Just returned from the Contintental Plaza Cancun. We were there for Valentines 2004. I had read the reviews and tryed the $ tip thing for an ocean view. Yes it worked, but it was in the "Villas" and the shower didn't work (fixed day 2), the blow dryer didn't work, the AC didn't work (we depended on the ocean breeze, which worked beautifully:) The phone didn't work, the lights by the bed didn't work and the dorm sized fridge was absent. Long story short, we had to insist with the front desk (original check in clerk that we tipped) to move us to the tower.
Once done, the room was much nicer and fully working without a moldy odor. I made reservations at the Italian rest. and the Steak house 4 times total and liked the food. Problem is, you have to get up at 7:00, go to the lobby and stand in line to make reservations for that night.
You can only make them for the 1 night. Breakfast at the buffet was good as well. I have stayed at three different all inclusive hotels in Cancun, and if it weren't for the room problems, this would have been a great stay. The beach is a 10. Top advice - Get a tower room on check in. I talked to multiple people that were also in the Villas and all had much the same experience as we did. We were told that the villas are time-shares that are not as well maintained as the hotel tower rooms. Plus...they are quite a walk from all the food and drink.

I went to Continental Plaza mid Febuary 2004. Two nights before leaving my family and i read the reviews and were terrified. From what people said the hotel sounded horrible and so did the food. However, having already purchased the tickets and two rooms we had no choice but to go.
I was VERY pleasently surprised upon arrival at the hotel. The staff was very friendly the appearance was wonderful and the rooms were wonderful! The beach was spectacular and the 3 pools were all great. I can agree that the food is the best but eatible....there is always something good to eat. THe entertainment staff is SOOOO friendly, and always has something going on. I think that this hotel is GREAT for a family vacation, becuase i went with mine (mom, dad, sister-19 and me-15) and having been to 6 star hotels before i didnt think this one was that bad... I had a GREAT time and would love to go back for next vacation so dont get scared off by all the other reviews, the hotel is just fine!

My husband and myself along with 3 other couples just got back from the Continental Plaza Cancun and thought we should share our experience. We arrived at the hotel at 11 pm on the 5th of Feb. 2004 and we checked in after having a problem at the airport we were a bit later than expected. When we made our reservations we asked if we could possibly have all our rooms on the same floor if not together. We all received our rooms and we were not even in the same buildings. We got to our room and it was situated right across the street from a disco. The next morning we asked to have our room changed and they reluctantly agreed.
I have to say that the food in the buffet restaurants were not good and the a la carte restaurants weren't bad but had little selection. The only half decent restaurant was the Paradise Cove which was a la carte for lunch and supper. I have travelled to a lot of different countries but I don't ever remember having to stand in line at the buffet restaurant. Something else I must mention is that if you want a reservation at the a la carte restaurants you had better be prepared to get up early as you have to stand in line from 7 a.m. on to get a reservation. We had several bad experience with some of the staff at this hotel. We found that the staff was not very friendly except at the Paradise Cove, and some of the staff was downright surly. I was stupified and just couldn't believe my ears. We also found that there was an extreme shortage of beach and pool loungers, if you wanted one you had to be on the beach or by the pool by 6:30 a.m. or you didn't get one. They did have a second pool but there was no music and no bar so not much fun and it was pretty dead. All in all the hotel and grounds are clean and fine but they have too many people and not enough restaurants and loungers to accomodate the number of people staying at the hotel. They certainly need to retrain their staff as their attitude leave a lot to be desired. We were not satisfied with the service we received and feel that we did not get our monies worth at this hotel.

Stayed at the Continental in January of 2001 and it certainly left a lot to be desired. After arriving on a three-hour delayed flight from Toronto we were greeted by an unfriendly desk staff to be checked-in AFTER a 45 minute wait in line!! We were lucky in getting excellently located rooms with a white-tiled patio overlooking the ocean - probably the best loacted rooms in the hotel. The location of the hotel on the strip was great too - walking distance to most stuff which was nice.
That's about where the positives end. Our room's air conditioning system barely blowed cold, and there was a definate musty/mold smell in the rooms. The food was barely edible so we ate out much of the time - kinda negates the whole"all-inclusive" thing, eh? It was also the only all-inclusive resort I have visited where we had to wait to sign a reciept for drinks, food, etc. even though we had on the distinctive hotel hospital bracelet. The first time we tried to get drinks at the bar, the bartender yelled at us for trying to walk-away without "signing." We showed him the bracelet and told him we were all-inclusive and he told us it didn't matter - we had to sign. Then he would proceed to serve other guests while we waited for him to print the receipt to sign. Lots of waiting... this hotel was pretty good for that. I think the worst part though was the forced and unfriendly service extended (albeit, not very often) by virtually all the staff.
Not one person was particularly friendly, even though I'm a supre-friendly guy - well and a bit biased I'm sure.... Bottom line - spend a few bucks more and stay in a real "resort" hotel.