More about Avalon Baccara Cancun Mexico
Not all it's cracked up to be!!!
by TripAdvisor Member RoadWarriorII
This review is well overdue, but better late than never. My wife and I stayed at the Avalon Baccara in August of 2004. We actually got married there. We had a number of issues with the property. It is a small quaint place that on the surface seems inviting. We had one of the suites with two balconies and a great view of the ocean. The room was more of what I would call old style (authentic), but clean. The problems we had were primarily with the staff and service provided. We had days when we didn't have towels or they would take the soap and not leave a replacement bar. Naturally, when you are getting into or out of the shower it's not the best time to notice that you don't have these items. The jacuzzi on our front balcony was in need of cleaning. The day of our marriage the hotel filled it with water and placed rose petals in it. It was a nice gesture, but as I said it was dirty prior to adding the water and flower petals. We had paid for a wedding package that included stocking the refrigerator with beverages. We checked in on Saturday and didn't get the beverages until Thursday night. Obviously, we didn't have time to enjoy them in the day and a half before we left. On a positive note they did a nice job with the wedding. The photograper they hired and the judge were really outstanding. The wedding coordinator was above average and one of the few bright spots in our stay at the Bacarra. Th restaurant and service provided there were good. We had a chance to visit the hotels sister properties. Both had positive points in their own way. Each was much larger than the Bacarra. Based on my stay at the Bacarra the bad points outweighed the good. I would not stay there again and would recommend choosing from other hotels in the hotel zone as there are many to choose from. My memory of the experience is not as clear after a year, but I do remember going through a lot of frustration and dissatisfaction. Buyer beware!
Wonderful Vacation
by TripAdvisor Member shimmer765
This hotel was very quaint and ecclectic, situated above the main boulevard and away from the night clubs and commotion of Cancun. At first glance, the hotel is colorful and decorated in a Mexican Hacienda theme. It is an older hotel, so if you are not worried about faded paint and a few nooks and crannies here and there, this place is just fine. We took a red-eye flight and arrived very early in the morning, though check in wasn't until 3 PM. Though we weren't able to check in early, the hotel staff (especially the manager Gabriela) was extremely accomodating to our needs. She allowed us access to the employee lounge area to rest and freshen up, provided us with towels and access to the hotels amenities (pool, bar, etc) until we could actually check in. I found all of the staff members to be quite pleasant, friendly, and very accomodating to our needs. We reserved a standard room, which ended up having a view of the ocean and the lagoon. The bathroom was a large size, the room had air conditioning and cable TV, huge closet space, and safe. The balcony was facing the lagoon and had a private Jacuzzi tub, although you do need to fill it yourself and it takes about an hour or so. The water is warm, but not what Americans are used to as "hot" tub.
In all, I lowered my expectations because of the previous reviews posted, but we found no problem at all with this hotel. I would recommend staying here to anyone and would stay here again myself. Listening to the reviews of others was not helpful at all. You have to remember that you are in Mexico, on vacation, and if you are worried about cracked tiles and faded paint, then you have a problem enjoying yourself and need to rearrange your priorities :)
One quick note, if you agree to the time-share presentation, be prepared to lose 3.5 hours of your time, not the 90 minutes they say it will take.
Adios!
Not 4/5 star but not too bad!!
by TripAdvisor Member Angela-Barry
We booked on the basis of their web-site and later read reviews from "Trip Advisor" If we had not read the reviews we would have been very disappointed but not expecting too much we enjoyed our stay generally.
We booked the Honeymoon Suite which sounds fantastic but,like the Hotel generally it is really very "tired" It is a lovely big room but the furnishings and the "plastic" kitchen and the minute shower room left a lot to be desired. The "Hot tub" was outside and overlooked by another room so could not be used privately. It was also very dirty and was never cleaned all the time(10 days) we were there. On the plus side the staff were generally nice although when it rained the roof of our room leaked in 4 places and the windows also leaked badly and on reporting this to the staff twice we never had any apology or indeed recognition of this matter at all. As we had to use all the towels to mop up we felt this was very poor indeed.
The maid who cleaned our room was lovely and on our arrival the bed was covered in petals and there were two "Lovebirds" made of towels. We had different towel "animals or birds every day which was nice.The location is good and away from too much of the crowds and the swimming pool is quite good. Not bad and we had a good time but we would not go again.
This place is just fine...
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I took our two young children here for vacation. We stayed in a third-floor suite facing the ocean and the amenities were just fine. We weren't expecting luxury to begin with. They provided us a huge water jug for consumption. We were able to do some food shopping and stock our fridge with essentials. I would suggest buying paper plates and bowls along with plastic utensils to last during your stay. The fridge, stove, microwave, and coffee maker were more than sufficient for us.
The location of this place is great. It's off the main road and it's close to the bus stop. There's a mall right across the street. Pat O'Brien's, Outback Steakhouse, and some other decent restaurants are within easy walking distance. The beach and pool area outside the hotel are not crowded. There's a bistro and a convenience store right next door.
I thought the staff was very gracious. One member even let me use the computer to quickly check my email. We got extra beach towels and bath towels upon request.
Yes, the hot tubs aren't anything special and the cabinets are plastic... and there are a lot of steps... who cares? The only complaint I could really make is that the air conditioning temperature control didn't seem to work right and the room would get too cold if it was left on.
Prior to arrival make sure to clarify exactly what type of room you are reserving. The rooms facing the street were definitely not as attractive as the ones facing the ocean.
Overall, we liked this place and would go back.
I loved it, my husband didn't like it.
by A TripAdvisor Member
I loved it because I felt like we were in a Mexican resort, not an American one. The decor, architecture and staff all added to the atmosphere.
We were in the honeymoon suite. The room was large with very high ceilings. We had a deck facing the ocean and the lagoon, which was great. The bathroom was very small and quite worn - my husband didn't like that, but I didn't mind. We never thought to use the kitchen except the fridge for drinks, leftovers and the wonderful cheese platter that we won at the Monday night welcome party.
We booked this hotel because it was the only one I could find online with a private jacuzzi. The jacuzzi is on the ocean facing deck, which was private enough to walk around on less than dressed. The jacuzzi situation was rather strange. It took hours to fill, and then the staff had to be called in to drain it when we were done. We did enjoy having it though.
The doors have a space under them, which allows not only the sound of the ocean, but also sand to blow in (even on the 4th floor) to the tile floor. I thought it was great, but it drove my husband nuts. We did wear the slippers they provided, or shoes around the room, socks or bare feet would get quite dirty.
The staff was very friendly and tried to be helpful. Many didn't speak English, so it helped that my husband is fluent in Spanish. You don't need to know Spanish; there are plenty of staff that speak English. The owner (I don't know if it has changed ownership since then) worked hard to make us feel very welcome.
Walking past open doors of other rooms, I felt like we had the only room worth staying in. The others were smaller, and not as nice, in my opinion. The price of our room was pretty high though, more than $250/night. We spent the second half of our honeymoon down the street at the Marriott for less. My husband liked that hotel much more because he felt it was cleaner and newer. The bathroom was nicer, but I thought that compared to Baccara the room lacked character.
We didn't know until our last day here that when staying in one Avalon hotel you also have full access to the amenities in all the other Avalon hotels in Cancun. We may have gone out to the Isla Mujeres for snorkeling had we known sooner.
Our biggest problem with the Baccara was booking online which goes through a dishonest travel agency in Florida. The website says that you can choose to pay extra for transportation to and from the airport, but then you don't have the option during the reservation process. They show the price of the room plus taxes and "other charges". Nowhere do they bother to tell you that $40 for transportation to and from the airport were part of the "other charges". We found out when a telephone message was left for us late on Friday, the day before our wedding - 2 days before our flight - asking for our flight info so they could come pick us up. Not only were we out of town by then, but we couldn't possibly have returned the call in time because we found out when we got it that they had closed for the weekend (we arrived in Cancun on Sunday). We were never able to use the transportation service or get reimbursement.
We would only stay in this hotel again by calling the hotel directly to make a reservation, and if we could have the same room.
Won't stay anywhere else but the Baccara
by TripAdvisor Member turakfamily
So glad to see some reviews on here that people enjoyed this great hotel. My family stayed here in March of 2005 for the 3rd time. We plan on returning every spring break from now on. My daughters (now 8 and 4) think this is our Cancun home. We wouldn't think of staying anywhere else. I am convinced some of these people who post bad reviews have not even stayed at this place. If you want a true Mexican holiday then stay at Baccara. If you want a true American one, then go to the Holiday Inn!
One more thing, every person I met and spoke with at the pool raved about this place. Not one person looked unhappy to me! And it was filled to capacity (but you wouldn't know it since it is never crowded)!!!!!!
Disappointed at the Baccara
by TripAdvisor Member daisymae123
Wow! Where do we begin. We were very surprised by the condition of the Baccara! We had a one bedroom suite overlooking the ocean so the view was beautiful however, the room was very musty smelling and the first night we had no hot water ( not great after a day of travel ) Next the bed was extremely hard! Our son had the pull out sofa bed with numerous springs poking him in the back. The food was very disappointing. After paying for all inclusive our choices were a limited buffet and three burger/sandwich restaurants. We ended up eating off the hotel property at other local restaurants!! Crazy after spending money for the all inclusive! The third day our airconditioner gave out. It was August with 85% humidity!! It took them until late evening to fix. We were hot and unhappy.
Would absolutely NEVER go back!!
Loved the baccara
by A TripAdvisor Member
My girlfriend and I stayed at the Baccara and we both loved it. only having 27 rooms made it peacefully with no little kids running around and the people there were great they treated us great. and as far as the review about thieves and roaches i saw neither of the 2 I would recommend the baccara to anyone. the only complaint i have is that our stay at the baccara was cut short due to hurricane wilma but we will be back. we also met some great people at the baccara how are you mike and connie!!!!!
Extremely overpriced!!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
The Hotel did not have our reservation when we arrived. It is EXTREMELY overpriced for the quality of room. I would say our $165 room was worth about $65. There was no toilet seat on the porcelin bowl when we arrived. The room reeked like pine sol. The air-conditioner did not work. I asked for a new room and was told they did not have one. They fixed the toilet seat and air. When we came back from our pirate dinner cruise (which was a blast) the air conditioner did not work again. They sent maintenance right away about 11:00pm but he was unable to fix it. They offered us a new room but by now it was 11:45pm and we did not want to collect our stuff and move. We had to leave at 5 am for the airport. The room lacked any charm possible. It had a few pieces of old furniture, not especially pretty furniture just old. The beds were very, very, hard. I am not a hotel snob. I have no problem with a Holiday Inn express or La Quinta. They have always been clean and priced appropriately. I would stay at one of the big named chains if I go back. They unfortunely were still under repair from Wilma. Cancun is definetely getting back on its feet. There is plenty to see and do.
no beaching here
by A TripAdvisor Member
Our family spent the week of Mar 13 at the Baccara Avalon. They certainly did everything they could to make our stay pleasant. This is a small intimate resort that is still trying to recover from the hurricane. With only 27 suites, it is small to begin with, let alone with probably half the rooms still under renovations.But the staff could't have been more helpful, supplying everything we requested and keeping the rooms neat and tidy. Our only complaint was the suite was supposed to sleep six using a pullout couch which wasn't in the room but they helped our family of five with a comfortable cot.
As most people know the whole beach of Cancun was wiped out with the hurricane and Baccara was no exception but the government is working hard to build a new beach which I understand they are building at the rate of 200 metres a day. It won't be long before the whole beach is better than ever. The ship doing the work looked like it was about 2 kilometres to the south and was moving in our direction very quickly.
The whole town seems to be under under construction and they work 24/7. Most restaurants and attractions are up and running or soon will be. We never had any trouble getting a seat for dinner or taking part in any of the trips or excursions we had planned.
Photos
Bus to Xcaret
Lovely hotel zone beach, with turqoise blue water
Meet a Mayan
El Rey Ruins, Cancun
Forum Posts
romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by kaykee48
Searching for a nice honeymoon site...all inclusive, not an untra modern looking place...but nice Mexican feel. Perhaps in mayan rivieria, or playa del carmen instead of cancun. Not the most expensive places there are, but very good quality. Quiet and more romantic site. Would appreciate any help. thank you
Re: romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by YVRDave
www.maromahotel.com/
Re: romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by YVRDave
http://www.posadafreud.com/
www.mosquitoblue.com/
Re: Re: romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by strummin1
there is a nice small resort called Club Baccara in Cancun. It is only about 20 rooms and all have jacuzis overlooking the ocean. It's an awesome place. It is owned by Avalon resorts... www.avalonresorts.com i believe. They have a resort on playa del carmen as well i think.
Re: Re: romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by strummin1
http://www.avalonvacations.com/ thats the link for avalon. I would recommend club baccara unless you are set on not being in cancun
Re: romantic honeymoon site??--all inclusive
by kat75
I strongly suggest the mosquitoblue (www.mosquitoblue.com) in playa del carmen. its a small hotel, very romantic, very quiet and very nicely designed. Also reasonably priced. The downside: it does not have a beach, but you do have access to a beach club nearby. The upside: its right in the middle of town, you can go out walking and go to many nice little restaurants, bars, shops, etc. I truly recomend it.
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