Live Aqua Cancún — Hotel in Cancún

My wife and I stayed 3 nights March 2024.

This was our experience: Check in was quick and the lady that checked us in was really lovely. As we left the check in desk another young lady approached us and started giving us a rundown of the restaurants and facilities. At first we thought it was a nice touch, but after about 10 minutes it started to feel a little weird - like she’s not being helpful, she’s trying to sell us something. Bear in mind, we’d been traveling for about 7 hours by the time we’d arrived at the hotel and really just wanted to get to our room and freshen up. The lady told us that she could get us a really good deal on a spa treatment and a cabana for the day (basically half price). It sounded like a good deal but then she asked for my wife’s cell and said she would meet us for breakfast and then she just needed to talk with us for about 30-40 minutes and then we would get our vouchers for the spa and cabana. At this point I remembered reviews I’d read before the trip saying that there were people trying to sell time shares and the like and ended the interaction. The lady called my wife the next morning and my wife told her that we decided to just hang out at the pool as with only 3 nights, every minute counts! The lady persisted via txt a few more times to try to change our minds but stopped after that. It really wasn’t a big deal, but I want to give people a heads up to just politely ignore these people in the lobby if they don’t want to be sold something on their vacation.

Our room: We stayed in an ocean front delux room. I had seen the pictures and some TikTok reels showing the rooms but they are much nicer in person than the pictures and videos show - in my opinion! The balcony was large, private and the view of the most beautiful blue ocean was gorgeous.

The restaurants: The breakfast buffet was great. Lots of options and food was good. The coffee was pretty weak, so we went to the Starbucks and got the stronger coffee (the Starbucks is free). We only ate at the buffet so can’t speak to breakfast anywhere else. We had dinner our first night at Hidden Garden. Service was fantastic. Food was good. Portions are on the smaller side though. We got a couple of tacos from the outdoor grill to fill us up. They were really good! I drank beer, which was a typical lager. My wife had wine and it wasn’t great. We got a burger from the outdoor grill the next day for lunch and it was a good burger. There are outdoor bars spread throughout the resort and every one we got good service at. Some people had suggested the drinks were watered down. I think that may have been the case. But it really doesn’t matter - you can drink as many as you want and I didn’t want to get to crazy drinking out in the sun. My wife loved the mango margaritas. The swim up bar was cool and we loved the built in stools to sit on and they were in the shade. We went to the Mediterranean restaurant for dinner. I think that was the best meal we had. The Beef Saltimboca was as good as I’ve had and the risotto it came with complemented it well. Service, like everywhere else was amazing. We ate at the Italian restaurant for lunch the next day. I had the bolognese which was ok. My wife had the pesto pasta and that was really tasty. For dinner, we went to MB (the only restaurant requiring men wear pants). The setting there is most like a real restaurant. This was for us the only restaurant with decent wine. I got the fillet mignon and was happy with it. My wife got the ribs and they were very bland. She wanted to go back to Azur. As I mentioned earlier, portions are on the smaller side, so we ordered room service 2 nights. Ordering room service is easy and the food takes 20-40 minutes. However, we ordered nachos and cake the first night. Nachos weren’t great and neither was the cake. The next night we got pizza. That pizza was awful. Most mornings we would see less than half eaten food outside people’s doors - I assume they felt the same way about the food. Overall we were delighted with the hotel, the service and the food....

We paid $1700 for 5 nights for our babymoon/honeymoon and found Live Aqua to be a great value! I think we snagged a deal because it’s technically the “rainy season” and the sargassum season but it’s only rained a little when we first arrived and otherwise the skies have been clear. There has been sargassum (seaweed) and rough waters but my husband still went swimming in the ocean and had fun. We asked about any possible upgrades and they upgraded us to an ocean view for free! The room is very nice and feels luxurious. I specifically did a lot of research to find an all inclusive with good food and Live Aqua did not disappoint. I’d say their food quality and execution is held to a high standard here, with great attention to good quality meats and diverse menus, and attentive about allergies. This isn’t one of those places that serves different versions of the same thing. Each restaurant/room service/pool service has a unique menu with different things to try. It’s great! I was not expecting this for a beach vacation, but a highlight of the food has been the soups! Don’t sleep on the soups here! The tomato soup at Varenna, the poblano soup at Siete, and the habanero bread bowl soup at MB are amazing!!!! I know I’ll be craving them when I go home. We also found the breakfast buffet to be well stocked- only thing missing is some home fries! There’s hash browns but no other breakfast potatoes. The omelette station is great. My only qualm with the restaurants is that there is no where air conditioned to have lunch. Being pregnant, I found myself really wanting a break from the heat while I had lunch and the only option would be to go to the room and order room service. All the other restaurants are outdoors at that time. azur was probably the best temperature-wise because they had lots of fans going and the burger was really really tasty. Service has been a 10/10 all around. Everyone is very attentive and nice. The activities are good. My husband liked beach volleyball and the circus night was actually a big production! We were just expecting one person doing tricks but they have a whole stage area and set up a huge dinner buffet and dessert stations. It was a whole thing! I did not like yoga. It is outdoors and hot, no fans going. I did not enjoy the instructor as his demonstrations/instructions were sometimes not safe- not real yoga. We had fun at the “casino night”, which is not real money but just for fun. The pools are nice and spacious. However, probably the most annoying thing about this resort is their system for paid cabana reservations. It’s excessive. There are tons of cabanas and they all cost $85/day to use. Even if they’re not reserved you can’t use them, they will sit empty while you have to search high and low for some chairs. Then they also have an additional system where they write “members” names on chalk boards to reserve certain chairs or beds. Reducing the number of available seats even further. And lots of these beds also go unused for most of the day or even the entire day. It’s wasteful and stupid. Thankfully i wake up early so I was able to go down and put our stuff out early, like 7:30am to get seats we wanted. But that’s not fair for people who are on vacation and don’t want to wake up early or pay high prices just for chairs. The hotel thinks it is being smart and getting more money by doing this but I do think it will keep people from rebooking. It really is that annoying. I can’t imagine during the busy season. You must have no other choice but to pay the daily fee. We also did 4 massages at the spa. My husband loved the hydrotherapy before the massage. I was only able to do the foot bath. Then I had prenatal massage- my first masseuse was excellent while my second masseuse was unenjoyable and seemed uninformed as she tried to make me lay flat on my back not once but twice, something commonly known that is not a safe or comfortable position for pregnant people. I wish the services were more consistent. Overall we would go back and had...

My boyfriend and I stayed at this all-inclusive, adults-only hotel in Cancún for seven days, and overall, we had a wonderful experience.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by staff who assisted with our luggage and directed us straight to the check-in desk. The check-in process was fast and easy. Shortly after, we met our designated concierge, Viri, who provided a thorough overview of the resort, including activities, restaurant options, locations, and additional services. She also shared her contact information for assistance with reservations and any other needs. However, when I reached out to Viri on the second day for assistance, I did not receive a response back. I sent two messages to the provided number, one with and without the Mexico area code - not sure if it was an error on my part or not. While this was slightly disappointing, it was not a major issue, as the rest of the staff were exceptionally attentive and helpful.

One of the highlights of our stay was the outstanding hospitality. The staff consistently greeted us with warm smiles and friendly "Buenos días" or "Buenas tardes" as we walked by. The activity coordinators truly made a lasting impression—Ricardo and Taylor, in particular, were incredibly entertaining and engaging. There was also another coordinator who assisted with audio during pool bingo that was just as energetic, though I unfortunately forgot his name. Daniel, another member of the activities team, was also very friendly and great to chat with.

When it came to dining, the restaurant staff exceeded our expectations. Elizabeth from El Siete was especially welcoming and even took the time to practice Spanish with me, which I greatly appreciated as I work on building confidence in speaking the language. Seeing her throughout our stay and having her remember our names made us feel kind of special. Alfredo from Azur also provided exceptional service during the special outdoor dinner events, engaging in meaningful conversations beyond the usual small talk. He went above and beyond to ensure we had a memorable experience.

The food at the resort was generally good, with MB, Sushi Station, and Varenna (for lunch) standing out as our favorites. By the pool, staff grilled burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and chicken daily—this food was phenomenal and not to be missed. If we hadn't been trying to experience all the restaurants before leaving, I would have gladly had lunch at the grills every day. Additionally, grilled tacos were available for dinner, and they were also absolutely delicious! The bartenders were also friendly and professional, contributing to the overall positive experience. Our poolside servers were fantastic, with Ceasar providing especially outstanding service.

Room service was convenient, particularly for breakfast, with an average wait time of 30-45 minutes. However, on one occasion, we experienced a delay of about 1 hour and 20 minutes despite being told it would be 45 minutes.

Housekeeping ensured our room was cleaned daily and our fridge remained well-stocked.

The only downside to our stay—though not necessarily the hotel's fault—was the challenge of finding available poolside chairs. Many guests would wake up as early as 6:30 AM to place towels and belongings on chairs, reserving them for later. By 7:30-8:00 AM, most of the chairs were claimed, yet many of these guests wouldn’t actually arrive at the pool until 9:00-11:00 AM. While the hotel does have a policy stating that chairs left unattended for over 30 minutes can be used by other guests, we witnessed an uncomfortable situation where one guest became verbally aggressive towards another couple for taking their "reserved" chairs. Wanting to avoid similar confrontations, we opted not to challenge the issue.

Overall, our experience at this resort was fantastic, and the exceptional service from the staff made it truly memorable. Despite a few minor inconveniences, we would absolutely consider returning...