Mahekal Beach Resort - SOLIDARIDAD

Disappointing Second Stay at Mahekal Beach Resort I recently returned to Mahekal Beach Resort for a second visit, having had a memorable first stay. However, this experience starkly contrasted with my initial visit, prompting me to revise my review. The check in process with Jorge felt rushed and was less than welcoming. We were unexpectedly moved to a different room than what we had booked. Concerningly, we were asked to sign a document with rules, but when we requested a copy for our records, we were denied and instead advised to take a photo. Upon reviewing the document, we found clauses about the resort not taking responsibility for accidents like a child falling off the balcony – a serious matter that certainly required more detailed explanation from the resort. For an all inclusive, it was extremely disheartening to sign a cheque for every single interaction we had with the staff. Every meal, every drink everything. At one point, I ordered a coke from the poolside bar, which I then had to wait 10 minutes to sign a cheque for. Secondly, there are included drinks and not included drinks. I think this resort needs to review how their all inclusive package works, this was an absolutely painstaking part of our stay enough to not come back. During our stay, the dining options were limited due to renovations at Las Olas restaurant. This left us with only two choices, one of which was Fuego. While Fuego offered good food, the unchanging menu became monotonous over our 7 day stay. The buffet, on the other hand, was underwhelming, leading us to dine at Fuego for most meals. Accommodation wise, we stayed in a palapa styled room which, although charming, had its drawbacks. A rainstorm resulted in a minor flood in our room, unfortunately damaging two of our work computers. Despite the daily room cleaning, the makeshift towel barricades we set up to contain the flooding were left untouched. The highlight of our stay, and what saved it from being a total letdown, was the staff, particularly the more seasoned members in the restaurants. Their care, fun, and attentiveness made our experience more bearable and are truly the resort’s saving grace. I truly hope the resturant workers are comen For the luxury price and the not so great experience, we will not be back. When I go to all inclusive, it should truly be a stress free experience.

Bellísimo lugar........ Un pequeño paraíso....... Es todo lo que se necesita para disfrutar un buen descanso..... Paseo.....!!!!!

The hotel is beautiful. The property pools are very nice and the rooms are OK. Honestly, my experience started very bad by the service at front desk by Teresa (she was not helpful at all, Being with a baby trying to ask for an earlier checking she said they were not having availability) which i understand But then when we did had room availability did not send anyone to walk us to our room, we had to figure out where our room was , and send us to the last room with no access for strollers. Honestly, I have never had that poor service before and this is very disappointing for this place as it is truly beautiful, but for me, the service is a big part of it so if I could, I would give it a 2 out of 5 stars

We stayed for 5 days over the holidays. The hotel has beautiful grounds. Lots of places to walk around and the oasis gardens were very tranquil. The beach was very nice. High quality loungers. Very nice pools and restaurants. Even though the resort was packed it did not feel crowded. It is located right in Playa Del Carmen so it was easy to step outside and tour about town, try the local restaurants and cafes. The staff was very friendly and professional Some things that could use improvement to get to a 5/5 rating: the breakfast buffet and lunch were good. The dinner buffet was lacklustre. More vegetarian options and more Mexican cuisine would have been fantastic more water bottles. Ended up going to the oxxo across the street to buy more water a play area for young children fewer signatures. Switch to a mobile app or something like this

Unfortunately, we travelled over the Christmas period and were, therefore, required to pay a $120 per person surcharge for a Christmas Eve “Gala Dinner” which is what this review will focus on. The “Gala Dinner” was advertised as a traditional Mexican celebration of Christmas Eve (the more festive day than Christmas Day in Mexico) and would feature live music and a luxurious 5 course tasting menu served at the table (i.e. not a buffet). Upon arriving at “Las Olas” (one of the “restaurants” in the resort it’s usually a pool bar), we entered into what is clearly a function room often used for conferences. There were no decorations: no tree, no lights, just a small centerpiece on each table. The live music was a single, sad looking, gentleman playing a saxophone quietly in the corner (nothing festive nor Mexican amount the choice of music) this only lasted for the first 20 minutes of us being seated before the musician left. It was immediately clear that none of the $120 surcharge had gone towards decorations or entertainment; nor had it gone towards extra staff, all of whom were the same overworked staff who had been serving breakfast earlier that day (and would be serving breakfast again the next morning). They were sprinting around attempting to keep up with the more complicated serving strategy. Sadly, despite valiant efforts from all of the wonderful serving staff, the whole experience was a disaster. When we sat down, only three (out of four) of the place settings had silverware and those that had silverware were a bit of a mix: some had two forks and one knife; others one fork and two knives… We ordered one bottle of red wine and another of white as soon as we sat down in the hope that it would arrive before the food. No surprise: the first course arrived (cold) and we sat with our second course (as dirty plates from the first course) in front of us for another 10 minutes before the wine eventually arrived. The evening did not improve from there: every course was either rushed upon us the second the previous one was finished, or else, delayed by 15 minutes whilst the staff rushed around the crowded conference room. Every single dish arrived “aired” at best and mostly cold. The octopus and lobster (beautiful ingredients that were cooked so well in the other on site restaurant and at the buffet) were overcooked, chewy and tough; the potatoes were mouldy (see photo). Only the beef was cooked reasonably but sadly it too was cold by the time we were served. At the end of the meal, we refused to sign the bill and requested to meet with the manager (who had obviously left his staff to work Christmas Eve whilst he, no doubt, enjoyed the surcharges scammed from hotel guests with his family at home). We chose to tip our stupendous waiter in cash and indicated we would discuss the disastrous evening with the manager the next day. The next morning, we spoke to the manager and he seemed somewhat amenable to our concerns: no resolution was reached on the spot but we indicated we did not think any of the surcharge was justified since the included buffet food and service had been far superior. It was not until the day we checked out that we heard back and were offered 20% off. The manager was not there to negotiate and we had a plane to catch but we managed to negotiate up to a 30% discount which still left a sour taste behind. We even offered to accept hotel credit towards a future stay to indicate our desire to return but this fell on deaf ears. It is a shame that such a beautiful hotel, with such hard working, diligent staff falls short of expectations due to the greed and incompetence of management. Many of the staff we overheard on the night of the gala dinner indicated they had not slept the previous night and were planning on sleeping in their vehicles after the dinner to ensure they were on time for work the next day. This is not a culture I wish to support.