Xcaret review
Hablo English? No - The staff state they speak English although their English is limited to none. This is concerning when trying to relay a food allergy or when trying to obtain safety instructions at a park activity. We went to park called xoximilco where the guide is supposed to provide entertainment. Unfortunately, the guide only spoke Spanish therefore we didn’t understand the jokes he told or the information/entertainment he was providing.
COVID Guaranteed - Most dining options are open buffets. I have witnessed several guests coughing on the food or lick their finger prior to grabbing food off the buffet. I have witnessed several staff members that are either serving or preparing my food not wearing a mask. Most of the guests are also not wearing a mask at the resort or at the parks as this is not a requirement. At the end of our trip, on the bus ride back to the airport multiple people around us were coughing and blowing their nose, still with no mask on. Recommend only to travel here if you are prepared to get COVID.
No availability- This is a word you will hear quite often when trying to make a reservation for one of the restaurants, or their onsite activities such as painting or pottery, or when trying to book transportation to one of their all-inclusive activities/parks listed. I attempted to book these activities 2-4 weeks prior to my arrival and was informed that many activities were sold out. The few activities I was able to book I was informed that I would get an email confirmation after my phone call with the concierge. Unfortunately, I never received the email confirmation. When I called back to request my email confirmation, I was informed that nothing was booked under my reservation which unfortunately left me with even less available options. My recommendation is to book all activities AT LEAST a month prior to your arrival and ensure you get an email confirmation prior to getting off the phone with the concierge.
Food allergies or restrictions NOT welcomed- The hostess at each restaurant asks if you have any allergies or food restrictions on arrival but I am unsure where this information goes as it is not conveyed to the waiter or anyone else. We informed each waiter we had that we are vegetarian, but this also didn’t translate into vegetarian food. We were brought multiple food items we could not eat and had to inform the waiter several times there was meat in our food. My wife has a shellfish allergy which is anaphylaxis which we informed the waiter. Sadly, the waiter also didn’t seem concerned about this as they brought her food with shellfish that she luckily caught prior to eating. Most items at the buffet are mixed with meat with limited vegetarian options at the buffet and the restaurants. There are also no labels available to show you which foods are vegetarian. Unfortunately, due to most of the staff not speaking English they don’t understand when you ask if something is vegetarian. My recommendation, if you have a food allergy is bring your EPI pen with you and be prepared to have limited food options if you are vegetarian.
Food poisoning is inevitable - Sadly both my husband and I ended up with severe food poisoning requiring treatment. We only ate at the hotels restaurants that are supposedly highly acclaimed although the food there was awful and tasteless! When we let customer service know what occurred they were not surprised, and stated food poisoning occurs all the time at this resort. They do have a physician on site and for a hefty additional cost you can be seen and treated. My recommendation is to bring with you medicine to treat your inevitable food poisoning.
Safety is NOT a priority- Most of the activities at the parks are unsafe. The staff members do give safety instructions prior to each activity but they are in Spanish. When you request English safety instructions, they are limited to none given the staffs limited English. On one activity I requested clarifying safety information and the staff member said, “no speaking English”, counted to three in Spanish and pushed me on the ride. One of the days we were at a water themed Xcaret park when there was a major thunderstorm. Instead of getting everyone to safety and out of the water, things continued as normal with kids continuing to snorkel in the water which was very concerning to see. The Xcaret park activities do not have the same safety regulations as the United States. In one of the activities, I had overextended my wrist causing a fracture. My recommendation is to avoid dangerous activities.
Park experiences- Most of the parks have around 4-5 activities which you can complete in roughly 2-3 hours. As stated above, some of the activities are dangerous and provide limited to no English safety instructions. Furthermore, if you have any medical conditions including hypertension, diabetes, vertigo they won’t allow you in the activity/ride. Most of our day in the park was spent waiting for the bus ride back to the hotel. Most of the parks require a reservation to ensure there is enough space on the bus to/from that park. My recommendation is to rent a car so that you don’t have to worry about making reservations or the availability on the bus to/from the park, additionally this will give you freedom to come/go as you please and see multiple parks in 1 day.
ALL inclusive = Limited inclusive options- Firstly, the all-inclusive options are not clear and most do not have availability. When we arrived at the hotel, we found out that the hotel offers painting and pottery classes that are included. When we tried to book this activity, they informed me that the pottery class is only for 2 people per day, and it was booked out for weeks! Needless to say, we were not able to participate in any on site activities. The hotel also advertises their amazing restaurants although when we attempted to book reservations weeks in advance most had no availability. To this day I’m still unsure of what additional activities are included nor how to book them. My recommendation is inquiring about ALL activities that require advanced booking with the concierge PRIOR to arriving.
Prepare to get LOST- The hotel offers NO map, so you are constantly getting lost trying to find the buffet, the pool, or your room! It was only because we got lost that we even stumbled onto the included pottery and paint experience which was never conveyed to us. We also found out on our last day at the hotel that we had a rooftop pool on our building! Additionally, there are hidden activities on site such as paddle boarding that I also found out on our last day. I am still unsure of all the activities that are offered at the hotel, how to get to them and even how to get to the hotel beach (which I assume they have)?
Customer service is abysmal- Our first experience at the hotel we walked in, no one helped us with our luggage and our concierge whisked us away to a corner for her to go through her greeting spiel. We informed our concierge of how hungry and tired we were after our long flight and how heavy our luggage we were carrying was. We requested she point us in the direction of the nearest restaurant so that we could get food and show us where our room is so that we can rest and drop off our luggage. Unfortunately, she did not allow this to occur and was very rude in the process. It was such a poor interaction that my wife walked away in hopes to find someone else who could help us. Furthermore, during our stay, we were blessed with getting a fractured wrist and good poisoning. We reported our experiences to both the manager at customer service, the concierge manager, and the manager at the vacation club. We were informed by the manager at the vacation club we should give him $50,000 USD and he will make our experience better. We were informed by the concierge manager to essentially deal with it as this is Mexico. The guest service manager tried to help us by requesting more money from us. Due to us getting food poisoning we were unable to attend an excursion therefore they charged us with a hefty no-show fee. The guest service manager informed us he will remove these charges as a gesture of good will. When it came time to check out these charges were not removed and no one from guest service was able to be found. The same guest service manager also “helped” us by arranging transportation back to the airport upon departure. When trying to board the bus back to the airport the staff member informed us that our names were not on the list! Thankfully they had enough space on the bus to accommodate us. If you attempt to call the hotel to reach the concierge or obtain any information or help you will be passed around from person to person, my average is 6 people prior to getting help or giving up. Just remember no matter how nice you think this resort is, they only care about up-charging you any way they can and not your experience or the customer service they provide.
Vacation club is a scam - During our stay the staff members requested we attend a breakfast to discuss how to become members. Don’t let the word “membership” fool you, this is a time share presentation that’s cleverly disguised as a breakfast. Firstly, we were told that we can have this meeting at 8am and it would take approximately 90mims. When we arrived, they said 8am was booked out and our appointment time was at 9:30am. Secondly prepare to spend AT LEAST 3 hours of your day in this high-pressured sales pitch. My wife and I were also interrogated regarding our marriage status with them requesting to see our marriage certificate. What they are trying to sell you is a “membership” which allows you access to a website to get discounted night’s stay at this resort. One of the lowest membership tiers you can purchase was around $50,000 USD and allowed you to book 21 days each year at the resort at the “discounted rate” for 10 years. The salesman gave me access to the website to view these “discounted rates”. I went ahead and looked at the discounted rates for the same dates we were staying for the following year. I subsequently searched for the same dates using a search engine on my cellphone and found that the discounted rates were only $40 per night cheaper then what you could obtain online. They do NOT give you any free night stays in any package. Doing the math, $40 per night saving for the 21 days per year package gives you a saving of $840 USD per year or $8,400 USD for the 10 year package. Not sure where they come up with the $50,000 USD cost ??? Furthermore, don’t forget to add the $140 per year maintenance fee that has the ability to increase over time to an unlimited amount!! My recommendation is STAY AWAY from becoming a member. It’s a large scam that you will end up paying more for.
The bugs will bite! (Yes, bed bugs!) - Bring plenty of bug spray with you as you will get bitten all over. The resort will try to sell you their overpriced version of bug spray that doesn’t work so I recommend bringing some from home. Also be prepared for beg bugs in your elegant bed. I witnessed these critters crawling around and biting at nigh which was disgusting! I recommend to being plenty of anti-itch cream and wash your clothing thoroughly when you get home!
My final recommendation. The resort is very visually appealing and boasts about all their positive quality that frankly aren’t there. I relate this resort to a beautiful women that wears a lot of make up with a poor personality. Visually the women is beautiful, but when she takes off her makeup and you spend time with her, you quickly realize how disgusting and fake she truly is. There are tons of all-inclusive resorts in Cancun that are more affordable with much better quality. I had high expectations for this resort and paid the high entrance fee only to be dissatisfied. The only Xcaret park that I think would be worth seeing is the original Xcaret Mexico park that you can book as a day excursion from another all included resort in the area. I would not recommend staying at any of the overpriced Xcaret hotels as they provide poor quality and abysmal service. I hope this review helps others avoid an awful vacation.