Hotel Marina El Cid, Riviera Maya, Mexico review
Riviera Maya, Mexico (close to Cancun. 25 minutes from Cancun airport)
Rating: 4
We stayed at the Hotel Marina El Cid in the Riviera Maya for a week. What a blissful week it was. The hotel is an all inclusive resort. You can however, get it without the all inclusive plan, but why would you?
We really enjoyed our stay. There are three restaurants to choose from, but we never really got bored (except with the buffet as that's the only one open for breakfast and lunch). But Alcazar is amazing. They have a wide ranging menu. They also have a Mexican restaurant that is pretty good. Overall the only thing lacking in the food area was vegetarian dishes. Most dishes had some form of meat in them (beef, chicken, pork, or fish). This made it a bit difficult for the vegetarians in the group.
We do recommend that you skip the one per stay "fancy" dinner you get at the marina restaurant. The food wasn't all that good, and the mosquitoes were horrendous.
Their alcohol selection wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad. They made a different version of a mojito, and it was pretty good. Their margaritas, however, left something to be desired.
We upgraded to the Platinum Club. No specific reason really, just that we wanted the bigger room. We loved our room. It was absolutely perfect. It was always cleaned and the mini bar restocked. If we needed anything, all we had to do was ask. We were even offered a pillow menu. It was fun to get to order what kind of pillows you prefer.
The only thing about the Hotel Marina El Cid was that we did have a teeny tiny issue. They offer an aroma therapy option. We ordered it three nights, and we never received it. This made us a bit disappointed, but it was something that we wouldn't have even wanted had they not offered it in the first place.
The hotel also has a selection of free water sports. You can check out kayaks for free, as well as boogie boards. The staff will also take you out on a Hobie Cat if you made a reservation. The ride would last for about an hour.
The beaches were nice, and private. There are no hotels close by, so "beach crashing" was not a problem. The sand in the ocean, however, is very rocky. We recommend that you buy some water shoes (before you go - we got ours at Wal-Mart for $5/each) for when you go to the ocean. The pool was nice and clean. It also had a water slide and a cliff diving area. Adults, watch out on that slide. You go fast!
Also, go into the little town (Puerto Morales) to go snorkeling. You'll get a cheaper rate, and more time in the water. The water by the hotel is also home to the second largest coral reef in the world. It's absolutely worth a snorkel trip (probably two). If you took your own snorkel equipment, you could probably even rent a kayak and kayak out to where the snorkeling is awesome.
We highly recommend that you stay at the Hotel Marina El Cid in Riviera Maya, Mexico. We loved our stay, and would happily return.
Comments
A week or two ago I wandered across this website and have been reading along. I decided I would give my opening comment. I dont know what to say except that I have really enjoyed reading it. Interesting blog. I shall continue visiting this website frequently. I have also got your rss feed for any updates. Hotel Marina el Cid seems like a nice place, and I'll keep it in mind for our next trip to Mexico.
Posted by: Dublo Tanks | January 15, 2010 04:57 PM
Sweet, there are actually some great points on here many of my associates might find this relevant, I will send them a link, many thanks.
Posted by: divers torch | January 28, 2010 11:06 AM