Catalonia Riviera Maya

Great time at Cameleon Marival

by A TripAdvisor Member

Our family of 5(3 teens aged 13,15,17) recently (Apr 27 /03) returned from a week at the Cameleon Marival.We had a wonderful experience. This was our first time at an all inclusive so we were unsure of what to expect. After having read numerous comments both positive and negative about the resort we found that the negative comments tended to be a little picky.The food at the buffet was plentiful, offered lots of variety and was tasty: the hot food was hot and the cold food was cold.The Steak restaurant offered steak, ribs and chicken--stick with the ribs or chicken--the steak was thin and not a typical steak. The Italian restaurant offers a fantastic view,well prepared meals(make sure you try the pepper soup) and very attentive service. We regretably did not try the Mexican restaurant because the reviews tended to be very negative-- but after talking to some people at the resort they enjoyed the food there.The lunch at the beach snack bar was a big hit with the kids. Try to book the restaurants early in the week so that you can try all three. The beach does have a great deal of coral which made it ideal to snorkel in. Try to snorkel early in the day when the water is the clearest.There is large school of fish near the bridge -- when people are feeding the fish, snorkel over there. The entertainment staff was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the daytime activities(ie waster basketball, beach volleyball, salsa and meringue lessons). The nightly entertainment was also very entertaining, the staff was very outgoing and fun! Warning...even though there is a sign in the washrooms that says that the water is safe to drink, stick to the water from the bars or bottled water. Overall we had a great time, and would definately return.

Worth the money

by A TripAdvisor Member

We just returned from our vacation at the Cameleon Marival, April 1. To keep my review as simple as possible, I'm going to categorize and rate with the 1 to 10 scale, each aspect of the hotel and the area.....I would also like to add that it was just me and my wife who took this trip. First lets look at the hotel....ROOMS-7....STAFF....8....FOOD....5....GROUNDS....8....BEACH...5....BOOZE...5....FRONT DESK....9....Now lets look at the area around this location.....LOCATION...9..I really liked this location in the Riveira Maya, you are pretty much in the center of all the sightseeing area's, and there is much to be seen,especially if you enjoy nature parks, shopping etc. WE really enjoyed this trip, we had absolutely no trouble whatsoever. With funjet everything was handled wonderfully. If your debating about choosing this hotel....GO FOR IT......it was very clean and everyone was friendly......if you have any specific questions....just e-mail me I'll be glad to help.

never again

by A TripAdvisor Member

all my wife and i can say is expect anything to go wrong. rude people at the front desk. and you wont get the room you ask for. infact we paid to stay at the cameleon marival but they overbooked, so they put us in there sister hotel next door. we asked for an ocean view and got a ground floor unit with two beds. next to a vacant parking lot .when we complained and said it wasnt what we paid for we were told they overbooked and had no more rooms. and on the third day there at 2:30 in the morning we had an unexpected visiter who tried to break into our room. they sent moe curly and larry down to investigate but didnt find the guy. its kind of hard to give a discription to someone who dosent understand english. anyway when that happened, then they asked us if we would like to change rooms,DAAA. so then we were put in a room in the hotel we were suppose to be in. parking lot view with two beds but we felt safer on the second floor anyway. so in closing, if you go , expect anything to happen

Had a Great Time!

by A TripAdvisor Member

My girlfriend and I had a great time at the Cameleon Marival (we even got engaged!). The hotel looks very nice and is maintained very well. There always seems to be something going on and the guests all look very happy. The food was excellent so far as an all-inclusive goes. The buffet had lots of variety and the ala-carte restraunts (Mexican and Italian) had great meals, excellent service and good ambiance. They even made a decent vodka martini. The rooms are nice but bring something for tunes (cd player w. speakers etc.) as there is only a TV. If possible, ask your agent to request a king-size bed (if that's what you want), long before you get to the resort. We had, but one wasn't "available" until I put up a stink. Request a courtyard view as well. Also, see if your agent can get them to inc. the in-room safe charge of $3/day (all-inc. should be all-inc.). If you want email access, don't use the terminals at the resort. They are expensive and hard to use. I suggest walking to the little village of Puerto Adventuras (5 min. walk and quite picturesque) and use the internet cafe there. We booked a trip to see the ruins at Chinchen Itza, which was an excellent adventure. It's a long drive to get there (2.5 hrs) but worth it. Our guide was fantastic and I learned alot. Although, like many things in Mexico, the first price proposed isn't always the best price. They wanted $77US/ea. for the all-day trip, but we heard some had gotten it cheaper. After we needled the lobby day-trip agent, he finally came around with the $50US version of the tour. It turns out (despite his dire warnings of inferior transportation and very "light" lunch), we got the exact same tour as the $77US version (albeit in a van as opposed to a big bus with free soft drinks). Lesson, keep asking if they have another tour, a bit cheaper. They are always going to suggest the more expensive version of the tour as they make a few more bucks commission. All in all, we'd definately go back to the Cameleon Marival and r a good price.

Had a good time

by A TripAdvisor Member

Pros: This hotel is all inclusive, that's what I liked the best. You don't have to worry about getting hungry. I believe the snack Bar is open until 2pm. I found the food to be good some stuff tasted bad, but the variety was awsome. I was in vegas 2 years ago and the buffets tasted like crap. For buffets compared to vegas I'd give Cameleons an (A).The Hotel it's self is very clean and manicured, and I found the staff to be very friendly. I recommend you visit Fransisco in the lobby bar. He was the friedliest person we met at the Hotel. It seems like the barenders aren't allowed to talk much with the guest, seems like the bosses are always pushing for them to always be moving. as to what others said about staff being rude in the lobby, We didn't find them rude or friendly, seemed like they were there just to do there jobs......Cons: It sucked being so far from Cancun, (about 1 1/2 hours) It takes about 25 minutes to get from Playa Del Carmen to the Cameleon Marival. The night life is to far away. The entertainment I can't say to much about, at the hotel. We went to the Disco at the Lookea', They try to make it international, and it was and I had a pretty good time going, met two girls from canada, and talked with them for a while.Disco was alright. Unless you have most of the days planned out, forget about your kids enjoying it here. They have a basket ball court, tennis court on the roof, ping pong, pool tables. We didn't find the tennis court and basket ball court untill the 2nd to the last day. Some kid was asking at the bar where the basket ball court was and we laughed at him, I didn't think there was one earlier. The signs do show one but I thought it was showing the hoops for the pool ball.General: The beach is alright; rocky. nice manmade lagoon. I didn't think the snorkeling was the best. I think the culverts they have for a reef takes away from the beauty. I lost a snorkel mask and it cost me $30. I think they charge to much for lost equipment.Info: I was told the land use to be all swampey spray for insects at night when everyones asleep.Recommendations: if you want to go snorkeling, Deep sea fishing, don't book a tour through the hotel tour guides. go down to the Marina and talk to the guys down there. don't take the first offer. walk down and checkout others prices we got a 4 hour deep sea fishing tour for 2 people at $250. You have to talk to people and ask questions to get the best deals. Before you buy from the marketers from the stands by the pools, Be sure to check your souviner over good I got home and found that my chess set was missing a piece.

Puerto Aventuras - Riviera Maya

by kentishgirl

We stayed at the Aventura Spa Palace here in Puerto Aventuras.

Puerto Aventuras is located approx 2 hours south of Cancun - and a million miles away from Cancun it is!

The Riviera Maya, is not yet overun by tourists esp Aventuras and so still has a lot of character.

Its a relaxed town, and this page will really be based around the hotel in which we stayed, which also was really chilled out.

The small town of Puerto Aventuras is located only a short 15 minute walk away from the hotel, there is a nice harbour area, where there are cafes and shops, the dolphins are also in the harbour so even if your not swimming with them you can watch them!

As Mexico was our "honeymoon" destination, most of our time was spent in and around the hotel!

The hotel offered everything that you needed so there really was'nt much point in venturing out anyway!

The hotel is ADULTS ONLY which I felt was important to us and offered a quieter environment for the first week of our honeymoon.