Catalonia Yucatan Beach - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2984 reviews

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  The Shows Were Incredible...Everything else was No Bueno.

  While my husband and I did enjoy our time in Riviera Maya, the hotel left much to be desired. I'll start with the good stuff: Great - The shows! The Catalonia's entertainment staff were exceptional. The dancers and singers were exceptionally talented, putting on full fledged shows like "Memories" and "Greatest Showman," inclusive of live bands, acrobatics, fantastic dancing and live singing. The shows were the best part of the Catalonia experience. (The theater is on the nicer side of the Catalonia though, at Catalonia Riviera Maya, which is connected to Catalonia Yucatan) Very Good - Overall the hotel staff was friendly. The room cleaning staff always did a nice job turning over the rooms. It could be because we left a $3 - $5 tip every morning, but regardless we received fresh linens and towels when we requested them. So-So - The grounds overall were pretty nice. Nice big pools on both sides of the hotels. The beach was accessible and the water was great. I MUST complain about the lack of beach/pool chairs though. There weren't nearly enough of them to accommodate the number of people at the hotel. So much so that people were waking up at 6 a.m. to 'save' beach/pool chairs with towels. We were mostly able to locate chairs at the end of the afternoon or super early in the a.m., but never felt safe enough to give them up for a lunch break or a walk, for fear that we wouldn't have seats when we returned. So-So - The beach was ok, but only because my husband and I had water shoes. The water and the sand are incredibly rocky. Without shoes, you likely won't have any fun in the beach. Not Good - The rooms were Very old. This hotel is in serious need of an update. Paint chipping. Stains on tub (not dirt but just browning); dirty light switches; old furniture. If you desire a vacation with a luxurious room experience, do not stay here. Horrible Horrible Horrible! - The food was likely the worst we've had in any all-inclusive hotel, and this was our 7th Carribbean trip in three years.. El Mercado, the main buffet, was disgusting. The food was usually stale, cold, or just not well made. However, you're not left much choice but to eat there because the other two restaurants are Only Open for Dinner an require reservations nightly through an app. The kicker... the app doesn't work. It supposedly opens up at 8 am every morning at which the staff advises you "book early as possible." I woke up at 745 am every morning to be prepared to make reservations for either the Italian or Mexican restaurant, both of which are closed two days a week. We were at the hotel for four nights, and not once did the app work to make reservations. When I called the front desk, they'd claim 'technical difficulties' and told me to keep trying. I'd try all day and when the app finally did work, which was rarely, there were no reservations available. Needless to say, we didn't even get to eat dinner at the hotel restaurants. The Catalonia Riviera side apparently had other restaurant options, however as a Catalonia Yucatan guest, we were forbidden from using those restaurants. Fortunately, Puerto Aventuras, where the hotel is located, is about 1/2 miles from a marina with tons of great restaurants, bars, and live music; so my husband and I walked there for breakfast and dinner every day. That experience was actually quite lovely, but incredibly annoying and frustrating since we had PAID For all-inclusive meals at the resort and were unable to get them. All in all - while Mexico was great, we would never stay at this hotel again. The two stars are for the shows! But other than that...don't stay here if you're looking for something nice, convenient, and with good food/drinks.

  Feb 21, 2025
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  No no no

  Just don’t. The only good things are the place seems clean and the staff are nice. You can’t book no get a reservation at any of the a la cart restaurants. At all. Not just us lots of people complaining. Talking to the front desk was useless. They tell you that you can’t book go to any of the restaurants and then use the tiny disclaimer on the website that says subject to change when you get there. If you aren’t down to the pool by 6am you will not get a set. They have signs up saying you can’t do that but they are ignored and they do nothing about it. Seats stay unused all day. The drinks are all made with sucralose and taste awful and turn your stomach. They let another guest bring his big speaker to the quiet pool and blast it. The fruit at the buffet is really good, but the rest might as well be good in Cuba. They close everything down very very early. Pools, bars, food. There seems to be all kinds of different coloured wrist bands and they give you no option to upgrade once you are here and then they limit you so much depending on your “level”. It’s really frustrating and confusing. I would never come back.

  Feb 16, 2025
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  Wonderful time with the family

  As a family with two young kids (3 and 6), this was the perfect getaway for us. Very simple amenities , clean, friendly staff, food was good (we only ever ate at buffet). And located within a cool quiet village for exploring. The beach isn’t much of a beach and its rocky in spots, but the snorkeling is great right at the resort. Water shoes are helpful but not needed. Honestly, we bounced between the beach and the pool all day, every day and we’re usually back in the room by 7:30pm for the night so take our input with a grain of salt. Lots of poor reviews on here but we enjoyed our stay!

  Feb 11, 2025
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  A disappointing Resort with beautiful weather

  Resort is very run down, the staff does a great job keeping it clean, but it is not the fantastic resort people say it is. Food is mediocre, and I am being kind. Many people were ill while we were here, including my spouse, on 2 separate occasions. Very difficult to get into the a la carte restaurants; you literally have about 4 minutes at 8am to try and make a reservation for that evening. We did manage, only to be very disappointed in the food; ended up experiencing a fist fight at the table next to us (which was not the fault of the resort ), however, a visitor actually had to put a stop to it!… security, waiters were too slow. Ended up eating at the buffet - same food every day. Pool was cold, very cold, not enjoyable cold!! beach is rocky, drinks are so-so, a very limited menu… yet we would see other guests walk by with drinks not on the menu. When we would ask about these drinks, no one spoke English!?.. well, come on now! But, rooms were clean, and staff was polite. Overall the vacation was a huge disappointment.

  Feb 11, 2025
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  Catalonia Yucatan Beach (Don't.)

  My wife and I just got back from a LONG 14 day trip to this resort. First I will get to the good parts. The staff are amazing and friendly and really do a very good job. Our room was cleaned well everyday by cheerful and efficient staff. The front desk was very approachable and it was the quickest and most hassle free, check in we have done anywhere. But, this is a 3 star or less resort despite that. The cleaning staff was sometimes very sorry but there were no clean towels available that day, of any kind, not the staffs fault though. If you stay at the Yucatan you are second class customer as the privileged travellers with the different coloured bands from the Catalonia Riviera Maya get it all. There are only 2 specialty restaurants for the Yucatan guests and must be reserved , by phone, at 8 A.M. . they are quickly booked up. And when you do get through you can watch the privileged walk in and demand a table and get it at your reserved time spot. They have there own specialty restaurants and buffet but like to come in and make demands at the others. They have there own buffet that you are barred from also. And the worst of it all is the nonstop vaping and smoking. The euros and quebecois are the worst offenders, but there were others too. They smoke at the pool side and pool decks , they smoke on the beach lounge chairs, they smoke at the beach bar , they smoke in line for the buffet and specialty restaurants, and on all walkways and room decks. They are relentless . Mexico has allegedly instituted some no smoking policies. That is a joke. Worst case in point was when two young girls ran by us on the walkway having fun . Three euro women were walking towards us and of course all three were puffing away. As the kids ran by one of the women was waving her hand around with the cigarette and put the lit end onto the little girls arm. The girl screamed and her mother yelled" What the heck is going on". The euros were yelling "Scusa! Scusa ! Sorry . Sorry. And scuttled away . The mother yelled at them but they fled. I suggested putting water on the burn and the mother did and I mentioned we had some polysporin she could use. She said Thanks. She then said" I thought there was no smoking " I said us too. So if you want you and your family to be continually surrounded by clouds of disgusting second hand smoke this might be the place for you. The attached pic is the deck by ours right beside the no smoking sign. When I pointed this out the staff member said" but there is no one smoking there now, is there". Some kind of logic that. So I strongly advise picking a different resort. And if you are offered a morning breakfast on the privileged side to talk about joining their time share. It is a waste of three hours of your life, we went and sat through and were promised a beach bag for going . After sitting through it all and saying no, SURPRISE, they were all out of beach bags. What a racket!!!! John T.

  Feb 11, 2025