We stayed at the JW from the 18th to 23rd of January and found that the reviews in Tripaddvisor were 'right on'! We had never been to Cancun before and were amazed at the color of the water and how much the hotel strip looks like a Vegas wanna -be but without the neon lights. Wow--talk about mega hotels! I read on-line that Cancun was a fishing village in the 70s with 120 inhabitants but now every major hotel chain or all inclusive has a stake in the city. My thoughts on the hotel:
We were upgraded to the Club level due to 2 conventions were at the hotel and it was packed, but we were not allowed to use the Club lounge. The view of the ocean was spectacular and it had a larger balcony than other levels. Very nice. I did tip the room attendant a few dollars every day and the room was always spotless, and they even have a maid that offers ice for the ice bucket every afternoon. Simply Shrimp has a wonderful breakfast buffet every day but you can also get coffee and a roll at the deli in the gift shop. We did the buffet and then didn't have another meal until dinner. There IS a McDonalds 'across the street' but because the hotels are set so far back it would be a couple of block walk to get there--not real convenient. Simplly Shrimp also has a hamburger and club sandwich on the lunch and dinner menu for about $10 if you don't want a big meal and you can also order their food in the lobby lounge which I did not find out until the end of our stay. The lobby bar has their own limited menu so ask if you want something else. We had dinner at Gustinos which was awful. I think they mass produce the food and then keep in in a warming oven much like on a cruise ship. They 'fresh plate' it and add the garnishes when you order it. We had a 4 course dinner there(on a Marriott certificate) and the appetizer and pasta courses were really sadly overcooked. My husband had the Veal Marsala which was really dried out and like shoe leather and my grouper entree was almost mushy. The waiter insisted the entrees were 'prepared at the time I ordered it' but said he would have the chef prepare a new grouper entree. He was back in 2 minutes with another entree!! There is no way you could cook a thick grouper meal in two minutes and this one was as overcooked as the first one. Trust me, and skip Gustinos. The restaurant is beautiful and service is good but it doesn't make up for the food. The Beachwalk Cafe on the ocean is only open for lunch and food can be ordered around the pool area and was very good. Try the mudslide frozen cocktail--really good. Cippilos at the Casa Magna is very good, but Champions is also a place to avoid. I bought jewelry at Caesars in the JW shopping arcade and we went to La Isla shopping mall but didn't buy anything. Caesars had the best quality in silver jewelry. The airport is amazing. The new terminal is only about 6 months old and baggage was ready on the turnstyle when we cleared customs. We arranged for a taxi by using the Prestige taxi recommended on the JW Marriott website(click on transportation) It was $14 a person and could be charged to the hotel bill which made it really simple. Getting out of the airpport lobby past all the people strategically located to get your taxi business or sell you a time share is really an experience. No Hollywood set could be more perfectly orchestrated!! We had rain a couple of days so we didn't get to do some of the tourist things we had planned but the shopping and hotel more than made up for the dismal weather.

We spent a week at the JW Marriott and were extremely impressed. We have stayed at many Marriotts, and this is the best we have been to. The staff was extremely helpful and courteous. The pool area is wonderful. The biggest drawback is that there is not much beach left.

I have been to the JW Marriot twice since 2002. Of all the places i have traveled this is one of the most elegant and beautiful hotels i have ever stayed in. The staff treats you like royalty, the grounds of the hotel are amazing, the rooms/ bed are huge and comfortable (granite countertops and a huge shower in the bathroom). The infinity pool and pool staff make you feel like you are inparadise. They serve you from your lounge chair ( 3 inches of comfy padding on the cushion) and check on you every so often. YOu can walk down to the street and there is a bus stop right there. You can take the bus into town for practicaly nothing. Otherwise the hotel will call you a cab. There is wonderful food and a nice gift/snack shop with everything you can imagine. If i ever go to cancun again i wouldnt even consider staying anywhere else.

Just got back 2 days ago and we had a great time there. Our stay was very nice in almost every way.

I had a few misgivings about issues raised by other reviewers, such as criticism of the beach erosion, construction noise, smell of mold, and crowding. Granted, mid-January is not prime time, but there were lots of other guests, with a constant flow of corporate meetings, etc., but we had no problems at all with crowding at the pools. No competition for chairs, etc. I guess this is mostly just a problem if you're there at a really busy time. No construction going on--just efforts to work on the sand erosion at the beach.

Yeah, it's really too bad about the erosion, but there is some left. With such nice pools right at the edge of the beach, I was happy and didn't miss lying on the sand. You can lie on chairs at the beach, but it is not like it used to be certainly. Walking along the beach from one hotel to another, it's a problem all along the beach in Cancun, so just be aware of this issue--if you need tons of beach, it's not here.

No real mold smell in lobby or rooms (although I can tell that they are using a strong air freshener spray in the lobby). Everything is clean and very nice. Massage was very good (get a deep-tissue one) and the Mayan herb exfoliation treatment lovely.

A really important tip is to take the plastic bag with brochures from the annoying people handing them out at the airport that you would rather just pass. Inside is a coupon book which includes 15% off coupons for all the hotel restaurants and spa treatments at the JW (along with other good restaurants). Prices are high, and this was a nice find. The breakfast buffet is really expensive at $25 to do every day. Get your needs met at the convenience store across the street, including breakfast items. The Shrimp Bucket restaurant across the street was so good and reasonably priced that we ate there 4 times in a week! Shrimp every which way. Especially good for lunch--eat outside and watch the water sports from next door. Mexican beer on tap (taps at your table!).

Things to do--go to Tulum ruins. Really wonderful. We skipped the very commercial Disney-like scene at Xcaret and Xel-Hun and rented a car to drive to Tulum ourselves and then visited Aktun-Chen, a very low-key and more nature-like cenote, got a private guided tour, saw various animals including lots of monkeys. Better than the crowded bus tours to the other parks with people like sheep. We didn't go snorkeling because of the weather with strong currents and also didn't dive for the same reason. I think that Jan is a hard time weather-wise for the winds and currents.