We have been coming to Le Meridien in Cancun every October for several years now. We had a bad experience in another hotel on our first trip, and moved to Le Meridien during that stay. That is how we found this jewel. The staff is wonderful, and they remember us from year to year. (Of course, leaving tips all around doesn't hurt.) We travel to other Mexico destinations a couple of times each year, but they cannot compare with the beautiful turquoise blue water and white sand beaches that Cancun has to offer.
The hotel is wonderful, and the food out by the pool is excellent. We eat most of our meals there, as we are not real "fancy" diners. The chicken fajitas are the best, and so are the nachos. There are three pools, and the temperature seems to vary slightly, so you have a choice. Every now and then, a staff member walks around with cold towels, or small glasses of fruit juice. The staff serves you around the pool, so you don't need to move unless you want to.
Take the time to rent a car and drive to Playa del Carmen for a day. BE SURE TO GET INSURANCE PROVIDED BY THE RENTAL CAR COMPANY, AS INSURANCE FROM THE USA WILL NOT COVER YOU IN MEXICO. IF YOU ARE FOUND DRIVING A CAR WITHOUT THE INSURANCE, YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO A MEXICAN PRISON. We found this out after we had rented a car without insurance several times in Mexico. We were lucky, but we will never do it again.
Be careful at the gas stations, as they will try to steal from you. If you give them a big bill, they will try to give you half the change you have coming. They are hoping you don't yet know the value of Mexican money. The best way to pay, is to get as close to the amount as possible, then they CAN'T keep your money. You are better off to change your money to Pesos, and pay with Pesos, rather than with American money. You always a lose a little in the "translation" if you pay with American money. One gas station attendant tried to get me to look the other way, and the dollar amount on the pump miraculously jumped to over double the amount...this was AFTER the nozzle had been replaced. When I pointed out to him the pump showed 000 gallons pumped, and it showed "No Sale," he finally figure the gig was up. We were on to them and did not pay the higher amount, but trying to report them to the police was a joke. After a runaround, we gave up.
While staying at the Le Meridien, there are some great places within walking distance. There are a couple of malls about a mile towards town, and the Crab House restaurant towards the airport is great. There is also a Champions Sports Bar at the Marriot, just two hotels down in the direction of the airport. They have the NFL games on, if you are trying to catch a game while on vacation. There is a little convenience store in the same block as the restaurant which is handy.
We love this hotel, and although we alter the locations on the other three vacations we take each year from October through April, we ALWAYS come back to this one. Unlike Ixtapa and Acapulco, (don't go to Acapulco,) Cancun is pretty Americanized. Most of the people speak American, and they don't play music at full volume through the night the way they do in the more "Mexican" cities. We always have a relaxing time when we come to the Le Meridien, and look forward to our return.

We had a wonderful time at Le Meridien. We used Starwood points and got a great deal on the room. The pools were beautiful and the crystal blue water was amazing. I highly recommend reserving a cabana by the pool. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. It is definitely worth it to pay the extra $100 per day to have access to the Royal Club. They are open in the morning for breakfast and from 5-7 for hors devours and cocktails.
We have never been to Cancun before and we will definitely go back next year. My kids loved it (8 and 9 year old) and said they would rather go back to Cancun than go to Disney next year....

We recently stayed for 5 nights (April 18-23) at the Le Meridien Cancun (used 4 nights worth of points and got 1 night free). Amazing deal for the points. It was our first visit to Cancun, and will NOT be our last. We loved it! And we don't have the swine flu so that is also positive news.

Positives:
1. Weather was beautiful. Even when it said it might rain, it didn't.
2. Pools are fantastic. 3 great pools with plenty of room to swim and lay out.
3. Very private hotel. Only 200 rooms and seemed like it was less than half full, so we received very good service the whole week!
4. Concierage service was one of the best I have ever experienced in any city in the world.
5. Front desk staff was very nice as well.
6. They originally placed us in a Deluxe Room with a balcony facing away from the construction as a nice gesture, but after one night on that side of the hotel, we actually decided we wanted a view of our own hotel's pools, so we switched to the other side and loved that view way more.
7. The construction was going on next door, but it really didn't bother us at all.
8. The sun shone on the pools all day long, no worries about the construction blocking the sun.
9. Bus rides were easy, cheap ($0.60 approximately) and quick.
10. Champions Sports Bar at the Marriott (3 hotels away) has great food and tons of great TV's if you are a sports fan.
11. If you have access to the Club Lounge for happy hour, the service is fantastic and the drinks flow steadily for 2 hours.
12. The workout facilities were top notch. Great machines and free weights.
13. Sand on the beach was so soft and the water was so blue. Way better than the West coast Mexico resorts!
14. Definitely tour the Westin Luganamar Resort. Really beautiful and they are offering some good promotions for sitting through a 90 minute presentation.

Negatives:
1. My wife and I are both Gold Starwood members, but they did not offer the Club Lounge to us for free. Only Platinum membes receive that benefit. We used 1500 points per day for the happy hour and the breakfast. Breakfast wasn't that great, but the happy hour was fantastic. So for the points, it was a pretty decent deal, but would have been better to just get upgraded to that for free.
2. The Le Meridien is a 1/2 block off the main street of the Hotel Zone. So it is a little annoying to have to walk to the nearest bus stop, but on the other hand, it is good to get a little more exercise.
3. The spa was redicuously expensive, didn't try it.
4. Drinks were a little expensive at the pool, but they were really good.
5. No swim up bar, but the bar was very close to the pools.
6. Beach was very small, but you could still walk up and down the beach from hotel to hotel. You could tell that several resorts were currently renovating or planning to redo their beaches due to the Hurricane from a few years back.
7. Getting from the airport to the hotel is a huge hastle. We ended up paying $50 for a larger taxi, but I'm sure we could have gotten one for around $30. We did not want to take a shuttle service and have to stop at 10 other hotels first. Taxi ride from the hotel back to the airport was $25 and was really easy.

Overall, a great stay and we will be back in Cancun in the near future (once the Swine Flu goes away)!

We were travelling to a resort on the mexican coastline about an hour away from cancun, and after a long flight from Birmingham we planned to stay in the Le Meridien for one night to break down the journey and also to see a bit of Cancun. We arrived at the entrance at was welcomed by a member of staff (don't remember her role) once stepped out of the car, at check-in was given fruit juice and a bell-man took our luggage to our room which was a deluxe room and consisted of two double beds and a large bathroom with seperate walk-in shower and bathtub. The room had tea/coffee, mini-bar, tv and was of a large size. Visited one of the swimming pools and was large and clean and warm but refreshing. Checked-out the next day at the latest possible time and was hassle-free (as was the check-in which i forgot to mention earlier) and headed to our resort.
Overall, this is a fantastic hotel and has given me a very good impression on le meridien, however i doubt i would stay here again ONLY because i was not too keen on Mexico itself and doubt i will return but has nothing to do with the hotel which again was fantastic!