VIDANTA Mayan Palace full-service resort with oceanfront pool, Cirque du Soleil

Ideal for couples or small families. Resort is kid friendly but plenty of space for those visiting without kids, too. Check-in is at 5 pm ONLY on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday and reservation is for the full 7 days (price listed is per day, multiply by 7). Although you can check out early, you must check-in on the date selected, there is no discount on the rental for early departures as it is by the week only. More than 1 week available, can reserve multiple hotel room units for larger groups.

Hotel room unit, 392 sq ft, 2 queen beds, sleeps 4, separate shower and tub. No kitchenette. Twice daily maid service. All rooms have jungle view as Quintana Roo requires buildings to be under treeline. Pool is gigantic, one of largest in Central America. Swim up bar, many activities. Full food and bar service on beach chairs, too. Easy to be socially distant from others.

Vidanta Resorts Riviera Maya consists of 5 different hotel brands, some are quality timeshare condominiums from years ago while others are new, deeded fractional ownership luxury condominiums. This is not your boring timeshare location. Mayan Palace is their standard room that has attracted visitors exchanging or renting for many years – a step above most timeshares as people know them. The pool is known to be one of the largest in Latin America.

At Vidanta the rooms are cleaned to a significant safety standard in-between guests. English is spoken well by most staff as the resort caters to Americans and Canadians. They will always offer several discounts if you opt to hear their Residence Club presentation but it is optional with NO requirement to do so at all. Mayan Palace has other locations in Mexico, often smaller than this one at Riviera Maya, but this price is available at any of them (Puerto Vallarta - Marina, Nuevo Vallarta, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Penasco). If you prefer a larger unit (1 or 2 BR) or upgraded condo (Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss, Grande Luxxe) just message me. Rates can be significantly more but I have access. The GB and GL allow use of Beach Club Pool & Lounge.

This overall property at Vidanta Riviera Maya is very large and each of the 5 brands has its own pool and amenities. Mayan Palace has the large, main pool with plenty of activities daily, right in front of the beach. Sun loungers as well as umbrellas and covered daybeds are available to guests with optional bar and food service at the pool and beach. The resort has built a wonderful system of wooden pathways that connect the hotel brands and 16 restaurants are available to guests from steakhouse to Asian fusion to tacos and burgers. The pathways make for a fun lazy meander or a great jog in the early morning, although there are frequent shuttles for those who don’t want to walk a long way to get around the resort grounds.

There is a lake on property with an island that has a flamingo enclosure, and there is wildlife that wanders around the resort including iguana, the cute and intelligent Coati with their long tail up in the air, and the Agouti to name a few. There is even a crocodile enclosure. A Jack Nicklaus golf course is on site and available with a 2 for 1 promotion under this rental (approx. $45 each).

Vidanta partners with many well-known global brands including Cirque du Soleil, United Airlines, Chicago Bulls & Cubs, Hakkasan Group and more. On property is a new waterpark and Cirque du Soleil dinner show (real French Canadian Cirque, not a Mexican imitation), both available at additional charge. The waterpark is small but has fun rides – 7 adult/big kid slides including a waterslide that goes down and back up again, as well as a 4 person family boomerang slide. The young kids side has a large water adventure park with 8 slides of varying size and ability along with plenty of splashing. A wave pool with sandy beach is in the middle. The best part is a very long lazy river with a float-up bar so your drink is always full. Optional lockers and food available, as well as catered cabanas for family groups who want a home base inside the park.
The Cirque dinner show is now open and tickets are in the normal Cirque range $75-$250, depending on service level chosen.

For those who prefer exercise or pampering – a gym, tennis and full-service spa is available at additional cost.

One of the coolest places on property is the outdoor dining area Salum. It has 4 outdoor restaurants with an open seating plan where your group can order different items from each while seated at a table on the sand right by the beach, often with a live DJ spinning chill but dancy tunes on the sand. Each bar has different happy hours throughout the day so if you’re looking for 2 for 1 drinks, you will find it throughout the property at different hours. I suggest the Yavi mezcal drink (happy hour 7-8pm) at Saude in the middle of Salum. There is also a Mexican market right next door to buy a la carte food items or Mexican crafted items. There is even a small convenience store/deli/coffee shop on property.

See their website: https://www.vidanta.com/mayan-palace

Off property - there are many local attractions in Cancun area including Xel-Ha and Xcaret for a day of water based fun. Tulum or Chichen Itza are must sees for archaeological and Mayan history, although there are many other ruins too, some of which you can climb on. I suggest renting a car both for the pandemic safety as well as the ability to go at your own pace. (In terminal providers charge more but HolidayCars.com already include optional, recommended collision insurance in their low fee. Mandatory 3rd party liability is always extra.) Additionally, I suggest considering getting temporary health insurance as most American plans do not pay for services in Mexico. It’s pretty cheap and worth the small cost. There are many providers, I used Patriot Platinum.

If you drive there, you can usually buy tickets to Chichen Itza (2 hours away) at a designated stop on the toll road and when you pull into the site you can opt for a private tour guide – they aren’t that expensive! Then drive a mile to see the Ik Kil cenote where you can cliff dive and swim. Later don’t miss the Ek Balam archaeological site where you can climb the fantastic temples, pyramid and ruins. It’s part of a major find but like many Mayan ruins most of it is still covered in jungle growth for centuries and only partly excavated. I haven’t done any of these since the pandemic began so if you plan to go, double check on what’s open first.

Also - Local state lodging tax of approximately $20 per week per room (can vary with exchange rate at time of checkout) is due to the resort upon checkout and is responsibility of renter. Thank you for understanding that this fee cannot be included in your VRBO rental payment.