Villa del Palmar

This hotel has great potential. The establishment is beautiful yet the service has much room for improvement. My family and I were here for 6 days.
After the initial warm welcome, we were asked to attend the informational breakfast. We read about the membership meetings and after several invitations from the staff, that were politely declined, to attend the informational session we were finally left alone. Ironically, after our lack of interest was made clear so was the change of attitude from the staff.
Every time we asked for something and spoke to the staff, our requests were dismissed. I despise when this happens and usually make up a legitimate excuse but it was obvious that if you spoke Spanish = your service was inferior. And the worst part is, we are in Mexico + a Spanish speaking country. This should NEVER happen. I don’t care what language you speak or what you look like, everyone deserves fair service.
Worst experience: I had gotten up early to grab a spot at the beach. We went to have breakfast and when I came back my umbrella was gone. Let it be noted that leaving articles behind was normal and it was assumed as a occupied spot. Once I asked the lady who works at the beach to bring me another umbrella, she replied «Sorry, I can’t help you with that. I am relatively new.» As she is saying this I am watching her order another employee to bring the guests in front of me another umbrella in addition to the one they were just brought over. She sees me watching this, smiles and goes about her business. I ended up taking my umbrella back from the spot it had been moved to, the activities woman saw me and offered some help. Meanwhile, the beach lady was laughing as we moved the umbrella back… We had a similar interaction the next day as I waited to order my food at the beach. I waited over 25 min for her to take my order. She served everyone else around me while I waited.
My biggest problem with this hotel is their selective service. I am Hispanic but unless asked most people assume I am from the U.S., thank you genes for them green eyes. We, looking back, stupidly decided to speak to the staff in Spanish. This in addition to not being time share members resulted in a recipe for disappointment. There were 2 people who exuded exceptional service, the hostess at the breakfast hall every morning and our waiter at dinner in the Mexican restaurant.
Outside of the hotel we were treated very well. We went to Tacos Comedor, Puerto Madero and Harrys’s in Cancun. We ate at El Mariachi Loco in Tulum and the best waiter and in my opinion the best tacos this trip.

I’ve worked in hotels and customer service for years and i found this hotel to be upscale and the best service in all their food & beverage including the room service, which is pretty hard to do! The warmth of the people that greet you to the staff coming to clean your room are gracious and greet you always w/​a friendly smile.
I never know what to expect when it comes to the all-​inclusive food packages. Your in for a treat at the Villa Del Palmar, they have spared no expense to bring you the freshest and organically baked goods. I nearly went to heaven each morning with their selection of fresh baked breads and organic fruit. This is no average breakfast buffet (which usually we stay far from any buffet). They had several cooked to order areas w/​eggs and various fresh hot dishes. A cereal bar for kids & home made granola for the adults… And this was just breakfast. On the evening this buffet turned into a dinner buffet which again was so surprisingly great., fresh fish & meat stations, a salad bar with more than enough to organic fare than you could eat and best of all the home made tortillas! There was also an Italian restaurant that served fresh made pasta and a lovely Italian style wines made right in Mexico! And if you thought you’ve had good Mexican food– think again. I asked for the tortilla soup and wondered why it was taking so long, when it finally came a large piping hot bowl of delicious broth & chicken and with all the bowls of condiments surrounding to add fresh cilantro, tortillas, tomatoes, onions & Peppers, it was amazing. There were many other Mexican treats and specialties that delighted even my picky son. When he wanted a certain burrito, the manager invited him to come to the kitchen and pick our his own ingredients! All of the restaurants staff made you feel at home & as if you were family. Did I tell you that the pizza baked In clay ovens, w/​no GMO-​homemade crust, rivaled ones we ate on our trips to Italy, very impressive! A terrific afternoon snack and that incredible ocean for a view! We ate to our hearts & picky palates content!
The rooms were perfectly stocked w/​all the amenities you needed. We had a two bedroom that had 3 full baths and included a jacuzzi tub for 2 in the Master. Which was more than enough room for a family of four. Although we used our safe, we left things out on occasion Our items were organized but never touched.
The hammock on deck was fun for lounging in the evenings! There were many bars to keep us happy and always fun new drinks to try. Call drinks all part of the inclusive package including the endless streams of soda orders poolside!
I kept thinking there’s got to be something that’s not perfect here? Well it wasn’t at the spa, my husband and I abandoned our kids on several occasions for the solitude we found in this little haven! Three soak pools & hot tubs while they doted on you with hot/​cold towels & hydrating juices, this all before your skilled treatments.
I have to give a full five stars to this Gem of a property and the Management team that is responsible for the best overall guest service I’ve experienced in a great while. They’ve got it down here at the Villa Del Palmar! And I’m looking forward to another trip next month!
I would say if you want to stay close the hub of activity in downtown Cancun, then this is not the place for you… It is a short 15 min taxi ride to town. But if your looking for an idyllic paradise for the whole family? LOOK NO FARTHER!

Worst customer service, we were overcharged for items, and billed for items that weren’t ours. Had family come over one evening, they stayed pass 10pm and they charged fee for this. Plus they asked for my family to leave, after 10. Are you kidding me??? Where are we? At preschool… Work people treat you like they are the best and really don’t care about you. Very disappointed for such a high in hotel. i could stay at the island where I was n be super happy. Don’t take me wrong, view is pretty. I had to call 8 times to room service to get some ice. Finally I decided to go downstairs on my own n get it. Food take forever to be delivered but they are good on charging For it. Just sucks. Worst resort I ever been. I will never come back n will let my friends and family know how bad they are. Also for checking in and out it was a waste of time and a nightmare

Had a wonderful stay. Everything was great except for room service breakfast. All the resturants had good food. The service was good. I really enjoyed myself. Would love to return.

I thought this place was great! The only thing is that is was pretty far from the city. Although if you are just planning to relax and stay in one spot then this is it! You can also take tho ferry to the island right across the water. We went in October and the weather was amazing. Everything was perfect! Great service and pretty good food too :)

Wonderful hotel! I just came back from a MUCH needed but really short vacation with my family and I couldn’t be happier with this hotel. The service was phenomenal. Every morning at breakfast the waiters always checked up on you to make sure you had whatever drink you wanted in your cup and it wasn’t that annoying check up every few minutes, it was when we were a few sips away from an empty cup so their timing was perfect. They serves us quickly too so we were never kept waiting.
I shared a suite with my sister and we each had our own restroom and shower. We had a jacuzzi in our room and on our balcony you will also have a hammock, and nice little patio set. OH! They also keep your fridge stocked up with beer ;) if you finish it all before housekeeping, they’ll replace them!!!
Room service was quick too. We would order food after a long day of adventures and they’d let us know our food would be up in 45 min. NOPE! Only took them about 20.
Anywho, I loved Cancun will miss it but I will miss this place and their employees too! *sad face with tear here*.

I’m surprised to see bad reviews for this place but maybe that’s because we got out of timeshare tour. My family and I got a 2 bedroom all inclusive condo. This honestly was one of my favorite vacations. Unlimited food and drinks which included tipping (we still tipped anyways). We even got massages that were included in our package which I highly recommend. It was pricey but I’d have to say the inclusive package was worth it for us.
Airport: When you get into the airport try to avoid all of the sales pitches and get yourself a taxi. When we got back to the airport to leave our (Spirit) flight was cancelled and they put us in another hotel until they could fly everyone out the following day. That’s another story in itself (nothing to do with this hotel).
Tours: We did a tour of Chichen Itza including the water hole (about 2 hours away but worth it)
The massage experience (Village Spa at the resort): First, they take you into a locker so you can change then we sat in a steam room for ten minute to exfoliate our pores. Then we got into three Jacuzzi’s: first one was cold, second one was hot, the third one was lukewarm. They served us drinks during this process. After, we laid out on comfy beach chairs and they put a warm cloth on our necks and a cold cloth with a relaxing aroma over our eyes. Finally, we went into the massage room where they gave us a 50 minute Swedish massage and proceeded to put warm cloths over our eyes and feet.
Restaurants on site: Hiroshi (sushi) — try the fried banana with caramel & ice cream, Zama (breakfast buffet, lunch, dinner), & La Casona STK (get a ateak)
Activities: Dancing by the pool, salsa lesson, paddle boarding, culinary presentation with Cuba band
If I had to say something negative there were a lot of grasshoppers on the walls when you’re walking to your room (which I’m sure they can’t control) and the WIFI was only available in the lobby which wasn’t a problem for me I would just go downstairs and post a few photos (my least worry when I’m on vacation). I loved my Cancun trip and I definitely will be back! I’ll just let my photos do the rest of the talking.

NO FREE SHUTTLE, NO FREE SHUTTLE, NO FREE SHUTTLE! DID YOU GET THAT? NO FREE SHUTTLE!
The resort website advertising free shuttle and we were counting on that because this place really is a long way from anywhere else. However, we were told the taxi drivers complained so now there is no free shuttle and it takes about 25 bucks each way to get to Cancun.
The wait staff is extremely friendly, which is something we have come to expect and certainly enjoy when we visit Mexico.
Unless you are my girly and really watch what you spend you need to take advantage of the all inclusive as the regular prices on food and drink are pretty high.
Do not come here thinking you are going to take long walks on a beautiful beach. There is a ferry loading zone just off the property on one side and unmanicured beach and private homes on the other side of the resort, hence no place to walk very far. The water is not clear, there are no shells to pick up, and there is quite a bit of sea grass at the shore line
Our friends came with the expectation to eat, drink, lay by the pool and be happy and they are. We like more active vacations and although we are not unhappy, we certainly will not stay here again.
The food is hit and miss. Zamba, good for lunch, steak house good for dinner, breakfast buffet is «breakfast buffet», sometimes good, sometimes I had coffee and pastry and skipped the rest. Sushi is marginal.

This resort is beautiful when you enter — the location is further away from the airport than most people expect, but that means that the beaches are cleaner and the general atmosphere feels much more relaxed and comfortable. The staff is welcoming and friendly, but very quick to get you checked in and enjoying your stay.
The accommodations were nice, brimming with the usual amenities to make for a nice stay. The room itself was laid out nicely and fairly large, but the bathroom was in need of repair as the shower head nearly fell off when taking a shower each day. The wet bar inside the room was a great bonus, but I wish it would have been cleaned a little more while we were there. We had to call each time we needed room service dishes removed despite the maid service coming to the room to freshen up each morning.
The grounds of the resort are lovely, with views of the ocean as you reach the pools and restaurants further away from the entrance. There were plenty of seats by the pool while we were there, but the poolside drink/​food service was a bit slow. When they did come by they were willing to get you what you needed, but sometimes hard to track down. The gym was nearly impossible to find, but very impressive once I finally made it!
The food and entertainment was great, the Japanese/​Sushi restaurant was the best out of the bunch. I also recommend trying one of the many ceviches that the resort offers — they are soooooo good!
If you are looking for a nice place to go with a large group of family and friends with kids, I would recommend this resort because of it’s large children’s pool area and cleaner beach than those resorts located in the popular Cancun Hotel Zone.
Cheers!

SCAM, SCAM, COMPLETE RIP-​OFF!!! They will trick you and steal your money!!!
I visited Cancun for a week and was offered a free breakfast by a rep for them at the airport, if I listened to a sales pitch. I did so and was initially lured by how beautiful the grounds appeared and how friendly the staff seemed. I still wasn’t willing to sign tens of thousands away, so they Offered to let me stay in the property for a few days and, if I decided to cancel, no problem. I did so, and was completely unimpressed with the food and drinks at the various restaurants and researched the issues people had w/​renting their timeshare and staying at the sister properties, so I canceled.
They charged me $ 2400 for the days I was offered as complimentary! I fought it and lost b/​c they snuck in paperwork, stating that if I didn’t purchase, I would be charged over $ 500/​day! I had no idea I signed this. BEWARE! Complete scam to STEAL YOUR MONEY! I tried to speak with the head mgr. and, all of a sudden, he wasn’t so nice. Practically walked and away and shut the door in my face when I tried to speak with him.
If you try to rent out your timeshare, you’re subject to taxes both in Mexico and at home, and you only have a certain amount of days you’re allowed to rent out. Also, I’ve heard that finding other places at their sister properties and nearly impossible!
YOUVE BEEN WARNED. COMPLETE SCAM!

This was the best vacation I have ever been on! I stayed in a beautiful 1 bedroom suite, which they upgraded us to as a courtesy for my birthday. They also decorated the room beautifully! The staff was amazing in every part of the resort. Our room was always spotless every time we came back. The room service was quick, and they even serve you and set it up at your table or on the balcony. The pools were great. We were never pushed to talk to any sales people. Everyone was very accommodating with recommendations both on and off of the resort. We went to free cooking classes which were a blast. The breakfast buffet was the best I had ever seen, choosing between the buffet or room service was a hard choice! All the restaurants were delicious. The service was slowest in the sushi restaurant, but still not bad. I can’t wait to come back to Villa del Palmar!

So in love with this place. See my Trip Advisor review for details. Perfect way to spend our honeymoon.

Our stay was September 15 thru 25 2015.
I am an owner with the villa group and this is one of the nicer properties.
It is the same crap I get every time I visit one of the locations. Shuffle you here and then over hear and sit here and hear the spill of what time I need to go to the «owners meeting» The polite way of saying we are going to run you though the VIP spill and see if we can up sell you your membership!
Lulu and Rosie were my concierges and they were nice ladies. After dangling the carrot of all of the VIP special I will get if I go to the meeting we agreed but only because they said it is only 1 hour and not a tour and that would be the only way to get the «VIP deals». The thing that pisses me off is that I am an owner and I should get the VIP deals anyway!
I asked for an upgrade to my room and it was honored. It was a very nice room with 2 bathrooms, sunken tub, big showers with a high shower head. Nice full kitchen with crappy pots and pans!
Room service was very good too!
The resort is way out of town and about a 20 $± taxi ride one way depending on where you are going. They do have a shuttle but there are different places they go and not all times and location are convenient with our plans. (Tip, rent a car for few days and save on taxi fares!) With that said if you are an all inclusive group this is the perfect place for you. We like to go to town and enjoy the culture and not fans of all inclusive. 100 bucks at Walmart and we have all we need for a week.
The resort is very nice and very well maintained and every staff member is kind and friendly.
We ate at the buffet a couple of time and it was very tasty. Especially the night of the 15^th. The were celebrating their independence and they had lots of tasty dishes.
Davina was horrible. «Kit food» everything was cooked and all hey did was assemble it and serve it! Calamari was big rings and tough. The Pork steak Marsala was barley warm and the Gnocci was pasty and not done well at all. The salads were over dressed with oil and very bland. The Expediter (head chef) Coughed in his hand 3 time while we sat there and watched him never go wash his hands!
The pol menu was good and the pizzas were great! Pol service was top notch too!
The seaweed machine was fixed and the seaweed issue was resolved. The beach was clean and the beach bar was cool with the swing seats.
All in all it was a very good stay. If they were closer to town and Davina was better it could have been 5 stars!

Overall
Typical resort — comfortable rooms, fancy grounds and common areas, corporate, homogenized version of Mexico, total lack of complimentary amenities and sub par food.
Positive
The BEST continental breakfast I’ve ever seen at a hotel. Nice room. Large pool system with 3 hot tubs (though the best one was inexplicably out of operation the whole time). Beautiful beach (although we suspect the shoreline was modified). Friendly concierge. Easy to sign up for (expensive ass) tours (though I went on the whale shark snorkel tour and it was worth every penny — $ 200)
Negatives
Anything you buy on premises is severely over priced. You’ll pay Los Angeles prices for basic hotel food. I had the worst salad of my life at the Mexican restaurant here. It was drenched in flavorless oil. I poured out the excess to find about half a cup of green liquid — and it was a small salad.
Warning: The gift shop has crazy, crazy inflated pricing. I honestly think they’re expecting that you won’t do the conversion from pesos to USD. My boyfriend bough $ 20 sunscreen :0!

We loved our vacation here, the resort was clean, and the staff was friendly, plenty of food and drink options, they have a kids club and the 2 girls working there were so lovely and wonderful with our 5 year old, its nice to have some kid free time and our daughter loved playing there. They also offer baby sitting services at a great price. All of the resort staff were friendly, the resort pools were so beautiful! We had the one bedroom, so the living room had a pull out Murphy bed for the munchkin, a fully equipped kitchen a laundry, and 2 bathrooms the master with a Jacuzzi tub, we really enjoyed our stay.

My husband and I stayed here 6 days for our honeymoon!
*Easy & fast checkin.
*Excellent and friendly staff.
*Rooms very clean, housekeeping twice a day.
*Food pretty good at every restaurant, pool & beach side.
*nice, clean, & refreshing spa.
We chose all inclusive and we’re glad we did. There’s a lot of food options. It’s really worth it!
I want to give 5 stars based on the staff, excellent service, (because they really were superb) and everything stated above but I can’t!!!
Downside is we got bites like crazy! And the worse part is I’d wake up with the bites that weren’t there when we went to sleep. We bought OFF from the resort mini market and we still got bitten. We went to the front desk and told them what we were experiencing, showed them the bites that were red & swollen and they moved us to another room. However we still continued to wake up with bites. My last 3 nights I slept with yoga pants and socks on and still was bitten… WTF??? My bites were so bad we caught a free shuttle from the hotel to the city area to go to find a pharmacy for some medicine. At the end of our trip I left with 13 bites 1 of which was on my face. For this reason we will never return here. We looked in both beds didn’t see bed bugs but something in the beds were biting us!
I asked a couple other guest and they also experienced the annoying and painful bites. It was really hard to enjoy ourselves with swollen bites that were itching.
The hotel is really nice but they need to do something about the bugs or whatever they are. We spent a whole lot of money on this vacation but the painful bites ruined it for me! Beware…

This place sucks ass… Smelly rooms. Rude time share salesman. Don’t waste your money coming here. Oh yeah and the beach is full of sea weed… Unusable!!! Pool is murky and smells like piss!

We arrived at the hotel after setting up a ride from the airport with Villa Del Palmar, which proved to be wise as there are apparently many official-​looking people inside the airport aggressively trying to swindle you away into their transportation. Our bags were given to the bellboy, and we began to check in. And that’s when things started to go downhill. Our bags were held captive while our «concierge» nearly begged for us to «come to breakfast» the next morning, a thinly veiled attempt at their timeshare pitch. Since it was our honeymoon, he offered candlelight dinners on the beach, excursions, massages at the spa, etc. For supposedly an hour and a half of our time, we finally agreed. The next morning, we showed up where he asked when he asked, and he was a no-​show. Already feeling uneasy about this, we left for the beach.
Despite the shady sales tactics, the resort is mostly just ok. There are a lot of food options, all worthwhile if you’re all inclusive, but the only option for breakfast is their buffet, which got old by day 3. The pool/​beach service was a little slow (we tipped well and it wasn’t super busy), and the drinks outside of canned beer and pina coladas left quite a bit to be desired. The beach itself is rocky and had a good amount of seaweed but I won’t hold nature against them. The nightlife is pretty much nonexistent despite a pretty mixed group of people. The bar near the steakhouse usually had a laid back group of people who were social most nights we went. It was there we found out the timeshare pitch mentioned earlier was actually 4 hours. Yikes, disaster averted.
On the plus side, we took the nearby ferry to Isla Mujeres, which was a great day trip (beware the smell of rotting seaweed on your walk though). The beaches are great and you can rent a golf cart to drive around (and avoid store clerks trying to sell you tacky jewelry). There are also a few good breakfast places if you get sick of buffet breakfast.
So yeah, unfortunately our honeymoon wasn’t quite the trip we thought it’d be, but live and learn I guess. Can’t say we’ll be back.

I stayed at this resort in February. I should first say I am not a «resort person» as I prefer exploring and doing activities on my own when I travel, but my friend and I were looking for a relaxing and easy vacation so we selected Villa Del Palmar. The grounds are beautiful and the pools are fantastic, with each having a different temperature. Our room was also beautiful and always cleaned well by house-​keeping. The staff are very nice.
I do have a few complaints — my friend and I were encouraged to make reservations for dinner as early as possible, but soon realized reservation times didn’t matter much and we were able to get a table without a reservation when we wanted one. The food unfortunately, is terrible… at all of the restaurants. The best restaurant is the Japanese themed one, but it is also the most expensive (we did not do all inclusive since we wanted to leave the resort and find food on our own). Since I can get amazing sushi and other great Japanese food for a decent price where I live in the states, the prices and food were not impressive to me. Skip the food if you can!
It’s nice there’s a small grocery store on sight, but keep in mind it is very over-​priced. They know they «have you» and it’s convenient for you to buy supplies there.
My friend and I were excited about the activities, but soon realized that they may or may not happen depending on if the instructor is running late or if the staff just feel like doing something different that day. Not a big deal, but something to note. We did use the gym, which was nice and very clean.
They have free shuttles into town. My friend and I decided to take the one that goes to «a market.» I’d advise not going here unless you want to purchase either expensive jewelry or very cheap and tacky souvenirs… there is no in between and nothing unique here.
The resort is very close to the Isla Mujeres ferry — definitely spend the day there if you want to experience a little of Mexico on your own. Golf carts can be rented (be sure to negotiate the price!) or the ferry drops you off where all the shops, etc. are located. If you rent a golf cart, consider having lunch near the tip of the island with the ruins at the orange painted restaurant (cannot remember the name :() They have amazing grilled fish, ceviche and pina coladas and you can eat with your feet in the sand :).

Had a wonderful family vacation here for 7 days, all inclusive for three adults for about $ 1500. Can’t beat that.
We got a promotional rate as we agreed to attend the presentation. It was about 2.5 hours but fairly painless. Just said no, and was back at pool by 11am.
The grounds are beautiful. Well kept, clean, green, and lush. There are five pools and multiple hot tubs… One pool is a private pool for owners only with cabanas etc, there is a main pool, a children’s pool, a cold pool, and an adult only pool. The cold pool is merely not heated and is not really cold at all but all the other pools are kept between 80 – 90 degrees. The cold pool also has a bridge/​waterfall thing on it that kids can run through… My two year old loved it.
The place has several bars and places to eat on grounds … There is a Greek place, a Japanese place, a Mexican restaurant and a steak house. If you go and are all inclusive, BOOK THE RESTAURANTS ASAP. The reservations fill up fast and you will be getting room service or at the buffet as there are no other options. Or eat at 10 pm or 5 pm as they are only times left…
The restaurants were great, but I have especially wonderful things to say about the steakhouse. Casona. Once we sampled all the locations, we ate here the last three nights in a row. Foie gras, filet, short ribs, New York etc. We didn’t have a single thing that wasn’t amazing.
The resort was great for events also. Water aerobics, beach and pool volleyball, karaōke, movies by pool, they bring vendors to property to buy souvenirs etc, free paddle board and snorkel rental. The beach is short and the snorkeling is ehh as it’s windy on the point, but overall found it super family friendly. There were multiple families with young children and toddlers… A true family vacation can be had here.
There is drink service by pool, food also. So if you want to lounge by pool all day and never get up you don’t have to. We found the service to be average mostly, but having piña coladas and Miami Vices brought to you one after the other and you don’t even have to move is awesome.
Downsides are it is not close to town at all. If you want to head out on excursions or go clubbing or hit hotel zone, the taxi will be $ 40 American or so. It’s much less if you take city bus but they don’t run that late and it can be confusing. We took the bus into city for a snorkel excursion and it was easy to get lost. (We made it though)
Positives are it is a 2 minute walk to the isla mujeres fairy. What a beautiful little island. Recommend heading there for a day if you can. Cost about 4 bucks American and is in an air conditioned cab.
As for all inclusive drinks, they make them with cheap stuff so u can request things to be made with better quality stuff. (I learned this too late) ex. I’d like a piña colada please but with Bacardi not well. Also, they are light on pours, so we asked for doubles. That’s the only way you knew there was any booze in it at all. For the non «elite» members you can only drink first shelf liquor but I found that to be fine for me. Bacardi, Cuervo 1800, Milagros silver, decent stuff. Anything nicer, you pay or you need to own.
Rooms were clean and maid service came daily like a hotel. At time shares, that is not always the case. That was nice.
Buffet is the place for breakfast and I was happy. Lots of options, fruit, omelette bar, and even an empanada bar where they will make them in front of you with whatever you want inside. (Yes please) we loved it and will definitely consider going back. 4 stars due to location not being central but that could be a plus for some.