I delayed this review in hope's the hotel would show some responsibility and acknowledge the very dangerous walkways and stairs when wet. I stayed here in October i must say the employee's were fabulous but management of this company has severely dropped the ball. When it rains at all this place becomes very slippery on its walkways and steps i personally took a really bad fall due to a poor walkway that i did send pics of to the hotel and a reply to a crash expert that told me these are very dangerous conditions and the hotel ignored. What they did was send me what looked like a mass email and inserted my name (noticed this cause of the gap before and after my name) denying any responsibility. The people were great the food was average and totally do not recommend any older people that cannot suffer a fall like i did with no help from management.I was very disappointed with their handling of this issue and witnessed other people falling in the front entrance of the building even when we were departing. Many resorts in this area recommend staying clear of this one. Blaine from Canada

We did not know fully what to expect having read mixed reviews but as always here are the pros and some cons.

Pros. The staff was really over the top: ready to help, friendly, and very willing to serve. We were checked in as soon as possible (with champagne in the lobby -oooh). We went to 4 of the 7 al a carte restaurants. Cajun-good but not spectacular. steakhouse-not bad steaks, but not great or even good steaks, but I guess good for mexico. The brazilian-amazing, they served 7 kinds of meat, (steak, pork, tenderloin, 2 types of sausage and chicken). All slow rotisserie cooked, it was amazing, a must book, you only get 3 vouchers for restaurants, but you can always pop by early (right at 6) and ask the maitre'd if he has room (often yes). Japenese, also amazing, ok sushi, and he cooks the food right in front of you, throws the salt and pepper around, but it always seem cooler then you do at home ( ha), and definately order the fried banana dessert, not the carmelized pinnaple, which really sucked!

The drinks were good quality. The lobby bar has the best alcohol, some brand name stuff (glennfiddich12, beefeater, smirnoff...), the others have the typical no name $7 dollar crap bottles, but whatever, it's free right? The lazy river is a nice diversion, and is a fun thing to do when it's hot. There is a bit of walking because it's a medium sized resort, so expect that, but again, your on vacation, and you probably eat too much like we did, so you will probably need to walk more that you want to anyway. We got to the beach around 10 everyday, and didn't find it hard to find chairs, but if you want shade around some of those huts (whatever they are called) then plan to reserve them around 6 or 7am! General buffet food was varied and ok, about a 6 out of 10, definately better that a lot of other resorts, but book the al a cartes, WORTH IT!

Cons-we went to two of the evening shows which were terribly coereographed (but its mexico, I know) but a few singers had nice voices, so maybe go to a show or two, just to say you did something. Some of the bedding was badly used and a little stained. and the room was not thoughoughly cleaned, some dust in spots, but not ridiculous, (i mean how clean our our homes really?) Also the beach is a little small, and when you go to walk in the water, the first 10 feet is really rough. So if you like to walk down 5 miles of beach this is not the spot. If you just like to sit and drink on the beach, then you wont mind. we didn't mind, it's not overly small, it's just not massive.

Some people came late from night clubs around 2 or even 4 am most nights. And the made one heck of noise. So bring ear plugs or ask to get rooms where there is little or no traffic. This was probable our biggest complaint.

we did the snorkeling trip to akumal beach to swim with the sea turtle ($40) from the dive shop, well worth it, and yes we did see turtles and other things. If you want to save a little money you can walk to the road, get a collectivo bus for a couple bucks each way, take it to akumal beach and swim out the where the boats drop you off (about 200ft out). It's very do able. We would do that next time seeing how easy it is. But the boat thing was fine and easy too. About a 2 hour round trip, 1 hour in water.

We also did the "aqua tour' and massage in the spa. Also worth it. The aqua circuit is going to about 4 different pools which all have water blasted at you from different directions focusing on different areas of the body. I would break it up next time, do the aqua tour one day. And the massage another, but just my preference.

Overall I would return to this resort and rate it about a 8.5 out of 10. You will not be dissappointed, and whether you are a family with kids or a small or big group, you will be treated awesome.

Visited January 23-28 with dh and our two boys: 12 and 6. Rooms are very spacious, but many things in the bathroom needed repair--tub faucet, shampoo dispenser, tissue dispenser, etc. Water pressure was also a little lacking, making some of the water features in the shower pretty much useless. Annoying, but not deal-breakers.

The Japanese restaurant was fantastic. We also went to the steakhouse and cajun restaurants (the last two are the largest of the restaurants and we had to settle for them and only got reservations at the Japanese restaurants by practically begging. Even though we booked the restaurants right after we checked in, the good ones had already filled up.) The steakhouse was decent, but I would go to the buffet before going to the cajun restaurant again. Buffet food was very good--lots of options.

Bartenders at every bar were fast and efficient. Very friendly.

We never got much information about how to sign up for the kids club activities, so we never ended up using that service.

Beach is great, but very rocky, so be sure to bring your water shoes. However, this also means that you will have a great opportunity seeing lots of fish in and around all of the little pools in the beach area. My six year old is not ready for full-blown snorkeling, but was able to see lots and lots of fish just a few feet in.

We had a great time!

Can anyone tell me where the Mirage Rooms are located? Thank you.