Ventus at Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico - reviews,open hours,photo spots,things to do

Mexico Quintana Roo Puerto MorelosVentus at Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort

Ventus at Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort

BLVD. EL CID, MZ. 20 LOTE 1-01 UNIDAD 11 S, Manzana 03, 77580 Cancun, Q.R., Mexico

4.0(493)

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+52 998 872 8999

Website

elcid.com

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Anne ChiaoAnne Chiao

We booked 9 suites for a family reunion through Costco vacations. Everything was a scam for an upsell. There was no consistency. Pre-booking dinners before arrival was an absolute nightmare with the concierge Magdalena, because everything is always booked even though the non buffets always had empty tables. We had a total of 10 adults, 7 seniors, and 5 children under 3 years of age. Everyone was offered a different upsell at check in. I was told I could upgrade to an oceanfront view for an extra $250. Others were told it would be $150. Some were offered a plunge pool with the extra fee and some were upgraded for free to a 1 bedroom. Everyone was also told a different price for Wi-Fi. Some were told it was free for 2 devices, others were told it was an extra $65 and our older uncle was told it was $85. Luckily we were able to figure that out before they charged anyone extra for free Wi-Fi. The room we received was not the Junior suite we originally paid for but a smaller king bed room full of bees on the porch. With our Costco vacation we received $250 in resort credit per room. No one told us told about the credit during check in. The front desk tried to give us a coupon book to pass it off as the Costco credit which was a total scam. One of the coupons ($100) was used to upgrade our room for an oceanfront view for $250 - NOT WORTH IT. The upgraded room was a worse room with bees all over the porch. After we asked to switch our room the second day, we had to check out at noon then wait until 3pm to check back in without a room. Most rooms used $227 of the Costco credits for a deep tissue massage. I told them I wanted to do it outside by the beach but I got a room inside instead. When I booked the spa later there was no free facial because we were using “credits” instead of cash. It was the WORST massage I ever received. He over-stretched and bruised me. To make matters worse at the end, we tried to use up the rest of our $23 credits at the lobby gift shop the last night after checking out and every one who did the same massage had different amounts leftover in pesos ranging from $400 to $433 pesos. They told me there was no Costco credit left on my parents room. Because my Dad is disabled they had asked me to use their credit. My mom told me she checked with the front desk and they told her she had $23 left but needed to use it before 10am so I waited for the gift shop to open at 9am and asked the man in the lobby gift shop to confirm how much was left in credits for my mom’s room. The guy told me $400 pesos. The gift shop attendant then spent the next 30 minutes on the phone with reception while I patiently waited only for him to tell me he couldn’t process and I had to go to reception. Everyone used theirs after they checked out the previous night and even though reception told us we had to use it before 10am which we did, they wouldn’t let me use the credit for my parents. The credit was only $23 but time and energy wasted was worth a lot more. Our family spent OVER $30k at this resort. Extremely short sighted of the resort to nickel and dime everything unless their goal was to make us never to come back. The front desk is the ABSOLUTE WORST because everyone got a different story from the Wi-Fi price, to the room credits - all they do is tell you they can’t do anything about it with a smile because they already have your money. I’ve stayed at many resorts in Mexico over the years and I own a timeshare in Cabo. No one tried to make anything better. Aside from the joy of being able to see my family, I’m extremely disappointed with the hospitality at this property, especially the front desk and concierge. Our 9 families will NOT be returning here and will NOT be recommending this property to anyone. In fact we will be warning everyone to stay away unless you don’t care about a beach, good food or getting scammed.

Victor LeeVictor Lee

Review of Ventus at Marina El Cid Solid 4 stars. What they did well: Restaurants: almost all very good. Lots of variety, especially the themed restaurants, such as French, Italian, Ibero-American. Fresh ingredients. Friendly wait staff. If you've never been to a Teppanyaki restaurant, then this one is very entertaining. Pools: Lots of options with different pools for adults, families, loud music, no music... All with easy access to drinks and towels nearby. Did not encounter the issue with towel hoggers in other reviews – perhaps because we went in May, prior to busy season. Entertainment (evening): High quality sound/dance/performers. There is a show every night at 8PM. Also smaller events such as live band/DJ for late night activity. They also had free rental of items such as paddleboard/kayak/football/Jenga. The daily activity schedule is posted in the lobby as well as next to the elevators. Grounds: well maintained and picturesque. Ventus Ha especially was new/modern/quiet, but a little farther of a walk. Ventus was a good mix of newness and proximity to things. Marina was the original hotel so little older but is closer to the family pool where a lot of activities take place. There was a water slide and a rock to jump off of. Can see little animals such as iguanas, turtles, birds, lizards, geckos, and their local racoon-like animal wandering freely on campus. Value: great value when purchased through Costco's vacation package. Location: located outside the craziness of the Cancun/Hotel Zone. Right next to the little town of Puerto Morelos which is cute. Security entering the hotel was good, with multiple guardhouses. But walking around town outside the resort felt safe as well. Things that could be improved to garner a 5-star rating: Shuttle into town: This resort complex houses enough guests that there could be an hourly shuttle to bring guests into the nearby town of Puerto Morelos. We did walk it once, but it was too hot and there were no sidewalks. They do offer free bicycle tours, but with the same issue of heat. The hotel will call a taxi for you, but they charge $12 USD for a one-way ride which is less than 1 mile. Uber is not readily available here. Wi-Fi internet: The internet speeds are very slow, even to load basic webpages. Also, there is a limit of 2 devices. In today's world, internet is so important that unlimited fast internet should be standard. We ended up getting a Telcel sim card in town, which worked fine. (there are reports of other carriers having poor reception here) Other opportunities for improvement that I did not factor into my rating: Ocean: rocky to walk on and too much seaweed underwater to see much snorkeling. The neighboring plot of land to the north is vacant so dead seaweed builds up there and there was an unpleasant sulfur odor at times. Would recommend booking a snorkeling excursion if you want to see that kind of stuff. Wristband: their wristband was basic and felt a little childish. Could be an opportunity to be more elevated and also incorporate NFC to open the room doors. Upselling: there was some upselling, such as pitches to upgrade to Platinum, attend their vacation club presentation, or buy excursions. We were ready for these as I had already read many reviews, but it could be annoying for other travelers. I tipped those guys a few dollars and they left us alone afterwards. Restaurant reservations: Dinners at the non-buffet restaurants require reservations. They allow you make 2 restaurant reservations per day. Because we were aware of this up front, we were diligent and were able to make ours. But we saw that some other guests weren't able to get some. This could be simplified by having an online reservation system.

Alejandra GomezAlejandra Gomez

First time going to Cancun. When we were reaching the hotel at night, the road and views were sketchy. However, when we pulled up it was looking nice, we got inside and the guys helped us with our bags and got checked in. They give you 1 key card and you better not lose it lol. We got on a golf cart and headed to bldng 19 where we were staying. One thing they didn’t tell us is that the elevator wasn’t working and they didn’t fix it throughout the whole week we were there, so when we ate and went back to the room, we would be hungry having to walk up 4 flys of stairs. Room was clean and stocked with water and other drinks, but the fridge didn’t seem to work well. There’s a sound in the room, not sure what it was, maybe the ac, the ac for this room wasn’t the best. You’ll have to turn on the ceiling fan as well. The balcony view was ok, there’s a big pond throughout the hotel and supposedly there are 🐊, no issues with that tho. First night we got to go to the dj disco in Venus lobby. It was really fun, however it ends at 1 am and even before. You’ll be obligated to go to bed at that time. There’s nothing else to do here other than walk on the beach or such. Not many late night activities. The beach… not the best one I’ve been to or seen. The pool was awesome tho, with the open bar and nice bartenders. Now.. the food. With the reviews I had read, I would’ve thought the food was great, but I was wrong. Breakfast at Alhambra is good, lunch is great at the restaurant by the big pool. They have a grill where you can get steaks, chicken breast, and burgers. However.. dinner is not good at the buffet. They don’t have many options and the few options aren’t good. Really disappointed with dinner. Room service is available till late in the evening. Whatever you order it’ll take from 30mins-1hr. The burger is nice, but the chips they serve it with are not.. the cheesecake is good too. Another thing .. definitely try to go to coco bongo, less than 1 hours away. it’s great shows and disco, great music💃. There are many more actives you can book like atvs which are 30 mins away. Overall, it was a great vacation despite the few bad things. It’s a good hotel but when you go to other ones in the zona hotelera, you’ll see the big differences.

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Reviews of Ventus at Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort

4.0

(493)

5.0

25w

We had a great 8-night trip! Family of four, two kids. Booked through Southwest Vacations and I still can't believe the value proposition for this resort. You have to manage your expectations for resorts and match them to the cost. The quality-to-price ratio here blows other AI's away, esp. for variety and quality of food, rooms, and available amenities/services.

We booked a Junior Suite, then upgraded on arrival to an oceanview One-Bedroom Suite. Two full bathrooms, two balconies, separated bedroom with king bed, queen murphy bed in the living room. King+queen is a huge upgrade from what most other resorts offer (king+sofabed, king+twin or bunk beds, 2 doubles, etc.). I don't know why more resorts don't have full- or queen-size murphy beds!

AWESOME STAFF: -ALL of the Kids Club staff. I was worried our 10yo would be bored or think it was for little kids but he ended up wanting to stay more! They gave the kids a framed picture to take home and our 5yo walked up to it yesterday and said "I miss you." Kids Club is open 9am-9pm and each day they do a morning swim; lunch; afternoon swim; dinner; evening show if it's at 8 pm; and other activities in between those things, some inside and some outside, depending on theme for the day. GRACIAS Mar, Claudia, Abril, Roxi, Grace, Joss, Nico, Xime, and Andy! -Rodolfo, our server at Urban Taco Fest, which had no pesce/vegetarian options. Rodolfo went to the chef and made sure we got a plate of grilled fish & vegetables for our tacos! Above and beyond service. -Aline, Ixchel, and other Activities staff who did fun activities around the pool and helped with the evening shows. -The female singer at the Retro Show was fantastic!

Other things we loved: -Outstanding ocean view from our room -Across all three sections you never feel far from the ocean because of the layout, which runs parallel to the beach, not perpendicular -Proximity to beautiful town of Puerto Morelos: a 5-minute taxi or Uber. The town has not only an outstanding beach (protected from sargasso), but great & affordable food options. It is awesome to leave the resort and visit town, do something different without spending too much money, and not have to spend 30 minutes in a car! -Variety of food offered and quality are definitely a notch above other AI's in this price range especially -Variety of pool and hot tub options. Family jacuzzi. At Ventus Ha, jets in the adults pool that aren't heated--it's so hot in June I didn't want to be in a hot tub but I did want jets. I wish they had non-heated jets elsewhere -Breakfast at A'akat, my son said "make sure to mention the french toast" -Infinity pools at night -The night shows were entertaining (I have seen more professional-level stage setups at other resorts, but the performers here were talented and passionate)

Negatives: -You can go here for ocean views, the breeze, and the sound/look of the ocean, but don't go here if swimming in the ocean is your main priority for a resort. This is especially true in sargassum season (summer), but at any time of year there are places even in this price range with MUCH better beach situations. However, other things at the resort make up for it, as long as that's not your #1 priority. The week we visited was the WORST influx of sargassum (people were saying literally the worst ever), and we still had a great trip. Go swimming at Puerto Morelos! -Not the best for vegetarians, sorry to say. We are pescetarian so did fine with fish/seafood offerings, but there are no labels for when meat is in something. The labeling for gluten-free was good. But it was frustrating that most of the Mexican dishes had meat in them, and this was often not obvious (because the meat is inside of something, not visible). Some things were also labeled "cheese" but then had meat in them. This is a big area for improvement to serve a wider variety of guests. -Resort bracelets don't open the room doors so you still have to carry a key card -I sometimes wish there were no music playing at the pools, but I haven't found a resort that doesn't play music...

3.0

31w

Would I come here again, absolutely. Would I book a tour through them... NEVER AGAIN. STRANDED IN TULUM

The place is great. Fun events to see, pools were nice and clean, service was fantastic, and food was delicious. My issue was the tour.

They use a 3rd party tour company Pronatour that's situated within their lobby. My girlfriend and I were looking at 2 tours. La Noria, for their horseback riding and Tulum for the photos. We originally wanted chichen itza, but because it was a 12-hour tour, they explained tulum and cenote would be better suited to us as a half day trip, and we would be back early in the afternoon.

La Noria was great. Everything went as planned. The tour guide was amazing.

Tulum trip was a disaster. We got into the van, which dropped us off with another group in a bus that was waiting for us. The bus was packed with 2 other groups and 2 guides, I guess we were just along for the tour at this point. We sat in the back cause there were no seats left, and it smelled like urine the whole time. An hour later, we arrive in Tulum. They park the bus in a parking lot and tell us landmarks to where the bus is. They tell us to leave our bags and water bottles because there is a bag check. We walk to the entrance, and tour guide 1 explains the rules, while tour guide 2 gets wrist bands, then when doing a head count, they realize there's extra wristbands. Trying to figure out why, they left the list of people on the tour on the bus. We start the tour, and guide 1 explains the history for over an hour, telling us not to take photos because there will be time. When he's finally done, he gives us 40 minutes to walk around and meet at the exit. DEFINITELY NOT ENOUGH TIME TO SEE THE RUINS AND GET SOUVENIRES. We cut the photo-taking short and get to the exit early to do some souvenir shopping.

WE GET TO THE PARKING LOT AND OUR BUS IS GONE!! OUR BAGS ARE ON THE BUS!! THEY LEFT NO NUMBER TO CONTACT THEM, AND THEY NEVER CONTACTED US!!

A few minutes later, we get a text from the hotel saying the bus is waiting for us and they send us photos of the bus sitting at the parking lot. BUT WERE STANDING INFRONT OF THE LOT, and no one is here!! It made no sense. We're trying to get in direct contact with the bus, but the hotel is saying they're just the middle man.

Apparently, the bus messages their supervisor, which then contacts the hotel, who then contacts us... we wanted the phone number to the bus but none of them could provide it to us!! We finally get in touch, and they say they're on the way to the next stop, and we should take a taxi there... WE HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET $75 USD!! They say to get there soon so they don't leave and go on to the next stop. We were explained that it was ONLY Tulum and cenote, so we were confused at how many stops there were. At this point, we're playing catch up and pissed off.

We meet the bus, and the guides act like nothing happened, not even sorry. We sat in the bus waiting for everyone. They tell us there's time to sight see and give us a scheduled time to leave. The time comes, and not everyone is on the bus, so they wait another 15-20 minutes till they arrive, and then we set off. 3rd and last stop was the cenote. We were pissed so all we did was eat and sit around. Then again, when it came time for departure, not everyone was there on time, and we waited 15-20 minutes. Riding back guide 1 gets off with a group of 5 people. Another 30 minutes later, guide 2 gets off with the rest of the tour, leaving me and my girlfriend behind on the bus with just the bus driver. The driver didn't even know what hotel we were staying in!! It makes sense why we're left behind!! We were never part of their tour! We were just added to it!!

OUR HALF DAY TRIP TOOK 12 HOURS!! THE TRAVEL AGENCY(PRONATOUR) SAID IT WAS THE HOTELS FAULT FOR NOT EXPLAINING THE TOUR WAS 12 HOURS. BUT LEO AT CONCIERGE KEPT TELLING US IT WAS A HALF DAY TOUR AND IT WOULD BE QUICKER THAN CHICHEN ITZA!!

NEVER BOOKING A TOUR WITH THE HOTEL...

5.0

24w

Transportation: the resort offers free public transportation from the hotel, you'll have to wait for others so take it for what its worth. I chose to do a private pick up, Happy Shuttle was great and did round trip for $120 (USD) which they scheduled our ride back before we even got dropped off so it wasn't something we had to worry about at the end of our trip.

Check in: the staff was super friendly and building was very nice. It was clean and welcoming, we were offered drinks and Check in was fairly quick, there was one part I wasn't especially fond of. Once you get checked in youre directed to one of the on site activity coordinators, although they were so nice and helpful, I would have rather gone to my room to relax a bit after traveling all day. The whole idea is to get you scheduled to sit in on their time share presentation during your stay. They offer 2 for 1 coupons for some of the things like massages and snorkeling. If you take the coupons and then dont show up to the presentation they will charge you full price for whatever you wanted to do. They do take a credit card at the fron desk and put a hold on it for record fees, not sure if its all the same but ours was $200, which was released back to me after Check out.

Food: OMG, AMAZING! breakfast is a buffet and there are many options for everyone. I will definitely say they were really on top of ensuring that any guests with food allergies or restrictions were taken care of, they ask at every meal and restaurant before they seat you if you have allergies or anything. There are about 10 different restaurants total. The best place for lunch, in my opinion, is Mercado De Dolores. They have 6 individual made to order restaurants thay include Mexican, american variety, seafood, Asian food, and crepes. Its basically a large food court, you get seated and a server will take your drink order and you get your food on your own. The food was so good we went here most days of our stay. Of all the places we went the only thing I had that I didn't like was the lasagna at the Italian restaurant, I swapped it for the sword fish and that was amazing. You can only make reservations for 2 places at a time so be sure to do that, if you dont have a reservation for dinner that night you can just go to the buffet or order roomservice which is 24/7. I thought the burgers tasted a little weird, something about the texture of the meat just wasn't what im used to. But see for yourself I could just be crazy. The chocolate cake!!!! The chocolate cake!!!! Its got cake layered with a creamy fluffy mousse and topped with chocolate icing, i was on the hunt for it because it was so good.

Pools- the pools are great, they have guys who walk around serving drinks. They can get a little busy during peak times so there may be a wait, but you can always go get your drink directly from the bar. There is an adults only pool on the roof top at Ventus Ha, so if you dont want to be around kids that's always an option.

The all inclusive covers 98% of the things there. As far as food some places have upgrades, La Marina offers a giant lobster tail for $65 (usd) and it's definitely worth it if you want to splurge a little. They also have a wine menu that is not included in the all inclusive so be sure to ask so youre not charged by surprise.

One thing that didnt sit well with me was that the the wifi is not included. This made no sense to me, as much as guests pay for rooms and the all inclusive option you'd think internet would be included. It cost me an extra $60 to have wifi for 2 phones for 5 days, it would have been $120 but they have us a discount because we agreed to do the timeshare presentation. They charge per device so if youre traveling with kids and they use tablets or something that's more expensive. I did like the pickup laundry service, you just bag up your items, fill out the inventory form, and call room service and they'll pick it up, turn around time is about...

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