meducate

I took my family (wife, 2 kids ages 6 and 10) to the HR Cancun this past Christmas week. We were extremely disappointed to find that the beach had been "washed away" during the last hurricane season, so we had to use only the pool. It was crowded and not well maintained. We wanted to transfer to another hotel (Caribe or other property), but given the height of vacation travel, nothing good was available. The aforementioned loud hobby bands and singers were not a real treat when trying to get to sleep.

For beach we had to either walk through the backs of the neighboring hotels to reach a semi-public spot, or take the infrequent shuttle to the Caribe.

The only plus was the ability to walk to a variety of decent restaurants and shopping.

Bottom line: Cancun was great, but the HR left a lot to be desired.

Humaniod

We just returned from a point stay at the Hyatt Caribe. For 12K a night for RC Suite not a bad deal!!! We stayed there 8 years ago and got the same RC Suite room. I have seen posts that the RC suites were run down, but we found that any problems were taken care of within 30 minutes. (One the commode was not regulated correctly and spit out water on every flush, the other was condensation from the a/c, they came and cleaned out the hose) The bed is somewhat hard, but we like it that way. The RC had light continental breakfast, juices during the day and cocktail and snacks from 6-8 pm. The snacks were usually cold meats, cheeses, canapés, fruit, cookies/pastries and one hot appetizer. Service was always fast and friendly. There was no wild spring breakers, although our two teen age boys would have liked some! Overall we had no major problems and really enjoyed our stay. BTW no major pressure from the timeshare staff.

nsx

I'm thinking of burning some points for a RC room. 10k per night seems almost too good to pass up. It's either this or an $80 to $90 priceline room at probably a nicer hotel without Regency Club. Comments?

cmhua777

I just returned from a 2-night stay here and, apart from the staff, it was a very good stay.

The check-in was just plain bad -- which helps to sour your overall opinion of the hotel as it is usually your first impression of the facility. There were two people working the check-in area which doubles as the money exchange point. While there were four people ahead of me, with each agent taking 10 minutes per person, it took about 20 minutes before I was helped. Once there, the agent did not recognize me as a Diamond, did not give me an upgraded room or breakfast options and told me he was making an exception by checking me in before the official check-in time. When I asked him about options as a Diamond, after being handed my room key, he explained I did have lounge access where I could take breakfast.

I decided to speak with the front desk manager who helped out quickly and placed me in a new Regency Club room. The room was really great and quite oversize, with a large shower, hot tub, balcony overlooking the sea, ceiling fan and flat-panel TV amongst other things. I must say that the room was the best part of the stay.

The Regency Club itself was very empty at all times (it was a weekend) and the food was average. Only one hot dish each morning for breakfast and an OK selection of food otherwise. Evening drinks were also lacking with just a few beer and wine choices and second-tier alcohol. Staff was average here, but could never help out with anything but food and drinks. For example, I could not check-out from the lounge, get reservations for dinner from the lounge, etc.

The new pool and bar area near the Regency Club was very enjoyable, however, as were the beach facilities. The older area and pool were fine, but the newer side was easily my favorite.

I can't comment much on the food outside of the breakfast at the lounge, but the prices I saw were reasonable for a Hyatt beach resort and the selection seemed to be good.

Finally, my biggest worry about the hotel was what I had read about the bass from the nightclub across the street being too much when trying to sleep. I can say that you can't hear this from the new RC building.

abezebabe

Could anyone weigh in on new thoughts on which is better. I plan on a long weekend with some girlfriends in January, and would like help deciding which of the two would be the best. We will also be staying at the JW Marriott for 2 nights, and I don't want the Hyatt to be a downer in comparison. Any assistance will be appreciated.

nsx

The newly built (post Wilma) Regency Club building at Caribe is absolutely superb. The regular non-RC rooms are middling for Cancun. Pools are nice and uncrowded, and the beach is excellent.

BAGoldBoy

so which one did you go for?

I'm going in May and still can't make up my mind - tripadvisor reports on both vary widely

abezebabe

I decided on Caribe. I have not gone yet. Will leave on 1/27.

KWShark

I stayed at the Caribe in December. The building where the RC is located is the one you want to stay, you are almost literally on top of where the waves hit the beach, and right next to the infinity pool/swim up bar. It all depends on what you are looking whether or not the Caribe is a downer from the JW Marriott, but the JW Marriott is one of my favorite hotels in Cancun, but being able to get a nice RC beachfront room for 10k a night is something the Caribe has the JW Marriott cannot match.

mauibride

Heading to Cancun for a wedding in May, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Caribe is considered a Category 2. Seems too good to be true. Any recent experiences with this hotel? How about as a Diamond?

Also, I read on tripadvisor that there is an age limit for the RC. I have never seen this before, but then again I usually only frequent the RC in Kauai or Maui. We'll have our little ones with us, and this will be a concern if they are not allowed in RC for breakfast.

Is there a spa or fitness at the Caribe. I couldn't find any mention of these on their website.

Any help is appreciated. We plan on going the end of May.

Thanks!!!

nsx

The Caribe is nice, but RC is awesome. RC at the Caribe is your best value for points there, or perhaps anywhere in the system. I didn't see any toddlers in the RC lounge. Probably the folks at the lounge would bend the rules to allow you to bring something to the the kids if they aren't allowed in the lounge. RC at Cancun is like its own little hotel, and they really treat you well. Please tip them accordingly.

RC rooms are modern with bathrooms to die for. You can watch the surf from your candle-lit jacuzzi tub or have a small party in the 5-sprinkler shower.

Beckles

We just got back from this hotel last night ... we had two nights using FFN plus one paid night and I paid (probably too much) for a Regency Club room.

First, anyone heading here do not expect the beach to look like the picture on the website, most of it is gone now. It's still nice we thought and I didn't realize this until now looking at the website.

One other thing of note is that looking on their website they list a bunch of different room types, including several with the word "Regency" in them ... those rooms do not necessarilly have Club access it looks like, only the rooms actually in the Regency Club building (Club Deluxe King/Double, Regency Terrace Suite, and Presidential Suite) include Regency Club access in their rates. I believe you can get RC access if you're in other rooms too, but if you're booking a room that you expect to get RC access, from what I can tell only those rooms above include it in the regular rate.

The smaller pool has 12 lounging beds that you can rent for the day, we thoguht they were pretty nice and shelled out 270 pesos to do that one day. It's nowhere near a full cabana and doesn't include much extra beyond the King Size outdoor bed (they cover it with a terry cloth fitted sheet and you get terry cloth clad pillows too), but still worth the money we thought.

Firewind

I was stunned to see the 8,000 and 10,000-point redemption rates (thank you, Wilma?) while searching where and when to spend my FFNs. This was one reason I didn't opt to spend any FFN at these hotels. (Well, the Vendome does have its appeal, but it wasn't available until the end of Jan.) Combine the 8K per night with USAir's 30,000 mile (redemption) sale, and I'd say you can't do much better!

(Beckles, you are talking about the Hyatt Regency?)

Beckles

No, the beach at the Hyatt Caribe when I was there last weekend is nothing like the beach shown here, that picture must be pre-Wilma. The beach was nice enough, but it is nowhere near as wide as in that picture, about 80% of the width in that picture is now gone.

KWShark

Wilma took a lot of beach from all the Cancun/Playa del Carmen hotels, not just the Caribe. The RC is a great deal, especially the nightly happy hour. We indulged on drink after drink of Appeton Estate rum and coke...sure cut down on the liquor bill for our nightly outings....