Just returned yesterday from a 3-night girls' getaway weekend and I am so very sad! We had a fantastic stay at the Hilton. We stayed in an oceanview villa (so I cannot speak about rooms in the main hotel) and here's what we experienced :

Service: everyone we met was so polite and always smiling. One of the concierge employees, Daniel, was especially helpful and pleasant. Our villa room was not ready and we were hoping for early check in - he upgraded us to an oceanview room that was ready. And, on our second night, he sent a beautiful birthday dessert to our room ( my friends and I are turning 40 this year) with a nice card signed by several employees. Nice touch! During busy times, Kiosko, the casual restaurant at the pool, can be VERY slow. Plan on ordering your burger (very tasty, by the way!) about 45 minutes before you want to eat it. We tried not to let it bother us and just went with the flow. The prices were what is to be expected at a nice hotel in a tourist area - not crazy expensive but not cheap. Breakfast and happy hour, which are included if you stay in the villas, were good, but at times, service seemed hectic (but still polite). One morning in particular, it seemed as if they were very short staffed because food was taking a very long time to be replenished on the buffet (which includes a nice variety of hot and cold foods) but again, we tried not to let it bother us because the employees were working so hard to resolve the problems.

Food: we only ate our breakfast and lunches at the hotel (burgers, guacamole, chicken, etc) and we were never dissatisfied with our meals. We ate our dinners out : Captain's Cove was really good, the small Mexican restaurant upstairs at Kukulcan shopping center, and then the last night, Lorenzillo's (sp?). The last dinner was good, but not worth the prices ($42 for a very thin ribeye steak- isn't ribeye supposed to be nice and thick?). Probably could have had a better meal for less somewhere else.

Room: very nice, just like the pictures. Double sink marble vanity was nice since there were 4 of us in the room. Housekeeping was very thorough and cleaned the room relatively early in the day . The view was wonderful- we sat on the balcony each morning and watched the sunrise. We were located directly above the lounge area so we did see the tops of the tents covering that area, but we didn't care because it didn't obstruct in any way our view of the pool/ocean.

Location: PERFECT! Away from the crazy spring-breakers but just a 5 minute bus ride away from all the shopping and activities. Yes, there are many chain restaurants there, but they are easy to avoid if you want local fare.

Pools/beach: pools were beautiful. If you want to get a palapa, plan on getting out there by 6:00 am if you want one. Put your towels, books, etc on them, nobody will touch them. Also, the towel area doesn't open until about 8:00, so we took fresh towels into our hotel room each afternoon so we would have them the next morning. Thank you to the gentleman who gave us this tip!
Beach water is very rough, which we knew about after reading all the reviews but that didn't bother us- it was still nice to sit on the beach reading a magazine and sipping a fruity cocktail.

We had a wonderful vacation and I would most certainly return. One thing: I don't think I would rate this a 5-star hotel. This is not because it isn't a nice hotel, which it is, but to me, very few hotels live up to the 5-star reputation of a Ritz or Four Seasons.

We booked one week at the Hilton for spring break. Knowing the Hilton was in the quiet part of the strip is one of the reasons why we chose this hotel. The vaction did not however start on a good note. I am a gold Hilton Member, I booked and paid for 3 deluxe rooms with balconies (not booking a standard and anticipating an upgrade) in December. As others have stated, this Hilton does not care about your honors status. We were actually downgraded (with a discount). The reason they gave us was that when I booked the rooms I asked to have all 3 rooms on the same floor. This was the only way they could accomodate us. Well, after about an hour of arguing, we finally did get the 3 rooms that I had paid for (not on the same floor).
OK, with that out of way, the balance of our week was great. We started the week playing golf in the morning and beaching it in the afternoon. The beach is by far the nicest on the strip.....hands down. We walked for miles and the beach on both sides of the Hilton is almost gone. Yes, there are many rocks at the shore line. We could dive the waves for 3 out of the 7 days that we were there. We also noticed that the Hilton was one of the only beaches with a lifeguard.
We also found, unlike other reviews, that we did need to get down to the pool and beach early if you wanted lounges under umbrellas. We would put towels for all 6 of us down by 7:00am. Eat breakfast and then play golf. Golf course is great. Tee times were easy to get. If you are use to a private course, then this will be up your alley. As a guest you pay about 150.00 per person for a morning out. The course is windy, so it changes your game a bit.
Food: This is a bit mixed. We only ate breakfast and lunch at the hotel. Breakfast is a buffet. As a gold member, I paid for continental, but recieved full buffet. We thought the food was good. Not great. Lunch was a bit boring. Basic grilled chicken, nachos, ok pool food. But, just a warning, if you are hungry around noon, go sit at the pool restaurant at 11:30. Service is very slow.
Pool: Great, great pool. Huge. Small kids at the top of the pool and the rest of us at the bottom near the bar. My wife and I prefer the beach, but our kids loved the pool.
Tennis: Our kids played tennis late in the day. Too hot to play early afternoon. They light the courts at night for night play. There are only two courts, so I would suggest booking a time.
Off Property: We ventured out every night for dinner. The hotel suggested several places that were great and they also made our reservations for us. We loved: Bling, La Distileria, and Lorenzillos. All of these are expensive. We live in Boston and travel to NY quit often, so we did not think the prices were outrageous. I also have to add, that we used Cancuns bus system. This was great. Very convenient. Even if there is not a schdule stop, if you ask the driver to stop, he will.
Excursions: We descided to talk with the travel person at the hotel about going on a day trip. We wanted something non-touristy. Small crowds. They suggested a day to Coba. This was a great suggestion. This is a day to the ruins, swiming in a sink hole, zip lining, and propelling down the side of a cliff. It was a ton of fun. About 110.00 per person.
Staff: The staff at the hotel is great. Ask and you will recieve. A small tip goes a long way.
All in all we did have a nice week. This is not an all inclusive, so you need to be prepared to spend money. Everything that you touched at the hotel cost money.
I would recommend this hotel and would maybe go back if I was to return to Cancun. I will say that we were pleasantly suprised. We had been to Cancun years ago and did not like it.

we are hilton honors members, platinum, and could use up some points. Interestingly, most people we spoke to were in the same boat. We asked for an upgrade, and were not allowed because they said they were full, however, others of the same status got upgraded. It just depends who you happened to get when you checked in, I think. The pool is great, but the beach completely sucks. Be prepared. you can not swim in the ocean here. It is always too rough, with a red flag no swim posted. This is my third trip to this hotel at various times of the year, October and January and now March. I have never been able to swim in the ocean. I have concluded it is always that rough. Also, there are huge jagged rocks that potrude up in the sand, so if you try to let the waves hit you, plan on a gash or two because the wave may pull you or your child into a hidden rock. Other than the ocean, the hotel is nicely maintained, and the rooms are clean and beds very comfortable with their white down comforters. I have stayed in the standard room and the villa...I have no idea why the standard ocean view room has no balcony to speak of , just a 1 foot space big enough for you to open the door and stand, but no chair. That is unacceptable in my mind for such an expensive place that could have amazing ocean views. Overall, the pool made it worth it. The photos are true and accurate.

I loved my entire vacation here... Being a swimmer... 11 pools for me was like heaven. The view is more then amazing... the Front desk gave me vip admissions to some of the clubs. The only con i give this hotel is that its a bit far from all the parties, but if you just want to relax i give it a 4.5 out of 5. I would problably stay in this hotel again. but just for experience purposes, I'd stay somewhere else ( you wont be disappointed staying at the hilton though)