I have only stayed at all inclusives in Mexico prior to this trip. I wasn't sure what to expect and always expecting the worst, I was very impressed with this hotel. I was able to upgrade my room to ocean view for a mere $25.00 per night which then included breakfast buffet for 3 people. The room was clean and comfortable. The beds are little firm for my taste but the pillows were nice and comfy. The food was great as were the drinks. When i booked through Worry Free Vacations the room came with a $100.00 dollar credit towards hotel charges. After a 4 night 5 day trip, my out of pocket expense for drinks and food was far less than I expected for 3 people. We did not venture far from the hotel due to the current situation there. We had lunch @ the Hard Rock Cafe once which was fine and lunch @ a little local restaurant which was great, food and drinks for 3 for $18.00. The beach was beautiful, plenty of sun, but the water was a little cool. Wait staff everywhere to serve you, even on the beach. We enjoyed the bar menu the most, appetizers and sandwiches. Overall, a very relaxing and ejoyable vacation.

Rooms: older and unpretentious but clean and comfortable. Lagoon view (or basically boulevard side) was not bad, but if you want to spend a little bit more on the ocean side - it might be worth it.
Restaurants: inside - not a gastronomical delight but very decent. We used them for breakfast and for occasional lunch and drinks on the beach. If you take the convenience into the account - there is no better alternative. For the dinners we ventured outside of the hotel, and every night it was a hit. Just ask the staff, and they will be happy to provide tons of info. Because of the hotel's location, there are plenty of options within walking distance (10 minutes) or the bus that can satisfy very discriminatory taste.
Hotel: unpretentious and subtle, but clean and very well organized. Some properties in Cancun (even more modern and much more expensive) have water problem so you step in the lobby or in the room and smell chemicals. This place does not have even a hint of it.
Beach: did Discovery channel name it one of the top ten beach resorts in the world? We've traveled around, so we believed it when we saw it. The staff take pride and the very good care of the beach, too. If you came for the white sand and blue water - you hit the spot. Two important observations: two pools are good, but we value the ocean water. Because of the hotel location - there are FAR fewer waves, and the bottom is shallow - just send your kid to swim and watch from the distance - it's that safe. You would be hard-pressed to find better beach location anywhere else in Cancun.
Staff: very friendly and without selling pitch or expression of deep servitude that younger hotels develop in their staff. They really treated us as friends, learning our names and tastes after couple of days, sharing their personal stories and opinions. We just loved it!
Kids activities: if you expect somebody in the hotel to wisk your kids away every morning, so you won't see them for the rest of the day - this is not that place. But - there are plenty of friendly kids around to form little groups and take care of themselves. There was trully a melting pot of kids from about 5 countries when we stayed there.
Other activities: hotel does not organize anything within the premises (unlike other hotels we've seen). We did not regret that at all. You just step outside, and there is a lot to see and do. There was a representative by the pool to coordinate various aquatic activities, and working with him seemed to be much better deal than working through the third-party agents sitting in the lobby.
Bottom line: we will be back to this hotel next year, and we will try to take our best friends along.

I wanted to surprise my wife for my birthday and our anniversary and was secretly looking for hotels in Miami. While browsing on Orbitz I clicked a Cancun link on their website and have changed my decision with a blink of an eye - we were going to Mexico for the first time! It took me two days to decide on hotel and I have chosen Intercontinental Presidente based on other travelers' reviews on Tripadvisor. It was a great, great choice. I promised myself to write the review - I owe you, Tripadvisor.com :-)
Let me just say that through my entire stay at the Presidente I was not even once offered a participation in any kind of "presentations", thanks God. Maybe those people did not like me? :-)
Like previous reviewer, I booked the package on Orbitz.com with very attractive rates for both, flight and the hotel. We were picked up at the airport by Cancun Shuttle. I booked the private car before our arrival ($68 round trip) and was a little disappointed, because we had to wait at the airport over 45 minutes for their driver to pick us up. The check-in went smooth. Their check-in is at 3.00 PM and don't even think that your room will be ready earlier. We killed some time at the restaurant by the swimming pool having very decent lunch. As you could see in previous reviews, food is really decent in all of their restaurants, so are drinks. If you looking for top-notch restaurant nearby, please visit La Palapa Belga which is literally 200 yards across the street by the lagoon. I will write a separate restaurant's review - I owe it to them as well, amazing food.
Let me be the 200th person complementing Intercontinental beach but honestly, this is what makes that hotel worth the money. We saw people from "better" hotels buying daily passes to there because beaches in their resorts were non-existing or rocky.
If you like nightlife, 10 minutes walk takes you to all the clubs and bars on the main strip. If partying is not the main reason you are in Cancun, Intercontinental is the place to be. Because of its location it does not attract the club goers and it was very quiet at night, at least during our stay. You can exchange money in the reception but DO NOT USE THEIR ATM!!!!!!. That machine gives you an impression that you are being charged $7.50 (PESOS), which is regular service fee in ATMs in Cancun but instead the charge for withdrawal is applied in US dollars. Beware! I travel internationally a lot and never ever in my life was I charged 8 bucks to get 100 US dollars from the ATM. Seriously, if anyone from the management reads those reviews - you have to stop that scam!
Overall, we loved that place. It was our first time in Cancun and we will be back for sure.
For those who are afraid to travel to Mexico now - there is a heavy police presence in the Hotel Zone. I gave our safety a thought or two before our departure from New York but it turns out that Cancun is still a very safe place for wonderful escape from frozen and snowy Queens.

We loved this hotel & service & highly reccomend it -- but take heed:
Warning!!! They will hound you to death about taking a 90 minute presentation "Not A Timeshare", & will tempt you with a free massage or coupons for free meals/drinks in return for listening to the presentation. They LITERALLY LIED to us - the total time after being passed to 3 reps b4 setting with the actual presenter took more than 3 hours!!! By the time we got out to the beach, it was getting cloudy & the sun was almost down. They stole a WHOLE DAY from us that we can NEVER get back. The coupons are not even close to making up for the vacation time we lost. How I wish someone had warned us about the 90 minute presentation (actually 3 hours & then HE STILL WOULD NOT TAKE "NO" for an answer)! We were starving, brain dead (too much info) & very angry that they lied to us & kept after us like VULTURES!! what a horrendous way to treat paying guests!! The Hotel should NOT allow such an abomination of "sales" PRESSURE since it only blackens their reputation. Most of the hotels do the same, I guess we were just naive. It'll NEVER happen again no matter what resort or hotel we choose!!
As far as the hotel amenities: we found everyone to be more than eager to help; fast service, best money exchange rate, fast, efficient check in & out. Food: Breakfast is a choice of a complete buffet or a complementary Continental breakfast - Champainge/Vodka is complimentary for either.
Lunch: great menu variety - excellent food. Dinner: Not satisfactory...we chose to eat out at various local restaurants & found it very convenient to get around via bus or taxi.
Room: Musty & warm at first - but the A/C worked fine & has 3 fan selections: auto, low & high, so there's no reason to be too hot & humid. Also the window opens about 1 foot for fresh ocean breeze. Very quiet. A beautiful ocean view (we didn't get the balcony room since we spent little time inside). Take slippers along for the bare tile floors.
Only 1 complaint about the room - the mattresses were very hard. Yes, the Hotel is old, however, they have spent over $15 million in restoration & plan on spending more.
Beach: Is beautiful (they clean & smooth the sand daily) shallow calm water, an abundant supply of chairs: beach, cabanas & both pools; beach towels are the largest i've ever seen - completely cover the chaise lounge with extra length to tuck in over the top, waiters are very attentive, pleasant & efficient.
We booked thru orbitz for both airfare & hotel & did not pay anywhere near what others here have quoted. Due to the present economy there are many various, excellent package deals available. We got a non-stop flight from Atl.