Ocean Riviera Paradise, Riviera Maya

Terrific service! Noemi, Diana and Ivan took great care of us. We loved the ribs, ice cold beer and atmosphere. The food was fresh here with lots of BBQ sauces to choose from. The only thing missing in my opinion was some music! Super fun, don't hesitate.

We stayed 6 days and nights here - couple and 6yr old. We paid extra for an upgrade to Privilege. Privilege has it's perks - our concierge person, Ariz was fantastic, she made herself available whenever and tried her best to help us with anything, she made us dinner resos at all the spots we wanted (a lot of the non-privilege people would stand in a long line outside the buffet in the am to get resos), she even ordered us breakfast room service, made sure our checkout was smooth, we had a bit of a security issue (turndown service person left our room door wide open, luckily nothing was taken or tampered with) and Ariz showed up right away at 1030PM to check on us. Other perks of Privilege - separate check-in section, the lounge has breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. The breakfast is nice because it's way calmer there than the buffet and the food was mostly good, lunch is a bit of a small menu so don't recommend, we had dinner there once and it was nice similar to dinner at other restaurants. Drinks at the privilege lounge are the best - they have top shelf liquor and better wine and the rest of the resort (the main lobby bar also has a Privilege liquor selection). The Privilege pool was quieter than others, the Privilege beach section was nice to have as well since service was better and they actually had towels there. Privilege also gets you hydrotherapy at the spa which my husband tried and said was terrible. I didn't bother going to the spa since that. I think Privilege just helped us have less to concern ourselves with but definitely not a must do. The only con of Privilege was they say they offer sunscreen but ran out after a day or so and didn't bother replacing, when I asked about it, I was told it was only as an emergency and we couldn't just keep using it (btw we used it maybe once or twice the entire time but it was nice to have in between using our own), Cecilia at the Privilege pool was just so rude about the whole thing, also it would have been nice if they offered better wine/drinks at some of the other bars, but otherwise all good with Privilege The room: Our room had a king bed and sofa bed with a pool view. The room was always clean - no bugs etc. AC worked well, bathroom was also in good shape. However the bed was HORRIBLE, it was old, made sounds everytime you moved, mattress was lumpy so my sleep was bad all trip The rest of the resort: The Beach - the beach is small and technically the waterfront is part of a public beach so people walk around etc. I didn't mind the vendors but it was annoying that they keep coming up over and over (especially the massage people), the beach was clean most days for us and not much seaweed, the beach chairs get taken up super early but people leave and you can find a seat easy enough if you don't mind being a few rows back, the beach pool is nice - no dj or anything which is nice, overall if you are a beach/ocean person and are going to Mexico to see the ocean often this is NOT the resort for you, the beach is ALL the way at one end and can't be seen from any other part of the resort (I did wish they had more ocean view restaurants etc) The pools: I loved that they had multiple pools each with it's own vibe, the waterpark was great and the kids pool always had some fun kids activities going on, Adults pool also was good with music activities and no kids, Eden was a family pool with activities geared at slightly older kids, beach pool was also similar but less activities, the Privilege pool had no activities and no DJ, so was mostly chill but kids still allowed The food: The buffet was the same for breakfast and lunch every single day but always could find something decent to eat but nothing spectacular, the burger place was not good, the creperie was fantastic, Mike's coffee was very good but the line up was always long and it took the service took so long we didn't wait too often, the ice cream place was fun for the kid, Pez Vela on the beach was the best for lunch and even had a nice dinner there, I loved being able to eat with the ocean view, Steakhouse restaurant was not good at all - the steak was thin and just buttered, sides were not good, The Italian restaurant was mediocre nothing special - I heard the pizzas were good but we didn't try them, Margarita (Mexican) was very good, Sakura (Japanese live cooking) was pretty good too but nothing special for food, just a fun atmosphere, overall I think the food could be improved as it was bland, when we asked for hot sauce it helped a lot but then the hot sauce was VERY spicy, but nothing was bad or made us sick, the kids menu is the exact same and doesn't include any veggies, this could definitely be improved but our kid ate most of our food and was fine. Kids club: Kid used the club a few times. She mostly enjoyed it but they go bowling every single afternoon and she didn't love the bowling. However, she was safe and made some friends. Activities: The activities at the resort are great! We watched two shows and they were both pretty fun. The silent disco was really fun. The entertainment team works at all the different pools throughout the day engaging in a variety of activities. There was a batting cage, basketball and tennis courts that all looked great. There is a jogging loop which I used a few times and was nice. There are monkeys and other animals (I'm not sure what they are) which are fun to watch but be careful as they can follow you if you have food. The gym was in good condition. There is a paid arcade. The teen club seemed pretty good for younger teens. We took the free tour to Playa Del Carmen which went through a very far away and overpriced Silver/Tequila shop but I guess for free it was okay. General: The resort is really spread out, there is a trolley if you want to wait, we didn't mind walking, we didn't have any issues with towels ever and didn't have cards or anything but maybe that is because of privilege, we always got seats but weren't picky about location since we used them mostly to hold stuff or as a break spot, Overall, I really enjoyed my time at the resort. I don't know if I'd come back because I really love being able to see the Ocean from different parts of the resort and the beds were really bad. However, the activities and service were great. A good place to take your family.

This is my review of the Ocean Riviera Paradise that I visited from March 16 to 23. Please read this review, it is very honest Prons: 1. very good buffet food 2. very good drinks 3. nice rooms ( everything was working) Cons: 1. The beach was nice but rather small, and it can be difficult to get down to the water. I suggest that the hotel clear a proper path for people who want to swim in the ocean. Even with water shoes it was very difficult to pass the first 5-6 meter to finally enjoy the water 2. Be very careful when buying any excursions offered in the hotel. We selected and paid for two and were very disappointed. First we want to go to Rio Secreto. I asked the salesman whether it was easy for someone with difficulty walking. She said no problem "It is so easy that the 4 year old can handle it" This wasn't true, it was very challenging walking, narrow passages and huge rocks under water. You were required to swim and the water is quite deep (6 to 7 feet) in some sections. We were also unable to use your phones or cameras due to the environment, and the guide charged an exorbitant price for providing photos. The second trip was a catamaran excursion that was also bought from the same booth (located in the lobby bar area). We were interested mostly in snorkeling, she said for 107USD one snorkeling and one plate for lunch or for 135USD two snorkeling and unlimited lunch and drinks. We chose the $135 option as we wanted two snorkeling locations. In fact, there was only ONE snorkeling location on that catamaran trip and it was for only 25 minutes. The catamaran was nice and was under 30 people, but it actually just functioned as a ferry to Isla Mujeres and the one stop for snorkeling was treated as an afterthought. Upon arrival at the island (it took 45 minutes there and back) we were left to fend for ourselves for 4 hours. The island was very crowded (easily hundreds of people) and was extremely hot. There were literally hundreds of people there and you had to pay for any shade or chairs. The provided lunch was ok, the drinks were terrible (only free for half an hour) . Beyond that you would have to pay $10USD for any additional food or drink. The catamaran in the meantime was picking up different groups to and from the island, so we were stuck there waiting for 4 hours with very little to do. I am asking why they advertise that this was a whole day catamaran excursion? It was nothing but a sea taxi to the island and only one (not two as promised) side trips for snorkeling. I have booked many similar excursions all over the Caribbean and this was easily the worst. A typical catamaran excursion would spend time on the boat with multiple opportunities to snorkel and/or and visit a beach. This trip was all day but we spent just about 2 hours on the boat and snorkeling, the majority of the day waiting on the island. I was very disappointed, and we complained to a crew member about the snorkeling and that we were not told that this excursion was really just to spend time on Isla Mujeres. He called the hotel and they changed their story, now claiming there was no option for two snorkeling times. Two girls we were dealt with at the hotel assured us there were two opportunities for snorkeling, and never mentioned that it was not a catamaran excursion but a water taxi to the island only.

Spoiler alert, we are members of the H 10 program, But I want to say that we are members for a reason. This particular hotel is the one we go to all the time. This trip was three weeks that we were here. It is an excellent hotel. Somebody can always find something they don’t like, but it’s pretty hard here. We do enjoy the privilege program. Well worth the investment. I would like to point out specifically the privilege lounge. it is a restaurant with a higher end dining experience. Every morning and for several evenings. the people there went out of their way to make sure we were happy, from the hostess, who pulls out your chair and places a napkin on your lap, no you by name, and is always smiling. to the weight staff, who never lets your latte, go empty, who works in unison with the other waiters around to be sure that you have everything you need to enjoy your meal. These are the people that I mentioned who made this experience exceptional. I want to mention them so that the hotel recognizes truly what an asset they are. it’s the people here that make this experience very special. For three weeks these are the people who every single time made sure that our experience was exceptional. Morning Head waitress Vasti, I want to mention how she worked very hard, helping the wait staff when busy, but also directing them engaging them and being inspiring and helping him do a better job and keeping the environment friendly and hospitable. All of these waiters deserve recognition because they really were that good! Bertin , Angel, Miguel, Juan Adolfo, Sergio, Carlos, Jose, Neuvello, and Ricardo If I do not mention someone’s name, they didn’t wait on me, but it doesn’t mean they weren’t exceptional as everybody in this place worked hard! Evening headwaiter, Moises And Hostess Anna Waitstaff Fidel, Adolfo, Artello, Alexes, Juan, Artello These people deserve recognition because they made this trip extremely special. it’s the people here that make the trip. Amazing. The hotel is an added benefit. so when you’re choosing someplace to go consider this a five star rating!

We enjoyed a week here, beautiful resort and wonderful staff, food, drinks and atmosphere. We will definitely come back in the near future Alan was our cocktail waiter in the main lobby and he was amazing and very friendly, kept the drinks coming every night.