For 2 nights over Christmas we decided to spend some time at the Marriott Resort Cancun. We took a private shuttle from Playa Del Carman to the Cancun hotel zone. This is the easiest way to do it, but also the most expensive. We used Canada Transfers and they were very professional and on time.

The Cancun hotel zone is a purpose built area for tourism. It’s a long 7 shape that is out off the coast that contains lots of hotels, restaurants, and resorts. Over all I can honestly say that Cancun is quite a bit more expensive than Playa del Carmen. This is probably the proximity to the airport.

• 

The beachfront is very pretty here and all the hotels have little pieces of private beach that you can use to relax on their chairs and they will bring you food and drink. The ocean here is a bit rough. You can swim in it but there are lots of waves to contend with. I find it fun to get washed out to sea but it’s not especially good for calm swimming. However the hotel had a huge pool as well which was good for swimming.

One advantages of staying at the Marriott is that you can go to the bars and restaurants of not only the Marriott but also the JW next door. This glass of Prosecco was from the lobby bar in the JW. It’s a lovely bar but you certainly pay for it. All of the prices were fairly expensive from beer and wine to water. You can, of course, take a short walk to a 7-11 and buy stuff there to bring back to your room.

Due to COVID-19 it was required to serve food with alcohol so we got mixed nuts along with the drinks. Of course he added that to the bill 🙂

The views were pretty amazing from all around the hotel you could see either the ocean or the lagoon as you looked out towards Cancun downtown. Our room was supposed to have a resort view, but it was actually a partial ocean view.

We did not do especially much over Christmas. Just went swimming and ate at the restaurants. It was pretty quiet and relaxing. Overall of the 3 destinations – Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum I would say that Playa del Carmen is a good mix of nice places to eat, beach time, nice hotels, and price. Tulum is cheaper and more rustic. Cancun is more expensive and American like.