At present, only Transat Holidays offer this resort. It’s sister resort is Now Sapphire Riveira Cancun(previously Paradisus Cancun).The Transat brochure pictures are an injustice to the resort and the website is accurate. Travelled with my wife and 3 1/2 year old son.
Room Number:
3318
Room Block:
Building 3, 3rd Floor
Arrival:
Once our baggage was collected we were swiftly put on a bus and after a wait went directly to our resort. Check in went smooth and our room was ready. The staff all spoke fluent English. No warm towels or refreshing drinks were provided but a bar was close by. Once formalities were done, we were passed to another representative(whom we thought to be associated with the resort). He provided us with discount coupons for the Spa and Shops..and invited up to a special breakfast the next day to visit the adjacent Secrets/Excellence Resorts). We accepted but later declined as we found out it was about a Sales/Time Share.
Rooms:
With our key cards and our luggage, we were driven to Building 3. All the buildings have four floors and elevators. At the elevator we were sent to the 3rd Floor and our luggage followed. We had a Tropical view on the beach side of the resort. The suite was fantastic. Everything looked new. As you entered the bath room an infinity tub just stared at you. It was impressive. Huge shower with a 2 piece toilet. The room was very comfortable and quiet. We requested our room to be cleaned before noon and this was provided. Our house keeper spoke little English but did a great job. There was an inroom safety box provided at no extra charge. We had some really cool nights and called maintenance to adjust the thermostat. Unfortunately the tech spoke no English. We reviewed this resort before booking and suggest avoidance of rooms facing or adjacent to the Swamp. I did not detect any foul odor as other reviews stated, but there was a persistant high pitch noise all day and night from an adajacent building..possible water treatment plant? The resort caters to both families and adults only. There is a separate pool and buildings for adults only, with Preferred Service
Restaurants and Bars: For Breakfast, Carnival is the usual buffet(7am-11am)with omlette stations,champagne and OJ,Fresh fruit smoothies and a variety of Mexican offerings. Disappointing though,no fresh fruit juices were awailable. They all tasted like a commercial mix. For the Preferred guests, they breakfasted at Mercure (at night was a French Restuarant). Coco Cafe (6am-10pm)is a coffee and desert and Internet site offering hot and cold coffee beverages. For Lunch, Carnival (12.30-4 pm) is the usual buffet. Castaways( 11am-5.30pm) provided a fixed menu lunch with daily specials and a kidies menu.Food here was good. Also pool side there was the usual hot dog, hamburger and tacos. Dinner, several options Mercure/French was good. Castaways offered grilled steaks,chicken and fish. Capers/Italian was good. Spice/Asian offered 1.Sushi Bar(needs improvement) 2.Table menu(okay) 3.Temppanyaki(okay). Tamarindo
/Mexican(DNA). CinCin (adults only) DNA. Room Service menu was poor. Adequate bars.Lobsters cost extra and no guacamole available
Beach/Pools/Grounds: Two large pools; adults only and family were clean and well kept. Both had infinity pools. The main pool was heated but never got warm. There is also a kiddies pool..not heated. Towels were adequate..but pool and beach chairs were a challenge. Guests here were not kind, they were up early..really early.
The beach was reasonably clean with some rocky areas. It was quite windy and the surf was a bit rough. The resort grounds were clean but plain. There was an occasional beach vendor but they didnot harrass anyone. Security was every where.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: Nightly shows were provided…nothing exquisite. A sports bar was on site. No Disco available. Artisans were on site at evenings..interesting. We had one theme night: Caribbean night. A Kiddies Explorer Club was avaiable and was quite good. As we were there for Dec.31st, New Year’s Eve..the usual party was there..unfortunately my 3 1/2 year old son could not keep up. For New Year’s Eve, all the restuarants served the same menu with 2 sittings (6pm and 9 pm). The Carnival buffet had special offerings..this was much better.
We did not take any tours
Other Comments:
Now Jade Riviera is upcoming. Service is good and food good. Great rooms with nice and friendly staff. Will recommend Jade Riviera.