Just got back this week. My boyfriend and I had an overall great time. We were a little nervous from reading some reviews. We read that rooms to the right of check in were better than the left, so we were right away trying to ask about it (some problems understanding English). Without us having to ask, they gave us room at the Grand Oasis which is next door. They are practically connected. This was a lagoon view with a balcony room, shower/large tub, very nice and clean! It did not smell funny, nor did the sound of the lagoon side bother us at all. We had the same girl, Silvia, clean our room. She was very nice and did a great job, nothing was ever missing. The buffets were delicious! The one closest to the beach is a little better. The seafood restaurant was very good if you like fish, the Asian restaurant was alright. The help was very nice. The beach was clean enough for us, filled with the right amount of people. The pool has activities if you like that and it's long enough to swim laps. The workout room was good and here is a tip, if you run, don't do it in the morning...too hot, wait until just before the sun goes down. We ran in the mornings but I noticed more local looking people running later. Make an appointment with the photo people and have them take your pictures, they turned out amazing and worth the money. The best combination was the room at the Grand, and being able to use the facilities at the Palm. I would go back again as a couple or with kids. If you want an adult only resort, this would not be the place. However, they had enough fun for adults here too.

We just returned from our holiday yesterday. I was terrified after reading the reviews of this resort, and must say that, overall, I was quite happy. We are a family of 5, with 3 boys ages 10, 8 and 5. My mother also came with us and booked a seperate room.
We arrived early in the morning and was advised by the front desk that the rooms would not be ready until 3:00pm. That was understandable. At 2:45pm we went to the front desk to see if there was any chance that they would be ready early. No, such luck. At this point we tried to ask for adjoining rooms (which apparently do not exist) or rooms directly across from each other. The girl at the desk didn't understand what we were saying so she got the manager. We asked the manager for rooms directly across from each other and he stared back at us like he didn't know what we were saying. My mother spoke slower and tried to mime what she meant to which the manger snapped: "I understand english perfectly." We apologized and said that his facial expression didn't seem to register understanding. In short, the front desk staff were rude and do not have a good command of the english language. We got to our rooms, which were across from each other but down 2. Well, after being awake for over 24hrs I wasn't impressed. The window does not open. There is no balcony. Very small bathroom/sink area, but all in all - we were only in our room to sleep. Rooms were extremely clean. Beds were comfortable. Our airconditioning wasn't up to par, but we didn't feel like trying to argue with the front desk yet again.
The more time we spent there, the more we enjoyed the resort. The main buffet we quite enjoyed - there was something there for all of us. The beach, though small, was very clean and the swimming was great for the little ones. The Oasis Cancun - the rich side next door - has seaweed all in front of their hotel, so of course they come down to "our beach". We were always able to find a lounge and there was plenty of shade if you wanted it. Ocean was calm and the water was knee deep as far as you were allowed to go.
The Kids Club was awesome. The girls that work in the kids club were just fabulous. All my boys loved them. The kid pool and waterslide is contained within the kids club. Parents are not allowed to stay in the kids club area any longer than 15 minutes. There were activities planned for every hour, including swimming, crafts, treasure hunts and more. The club closed from 5pm - 630pm and then re-opened - showing a movie, and then serving dinner (the kids club has their own little restuarant) at 8 and a kids disco at 9-10:00. All my boys loved it.
There wasn't a lot for my husband, myself and my mother to do while we waited for the fun at the kids club to end. There are a couple of bars, which are nice, but there is no music or entertainment of any kind. We went to the disco one night - and it was a typical resort disco - pretty sad.
After spending the week the incident when we first checked in was forgotten and we had a great opinion of the resort. Then check out happened. They do charge $4 US per day for the safe key/lock. Make sure you take american money. We tried to pay in pesos, and the clerk came up with some weird math and wanted 350 pesos. My husband wanted to pay in Canadian dollars and she told us it would be $39. We asked how she was doing the exchange as the exchange board behind her head showed that the rate was 1.20 pesos per cdn dollar. 1.40 pesos per american dollar. She told us that that rate was not the rate they use when charging for the lock that it is a different system. Its a rip off system is what is is. Make sure you take the american money for the lock otherwise you're screwed.
The only other really negative thing I can say, again has to do with customer service and the front desk. My 8 yr old son had been playing in the kids club the entire day. We were leaving the next morning. When I went to pick him up at 5:00 he noticed that his all inclusive bracelet was missing. All the girls stopped what they were doing and we all looked for it. We couldn't find it anywhere. We went to the front desk to tell them and they wanted to charge us $100 US dollars for the bracelet. We tried to explain that it came off in the kids club and that it was there somewhere - they didn't want to hear it. We then pointed out that kids stay and eat free, so what the heck is the point anyways. They didn't care. We went back to look again, still couldn't find it and assumed it got sucked into the pool filter. Finally the manager, a woman this time, who could speak and understand english, just asked my son to write out a little note explaining what happened. We did not pay the money.
With the exception of the front desk- all the staff was accomodating, friendly and professional. The resort was extremely clean. There was plenty of choices for food, from restaurants, to sushi (which was great!), snack bars , ice cream carts. Bartenders were great, even to my little guys who were up there all the time.
Bear in mind this is a 3 star resort. The front desk staff is absolutely the worst I have ever encountered. That, coupled with the fact that the windows didn't open and there was no balcony = I will not return to this hotel again.

room:
great! roomy, clean, amazing view.

beach:
awful! too shallow, very small, rough sand, polluted, crowded.

(beach at sister hotel was amazing.. beautiful blue, big waves, spacious. but only had access to it until 4pm)

food:
ok at first. pretty bad after a couple of days when you are eating the same things over and over, all of the restaurants served very similar foods. both of us got very sick one of the days. And after 10 there is no food served.

drinks were very watered down.

service:
everybody at the hotel was friendly, they were constantly trying to sell you adventure packages and party packages. The friendliness wore off fast when you realize it was mostly a method of getting tips and selling packages. Cancun in general was full of people selling adventure packages everywhere you went. No real complaints about the service though, I guess you can expect that in Mexico.

cancun:
cancun was very commercialized, always busy, a great place to go if you like clubbing. if you are an older couple or just a couple that wants more of a secluded romantic getaway, stay away from cancun and opt for tulum or cozumel. the weather was fantastic the entire time. and get ready to spend a lot more than the all inclusive deal, if you plan on doing any activities. $$$

we would never go to this hotel again, but we also probably would never go to cancun again.

We should have known better, going for the lowest price all inclusive would come with issues.
As we arrived at the hotel, it was announced to us that the hotel does not rent rooms for 5. Fortunately (we thought) we booked through Apple and they would take care of us. The Apple representative was not available until 7PM that night, so we bargained with the front desk and were able to get a room for an additional $120 (cash)
After many conversations (even with the hotel manager), I did get my money back, but I spend at least 5 hours on it. Apple was of no help, as the representative (who had specific visiting hours) was never there.
We did not feel that the restaurants were very good, but at least the buffets were good. Most of the waiters were really good. Drinks were weak until you would present tips (so make sure you tip before you order).
The rooms were very clean, staff was nice.
The worst, Montezuma revenge came to visit 4 out of 5 and we spend several days in bed. This seemed to be a problem with a lot of guests, so we are thinking that it was the food at the resort (we did not eat anywhere else).
Still, it was a vacation ,but not what we hoped for.