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Carretera Federal Cancún-Playa del Carmen Km. 48, Puerto Morelos 77710 Mexico
Name/address in local language
Vidanta Riviera Maya
151 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Vidanta Riviera Maya receives a mix of feedback from its guests. Many find the night-time atmosphere and suite comfort appealing, yet some travelers report dissatisfaction with room cleanliness, outdated furnishings, and unexpected fees that contribute to an overall expensive stay.
While the resort offers a range of dining and entertainment options, opinions vary—some guests enjoy the variety, whereas others are put off by the high costs and the necessity of shuttles. Service at the hotel is often criticized for being unprofessional and disorganized.
Atmosphere
Uninspiring
Rooms
Uncomfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Disorganized
Amenities
Mixed
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We stayed in a one-bedroom suite in the Grand Mayan at Vidanta Riviera Maya in January, 2023. The resort is beautiful and the staff is very helpful. It seems surreal. They even have someone on staff whose job is to make sure that all the circles of rocks around the trees are perfectly concentric. If you are the kind of traveler who doesn't really want to travel to new places, but just wants to lay at a pool or beach, play golf, and eat expensive but delicious food because you can't do anything else, you might enjoy this resort.
We are not that kind of traveler. For one thing, it is not in Playa del Carmen. It is in the Riviera Maya which is half-way between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. A taxi ride to each is between 40 min. to an hour, and will cost you about $75 one-way. Ubers won't go and would not be welcome. The property is huge. You have to take a shuttle everywhere, and sometimes two, and even then you might have to walk for 10 to 15 minutes to get anywhere. We did discover that you could hike out to the highway, stick out your arm and flag down a collectivo, which is a little 15 passenger van which travels between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. They cost only 30 pesos each way, but you do end up in the central bus station so have to walk quite a distance or take a 12 peso bus once you arrive.
Everything at Vidanta is overpriced for what you get. In the grocery store, for example, a roll of Kirkland paper towels was over $6 American. They charge you not only a daily hotel fee, but also a daily fee for enjoying their environment. We had a "jacuzzi" in our suite, which had no jets so was just a big bathtub, but if you wanted to use the bubble bath it was $30 or more American. If someone washes your dish, it's 730 pesos (about $39). They charge you a $150 resort fee, which they don't tell you about until later. Even a popsicle is expensive! Your best bet is to take a collectivo to Puerto Morales, which has a grocery store right at the bus stop.
Whatever you do, don't go to the sales breakfast!!!!! They tell you it will be an hour (lie). We were there for 5 hours and we kept telling them no thank you to the $89,500 deal they were offering. They say they will give you 10% off your bill if you go (lie). This discount only applies to certain things at certain times, which they don't tell you until you check out. Fortunately, we hadn't bought stuff at the Jade Market except groceries, but the people checking out behind us were very upset to find out that even though they had been told that all their clothing and shoe purchases would be 10% off, they were also lied to.
We did enjoy our time there, because we left to go to Xcarta, the Mayan ruins, shopping in Cancun and Playa del Maya, the Mayan Museum, a cruise on the lagoon in Cancun, swam with dolphins and scuba diving in the Interactive Aquarium in Cancun, and did other tourist activities which were not at the resort. We would probably have been better off in one of the hotels in Cancun.
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Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Catch a collectivo on the highway by sticking out your arm. It will take you to Cancun or Playa...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just got back from a week at Vidanta. We were originally hesitant in going because we had read some bad reviews however we had a wonderful experience. The first thing we’d like to say is if you’re looking for a beautiful beach with crystal clear water this is not the resort for you. Were more pool people so it was a non issue for us. We stayed at the Grand Mayan. Our room was far away from everything but that really didn’t bother us because we love to walk and explore. But if walking isn’t your thing you could hop on a trolley that brings you around to the different places. The room was clean and bed was comfortable. We upgraded to a room with a plunge pool and realized quickly that was a waste because we never used it. In the mornings we made sure to get down to the pool for Zumba with the Joy squad at 10 am which was super fun! We never had an issue finding a chair like we have had at other resorts. We quickly made friends with the bartenders Elmer, Vielman, and Alejandro at the swim up bar. They were awesome and made amazing drinks. In the evenings we would head to dinner and then walk over to Salum for some after dinner entertainment and drinks. One particular restaurant that stuck out was Havana Moon. The coconut shrimp was perfect! The reason we only give 4 stars is because while the pool is massive it could really use a good cleaning.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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I can't recommend Vidanta Riviera. Advertised as "5 star", the room has a college room refrigerator, hard sofa, horrible TV (I've stayed in $55 hotels in Mexico with better TV reception/stations), poor internet, the shower control moved away from the plastic surround wall so it was difficult to get the water to turn off, a crack with off color caulking in the plastic shower wall, and outdated decor. The beautiful beach I came to Cancun for was missing; theirs is full of jagged rocks so you can't walk or swim out to enjoy the water. It reminded me of Disney World - you are far away from everything (15-20 minute walk or tram ride) and pay extra for everything. We wanted to go to a hamburger restaurant by the beach, but were stopped by security and told we couldn't eat there unless we were staying in that part of the resort. If you don't care to experience Mexico, you will be OK, because you are stuck at the resort unless you pay a huge taxi fare and the transportation has to be arranged with Vidanta. I met two different groups who missed excursions they had booked because they could not get Vidanta transportation to take them to the property entrance with an hour notice. When we left we had a private car pick up. We gave them required information the day before and checked out of our room 3 hours before departure. We ate lunch, went to the main transport area 1/2 hour before our ride was scheduled to arrive, to find no one could find our luggage. We waited an hour, and when it was found everything (especially our back packs) was soaked - it had been left in the rain. Luckily our ride was able to wait, or we would have lost that money and had to pay a cab $50. Spent the next day of vacation hanging our clothes all over our room so we would have something to wear. Their saving grace was the gracious restaurant staff and Joy Club was excellent.
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Date of stay: November 2021
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beautifully situated in the jungle, a destination that is refreshing and interesting. The experience is A-1 from start to finish. Luggage is carefully placed on a secure luggage cart and delivered to your room while we were escorted to our check-in. A cold drink awaits each guest as you check in smoothly and get information about the resort. Twenty delicious restaurants await with fabulous food and entertainment. A grocery and gift shop/clothing store is conveniently located and transportation if you don't care to walk is at the building every 15 minutes or sooner. There are plenty of pools-all different with poolside service, happy hour specials and a variety of food choices. On site is a Cirque du Soleil with first class entertainment. Also on site is a water park with a quite lazy river. Golf is also available as well as tours to nearby historical sites and shopping. All this and the beautiful Caribbean to watch sunsets.
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Date of stay: June 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Get to the pool early for the best spots, make dinner reservations, and relax!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The mattress and the bed linens were cool and so comfortable offering us the perfect sleep we all needed. The cleaning staff is amazing. Some restaurants were better than others but in general they can be rated 4stars or plus. I thought the cooking at the Nueva Vallarta location was better We attended the show only at the cirque du Soleil and opted to eat twice at the restaurant located outside because the food and the live band were good. We were able to enjoy the balcony this time since we were on the third floor.
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Date of stay: February 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Honestly - there are much better hotels in Cancun. This one is overpriced, pools were dirty, beach wasn’t good at all overall it’s way way too big. But my main complaint is the dang timeshare scam of it all.
The worst of the worst of the worst timeshare you could possibly imagine. RUN!!!! You’re basically spending thousands of dollars for access to something Expedia could give you for free. There are no deals and discounts. The hotels they offer are just really really terrible or they tack on extra fees. The cheap weeks have horrible options for hotels (a weird amount of them are in China??) without access at all to most states and lots of countries. It’s just a joke. The cruise credits they’ll incentivize you with are “free” but you have to pay a $1500 “certificate redemption fee” which is so sleezy and misleading. The free stays they’ll pressure you to upgrade and spend an arm and a leg to do it. When you refuse all of it and ask how to cancel, they’ll either A)put you on hold indefinitely so you can’t get through to talk to someone B) sound understanding and tell you to just stop paying the bank your Loan (horrible, dangerous advice) C) Try and ignore all your concerns and get you to book your “free” week or D) ignore you and all of your follow ups going forward. It’s horrible. It’s sleezy. It’s dishonest. The hotel isn’t even that nice and everything they say in the meeting is misleading. I could not have worse things to say. And I actually have parents and friends with timeshares that ARE good and helpful so I’m not a total timeshare hater. But this my friends… this is a flat out scam.
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Date of stay: December 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked our stay at The Grand Bliss Riviera Maya through our time share and it was a wonderful vacation.
The one bedroom with plunge pool is amazing. Very spacious, accommodating and comfortable. We were on the 3rd floor in a corner room so it was very quiet and private.
Getting around is a bit of a hassle, lots of walking, which we didn’t mind as we are a young couple who didn’t have our young children with us, but something to keep in mind if you are older, disabled or have young children. There are golf carts aka “shuttles” to drive you to your destination on the resort. The place is massive but absolutely gorgeous, lush jungles, quintessential Mexican decor and everyone is exceptionally friendly.
Our favorite meals were Havana Moon (try the chicken lo mein), Quinto Restaurant (we celebrated our anniversary dinner here and it was exceptional. One of the best steaks I’ve ever had, the ambiance is gorgeous and our server Juan went above and beyond in making our dinner truly memorable) Many pools to choose from and a lovely beach with plenty of chairs and palapas. Not quite swimmable due to the coral but lovely nonetheless.
We had a beautiful stay here and will definitely return!
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Have you ever felt like you were being taken advantage of or being scammed in the moment? That was the reoccurring feeling we had within minutes of arrival at Vidanta, and all the way through until check out.
The perfect analogy to summarize Vidanta would be their stunning white sandy beach. It is gorgeous at first glance, but is riddled with razor sharp rocks and shallow corals just beneath the surface. Like their rocky beach, you realize quickly that this seemingly gorgeous resort is operated like sharks. From an ethically compromised sales team to the overall amenities, we have been burned on ever coming back to a Vidanta property.
We got roped in to sitting in on their timeshare pitch at some point during the 3 hour check in process. We were promised a $425 refund of the shockingly steep $700 resort fee (NOTE: get everything in writing, or record the pitch). At check out, we came to find out what he “meant” to say is we would get 20% back in room charges, up to $425 if we attended the timeshare pitch. These are two very different statements, and our concierge Victor attempted to gaslight us when we called him out on that massive discrepancy. We had only attended because he made it clear that the $425 was worth attending the “one hour” sales pitch, which we did. There we were assigned Nacho and Julia as our sales reps. I am embarrassed to admit that we bought in to the sales pitch. We put a deposit down on their timeshare. The old adage, “over promise and under deliver” would perfectly summarize their approach. Like our concierge, they promised us the moon. But when we fact checked their promises against data online, we found nearly all of their statements to be extremely misleading or outright false. It took an entire day out of our vacation to undo the mess and work with the finance team to refund the deposit. The finance team kept putting their face in their palms every time we told them something else about what sales had promised.
In spite of the sales team, the grounds themselves are quite impressive. Set in the Mayan Riviera jungle, it feels like an attraction out of Disneyworld, down to their Disney-esque trams. The sprawling property means it takes an eternity to go anywhere in the resort. Long story short: if you are happy never leaving your resort, love the ultra curated, cellophane wrapped touristy package, and questionable business practices don’t bother you, then this is the resort for you. If you want to get out, explore, experience the real riviera, and ethical business practices are important, then this is the last place you want to stay. The only regret we have from our vacation is that we stayed here.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was our 6th visit to Vidanta, and it continues to amazing me how much has changed since our first visit in 2005. We have never had a bad time here, and our latest visit in January 2023 was no exception. We were in the Grand Mayan this time, and it was lovely. Yes, rooms can be far from the action depending where you are staying on the resort, but this is not an issue when there is guest transportation at the ready every 5 minutes. The only time we waited longer was when we stayed up later and shuttles had slowed down, but there was always a friendly staff member there to take us to our building. The pool is fabulous as usual, and for the first time ever, we even did a full beach day. The tractors were near constant which wasn't ideal, but you forget about them after ten minutes, and honestly it's necessary, or the buildup of seaweed would not be manageable for them. The restaurants on site were excellent. We went to Tramonto, Havana Moon, and several times we walked over to Salum 3 times because that vibe is just amazing. We only discovered this on our 2020 visit, and it was the last night so we could not take advantage, so we sure did this time. Amazing food, and so nice to walk over even just for a drink. Highly recommend! The little market up there is so pretty, and we would always walk back through the boardwalks, it's just magical.
Highly recommend Vidanta for a week in Paradise!
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Date of stay: January 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The wife and I did quite a bit of reading prior to our Vidanta vacation. We spent the week at the Myan Palace there Friday to friday and had a very awesome time walking the board walks and just hanging out. we were quite aware from many of the prior reviews food and drinks could be expensive but found the portions nice and the tip included.(which made keeping cash unnecessary) there was the option to get small items at the store but they were expensive also. based upon our prior research we took what we wanted along with us. The staff was excellent and we got in and out with ease. the young lady checking out did advise us of the donation, and room water charges and promptly removed them from our bill upon request. we were talked to about going on the sells breakfast, but upon advising the young man I was tired and uninterested in holding a deep conversation. he respected it and we left. Yes we did see a few folks slip and almost fall but not sure how to resolve that. We will go back and know what to expect next time.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina36 contributions15 helpful votes
We have always used water out of the tap and from the pitcher in the restaurants. However the best deal in the resort are the large bottles of water housekeeping will put in your room. We asked for 10 bottles! for other nervous family members and the cost was only 25 pesos a bottle ($1.20/bottle). I would recommend that, and ask housekeeping to keep you stocked up. They will only charge for what you open.
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina36 contributions15 helpful votes
We expected to see a lot of sargassum in the water so it was not a surprise. However, whatever seaweed made it onto the beach was cleaned up throughout the day by hand and mechanized vehicles. Because of this, the black itself was very clean. There was some sargassum floating in the water, heavier in some places than others, but honestly it wasn’t bad. It was nowhere near as bad as in previous years. We always go snorkeling off the beach as there is a lot of fish around the pier pilings and artificial honeycomb reef. We had no problem getting out to deep water from the beach without having to swim through any seaweed. To be honest, we like to sit on the beach to see the ocean but most of our time in the water is always in the swimming pools.
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