Live Aqua Cancun

Quick Overview: AMBIANCE - Phenomenal. The grounds are pristine, the hotel is gorgeous and the pool is quite possibly one of the most impressive setups I've ever seen. Feels like you stepped into a postcard. Hotel has gentle aromatherapy everywhere which is a nice touch (not overpowering at all). Beach is great too but waves can be powerful so only swim when lifeguard on duty and pay attention to flags!! FOOD - While the breakfast and lunch buffet were rather basic, they do have everything you'd need to meet your dietary needs (highlights: smoothie bar and made to order omelettes). I HIGHLY recommend doing lunch at Azur and dinners are fantastic everywhere with MB being absolute top shelf (service at Azur is unparalleled and worthy of 5 diamond rating). ROOMS - Clean, comfortable and provide everything you need. Turn down service nightly with special "surprises" (rose petals, towel animals, zen garden kit, etc). Also, aromatherapy offered in every room with turn down. Room service is also included in all inclusive package. SERVICE - the service is absolutely impeccable. Every single staff person acknowledged my presence with a smile and made sure to cater to my every need. I never waited more than 5 minutes for a drink or someone asking if I needed anything. Ritz Carlton level experience for a quarter of the price. Highlights/Tips: 1) Make sure to visit "Sea Corner" - it's part of the hotel but behind the swim up bar so few people know about it. Wow are their food options amazing! Recommend the fish tacos and Caribbean ceviche. Unparalleled ocean front seating in a casual dining atmosphere. 2) Be sure to enjoy some PAELLA served fresh daily at 1pm by the pool (served from a small hut by the main pool, look for signs or ask staff!! Best I've ever had...calamari, chicken, shrimp, muscles, clams, orzo cooked to perfection w/lime and hot sauce. WOW!!! 3) Michelada cart - enjoy a traditional Mexican drink made poolside for you! Mexican beer of your choice w/lime juice, clamato juice (optional) chili spices and real tamarindo lollipop candy!!! They also come around with shaved ice ("raspados") every other day and sometimes, pizza samples from the kitchen! 4) Azur -Casual ocean front dining. Menu changes daily so be sure to inquire with the manager about the week's schedule and be sure to check the live music nights. Alfredo was an amazing waiter!! I also recommend having lunch at Azur daily - avoid the buffet as its nothing special. Note: You can order Azur food to be eaten by the pool lounge (ask pool bar staff for Azur menu) 5) MB restaurant - Fine dining at hits best! Make sure to have the tenderloin - quite possibly the best filet I've ever had and cooked to absolute perfection. Carlos is one of the best waiter's I have ever had the pleasure of being served by. Caution: if you sit outside, use bug spray (Woods Off) as there may be some mosquitos by the waterfall. Indoor seating is gorgeous atmosphere - great for a special night/occasion. 6) Although I'm not a fan of it, they do have a hambruger/hot dog cart poolside daily for those wanting a quick snack. 7) Drinks are fantastic quality - not watered down and not too sweet. If you want something with kick, just ask the bartender for some more liquor and they gladly up the octane!! For someone who is very anti-sweets, I could drink their pina coladas all day long. Margaritas on the rocks were fantastic. 8) GYM is awesome!! High tech, clean and modern with a great view! 9) Coffee corner - best little coffee corner ever!! Amazing pastries - try the sugared donuts, carrot cake or chocolate chip almond torte squares. I had espresso 5 times a day here. CARLOS makes the BEST cappucinos and macchiatos!! 10) They have varied events on site like Casino Night, a magic show and even trips to Coco Bongo or Beach Bar and other local hot spots. Inquire at the front desk! 11) Be sure to inquire about the baby tortoise release nightly! Watch baby tortoises hatch in the morning (hundreds of eggs!!) and then be allowed to personally release the baby tortoises into the ocean so they can return to the reef. Amazing experience! 12) Keep an eye out for house parrots! There are three of them and you can take photos with them at select times of the day. 13) Day beds by the pool are free but cabanas are $80 for non-suite guests. Personally, I recommend getting a pair of umbrella covered lounge chairs by the pool and you can use the day beds (uncovered) for free. Some cons: Sushi bar has limited menu and should be considered more of a hold me over snack, not a dinner option. Think california roll (no fancy stuff). Bar outside Siete has top shelf liquor, just ask for it by name - Martell, Patron, etc. (all free/included) Don't bother paying for dinner on the beach ($220). Go to Sea Corner in late afternoon or just eat on the deck at Azur and use the money for massages instead. Dinner on the beach isn't really on the beach...its more like in a cabana by the pool overlooking the beach. Don't pay the $60 for lobster upgrade a L'Ink Tecche. Its an all inclusive resort - eat for free!! Too much to enjoy to pay $60 for a lobster tail. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT TIP - PLEASE BE SURE TO TIP THE STAFF. These people work their butts off and provide service that far surpasses anything you will experience in the states. If you have the money to go on vacation, please don't be cheap to the staff. Even though it's all inclusive, you will see how these people go above and beyond.

We just returned from our vacation to Live Aqua in Cancun and had a great time during our four night stay. I will keep this review short by highlighting the pros/cons of our stay. Pros: 1. EXCELLENT Service - All staff were extremely professional, with great attitudes and were genuinely friendly. 2. Great location - Located across from a mall and had a bus stop at a walking distance (in front of adjacent hotel). 4. Beaches were amazing and the resort had lifeguards watching the beach/swimmers. No rocks. 5. Room was very clean, but a bit on the small side. Nonetheless, the room we stayed in had the best view of the beach! Room was 9010. **Will add a note about this below** 6. Room service, breakfast, and deli/sweets place were all very good! Cons: 1. Food needs some tweaking. The MB (high-end restaurant that is a part of the all-inclusive) was disapointing. I tried it two nights in a row and made sure to order different items. Some of the food wasn't seasoned well (salmon tartar) and some of the food wasn't cooked properly (pasta). The steak was ok. As for the Azure Restaurant, we ate at their buffet for lunch and it was not good. Poolside/ceviche bar is hit or miss and the Siete Restaurant was the best breakfast/dinner option. 2. Reserving chairs at the pool/beach - Seats were taken very early every morning (prior to 8am) by other guests. I realize that this is not policed by the resort and it's on a first-come, first-serve basis. It was annoying to see seats taken all day long by t-shirts instead of people. 3. Resort only takes pesos at their two gift shops. Speacial Notes: 1. Tips - Although tips are not necessary, I would suggest handing them out. These workers work so hard and do a fantastic job. 2. We reserved a "Deluxe Ocean View" suite. When we arrived, we were told that our room was on the same floor as the check-in (2nd or 3rd of resort) and our "ocean view" was looking at the trees in the resort and a smidge of the actual ocean. We were peturbed by this and upgraded for a fee and were given a room with a spectacular view. The view to us was worth it, but it's something to consider when booking your room.

If you're like me, you do research and online stalking until there are no rocks left to turn over. With family members that have different schedules and interests, its very stressful attempting to find the perfect vacation where they'll all be happy. Search no more, book Live Aqua. If you assume that perfection doen't really exist, this facility and staff are as close as you will ever get. First, book through Cheap Caribbean. This was my first time but I'll use them over and over again. Once I'd made the decision and booked the trip, they called the next day to go over all my plans and answer questions I had about Mexico and Live Aqua. Very polite, very knowledgable. They sent follow up emails before the trip, making sure I had all documents and anything else needed to travel. About Live Aqua: You see all the positive reviews, believe them. Drop out the negative reviews, some people just seem to manage to be miserable in paradise. From the moment you arrive and walk into the aroma therapy filled lobby, you are transported to a different world. Its a world where the people are the most genuinely friendly and helpful people you will ever meet on vacation. I simply cannot say enough about the ENTIRE STAFF at this hotel. Thank you all so much for surpassing our every wish. The room was very nicely appointed. Go for the ocean view upgrade, its not that much more than a Garden View room and has a triangular balcony that has a great view of the Caribbean Sea. The small touches that they pay attention to make it extra special. There's even aroma therapy in the room (if you want it) Room service is included in the all-inclusive plan 24 hrs per day. Make reservations for the Hidden Garden when you get to the hotel. All drinking water is filtered and there are bottles of water in the room for brushing your teeth. No one in my party had any stomach issues. They clean your room in the am and do a turn down service in the evening. There are plenty of english speaking stations on the TV but that's just to fall asleep to, after your hard day of tanning and swimming and eating and drinking! There are plenty of lounges at the numerous pools and on the beach. Get out at 7am and get some towels if you want lounges with a direct pool and Sea view, its worth it. Food and drink service is everywhere. You can go get it or it comes to you. The pool service people are always around, helpful, not bothersome. Most of the time its, "Hey, what is that drink called?" when you see them walking by with some brightly colored concoction. Try the Mango Tango, Riviera Maya and Mudslides. Walk around, there are little spots all over like Sea Corner on the north side past the swim up pool and a really cute beach bar with grass roof and actual swings for seats. The beach and water are clean and beautiful. Live aqua has a nice wide stretch of sand and while walking up and down the beach, I was never concerned about safety. I traveled with my wife and 25 & 27 yr old daughters and never felt worried. We never felt crowded or had to wait for anything. The food ranged from excellent to very good. Try every restaurant. In the middle of the day they bring out an enormus pan of Fajitas or paella poolside. There's even a hotdog/hamburger stand poolside, as well as casual and dressy restaurants and bars. We took an impromptu Ceviche making class by the pool. Everything was fresh, clean and tasty. There is also a really big and fairly new (somewhat Americanized) mall, La Isla, right accross the street from the hotel. Good for an afternoon excursion when you've had enough of basking in the sun and playing in the pools. Most everywhere you go takes American dollars. Take singles with you. I guarantee that you will WANT to tip these wonderful folks. Yes, they work for money, so do you. But there is a difference here that you can see in their eyes and their smiles that they are genuinely happy that you have chosen Live Aqua. When I returned home, I received an email asking me how my trip was which I responded to favorably. I was somewhat surprised to get a personalized email back in direct response to the things I commented on! Who does that anymore? Live Aqua does. I cannot wait to return here. It was simply the best beach vacation I've experienced. ps. Even if you only know 5 words of Spanish, use them. Its fun and it gets a big smile from the people that work there.

For the price, I expected amazing and it wasnt. The grounds were lovely. The hotel itself was not as nice. still nice. It was nearly full so we werent able to upgrade to a suite... I think they may have been more of a 5 star experience. There is a large mall right across the street so that was nice. Also about a mile walk along the beach there are ruins that some hotel has been built around. Its a nice walk and interesting to see. (if you are facing the ocean its to the left) I did a lot of research before booking this trip and had heard many people saying that the service was wonderful and people went out of their way to make sure they had a good time. (Remembered their drink orders etc...) That wasnt the case here. They were very nice, always said hello, but no one bothered to go out of their way once for us. Again no one was rude, but it wasnt more than I had at the Rui 4 star (the food is defo better here though!) The front drive up was not impressive, the hall leading to the room had chipping paint all over...(photo attached) my bathroom smelt like urine even after cleanings...(no photo for that lol)They offered 'aromas' but they didnt work for the bathroom. I travel a lot and I expected more from a 5 star place... Major issue with the WIFI. Unfortunately my husband and I both HAD to get some work done a couple of days... Lots of people had no signal in their rooms and its very shotty even in the lobby. After hours of arguing and tears they put the router for my floor (M) in my room so I did get wifi.The manager was a 'yes man' but got nothing done to help...always passing the buck, it was one of the female assistants that finally did on the 2nd day... but we still lost hours of time arguing and didnt even get a real apology. Food was terrific. Lots of variety. Some people were complaining that it was waiter dependent. We always tip and got very good choices and service in the restaurants. My only complaint with it, I am not sure if its the culture or the place, it was all luke warm and we are hot food people. Plenty of alcohol and nice brands as well. Pretty beach side swing bar... and a swim up bar that was under used (photo as well attached).It was heated which is a bonus! Pools were clean and large but there was no entertainment there A bit of piped in music but too quiet to hear from most spots. I would have expected some live music maybe...(also be sure to get your towels out and stake out your chair BY 730 or you wont have one all day!!!) they did have a man bring out his 3 red parrots daily for about an hour... and I think there was Bingo offered... there are 2 'shows' a week but after seeing the first one we opted out of the second! Nothing to do in the evenings until 1030 when they had a DJ... We did yoga one day at 9 which was nice. My husband and I are going back in Feb but will not be staying here. In my opinion, its just not worth the money and there are gobs of other choices to be had in Cancun.