We have been to Mexico before so we knew what to expect, but this hotel was nasty! We were only there for one night because we ended up going there as part of a hotel exchange. We were in the Mayan Rivera for the first 6 nights of our trip. We were told the hotel is comparable to the resort we were staying in when it came to cleanliness and service etc. But they were all lies. The hotel is old and dingy.
Our room was not cleaned properly, the sheets had stains on them, the washroom was in the process of being re-tiled (half the tiles were new with grout all over them) and even our tv remote was dirty with stuff spilled on it.
The pool area was not very clean, but bearable. There is hardly any beach and the two days we were there the red flag was out because it was too rough.
The staff was not very friendly when we told them to clean our room and the sheets. It didn't get done while we were there. I had my daughter sleep on our clothes.
If you are thinking of going to this place, reconsider. We had an awful time and would never go there again.

Not sure why others would rag on this place. It was clean, fun, great location and all at a great price.

Rooms - I have heard of people getting bumped up at no charge to ocean view rooms from the standard "lagoon" aka mall view rooms...well done. We bit the bullet and paid to upgrade to a North Tower room on the second floor which gave us a private terrace overlooking the activities pool which was worth every penny. Like everybody says, the rooms are very clean.

Food - The buffet food was good. Nothing to blow your mind, but what do you expect for a buffet? The seafood restaurant was nothing exciting. Stick to the Mexican restaurant. We went there 3 times and always had great service and food.

Beach - Once again, I've read of people griping about no beach. To me a big beach is just another obstacle to get into the water. The ocean is so close that you can take a break from the pools and jump into the ocean within 30 seconds. The ocean water is extremely warm, very clean (free of seaweed and debris) and bright turquoise.

Pools - We stuck to the activities pool, as that's where the fun was. The activities team did a fantastic job of keeping everybody entertained. The best bartender on the property (Antonio) is also stationed at the swim up bar, so that was added incentive to spend every day there.

Front Reception Staff - Meh...didn't seem very interested.

Tipping - Please tip wherever you can. Not huge bucks, but 20 pesos here and there. The people working here are wonderful hardworking people and truly appreciate it. They usually work 6 days a week and range from 9 - 15 hour days. We tipped Antonio 50 pesos ($5 CDN) a day and hey took great care of us, in some cases tracking us down for refills around the pool if he wasn't busy at the bar. If you like Margaritas, ask him to make it on the rocks with the bottled tequila as opposed to the tequila from the gun, it kinda tastes like ham (weird...I know, but you'll understand once you taste it).

Day Trips - We booked a day trip to Isla Mujeres through the Aqua World desk on the property...what a riot. The guys on the boat were very entertaining. We spent some time at the private beach and then rented golf carts and cruised around the island. Make sure to hit the Lighthouse for a beverage on the patio overlooking the ocean and say hi to Paco, one of the resident iguanas who wanders around the patio. The boat ride back was a mad dance party to every 80's song you could ever think of. Good times...

OK, I don't mean to scare ya away because that is not my goal here. To give you our back ground, we are 41 male and 36 female married from WI. We are outgoing, social people and enjoy ourselves on vacation. My wife of 10 years and I have traveled every year to somewhere warm and have been to about 20 different islands or tropical destinations. We like to stay in 4* all inclusive places and try to find last minute deals in Feb and try to spend around $1000 before taxes and add on charges if we can. We booked this place about 3 weeks in advance and paid a total of $1700 for a week($749 each listed price). Keep in mind, we also paid $15 each in addition at the airport per bag which sucks.
The hotel is located pretty close to the airport, so the shuttle didn't take long. We arrived around 11am and changed in the community bathroom and hit the activity pool for sun and drinks. Our room was on the 2nd floor middle tower with ocean view, but we didn't get the king bed, but were still upgraded to the ocean view which was nice.
Rooms: Not bad as expected. Beds are very old and hard, but this is common at every all inclusive usually. Nice tile bathrooms, but watch out for the scalding water during your shower. Hot and cold the whole time.
Food: Well, a buffet is a buffet. Don't expect great food or service. Its just ok and edible. We come to these places expecting this. If you have a chance, book the 2 restaurants. The food and service is much better if you don't mind committing to the time. Breakfast has made to order omelets and is usually an ok buffet. Lunch is ok. I had a hard time finding something good, so I ate a hamburger and fries and maybe chicken nuggets for substance. Dinner was ok too but they usually have theme nights. I again had a hard time finding something that really WOW'd me. Service was usually just ok again, but if you find a good waiter, tip them and they will remember you and try to stay in their section.
Pools: We usually stayed at the "activity pool" on the North section. It was nice and has a swim up bar. Service is a bit slow, but I found the bartender (Jesus) very nice and he took care of us well. Be sure to tip and don't bother treating them like they owe it to you. Smiles go a long way. The entertainment at the pool was amusing. Even if you don't participate, you will get a good laugh from them. The other pools are fine too. There are several places to grab a drink and many bathrooms near by, so that was a definite plus. This place advertised a hot tub which is not true...one of my disappointments for sure.
Beach: Well, there isn't much there. It was hard to walk on the beach as most is washed away. The water was very warm, but the waves were huge and dangerous. Red flags the entire week. They also advertised a volleyball area..this is just not there either. Another of my disappointments as I usually spend a lot of time doing this on vacation.
Nightlife: Not much other than the shows which again are just OK. They try hard to entertain. We spent several nights at the lounge inside which stays open until about 4 in the morning. We have the ability to make friends easy, so it was fun for us overall. Seemed to be a fair amount of younger people here too and most were pretty fun. Everyone seems nice overall. Beautiful view of sunset from here as well, so enjoy it because it goes down fast.
Shopping: Go across the street and there is a huge indoor mall with good deals, good food, and very, very clean. We ate here our last day to get some good mexican food in us and it was very cheap. They also have very high end shopping of you want to buy some nice stuff. Also, a casino is in the mall and a bowling alley too.
Overall: Id say for the money, you can't really go wrong. If your expectations are at a 3 or 4 star, that's what this place was. This is my second trip to Cancun in the past 5 years. I'd spend a bit more next time to go to a nicer place, but again... for the price, it was good. Average is the best I can give it. Good luck!

The staff was more friendly than we could have ever asked for, the food was better than expected for buffet food, the rooms were better than any hotel room i've ever stayed in (minus the shower which had very little pressure). I recommend that if you want to go to the pool to go to the one with the swim up bar, it has music and the staff there dance and sing and make friends with everyone around and in the pool. They really made our trip fantastic and we will miss them dearly. We will defiantly be returning! And i also highly recommend if you plan to go to the nightclubs they have a shuttle that will take you there with the staff who take care of you all night! The lobby bar was also a lot of fun, the staff take care of you really well! Also the mall is just out front! If anyone has any questions about this hotel you can email or message me!

P.S. We went to dadyo's and basic (nightclubs) we really enjoyed basic but dadyo's was horrible, it was over-packed, the washrooms flooded and it smelled bad.