TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Overall: We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and thought it was well worth the money. Friendly staff, great food, and a variety of pools, bars, and restaurants made it a great place to just go and relax. Access to the resort was limited and constantly monitored. We felt safe everywhere on the resort. Vibe: Diverse, in every sense. Lots of families, lots of older couples, lots of Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, even some Europeans; honeymooning couples, retired couples, young families, multigenerational family groups with grandparents and teenagers and toddlers all mixing together. With 13 pools there was a spot for everyone; just explore until you find a place that matches your mood, and then make that your 'spot'. When to visit: We visited in April, and my wife has been to nearby resorts in October. Both are great times to visit. We’d read about overcrowding during Spring Break, and that’s certainly possible given the seating and layout of the place, BUT if you don’t come during peak periods, finding pool deck chairs, lounge chairs on the beach, seats at the lunchtime buffets and the nighttime shows, etc. shouldn’t be a problem. The room: We didn't go for any upgrades, and still got a beautiful room with two queen beds plus a couch (and a murphy bed behind the couch, which we didn’t use), and a balcony overlooking another resort building and a jungled courtyard in between. (A construction site next door got loud sometimes, but it wasn’t unreasonable, and it looks like it’ll be finished before Fall of 2026.) The room was spacious, though noisy neighbors were a bit of a problem--bring ear plugs. The beds themselves were firm and comfortable. The minifridge, stocked daily with water, sodapop and beer, was a nice touch. The bathroom was large, clean, and comfortable, with a stepover walk-in shower. The food: Wow. High quality, tremendous variety and selection. The menus offered lots of interesting options and sometimes unexpected pairings, but we enjoyed everything we tried. The ceviche fish at A’Akat, the desserts at Ile de France, and the risotto and swordfish at Tratorio del Giulio are all not to be missed. Loud Americans insisting on “just a steak and potatoes” was the worst experience we had at the a la carte dinners. Note: Reservations for the a la carte dinners are required; you can only make two reservations at a time; and (it appears) reservations from 6-7:30 are only available for Platinum Club members. We ate at 5pm most nights, which was fine, as it allowed us to eat heavy meals and then walk them off as we enjoyed the evening, or went to the rooftop bars at Ventus Ha’ to enjoy the sunsets. The pools: What a variety! Want to drink while hanging on the edge of a pool overlooking the jungle or the beach, with no kids around? There are 3-4 pools for that. Want to jump and play games while the dance music thunders? There are several pools for that. Splash pools for toddlers? Several. Waterfalls? Slides? Places where shaded lounge chairs are in the pools themselves, with waiters delivering drinks? Yes. All within the resort. The beach: Not great. Concrete berms lie in the water to prevent erosion, and lots of seaweed washes up. They’re constantly raking up and carting it away, so walking on the beach is possible, but swimming and splashing in the salt water is not something that you do at this resort. Trips to Isla de la Mujeres or snorkeling at a nearby reef can help scratch that itch, but at a (reasonable) extra cost. Tipping: It’s an all-inclusive resort, so tipping isn’t required. That said, lots of people do it, and it’s appreciated by the staff. Most people bring US dollars, and tip every now and then for table service or rides or drinks. But it’s NOT necessary: the staff are just genuinely friendly and helpful, and we never saw someone doing things for a tip, or expecting a tip for service. Logistics: Before arriving, a staffer at El Cid texted to welcome us and warn us that the hotel only covers the ride in from the airport, not the ride back. We asked them to set up ala carte dinner reservations for us, but they could only do the first night. Flying into Cancun International Airport was no problem. Immigration was simple. The wait for our bags to finally show on the carousel took about an hour. We then headed through customs (waved through) and past all the vendors, down the sidewalk and out to the bus terminal to look for our El Cid driver. After about 20 minutes we got into the van, and so about hours after landing, we arrived at the Ventus main entrance. They lined up the bags outside and we headed in to check in. Passports, credit card, room upgrades (Platinum Club? Ocean view? Room with its own access to a private pool shared only with others in similar rooms?) are handled by one agent. Then we chatted with the agent who had been texting with us for a couple of days who wanted to set up a breakfast presentation for us about the leisure club El Cid is part of, in exchange for about $200 in coupons for on-resort amenities (including the $60 Wifi connection fee for one device, a two-for-one massage, a two-for-one catamaran/snorkel cruise, etc.-- all things we were interested in). We were curious about the club so we said yes. In hindsight, we should have politely declined. (See below if you’re curious why.) Finally, about three hours after touching down, we were in our room. Handicap accessibility: At the airport, we picked up a guy in a lightweight electric chair who was unable to to get himself out of the chair. The driver and wrangler picked up the entire chair and wedged him just inside the door of the van. If it had been an old-fashioned heavy electric chair, or if he’d been a big guy, I’m not sure what they would have done. But they made it work and he got safely and happily to the resort. Tile floors are everywhere. Since I use crutches, wet floors are potentially quite dangerous, and I had to be constantly vigilant. I found puddles and wet spots just inside the elevators, just outside the elevators, and in public restrooms, on a regular basis. Be warned. That said, there were ramps everywhere, and we could request rides anytime to get around the three resorts. We found the whole 3-in-1 resort to be walkable, even for a crutch-user. Still, if you’re restricted to a wheelchair and can’t easily move in and out of your chair, just know that your experience will be different. At the two older resorts, El Cid Marina and Ventus, most of the public bathrooms (the ones you use while lounging by the pool, for example) are a little tight on corners for wheelchair users. There are a lot of stairs throughout the resorts, and while there are also ramps, sometimes you’ll have to cover a lot of extra distance to get to where a walking person can get very quickly. Ventus Ha’ (the newest of the three resorts) was by far the most accessible, with dedicated restrooms near the pool with wide automatic doors and all the amenities you’d expect in the States. Still, we did not see any pool cranes anywhere. * About the leisure club: they offer multiple packages, running from $10k (5 year) to $30k (20 year), which entitles you to at least one all-inclusive week at El Cid properties per year, plus multiple weeks at a large number of worldwide properties and cruise lines ($500-700 taxes per week not included), plus seriously discounted rates for more vacations, free/reduced airfare if flying into Mexico, etc. It starts as a soft sell, with breakfast one-on-one with a sales agent. Then they lead you through an interactive presentation where they help you understand how much you’re spending on vacations now, and how much you could save if you booked all of that travel through their leisure club. Eventually the ‘manager’ joins you to make the sale and/or sweeten the deal. If you say no, then a third “quality control” guy comes in to try one more time. Honestly, by the time the whole thing was done, I was feeling a bit drained, but I’m one of those folks who has a hard time saying no. Why did we say no? The quality of the resort is great, the daily prices they quoted were reasonable, the staff is universally wonderful, the food is fantastic. We just didn’t feel comfortable committing to a $3-6k down payment and the $200-400 monthly payments for the next 48 months. My advice: Unless you’re tempted by the deals outlined above, just decline the $200 in discounts and say “no,” you don’t want to meet with anyone to talk about the leisure club, you’re just here to enjoy a vacation. The presentation cost us a morning and more stress than it was worth, at least for me.

We went as a family of ten of us. We booked private transportation and still had to stand around outside the airport for 30 min. When we got to the hotel about 1500 our rooms were not ready. We waited around for about 30 minutes to get our rooms. The bellboys were awesome getting us to our rooms and a little tour at the same time our room was nice and clean with the fridge stocked. We went to the lunch buffet next to the pool for a snack they were awesome. Went for a swim and a few beverages with no complaints (other than no beach towels available) Dinner buffet was very good with a nice selection, service was great. We hit the sack pretty early that night as it was a long day. Room was quiet and the blinds kept the room dark We went for breakfast buffet and no complaints. (Jason was my grandson’s favourite friend/ server) Then off to the pool. Chairs are hard to get as people get up very early and scoop up the chairs. Bar service was great, they were busy but did their best to keep up. After a day at the pool we retired to our rooms to rest and get ready for dinner that was 4pm our rooms weren’t clean yet so they didn’t get cleaned that day. The pathways don’t get cleaned as often as they should. Overall we had a wonderful vacation there.

Reviewed by a well-traveled couple celebrating 20 years of marriage My husband and I have been frequent travelers both before and after having children, typically visiting all-inclusive resorts at least 17 days per year. We chose El Cid for our family’s spring break after touring the property the previous year while staying at a neighboring resort — we were genuinely impressed and looked forward to our stay for months. We booked a two-bedroom suite with ocean view and had high hopes. Unfortunately, the experience fell short in nearly every category that matters to us. The Beach — Disappointing We actually toured this property in person the year prior, so this was not a case of being misled by photographs. However, during the tour we were deliberately kept at a distance from the beach and shown sweeping views from afar. It was not until we were actually staying as guests that we understood why. The sand barriers that have been constructed create what can only be described as a stagnant lagoon that is unpleasant to be near. Reaching actual swimmable beach requires walking a considerable distance. In hindsight, the tour route was intentionally designed to prevent prospective guests from getting close enough to notice this. For a beach resort, this is a significant drawback and was the first sign that the stay would not meet our expectations. The Room — The Clear Highlight The rooms are genuinely outstanding. Ours was spacious, immaculately clean, and offered a beautiful ocean view. The housekeeping staff deserves special recognition — this was unquestionably the brightest spot of our entire stay. The one caveat: the pillows are extremely firm and uncomfortable. Fortunately I had read prior reviews and came prepared with my own. I would encourage otero to do the same. The Pools — Extremely Frustrating This was our greatest disappointment. The pools are at full capacity before 7:45 a.m. with no relief throughout the day. One morning I was at the pool by 6:30 a.m. to reserve chairs with towels. When we returned at 7:15, our towels had been removed and our chairs taken. We did not use the pools a single time during our seven-day stay. Combined with the beach situation, our family — including our teenage daughter — returned home without any sun exposure whatsoever. When she went back to school, her classmates asked if the trip had been cancelled. The Restaurants — Exclusionary and Inconsistent The food overall is repetitive and does not meet the standard we have come to expect at comparable resorts. More frustrating was the attitude surrounding restaurant reservations. Despite repeated attempts, we were only granted access to the marina restaurant once and the Mediterranean restaurant once over seven days. The staff member managing reservations was consistently dismissive and unwelcoming. To be fair, the wait staff throughout the resort was exceptional — we tipped generously each evening because the food quality and reservation difficulties were clearly not their doing. Final Thoughts This trip coincided with our 20th wedding anniversary, which made the disappointments feel more acute. We love Cancun and return regularly, but we will not be returning to El Cid or any affiliated property. For the price point and the expectations set during our tour, this resort did not deliver. We hope this review helps other experienced travelers make a more informed decision.

My wife and I had an amazing time at this resort. The food, amenities, the service provided by Saul, Sebastian and Mary was superb. This was one of our best vacations ever!

Food is good I can give 5*, but beach is -0*. Explain why: They build in water as you see barrels to protect beach send, so that the water brings sand and does not take it back. But this made the problem even more serious because it brought all the dirt and everything stayed on the beach. The water is not just dirty, it looks like rust. In order to swim in the sea, we walked 5 minutes to another nearby hotel ( Dreams Jade) where everything was great. Even if the sea were clean, in order to go in and swim you would need to walk and climb over obstacles like a "roller coaster", after which you wouldn't want to swim. If you like swimming in pool than yes, but if you like see than choose other options hotel, not Marina El Cid Spa And resort!!!!!