Occidental at Xcaret Destination - All-Inclusive

We went to the Occidental Xcaret for 6 days, May 12th - May 18th. This was our first to Mexico and we could not have picked a better place or time. May is the beginning of their off season but the weather was a nice 84 degrees. The humidity did peak a little and make it feel like low 90s but the breeze from the water always equaled that out. On to the actual resort, Occidental was fantastic. From everything from the service, the food, the activities to the facilities it was just a place of wonder. When we arrived we walked into a huge open air space with a fountain, a river, parrots on perches and a path that stretched all the way to the beach. It was the start of something awesome. From the very onset the personality and care that is given to you, no matter what level you are staying in, from the staff is second to none. I never felt like anyone was "putting on a show" or a smile just to seem nice for the guests. They all seemed to really enjoy what they do and taking care of the people around them. We saw them bending over backwards for us and other guests and saw them laughing and joking with each other when no one was looking. Their attitudes were infectious and their hospitality was some of the best I've ever seen. I've read reviews on here that people were turned off by the sheer size of the Occidental Xcaret property. Personally, this was one of the main reasons we wanted to stay here. Instead of a huge building on the beach like most resorts the Occidental is made up of many different smaller buildings that are all spread out in the jungle. Walking from one side to the other only takes about 5-10 minutes but they also have shuttles constantly going to ferry you around as well. The joy of walking through the paths and seeing parrots, monkeys, coati and more was a unique touch that the "party" resorts just can't match. On a side note, the lack of bugs was completely surprising. We brought those "bug off bracelets" and didn't even use a single one. I don't know what sorcery the Occidental is using to keep bugs away but man is it working! We went during a massive sea weed bloom and the staff did a great job of keeping the beach area clear of it. There wasn't any rotten smell or anything like that. It was noticeable that it was there, but didn't detract from the experience. On the trip to the airport we heard from people staying closer to Cancun that their beaches were almost completely unusable If you're thinking about upgrading at all to the Royal, my advice is to do it. The care and love given to you by the staff is fantastic. Everything from a cool washcloth on a hot day to surprising you with a custom dinner on your final night (I don't know if this is common, but it was awesome). They make it seem like their entire goal in life is to make you happy and it doesn't feel forced. Our wait staff Francisco and Omar (and the others who I know I'm forgetting) made every meal a treat. They would joke with us, offer up great food recommendations, go out of their way to make me items that weren't even on their menu, and the bartender always had a great item ready when I would say "Surprise me!". For the final night I asked if there was anyway they could make me some "authentic mexican" food since we really hadn't had the chance. They ended up surprising us with a 6 course meal, a special table all made up in mexican style, tableside guac made in front of us with burning tequilla and more. It was the perfect way to end an amazing week. Our personal concierges, Paola, Monica and Valeria made sure that everything we had was in order. They set us up with a room overlooking the water and on day two when I asked if I could have a room facing the jungle so I could see the wildlife, they had it ready that same day. When we had an excursion leaving at 710 am they had boxed food dropped off to us the night before so we could get some food before we left. It's that sort of care that made us felt like we were the only ones at the resort. While for the most part everything was great there were of course some things that fell through the cracks. They didn't deter from our vacation at all but I know some people might let it bug them. In our first room, there was a pretty loud air conditioner unit or something going all night long. Not sure what it was, it was coming from the ceiling. In the second room, on two of the days there was a small trail of termites (I believe) going in and out of the bathroom. The staff took care of them though. The Air Conditioning in the Royal Restaurant (Which is beautiful by the way) barely seems like it is on most of the time. We found it was usually cooler sitting outside with the breeze than inside. None of this detracted from the experience too much though, not enough to even take half a star off this review. Overall, we loved it. And we WILL be back. To everyone at the Occidental who might be reading this, Muchas Gracias!

We spend a week there in April 2019 am we all loved it. Service, food, beach, pools and the rooms were spectacular. Totally worth it, we will definitely go back next year!

The good: The resort is beautiful and very well kept Service is fantastic, everybody is super attentive and nice Food is very good, missed a bit of variety, but the quality was great. The chef from El Pescador was amazing and prepared a taster of all the dishes for us. Great experience! The rooms are new, clean and comfortable. The not so good: There are not enough lounge chairs or sunbeds available so it's a struggle to relax. people blocked more chairs than what they use with towels creating tensions and fights over chairs. By 9am it was literally impossible to find available chairs anywhere. It's a really long walk from the rooms and pools to the beach and lots of stairs and convoluted paths to get to places. Not recommended for people with limited movility. The wifi charges are outrageous. Each code works just for one device and you can't even use the same code for a different device. In other resorts we could share the same code with one room as far as we were not online at the same time. The waste of towels is concerning. People can get as many beach towels as they want and abandon them as they please with no control. Tremendous impact on water resources. In other resorts, you get one card to exchange for one towel at a time which feels much more reasonable and sensible. Sadly, despite how beautiful the resort is, I will not be returning here and would not recommend it to friends as I wasn't able to rest as expected.

Loved the wild life and shaded paths. great place to relax and enjoy the water beating on the rocks. Wifi was a little weak. They only allowed one device and that kept getting kicked off. But we weren't there for the internet. Next to Xcaret park, just a short walk. I would highly recommend this place!