Catalonia Riviera Maya - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2994 reviews

• 

  Better than expected

  The following comments describe our recent experience at the Catalonia Riviera Maya resort. We are a couple, seniors, one with mobility issues (uses walker or cane). We did our research before booking this trip so we knew what we were getting into, e.g. lack of beach. We booked a “Privileged Suite” the ones with a separate living room and large bathroom. We were provided a room on the ground floor as requested. Our room was very large, well appointed, clean and everything was in good working order. The king bed was very comfortable. The rain shower was great. No issues/complaints regarding the room or housekeeping service. Access to the ground floor of our building 11 however required climbing two short sets of steps, no ramp. Although this was a nuisance, we managed. “Privileged Suites” are located in buildings 10, 11, 12 but only building 12 has stairs plus short ramps to access the building. The Privileged pool is very small and only has a ladder, no steps, to enter pool so is not usable by people with mobility issues. The small Privileged beach area is difficult to access by someone using a walker. The main advantage to us for booking a Privileged room was the room itself and access to the Beloved restaurant and Privileged bar. We found a few mobility/handicap designated loungers on the sand area between the pool and the lagoon. There are no handicap loungers at the Privileged pool/beach or near any other pool on the property. There is a long steep ramp to get to the 4 restaurants on the upper level, the only way to access those restaurants other than climbing a huge staircase. There also is a ramp leading up to the lobby and another ramp to the lobby bar. The 4-story buildings on either side of the lobby have elevators that can be used to access the lobby instead of the ramp or stairs (same on Yucatan side). We found most of the staff to be friendly. Service was very good at all restaurants and buffets. Overall, the food was as good as or better than we’ve experienced at other resorts (we’ve been to 20+ different resorts over the years). However, some of the dinner menu items at Beloved were just plain bad (strange-textured New York steak; inedible dry chicken). Luckily we could just order something else. We ate at all of the restaurants. We did not want to go to the Teppanyaki part of the Japanese restaurant so we made a reservation for the Wok (table service) section instead. This reservation needs to be made with guest services. We didn’t care much for the Wok area (intense lighting) or meals (served with noodles, no stir-fried veggies)…disappointing. This resort does little to discourage or enforce chair saving or non-smoking policies/laws other than posting notices. The resort can get very crowded and there does not seem to be any extra room to add chairs/loungers anywhere. Concerning smoking, we saw a man sitting at the edge of a pool, right by the bar, smoking a hookah! Many people seemed to be vaping, which was less offensive than people smoking cigarettes. The lack of enforcement by staff/management was disappointing. The resort is missing things we usually enjoy, e.g. a nice coffee shop like the one at Catalonia Maroma, or live music in the lobby area to enjoy an after-dinner drink like a lot of other resorts. Seaweed/Sargassum seems to be a constant problem here. Beach can be clean one day and fouled the next day depending on the direction of wind and waves. They work very hard to clean the beach.

  Mar 29, 2025
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  Very crooked and a scam .. upgrade and upsell orientated

  Overall very crooked .. lack of info on amenities.. found out more about facilities from other tourists Very difficult to book the included ala carte restaurant, a scam .. u get in IF u buy wine which is overpriced.. cheapest wine was us$35 which u can buy outside for $8 .. not very customer orientated , felt some prejudice. Lots of food however average

  Mar 27, 2025
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  We will definitely be back!!

  This hotel is a hidden gem!! The resort is wonderful - lots of activities for all ages. Our room was renovated - laminate floors, amazing showers, comfy beds and good air conditioning and ceiling fans. The food was plenty to chose from and great quality - a la carte, buffet, food truck, room service, crepes and several bars serving premium alcohol. The only downside of this resort is if you like to walk the beach - it is fairly small, although there is a lagoon with snorkeling and kayaking included. $10/hr and you can rent a Golf Cart and drive around the marina, see the dolphins and go to the market. Highly Recommend.

  Mar 27, 2025
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  Very Nice Mexico All-Inclusive Resort

  Hello there, this is a review of the Catalonia Riviera Maya located in Puerto Aventuras Mexico which is about 15 minutes south of Playa Del Carmen (about 75 minutes south of Cancun airport). This is a gated community and nice to walk throughout, but as always exercise caution if you choose to exit your resort property. The resort is an open concept, and is very clean, the room we were in was recently updated and had a comfortable bed and pillows. The restaurants and buffets are excellent and the food is spectacular, good quality and well prepared and friendly service. Note, with the restaurants, you have to use the resort app to make reservations, and it is somewhat cumbersome and difficult to find a reservation because the schedule tends to be booked, but we had no issue making reservations. A suggestion would be to try early in the morning to see if they release any open spots. The front reception lobby area is not extraordinary as it is small open concept, little light, no art work, no colour, no sculptures, completely boring, similarly with the main lounge bar area. The evening entertainment is mediocre. The pools are nice, clean, and the pool deck is clean, also there is no smoking allowed. But, remember to get up early to reserve your chair. There is signage that reserving chairs is not allowed, but everyone does it otherwise you will not have a chair to relax by the pool or at the beach. The resort staff from the front desk, to the waiters, to the cleaning team, to the restaurant reception staff are all very friendly, always smiling, and are always happy to make sure your stay is as comfortable as possible. The Catalonia Riviera Maya is a nice resort, small compared to the massive resort properties, but makes up for its size in service and cleanliness. This is a solid 3.5+ to 4 stars, but there is a key element missing for me that would make this resort a solid 4 star. The key issue is the lack of a nice beach front. If you are looking for a beach vacation or would like to walk on white soft sand, find another resort, because the Catalonia Riviera Maya and the sister resort Catalonia Yucatan do not have a nice beach and clean soft sand worthy of mention at the water’s edge. The beach front is very short, not much distance to walk, the sand is rocky (use water shoes), and there is quite a bit of seaweed (at least this was true during our stay). The cleaning staff work hard to keep the sand clean of seaweed. Also, at the water’s edge at the shore, if you want to walk into the water, there are large rocks (small boulders) that you have to walk over (walk through) to get into the sea where you could swim or just walk. As a general statement, the beach is below par in my opinion, bring your water shoes if you choose to walk in, and watch out for all the rocks and small boulders. Another issue for me with this resort that I can see is that because of the size of the resort, there are not too many rooms with a partial or full ocean views, the majority of the rooms are garden view or have obstructed views of the pools and sea. As a summary, nice resort, very clean, very good food, nice pools, and updated rooms (be sure to check the room categories to choose what you feel is best for you). I believe that if they could create or develop a better beach front, for me, this resort would meet many travellers needs for an a quality Mexico all-inclusive vacation.

  Mar 25, 2025
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  Great budget 5 star resort

  Nice budget 5 Star resort in a great area. Very safe gated community that allowed us to leave the resort one day to explore by golf cart. Paul Ostrovsky from Facebook was renting for $50 9am-9pm daily and was super informative and great to rent from. We picked our 2 carts up right outside our lobby. The Adventuras area is all gated, so very safe and beautiful to explore. We visited Muchies Sports Bar, happy hour was 2-6pm and very affordable. We watch the NCAA March Madness Tournament there while we ate. The "Food Court" zone 2 was AMAZING. Great shopping, pharmacies, and LOTS of food choices. It surrounds a little island that houses probably 20-30 dolphins living in a lagoon around the island playing nonstop. Very relaxing to dine and watch them play. The resort is smaller, but nice that you have short walks to everything. Food is good. Breakfast buffet has awesome bacon, churros, omelet stations, fresh squeezed juices. Lots of choices, but same daily. Supper buffet was average. It was very difficult to get reservations to the ala carte restaurants. We love the Steak Place by far the best. The Japanese was very good also. Not a fan of what I saw or heard about the Italian or Mexican. The Burger place was terrible service and food. Beds and pillows were very comfortable, smaller room, but clean and did the trick. The beach is small, the entrance to ocean was rocky, bring water shoes. Snorkeling was great! Privileged people have better rooms, room service, more beach areas, better liquor and seem to get reservations easier. Wifi was average, but also worked fine for my personal use. The kids said using laptop for streaming or work was not as favorable. Overall, it was a good value for the price at a smaller resort with lots of 5 star amenities. Remember it is all what you make of it. Give it a chance. People working there were super kind and helpful. Other guests were fun too, because it's a smaller place you get to know people easily. I would say restaurants are not good accommodating a party for more than 2 or 4. We had 5 and that was an issue. I liked the place and LOVED the area. Very safe feeling the entire time.

  Mar 24, 2025