When it comes to All-Inclusive resorts, Mexico has it all: luxurious, cheap, mid range, family, adults only and a mixture of both. It can make your head spin trying to choose one that fits your budget and needs. After months of going back and forth between the options we had, I managed to narrow down my research to two resorts that seemed perfect for our family – mid-range budget, kid friendly, good food, luxurious feel, but merging well with nature. The two resorts were Iberostar Paraiso Maya and Occidental at Xcaret. You can read my review for Iberostar Paraiso Maya here.
My ratings for occidental at Xcaret
1. THE ROOM
We paid $190 for a Deluxe Room. You have the option to purchase rooms with daily tickets to Xcaret park or just the hotel room. We chose the second option, because we only wanted to go to the park one day. We bought our tickets to Xcaret park separately on the official website.
Our room was in building 19 and the walk to the beach was very long, but the main pool was right in front of our building. You have the option to call for a golf cart, but most of the time we chose to walk.
The room was modern and clean, but very small. Between the four of us, there was barely any space to move around. We had a balcony, which helped the situation a bit. We were visited by monkeys there every day.
I feel like it’s important to give a friendly warning here: while monkeys are very cute, it is not a good idea to try to approach them or give them food. They are wild animals and they will attack people if they feel in danger. Besides, feeding monkeys is detrimental to them, as it hinders their ability to find food in the wild, on their own. Make sure you keep your balcony door closed, as monkeys are fearless and they will try to sneak in to grab food (it happened to us in Costa Rica).
I give the room a 4/5.
*Tip: Try to get a room close to whatever your main interest in the resort is. We wish we had asked for a room closer to the beach, since we loved spending time there.
2. THE FOOD
We liked the food at this resort. We did buffet for most of our meals and a couple of times we went to the pizza restaurant. I liked the set up of the restaurants at Occidental, because it was in the same courtyard with the entertainment area, so if we had to wait for our food, the kids could watch the show they were putting on stage or the movie they were playing.
For breakfast, we had the option to do buffet at the restaurant by the lobby or at the one on the beach. Most mornings we went to the one on the beach, because the view was spectacular.
For lunch, we either ate at the beach again or at the restaurant by our building, where they also served buffet style meals.
Unfortunately, and to my surprise, they didn’t use the restaurant on the beach for dinner. I wish they did, because dinner with a sunset over the ocean sounds wonderful to me.
Food gets a 4/5 from me, because in between the three main meals, there weren’t other options for food.
3. THE POOLS
We only used the main pool that was in front of our building. There were a couple of other options throughout the resort, but they all felt the same. The water was a pleasant temperature and they had a swim up bar.
They also have a great adults- only pool overlooking the ocean. The views are spectacular!
I give the pools a 4/5, because of the lack of variety. Compared to Iberostar Paraiso Maya, the other all-incluse resort we’ve been to, Occidental feels like it’s lacking in this department.
4. THE BEACH
In spite of being very small, we really, really loved the beach here. It is tucked inside a cove and it is PERFECT for little kids. The water is calm and clear and you can see fish swimming around you. We spent many hours swimming and snorkeling here. It was also very convenient that they had a breakfast and lunch buffet restaurant right on the beach. A couple of times, when the kids were not hungry, my husband and I took turns eating, while the other played at the beach with the kids. They also have a bar on the beach and swinging beds. I do have to say that if your ideal beach is miles and miles of sand on both sides, where you can talk long walks, this is not the beach for you. We preferred this one to the traditional beach, because we really enjoy swimming and snorkeling. We don’t tend to sit on the beach for long and when we are out of the water, we usually like exploring rocks and looking for wild life.
This beach gets a solid 5/5 from us.
5. THE DRINKS
The drinks were decent, but not mind blowing. The first day we went to the bar on the beach to order drinks, they had run out of supplies for cocktails and they only had one type of beer left.
Also, they had this really weird rule where they only brought one beer per adult to the room. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t consume a lot of alcohol, but when I am on vacation in a tropical location and I walk half a mile from the beach, I do enjoy drinking a cold beer. So that meant that every time we wanted one, we had to call our concierge.
The first day we were there, we asked the maid who cleaned our room if she could leave a couple of beers in our fridge and she said she had to go and ask the concierge. The concierge then told me that he agreed to the maid bringing 2 beers/adult, but that it was against their rule. I asked him why and he replied that nobody knows why, it was just a rule they had to implement.
The funny thing is that we could go to the bar next to our building and order 10 drinks and bring them to our room if we wanted to, but we could only have 2 beers at the time in the fridge. That really made no sense to me! Due to his and the lack of cocktail supplies and beer variety at the bar at the beach, the drinks only get a 3/5 from me.
6. THE ARCHITECTURE
I adored the architecture at this resort, from the beautiful lobby with high ceilings, wooden accents and a river running through it, to the restaurant on the beach and the lush vegetation surrounding all the buildings. Everything seemed to flow so well together. They even have a trajinera (small boat, like a gondola) that runs on the river and takes people to Xcaret park. Absolutely 5/5 from me and I would rate even higher if I could!
7. THE KIDS' CLUB
Maybe it’s because we had experienced the kids’ club at Iberostar Paraiso , which is a kids’ paradise, with great facilities and happy, excited staff, but the club here felt boring and lifeless. They have legos and some toys and they do some simple activities, like coloring and arts/crafts, but my kids were bored with that within an hour. I really do think that they need to step up their game.
It’s a 2/5 for the kids’ club
Other things we liked about Occidental at Xcaret
1. Mayan ruins on site – right before you get to the beach, there are some ruins that you can explore. The site is not big, but it is still pretty cool to think of the importance of the place in history.
2. Close proximity to Xcaret Park – you can literally walk from the resort into the park. Or you can take the trojineta, which is more practical and enjoyable.
All in all, we enjoyed our stay at Occidental at Xcaret. We really loved the beach and the architecture and I recommend the resort to families with very young kids, who will benefit the most from the calm, clear water at the lagoon.
Note: We took this trip at the end of 2019, in pre-Covid times, which means that things might look a bit different at the resort now. They most likely have Covid rules in place, which might affect how they run their business. Check out the official website for updates and current regulations.
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