Occidental at Xcaret Destination - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

25465 reviews

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  Disappointing Dining Experience at a Beautiful Resort

  We were truly disappointed with our stay at Occidental at Xcaret, primarily due to the food. Unfortunately, the dining experience was the worst part of our visit. The food across all the restaurants lacked flavor—everything we tried was bland and unseasoned. We've stayed at several all-inclusive resorts before and always had wonderful experiences, but sadly, this was by far the most disappointing. We had high expectations for this trip, especially since it was our children's first time visiting Cancun. It was disheartening to see them not enjoying their meals—they ended up only eating fruit during our entire stay. We had booked two rooms because we believed this would be a beautiful and memorable family vacation. While the resort grounds are visually stunning, the poor quality of the food truly affected our overall experience. Another downside was the attitude of some of the staff. While a few individuals were friendly, many seemed disengaged and unapproachable. There was a lack of warmth and hospitality, especially in the restaurants, which made the experience feel far from welcoming. Additionally, we were constantly approached by managers promoting the "Royal Level" upgrade. Even after saying no multiple times, they continued to offer it every time they saw us. It became intrusive and took away from the relaxing experience we were hoping for. For comparison, we previously stayed at Barcelo in Huatulco—a much smaller resort—but had an exceptional time there. The food at Barcelo Huatulco was flavorful and varied, and we look forward to returning in the future. Unfortunately, this was our first and last time at Occidental at Xcaret. We will not be recommending this resort to our family and friends.

  Apr 16, 2025
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  Great experience, just what I needed

  This was my second time at Occidental at Xcaret. It is a very lovely resort. The staff are very friendly and helpful. My room was great, no complaints at all. There was always a good variety of food to choose from. I got a bit bored of the buffet above the swim up pool, but I still found enough to eat and be pleasantly full! I would highly recommend this resort and do plan to be back myself.

  Apr 16, 2025
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  Royal is Royal except the front desk service

  We stayed at Royal and rented multiple rooms. The rooms and the food were great. Even though that it’s not many vegetarian option. The chef and the servers were aware of the vegetarian requirements and very accommodating. The food quality was superior like a five star restaurant ;whatever we had was very tasty and fresh. A feedback would be to add vegetarian options in the menu itself. The front desk is not as helpful and friendly as they could be. Our bracelets always had issues and we kept getting locked out. The front desk don’t understand how their computer system work. Even though we were Expedia platinum VIP we couldn’t get any room upgrades or early check-in or late checkout, which was possible in Barcelo Maya Palace and Paradisus.

  Apr 15, 2025
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  1st and last trip to Playa Del Carmen and Occidental Excaret and Park

  This is an honest review to hopefully give some of the detail that can help others make a decision on whether this is the hotel for them. The plus's; The proximity to the park, if you are going to the park multiple days, its extremely convenient, the problem is the hotel was so un-helpful on telling us how to get there, walking vs gondola, which entrance etc. When we checked in, no help, when we got our bracelets the day after check in, they couldn't get rid of us fast enough. There was a specific activities office where you get your bracelet for the park, if you bought the week pass. I barely got out two questions, got the briefest answers and he started with the next guest. It was SO frustrating trying to navigate the property and the park. I get it, if you are a club/partial owner and this is your 6th visit, you know all the ins-and-outs, you can make it much more comfortable for yourself. By day 4 we had it all figured out, but it just won't be a repeat vacation for us, ever. We did royal, but that "exclusive" concierge was not helpful at check in or later. They gave us a what's app number to text on. English was more limited than other trips we have been on. The one time I did use the app to ask if there was a show that night at 7pm, they answered about 3 hours later and it said "Sorry Miss I did not see this, I think so". We booked directly through the hotel and spent about $3500 for 6 nights, then upgraded to royal, 1 room suite for another $900 or so. The property is huge, but the golf cart rides were convenient and available most always. The wildlife was a major +. We saw monkeys once, parrots in the lobby everyday, huge iguanas on the property, deer.... The pools were not overly crowded and you did not ever have to get up a 6am to get a lounge chair. The royal restaurant food was good. The staff restaurant were really nice and attentive, we tried to tip generously every meal we went there. On the negative side and I hate to just complain but this is my honest opinion, which I did read in some of the fb group reviews, I just didn't listen enough to them. To me the price and the proximity to the park outweighed. In hindsight, I would have paid more and stayed at the xcaret hotel or skipped this all together and done Cancun or Cabo again. The rooms were 3 star. Solid 3 star, no hair conditioner in room. Air didn't work 2 nights, water came out of sinks and tub light brown, we did not use the jet tub once, we brushed out teeth with bottled water. The finishes in the room were run down, cracked base boards, tiles, older furniture, not sure the sliders locked. The royal building or maybe all buildings, did not have an elevator, we were on the 3rd floor, my husband has a bad knee, so that was hard for us. Wish we had known. Mini bar fridge was not cold-we never requested to have it fixed, no diet soda, some odd sodas and beer, water, snacks were Japones only. Hotel customer service was just not good, not helpful in any respect. When we checked in to the "Royal check in desk" we were hot and tired, they took our $900 royal upgrade payment and gave us our room bracelets, I had to ask for a bottle of water, although it was a nice sitting area with a fridge and coffee area. Turns out you could come there in the morning to make a latte, they never mentioned it but I asked about day 3 and they said," oh yes of course". For the airport transportation, we booked the private van with the hotel and they insisted on a 5 hour preflight pick up. we argued and wanted at the most a 4 hour so we could squeeze in breakfast. They went on and on about a possible freeway closure and how they wouldn't be responsible if anything happened at all. "if the driver doesn't show up to pick us up" it's not their fault" Huh? Then what did we pay for? They made us sign a waiver that says they were not responsible if we miss our flight. but the waiver said min 3 hours. They just wanted to make as many runs to the airport as possible Im sure, it wasn't about what worked for us. We signed the waiver and insisted on the 4 hour before flight pick up. The buffet was yuck, it was low quality food, end of story. Lastly, I'll just say, the park itself was over rated and that was the main reason we went here. Again hard to navigate, we did the cave/river float, dolphin swim, lunch at the restaurant, pottery painting, and that's about it. The beach was green and looked gross. We saw people doing the high speed boat and the Mexican buffets and Im sure there is way more to do, + the explorer area, but unless you know what your doing, and we did the research....its just so big......The Mayan Show was incredible I have to say. That was a highlight. By day 4 I kinda wanted to go home because the vacation felt like a lot of work.

  Apr 15, 2025
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  Wonderful Easter Break

  Arrival - Booked an all inclusive with Thomas Cook (x10 nights) during Easter holidays (Apr ‘25) - 2 adults, 2 kids (8 & 12). Hassle free flight with BA from Gatwick, no issues at border control in Cancun (through very quickly), private hotel transfer with Nexus (excellent) c50 mins to Xcaret. Warm welcome at the hotel (very impressive entrance), offered drinks on arrival, given all the info we needed about the hotel/our stay. Minor environmental tax to pay based on # nights stay (c.£15 total) - paid in MXN Peso cash. Hotel - huge, so many pools, the beach, bars, restaurants and activities throughout the day. Highlights were the macaw parrots in the lobby, iguanas (who do get in the pool with you!), spider monkeys, a few snakes, deer and what looked like ring tailed lemurs - all living freely in the complex. Due to the time difference we were able to go down to the beach restaurant and watch the sun rise on the first few mornings which was a great start to the day. Extra bonus - nobody woke up early to reserve sun beds - most people didn’t come down to the pool until lunchtime. checkout is at 11am but we were able to pay extra to remain in the complex and use the pools and restaurants for about c.£35 total until we left for our flight late afternoon (there is a shared hospitality room for you to take a shower and get dressed before you leave if needed). The boys will also look after your luggage. It’s a lot more if you want to keep your room after checkout c.£50. Catering - Food and drinks a plenty, something for everyone and lots of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can book the additional restaurants via guest services up to 3 days in advance - we did the Mexican Hasenda, Oriental and Olivio’s Italian twice each - there is a dress code for men only of long trousers and closed toe shoes. We also did a mix of the main buffet restaurant, Paco Taco and the Pizzaria (no booking needed and no dress code). I’m vegan, my husband vegetarian - neither of us went hungry. All the staff at the food/drink outlets (and in general) were super friendly, chatty and kind. Xcaret - our Thomas cook package didn’t include free entry to the Xcaret park - we bought a single day ticket, (there is a travel shop on site to buy tickets). It’s pricey c.£320 (2 adults, 2 kids) for the basic package (if you have your own snorkels). You can go back to the hotel for lunch/dinner. You don’t need to buy a locker at Xcaret while doing the cave swim, you can put all your stuff in a free large duffle bag which they lock and transport to the cave exit for you. Bring water shoes for the cave swim as the rocks are sharp. Playa del carmen - we took a taxi to the town for a day trip which is worth a visit lots of tacky shops and restaurants. Cost c.£15 each way. Top tips: -MXN Peso is fine, you don’t need USD. We are from the UK - the exchange rate was better for local currency (we didn’t take any USD). -Bring your own snorkels (the ones in the hotel shop are expensive c£40) -Bring a waterproof pouch for taking pictures in pool/sea/xcaret caves (the ones in the hotel shop are expensive c£20) -Bring extra sun lotion - it’s hot here and everyone burned quickly and easily so keep applying (super expensive to buy lotion there c£20 for unbranded lotion) -Bring a rash vest to protect from the sun esp. for kids

  Apr 15, 2025