Villa Del Palmar Cancun Experience

This article is Villa Del Palmar Cancun Experience. It is a review of the overall hotel experience staying at the all-inclusive resort in Cancun.

The review of Villa Del Palmar Cancun is part of my Cancun Birthday Celebration Getaway where my wife and I were celebrating my birthday.

Booking

I frequently receive phone calls from travel companies promoting resorts with time share sales or vacation club sales.

Typically these deals do not make sense because the initial price offered is very close to what you could book the hotel on your own without the need for going to a time share presentation.

Every once in a while, the agents offer the package at a significant discount. In this case, I received two 5-night vacations at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic for $299.

That meant that each stay only cost $150 and included food, drinks and more.

I would be required to attend the time share presentation at both resorts, which they hope you will buy so they offer the vacation for next to nothing.

We also paid about $100 to upgrade to a larger room at the resort.

At the time of our stay, you could reserve an all-inclusive stay at Villa Del Palmar via TripAdvisor for about $1,300 for the five night-stay. So for $250, we got a $1,300 value stay.

The package included airport pickup as part of the package and they offered to provide return transfers to the airport for a cost of $50. I declined and booked the transfer on my own for $30 from Happy Shuttle Cancun.

My wife and I have previously done similar trips when we stayed at Sandos Cancun and Dreams Los Cabos.

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Airport Experience

After making out way outside of customs and immigration, we bypassed the tour desks and taxi companies inside the building and proceeded outside to look for our transportation.

We located the transportion company, which ended up being the operator for Super Shuttle.

The agents located our reservation and they asked us to join a line before we would share a ride to our hotel.

We waited for about 15 minutes while other guests going to our hotel were lined up.

The transfer was in a van that was clean. The driver was polite.

We ended up driving through the city rather than the hotel zone which made for a unique perspective.

The drive to the hotel lasted about 40 minutes from the airport and we made one stop for another passenger at a nearby location.

Check In Experience

Upon arrival at the hotel, the doorman greeted us and offered to store our luggage until our room was ready.

We were invited to the front desk for check in.

Upon arrival at the desk, we waited about five minutes before an agent was available.

A server provided a mango welcome drink which was refreshing.

We saw some other guests received a chilled towel, however, we were not offered one.

Once we reached an agent, she welcomed us and processed our registration. We provided our passports, which they took a picture of them as well as processed our credit card. The agent issued wrist bands and she said that a concierge member at the table nearby would assist us further.

The agent informed us that the hotel was all inclusive, however, we would be required to sign checks for all of our purchases for record keeping.

Concierge Desk – Extended Check In

We approached the concierge desk and the agent greeted us and said that we would be assisted as soon as one of her colleagues was ready. She suggested that we have lunch or walk around while we wait for our room.

We waited for about 15 minutes before the agent was able to assist us.

The agent reviewed all the terms and conditions for our stay, which another 15 minutes, where she scheduled us for our presentation at 7:45 AM on Thursday morning as well as said that she would also grant us room service and access to the best two restaurants that were previously excluded.

The agent informed us that WiFi was not included and that it would be $10 per-device per-day. This is really high as normally multiple devices are included for one payment when there is a fee. This was certainly annoying and meant that if my wife and I wanted to use it for the five nights, it would be $100.

We were finally given our keys to the room and were reminded to make sure we were there at 7:45 AM on Thursday for the presentation.

The team member was polite; however, we felt that the check in time was excessive.

Room

We were assigned room 3010A for Villa del Palmar Cancun Experience.

Our suite was a one-bedroom option that included a full size kitchen, living room with day bed as well as a large bedroom with king size bed.

The room was located at ground level with a view of the garden.

The patio offered a hammock and seating area that overlooked the gardens in front of the pools.

The living room featured a large couch as well as two oversized chairs. The couch was comfortable and it offered a view out the window as well as to a medium sized flat screen television.

A large dining room table with five chairs was located at the center of the room.

Kitchen

The kitchen featured a stove, microwave, dishwasher and full size refrigerator.

The refrigerator was stocked with a few waters, sodas and four beers as well as some chips and cookies. The items were restocked once per-day during our stay.

The room also featured a washer and dryer. Laundry detergent could be purchased at the hotel store for about $2 for three or four washes.

Bedroom

The bedroom was large and it focused on a king size bed. The bed was soft; however, the springs on the center were a bit worn down so we felt like we were sinking down a bit.

Nonetheless, the bed was soft and the linens were comfortable.

Bathroom

The room offered a whirlpool tub. The tub was clean. We attempted to use it during the say, however, it took a very long time to fill up.

A large bathroom with vanity including a make up area were available.

A separate shower and bathroom were also available in the bed room.

The linens and amenities were displayed neatly and they were clean and had a good scent.

An additional bathroom was available attached to the living room. This bathroom featured a toilet as well as a shower.

Public Areas

The hotel’s public areas were setup neatly and they were decorated in modern tones.

Lobby

The lobby was large and it had a welcoming feel with a variety of chairs and couches as well as some unique decorations and chandelier.

A lobby bar as well as the Japanese restaurant was located next to the lobby.

The landscaping was beautiful and the sidewalks and grounds were clean and in excellent condition.

A small outdoor lobby was found directly behind the main lobby, which featured a small water feature as well as some tables and chairs surrounded by Palm Trees.

Signs were present throughout the hotel directing guests to restaurants, pools and other amenities.

Pools

The Villa Del Palmar Cancun Hotel Experience features multiple pools. The main pool was large and featured plenty of deck chairs with towels and umbrellas.

The pool featured an easy way to enter into the pool as it was on a slight slipe which was great for children to access the water.

The pool had sections with volleyball nets as well as other areas and had plenty of room to relax.

A medium sized adults only pool was located just outside the lobby and it featured some unique decorations/walkways that went across the pool.

A children’s pool was available with water toys and a kids club area were also available.

Beach

The hotel featured a small white sandy beach with more beach chairs and cabanas.

In addition, a private area for owners of the time share featured an infinity pool and private cabanas. We did not have access to that pool during the stay but it looked nice.

Various bars and restaurants were available around the pool.

Bartenders and servers circulated near the pools to offer beverages as well as food throughout the day.

Fitness Center

I visited the fitness center during my Villa Del Palmar Cancun Hotel Experience.

The fitness center was large and featured a variety of equipment.

Food and Beverages

The hotel featured five restaurants as well as in room dining.

There were six bars at the hotel.

Food and beverages were available throughout the day.

I will cover the food and beverage experience in another article.

Check Out

When it was time to depart from Villa Del Palmar, we approached the front desk and joined a line of five other guests.

After waiting for 10 minutes, we reached the front of the line an agent greeted us and invited us to the desk. We requested to check out and the agent verified the charges for the room and inquired about our stay.

The agent suggested we pay in US Dollars. I declined, and requested Pesos. The agent processed the payment in Pesos and asked us to sign the voucher.

I requested that the charge be in Pesos, because the hotel would have converted the rate into US Dollars at an unfavorable rate; rather than using the rate via VISA when paying in local currency. Because I used a card that does not charge for foreign exchange rates, it is better to always pay in local currency.

The agent thanked us and he wished us a good day.

Our transportation arrived about 15 minutes later. The bellman assisted with loading the luggage in the car and they invited us to return to the hotel.

Overall

As our Villa Del Palmar Cancun Experience came to an end, we look back and are happy overall with the experience. The hotel was beautiful and it was in a great location away from the main hotel zone. We enjoyed relaxing by the pool every day and having a few cocktails while we got some sun. Our room was large and beautiful and it was nice that we had a living room with a large patio in addition to the bedroom. The staff we encountered throughout the stay were friendly and they were happy to assist us.

The one draw back was the resort, required guests to sign checks for all the food and beverages, which was annoying given that it was an all-inclusive resort and that we had wrist bands. I get that some guests were not on all-inclusive, but if they use wrist bands only for the all-inclusive guests, it would be a much nicer experience if guests did not have to sign for everything. The servers confirmed guests name and room number when ordering, so it would be easy to confirm if we were all inclusive or not.

Outside of that issue, our experience was excellent overall and we would love to return in the future.

What do you think? Would you stay at Villa Del Palmar?