I traveled with my parents, my husband and my 5 year old son in June of '08. My
folks are
partially handicapped, but this did not present a problem as there are only a
couple of steps and they put us in 2 adjoining studio units on the bottom floor
with a beautiful ocean view and beach access.
Best Things about the hotelwe liked the proximity to Playa del Carmen (PDC) as
well as Akumal and Puerto Adventuras. The walk into PDC was quite lengthy, but
we rented a mini-van and drove wherever we needed to get to. The hotel also
provides one-way shuttle service into town. Not sure why they dont provide
service coming back???
The studio rooms we had were beautiful with tile and marble. There was daily
maid service about 3 times a day. Always cleaning the room, bringing new
towels, and providing turndown service. There was a small refrigerator, small
cooktop, microwave and coffee pot as well as a beautiful ocean view. The room
was as nice as any of the better hotels I have stayed in.
The pool area was beautiful. There were ample chairs. The pool and the grounds
as well as the beach were always clean and well maintained. Probably the
hardest working people in the resort are the grounds crew and the cleaning
people.
The spa was wonderful. Both my husband and I had massages on numerous
occasions and I had a facial. The service was great. Very nice facility. I would
highly recommend the spa.
Worst Things about the hotelCheck-in was a nightmare. They hold you hostage
without giving you your room key until you have had a chance to speak to an
activity director. However, the woman was so busy we had waited for over an
hour. We had asked several times for the key to our room and they said we
needed to speak with Shakira. Finally we noticed our room keys on a table with
our documentation and just took it.
Then since we had booked an extra vacation through RCI we had their meal plan.
This was another negative. Had to wear a plastic wrist band the whole week to
show which meal plan you were on (if any). The wrist band was only for
breakfast. Then you get meal tickets for the other meals which can be used for
lunch, dinner or at the snack bar. The staff was never sure what was included
and what wasnt. At the bar they kept trying to charge us (even coming to our
room to sign for drinks) even though drinks were included in the price.
The buffet was just okay. Most things were over-cooked. But you could usually
find something. The Italian restaurant was very good, but the selection was
limited. After a while we were very bored with the food at the hotel. It was
always the same thing day after day.
The service was not very good either. We were a party of 5 and they only had
square tables and the staff did not want to bother to put 2 tables together, so
we would end up at a table for 4 with an extra chair on the corner. The people
who did not get the meal plan got the best service as I guess they felt they
would get tipped better?
Some things that were just plain annoyingno glasses allowed by the pool area. It
wouldnt be bad if the cups provided were at least plastic, but they were
Styrofoam. The water pressure from the shower head was so strong it actually
hurt. Usually I would say good water pressure is a good thing, but in this case it
was actually painful. The wristband and the meal tickets were just ridiculous.
Staff couldnt keep track if you gave them a meal ticket or not and then would
ask for another one. There was no service at the pool as far as I could tell.
We had stayed last year at the Azul Hotel and Beach Club in Puerto Morelos.
Everything there was superb, but it was 3 times the price of the Sunset
Fishermen. You can view my review for that hotel.
Some things you might want to consider doing is going to the town of Akumal.
You can rent snorkeling equipment for $10 and watch the sea turtles and other
fish. Just as nice as Xel Ha without the big price tag. There is also a nice
restaurant there where we had lunch. We also went to Puerto Aventuras which
is a beautiful town with a Marina, shopping and that is where the Dolphin
Discovery place is which is only 20 minutes from PDC.
All in all we had a nice time, and tried not to let the little things bother us.
However, I would not recommend the meal plan. If youre looking for a Gold
Crown Resort with superb food and superb service, this is not it.