Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya, by Karisma - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1673 reviews

• 

  Wonderful experience, fantastic butlers

  This was our second time staying at this property and our third at a Margaritaville. We chose this property again because of the adults only aspect, even though their beach was destroyed during a hurricane. Our first visit here last year (2024) was good and obviously good enough for us to return. The trip this year (2025) was exceptional! The best part of the experience were our butlers Isaac and Mariel. They both went above and beyond to make our stay as memorable and free of stress as possible. Before we arrived, they had already booked restaurant reservations in a thoughtful way and at our preferred dining time for us without us needing to request it. They surprised us with decorations and a bubble bath to celebrate my fiancé's birthday. Isaac even made a run to the pharmacy for us when we asked where the nearest one was and arranged for panna cotta from Frank & Lola's to be delivered to our room on our last night there because we loved it so much. We purchased a day pass to visit the other Margaritaville since it has a beach, but had an awful experience immediately after we got there. Isaac still helped us address the issues even though it was at the other property. My daughter and her girlfriend are going to the property a week after we leave and even though they don't qualify for butler service, Isaac and Mariel offered to "adopt" them. I can't praise them enough! In addition to Isaac and Mariel, we also received exceptional service from Charly (our pool butler) and Idania (our poolside server). Both ensured we were always comfortable and had a drink in hand, whether alcoholic or water to rehydrate in between. Idania also started recommending amazing cocktails since we got stuck on mango margaritas. She brought us passionfruit margaritas, classic palomas, pineapple palomas, and cranberry palomas. They were all amazing! The food was delicious in all of the restaurants, especially the fish tacos at both License to Chill and Landshark. There wasn't anything we ordered that we didn't enjoy, though we did enjoy some more than others. The shows at the Boathouse during the Mexican Fiesta and Caribbean nights can get really uncomfortably loud, so bring some earplugs or ask to sit further away if you're sensitive to loud music. They were fun to watch, but we couldn't stay the entire duration because of how loud it was. The other service that we discovered during this trip is that the front desk can make change for you in USD or convert to pesos if you need more cash/small bills for gratuity. We really can't recommend this property enough. The only downside was the lack of a beach, but that's not something they can help. We will definitely be back!

  Sep 16, 2025
• 

  Wonderful relaxing hotel

  We stayed at Margaritaville Island Reserve, Riviera Maya for 11 nights, this is an adults only resort. We read lots of times people saying there isn’t a beach, there isn’t one but if you do your research before you book you would know this. Also saw lots of comments about the road leading up to the hotel. A section of the road is really bad, lots of pot holes and it appears just to be compacted hard core. Be prepared to be rocked about but you are only in it for a couple of minutes. An Uber driver told us four hotels had been built off of the road and that there aren’t any plans/budget to put in a proper road until around 2030. Check in was quick and easy, it took us less than 10 minutes. Rooms - We had two rooms one on the ground floor, the other on the second floor. Both rooms were beautiful and spacious. Our room looked out over the swimming pool and the sea. The ground floor room supposedly looked out over a garden but you couldn’t see past the plants, which wasn’t an issue. Rooms were cleaned every day, most days ours was cleaned by 11 am. There’s a button by the door that you press (green light) to let house keeping know you want your room made up. If you need anything extra you can arrange it either by using the hotel app or via the TV in your room. The mini bar in your room is only stocked with water, which is replenished every day. If you want beer, soft drinks or snacks, you get these from Joe Merchants. The hotel operates a points system that you use to pay for your drinks and snacks. Between our two rooms we had over 51k points allocated and by the time we left we still had around 25k. Trust me we got stuff every day. You are told from the outset if you don’t use the points, you’ll lose them. We heard some people moaning about the points system but it worked well for us. Food - the boathouse was open every day for breakfast which was buffet style. Good choice of food but it’s the first hotel we’ve stayed in that you had to ask for bacon, it was easy enough to ask for it. Outside of breakfast it only opened three evenings a week for themed nights. If you didn’t get there early, it was difficult to get a table. We would get there for around the time the show finished and waited for a few minutes to be seated. Lunch time you can get food at Licensed to chill, food was freshly cooked not a massive menu but more than enough choice. Landshark was open from lunchtime to into the evening. Again, the food was freshly cooked. You can also get sandwiches, small salads and cakes at Joe Merchants (coffee shop). There also an extensive room service menu, not that we used it. We also ate at Frank and Lola’s and JWB food in both restaurants was lovely. Tip - if you want to use them book them as soon as you arrive otherwise you may struggle to get in. Pool area - beautiful pool areas with lots of sunbeds and shade. It’s the first time where you didn’t have the normal morning rush with people trying to get a sunbed. The only slight downside for us was the weekend got busy and loud with weekend visitors, some of whom were very drunk every time we saw them. This doesn’t go with the chilled out vibe the hotel says it has. Staff - the majority of the staff we interacted with were really lovely and couldn’t do enough for you. Angel from the entertainment team is very funny and really friendly. In summary: We had a fantastic, relaxing 11 days in the beautiful hotel. We were told it was only at around 35% capacity while we were there. Would we go back? Yes we would..

  Sep 16, 2025
• 

  Very nice but not a 5 star experience

  I rated the resort based upon it's advertised 5 star level and branding as a Jimmy Buffett hotel. The rating would have been higher otherwise. The overall experience was OK. The facilities and rooms are modern and well kept. I upgraded to an ocean view suite. The staff were very friendly and service was excellent. I would guess the hotel was only at about 60% capacity so that always helps. The resort is small, there are no grounds at all. The entire resort consists of the pool area surrounded by the hotel. There is no beach!!!! I don't care about a beach for myself, but if you are a beach person, be warned, there simply is not a beach. You can swim in the ocean, there is access to the water, but no beach. Food choices were way too limited for a 5 star resort. The buffet restaurant was not open for dinner every night and never open for lunch. Lunches are limited to the pool restaurant and the pub restaurant. If you don't have a reservation at one of the two formal restaurants, the pub restaurant is your only option. Food quality was OK but not up to 5 star standards. I was surprised by how bland the food was. I also found the hotel was just a typical Mexican all inclusive. To be clear, I like Mexican all inclusive hotels, but I was looking for a different vibe given the Margaritaville brand. I am not a Parott head, but I can't imagine Jimmy would support the bass heavy dance club music blaring out over the sound system at a volume that made it difficult to watch TV in my room with the windows and doors all closed. The only thing Jimmy Buffet about the resort was the name and the muted videos of Buffett concerts playing in the pub. Overall if you are looking for a modern, 4 star hotel I think this place would be fine. I just don't think it lives up to it's marketing.

  Sep 15, 2025
• 

  Amazing

  Can't fault it, absolutely amazing. Yes, there is no beach anymore but they certainly make up for it. Angel and the entertainment team, and every member of staff are amazing. They just really want you to have fun. Especially at the Foam Pool Party

  Sep 14, 2025
• 

  Very few dining options

  We made the reservation on MexVax at a very good price. When we arrived, the check-in was very quick. Positive aspects: The facilities are very beautiful and modern. The staff has an excellent attitude towards customer service; very friendly. Negative aspects are: Few dining options, both for breakfast (only 1 restaurant), lunch (only 2 restaurants with nearly the same menu), and dinner (out of 4 restaurants, only 2 were open each night). The room service menu, with only 4 dishes, is very limited. The drinks are of very low quality, and the limited bottles they have of medium quality run out quickly and are not restocked, so you have to beg the food and beverage manager to restock them. Examples include Bacardi White, Torres 10, Licor 43, and Modelo Negra beer. It doesn't have a beach. The animation team offers very few activities during the day at the pool—volleyball at 11, water aerobics at 12, and only one activity at 3 pm in the pool afterward.

  Sep 12, 2025