More about Ocean Coral & Turquesa
DO NOT waste your precious time and money!!!!!
by TripAdvisor Member A007A
Where to begin, this place is far far away from a 5 stars as H10 and Transat claim it to be! By the way, Transat jointly owns 35% of 5 H10 resorts in Mexico including the turquesa and the coral. Check it out on this link. No kidding there was only Canadians there, had they opened it to Americans the place would’ve been closed by now. (http://www.transat.com/fr/centre_medias/2.0.centre.medias.asp?id=1016)
Food, simply sucked, I will not take credit away, but the food was NOT happening. It is eatable but no 5 stars there, maybe 2.5 at the most.
Service is an option! (by the way, it is a must to at least understand the language at the H10 otherwise you will be miserable) we had to serve ourselves and clean up once we were done too. No service at the pool, if you feel like having a drink while sitting in the sun, well you have to go get it and make sure you bring it back if you didn’t want a pile of glasses by your side along with an army of bugs!
Rooms were nice, (I hope they are, it is brand new) no need to add about the showers I think you get the picture throughout the other reviews.
No phone, no TV for the whole week. And when it rained, no were to go and nothing to do. No indoor entertainment, no theatre, no activities. So let me tell you when you have kids, and it rains, you don’t have TV in your room, time is LONG and painful.
Water: we had to negotiate to have bottled water, and we were OUT for two days! Not even a 3 stars resort would treat you that way!
Towels at the beach: if you dare asking for two towels you were straightened out very quickly, only one towel per person. You gotta love being yelled at in Spanish for a towel?!
Complaints: managers were taking one complaint after the other, all sorts. You would waste precious time to help them make things better! And we had to pay for our trip??? That is just outraging! Not only you wasted time complaining, but you would also waste time to get served either at the bars or restaurants, also you would have to wait in line to reserve you’re a la carte dinner!! I’m sorry but even if you’re on vacation and you’ve got nothing else to do, I’m sure that no one wants to be waiting enormous amount of time for these things. After all, YOU’RE the one who should be served and this is why you’re paying for a trip. But it doesn’t work that way at the H10 punta turquesa.
Over all, if your looking to have good time in the few days off that you may get per year, don’t go there. I would HIGHLY recommend the Excellend Riviera which is 5 minutes away from the turquesa and even if you pay a little more, rest assured that your trip will be worth every penny you invest.
Not ready yet
by TripAdvisor Member dmdriedi
I have to add my review just to rate this place. I have made several comments on the forums but it seems other travelers want to hear the positives so I will do my best. My family of 4 stayed from Dec29-Jan5 and paid over 1600.00 per person return from Vancouver. The rooms are very nice and the bed is most comfortable. We had a king that was huge and very nice to sleep in. There is a nice large safe in the room that fits a lot of stuff and it was nice to have our own safe. I used the hairdryer provided in the room and it worked for me. The maids were good and we enjoyed the large swans they made for us everyday. I felt sorry for them because they were cleaning all day it seemed. We loved the ocean view and the large patio each room had. The shower did leak out but we put a towel by the door and it solved the problem. Also if you angle the shower head towards the wall it helps too. There was a sewer smell coming up from the shower floor in my kids room but we advised front desk and they must have fixed it later in the day because when we came back it was gone. There are no alarm clocks in the room and the one wake up call we used they were 40 minutes late one. If you need to be somewhere make sure you bring your travel clock.
When we arrived at 1am there was no bell hop to assist and we were told to go that way to our rooms. Well, there was no way we would have ever found it so after walking around for a while we went to the front desk and they had a security officer help us find our rooms. The elevator was not operational and we were up 3 flights of stairs. I did not mind the stairs on a daily basis because it was good exercise but carrying our suitcases up was a pain.
The food, well let's say it was a buffet most times and the line ups for food were annoying. Same goes for getting any type of drink. There were a few times when we were served a coffee or water in the buffet but staff were extremely busy due to the lack of staff. There should have been 3 times the amount of staff there. There were lack of serving spoons and cross contamination of foods. The foods were not labeled and it was hard to tell what all the brown things were at breakfast. People were picking up the spoon from the dish and sniffing them to see what they were. This is probably part of the reason there were so many people sick along with the cross contamination of foods. Several times I waited for 30 minutes to get an item from the grill only to get up there and be told they were out. Simple things like scrambled eggs, pancakes, french toast would have been nice to have at the buffet but those were items you had to line up for.
We only were able to eat al a carte once due to the screw up with the reservation system. The one night we did eat at the Italian restaurant there was no selection to the menu. It was eat beef or chicken, that's it. At the sports bar the same thing- large menu and only 6 items to choose from. Why advertise a banana split and then not have it. We ordered a hamburger, received a chicken burger. Order fries, you get hashbrowns like the ones at McDonalds.
There is no outdoor service for drinks but there is a swim up bar that is nice. There is only a swim up bar on the Coral side. Again, long line ups for drinks there. There were no straws and this was a nuisance if you are drinking a red margarita you end up with red on your lips. When we did order we usually ordered two drinks each just to save the line up later. At times I would stand in line only to have someone cut in front of me and say something in spanish and get served before me. Non spanish people also cut in front of me in line ups and after a while it just became a normal event at the bar and the buffet.
The sand and beach are nice. We swam in the ocean and had no real problems with seaweed. There were no water activities as advertised. We had two teenagers with us and they were very disappointed with the lack of activities.
There was no disco. New Year's eve there was a pretty good band though and they provided hats and noisemakers for everyone. We only found out about the evening entertainment by fluke because when we arrived at the resort we were told nothing. Also, our last night there I found a calendar on the counter at the front desk listing the day program activities like aerobics. The resort might like to start giving that type of info out at check in.
One thing we did find was a fooseball table on the Turquesa side. We would go over there at night to play but by day 3 the ball was missing.
When we arrived neither room had their fridge filled. On day two we saw a worker with a cart of drinks so we tipped him large and he filled our fridge. Unfortunately we never saw him again so we had to always go to front desk or coffee bar and request water bottles. Sometimes we got them, sometimes we didn't. Having kids with us who don't drink we expected to be more options for them but there wasn't. There were slushy machines in different areas for serve yourself drinks but they were not operational.
We walked around and looked at the things that weren't open including the gym, spa and theatre, VIP lounge. These things will be nice when their open but the gym seemed a bit small for the size of the resort. Also, it is on the Turquesa side of the hotel.
Puerto Morelos is a quaint little town and we enjoyed a great lunch at Pelicanos. The margaritas are very good there and so are the shrimp quesadillas.
Xcaret was really fun and worth the money. Tulum was also a good tour and if you go make sure you take your swimsuit because the beach is amazing.
Overall this resort did not offer what was advertised and the week
felt like it went on forever. We did not feel like we got our money out of this vacation but thankfully we booked excursions that saved our trip. Also, taxi is 30 USD one way to either Playa or Cancun and we did go to Playa on day two to buy clothes for our daughter due to the airline losing her luggage. 5th ave was pretty
cool and I wish we had been staying closer to town because we would have gone there more often.
Good vacation, resort is still getting up to speed
by TripAdvisor Member ktownguy32
I just returned last night from this resort, and would have to agree that it is not a 5 star, but I had a good time anyways. If you like to just lie around and read books at the pool or beach drinking beer (like me), it's great, but for anything more than that it probably lacks quite a bit. I stayed mainly at the pool outside our room, which had the swim up bar, but there seemed to be activities at the other pool on the Turquesa side all day long.
We actually had a room on the Coral side, they are still working on the rooms there, but we managed to get a 3rd story room with a direct view of the water (both the pool and Caribbean). We were the first to stay in this room since they were quickly putting light bulbs in and stocking the mini-bar as we were bringing our luggage in. The rooms on either side of us were vacant for most of the week. The mangrove at the back of the hotel is a little stinky in the morning, but the smell doesn't seem to enter the room and the first few days the wind kept the smell away from the resort.
I could write a novel about the resort, but I think I'll just put everything in point form:
- beach is beautiful, a nice reef off in the distance and has great snorkelling. Snorkelling trips are offered from Puerto Morelos or the Excellence resort (I think, we did Puerto Morelos)
- lots of palapas on the beach, but very little shade on the resort
- pools are a little cool
- bring your own thermal mugs, they kept running out of glasses at the swimup bar by noon and were serving drinks in styrofoam cups, they didn't get straws until halfway through the week
- a la cartes are definitely not 5 star, I found better food on the buffet
- service is poor in the a la cartes, but the best at the buffet
- best place to have lunch is at the restaurant next to the Turquesa pool down by the beach. They have great fries
- if you are looking for Mexican food, try one of the restaurants at the airport, there is very little of it here, even at the Mexican restaurant where the service and food was the worst.
- a Pina Colada apparently can be made about 10 different ways with varying amounts of alcohol in it. But this was part of the adventure.
- I don't think the beer is Corona, the kegs have Modelo on the side of them, which is another brand of beer that you may or may not find in your mini-bar fridge.
- Bottled water was rare the first few days, but appeared later in the week, drink beer, they didn't run out of that
- If you are staying on the Coral side, there may be some noise during the day while they continue to get more rooms functioning, plan your siesta on the beach
- The bartenders are stressed and appear that way, except for the one at the swim-up bar, can't remember his name, but he was always smiling
- Coffee is a long walk away in the morning, and they don't have lids for their styrofoam cups, no coffee makers in the room, or room service, so you'll have a slow walk back to your room in the morning
- Put the do not disturb sign on your door before you go to bed, maid service is up bright and early
- Don't turn your shower on full (hot water was fantastic though), it will spray under the shower door
- Only telephone in the room was next to the toilet
- The don't have clocks in the rooms yet, so arrange a wakeup call if you have to get up early for checkout
- Satellite TV is not there yet, but we did get 78 channels with a couple of English speaking ones. Weather is channel 21, CNN Headline News is channel 57 I believe, channel 38 would have the odd English movie on with Spanish subtitles
- balcony was awesome, we spent many mornings and evenings on it watching the cruise ships go by at night, or the sunrise in the morning
- Staff is starting to understand English more and more, communication never seemed to be a problem
- No internet access unless you ask guest services, which was never quite clear where they were located but they congregated to the right of the Turquesa checkin counter, they'll let you use one of their computers
- Safes are too small for a laptop
- Air conditioning turns off if any of the outer doors are opened in the rooms
- Lights are on timers and motion detectors, remember to turn off the light over your bed before you go to sleep, it will come back on if you get up in the middle of the night
- Lamps in the room didn't have any switches, we had to unplug ours
- Blankets were thin on the bed, might want to wear PJs if you like to be warm while you sleep and still have the air running
- The Mayan show was great, the next night they had an amazing band in the lobby, but if you want a disco, take a taxi to Cancun, we were usually back in our room by 9 or 10 anyways.
- They spray the mangroves behind the hotel every couple of nights, so I only saw about 3 bugs the entire time.
Overall it was a great trip, a few annoyances especially when they told us the sports bar wouldn't open until 10, so we went to the buffet at 7 and then walked around the corner after eating and found the sports bar open, but I shrugged most of it off. I preferred the buffet over the a la cartes, apparently the Japanese restaurant is the best but we didn't go to that one, the Italian was good, and their leftover chicken dish showed up on the buffet the next day. The lobby bar needs to remove some stools at night to create a serving area, and put two more bartenders on, it was a little too crowded and took a long time to get a drink on occasion.
Once I sift through the 300 photos I have I'll post some on this site.
got better
by TripAdvisor Member les70
we stayed 29th dec for 2 weeks and in that 2 weeks things got better, I think the only thing that spoiled our vacation was listening to others complaining, and going around the lobby bar with a petition, honestly can people not deal with their own problems when they get home, they seemed to target new guests coming into the hotel and were thriving on it. There was problems the first week but the staff were great and worked so hard, some guests were just rude and I was ashamed they could treat staff like that. We got excellent service at the bar from Jose and oscar who were amazing, all you have to do is be patient and polite and maybe youll get the same back, standing shouting and not saying please and thankyou doesnt get you anywhere. As for the water you only had to ask at bar if they didnt have it the reception did, TV not working, if you want to watch TV then stay at home. I think this resort will be wonderful in a month or so as it definately improved in a week. So dont listen to too many negatives if you are going , think positive.
Not what everyone is saying.......
by TripAdvisor Member Satsman
We arrived at the H10 Punta Turquesa resort on Sunday Jan 13th....typical that the room was not ready but after working in hotels I understand that check in is usually 3 pm so no worries...
The hotel is 99% finished and looks good. Like every new property it does have its issues but if you are here for a holiday then they can be easily overlooked and put aside.
So to let you know it is a $9.00 cab ride to Puerto Morelos and the Turquesa is right beside the Punta Coral...we were booked at the Turquesa but are actually staying at the Coral from what I understand.
I dont know what people are talking about regarding the service , its not bad , they have three restaurants here, Mexican, Italian and Japanese as well as a buffet most of the day and several other places where you can get snacks..... Food is not bad and you can always find something to eat.
The only thing that I found that was not open which is opening Thursday , Jan 17th is the spa area...when I say spa I dont mean the pool I mean the health spa with massages, steam bath, sauna and exercise room.
Also , there are a couple problems with the shower as someone said...no lip on the shower so water does go on the floor a little....no biggie...and I love the bathroom
Overall, I like the hotel and think that if you are on holidays you are here to relax so relax and dont sweat the small stuff. There is plenty of cold beer, food and beach.
I will post a couple of pictures also as well as a video if I can.
One negative though......it is a time share or as the agent said....a Vacations property so if you want to do the "Tour" feel free to do so. I really dont know if there is a way of getting around it , maybe just saying NO. But they are dressed in hotel uniforms and I thought that we were going to be given a tour to get aquainted with the property.....So beware of these "SHARKS"
Feel free to contact me if you want as I will be here for 2 more weeks until the 27th...soaking up the sun and enjoying a great amounts of cold beer.......
Believe the one star reviews!
by TripAdvisor Member honkerlee
I have never felt the need to warn fellow vacationers about a resort to which I have been, and there have been many over the years. Usually we stay at 3 or 4 stars; this one was supposed to be a 5 star.
The critical problem we faced was that the restaurant staff were untrained and their practices were extremely unsafe. We both got food poisoning, and no it wasn't from alcohol because I'm not a drinker and only had one drink all week. That is not why I go to a resort. I have never gotten sick at any other resort to which I have been, and I have even drank water from the tap at some of them!
Actually I go for the nonmotorized watersports and nature, of which there was neither. Unless you count the bug infested mangrove across the road or the pelicans flying over the resort occasionally. Yes, I am a bug magnet that tends to get more bites than others, and I had a couple of dozen bites by the end of the week. Some of the rooms back onto the road - the doors have a large gap under them, so mosquitoes can come and go into your room all night long. Put a towel under your door if your room backs onto the road and the bugs like you. The grounds will have more vegetation and be gorgeous, in about five years. There were limited places to walk if you had children in a stroller. Without the stroller, walking along the beach was nice.
Can't comment on the snorkelling, since the water was pretty choppy, making visibility nil while we were there. The 3 or 4 pools were gorgeous as was the beach.
The a la carte restaurants were disappointing. Don't waste your time. The service, at the first seating, took 1.5 hours for the first course to arrive. The quantity and quality, when the food finally arrived, were mediocre. And, no surprise, hot foods were not kept hot (more food safety issues). Be very careful what you eat, and watch the servers closely.
Yes, the rooms were beautiful and had nice balconies and fantastic views. But they did have quirks as mentioned by other reviewers.
The staff of the front desk were fond of giving guests the runaround - go wait in that line, you need to talk to that person, come back in 30 minutes, etc. Or the opposite, yes sir we'll do that right away - but it never happens.
If you love to line up for your lunch and dinner, this is the place for you. If your children don't mind waiting until 1 pm for lunch and 7 pm or later for dinner, this is the place for you.
The talk of scarcity of bottled water was very true. Since myself and my children don't drink cervezas or tequilla, we had to fight endlessly to try to get a bottle of water to drink.
A great vacation!
by TripAdvisor Member djbOakville
We just got back from a fantastic vacation at this resort Jan. 18. The Punta Coral and Turquesa are really part of the same complex. This brand new resort is absolutely gorgeous, clean, and well-maintained. Throughout the week, staff were dilligently adding more flowers to the gardens, planters, etc. to continue to beautify the grounds. The level of service from the staff throughout from the point of check-in, the bars, the restaurants and evening events was absolutely terrific, We were offered drinks on the beach and in the lobby when we really didn't expect that level of service. The food in the restaurants was very good, especially the al la carte ones. You have to book between 10 and 2 for those restaurants and may experience a 1/2 hour or more line-up to do this, but well worth it. The Japanese restaurant was a great experience, where we had the opportunity to sit around the chef in action, who eventually added flame to the food. The Italian restaurant had a great menu and our group of 6 people tried all different menu items (I will let you find out for yourself the menu!). We also tried the Mexician restaurant which provided some very nice choices - all foods were well prepared and very gourmet in presentation. Of course, the main buffet was always good and some great outdoor pool-side buffets where we enjoyed lunches and snacks. There is an amazing coffee shop - fresh ground coffee, foamed with Baileys and a cookee or two, day or night. Evening entertainment was fantastic, offered in areas outside and inside the main (large) lobby. A mix of some incredible dancing, music, casino night made for a lot of fun. We were worried the spa wasn't open yet, but sure enough, it did open later in the week. I'm not sure what services were offered other than massage since the spa was brand new. We enjoyed an outdoor couples massage with the sound of waves and music in the background. The rooms were immaculate. Our fridge was stocked every three days, the standard in the resort, but the chamber maid ensured there were two water bottles provided every day. If you needed more, you could always go to the bar or front desk for more. One thing to note - bring enough cash as there is nowhere on the premises to get any if you happen to run out. It is also hard to change down bills (i.e. $5 or $10 bills) for tips. We found we could do this a bit via the bartenders from their tip money. The staff in the resort were very nice, pleasant and accomodating, and we had no language issues. All in all, we enjoyed this first class resort and lacked nothing!
Warning!!! Danger!!! Poison!!! Stay Away!!!
by TripAdvisor Member donniedaan
Punta Turquesa is by far not a five star!!!maybe a two...thats being generous,really!want to know what it would be like to eat in a prison caffeteria then heres your chance!The front desk toyed
with me over the phone while I tried to seek medical attention for my girlfriend,who was lying on the bathroom floor crying because of severe pains in her stomach from food poisoning.The price of the doctor($200U.S) went up the more desperate i seemed.lots of people were sick from this place.What a sure proffit scam.during this, reception would not give us a bottle of water.he actually told me they had run out.H10 was out of bottled water.I ended up finding some,all you have to do is get really angry! the best time we had was on the beach in cancun and the real pina colada and corona in play de carmen.DONT GO TO PUNTA TURQUESA!!! You couldn't pay me to go back to h10,even if i was locked inside a deepfreeze in Tony Sopranos basement.
Wonderful Resort
by TripAdvisor Member dancermegan
I was very worried about going here after reading all the reviews. I'm so glad I didn't listen to those reviews. This resort was wonderful. We did not have any rude staff. The staff was always ready to help. We speak only english and had no problems with them understanding us. If I had anything to warn people about it would be people that have a problem on slippery floors. The resort has alot of marble floors. We saw people slip alot. More so after the rain. So just be careful. This resort was a hit with our family.
worst service we've ever had
by TripAdvisor Member mpleafan
We've had better service at a 3 star in cuba. Do not go to this resort or the Punta coral (as it is basically the same resort). Too many issues to list.
Photos
Best Dive Shop EVER!
Dancer
La Ceiba at dawn
Gran cenote
Forum Posts
Casita del mar Hotel, Puerto Morelos
by kmcculloch
Is this hotel still open for business; will it be open next winter (Feb.09)as far as you know; what are the rates for a double room (2 adults); what does it include (breakfast?); and are there any other pictures available of the rooms or pool, or beach in front of the hotel. We walked by there 2 years ago, liked it very much & hope to return and stay there next winter.
Re: Casita del mar Hotel, Puerto Morelos
by Jawnuta
I don't remember seing this particular hotel (last december) since it is located in teh northern part of town and we were mostly downtown by the main square. However situation with hotels in PM is very strange. Aparently long after Wilma hotels are losing business as PM never really recovered with its beautiful beaches. Most of the hotels did not belong to the people who run them. They were long term leased. Now there are those wars between hotel owners and hotel attendants. Most of hotels will not provide such care to you as they did, most of them does not look as good as they did. GReat landscaping desapeared as it is expensive to tend to.
I love PM, and I think it is great place to visit, but as we got burned trying to book our room, next time we will just go there and look around and see what we like and get room without booking.
See my Puerto MOrelos pages for more stories!!!
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