Hotel review below. We travelled as a family of four (15 and 10 year old boys in tow) and stayed for six nights in later April. We had a great stay with some hiccups but overall really enjoyed it. Hope this review helps.Layout. The resort is built in a horseshoe around the cove and broken into 6 casas, each consisting of two large buildings. Casa 1 begins on the north side where the cove opens into the ocean and the buildings go up in number from there, counterclockwise around the beach. Being on the ends and flaring out towards the water, casas 1 and 6 look out to the sea where it meets the lagoon . Note: casa 6 is a very long walk to the lobby. More on getting around later. We were in casa 5 which looks directly across the cove but unlike the other buildings there is no walkway, pool or beach access in front of Casa 5 and the building is slightly closer to the rocky shoreline. Building 3 is at the middle of the horseshoe and looks directly out at the cove and ocean but is also farthest from the beach line, being separated by both a pool and the beach. Casa 2 (south building) and Casa 3 (north building) are closest to the lobby.
The lobby building hosts all of the main restaurants, concierge, kids club, gym, ultra bar and infinity pool. Breakfast and the coffee/sundries shop are also in the lobby building. Not much for sale here other than basics so come prepared. The resort is sprawling. To get a ride you can call for a golf cart (we never did because it seemed like a long process), grab one of the hotel bikes or walk. The bikes are great but note that there are no kids sizes, just adjustable seat adult bikes. They are also hit or miss on availability. There are usually a few at reception but people leave them and you’re free to take them, as long as they are where you’re looking. IE If you are in casa 1 or 6 you may be out of luck and walking. The grounds are beautiful and the walk, whether on the ocean side by the pools or the jungle side is pleasant.
Rooms. The buildings are all three stories high. I didn’t see any other rooms but all rooms face the ocean. From the layout I am guessing that the 3rd floors are all designated as ocean view. Second floor is partial . Ground floor is garden view . Interestingly the patio tub on the ground floor units is more like a plunge pool, at least 2x the size of the tubs on the balconies. It also looks like the ground floor rooms have larger patios . Note there isn’t a ton of privacy between your plunge pool and your neighbors, just some bamboo. While we were there the only ground floor room we saw in use was the one used for COVID testing. Some ground floor rooms look quite private while others are right along foot paths. Can’t make a recommendation which is best other than much of casa 5 doesn’t seem to have any foot path access on the ocean side. The patio tubs are a cool feature, We saw the staff skimming the ground floor tub/pools daily. These did not look refillable like the 2nd and 3rd floor tubs. Instead they came filled and looks like they accumulate debris from the trees and foliage all around. We needed to get housekeeping to come and clean out our empty tub before we filled it--it was kind of grimy and filled with lots of leaves and stuff you don't want to relax in.
All suites were booked when we visited (Easter plus two weddings). We were upgraded as Diamond members to an ocean view (from garden view) booked on points and certificates. The 2x queen rooms aren’t huge but big enough to be comfortable. As discussed in other posts, the bathroom is separated from the bedroom by an open wall while the toilet and showers both have opaque glass doors. You can choose to close your shower shutters or show your goods. Basic amenities: body wash, shampoo, conditioner. Not much else provided. The minibar is a bunch of overpriced soda and bottles of water. You’ll also get 2 small glass bottles of water each day (we asked and they provided more), coffee maker and pods, ice bucket, wine glasses. No corkscrews--we had to borrow one from the pizza folks. Air con worked great. Didn't turn the TV on once during our stay but it looked nice on the wall
Check In/Out. We arrived around 2p. When we entered our room it was obviously not cleaned and was being used as a staging area. We did not get into a new room until 7p which was frustrating but the staff was super apologetic, very aware of the issue and offered us dinner for the family at any restaurant which was a very nice gesture and took the sting out of the issue. The check in process is super easy and all takes place in the lobby over a cold drink before you are driven to your casa. We checked out at 7am in order to get to CUN early (the airport is chaotic). No issues with our bill, but if you like to pour over line items you may be frustrated as the bill is a jumble of info with very little to guide you as to what charge is for what expense. Best to get a copy the night before and review.
Gym. We’re a late-day gym family vs early am. When we visited 4p+ the gym was pretty empty. Gym is a decent size with lots of bikes, a bike class room, ellipticals and treadmills. Additionally there are weight stations and some side rooms for stretching. The gym was unmanned when we went and had no issues with our 15 year old working out. Machines all worked well but bring your own entertainment as internet service to the machines wasn't working.
Food. Saying that food is expensive is like saying that rooms in NYC are small. Expect it and you won’t be upset. To those ends I’ll skip the prices of the meals in this post. Every bill has a 10% service charge included. We would then leave 10-15% on top for each check. Upon check in you get a QR code with info on all restaurants and beach grills. We made reservations for each night's dinner and were told that some restaurants were full, but when we went to dinner almost all restaurants were empty. Maybe they are understaffed or undercooking as the resort ramps up. You can see all of the restaurants with menus and prices here:
https://conradtulum.sabio.host/#/
For diamonds, Breakfast each morning was free for two people. There was very little wiggle room on this, though It was free for our 10 year old son. It was NOT free for our 15 year old and not worth the cost for the chocolate muffin he’d eat so he would get breakfast at the coffee shop each am—juice and a sandwich. As stated in other posts breakfast is extensive with most items made to order. Pancakes, French toast, avocado toast and multiple egg stations. Fresh fruit, yogurts and what looked like packaged pastries are also abundant. Breakfast has both indoor and outdoor seating. It never got too busy but If you want to sit outside you may need to wait a few min at peak times. Folks also just kind of hang out vs eat and run. The breakfast check in process is a bit antiquated and involves the staff writing your info on small slips of paper then cross referencing your name to the guest list. Needless to say, the line can get long while they do this for every guest. Once at a table, waitstaff will bring coffee, coffee drinks, water etc. Specialty drinks like cappuccinos are available as well. The fresh fruit station is popular and they go through hundreds of mangos. They will also split a coconut for you to drink but there is a $10 uncharge per coconut.
We ate dinner at Ukai, Kengai, Maratea, Autor as well as Ultra Bar, Carbon, Crudo and the new pizza place all the way down at Casa 6. Restaurants were all great. Just expect the price tags. We travelled on Easter week and the hotel was busy so reservations were necessary. For families (or anyone) a great alternative to fine dining is having dinner at Ultra bar, crudo, carbon or pizza. They all close at 6p and have limited menus but they are casual, right on the beach and a fraction of the price. We had brought some very good bottles of wine and had a beach pizza party. Do watch out. As advised in other posts, you’ll be constantly steered towards very expensive bottled water but you can also get filtered water everywhere and it’s served with a smile. Every casa also has a water bottle filler and ice machine—so glad to see this vs thousands of spent plastic bottles. Also look out for the drink upsells. They can get very expensive so know what you’re in for before agreeing to the extra special drink! Our older son had room service one night. There were some language issues ordering but it arrived quickly and was decent enough. For us, the food at the other locations was superior to room service.
Excursions. We left the resort one day for a trip to the Tulum ruins. It took about a half hour to get there (the Conrad is no where near central Tulum (a good thing)). The taxi was $40 one way and we could have easily found on there to return home BUT we had no cash and wanted to pay with a credit card. We set up a cab to do a round trip excursion. The taxi waited about 4 hours for us and we used a CC to pay for the whole shebang. It was about $40 more to have the taxi wait vs finding another ride home. Well worth the get away but it was HOT at the ruins. If you go, bring lots of water and go early. We left at 8:30a and only waited 15 min to buy tickets and enter. When we left there were hundreds of people in line. Note: the beach was inundated with seaweed when we went.
Beach and pools. For nearly our entire stay the hotel had 8-13 people, a massive backhoe, two smaller ground movers and flatbed trucks for 12 hours a day all working on the seaweed. And they could not keep up. There was a never-ending, always growing mountain of the stuff. It's not the Conrad's fault it's there and it looked to us that they were doing all they could to mitigate the issue. We did get to wade into the water once, just to say we did it. When the beach is clear, it will be amazing to swim/sit and there were people who waded through the seaweed but for now it's kinda gross. Also the massive pile of drying sargassum gets seriously stinky if you are downwind. If you just want to sit on the sand, there are multiple beach areas where you can sit in chairs or cabanas and not have to see/smell the seaweed. The hotel was moderately busy but certainly not sold out. The best chairs/cabanas go quick in the AM. There are always other options but they may not have umbrellas or be farther from the pool. The cabanas are double seater loungers with side and overhead sun blockers. By 8a, the cabanas and prime seats all had books/water bottles and towels on them. Note, there are a TON of pools and always chairs avail. Pool service was VERY attentive.
Other "stuff." We booked transportation through the concierge. A private SUV was pretty close in cost to other operators. Pick up at CUN was quick and efficient but the SUV's are not owned and operated by Conrad (no Conrad branding or staff drivers). In hindsight, if there was another option for private SUV transfer at a better price, we would have considered it. COVID testing to return to the US is offered at the hotel in and administered in one of the jungle view rooms. You need to make an appointment in advance and bring your passports and credit card. You cannot charge the fee to your room. It was about $25 a person. The test email came after about 2 hours and we were able to use Verifly to check into our AA flight online. My wife and older son went to the spa and raved about it. Not cheap but you get what you pay for.
Next door neighbors. We rode our bikes over to the new all inclusive Hilton one afternoon. To say the Hilton is MASSIVE is like saying the Conrad food is expensive! It goes on and on... and on. The long line of rooms are three stories high like the Conrad but with rooms on both sides (ocean and jungle). It looks like an 800 room resort. Parts looked complete but most of it looked like a giant construction site. They were set to open the week after we left. Where as the Conrad's beach has a few rows of chains the Hilton has row after row after row of chairs and the rocky beach looked pretty un-swimmable. Interestingly, there were multiple families at the Conrad (found this out via our 15 year old who met other kids) who were booked to be staying at Hilton properties in Cancun but found overbooked hotels upon arrival. They were re-bookd at the Hilton and then sent to the Conrad (many with full board included--not too shabby).
Final thoughts... The hotel looks and feels like what you would expect from a Conrad (ie, not a Casa Marina experience). The food is legit good all around from the casual beach spots to the more formal dining spaces. The grounds are beautiful. The rooms, though smaller in size, are well designed and laid out. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt and attributing sometimes spotty service (skipped room cleaning, issues with check in, crossed lines etc) to growing pains. But all issues were address with a smile and speed so we were happy with how things were handled. I'm conflicted on cost vs reward on this property right now. It's a great use of certifs and points but I'm not sure room rate is in line with what you get. That's an individual decision I think.
Enjoy your travels!