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.

I had the most wonderful week and everything was near perfect: the room, the lagoon, the staff, the weather, the food. I attended the sale presentation and it was a full day of enjoyment even though I did not buy. I had a great time!

My wife and I have been going to the Royal Sunset on the ocean, or the Sunset Lagoon on the lagoon since 1999. Over the years we have upgraded to the presidential suite. We have gone with multiple friends and family members with everyone coming away completly impressed. I don't know how so many people have such a bad time. Yes, the sales people push to make sales. Duh.

The first 6 trips were to the ocean resort, but we would take the boat shuttle across the lagoon almost every day to get a meal, use the pool, or the swim up bar. In 2007 we stayed at the lagoon for the first time and brought my parents down for their 30th anniversary. They loved every minute of it. Check out my youtube clip for a short video of the fun. The last 2 clips are of the pool, and the lagoon right by the tiki bar on the beach. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmpSTNR8UGM Or just enter 'mwagne16' in the youtube search window and it will be near the top of the video list.

In Feb of 2008 we will be going back to the lagoon with my parents for a week, and will then move over to the Royal Sunset on the ocean for a week. They will go home, and a friend of ours will fly in for the second week.

It's really a bonus being able to have full use of both resorts at any time. We talked the timeshare price way down, and paid a fraction of the cost for the upgrade. We probably still paid a bit too much, but it is only what you make of it. The whole world thinks bad of Americans. If you come down with a bad attitude or short temper, it will just slide down hill. This will be the 9th trip in 11 years for a total of 10 weeks. There is still more to discover. Don't get hung up on trying to get every cent out of the all inclusive package. Eat out on the town a couple of nights and enjoy all of it.

My husband and I booked the Sunset Lagoon through a travel place called Resort Condominiums International (RCI). This was the worst resort we have ever stayed at. This was our first trip to Mexico and we will never go back again. We stayed in a supposed 5 star hotel, and it was so horrible. Our room was infested with ants. There was a broken window, broken door, there were light pillars that were not bolted down and almost fell on me. The food was being reheated and served and they put out pretty much the same food every day, and it wasn't good at all. A staff member who was working sat next to us at one of the bars and was drinking during their work shift. We felt like they treated you like crap if you didn't go see this 90 minute presentation to buy timeshares for their resort as they were really pushy about this presentation. We had papers with us saying we could do the optional all-inclusive plan. They force you to pay for it. They won't give you your key or anything until you pay a ton of money first. We were supposed to have certain items in our room, and they were missing. We kept asking for them to be brought to our room so we wouldn't get charged for them, and we had to go get them from the lobby ourselves because they wouldn't bring them to us. We had our do not disturb sign up one day and they came into our room anyways as we were about to leave. When they took us to our room, there were dishes all over the stairs. I opened a juice from our fridge and the cap and top of the juice were black. They didn't always restock the fridge. I had room service hang up on me. I was called inappropriate names by workers. When we called room service to get dishes, they would still be there the next morning. They offer complimentary rides from the airport and they did not have our ride ready. The mirrors and walls were filthy in the rooms. They touched our personal belongings and they would wake you up early in the morning with workers being loud outside. There were black hairs around our room and in a lot of the food. The food most of the time wasn't cooked all of the way. They have a travel agency to book excursions and the exchange rate was listed at one price and they charged us more. If they cancel one part of your excursion, they will allow you to reschedule the day, but they won’t give any money back. We went on one excursion where the hotel travel agency "forgot" to tell us we were traveling through an area with malaria risk. All they would say is sorry, and they would do nothing to help us. All in all, we had the worst experience, and our vacation was ruined. I would never ever suggest anyone stay here. The layout of the place seems gorgeous, but it's a nightmare. We got home, called the agency we booked through, and they won't do anything to help us either. We suggest people stay away from this hotel and the travel agency.