Hiccups–The rooms, while clean, were an odd shape and lacked adequate storage. There was a jacuzzi bathtub in the middle of the living space that eats up square footage. The overall feel was a little cramped for a family of 4. We booked a swim up room, which ended up being more of a walk up. The pool was 19 feet from the end of our porch. Other resorts we have stayed at, the swim ups were much closer. We didn’t spend much time in this pool, and overall probably wasn’t worth the upgrade for us.
The resort is well cared for, but the layout reminds me of a labyrinth–no direct routes, lots of winding paths and dead ends. Additionally, this is wholly a personal preference so may not apply to you, but when I’m travelling somewhere tropical, I want the design to reflect that. The design here is attractive, but feels more like a casino than tropical paradise–think dark woods, lots of gold, and no natural light in lobby. I don’t want to spend my time inside when I came somewhere to be outside, so it was miss for me in this regard.
Hassles–The only real hassle was during check out, and it definitely left a sour taste in my mouth outside of an otherwise enjoyable experience. After doing the actual check out, the employee managing it told us we had to head over the staff in the white shirts to “finish the check out process.” Sure, no problem. It was a sales pitch to buy a return voucher–$299 for a discount on a future stay. I tried to politely decline several times. I was still assessing the trip and wasn’t ready to make a decision about returning in that moment. It wasn’t a grand slam, but would I be open to coming back to a Palace Resort? Eventually…probably… But don’t force it on me. My husband ultimately had to intervene and tell the representative no. After that, they let us go, or we thought. Another representative followed us down the escalator and pitched us again! I was completely turned off by the process, and despite all the positives of the trip, it makes me less likely to return to or recommend Palace Resorts.
Heroes–The food was good at most of the restaurants and buffets, the only real miss was the Mexican a la carte, Los Corporales at Nizuc. There is a Fogo de Chao style steakhouse at Nizuc, Carveo, that my family and travel group absolutely loved. As a pescatarian myself, there was plenty for me to eat despite not partaking in the tableside service. I never know what drinks to order when I’m traveling, that being said, the couple of specialty drinks I tried at the restaurants were great (be sure to try the Rosemarinus at Gondola). I also tried a Mexican Candy Shot that our waitress at the pool brought by, that was delicious.
Staff is friendly and attentive. The grounds are extremely well cared for and they limit lounger saving, so there is plenty of seating available at the pools. The sailing lesson was really cool–definitely recommend! Also, the free arcade was a really nice touch. We spent a fair amount of time in the evenings playing air hockey and having having basketball shoot outs–a big hit for kids and adults alike!
Despite the check out fiasco, all in all a pretty good stay. That being said, for a more detailed review, check out my blog post in the Road Report.
1 Review on “Moon Palace Cancun”
Hiccups–The rooms, while clean, were an odd shape and lacked adequate storage. There was a jacuzzi bathtub in the middle of the living space that eats up square footage. The overall feel was a little cramped for a family of 4. We booked a swim up room, which ended up being more of a walk up. The pool was 19 feet from the end of our porch. Other resorts we have stayed at, the swim ups were much closer. We didn’t spend much time in this pool, and overall probably wasn’t worth the upgrade for us.
The resort is well cared for, but the layout reminds me of a labyrinth–no direct routes, lots of winding paths and dead ends. Additionally, this is wholly a personal preference so may not apply to you, but when I’m travelling somewhere tropical, I want the design to reflect that. The design here is attractive, but feels more like a casino than tropical paradise–think dark woods, lots of gold, and no natural light in lobby. I don’t want to spend my time inside when I came somewhere to be outside, so it was miss for me in this regard.
Hassles–The only real hassle was during check out, and it definitely left a sour taste in my mouth outside of an otherwise enjoyable experience. After doing the actual check out, the employee managing it told us we had to head over the staff in the white shirts to “finish the check out process.” Sure, no problem. It was a sales pitch to buy a return voucher–$299 for a discount on a future stay. I tried to politely decline several times. I was still assessing the trip and wasn’t ready to make a decision about returning in that moment. It wasn’t a grand slam, but would I be open to coming back to a Palace Resort? Eventually…probably… But don’t force it on me. My husband ultimately had to intervene and tell the representative no. After that, they let us go, or we thought. Another representative followed us down the escalator and pitched us again! I was completely turned off by the process, and despite all the positives of the trip, it makes me less likely to return to or recommend Palace Resorts.
Heroes–The food was good at most of the restaurants and buffets, the only real miss was the Mexican a la carte, Los Corporales at Nizuc. There is a Fogo de Chao style steakhouse at Nizuc, Carveo, that my family and travel group absolutely loved. As a pescatarian myself, there was plenty for me to eat despite not partaking in the tableside service. I never know what drinks to order when I’m traveling, that being said, the couple of specialty drinks I tried at the restaurants were great (be sure to try the Rosemarinus at Gondola). I also tried a Mexican Candy Shot that our waitress at the pool brought by, that was delicious.
Staff is friendly and attentive. The grounds are extremely well cared for and they limit lounger saving, so there is plenty of seating available at the pools. The sailing lesson was really cool–definitely recommend! Also, the free arcade was a really nice touch. We spent a fair amount of time in the evenings playing air hockey and having having basketball shoot outs–a big hit for kids and adults alike!
Despite the check out fiasco, all in all a pretty good stay. That being said, for a more detailed review, check out my blog post in the Road Report.