Last week we headed to Mexico to learn a little about how travel is being treated and to visit a few of our most popular all-inclusive resorts. While we can’t visit every resort we send clients to, we sure like to try. One of the focuses of this trip was family friendly resorts. There are so many in the Caribbean we are only going to discuss some of the highlights of the ones we visited last week.

Royalton Riviera Cancún

While we stayed at the Hideaway at Royalton, we had access to the family friendly areas. For the first few days we didn’t even realize there was a very large family pool with a splash park.

Beach: The beach here is pretty standard. The sand is a beautiful white sand but the water isn’t as clear as some of the other beaches further south or in the hotel zone. In the summer months seaweed can cause issues, but the resorts do their best to keep it maintained.

Pools: There were quite a few options for Royalton guests. The main pool outside the lobby, an infinity type pool near the beach, plus the family pool with splash park. If you upgrade to diamond club you also have access to a private pool. The splash park plus family pool was very large. There is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the time together.

Kids Club: Children ages 4 to 12 can enjoy indoor and outdoor age appropriate activities. The Royalton Kids club was not open during our stay. As capacity increases they will begin adding hours to the schedule.

Rooms: The property is about 5 years old and the rooms are still in pretty good shape. Most rooms include an indoor jacuzzi.

The Grand at Moon Palace

I was excited to see this resort as I have clients and other agents that rave about it. This property opened in 2017 and is massive with more than 1,300 rooms. They have plenty of walkways plus shuttle service. It also boasts 11 restaurants and 13 bars. 9 outdoor pools. Water park with a lazy river, splash zone, and flowrider.

One of the fun bars you won’t find on any map is The Library. Staff may ask you if you have been to the Library but it is up to you to find it. The Library is a modern day speakeasy. Find the Library wall and door to open up into a room full of books plus another door taking you into the speakeasy. Good luck on your search.

Beach: The beach here is standard. It is however very small. The sand is a white sand but the water isn’t as clear as some of the other beaches further south or in the hotel zone. In the summer months seaweed can cause issues, but the resorts do their best to keep it maintained.

Pools: The Grand at Moon Palace is made for the water. With 9 pools and a waterpark what more can you ask for? Float in a lazy river, splash in a wave pool, and choose from a selection of different thrill-seeking slides. Plus a flowrider to learn how to surf.

Kids Club: Inside the waterpark is the kids club. There are two spaces, upstairs for children ages 4-7 and downstairs for children ages 8-17. Inside there is a Neon Mini Golf, a 3-floor Labyrinth, Arcade, Bumper Cars, Laser Maze, Time Freak, Interactive Sports, Sky Trail, Mirror Maze, and much more. I did the mirror maze and made it to the end. The kids club is open from 9am-10pm. There is also a wired lounge where older children can play video games. Plus a bowling alley at an extra charge.

Rooms: Since this property is so new (2017), the rooms still looked modern and fresh. They have plenty of room for a family of 4. They all have either 2 doubles or 1 king, plus a jacuzzi. All rooms are garden view. There is also an option to book a king room with connecting double bed room. This is great for larger families giving mom and dad their own space.

Iberostar Paraiso Lindo

I have to admit, I was sceptical of this resort. I don’t send a lot of clients here because I had a little bit of a misconception of this resort. Boy was I wrong. The VALUE of this resort is out of this world. This is an extremely large property, five resorts in one. But with the large property comes a shopping mall, theater, waterpark (opening at the end of next month), casino, disco, lazy river, 7 a la carte restaurants plus 24 hour room service, and a golf course.

Beach: This is why you stay here. This was by far one of the prettiest beaches I have seen at a family resort in the Riviera Maya area. They have a large white sands beach with crystal clear blue water.

Pools: When you get tired of the beach you can head over to one of the many pools. Along with the standard pools they have a wave pool and splash pool to enjoy. The water park opens later this year.

Kids Club: Kids ages 4-17 can participate in a daily kids camp givine mom and dad some time to themselves. Star Camp children’s activity program runs daily until 10:30pm. This is currently suspended due to the new normal and will be opening hours at a later date.

Rooms: The rooms we saw at the Lindo were standard. Most had garden views. But you don’t stay at this resort to stay in your room. With everything there is to do, the only thing you will be doing in your room is sleeping.