Ocean Coral & Turquesa Resort Riviera Maya, Mexico

submitted by - Alicia Jahnke client of Bursch Travel, Monticello

Location:
We really enjoyed the location; close to the airport and Puerto Morales; which we've become big fans of. I think that the taxi's/transfers were a bit expensive if your intent was to head into Playa Del Carmen.

Beach:
I know that on Trip Advisor many complain about the condition of the beach, but we didn't see any issues. The beach directly in front of the resort was well maintained and very sandy. We felt like there were a lot of palapas and chairs. As we walked up/down the beach we encountered sea grass, but it's an ocean so again to be expected in our opinion, and we did often see machines cleaning it.

Room:
Our room was spacious, clean and well appointed, but very musty. Having traveled numerous times to the Riviera Maya we expect that; and find that usually once the air is turned on it goes away, however that was not the case here. Some people may be put off a bit because there is not a "bathroom” that is fully enclosed; it's more of an open area w/a sink & vanity that has a shower stall and a toilet stall for lack of a better description and so not tons of privacy. Our fridge didn't work and I guess it wasn't a big deal for us and so we never called to have it repaired or replaced.

Food:
I thought that the food here was better than Marina El Cid and maybe about the same as Iberostar Quetzal. The buffets were pretty standard AI fare. We ate at the Mexican themed restaurant one evening and found that to be good. Although we didn't sit around the grill at the Japanese restaurant we still found that to be great! The coffee shop had great sandwiches and the crepe place was also good. The American Sports Bar place had terrible food, but decent atmosphere.

Pools:
This was probably the largest disappointment for us; mostly because we enjoy the larger, free form pools w/a swim up bar. Here they had 4 different pool areas and all were pretty small. The one with all the activities & the rec. staff is where we tended to hang out because it had music and action, but there wasn't a bar conveniently located; however I will say that I think that the staff did a pretty good job of making the rounds and taking drink orders. The pool that had the swim up bar didn't have any music and was really quiet. The other complaint is that the pools were FREEZING. The upside to the pools were that they seemed to have tons of lounge chairs available and you didn't have to start playing the "towel game” at 6 a.m. so that you could have a chair by 8:00 a.m.

Staff:
We found them to be helpful, friendly and as always hard working. We had called on our first night for a dehumidifier and were told they would be right up and they never came w/one. The next day at the front desk we asked again and were told yes, right away. However, because we are a little familiar w/the service in Mexico (they always wanted to make you happy and so often over promise, under deliver) we just said if you don't have one please just tell us that and we'll check back in a day or two, but not to continue to promise one and then the gal said, sorry we don't have any and I guess we were happier to be told the truth than led along.

General:
We had pretty crummy weather and so we LOVED that they had free Wi-Fi in the lobby area. The resort is fairly spread out, but we enjoy walking and so we had no issues w/that. We didn't see any of their evening shows, so I've got no idea on that.

For the price it's absolutely fine; to some extent you get what you pay for. I think we're 50/50 on if we'd go back, but for the price we paid we were satisfied and it was about what we expected. We really liked the location and were generally fine w/everything else, but we enjoy trying different places. Be chance, we ran into some of my friends who were also staying there w/their kids and have limited travel w/AI's. They thought it was fantastic and said they would go back in a heart beat. I guess bottom line is a lot depends on what you bring to the table in terms of expectations and past experiences. We tend to enjoy the smaller 350 â€" 500 room resorts that are beach front, but also have great pools. Neither of us are "foodies” and I am a picky eater, but as long as we can find something to eat we're happy so trying to find an AI w/FABULOUS food isn't a priority for us.