Having read many of the reviews on trip advisor, I had some initial concerns about our choice. Let me state however, that the hotel could not have been more welcoming. We arrived and immediately were shown to our beautiful room (3 hours earlier than stated check-in). We were given a list of the weeks activities along with a welcome package that included restaurant and excursion information.
The pool: wonderful and not at all cold.
The beach: Eroded but clean and the warm waves a lot of fun. I did not go in for too long with my young children because it was rough but had a great time with the waves myself.
Restaurant: The pool side place--Viento--delicious shrimp tacos but we mostly ate dinner out.
Housekeeping: Prompt and daily
Kids club: We did not leave our children but did get a break from the sun and enjoy some of the daily crafts that were offered in their bright and clean area.
I would say that the down side of the place was the market which has pleanty of stuff but if you want fresh fruit and veggies or anything to grill, you need to go elsewhere.

Overall, this was a great, easy trip.

We arrived the last week of April. What a beautiful blue ocean! I had no idea that the beaches were pretty much entirely washed away though. We had the red flags everyday, no calm waters at this resort. It was really hard to even take a walk down the ocean, due to the uneven ground and crashing waves. So beware of the water, we watched 3 people get pulled out by life guards in front of the hotel. The hotel rooms were really nice and new. But watch out for the shower, it runs right on out of there. They don't have a edge around the shower to keep the water in while running. The pitch of the floor is OUT!!!!! Save your pool towels for the floor, you'll need them. We stayed on the 5th floor and weren't the only ones who claimed this happened to. The convience of the washer and dryer was great, and the dishwasher too! Your best bet is to hit the Walmart and get some groceries there, the hotel store is very expensive. As well as the resturant is also very pricy. A drink at the pool is $8.00 for pina colada, and if your thinking of charging things to the room, DON' T !! On your bill you get an extra fee for charging to the room and also extra taxes. So pay as you go I would advise you. I wish we would of known that ahead of time. We checked into the hotel at 3:45 with our kids and upon arrival we changed into our swimsuits to hit the pool. The pool was freezing!!!!! So I walked to get towels and on my way to find some chairs, my husband came running with my daughter screaming and bleeding. She cut her foot while getting out of the hot tub. l could not believe it, we were there 10 minutes. We called for help, and the medic on call at the pool could not help, it was too deep. So we had to see the Doctor on call at the resort. He prescribed antibiotics and no water or sand for a few days. Great, the hotel claims that children are not allowed in the hot tubs, even if occumpanied by an adult. Mind you she got in and then out, then wanting to check out the ocean because the pool was freezing. They said $100.00 would be all they could do for us and pay for their Docotor to see her. It cost me $40.00 for her prescription and bandages and Neosporin, that they didn't pay for. We don't feel for this accident it was handled very good. They claim to of drained the hot tub soon after, it was 3 days later and while that one was open they were fixing all the tiles and doing work on the other one. Then after closing the one she got hurt in they claimed to of fixed all the broken tiles that were in that one. So let me see, who's to blame for unsafe craftsmanship. THE WESTIN !!
Be available to save any cabana at about 5 am, they all get taken right away. They have umbrellas but can't put them up because it's too windy I guess. A better solution for some shade should be sought out. The palm trees are pretty much all dead or barely surviving to provide any shade. So don't count on those for shade. We walked to the resort next door (Aqua) and swam in the heated pool there and enjoyed sitting in the shade when needed, under their nicely landscaped umbrella pool area.
I would have to say the resort is clean and the rooms are nice, but maybe a few years from now the resort will have a better I guess curb appeal if you will. It's just kind of sterile, around the pool, no flowers or good landscaping.

I returned home today from a week at the Westin Lagunamar. The resort is new and very nicely appointed. Upon arrival the resort looks sterile because of the lack of vegetation but once you enter the building you can see out to the pool area with fountain and onto the ocean. It was beautiful. The pool area has cabanas with lounge chairs and cabanas with beds. There are plenty of lounge chairs but not a lot of umbrellas. Two hot tubs and two grill areas. The pool has two areas. The infinity pool with swim up bar and a pool at a higher level with a slide and volleyball net. The beach was in good shape in that area.

The business center has free 24 hour internet and the gym looked great.

My two bedroom unit was clean and nicely done. Washer/dryer in the lock off and the one bdrm, granite counter tops, lrg flat screen tvs, dark wood cabinets and doors. Two person whirlpool tub in 1 bdrm and lrg whirlpool in lockoff. Separate enclosed shower and toilet. Maid service in my unit was only one day. These are my positives about the resort. The down side goes like this. Everyone that I spoke with had the same issues with the enclosed toilet area offered no ventilation and would stay stinky for awhile. While taking a shower, water would run out onto the bathroom floor.

Although I didn't have any other problems in my unit, many guests spoke of lights and tv's not working and plumbing issues like the sink and toilet making noises on there own. One guest said that the bathroom sink fell through the counter.

Prior to my week at the Lagunamar I spent a week at the Royal resorts which are not new and not as well appointed but the difference in my enjoyment was like night and day. The staff at the Royal Sands, Royal Islander, Royal Caribbean and Royal Mayan were welcoming and joyful. Everyone said "Hola" or "Buenos tardes" or what ever. Everyone from the front door and behind the scene smiled and said hello. At the Westin no one acknowledged you, they didn't speak and they didn't smile. I felt that this set the tone for the guests whom seems solitary and resigned to layingin their lounge chairs and reading books.

At the Royal resorts they had different activities each day and all day for you to do or not do. The activities at the Westin were sparse and whack. At the Royal Resorts you had access to all five of their resorts that had mostly the same but different features at each resort. The resorts were family oriented with older and young couples, three generation families, girlfriends and singles. It wasn't a party resort but everyone was having a good time with each other and meeting new people. The food and drinks were good and not expensive and they had pool and beach service. They also had happy hour with half price drinks.

The Westin had one restaurant open, at the pool for B-L-D. The food and the drinks were not as good and expensive by comparison. I was at the pool three days before someone asked me if I wanted a drink. No one was on their lovely beech because they didn't have service. The mood at the resort is not joyous. I would go back there again if I wanted some alone time in style and I would reccomend this resort to the standoffish.

If you can live with less luxury and want to enjoy your valuable week of vacation, go the the Royal Resorts where they are more than happy to have you. The Royal Sands is just a few resorts down. The beech has a few rocks but it's mostly good.

my wife and I stayed for 5 nights in building #2 , 7th floor - there was a great view from the balcony (as I believe there is from all rooms). Without going for a walk heading south on the beach one would never know there was construction going on at the resort.

the location was excellent - walking distance form all three of the major malls / plazas in the hotel zone. one directly across the street and the other two were a 5-10 minute walk north and south.

food at the resort - breakfast buffet ($14 USD) was very good and worth the price - lunches were good ($8-12 USD) the mexican choices were the best. The view, while dining outdoors overlooking the infinity pool and the ocean, was spectacular.

we stayed in a studio - perfect for two - everything you need to sustain yourself if you want to save some $$ - we did about 50% eating in the studio and 50% dining out

TWO NEGATIVES -

one negative has more to do with mother nature than the resort itself - there was a constant steady strong wind the whole time we were there - ANNOYING - this also caused the beach to be in a perpetual red flag state - I didn't mind the surf and still went swimming, but it would have been a disaster with any pre-teen children.....If we returned with our children I would probably play it safe and stay on the northern elbow of the hotel zone (the area the is protected by isla mujures) - I went scuba diving and went past those beaches on the way out - and even on a very rough day (with 6ft swells) those beaches were calm

the other negative was the obnoxious phone rates - a ten dollar connection fee (even for local or 1-800 numbers) and then it was $4.67 a minute to call USA - yes that is $35 for a five minute call - obviously we had only incoming calls at the hotel. verizon roaming charges were 99 cents a minute

TIP - if you are going to do any monetary transactions (& negotiate) with the locals (cabs, marketplace, even tips etc.) you will be much better off with pesos