Ocean Riviera Paradise - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

16638 reviews

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  Ocean Riviera Paradise – Honest Review

  The overall service level at Ocean Riviera Paradise was below a 2 out of 5. Many staff members were rude, gave inconsistent information, and showed little accountability for their mistakes. We traveled Jan 23rd to 30th, 2026 as a family of four, including two children, and joined nine other family members to celebrate my father’s milestone birthday. Our own check-in was smooth, but our parents had major issues. They requested a room above the main level and were told it was confirmed. When they arrived, the room was on the main level instead, and they had to return all the way to the lobby to get it changed. There was no apology from staff. Right after we check-in, we were approached by a marketing staff member named Alex, who offered us complimentary massages if we attended a tour the next morning. We clearly explained that we had 8 adults in our group, and he promised 6 complimentary massages if we attended a one-hour tour. The next morning, when we met him with our family, he changed his words and said he could only give 4 massages, claiming that was the maximum per day. We ended up spending nearly 3 hours touring the Privilege area after breakfast. Because our children were in the kids club, I had to leave early to pick them up at 12:30 pm. We were genuinely interested in the membership, but the process dragged on so long that the rest of our group went to lunch without us. Two of us had to stay behind with passports and paperwork, and the process took so long that we missed lunch entirely and the restaurant was closed by the time we finished around 4:00 pm. In total, this “one-hour” presentation took almost 8 hours. Eventually, Alex gave us 6 massage vouchers, even though he had said 4 was the maximum per day. He then told us each massage would only be 20 minutes. When we asked to combine them into three longer massages, he said we had to pay $20 USD per voucher to cover the “tax.” We have attended many marketing presentations at resorts before, and this was the first time we were asked to pay anything to receive a so-called complimentary gift. When we went to the spa, staff there told us there was no such thing as a tax and that it was actually a “fee for combining vouchers.” It felt like policies were being invented on the spot with no clear or honest explanation. The massage room itself had a moldy and unpleasant smell, and it wasn’t worth it at all. Restaurant & Reservation Experience We made advance reservations at several à la carte restaurants, including Margarita, the steakhouse, La Locanda, Route 66, Blue Moon, and Sakura. From the first night onward, dining was extremely frustrating. At Margarita, when we told the hostess we had a reservation, they could not find it in their system. We waited over 30 minutes while they tried to sort it out. Even after that, our group could not be seated together. At every restaurant except Sakura, our family of 13 (8 adults and 5 children) was separated into multiple tables very far apart — not even close enough to see or speak to each other. This was especially disappointing because we were there to celebrate my father’s milestone birthday. We had emailed the resort in advance, and they assured us they would help make the celebration smooth and special. That did not happen. Almost every night, when we arrived for dinner, the hostesses could not locate our reservation and we had to argue or explain repeatedly. Because of our group size, we were required to make two separate reservations each time. They could not seat more than six to eight people at one table, unlike other resorts and restaurants we have stayed at. It genuinely felt like the resort was not capable of handling groups or families who wanted to dine together. At La Locanda, a hostess named Miriam could not find our reservation and insisted we go back to our room for the paper confirmation. Our reservation was on her list, but she refused to admit it was ours or acknowledge her mistake. Only after we showed her a photo of the confirmation did she seat us — again, with no apology. As we were leaving the restaurant, she stood there staring at us while loudly talking to her coworker, clearly about us. When I noticed and looked back, she locked eyes with me and continued staring with a cold, hostile expression, making it very obvious she was annoyed with us. Her behavior was shockingly rude and completely unprofessional. Although the food itself was generally decent, the service was extremely slow. We waited at least 45 minutes for our main dishes on multiple occasions. My parents became so tired of waiting that they eventually said they did not want to go to any more à la carte restaurants at all. Currency Exchange / Front Desk Experience Another issue happened when we were trying to break large peso bills into smaller ones. We went to the lobby front desk and were told to come back in 30 minutes. When we returned, they told us to come back after 3:00 pm. When we came back after 3:00 pm, they told us to come back the next morning. The next morning, they told us to come back in 30 minutes because the cashier was not there. Then it became “come back in one hour,” “come back in two hours,” “come back in the evening,” and “come back tomorrow morning.” This cycle repeated over and over for five days straight. One front desk female staff member whose name started with “Ma…” did not speak English and simply repeated the same phrases each time we asked when we could get change. She did not attempt to call another staff member to help or find someone who could communicate with us, which made the situation even more frustrating. We wasted an unbelievable amount of time simply trying to break our bills and were never successful. We have stayed at many resorts in Riviera Maya before and have never experienced anything like this. Exchanging or breaking money is usually a simple request, but at this resort it felt unnecessarily difficult and poorly managed. Positives There were a few positive points worth mentioning. The resort was pretty clean overall, and the shuttle system was convenient for getting around the large property. The family lounge was a big hit for our kids, who enjoyed having a space to play games and do fun activities together. We also want to give a big shoutout to Gregory, who was genuinely helpful and friendly and stood out as one of the few staff members who made us feel welcome. Overall Impression It genuinely felt as though the staff had no interest in our time or our vacation experience. Rather than helping guests relax and enjoy their stay, their actions and lack of concern made everything more difficult and exhausting. This was supposed to be a special family trip to celebrate a milestone birthday, but instead of enjoying dinners and relaxing together, we spent our vacation dealing with miscommunication, long waits, and constant frustration. Because of this experience, we would not recommend it to families or groups who are looking for a stress-free vacation.

  Jan 31, 2026
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  Kids disco party was a hit!

  Mirelle from the Jelly's playhouse staff went above and beyond in providing entertainment for the children and making our grand daughter very happy.

  Jan 30, 2026
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  ¡Greatest days here!

  Everything has been awesome. We enjoyed every second here. Food is great and amaranto is the best buffet i have ever tried. Activities are also great and we wanna thank every member of the team for being so cool. Hope to see you next year!

  Jan 30, 2026
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  The Experiences team

  Aranza, Gustavo abd the experiences team was the vest in the painting activity. Thanks for everything, you made the best of the times after a long travel

  Jan 30, 2026
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  Aggressive sales tactics + management pressure wasted 2 hours of our vacation

  The resort is nice, but the premium membership sales operation is misleading and out of control. At check-in, we were approached with vague promises of “free” perks (massages, tequila, birthday cake). At no point was it clearly explained that this was a full sales presentation. We were told to “think about it” and that was it — no appointment was made, no commitment was given, and honestly, we weren’t even sure what it was about. The next morning we were repeatedly called, and when we didn’t answer, management knocked on our hotel room door insisting we had an appointment. We said we did not and had decided not to participate. He continued pushing, saying it would “only take an hour.” Once we showed up, we were immediately handed off to multiple people and automatically placed into a 2-hour sales trap: • unwanted resort tour • premium-only areas • finally cornered by a salesperson whose job was to pressure us into signing We were clear from the beginning that we were not interested and were not signing anything. That didn’t matter. The moment we finally said no, the friendliness disappeared and we were dismissed. We’re only here for 3 days, and losing 2 hours to misleading, aggressive tactics is unacceptable. Being called repeatedly and then approached at our room by management after declining is harassment, not hospitality. This is a management problem. Guests should never be misled or pressured like this.

  Jan 30, 2026