my husband and I just got back from a week at this resort. we had a wonderful time. it is a smaller resort where you actually get to know your fellow travellers. we met a lot of great people from all over. the staff were very friendly and could not do enough for you. it is an older resort and had a few little problems but nothing to really speak of. the entertainment was really good. i would recommend this resort to my friends. we cannot say enough good things about it.
don't listen to the negative reviews. they must have been thinking they were checking into a 5 star and not a 3 star.

When I first received my free Mexico Paradise Getaways certificate, I was a little weary about it. I went online and read all kinds of bad reviews. I was upset at first but I said I had to try it out because it was a free gift. So I read ALL of the term and conditions before sending it in. I had a couple questions so I called the customer service line. I spoke with a lady by the name of Melina and she was very nice and answered all the crazy questions I had. So I listened to her and followed the instructions. I thought I hadn't received anything from them so I called them about 2 weeks after submitting it and spoke with a very nice man by the name of Doug. He had informed me that sometimes the emails filter through to your spam folder. Sure enough ...... there was all of my emails. So I followed all of the instructions in a timely manor and sure enough, about a month and a half later after submitting it, I received a phone call from Ashley stating that I was going to Cancun and also answered all of my questions. I received my airline info and my resort info and we were on our way. Me and my husband had a GREAT time there. We stayed at the Caribbean Princess and the staff there was very polite. If I could to it all over again, I would. I even received my $100 deposit back. My advise to all of you that is having such a hard time, be patient and follow everything to the tee and you'll have no problems like me. Hope this helps everyone. Keep in mind that most people that don't give it a try will be the first to complain about something but when you have had a great time, you have no need to write anything because it was great. I just had to write something nice about them because me and my husband had a wonderful time!+

Before coming on this trip, my boyfriend and I read the reviews of the Caribbean Princess on this site. After returning from our week long trip there, we both agree that while the Caribbean Princess does not deserve a 5/5 rave, the reviews that gave the resort a 1/5 and warned to never set foot on the property are fear-mongering and equally as inaccurate. We found that many of the people who were complaining the week that we were there were mostly upset about their travel agent's failure to warn them about Spring Break, and were letting their frustration with the younger crowd infuse their perception of everything else. If you plan on coming to Cancun during February or March, Spring Break partiers are a fixture of most resorts. That being said, the Caribbean Princess was considerably quieter than some of the Hotel Zone resorts, as it is significantly smaller and off the beaten track. The staff was also incredibly accommodating when it came to moving couples to a quieter area.

Here are a couple of points that we felt were worth passing on:

1. The Caribbean Princess is NOT beach-front, and when they say that the beach is 5 minutes away, they mean 5 minutes by a shuttle that runs once at 10 am and once again at 3 pm. As a vacationer at the Caribbean Princess, you are allowed access to a gorgeous beach club, but it is NOT all-inclusive there, you cannot bring your own food or water, and swimming in the ocean is contingent on how calm the waves are (literally - they rope off the stairs to the beach if the waves are too rough). However, there is a public beach right beside the beach club, and while it was quite populated when we were there, it's still a great alternative.

2. "Non-motorized water sports" basically means swimming in the pool and kayaking in a lagoon that has crocodiles.

3. The food was definitely more than tolerable. I consider myself a fairly picky eater, and I was able to find something to fill me up every day. What no one tells you however (and we unfortunately didn't discover until the last day) is that there is an a la carte menu available every day besides Thursdays and Saturdays. All you have to do is ask for it. The food is prepared fresh, and is quite delicious.

4. Tips really do go a long way. We tipped the pool bartender 20 pesos (roughly $2 US) on our second day and were treated like kings for the rest of the week. The service overall was good, but the front desk staff isn't always that helpful (or even looking like they are willing to help you) - But generally speaking, our trip rep was able to make up the difference.

5. We found the hotel to be very clean and we both loved our room. It has a lot of character, and was very spacious. The bed was quite hard, but after the first couple of nights, neither of really noticed it anymore. We did bring our own sheets (after reading some of the reviews that warned of stains), and while the sheets on the bed were very clean, I think we were both grateful to have something a bit more comfortable. The hotel property in general could use a definite face lift (some areas of it look downright abandoned - The "gym" is now a running joke between us), but overall, it's perfectly fine.

6. We didn't take advantage of any of the bar trips at night, but we heard from others that they were very well organized and there was something to do every night. There was no disco on the resort however, so if you're looking to party and not pay extra to do it (these trips are roughly $40 US each, but include cover and open bar), this is not the resort for you.

Overall - We had a great time, and while I'm not sure we would stay there again, we definitely do not regret our decision to go in the first place. It was great for the price, but it IS a three star resort. How good your trip is is up to you - but that's true of even a five star.

We've just come back from spending two weeks at the Caribbean Princess hotel. We found the hotel excellent value for money with clean rooms and a good location from which to explore Cancun. We found the staff friendly and helpful/efficient.
The great benefit of this hotel was the fact that it had arranged free entry to the beach club which was right on the sea front with excellent beaches. The only proviso was that you bought a drink - £1.80 for orange juice/lemonade which in effect got you the whole use of their facilities, ie swimming pool, toilets, sunbeds, parasol, clean towel, simply cannot be considered expensive!!
While we were there, unfortunately, one couple moved to a hotel across the road and this sparked off a wave of people moving for no apparent real reason - excuses about beach location when the Caribbean Princess is clearly advertised as being beside the lagoon, complaints about food, etc.
What people failed to realise is that you get what you pay for and therefore if these people want more exquisite facilities/food, then it's time they paid for it and stopped moaning or better still, stay at home with all their creature comforts around them!!
Try taking local buses (very cheap and comfortable) to Playa del Carmen and Tulum etc.
Best snorkelling is round the corner from the Club Med hotel - stay on the bus until The Westin and walk up to the end of the hotels (Club Med).
Friendly people in Mexico and we'd definitely come back again.