My sister and I returned from a one week vacation at the Oasis Cancun April 22 2008. I am 22 and my sister is 27 and pregnant. Like others, we were worried when we read some reviews that had been posted on the internet regarding this resort. However, we were pleasently surprised with the Oasis Cancun with the exception of a few minor areas.
Reception / Checking-in:
You are not able to check into your room until 3pm. We arrived early to the hotel (11am) so we left our luggage with the bell boy at the front of the hotel and explored. We had full access to the facilities at this time; thus, you could swim, eat etc. We found the reception desk to be not helpful MOST of the time. It seemed like they liked to "pass the buck" onto others and no one would give you a straight answer about anything. However, with persistance, you will get what you need/want. We both got internet cards for $5 american for 30 minutes. The safe is $12 for the week, payable when you checkout. We did not get given a towel card when we arrived; however, we brought our own towels as we felt that it would be easier to identify our own on our chairs rather than the blue or yellow ones that everyone has.
Grounds:
The resort and grounds are amazing. This is a very clean resort that has everything you could ever need or want.
Pool:
The pool is very nice and clean. There is a man in the pool contantly cleaning. It is nice a big so you are not crowded and it is nice and warm.
Rooms:
The rooms are a bit small. We didnt stay in our room much (only to sleep at night) so it was perfect for us. The bathroom is a very good size. The room was very clean. Unlike other complaints i have read, the air conditioning in our room works, the tv worked, and we had hot water ALWAYS.
Food:
Both my sister and I are very picky eaters. The food was very good. Since my sister is pregnant we had to insure she was eating safe, healthy food and there were no issues whats so ever at this resort. There were 8 restaurants (i think??) that you could choose from at each meal. Our favorite was Dos Lunas where you could get eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, waffels, pancakes, and fruit in the morning. For lunch they had pizza and soup etc and for dinner they had lasangas and fish. We also enjoyed the Thai/ Sushi restaurant. The atmosphere in the restaurants is really nice and the waitors are all very kind. The buffets were…..OK. I will leave it at that. The waits to get into the restaurants were not bad at all. The max time we waited was 30 minutes.
Tipping:
You feel no pressure what so ever to tip at this resort. Obviously it is appreciated; yet there was not any solicitating for tips. We did tend to tip various waitors $1 – $2 at meals.
Noise:
This resort is definitly geared towards a younger crowd. We were expecting this. Some nights it could get quite loud in the hotel. We were very glad that we were on floor 5 and i definitly recommend that you avoid rooms on the lower level. At night time the lower level is very loud. We were not bothered as much when we were woken up by screaming drunk people, but some may.
Entertainment:
The entertainment, when running, was pretty good. They only have entertainment a few nights of the week ( i believe its mon, tues, wed). Thursday is the foam party which they charge $30 to get in to. I guess if you are a Grand Oasis person you get in for free?? This is what i heard prior to going on the vacation yet i never heard them announcing that.
Oasis Cancun vs Grand Oasis Cancun: One of our first observations about the hotel was how we felt that Grand Oasis Cancun people got ripped off. The prices of the Grand Oasis is considerably alot more money. The only difference my sister and I noticed was the building (some grand oasis people will stay in the pyramid, others will stay in the same buildings and oasis cancun people). So if your not one of the lucky ones staying in the pyramid, you are in one of the two long rectangular buildings faceing the ocean. Another differance was the availabliliy of two more restaurants that the Oasis Cancun people can not go too. Other than that, i did not notice much difference between the two. Other than what i listed above, i recommend you plan to communicate with people back home through internet as much as possible. Apparently to call Canada from our room was $4 a minute. You can buy calling cards across the street at a local store and use the payphones to call home (payphones are off resort property by the road). Also, taking the bus into town is safe and fun. It was $1 for a bus ride. The buses drive past the hotel every 5 minutes and go downtown where all the clubs are located and a flea market. The flae market has typical tourtist items for purchase but it is interesting to see how buisness takes place in the Mexican culture.
Overall, we had an amazing time. I would definitly go back to this resort again. It is for younger people and would suggest it for those who are 35 and under. There were older people and families there. It didnt seem like the resort offered much for children. If you are older and dont mind roudy, drunk, young people, then you too could go to this resort. It definitly lives up to the 4 stars and is the best resort i have gone to thus far in my travels. Dont be worried by what you read in other reviews!!