ok, so you can't beat the location, but that is the only thing going for this place! Our room was so hurricane affected it should never have been allowed to be hired out. Our fridge was totally rusted out and sounded like a small plane taking off, our airconditioner was hanging out of the wall and was so loud we couldn't even yell over it, our fan was so rusted and barely spun, our bathroom had a makeshift door and had lost bricks/plaster around the window so wind just tore thru there, plus it was open to the next room's bathroom so we could hear everything going on in there, the bath/shower always felt grotty, the lifts never worked so we always had to climb 5 flights of stairs, we didn't have a curtain so the sun belted through each morning baking us...eventually had to put my bed cover up as a curtain. Wouldn't stay there again if you paid me!!

We stayed at the Palma 11th thru 18th 0f march and the only good thing about this place was the location. I was told this was a condo and that couldnt be farther from the truth, the room was very small, had 2 beds that were hard as a rock, the air conditioner was sooooo loud that you couldnt hear the tv with the volume all the way up. We were on the 6th floor and had water comming up from under the beds, but it was only occassionally so they thought that was no problem. Having said that we were on the 6th floor, the elevators rarely worked and had to use the stairs several times. We had a maid show up on the second day there and never seen her again. The staff is useless, i had an emergency that i had to call to the states for and and they wouldnt help at all with any instructions on how to call back here, NEVER use ANY phone in the hotel $80.00 for first 5 minutes. Everything is a scam and a rip off there.

Stayed at Carisa with family in February 2004. We booked 2 rooms for me, my husband and 4 children (11, 10, 7, 4) and my mother (7 in total).

On arrival we were slightly dismayed at the appearance compared to the other luxury 5 star resorts we passed on the way from the airport. However we were not expecting that standard as rates for this hotel for two weeks were brilliant. We wanted self catering (rather than AI) so that we could make use of all the superb restaurants in the resort. We were on the 1st floor and had one whole corner of the block to ourselves overlooking the beach. It was like having a massive beachside apartment and the kids could run between rooms all the time as we left the doors open when we were in.

The amenities of the complex are basic, swimming pool, quiet restaurant, reception and small supermarket. I think this accommodation is about the closest you are going to get to literally being 'on the beach', it was superb. The lift brought you straight down virtually on to the sand. The hotel waiter was really friendly and brought us drinks and cocktails and snacks on the sand all day every day and the drinks were very cheap, but we did not use the restaurant.

The Carisa has an amazing location if you want to be close to all the highlights of Cancun. Next store is a shopping mall (quite expensive designer labels)where the Hard Rock, Rainforest Cafe, Coco Bongo's Daddy O's are located, Senor Frogs across the road, and too many others to mention, including fast food restaurants, supermarkets and markets. It was like living above Piccadilly Circus.

As regards the standard of accommodation, I would emphasise that this is not 5 star, probably 2 or 3 star, but room amenities are perfectly adequate. The hotel staff are actually very hard to find but they do take your requests on board even if you have to remind them a 2nd time. For us it was actually better than being in a hotel as we appreciated having lots of space, privacy, views and close proximity to everything. We could actually watch the children and chat to them playing on the beach from our balcony.

One tip is to ensure that you get a beachside room and NOT a roadside room as they are 'very very very noisy' at night time when music is playing till 6 am. The noise cannot be heard at all if you are beachside.

I would recommend this accommodation to anyone who is not seeking all the amenities of a hotel and just wants apartment style accommodation. In fact I would advise against going 'all inclusive' in Cancun, as we watched people queueing for dinner & breakfast everyday in the hotels. These people missed out on some of the best restaurants and dinner shows I have ever been to and the prices even at the finest of places were fantastic. The children were welcomed everywhere and they absolutely loved every minute. Look forward to going back to Carisa.

I left a credit card in my room. I didn't realize it was missing until I returned home. Someone charged a night at a very nice hotel on my credit card. Fortunately that was the only thing they charged. We didn't experience any other problems. It has a good location, but it needs MAJOR interior and exterior work.