OVERALL
The hotel has a very good location for walking to two shopping centers and places to eat. The service is four star quality. The rooms have quality amenities and are highly maintained. The pools are well designed. The club floor provides value for money. I would recommend it to friends and would stay here again.

CLUB LEVEL ROOM
Check-in was standard. The butler/concierge escorted us to our room and pointed out various features, then retrieved our luggage. Very pleasant person. The room has very good closet space with ample hangers and drawers. Kudos to Aqua for not putting a giant TV/mini bar cabinet in the room. Instead there is a large wall-mounted flat-screen and a low-level wall unit that held a mini bar and more drawers. The top portion was used for aromatherapy items and the other half could be used to place personal items. The room had a nice spaciousness to it and excellent sea/sky views. The bed was extremely comfortable with crisp/clean linens. The bathroom was large with a walk-in shower and separate bathtub. There was a hand-held shower in the tub that should have been in the walk-in shower. There is a window in the bathroom that allows one to look into the main room and outside to the seascape. It was great to be able to shower and see the sea! There were blinds on the window that could be used to obtain privacy if desired. They provide Molten Brown toiletries and an array of scented soaps. The mint scented bar was prefect after a day in the sun. All used towels and all bath amenities were replenished each day. Housekeeping maintained an immaculate room!!! There were no noise issues at all. Never heard doors banging, voices, footsteps or any other disturbing noise. Only had perfectly undisturbed restful sleeps each night and I am a light sleeper!

CLUB LEVEL LOUNGE
Very comfortable seating that is arranged very nicely. The views are superb, but could be seen better if the hotel would clean the exterior of the lounge windows. The lounge has a Nespresso machine with a full selection of flavors that guests can freely use. There is always a bottle of champagne (sparkling wine) available and bottled water is given upon request (great to take to the pool). Guests can make themselves a Bloody Mary or Mimosa at breakfast. Breakfast was more than sufficient if you like fruits, cereals and pastries. Breakfast was perfect for us. The choice of breakfast time music was Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra and played rather loud. We would have preferred the new age type music played around the pool for first thing in the morning. Midday snacks and evening food services offered nice options. It was nice to take a break from the sun and come to the lounge midday for a lite bite. Went to the late night chocolate time one evening, but there was nothing left. A fellow guest came in and demanded chocolate so the concierge brought them a plate loaded with chocolates but never came to give us anything. There is pretty much a full bar available in the evening. Word to the wise: get to the sushi service early or you’ll not get anything. Some guests use this food to fill themselves so as not to have to go out for dinner or have room service. We witnessed one couple eat an entire tray of sushi one evening. The food goes quickly folks and is not replenished. It is first come first served. The lounge has a couple of flat-screen TVs, a small selection of reading materials and a couple of games for guests to use.

CLUB LEVEL CONCIERGE
The concierge team consists of four concierge and some lounge attendants. The concierge are all very pleasant and easy to talk to. Most dining options in the area are geared towards tourists so they are limited in where they can recommend for local cuisine. The places they sent us to were not true local restaurants… even the one’s in downtown Cancun. All the places were very touristy. Overall the team is very willing to assist the guest with a pleasant demeanor.

POOLS: Perfection!

HOTEL OBSERVATIONS
1) Smoking in the pools; Man with cigar and a couple other guests smoking cigarettes.
2) Weekend Day Use: There were some local people that (we assumed book day use rooms) invite their entire clan to come use (use meaning overtake) the pool areas.
3) There were a number of young adult pool crashers. It was blatantly obvious from loud conversations that they stated they were staying elsewhere.
4) No beverage menus: all drinks cost $17.50USD whether a 2 ounce glass of wine (that is $6 per bottle in the US) or a Piña Colada, etc.
5) There are hotels being constructed on both sides of The Aqua, but never heard any noise coming from either (that piped in music helps that). These ugly structures do compromise the ambiance of a beach stroll as well as the club pool and some of the beach level seating views.
6) There were quite a number of children at The Aqua. This hotel is spa and adult oriented that it is an odd choice for visitors with children to chose to stay here.
7) The hotel has a no glass/chinaware policy for the pools. Food ordered to be eaten in one’s pool lounger is served in clear plastic deli boxes with plastic cutlery. Real china/cutlery is used at Azur poolside lounge. The plastic glasses used to serve drinks are decent.
8) If you prefer to lay in shade then the $100USD cabana rental will be a waste of money for you as the top of the cabanas have sticks that allow lots of direct sun onto the bed. The poolside umbrellas provide ample shade for two loungers together throughout the entire day.
9) An order of cheesecake through Room Service is two 5/8th inch squares on a plate for $12USD!
10) Spa: We encountered very cold and aloof interaction from the spa staff. It was so negative that we walked out and determined not to use the spa services.
11) Bars & Lounges: We retire to bed before 11PM each night to get up early and enjoy the mornings, so we never used the bars or lounges. Upon returning to the hotel after dinner each night around 10-10:30PM we noticed that these facilities were empty. Nice rooms though!

LOCAL AREA OBSERVATIONS
1) Many people do not dress nice for dining in finer restaurants. Saw lots of flesh hanging out of tight beachwear clothing. Gotta say, that we saw way too much cleavage (being nice using that word), flabby mid-drift areas and butt crack while watching the sunset and dining on the cuisine at Harry’s. This occurred at other nicer dining establishments were we ate. It seemed to be both the visitors and the locals that were underdressed.
2) Taxi drivers must be millionaires! A five minute trip costs triple for the same distance/cost in NYC. Got into one small cab where the driver was so large he had his seat pushed back touching the back seat so there was not enough room for two people in the back (we sat on each other… and we thought NYC taxis could be bad!).

I stayed at Aqua from 5/3 - 5/11. I booked my trip through Expedia and paid for a king oceanfront room with terrace. This was supposed to be the nicest room option before the suites. Well, I was very disappointed when I arrived to find that my room looked out onto a construction site, and the terrace was littered with cigarette butts. This capped off what was already an awful check-in experience.

I arrived before my room was ready and was asked to be seated in the lobby and to wait for my orientation visit from one of the hotel staff. This "orientation" turned out to be a sales pitch for the "vacation club," which I was repeatedly told was "not a timeshare"--probably in response to my look of utter annoyance. When I finally pried myself loose from this irritating pitch from albeit a very nice young man, I went for lunch at the beachside restaurant, Azur. Beautiful setting, but make sure to ask for the beach menu if you want a sandwich or appetizer, or otherwise risk making the same mistake I did (paying about $25 for 3 shrimp). My waiter never told me about the other menu.

When I went to the front desk to switch rooms on my second day, I was told that all king oceanfront with terrace rooms looked at the construction site on one side of the resort or an abandoned building on the other (Expedia needs to make this known to its customers). The desk clerk offered to move me to a cheaper room without a terrace but with a better view. She told me that I could not be reimbursed or credited because I booked through Expedia, not the hotel. She added that, since the hotel had the room I ordered, they owed me nothing. This was all communicated very pleasantly in the quiet, zen-like (slightly creepy) manner that all the staff at Aqua use. I should also mention that on May 4, the hotel was at 18% capacity. So, I think that they could have done a bit more to make my situation better.

My last complaint relates to the Aqua tour booking desk staff, who misled my friends and me to book a snorkling adventure that was completely different from the one we were told we were going on. We asked to go to Isla Mujeres and were told that we would be sailing there with a small group (no more than 12 people) on a catamaran and taken to a beautiful private beach. Imagine our surprise when we got in a van that took us about 30 minutes south of the resort (Isla Mujeres is north) to Puerto Murelos, where we joined about 100 people on a very ugly , not at all private beach (sandwiched between two construction sites). It was an awful group snorkling experience designed for the spring break crowd, not us. The hotel tour desk denied misleading us but did reimburse us for half of the fee.

Unfortunately, these experiences marred what could have been one of the most relaxing vacations I've ever had. The property is lovely, and the views from the rooms in the center of the hotel are gorgeous. Most of the staff were extremely pleasant, and the food at the resort was wonderful. The facilities--gym, pools--were fantastic. However, because of the initial "welcome" that I received, I would not recommend Aqua to a friend.

My hubby and I stayed at the AQUA CANCUN Hotel for 8 days. May 15-22 - Upon arrival to the Aqua "Lawrence" the front desk attendant tried to convince us to pay $100 more a night to get an ocean view - when we already booked an Ocean Front View - he tried and tried to get more money from us to up-grade - indicating the Hotel Aqua was completly full - with a Fashion Show going on. We were very unhappy with this treatment after flying for 4 hours from California. We asked to speak to the Manager - he sent no-one..... A bellboy came over after 1/2 hour complaining with Lawrence and told us he would put us in an Ocean Front room (which of course we already reserved) - we finally got the ROOM we reserved in the FIRST PLACE with no add'l monies. STAY AWAY FROM LAWRENCE - front desk attendant - he was VERY RUDE and TRIED TO CON US into paying more for our money. We ended up on the 6th floor middle of the Hotel with an awesome view of the OCEAN. Once we settled in - we were very happy with the room they provided us - the beds are the most comfortablest in CANCUN (NOT hard at all) with goose down pillows (spa like) the room was filled with aromatherapy candles each night - try the Tranquillity scent puts you right to sleep. We ate at the AZUL Resturant - excellent SUSHI, and well prepared gourmet food buffet well worth the lunch buffet at $72 US dollars for two.
The Hotel was about 40% full Friday-Sunday - then Monday - Thursday - 10% full - we had the entire place to ourselves.The service at the pool was awesome. However a small bottle of reg water was $9US dollars. We went across the street and bought a BIGGER bottled water for $1.40 USD. All in all the Hotel was AWESOME - Massages were great too. The only downfall was arrival at the front desk and departure at the front desk.
PS the Pool CABANAS should be FREE - especially when hotel was say 10% full

Stayed here May 1 - May 7.

We booked the cheapest room through Expedia with the 25% off Food & Bevarage promo. Upon check-in, the front desk offered us a $50 / night upgraded room. I opted to first view our room and then decide. The first room offered had a view of the construction next door (thank you Expedia; just like all others, this hotel offers their worst room possible when you book through them.) Our bellman saw our diispleasure & offered to see what he could do, and within minutes he returned to us with keys to a King room with beautiful views of the hotel grounds and the ocean. He received a well-deserved tip for this unexpected service.

PROS:

Rooms are well appointed and essentially brand new as other reviewers have mentioned. The room was very clean and well maintained. The mini fridge can hold a couple six-packs of beer from across the street ($50 pesos / 6 pack as opposed to $55 pesos per beer at the pool.)

The food quality at their restaurants is WELL above anything else I've experienced in Mexico. We dined at all three restaurants (Azur, Siete, and MB) and all were excellent. We ordered a large variety from each menu, and I was impressed at the presentation and the food quality. At MB, you must try the tuna carpaccio and the short ribs. Unbelievable!

All service workers at this hotel (dining, bar, maid) are top-notch and go out of their way to ensure your satisfaction.

The pool areas were absolutely beautiful!

The property location is awesome -- it lies directly across the street from La Isla Shopping Mall, and there is a bus stop right outside the hotel for trips to the touristy area up north. ($6 pesos per ride, which is under 60 cents.)

CONS:

Maybe I'm a bit too picky, but I have a certain level of expectation when staying at a 4.5 star property. That being said, here are my negatives.

1) The lobby music would suddenly become blaringly loud at odd hours of the night. Two nights it woke us up at 4am, and our room was a long distance from the lobby. It was very tacky. The mood music is nice when it is left at a moderate and consistent volume. This needs to be promptly addressed.

2) Our room was extremely noisy, in part because it was directly across from the slamming door leading to the staircase, and because all the hotel room doors literally SLAM when they shut. I think that all of the doors at the hotel should have soft shutting hinges to quietly shut the doors. For a hotel of this caliber to have doors that slam and echo down the halls upon closing is unacceptable.

3) Cabanas by the pool should be free to use, especially when the entire cabana area is a ghost town. We were chased away by a pool attendant because we refused to pay $1200 pesos when we layed on one at 5pm. Very tacky if you ask me.

4) The Shore Club was never open as advertised online.

5) There were no stated dining hours for the restaurants on site. We intended on dining at MB on Monday, only to find out that they were randomly closed.

6) The 25% Food & Beverage promotion was only documented on certain restaurant checks, and it left some confusion as to if it was going to be added or not. I assume this is to ensure that you tip on the full check amount & not on the discounted amount. This is misleading and also in bad taste. Management said that the discount is added when the waiter closes out the check, but still it left some confusion. Note that the restaurants refuse to give you a copy of your signed check. You have to either write it down on something or commit your balance to memory. This is a very strange system and it's hard to keep track of your expenses, especially if you plan on charging multiple bills to your room over a 6 or 7 night stay.

7) The Internet did not consistently work. We had several issues with it. It was also extremely overpriced at over $200 pesos per day for a connection that was not high-speed as advertised. We would connect at around 20 or 25 kb/second.

8) The electricity went in and out of service in certain areas of the hotel on our final day. I worried that we may get stuck in the elevator due to the random power outages.

Also note that their front desk computers update themselves from noon to 1pm daily, so don't plan on checking out during this hour as you will not be able to review your bill.

All that being said, we would probably stay here again if they would at least fix the slamming doors. If you decide to stay here, definitely request a room on a higher floor and maybe just pay the $50 / night upgrade offered by the desk & be done with it.

I hope this helps!