Catalonia Riveria Maya Reviews

just got back from catalonia riveria mayo. what can i say excellent place totally amazing. best hotel have stayed in.if your watching your weight i would advoid it,cause food is irrestable.so much choice.never seen so many cakes.really lovely food and restaurants.cocktails and drinks all good day and night.right on the beach that was never crowded plenty of beds.just magical.staff all nice and friendly always cleaning up.swimming pools lovely choice of many.some with swim up bars,which was great has weather was so hot.nightly entertainment could be better not much choice.but only a minor complaint,has everything else was spot on. would highly recommend this hotel to any one young or old. im sure you would not be dissapointed. i wish i was back there. one last thing maids were lovely must give them a mention.made different animals with the towels every day. left on the bed. a nice touch.

We have just returned from the Catalonia Hotel in Puerto Aventuras,it is excellent,one of the best hotels we have ever been too, the food will suit anyone, with a great selection, the staff are better than anywhere in Europe,Taxies are cheap compared to U.K. Colectivo's run up and down the coast every 5 mins and cost 20 pesos per trip near or far,you can travel from Playa del Carmen to Tulum for just £1 or 2 USD.

Fantastic resort and hotel,staff friendly and always smiling,always things to do,
without having to pay for trips.5 Min.walk to Marina and watch dolphins,manitees,seals
etc.,good shops and restaurants,recommend
Gringo Daves,huge Margueritas and 1st. class entertainment.
Remember to keep back 45 bucks each or Peso
equivalent for departure taxes (cash only!!!)and you will have a wonderful time.

This was our first holiday in the carribean also all inclusive, we were apprehensive about being defined to one place every night but really neednt have worried. This holiday was the best we have ever had, we have enjoyed many holidays self catering in europe but once you have been to a place like this, it will always stand out in your mind.

FOOD: there are essentially 6 restaurants/ places to eat.....5 are open at a time. Theres the buffet restaurant...pretty much open al day but with a few hours between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and dinner. theres another buffet restaurant, serving the same food, but inside, we never went there, as we liked the open air style of la brisa. theres the bamboleo snack bar....which opens at 11 until 6, when it becomes one of the al a carte - the steak house. the other two restaurants are the mexican and the italian. you can eat at these restaurants once each per week. loved the mexican and grill, not so keen on italian. Buffet is outstanding, mounds of food, if you cant find anything theres something wrong with you, snack bar is also great for a quick snack during the day, its also open from 11-2am, if you want a late night snack, cant fault the food, breakfast probably the best. went to the creperie once, it was nice,not out cup of tea though.

BARS - we went in the lobby bar at night, which was nice, next to the theatre. there was the swim up bar...which was for a mid afternoon drink, was filled with loud, abrupt and extremely rude americans in the second week who were there for a wedding. they have no regard for the place they were in or the people around them, both fellow guests and the staff. however dont let them intimidate you, you;ve paid for the pool bar too!!Drinks at all bars were great, in smallish cups but this isnt a problem...not for the brits anyway. Cocktails were the best.

ROOM and STAFF: we were so impressed with both rooms and staff. the rooms were large with 2 double beds and a huge wardrobe, they were cleaned to a high standard every day we were there, sometimes the maids left gorgeous towel sculptures, proving theres almost nothing they wont so for you. Staff here are incredibly friendly, always saying hola, asking how you are, always a smile, always refilling your drink without you asking....its quite humbling, we learnt they made next to nothing so tried to tip well at the end of our stay.

TRIPS: we went on 3. We went on a speedboat over this huge lake and jungle thing, then snorkelled on a reef, this was great, the views are great, well worth it. we swam with the dolphons, sealions and manatees, this was amazing, we loved it. the photos and dvds cost a bit, but are worth it, you can go to the marina at any time of the night or day, its 5 mins away and see the dolphins swimming, playing, performing, even sleeping. LAstly we went on the plane trip to chichen itza, we didnt fancy the 3 hour coach journey...the flight was great, lunch was included, which was suprisingly very nice.

OTHER: There are 6 pools....3 on the catalonia side, 3 on the yucatan side. we never ventured over the other side, apart from to use the disco. they are pretty similar. beach is great, a little rocky but i ul find a way in. Lagoon is lovely, so are the grounds, forever someone watering and attending to the plants and grounds. We went kayaking, this was great, got stuck ona rock in the lagoon though!!!

theres a shop at the hotel, sellign gifts, water n crisps and stuff, if you feel as though you need more food. interent access, pool tables, table tennis. nightly shows are a laugh, very well organised and funny. A team are great, really try their best to keep everyone entertained with hilarious antics around the pool, not loud or seedy a genuine laugh for all ages and nationalities.

we went into carmen, felt hounded and uneasy there. people were grabbing and chasing us trying to get us in their shops. its local orientated, but with a few nice boutiques.

Overall this was a fantastic holiday, dont be alarmed wen driving in, you are on the high way, the resorts are well hidden behind lots of trees. this is a great hotel, with great people working there, quite humbling really. take pesos, its not worth taking dollars, would go back again in a second....maybe with some extra leg room on the plane.....we recommend this place to anyone!!

Stayed here for 2 weeks last auagust. It was our first trip to an all inclusive caribbean resort after many years going self catered in the med. The flight aside this place is beautiful and we had a fantastic holiday.

Food - Being so used to eating out every night we were worried that there would be a lack of variety, but there was probably too much to choose from if anything. Breakfast was my favourite personally with absoloutley anything you could think of. Breakfast was the same every morning, but then there is nothing more you could have for breakfast. We ate in the open aired restuarant, so have no experience of the smaller enclosed one. Lunch was also great, i ate in the snack bar which was great, the variety was limited but different every day, there was food available here all day long so whenever you wanted something to eat you could march on in and have a burger or some rice or some salad. You could eat in the open air buffet restaurant but you had to be wearing clothing, i heard the selection i here was far greater. Dinner was my leat favourite but by no means bad. There was something diffferent every night and i never felt bored. There are 3 other restaurants, the italian, the mexican and the steakhouse. our favourite was the mexican it was lovely, they were all nice but you only get 2 visits to each so be sure to book when you arrive.

Rooms - these were great. They were cleaned everyday, which was more than expected, the maids were so lovely and really worked alllll day, they would leave swans and hearts on your bed made from towels. Our room was very spacious with 2 double beds each, loads of storage and glorious air conditioning for when it got too hot. It was a really lovely room.

Complex - Stunning. What i loved about it was how low key and low rise it was. Some of the hotels we saw visitng cancun and playacar were very grand over the top huge things all trying to compete. This was all low key with thatched roofs and walls painted naturally. The pool area was always very busy but in a nice way the beach was stunning, the blue sea and blue sky was a picture of paradise. the place was so tidy garnders and maintencenace stuff all over the place all smiling or stopping to let you pass, could not fault any of the staff. The bar staff at the pool bar must have had the patience of saints as the americans were so rude and disrespectufl to them, to the point where you want to say something.

Speaking of americans, i myself have nothing against them, most were pleasant but some are very loud rude and in your face, making their presence known. they hogg the pool bar and do like to look at you funny, dont take any notice.

Trips - we werent going to go on any trips but when you get there you cant not. We swam with the dolphins and manatees and had time with the sealions. In all fairness i do think its sometimes a bit sad to see animals locked up but you can see they are treated well and have lots of space. Swimming with the dolphins was great, perhaps a bit too short though. Be careful to keep your mouth shut so as not to get any unwanted er....excretion in your mouth. We also went on the speedboats across the lake which was great fun, saw all the coastline, then we reached the other side and swam on the reef and saw all the fish, this was great as the water is so clear and its beautiful. We went to chichen itza - by plane. This was obviously more than going by coach but the view alone was worth it. the plane was small but it was a very nice journey. chichen itza was marvellous, even my mum who hates anything like that loved it, its beautiful and very interesting.

Other things to mention
...the airport is just totally unorganised and no one knows what they are doing. be aware on your way out of the airport when you arrive, you are hounded by men who take your luggage about 10 feet then want a tip, people also coaxing you into vehicles that arent the ones you are assigned to.

make sure you tip at the end, its well worth it. these people live on nothing, we gave one man some cigarettes and you think he had won the lottery the thanks he gave us, the staff work hard for you and deserve a good tip at the end.

dont be alarmed by rain! its actually quite nice!

have the $45 ready when you leave, its easy to forget.

we had a lovely holiday. No holiday is for everyone and there will be people who slate this hotel like any other. Some people ask why it isnt 4 star...i thinks it because there are no tea or coffee facilities in the rooms, but a nice walk down to get one in the mornings is no bother. You do get what you pay for here. its no frills, no fancy pancy buildings and food. its lovely and the views and staff speak for themselves. we are going back next year as we liked it so much, this place is well worth a try if you have never been all inclusive or even if ts what you do every year. hope this helped.