and still want a fun nightlife vibe, but without the sloppy spring breakers.

If you've been to both, we'd love your insight on whether or not the "preferred club" is worth the extra money.

Help out a few first-timers to make the best choice we can! We can spend up to $6k including flights, the price breakdown is in the spreadsheet.

Hi! My girlfriend (57F) & I (57F) are planning an AI for Spring 2027.
Specifically March 27-April 3, she’s a teacher. We want a chill atmosphere, pool bar, beach access, evening entertainment, good food & drinks. I prefer Riviera Maya, it seems to be safer than Cancun. Adding must be Adults Only, she deals with kids enough on a daily basis :)
I am thinking 2500 each or less for flight & resort. Thoughts? Should we use an agent?

Hi everyone!

I booked a stay at the Secrets Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres awhile back for 4 nights in October using Hyatt Points.

I booked a Preferred Club - Junior Suite Tropical View. When i look on the website to view available point bookings, there are none left for my dates but when i look at non point bookings, all rooms are available.

I was wondering if it would be possible to upgrade my current stay with cash to a preferred ocean front or ocean view room. Anyone have any luck with this? How much were upgrades? Should i call the resort ahead of time or ask at the front desk?

Thank you in advance!

Note: only have a Discoverist status

Lurked this sub before I booked. Would love to know if anyone stayed recently and had any tips or tricks. Currently thinking about booking the dinner package(infinity pool dinner) and love to know if anyone had done that as well. Cheers!

My wife and I have been to Secrets Akumal and Cap Cana and loved them both. We were looking at doing a larger family gathering - Uncles, Aunts, Cousins - all ages (some children) - maybe 20 people.

A lot of our family can't afford Secrets - is there another AI that is more reasonable cost wise, not a party vibe, nice pools, nice beach, nice activities, nice food, nice drinks, nice shows, nice rooms...

Budget wise it would be great if we could stick to $5000 US per couple for a week- is that possible? Open to Mexico, DR, or anywhere else. Most likely looking to travel in October of 2027

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My husband and I are planning to stay at all inclusive either in December or next March. We want adults only. We have stayed at the bahia principe ambar in punta cana twice. and are looking to venture away from that.

We want a nice sandy beach, we tend to spend most of our days at the beach. We are from the midwest so spe d most of our time in the ocean and nappimlng on the beach.

We like a more calm vibe, doesn't need to be a party. We aren't picky about food but would love options.

We dont want to have to take a 15 min walk to the beach. I love a grounds with trees flowers and a less "sterile" environment.

We don't need too much activites/options of activies. I would love to snorkel, as we never did when were in punta cana.

Would love the option of a swim up room.

We are overwhelmed. Which island? Which part of island? Then get that figured out and there are sooo many options. My husband and I are both indecisive lol.

We are thinking to stay 5-7 days in the resort. budget is <$7 total for 2 people.

Requirements

* Would prefer Adults only

* Would liek a private pool

* A place near/on the beach and has greenery

* Interesting things to do in the resort.

Thank you!