Just arrived back from a fabulous12 day vacation in Cancun. The first day we stayed at the JW Marriott and then moved to the Royal Sands for the rest of the trip. The JW was just OK, but the Sands was absolutely perfect.

We are a family with three children, two of them are teenage girls. The Marriott is a typical hotel room and is crowded with 4 people. The Sands is perfect because each villa has plenty of space for 6, and offers so much more for families. My daughters were bored at the JW but loved the Sands and had a super time there.

The weather started off very windy and there was no beach at all at the JW Marriott. We could not even walk on it due to the huge rocks. Once we got to the Sands, the water was still very rough but there was plenty of beautiful white beach. I was still able to walk a good distance north on the beach before it became too rocky. By the end of our stay, the wind calmed down and we spent most of our time on the beach swimming in the beautiful blue warm ocean waters.

My oldest was on her HS senior break and a few other kids from her school were also in Cancun but staying at other hotels. They all ended up at the Royal Sands because it seemed to be much more fun and lively. Lots of other families from other US cities were also there with their teens, which were also on spring break and made it seem like one big school party. But it wasn't out of control like you hear about at some resorts that cater to the college crowd.

However, we soon found out that there is a fee if you have a non-hotel visitor. The security guys immediately approached my daughters friends and asked if they were guests at the hotel. They were asked to leave or pay $100 Pesos for the day. I gladly paid this fee for my daughter but was a bit amazed that the hotel was able to pick these guys out when the hotel was full of students just like them.

The Sands has many things that made our trip wonderful, 2 BR, 2 Bath Villas that slept 6 was so nice. The large space almost made you want to stay in the room! We had ocean front villas with beautiful views of the ocean from these huge and expansive balcony's. I think we could have slept out there at night.

The pool food was so good and cheap. So were the drinks and happy hour was an even better deal. At 3:00 daily, the bartenders blew the horn and you got half price drinks and free chips and salsa, until 6 pm. The sports bar and grill was the place to be for the basketball March Madness crowd, but was also hopping during Karokee night. I think there must have been quite a few Michigan State fans at the hotel, because you could not even get close to the bar during the final game.

Service and cleanliness are outstanding. I thought the Royal Sands outdid the JW Marriott in these categories

We took two day trips, one to Cozumel and one to Isla Mujeras. I would highly recommend Isla Mujeras. Take the fast ferry over for 10 pesos round trip. Rent a golf cart and explore. The North beach has the white powder sand (blown over from Cancun during the hurricane) and very calm and clear water that is knee deep for 100 yards out. Rent a couple of chairs and umbrellas and relax. Eat at the Sunset grill restaurant on the beach, while the sun sets and enjoy good food and live music and beautiful scenary. We did the dolphin swim and snorkeling and it was a great deal with no wait. At the other end of the Island (east end) is a quaint beach bar restaurant overlooking a sculpture garden and some cool clifts.

In the end, the Royal Sands was a great deal (we rented from timeshare owners), but exceeded all of our expectations. We will definately go back.