The Hyatt Ziva Resort in Cancun truly lives up to its five star rating. It is a beautiful resort!! We stayed the second week of September. The occupancy was 40-50%, so it was fairly easy to find seats at the pools, spots at the beach and we didn't even need to make reservations at the restaurants. It was a great time of year to go. It stormed twice, but both moved in and out very quickly. ||||The location is insanely perfect; two beaches and a very unique sea stroll connecting them. The water was clear up to our waists and sometimes our ribs! ||Definitely wake for the sunrise at least once. Worth it, like a kiss from God. A sunrise breakfast meal package would be an idea, if it doesn't already exist. ||||The staff worked so hard to make everyone feel welcomed, comfortable and pampered. Jorge greeted us the moment we entered the lobby atrium from our Lomas van (Lomas transportation--perfecto!!). He was very helpful and knowledgeable. We have one suggestion we may offer here, although this is not a criticism in any way; Jorge did a great job! Maybe ask the resort guest, "Would you first like your resort tour? Or would you prefer to be shown your room? We can connect with you in an hour or at your convenience if you would prefer first to get settled in." After a long time of travel, our kids were tired and hungry from the airport run. We were rather travel weary and might have preferred our resort tour after seeing our room, visiting the restroom, washing our hands and maybe having a drink and a snack. Also, our kids, before this trip, had never seen the ocean and we were all eager to hit the beach asap. While the immediate resort tour was helpful, we personally felt a little impatient with it because of our own expectations. That may just be us, though. Again, Jorge was fantastic.||||The cleaning crew of our double room with sea view kept things immaculate. The room amenities, including an expandable drying rack on the patio were all helpful. We could have used another mirror in the main space to allow four people to get ready simultaneously, but we managed fine. The beaches, grounds and pool areas, too, were kept spotless. The falconers did a fascinating job of scaring unwanted birds away with their own impressive hawk. Amazing and impressive to watch. ||||This resort is very large. We were glad we packed flip flops/beach shoes AS WELL AS tennis shoes because we walked a few miles a day. You will definitely get in your steps to compensate for all the extra calories! Haha!||||Speaking of calories...the food!||Our family enjoyed each restaurant's offerings. They were tasty, perfectly cooked and presented. Our favorite restaurant was Lorenzo's. Ask for Marlene. We went twice, really just to return to her! Marlene is management material, in our opinion. Their hostess Dana was always so kind too. ||||We ate dinner twice and breakfast once at Tradewinds. Waiters Bryan, Eleazar and Juan were top rate. Eleazar gave a great presentation making my husband's Carajillo (which was delicious) Cocktail. It was almost like watching a magic show. || ||Oscar and Diego at Pasteles went out of their way to obtain helado de coco for me. Taste of Mexico!! It means so much when their eyes light up with recognition--you can tell they sincerely remember you and are glad to see you again. ||||At Moongate, Efrain and Luis took good care of us. Definitely get the edamame and spring rolls for appetizers. ||||Poolside beverages were fantastic and they're not shy about keeping them coming. Tell Elio to have a mojito+piña colada mix. Trust me, it's good. ||||Our children enjoyed the obstacle course and the in-pool blackjack card game. Abraham and Michele from the entertainment crew became resort pals with our family and we appreciated their fun personalities and enthusiasm for their jobs. They were so fun! ||||We highly recommend finding Alejandro and renting a beach front Cabana and do it as many times as you can afford--5 STARS!! Our Cabana day, our last full day at the resort, was our most special and memorable day. After enjoying the pampering and privacy of it, we wished we had done it more. Alejandro and Vanesa gave us the most relaxing facials and the pampering was so sweet. Take swim goggles because the seashells found here were intact and whole in many cases (airline Bag check only). Also a pool hammock was an enjoyable item we took. ||||Our poolside days were an odd mixture of feelings, both positive and negative. I will explain. ||We loved the poolside staff--Juliana, Luis, Elio, Sarai, Ada! Sweetest, warmest, most hospitable people. ||The loungers, provided pool towels and umbrellas were perfectly comfortable. ||A background so this next part has context:||Each member of our family is musical, classically trained and actively using those talents. (Not bragging, just stating the fact: our family is a musical family. So our opinion may carry more weight here or less, as our bias might be a reason not to listen to our suggestion here. You decide.) The only type of music played at the resort (very loudly) is techno. In our opinion, this was not relaxing in such a repetitive format. We can appreciate many kinds of music, including techno. But hearing it five nights and six days straight is like eating chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner for that long. We would recommend playing a wide variety of music, a flavor of the authentic Mexican music, soul, country, r and b (clean G or PG rated for family), classics from all the decades (not in techno format)....you get the idea.||||When the P.A. system was used at the pools, it was obnoxiously loud. We usually left. It seemed it was used more at the main pool, so we seldom swam and relaxed over there. ||||While the local people and staff were the BEST, sometimes it was some of the other guests that many times soured our experiences. Between their loud conversations peppered with profanities and people's skimpy swimsuits at a family resort around our kids, we had lots of redirecting attention. However, we were prepared for this and had proper expectations in this area. Afterall, it is Cancun, and Cancun is party culture. What we did not expect, however, was a deliberate attack on the innocence of children. On the Sunday of our visit, in the Turquoize Tower overlooking a children's event at the pool obstacle course, a nude couple emerged on their glass balcony and performed a sexual act for all to see. We protect our kids from such things. The couple, no question, planned it during the busiest child attended event the entire time of our trip. I covered my kids eyes and my husband shouted at them to stop. The hotel staff responded immediately in the best way. Instantly, the staff reacted. The couple was confronted and asked to leave and never come back. The Management, Leonel and chief concierge, Roberto Bravo, manager on duty, kept in contact with us the remainder of our trip making sure we were okay. They continually assured us that Hyatt Ziva was a family safe resort and they did not condone such things. Leonel and Roberto were classy and professional. We repeatedly told them we knew that event wasn't their fault and we didn't need a thing from them. Yet, they continually offered their support and hospitality. First class job!! I almost did not mention that event in my review, but it and how the staff responded are very much a part of our Hyatt memory. They do not mess around. So, if you're a pervert who is into that sort of thing, pick a different resort. ||||Overall, Hyatt Ziva gets a five star rating from our family. Everything they did and tried to do made our...
Read morewanted to share our extraordinary experience at the Hyatt property during our recent trip to Mexico. As frequent travelers to Mexico who always opt for all-inclusive resorts, we decided to try Hyatt based on our travel concierge's recommendation. I'm thrilled to inform you that it exceeded our expectations in every way!||The property itself is stunningly designed, offering multiple pool options. For families with little ones, there's a covered area with shallow water, perfect for safe splashing. Our children, aged 11 and 12, enjoyed the other pools, although the depth of the pools for tweens made activities like volleyball and football catch a bit challenging. We particularly loved floating between the north and south pools. The pool near the public beach was quieter and incredibly relaxing, while all the daily activities took place at the main pool by the private beach.||One of the highlights of our stay was renting a cabana for $183.00 USD per day. This included two refreshing coconuts, a mini facial done right in the cabana, and attentive waiter service for both food and drinks. Elio, one of the waiters, was exceptional! He remembered our names and orders each day, providing super attentive service. Due to my allergies and sensitive skin, I requested a neck and shoulder massage instead of the mini facial, and this was accommodated without any issues. Victor was also fantastic in helping us secure our cabana reservations for the week, even allowing us to make changes as needed.||Regarding daily activities, there were games at the pool and beach volleyball at 12:00 pm, perfect for our children's age group. However, most other activities were geared toward younger kids, such as bracelet making, bingo, and beach walks. Eddie, from the activities team, made our pool games and volleyball sessions immensely fun! On Fridays through Sundays, they set up a blow-up obstacle course in the pool by the public beach, which was a big hit. I do wish there were more activities aimed at older kids. The game room offered free Xbox play, but the arcade games required extra payment, which was a bit of a letdown as we expected everything to be included in the all-inclusive package.||We also enjoyed a dolphin swim right on-site, which was a special offer at $129.00 USD per person. This included the Primax package, where we spent an hour with a trainer and two dolphins, engaging in various activities and free snorkeling. The experience was fantastic, and a photographer captured amazing pictures. However, the photo prices were exorbitant—$116.00 USD for 10 downloaded photos and $316.00 USD for all photos (no videos). Despite the steep price, we ended up purchasing them.||The variety of food options at the resort impressed us, especially as we consider ourselves food snobs. The main buffet and Moongate offered different options each day, and we never faced any issues finding something delicious, even with our vegetarian preferences and my youngest child's picky eating habits. Fernando and Daniel, our waiters at Moongate, were attentive and accommodating. Dana, the hostess at the Italian restaurant, remembered my vegetarian preference each time we visited. The kids' menu at every restaurant ensured that our children were happy and well-fed.||The nightly shows were entertaining, though I would rate them a 6/7 out of 10. We initially booked an oceanfront king room with a pull-out bed, but upon arrival, we were offered an upgrade to a two-story room with two full bathrooms for an additional $1,300 USD for five nights. This upgrade was worth every penny, providing us with ample space and comfort.||Housekeeping services were top-notch, with daily cleaning, nightly turndowns, and restocking of food and beverages. Special requests were promptly fulfilled. The private beach offered non-motorized water sports like kayaking and paddleboarding, though it had limited space for kids to dig and play. The public beach, while a bit of a hike from the resort, was safe and fun for our kids to explore. We felt secure with the presence of police on four-wheelers patrolling the area daily.||Overall, this Hyatt property exceeded our expectations with its fantastic food options, clean and comfortable rooms, clear beaches, and diverse pool options. We had an amazing time and look forward...
Read moreWe just returned yesterday from visiting Hyatt Ziva Cancun and we are still reminiscing and sharing photos from how great a trip we had. I had traveled there for my 40th with my family, parents and in-laws. The resort was probably at 50% capacity given how busy the pool, beach and restaurants were. I originally booked SLS Playa Mujeres but given some negative reviews we switched to this Hyatt property after staying at Hyatt Regency Aruba and loved it. Glad we made the switch!
Check-in: Upon arrival at check-in, we were greeted by handlers who later brought our luggage to our rooms and were also greeted by a Playa employee. Reader beware, the Playa people will show you around the resort and then try and rope you into some membership. I don't care for these things so once I noticed what was unfolding I kindly said no thank you a few times and they went about their business. We arrived to our Club Tower around 1 PM and a few of our rooms were already ready so it was great to drop things off in our room.
Room: We really enjoyed our room as we stayed in a King Club Oceanfront room with a pull out sofa. The room was well kept and while the furniture where the fridge was housed look more aged, everything else looked great. The outside patio furniture was nice, as was the sofa and the bathroom was great with glass shower doors, accent well and double vanities. I had been traveling for weeks before this trip and this was the first time I slept somewhere outside my home where I felt I got a great night's sleep. One caveat I will share is for some reason it can sound like the walls are paper thin above. When our neighbor upstairs moved furniture or opened the sliding door, it sounded like a mini freight train so if you are a light sleeper, I recommend but not necessary to have ear plugs. Coming back to the room, we felt we could sprawl out and enjoy ourselves and the stocked mini fridge was perfect for a morning juice for our little one or an afternoon soda or a late night balcony beer. My personal favorite part was waking up just early enough to capture the sunrise out of our corner window.
Grounds: This resort at first looked small but was deceivingly bigger than it seemed. I think that was because from the lobby you see the main pool and the beach area but there is actual another pool and public beach area on the other side. We didn't do many activities in the pool as my son loves the beach so we found ourselves gravitating to the beach near Habanero's for sun and water. I must say, the ground were very well kept and somehow grew on me as time went on. Just like a caveat above, I have one here about beach lounges. I don't think anyone had an issue getting pool lounges but the private beach of the Hyatt had a very narrow beach area so chairs were mostly accounted for by 9 - 9:30 AM with towels being available at 8 AM.
Beach: I was worried given sargassum peak season has passed just how much would be on the beach but to our surprise, there wasn't really any. The team would do a great job cleaning it up and didn't find much during our stay. The sand was very soft and was great for our little one to play in. The staff came around often for drinks so there was no shortage of getting something refreshing to have. We did try the public beach as well but given the chairs were so far away from the actual beach, we didn't go here although the water was just as nice.
Food: Some reviews have said the food was blah or bad but I am willing to believe it may have been what they selected. We went to TradeWinds twice for dinner and got steaks and lobster (extra $) which we were very much pleased with. We also went here for the buffet and passed on El Mercado entirely. Chevy's and Lorenzo were great for lunch as were the stands around the pool. We loved the coffee shop.
Shoutout: Alejandro at The Den was one of my favorite bartenders I've ever encountered. The vibe in there was really on point and his drinks were better than some I've had at home. Additional shoutout to Oscar at the pool for hosting awesome...
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