Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya

Bed was too firm, woke up with stiff neck and shoulders- everyone wants a tip and actually asks for one. Hounded about listening to timeshare. Then the checkout process was a nightmare and they actually refused to let us leave after we had checked out because we tossed the bellhop slip after they refused to take it until our car arrived. We felt like we were held captive. Insane. Cabana was horrible- they took our food order and an hour later told us kitchen closed… so we left hungry and frustrated. Reservations at tempest was the best part incredible there. Room service was terrible took forever 1-2 hours- bread soggy, tacos were dry and hard, crème brûlée was like pudding. Room was clean, property was clean but we would not go back ever

We just returned from a wonderful 5 night stay at the Hyatt. Resort was beautiful, beach was perfect, beautiful, no rocks like other beaches in the area. Service is outstanding. Staff is great. The only things we were annoyed with, was being immediately bombarded with “timeshare” pitch, the “your room isn’t quite ready” - an hour long pitch on “timeshare”. We agreed to go to the presentation, a 90 minute commitment. We had a wonderful breakfast, but from there it was all high pressure, relentless typical timeshare crap. After over 2 hours, we had to get firm, angry and demanded they stop the pitch, give us our excursion vouchers and take us back for our vacation. Advice…don’t fall for the “room isn’t quite ready”…shut it down immediately, unless you like those types of sales pitches. We received $200 in vouchers were worthless, for example a $40 voucher for spa…but not one massage was less than $240. All of the restaurants were outstanding. Tempest was best “hibachi” we have ever had. Italian restaurant was delicious, Lola’s was amazing. The buffet was mediocre. Breakfast options were very good, lunch and dinner were just “ok”. They had entertainment and activities all day and every evening. We really enjoyed that. We are not “partiers” so it was just perfect for us. Pool is very nice, not heated, so this time of year depending on weather it was a little too cold. Beach was beautiful. We would definitely go back and stay there. We would shut the sales pitches down firmly and immediately.

Perfect place for a relaxing vacation. Pool and beach were beautiful. Food was good, not 5 star but good. If you are looking for a party resort this is not your place. Entertainment staff was great. You could participate if you wanted but no pressure. The app was very helpful in planning out your day. They do try to sell you on seeing their other property but if you are firm with them they will leave you alone.

PROS: Nice beach, clean and updated rooms, specialty restaurants were very good, small resort so everything was close, bar service was good. No beach towel card needed, coffee and ice cream bar were very good. Cerviche making class was fun. Pool was good (shallow). Spa was beautiful. Generally staff were very nice except for one guy at the sports bar. Pickle ball was highly used by all guests. The distance to the airport was adequate. Check in was fast but they try to upsell you a bracelet to use as your room key. Just use that instead of cards for no extra cost. Inroom safe was free. CONS: Buffet is not open for supper most nights so there is always a line up to get into the restaurants. Hard to find a chair as people reserve beds all the time. Very annoying! Liquor is watered down, room fridge was not replenished for 3 days, elevators did not work, lobby is underwhelming with not enough lounging areas chairs for people to sit. Should have an activities board posted outside the hotel as we don't want to always have to use our phone while on vacation. Need to advertise the cerviche, bracelet making activities more. The hotel does not have good entertainment at night at all!. Very boring. Not enough activities during the day or night. Massage prices were very very high. The sports bar always smelled terrible and it closes too early. Liquor was not top shelf but just okay. For the restaurants, you need to line up way in advance to get a seat or else you need to wait for a good hour. The buffet should be open to accommodate this issue. The BBQ's daily by the pool had a great selection but the meats tasted like lighter fluid. If you advertise that a spa is in US dollars, let us pay in US dollars. We tried and they said it would take at least 15 minutes to process. They will try to sell you timeshares the moment you check in so beware. The bali beds are too expensive and they block the view of the pool for everyone. The cushions on the chairs need replacing and the chairs in the lobby, (what little there are), need replacements. They also had dinner at night by the pool and you had to wait a very long time in line to get your food. By the time you were done, your food was cold. Good selection though. We had a good time meeting people but for the money, it was expensive. I would return if they fixed a few things.

We were a group of 8 that have gone to other Zilara locations and were expecting similar service and amenities. We were all disappointed. The hotel is well taken care of but it is small, so there’s only one pool and only two restaurants for dinner (this varies by day as they sometimes open the buffet for dinner and the Lola beach as well.. but not all are available every day, which means we had to repeat the Asian two days in a row). Not to mention that because we were a group of 8, the staff kept refusing to sit us together or let us reserve anything.. which meant we waited about 2 hours each night for dinner. The service was sub par. They refused to make us happy.. the only time I can say this was different was when we booked a cabana. For example, if you’re at the pool and want to bring a snack, you can’t. But if you have a cabana, you can literally eat in the pool. Just a bad experience. We were there Friday - Monday.