When looking for a warm spot to go to for vacation with the family we came across the Sunset Lagoon. Having just returned from a long stay in Iraq we wanted to go somewhere to just hang out as a family again and relax. Being that this is more of a sales office for the timeshare with RCI it was not to be.
Immediately upon entering into the airport the harrassment begins. People yelling at you and trying to flag you down for a "voucher" for the taxi to take you to the hotel. This voucher is how they get your information so they can then spend an entire day giving you a "tour" of the two hotels that your timeshare would come with. We had good advice from a friend who had been to Cancun before to just keep walking outside to the taxi area and do not give your information to anyone inside, unless you want the timeshare tour. We did that however if you do not get the voucher you do not get a taxi ride to the hotel for free as advertised on their website. Your first day there will then be spent with a salesman walking all of the properties so they can sell you the timeshare. If you are not doing the tour you will spend everyday watching these tours. The hotel is literally a nonstop timeshare tour that you have to navigate through to eat, swim and try to enjoy.
The restaurant at the sunset lagoon with the buffet is actually not bad however it is pretty much the same food everyday. You tend to get tired of it after a couple of days. The advertised ice cream bar that the kids really looked forward to was not there. One night of ice cream was all they got, too bad.
The lobster dinner was by far the worst lobster dinner we had ever had. Overcooked and rubbery, served without butter and very fishy tasting. One note is that if your kids do not want to eat the lobster dinner then do not arrange for the entire family to eat. At the restaurant they will not let you substitute any meals for the lobster so they will be stuck with the lobster. This restaurant would never survive more than a month anywhere else except at this hotel where they have people who have to eat there. The food all around is terrible and the service is somewhat stuck up. They expect a tip however with an all inclusive it is supposedly covered. Overall the restaurant should be skipped and get the vouchers to eat at a restaurant in the town.
The non motorized water sports consist of a few two person kayaks and a really dillapidated four person paddle boat. Both sides of the peddles have one missing and the metal crank is so rusted that you will definitely need a tetinus shot if you cut yourself on it. PLEASE WEAR SHOES IF USING THIS JUNK. When taking the kayaks out they will tell you to not go out too far but supposedly you get to have unlimited use of them so why not go all through the lagoon with them.
Through the front desk you can arrange for some tours of the areas historic stuff. Xcaret and Xel-Ha were the two that we chose. Unfortunately what they don't tell you when you pay the Extraordinary amount of money for a family of 5 to go to these is that they will stop three times along the way to pick up and drop off other tours. By the time you get to the Xel Ha you have no more than 5 hours. If you do the swim with the dolphins there then you cut your time down to 3 1/2 hours. For the dolphins and Xel-Ha and Tulum runis it was over $1400.00 for the five of us. We ended up having to pass on Tulum due to the number of stops since we would have had just enough time left to swim with the dolphins and then get back on the bus. When I asked for a refund of the Tulum portion I got $20.00 back. What a deal.
Xcaret was a little better but again the amount of time you get there is misrepresented and you feel rushed the entire time.
It was my feeling there the entire time that the staff and management all felt that we were there for them and at any time we were an inconvenience to them. We spent over $8000.00 on that vacation and I honestly felt like I should have gone somewhere else. Unfortunately for us we will not be going back to Mexico anytime in the next couple of decades. South America may be better.
As a side note, if you are looking for a timeshare check out the Disney Vacation Club. We did and it is the one that we are going with. No pushy salespeople to fight through and way better resorts.
Overall the hotel room was nice but everything else was lacking. Save your money and look at other countries to go to. I can personally recommend anywhere in Europe. My wife and I travelled alot through Europe and loved everywhere we went, from Paris, to Prague, to Moldova. Europe treats you like you are important because you really are to them. Mexico just seems to want your money.
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