This place is a beautiful resort that is all-inclusive- a fact my friends and I were thrilled about. However, when you have an all-inclusive deal, you realize that the food and drink can never be of good quality. The food was sub-par in terms of quality and taste- most of it was fried and overly salty, nothing seemed fresh, not even the fish or the fruit (which is a sad thing to say for a resort in a tropical island on the ocean!!)- the drinks were overly sweet with a much higher mixer to alcohol ratio than normal, and NO ONE had a clue as to the wine list or wines available (even though the resort touts it's extensive wine list on the website). For the amount of money we spent to stay there, I never felt as though I had a good meal.
The service in general is really good- friendly staff overall! However, some of the staff have NO IDEA what is going on. We got a few different answers as to what was included in our package, and the resort even tried to scam a few friends into paying for what was included.
If you want a place to just relax and not have to worry about anything, this place is for you. But if you are expecting the experience they try to sell you on their website, you will be deeply disappointed. I would go here again only if I couldn't find a better deal elsewhere and I would expect to really enjoy the sun and the pool, but with the knowledge that the food and drinks will only be so-so. If you can find a better deal, go with that other deal! (That is my caveat to the "would you recommend this place to a friend" part)

We chose Moon Palace for our wedding for a few different reasons. We traveled with 14 others who were coming to attend our wedding. My sister had already visited a Palace Resort (X-Pu Ha) and loved it, we were traveling with family including some children (Moon Palace has a kid's club) and some singles (it DOESN'T require couples like a Sandals resort), and Moon Palace is HUGE, which was good for the divorced parents coming to stay apart from one another as well as for us to 'get away' when we started the honeymoon half of the trip (not to mention that you get free travel to any other Palace Resort in the area...for a day away of 'honeymoon' time)

RESORT/POOL/BEACH
Moon Palace has 3 sections: Sunrise (where my husband and I stayed), Nizuc (where most of the family was) and Moon Grande (where the grandparents happened to stay...and we actually never made it over to). Each section has an expansive pool (almost maze-like with walk-ways etc so you don't feel like you're swimming with as many people as you are) with sport areas, swim-up bar areas, jacuzzi-type areas, lounge chairs IN the water, shade huts with chairs, etc. There were some activities during the day: Spanish lessons, organized games, etc. I didn't partake of much as I was visiting with my family, but they seemed like fun if we were interested. The beach runs the entire resort (probably more than a mile of white sand)... It was a bit weedy and not the brilliant turquoise water of the hotel district, but I was expecting that from reviews on here and I truly think the spaciousness and variety offered at the Moon made up for that!

RESTAURANTS
My idea of perfect food is an easy/quick breakfast and lunch and then something nicer for dinner. Moon Palace had this set up perfectly. Many of the pool-side restaurants and even the buffets did easy sandwiches, nachos, burgers etc. during the day and then shut down for a couple hours and re-opened with nicer fair (with stricter dress code... not fancy but no wet swimsuits) for the evening. They had really nice buffets, but you could also go to 'a la carte' restaurants where you sit an order. Here's a rundown of what we ate:
Room service - DEFINITELY do this for breakfast... it is so easy, you don't leave your room and you get whatever you want on the fun little card they provide for you to leave outside your door at night, it's also a handy wake-up call. -- our 'breakfast in bed' after the wedding was really just fancy room service with a better menu to choose from... it came late (one of the only things we had to complain about) but still tasted delicious... and when you order mimosa's they bring you a whole bottle of champagne :-)

Arrefices (Nizuc)- Brazilian style where they bring meats around to your table on huge skewers after you eat a salad bar and some yummy sides. I really enjoyed this, though some of the meat was dry, some of it was DELICIOUS and I was so FULL by the end of the meal!

Manglar -(Nizuc) Italian buffet, nothing too fancy, lots of good food, great service, be sure to try the amaretto ice cream

Bugambilias (Sunrise) Mexican buffet, nothing to fancy, lots of good food, made to order meats, great service, be sure to try the chocolate volcano looking dessert :-)

Momonohana - (Sunrise) Asian, fancy and delicious sushi rolls etc, it was a 'dressy' restaurant (boys wear long pants and no sandals..) one of the few things that annoyed us, they didn't enforce the dress code after we put forth the effort to dress... it may have been that the resort was only about 30% capacity... I loved my fried banana dessert (though everything was FANTASTIC)

Barrucada - (Sunrise) - steak house (on ocean... no AC but didn't matter with the ocean breeze in the evening). This is where I chose to have the wedding dinner. It was absolutely delicious... be sure that everyone at the table knows which courses to order or some end up with and some without salad.

There were many other restaurants we didn't get a chance to try... I bet the fancy ones have the best food, so bring pants/shoes or dresses to dress for dinner.

NIGHTLIFE
Every night there was something going on, salsa dancers, Michael Jackson impersonator, fire dancers, Karaoke, Broadway night, etc. We went to a few of the shows and really enjoyed them. After that I was always pooped after a long day in the sun, but there is a disco in Sunrise we visited once if you’re into dancing and drinking (I heard if you drink way too much they come get you in a wheelchair and cart you back to your room.)

SERVICE
The service was excellent even without tipping. We did tip a dollar here and there... if we were sticking around the same bar or something... they'll come back to your first... or fill your drink without you asking. The poolside servers really deserve tips too, they’re working hard! You could also order food poolside… though we never did. I felt bad that we weren't prepared to tip the guy who took our bags to the room, we knew you didn't have to, but it did seem like he would have really appreciated it. They were happy to help me learn a bit more Spanish as well. The bed-making and turn-down service was fun, I’d never had turn-down service before. We were extremely happy with all the service.

WEDDING
We were assigned a wedding planner, Kalena, and a letter arrived our second day telling us when our appointment was with her. The wedding office is in the Nizuc area… they wanted a copy of our marriage license (we got married legally in the states so that we didn’t have to do all the steps for a legal Mexican wedding, including blood tests in Mexico, translation fees, etc.) We met with our planner and chose everything that was included in the package. We decided to pay for the Superior Wedding Package and then upgrade the photo package… SO HAPPY that we did both. We enjoyed all of the amenities included (massages, DVD of ceremony, the horse-drawn carriage, flowers, my hair, make-up, nails, etc.) With the photo upgrade we got a nice book of 64 printed photos (6x8) and the CD of negatives to ALL the pictures. We chose to get married at one of the 3 wedding gazebos (shade is key!), it was beautiful and next to the water (we got married at 3… later may be better to be just a bit cooler… luckily my sweaty face miraculously didn’t look sweaty in any of the pictures), we DID NOT get to pick out vows though we could add to the ceremony (sand, candle etc.. we didn’t add anything) and we brought a CD for the songs. It was all so well-organized. They knew how to position us so the pictures and DVD looked amazing and the guy who did the ceremony wasn’t the focus point (since we didn’t know him anyway). The music worked out perfectly both live and in the DVD (they dubbed over it and cut it together so it looks and sounds really great). They led us through the rest of the ‘stuff’ cake, dance, and photos after the ceremony. All was great. I was very happy with the photographer, who obviously knew what he was doing (turning me away from the wind so my dress didn’t blow up into my face and other things like that). After the ceremony we did drinks in the lobby bar (thank god for air conditioning!) until the restaurant opened, then they got carts to take everyone to the restaurant where Kalena had set up my favors (little picture frame place cards) and the cake had been moved as well for us to eat. After dinner, they brought the cake to our room (which had been nicely prepared for the newly-weds by the staff).

HONEYMOON
The honeymoon dinner was delicious. It was not ‘on the beach’ but on a terrace overlooking the pool and beach, which was also beautiful. Our table was labeled, Bienvenidos Mr and Mrs Smith Felicidades, They kept the special honeymoon drink coming (I think it was Sangria) and the food was EXCELLENT, it was very fancy-looking and tasted great too!

CANCUN PALACE
We decided to go to Cancun Palace for a day so we could see the turquoise water. We were very happy we did. There were conflicting reports about which other resort had the best beach…still not sure which one does but Cancun Palace was great… white sand, turquoise water, a guy put up an umbrella on the beach for us, and others brought us drinks. It wasn’t too much of a bus-ride, we left at 12 and were there before 12:30 and had to catch the bus again by 4. It was a great day on the beach. It was nice to compare to Moon Palace too. The hotel district is just that… tall hotel next to tall hotel, very very close together. The beach at Cancun Palace was beautiful, but not that big (maybe 150 yards?). There were also people walking around selling things (watches, necklaces, sunglasses, etc.) which you don’t see at Moon Palace. It really made me happy I chose Moon Palace over these. I’m sure it’s also a nice hotel, but very, very different…not as many restaurants, not as much space, etc.

We were told that the resort is quite different when it is near capacity...you have to get out early to reserve chairs etc. Also, we had no problems with H1N1, though a couple people were touched by Montezuma's revenge... the resort has bottled water everywhere and offers only filtered ice. Just be careful in the shower and come prepared with tums and immodium!

My entire family commented on what a great choice we made and hopes we invite them when we return to celebrate our future anniversaries.

This was my second trip to Cancun and this holiday was the best I ever had.

Grounds

The place is so clean and the grounds are kept so neat and tidy, pool was clean. The staff work so hard to keep the place looking so nice they deserve a medal

Rooms

Rooms are of a decent size, the bath takes up a lot of room but its so nice just to sit in the bath after a hard days sun bathing. Rooms again very clean and the maid was very good and looked after us during our stay. Mini bar was restocked on a twice a day basis, so we never run out of cold beer and water.

Meals
The waiters never see you glass go empty and looked after you well, food was very good . So many places to eat and the variety of food on offer was very good and they offered something for everyone. In our week there not once did we have a bad meal.

During my stay I celebrated my 40th birthday and the hotel left a birthday cake in my room which was a really nice of them.

The bellboys deserve a special mention our transport was one hour late to collect us and they were busy on the phone trying to sort out this problem, which is more than the Virgin holidays reps did.

Overall excellent hotel with great foor and excellent staff who could not do enough to help you and make sure that you enjoyed your holiday. I never seen hotel staff work so hard before and they are a credit to the Moon Palace.

My husband and I were at the Moon Palace from the 4th to the 18th of June, we had intially booked to visit the Azul Sensatori but decided to change hotels, we are so pleased that we did. Do not let the swine flu put you off, we saw no illness of this nature, and it worked to out advantage, during the first week the hotel reported only 27% occupancy
Arrived at the hotel to be met by a lovely member of staff with a chilled, scented towel, just what was needed. Check in was very smooth, the reception staff are very helpful. Our luggage was taken to the room by a bellboy, we went with him and he proceded to tell us about the hotel.
We were staying at the Nizuc side of the hotel, Jaguar block room 7421 ( i think that was it but it was top floor, corner room, husband constantly amazed that I could not remember the number!) Lovely view over the Catholic chapel, we saw lots of weddings, and a great sea view. Not a huge balcony but who wants to sit there when you have a fantastic hotel?? The room was very spacious, large comfortable bed, excellent pillows, large jaccuzzi, tiled shower with a bench to sit down, flat screen tv, optics and a mini fridge with mixers. The room has a coffee machine, if like me you like to have proper milk and not coffemate, ask room service to bring you a carton of milk and keep it in your fridge, worked for me!! Plenty of storage space but we were glad that we had brought some additional clothes hangers from home. Your are provided with robes and slippers for your stay.
Room service are wonderful, always said that they would be thirty ifive minutes but always turned up in about twenty. Good choice of food on the menu. Table and chairs in the room for you to make it easier to eat your food, not having to balance on the bed as with other hotels I have stayed at.
Pool is wonderful, well it looks wonderful, both my husband and I are beach people so we never went in. Every morning we walked past on the way to our spot on the beach saying 'we will have to go in there today, it looks so inviting' but we never did. Plenty of beds and shade on the beach, one day we were the only ones there until later in the afternoon. Yes there is seaweed on the beach but they are constantly cleaning it up. All you have to do is walk one foot from the edge and you are into clear water. The water is not the same colour as you would get in Cancun but then they do not have much of a beach. Balthazar on the beach will keep you watered with his regualr drink runs, he did not understand that we did not want to have tequila all the timeand kept laughing at us!!. We witnessed people asking him to bring food down, don't be lazy walk up to the restaurant!!!
We did not visit all the restaurants because we found some favourites. The Italian at the Golf Club was exceptional but do get there early. The Chinese / Japanese at the Golf Club was good but not as good as you would get at home. The Italian at the Sunrise was lovely, ask then to make the mexican coffee, it's a show in itself, and does taste very nice. The Brazilian at the Nizuc was exceptional, best we have ever been to but again go early. We visited the Beach Hotel in Cancun one evening and went to the Steak House restaurant, it was good but make sure that you are visting when there is not much of a breeze because you will not be able to keep hold of your salad or bread roll if you do! The coffee shop in Nizuc hotel is great, good selection of cakes and sandwiches, they also make good coffee, perfect if you just want a snack
The hotel has a courtesy bus which will take you to Wet and Wild, I beleive that Moon Palace guests get free entry but check that out, and the sister hotels in Cancun. Get there early if you want a spot on the bus, it does get busy. We wanted to visit two of teh shopping malls so got off at the Beach Hotel. The Isla and Luxury Ave are within easy walking distance
We have stayed at the Iberstor Hotels a little further down towards Palya Del Carmen, they have one thing that this hotel was seriosuly lacking, an air conditioned cigar lounge. My husband likes to have a cigar in the evening on holiday, he said having one outside meant that the breeze got 50% of it!
The staff are fantastic and will do everything to make your stay comfortable, please make sure that you do tip, these guys are on very poor wages. We saw lots of people who were very demanding, you know who you are, and did not tip for the service they received. You would not got out to a restaurant at home and walk away without tipping don't do it here!
Would we go back to this hotel, yes if it was under occupied as it is now but I do not know what it would be like at full occupancy