Recommendations for the riviera maya?
 

Have you looked as far down as Tulum? There may be more of what you are looking for. The beaches are great and some of the resorts are small. You are further down so closer to do day trips to ruins and cenotos. Or if you want to do the theme parks look at https://www.hotelxcaret.com/en/all-fun-inclusive/

I have stayed at the Iberostar Grand several times and enjoyed it. Food and service were great and it's not too far from Playa del Carmen

I like it because it is a quiet resort

You have to take a lot of stuff on TripAdvisor with a grain of salt.... Like people giving resorts in Mexico bad reviews because the weather was too hot during their visit in August, or that they saw a bug on their tour of Coba with a 3rd party tour guide.

I like my stays at Iberostar too, but I have always stayed down on the cheap end at the Del Mar side.

There are some basic rules for Trip Advisor reviews. Ignore reviews with any of the following

1. Everyone was rude. (Really? Everyone? Wonder how rudely the reviewer treated them!)
2. They speak Spanish. (Umm...that's the language of Mexico)
3. It was my "birthday, anniversary, random event I made up" and while an upgrade wasn't expected it would be nice. (Yes, you did expect it or you wouldn't have bothered)
4. The airline lost my luggage and the resort didn't fix the problem
5. There was nothing edible to eat
6. They didn't have Bud Light! (Actually I figure this might be a sign of a place I want to go :) )
7. There was seaweed in the water... Yes, there's a problem all over the area right now. I don't think the resorts are putting it there to annoy you however!


You really have to read between the lines. It's sad but there are people who post a bad review within minutes of arriving at hotel/resort, then show it to management and promise to request to have it taken down if they get the upgrade etc...

In the end we decided on the La Perla - the rate offert to members of the Melia rewards programme was so competitve we couldn't ignore it.
For the first part of our trip we'll be staying at the TRS Yucatan near the UNICO so we decided against it.

We’d love some feedback after your stays!

Buen viaje.

I just posted my review of Unico 2087 on tripadvisor, with the pictures referenced. While it's waiting for approval there, I figured I'd share the text of the review here (in short, I do not recommend it):

We visited Unico 2078 for our Honeymoon and stayed for 5 nights, including New Year’s Eve. Everything there looks stunning and the people who work there are wonderful.


Positives:

• Landscaping is gorgeous and immaculate.
  
• Not a single mosquito bite the entire time - we saw them spraying the resort one night, I assume that’s why.We had a lovely time at the quiet pool during the day, and the staff who work there are fantastic.
  
• The beach is GORGEOUS. No issues with seaweed or smell, and the sand is white powder soft.
  
• Our butler (“Local Host”) was really sweet and we believed he tried his best. Communicating with him via WhatsApp was great.
  
• The room was beautiful and large.
  
• The in room amenities are awesome - loved the smell of the soap/lotions, and that robe was fabulous. We would have liked a full length mirror though.
  
• Loved the fish tacos.
  

However - food first, then all the other stuff below.


Food:

• Looks gorgeous, but dangerously bad. Like non-existant food service standards level of dangerously bad.
  
• Fish tacos were good, but completely different, every day.
  
• Saw the dessert station prep chef at the steakhouse lick his fingers, then continue plating desserts.
  
• Was served a seafood salad at the Italian restaurant with unopened mussels. Pic attached.
  
• Saw raw salmon filet on the food buffet. Pic attached.
  
• We watched the chef at the japanese restaurant cook & plate our octopus, then it sat for 10+ minutes before being brought to our table. Was chewy and inedible.
  

Additional negatives:

• External marketing doesn’t meet reality. Lots of stuff about using the app, yet the app didn’t have the ability to do anything at all. I’m on an iPhone, maybe the android app has all that functionality? I learned more on instagram daily about what was happening at the resort than I did when I was there. I can’t emphasize enough how much more they care about Instagram than reality.
  
• On site marketing is non existent. Guy walking around with falcon…for…what? They have speciality bars & restaurants - no signs, nothing advertising them. It’s very unclear when things are happening, etc.
  
• Legendary program in and of itself is a HUGE con: I hate all inclusives with tiered service of any kind, and would not have booked here had I known that existed. More on legendary below..
  
• Dinner reservations being necessary is ok - but can’t make them in advance.
  
• Ended up getting a massage refunded due to multiple issues:
  
•  
  • hot stone machine broke
    
  • door opened to room with other people walking in while I was naked & exposed on the table
    
  • massage then poorly done with overheated stones and cut short.
    
  • When asked about the massage while checking out, was offered an upsell to a day of their “legendary program for spa access."
    
• Multiple concerns among guests that alcohol was watered down. We mostly drank wine/beer so no issues, but other folks asked us about it, and I will say that the few mixed drinks I had didn’t taste like alcohol…just mixers.
  
• Very poor communication among staff, just one example: filled out the form in advance saying what we wanted in the mini-bar, told our local host & housekeeping, and left a written note asking for specific things (no beer, no regular soda, etc.). Never followed, each day our extra waters/diet cokes were removed.
  
• Do not disturb signs only mean they won’t walk in. 3 times: sign was on, yet they knocked AND called the room. We were exhausted from travel and the wedding!! So much for a nap.
  

OK last but not least (you can stop reading here if not interested) - the Legendary program:


We booked Unico 2087 in no small part because it was NOT a Hard Rock type resort. We wanted a quieter, calmer stay for our honeymoon, and loved the aesthetic that Unico projects of high quality service in a beautiful setting. The Legendary program is a time share with all of the Hard Rock resorts - including the one in the Dominican Republic where multiple people died after drinking from their mini-bars. The idea of creating a resort with a “different” feeling but including it in the timeshare with the other resorts is ultimately going to result in all of the resorts feeling the same.


...not to mention the hugely predatory concept of asking me to pay a huge amount up front for a set discount price on room rates that can then continue to fluctuate. It’s disgusting and I want no association with any hotel doing that.

I’ve only stayed at the Iberostar on Cozume, but based on that stay I’d likely check out the Iberostar properties.

We split our time between the TRS Yucatan Hotel (adults only) and the Akumal Bay Beach and Wellness Resort. Both were in the same price range of $400/night all inclusive for a couple. Both places were great, with each offering a different experience. The TRS is considerably more upscale, but the beach is not as nice. Most rooms at the TRS have no view of the ocean as they are set back from the coast. All of the rooms at Akumal Bay face the ocean. The TRS pools are better and they have more restaurants and bars that are spread out over considerable distances. The TRS has room butlers that could provide restaurant reservations. The Akumal Bay has no restaurant reservations.

We like staying at different places rather than staying one place for too long. People seemed happy at both places.