Catalonia Riveria Maya Reviews

The staff never stop from morning till night, there is even a guy who gets in the pool and cleans the tiled sides with the aide of a mask and snorkel! It is a long time since I have stayed in such a clean hotel. All the staff are very friendly. The food is great with plenty of choice in the main buffet restaurant. The Japanese restaurant is outstanding and the food is cooked in front of you. You can snorkell and use the hotel kayaks as part of the all inclusive deal, and the beach and pool setting is idyllic. Some of the hotel entertainment is a bit cheesy but you are not forced to take part. There are several bars to choose from depending on your preference. Playa Del Carmen is about twenty minutes away and there is a free courtesy bus from the hotel every day. I think there is something for everyone. My husband and I went with our two daughters, 18 and 21, for a relaxing week before University starts and the whole experience completely lived up to our expectations. Equally, we met people with young children and couples of all ages, everyone was having a great holiday.

I stayed here for 2 weeks in November 2008. The staff were extremeley friendly and helpful. The hotel was very clean at all times. It was right on the beach, which is also lovely. I was very impressed by this hotel. The hotels kids club were brilliant and my children wanted to go there every single day as they enjoed it so much. The childrens entertainers are really good with the kids.

Visited the Catalonia in Oct 2008 as part of a package deal from Thomsons (on a side note the flight could have been better - there was a charge for almost everything, £5 for a blanket, upgrade to watch movies!!!!).

we were shown to our room and it was very basic, with a few probs (too close to the elevator). we asked to move rooms and the conceirge were very helpful and moved us to a more suitable room straight away! i had read before that you could upgrade to a suite which we did the following day and all i can say is that it was definitely worth the money as the suite was AMAZING.

as for the rest of the hotel, the staff were lovely and couldn't be more helpful. would definitely recommend the Teppanyaki restaurant. as for the buffet, it was fine but i was a little disappointed that there wasnt enough authentic Mexican food on offer. the drinks were lovely, and the barman in the swim up pool especially was fantastic. we did 2 excursions, Chichen-Itza and Cancun Pub Crawl (which included a trip to the infamous Coco Bongo's).

All in all a great holiday and would visit again!

An excellent hotel, lovely surroundings, food excellent, lovely japanese restaurant, Creperie restaurant, amazing, dedicated to crepes, icecream, desserts, also a Mexican, Italian, and Grill a la carte. Two buffet restaurants, plenty of choice. Rooms spacious and very clean. Hotel staff very friendly, can't do enough for you. Entertainment throughout the day and a theatre for evening shows. I would definately stay here again, an excellent hotel right on the beach, which is great for snorkelling.

One word. Amazing. This was the best holiday we have ever been on. The staff are extremely friendly, the room gets cleaned daily. The beach is gorgeous. You don't need to bring towels, you can hire them for free, they provide a hairdryer, shampoo, soap etc The Food- The food was excellent. There was a wide range of food suited for everyone. Overall it was Brilliant. We will definately be going again.

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.

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.

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!!

Our first visit to Mexico, after the Dominican Republic last year. What a difference!
First though a quick comment on Cancun airport. The organisiation was rubbish! Not the tour companies fault, it appears they aren't allowed inside so when you land you wander around inside until someone tells you to go outside, where they are all huddled together with the taxis etc. what a scramble.
However, when you arrive at the hotel that all seems a million miles away.

What can I add that no-one else has said. How this is still a 3 star I cannot imagine, it does deserve to be a 4 at least. Still this makes it very good value for money.

Staff are marvellous, Maria the waitress on the beach chatted to us every day, although it was noticeable that she didn't to any Americans. Odd that!
If you like loud Americans you will enjoy the swim up bar. We don't so spent pleasant times on the beach watching them get married.
The A Team work their socks off for you, but you don't have to join in if you don't want, they don't pester you.
Shows were good, but repeated themselves on the second week.
1st Tip, take bread or bananas from breakfast and feed the fish at the bridge.
Food - again excellent, we ate mostly in the Yucatan restaurant. It was air conditioned and much quieter, although choice was slightly less.
2nd Tip, we didn't have a sweet for dinner but went up to the Creperie and had a banana split and coffee.
We enjoyed the speciality restaurants but as everyone else has said found the Italian the best of the 3.

Went to Chitchen Itza, although a 3 hour coach trip, with drinks it didn't seem that long. Worth the money, but you cannot climb the 365 steps up the pyramid now for safety reasons, pity as that was why I went.

We used to walk to the marina in the evening, have a drink and watch the dolphins enjoying themselves, why pay?

If you book in here you won't be dissappointed, we will be returning.

Had a fantastic holiday at the Catalonia. This was our first long haul trip, and we couldn't have been more pleased with our choice of resort and hotel. We spent a long time trawling through the reviews on this site and that was how we finally settled on the Catalonia.

We stayed at the Catalonia for 2 weeks and found enough to do to keep us entertained. The resort is very quiet, but has a lovely Marina with bars and restaurants where you can watch the dolphins at Dolphin Discovery. We visited all the a la carte restaurants at the Catalonia and found the Italian to be the best. Couldn't fault the food at the hotel, there was plenty of choice and I wasn't ill once which is unusual for me! We tended to have breakfast and lunch on the Yucatan side of the complex as this was air conditioned. The hotel is a good 3/4 star, the rooms are massive and the air con is a godsend. We didn't pay a fortune for this holiday and felt we got what we paid for and was adequate for our needs. Obviously there are much more luxurious hotels in Mexico if you're prepared to pay hefty prices.

As mentioned is many of the reviews, the staff at the hotel are fantastic. They're so happy and friendly and can't do enough for you. They work really hard and long hours, and yet never appear stressed or fed-up. We tipped our maid and regular waiters/waitresses at the end of the holiday, rather than tipping every time we ate/drank.

Trips - went to Xel Ha which was a nice day out, but the entry fee really only entitled you to snorkel. Extra activities were quite expensive. Our ticket included all inclusive food and drink - the food wasn't great, so get your moneys worth from the drink! We felt quite bad about not seeing any culture so went on the trip to Tulum. This was just a morning trip so wasn't too hot and is right on the coast so has a nice breeze. There are iguanas everywhere, and I have to say that they were more interesting than the tour (couldn't really hear the guide as it was quite a large group). At least we can say we did something cultural! We also got the free courtesy bus into Playa Del Carmen a couple of times in the evening which has beautiful restaurants and great bars.

All in all, we loved Mexico and the Catalonia. Wouldn't hesitate in returning, however we really liked the resort of Playa Del Carmen so would probably go there next time.

Good luck with the return journey at Cancun airport, what a nightmare. There were queues everywhere, reps and staff didn't know what was going on, and the guy behind the desk gave our passports to the couple who'd checked in before us! Got sorted in the end but people were getting quite stressed.

We travelled out to the Catalonia to spend our two week honeymoon there.

After a very cramped flight and thanking god we booked extra leg room we arrived. we were shown to our buses at Cancun airport and after avoiding foreign porter kind of people who said they were your taxi drivers to take you to the hotels we found the reps for each coach. The journey down to Riviera Maya was supposed to be 1 hr give or take but after three drop offs and two hours later we had finally arrived.

The hotel itself is fantastic and a very high standard and definately deserves its 4* rating. All the staff are very polite and courteous and a quick Ola when passing you in the corridor is never too much trouble for them. The rooms are very spacious and we requested a double room which gave us a massive bed. The bathrooms again spacious and very clean. Air conditioning a bit noisy but very welcome with the heat there. The maids also left swans and mermaids on our beds made out of the towels which were lovely to see.

The Catalonia shares its facilities with its sister hotel the Catlonia Yucatan Beach which is next door. All told the resort has 5 pools all of which are lovely and warm and of a very clean standard, two buffet restaurants, a mexican a la carte, italian a la carte and an a la carte grill by night and snack bar by day. All the a la carte restaurants have to be pre booked for which you get a ticket for each one at the beginning of each week of your stay. We never tried the mexican as a lot of the food in the buffet restaurant was mexican but the italian and the grill were both well worth a visit.

Round the pool there are photographers that come round giving you the chance to have your photo taken with either an iguana or parrot and they work out at around $8 from the shop.
The hotels are based right on the beach and the Riviera Maya has its own lagoon which comes in from the sea where you can hire kayaks which are included in the all inclusive for 1 hour per day or snorkels also for 1 hour per day. The fish are amazing and come right up to you especially if you take some bread with you to feed them.
The entertainment team work very hard here making sure there is always something going on by day as well as by night and they are there from 8am until after the disco closes at 2am. They do a sterling job.

Thomson do not recommend car hire in mexico and having seen the amount of serious car crashes on our way from the airport to Riviera Maya its hardly surprising. If involved in an accident the police lock up everyone involved and only release you once the cause of the accident is assertained and who the driver is. Not a good way to spend your holiday so organised trips are a better bet.

Excaret is an eco park where you can snorkel on the underground rivers, swim with dolphins and walk around the park which has animals there too. A word of warning this place gets very HOT and can be unbearable during the day. Also make sure when you do the underground rivers you hire one of their bags otherwise you will find yourselves walking a 2 mile trek back to the start over stones and gravel in your bare feet. The marina down at Puerto Aventuras is well worth a visit for the Sea Life Experience. This is around $149 USD per person but an excellent way to spend your time and money. You swim not only with the dolphins but do a dorsal fin pull and foot push along with the usual kiss and hug, then swim with the manatees and get a kiss from them too and then on to the sea lions where they also give you a nice fishy kiss. Photos and DVD's of your experience are available too and well worth investing in. Also whilst down at the marina check out Gringo Daves a little bar on the left hand side of the dolphin pools. Their cocktails are to die for and plentiful and their beer i am told by a very reliable source is a welcome change to the not so nice beer available on all inclusive in the hotel.

The jungle tour is another most where you drive your own mini speedboat out on the lagoon at Cancun, go snorkelling on the reef for 3/4 of an hour and then speed back. Captain Cooks lobster dinner is another excellent excursion again run from Cancun but transport provided in the price. You go out on a pirate ship on the lagoon enjoy a show put on by your captain and the crew along with audience participation. Enjoy a gorgeous meal of surf and turf (steak) and lobster, pasta, jacket potatoes etc and unlimited free alcohol and then watch the duel of the captains of the green and red ship for the wife of the green ship captain and watch high falling tricks into safety nets above your head and then a disco as you sail back into the harbour. A good way to pass away a few hours. It does say a family night out but we had children on our trip and their parents said they were bored.

The only things we would like to point out to being a disadvantage is make sure you are aware of the departure tax to leave the country which is $45 USD per person and also that your hand luggage weight is taken into account with your luggage allowance so anything over 50 kilos and you pay through the nose for excess baggage which works out at $12 USD per kilo BE WARNED, unfortunatley we learnt the hard way.

But summing up this holiday was well worth the money we paid. The hotel and facilities are excellent and to a very high standard. This property would be highly recommended to anyone.

Holiday 17th June for Two weeks. Where do we start? Hotel apartment's absolutely spot on. Air conditioned very spacious and clean. Rooms are cleaned every day all the staff cleaners, waiters, waitress, reception staff, gardeners all seemed genuinely pleased to see you, and every body speaks and smiles all the time. We did tip Quite a bit but you don't have to it seems that $1 is the norm. The Catalonia is next door to the Yucatan beach hotel you can eat at either hotel. There is two buffet restaurants. Both serve the same food but one is air conditioned. There is three themed restaurants Mexican, Italian and steak house you have to book, all get very full so book asp after arrival. The weather was brilliant very hot and sunny.

The beach is on the hotel door step crystal clear water loads of tropical fish ideal for those who love to snorkel. Beach towels are provided free of charge, hand them in at the end of the day and get clean ones the next day. Dolphin discovery is on the door step, prices start at $79 then $99,$139,$179 these prices do not include the photo's $15 each or DVD $25-$57 depending on the package you choose. We did the catamaran trip the guide was very good a great day out. We also did the speed boat trip James Bond style, very good definitely do it again. T

he animation team work very hard every day and every night they put on a show in the hotels air-conditioned theatre. The resort is very quite and laid back, if you want to there is a free bus run by the hotel to Playa del Carmen. Book a seat at reception the bus leaves at 9:am and returns at 5:pm if you want to come back early a Taxi is $14. They also run a free bus at night it leaves at 7:pm and comes back at 11:pm.Three nights a week they have various clothes and craft stalls in the hotel grounds, be warned they are expensive and you can buy everything they are selling cheaper in Playa Del Carmen.

It's our first visit to Mexico definitely going back.

The hotel was great and the staff very helpful and friendly. The rooms were very clean and large with air con and balconys,some with sea view.The maids made lovely shapes out of towels and placed on your bed.We had an elephant,swan,mermaid,fish and many more.The staff are poorly paid so be prepared to tip.The food was good and plentiful with plenty of choice.

Location was on a private beach and a short walk to the resort of Puerto Aventuras where you can see dolphins,manatees and sealions.You can also swim with the dolphins there which is a must.

There are many different trips available through the rep or through the hotel which can be a bit cheaper.The jewellers Lapis are a short walk up the road and worth a visit.Chichen Itza is worth a visit but a 2 hour coach journey tho. The best place we visited was Xehla-an ecological park where u can swim and snorkel and see loads of different fish including baracudas.

We loved it so much here we are definitely going back soon.