TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My Husband and I visited Zilara the first week in March. This is NOT a 5 star resort. In fact I would say it's a stretch to call this a 3.5 start resort. Zilara is marketed an adult only luxury resort. Nothing could be further from the truth. During our 3 night stay, there were no less than 6 wedding ceremonies. This resort appears to already be understaffed, with most of the resources going to these events. Starting with check in, the staff is ambivalent at best. No sense of urgency. We arrived early and had to wait for our room to be ready ( that was fine) but the checkin process it self took almost a half hour- with no actual discussion of amenities of what was available. With the exception of the two ladies at the actives desk, I would say most of the staff are inconvenienced by the presence of guests. The food: All food options with the exception of Horizons and the beach food are located at the sister property Ziva. This is the family resort. It is a pretty good walk to the other property which should be noted for anyone that has mobility issues. The main path to walk over is some type of stone that was VERY slippery. During our stay, I witnessed 3 different people sliding or falling down. Our first night, the only reservation I was able to get was at Petit Paris. This was marketed as a French fine dining restaurant with a resort formal dress code. Most guests looked like they had barely dried off from the pool. When we were finally seated the hostess told us that we could help ourselves to the salad bar!! Yes formal dinning with an all you can eat salad bar. The food was almost inedible and the staff wasn't friendly. My husband and his friend received the wrong meals, my meal came 15 minutes after his and was literally set down and the waiter just walked away. We couldn't wait to leave. During our stay, we tried to get reservations at the Italian restaurant but it was closed Friday and Saturday. We had breakfast at the buffet, I've seen better options at a Golden Corral buffet. For the most part, all the restaurant offerings were the same, a lot of fast food type options, nothing really fresh or what you would expect at a 5 star resort. All the places that we ate at had the same exact specials printed on the menus. Because we were there during march, the resort was over run by spring breakers. When staying at a high end resort, I don't want to fight my way through to the pool bar through a bunch of teenagers playing an aggressive game of basketball in the pool. (imagine water polo and dunking a basketball). The pool itself looks pretty but you need to be outside before 7 am to reserve a chair. The "activities" offered poolside are nothing more than loud music, dancing and trivia contests, and the type of games I would expect to see on a budget cruise line. One of the night activities was a silent disco. While we did not attend, our room faced the pool so we were able to experience it along with all the the people that were there that felt it necessary to scream the lyrics to all the songs.This went on well after 1am. All of the bars are also located on the family side which doesn't make much sense either. The English pub seems like a good place to enjoy a drink after dinner. The bar tenders were rude and closed early each night. We also found a cigar lounge with a humidor on the family side but like most other places was closed by 6pm. Our rooms were basic and dated. Housekeeping was VERY loud and aggressive in the AM. I've stayed in much nicer rooms in a regular Hyatt. We requested extra pillows but never received them. The shower was a scary experience. The water was either ice cold or scalding hot- No in-between. This wasn't just us as friends of ours had the same issues. I would never come back to this resort and would think twice before booking at any other Hyatt property if this is what is considered 5 star.

The drinks are amazing! Rickie and Yanique took very good care of us at the pool! ZIlara is amazing! Best resort and customer service is on point. I felt at home!

Swim up room was everything. There’s a bed out on the patio with a small table and chairs and two chairs pool side.

This place is everything and more. regardless of the event, a time will be had. The scenery is so peaceful.

We had a wonderful vacation at this resort. The accommodations were very nice and the food was excellent. Never mind the beautiful scenery. I would highly recommend and will be back.