Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun

253marybethd wrote a review August 2025

Traveling with concerns made easy!!!

I am a 57 year old woman who loves to travel, but with an allergy to every kind of pepper and a liver transplant survivor… travel is not ever easy… until now!!!! This resort could not do enough for me… and I will be a frequent customer!!

Shout Outs!!!

Angel Jiminez the night bellboy. Wow. He was ALWAYS there with a smile. When carrying our luggage in told us not to worry. Boy was he right! Anytime he saw us he was super friendly, attentive, and made our stay a dream!

Yadira Carrillo concierge. Took care of my food allergy going way above and beyond. Got in touch with all the restaurants, food and beverage mgrs, and anyone else who needed to be aware!

Chef Carlos… for coming out to talk to me about how to prepare my food at every meal!

And the gentleman who sat us every meal at the Beach House. I am so sorry I dont remember his name. He made sure I was taken care of at every meal. He was wonderful and was off our last day. He also had a bowl of crispy bacon everyday for my husband!!!

Date of Stay: August 2025

O8054NRstephaniep wrote a review August 2025

The rudest staff I've ever encountered

I am on day two of my holiday and it is being ruined by sulky rude staff, it's as if being rude is part of the job description. I took money out of the cash machine specifically to tip staff as I read up it is expected here. Not one staff member has deserved it. For e.g the waiter asked me what I want to drink, only being given a wine list, I asked what else they had, only to be made to feel, I am being difficult. The same happened at breakfast when my omelette came with bacon on the side( not in the description) I moved it off my plate as I'm a vegetarian,again I was made to feel as though I am being difficult.

The girl on the front desk is a hustler, the first sentence after welcome was her asking me if I want to upgrade my room for an extra 400 pound. I was shown to an awful tiny room, so had no choice but to upgrade. I spoke to another holiday maker at the pool and he said they did the same to him. For a week with my son I have already forked out over three thousand pounds ( and this is low season). This hotel is definitely not as advertised,it looks worn in places and the food in the beach hut is really poor. You can not swim in the sea as water is brown and full of seaweed.

Now to the positives, the taco restaurant is really nice and there is the odd staff member who is polite and smiles. That's the end of the positives.

Date of Stay: August 2025

Y9174GNjackt wrote a review August 2025

The Perfect Holiday!

The resort is very clean, you see cleaners regularly going around the place touching it up to make it look perfect. We noticed this immediately when we arrived and when walking around during our stay. We visited in August, which was a little bit quiet but perfect for us.

When we first arrived, tired from our flight, we were greeted by Karla at reception, who is incredible. She couldn't have been more accommodating and helpful; She welcomed us with a margarita-flavoured ice lolly upon arrival, which was perfect given the heat and exactly what we needed. She patiently talked us through the resort app and all the details we needed.

We ate at all the restaurants during out stay apart from one. Our favourite was Rita's Taco House! When eating at Rita's Emilio was a standout waiter for us. He was always funny, personable and always brightened our days with his infectious personality. We would also like to shoutout Joe Merchant’s, where another wonderful gentleman went out of his way to provide us with baguettes for a trip - really appreciated and helpful of him to go out of his way to do so.

When we were there we booked our trip to Coco Bongos through our Tui rep. This was a flawless experience and really smooth in terms of the booking process.

We participated in some of the entertainment activities provided by the resort. We appreciated the work that Colin and Itzel did everyday, going out of their way to make peoples days and being personable, kind and funny when doing so. Our favourite activity was the Margarita making with Antonioni the barman, such a fun experience and one that left us smiling for a long time afterwards.

Finally, our biggest and most heartfelt mention goes to Manuel. Manuel is hands down one of the best barman we have ever met. Manuel is a true master of his craft, being a mixologist where no matter what we asked - it could be anything or everything, he would do with aplomb. He is sensational and a great guy. Every night would make sure to greet Manuel and say hi and have some drinks, just to enjoy the pleasure of his company and expertise. He is a standout member of the resort team - thank you Manuel for making our holiday so special!

We cannot recommend this resort enough and have recommended it to everyone who has asked us about it. We look forward to returning someday in the future - thank you to all of those who made it special.

Date of Stay: August 2025

rayettet2025 wrote a review September 2025

Recommend another all inclusive in Cancun

This was the worst all inclusive resorts I have been too. Beach access was not allowed. The swim out room was subpar compared to others we have stayed. I do not recommend.

Date of Stay: December 2024

Spotney wrote a review September 2025

Food is incredible, needs fine tuning!

Honeymoon - October 2024 (10 night trip)

Visited with my husband for our honeymoon. We'd done a lot of research around what to expect and other travelers experiences and recommend anyone else visiting does the same. This is not to be mixed up with the Riviera Maya hotel, we stayed in the Riviera Cancun hotel.

Transfer:
If you get travel sick I recommend sickness tablets when leaving the airport as the road leading to the hotel is VERY bumpy and often flooded.

1st impression:
Hotel itself is beautiful, the grounds are immaculate and layout simple and easy to navigate. Beautiful views from most angles and lots of natural Mexican beauty to behold.

Check in:
We'd seen lots of other visitors with welcome ice lollies which we didn't et offered. No problem. Receptionist (lady) was quite abrupt and not very welcoming, put this down to language barriers maybe and us brits typically expect friendlier service.

Room:
We stayed in a suite (not swim up) and it was beautiful, lovely layout and view of the swim up rooms and pool. There was some dirty marks on the bedding which we reported straight away and this was cleaned within the hour. Room is lovely for a honeymoon, just note that the suite rooms offer little privacy when you are in the bathroom so be prepared to see more of each other than normal. Our room was close to the waterfall which was incredibly loud, even with the doors shut we could hear it and the balcony was pretty much un-useable as we couldn't speak or relax due to the noise. We contacted reception to ask to move room but were advised it would be turned down and the waterfall is turned off at night. Come 11pm, it was still going and just as loud. After a busy day of travelling we put up with it for the night but when we spoke to reception again the next day, they were unapologetic and told us it couldn't be turned down and there were no rooms to transfer us to yet (same rude receptionist from check in) and they'd be in touch. Several hours later and still no update so it took a 3rd visit to reception and speaking to a manager to get a transfer. The new room was much quieter and equally as beautiful as the 1st.

We requested an ironing bit on the 1st day to sort out clothes out post travel, took 2 days to receive after speaking to reception and submitted 2 requests on the app.

Room service:
Order on the app or TV, really good selection and very quick service. Sometimes left with trays for a day or 2 but no issue overall.

Pools:
There are a couple onsite, we typically ended up at the pool SOS pool. We noticed the main pool often has all sunbeds reserved very early. Disappointing they allow people to reserve beds, we spent most days on the beach and noticed multiple people reserving pool beds for alter that day whilst sitting on the beach.
Towels often run out but you just have to wander for 5 minutes to find another cart.

We often had beds reserved with no one using them all day, guests leaving towels after finishing with the beds instead of returning them to the laundry piles. Recommend room assigned towels or stop reserving as some days we'd be wandering around unable to get a bed by a pool.

The pools were all nice, however needed some additional cleaning. The SOS pool in particular had hundreds of missing tiles which made some areas sharp and inaccessible. (this was noted on a review over a year before). The pool needed more regular netting too as there was lots of waste following storms for days after which could easily be cleared.

Weather:
We visited October and had sun for 4/5 days and intermittent clouds after. A few storms in the evening so be prepared for rain and thunder like you've never seen. Staff work hard to clear the water in the walk ways however, on a few nights we were awoken at 2/3am by staff stood outside the door to our room with ridiculously loud walkie talkies.
The doors also have gaps so our room (1116) would have water running under the main door during storms.

The staff are quick to clear this and put wet floor signs out but it is still incredibly slippery. My husband slipped on the walkway and landed on the pebbled plant area by the members room!

Beach:
We saw hardly any seaweed and the sea was beautiful. We noticed members were priority in taking beach drink orders which is fine, but some days we'd get asked once, sometimes not at all. If it's members only then highlight that and don't just occasionally take orders.

Food available:
Rita's is a must! We went almost everyday of our trip and tried the majority of the menu. Service was fantastic from Ruben in particular but the whole team were very quick and friendly. Refills without asking and the food was amazing, best Taco's we've had! Recommend the Steak and egg, steak and cheese and Sinaloa!! We just wish they were open in the evenings as to sit there with taco's, wine and watch the sun set would be magical!

Frank and Lola's - Fantastic waiter every night we visited (Carlos), lovely decor and food was fantastic! Became a regular for most of the trip and well worth a visit. The pastas were all beautiful and again, very quick with refills with Carlos remembering our drinks order after just 1 visit!

Latino - Visited just once but wasn't great in our opinion. Was very busy and popular most nights we walked past but the food and service weren't great on our visit. Quite slow service and food wasn't anything special.

Beach house - Tried the beach house for a few different meals. We expected it to be menu based on the app but it's typically a buffet with different themes. Food was very good for buffet, kept very clean too! Staff were friendly and quick to seat you, we typically were served by Antonio who was very friendly and welcoming for us.

Entertainment:
Resort is typically quiet by 10/11pm. Some entertainment in the evenings in the 5 o'clock somewhere bar but usually full due to limited seating. Most guests pour inside afterwards to the later bar for drinks which again gets full. If you're not much of a drinker, expect to be back in your room by 10pm watching TV.
There was a couple of nights with market stalls outside the beach house which was great for souvenirs. Cash only I believe so ensure you take some spending money with you.
Day time entertainment was a little annoying, again personal preference. The host/compere just seemed to love himself a little too much, we noticed he would speak quite fast which people couldn't keep up with and a lot of the time spoke to certain people/families and didn't engage with everyone. the activities listed on the app often don't happen, I understand they get cancelled for bad weather but a few mornings I attended for Pilates/Yoga and there was no one there or anything set up.

Spa:
We had a couple's package which was lovely, the facilities were well maintained and cleaned. We had massages and facials which were good but the masseuse didn't ask about pressures etc. and even when asked to apply more pressure, it was incredibly light and gentle.

Shops:
Joe merchants is a good concept but needs more variety. First week it was empty, just cans of pop and polos! We have lots of points but used less than half during our stay. Later days of the holiday it was stocked with pringles too but again not much variety.
The souvenir shop was good, however hardly open. The opening times varied daily and some days it was just closed. A little expensive but good for essentials (sun cream etc.) and gifts for loved ones.

Overall an enjoyable holiday but it needs fine tuning in areas. Our biggest issue was the difference in treatment between members and non members. We understand the perks of the membership which is fine and understandable, but overall you do get a lower quality experience than member guests. From the way you are greeted, to the service you receive from staff. We were avid tippers which was appreciated but still felt like a 2nd class visitor in comparison.

We would visit again but probably not recommended for honeymooners or those who want the perfect experience. Great for family holidays, quiet and relaxing, but if you aren't ok with early nights or drinking, it's not the place for you. Food was a highlight and the handful of friendly and thoughtful staff really make this place 5 star but honestly, it's more 4 star overall. The grounds are stunning and very phot worthy but unless you are a member, don't expect 5 stars.

Date of Stay: October 2024

brendanj804 wrote a review September 2025

Amazing Visit

We had an amazing week at this hotel and loved our stay. The property is beautiful, very well maintained, and spotlessly clean. The staff are wonderful, friendly, welcoming, and always ready to help. I especially want to highlight Bélkim at reception. She is a true asset to the resort and such a delight to talk to. We stopped by reception every day just to say hello and have a chat. She would make a fantastic ambassador for the hotel. A special mention also to Colin from the entertainment team, who was equally lovely. As well as Colin, the ladies on the entertainment team were fantastic too. They were warm and friendly, never hassled you to join in if you weren’t in the mood, but always brought great energy and kept things fun, even during low season.

Our swim-up room was excellent, finished to a high standard and very comfortable. Even with the seaweed challenges, the staff worked tirelessly throughout the day to keep the beach clear, which made a big difference.

The spa was also a highlight. I had an 80-minute full body massage with Silvia, and it was one of the best massages I have ever had, thank you. I would have booked another session, though I was surprised to find it would cost 30 dollars more than the first one.

The only critique is the restaurants. The breakfast options are limited, and stock management was an issue. Almost every time we sat down to eat, we were told something was not available. On one day, the taco house had no meat tacos, on another the coffee shop had no milk, and on three occasions the bar was out of Fanta. In addition, the food could have been served hotter, and the steaks were often not cooked to the requested temperature. For example, a well-done order sometimes came out rare.

Overall, though, it is a fantastic resort, and we have definitely caught the Margarita bug. We will be back!

Date of Stay: September 2025

northycj wrote a review September 2025
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England

Mixed review the staff are great the food is good the hotel is clean but the location and the noise was not for us.

We asked to move hotel after 2 days as the pool area was too loud for us. The music is so loud and there’s no escaping as the complex is small

Date of Stay: September 2025

hl1921 wrote a review September 2025
London, England

Holiday

My partner and I stayed for 10 nights and had a wonderful holiday. The food was amazing, the staff all lovely, and overall a relaxing stay.

Date of Stay: January 2025

S7678MGkathyk wrote a review September 2025

Always An Amazing Stay!

We visited Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun in August, which is a slower time for the resort, but once again, it exceeded our expectations. The property is always clean, well-kept, and the service continues to be outstanding. We’ve been to this resort multiple times, and each visit reminds us why we keep coming back. It truly feels like home away from home, and we love seeing familiar faces and building relationships with the staff.

A huge part of why our stays are so memorable is because of our butler, Alberto. He always goes above and beyond to make sure every detail of our trip is perfect. He anticipates our needs before we even have to ask, and his thoughtfulness and professionalism never go unnoticed. He truly makes every trip extra special.

We’d also like to give special recognition to some of the amazing staff who made our vacation even better:

Gregorio, Jose Louis, and Ernesto – the best bartenders who always made sure our drinks were perfect.

The gentlemen in Joe Merchant’s – so friendly and always making great coffee with a smile.

Rueben, Emilio, and Caesar – incredible waiters who were attentive, polite, and welcoming.

Karla at reception – sweet, cheerful, and always willing to help.

Angela at the Blended bar and Patty at the Beach House making omelets – both skilled, friendly, and always brightening our mornings.

Ana, our massage therapist – gave my daughter and I the most relaxing massages. Absolutely wonderful experience!

We are already counting down the days until our next visit in 2026 and cannot wait to be back. Thank you to everyone at Margaritaville Riviera Cancun for making our vacations consistently amazing!

Date of Stay: August 2025

Departure695538 wrote a review September 2025

Magical Anniversary stay

My wife and I went for 5 nights 6 days for our 31st anniversary, we went last year and had a very nice time but this time it was a bit more magical! Our butlers Joaquin and Karen were very attentive to any need we had or wanted, our pool Butler Charlie was awesome, he had our pool side chairs and drinks taken care of the whole time, even on his day off he saw to it that his co worker had it there for us. Our Waiter Geno was always at breakfast and was at some of the other restaurants as well, he was amazing we never waited for a thing and always knew what we wanted or needed. the resort over all looks very good and updated, the grounds were very nice and were being maintained daily while we were there. One of the days the resort lost power for 9 hours ( transformer blew out for most of the resorts in the area) this resort made things look flawless and we had most all of our amenities that you could ask for under the circumstances. AWESOME job by all the team members on that day. I would say the only drawback of this resort is there is no beach ( we heard it is due to the fast moving currents that its not possible to keep a beach here). that is just a small drawback and did not effect our stay relay much at all. Thanks for a great stay! Tom and Nancy D

Date of Stay: September 2025

Carmey28 wrote a review September 2025
Tulsa, Oklahoma

SAND, SUMMER AND SUNSHINE!

From the first day to the last day amazing experience. Our butler, Alberto, was on point for all our needs. Each day he shared a list of activities, reserved our Bali Bed, made our reservations for dinner and checked on us in person during the day and texted us with any changes. The room was perfect for us, close to the beach, pool and the restaurants. Victor, the housekeeper clean ended our room most days and always did an outstanding job. The night time staff that did turndown, on the nights we stayed out late enough, did aromatherapy and refreshed our towels. Apologies for no names I never saw them. All the wait staff were so eager to help Ernesto, Antonio, Emelio, Carlos, Shirley, Juan, he was our waiter on the beach when we had our candlelight dinner, big shout out for a lovely evening, Marco, Fernando, who brought and folded towels every day an always with a smile, Erick waiter and Pati who made eggs to order each and every day. Sadly the beach had a lot of seaweed, only got in the ocean twice, but not to worry there are 4 maybe 5 pools and they are all fabulous. The Spa is one of the best, Diane was amazing. This was our 4th trip to the resort and definitely not our last. This property is being well keeper and maintained. My husband dives and the dive shop is close by and Karen, the dive master, is great at her job also. This resort is small but meets all our needs. The prices are reasonable, the staff is very helpful and eager to please us, RITA’S TACOS, never disappoints. Can’t wait until our next trip back

Date of Stay: September 2025

Rippedoffhull wrote a review September 2025

Menu needs tweaking

I found the hotel very clean & well kept, the pool areas although small are nice and relaxed we didn’t have a problem finding a sunbed but the hotel was quiet may have struggled at peek times. All staff are very friendly. My main gripe with the hotel is the food very limited although there is 4 restaurants it seems every thing is done on a limited budget for example at breakfast in the 7 days we were there hash browns only on offer one morning as for yogurt only once. It’s ok if you like eggs or omelettes not much else. I’ve seen lots of reviews raving about the food I just didn’t see this.
I will give a shoutout to Landy the yoga teacher she was excellent

Date of Stay: September 2025

jaylgee wrote a review October 2025

ANOTHER DAY AT MARGARITAVILLE (2ND TIME)

My husband and I just returned from this resort. The staff and layout are what makes this hotel special. They truly care about the hotel, keeping it pristine and always helping you. If you need a quiet pool, you will find it. A pool with action, you'll find it. A pool for kids, you'll find it. This time of year is slow. There were only two restaurants open every night, so if you're staying for long, that gets old quick. For lunch, you have two options and that's it. THE MOSQUITOS ARE FIERCE -- TAKE YOUR SPRAY! Thank you especially to Emilio (breakfast and taco bar at lunch), Julie (Concierge), Antonio and Cesar. Thank you Gregario at The Chill Bar! They do all they can to keep the beach clean, but the water is murky and you can barely see sand. All in all, they do a great job at this hotel!

Date of Stay: October 2025

KapraH wrote a review October 2025
Iowa City, Iowa

Return trip with family

We first came to Margaritaville Island Reserve in October 2024. We had an amazing experience  and were very impressed with the service and everything about this place. What really caught my attention was how easy it was to get around. It is a smaller resort and everything is centrally located. Many places there are no stairs or maybe one step to get up. 
For these reasons we decided to come back with my elderly parents this October for 6 days. They were extremely happy with the room they had right in front of the 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar. Everyone was extremely helpful and patient with them.
Shout out to the staff that make this place special:
Manuel @ the compass bar... always friendly and attentive. He makes the most incredible drinks and treats everyone like family. (His sidekck Pedro is also a big hit)
Emilio @ the Beach House and Ritas.... His energy and enthusiasm is contagious. He truly has fun interacting with the guests.
Luis and Antonio @ the beach house... they welcomed us every morning for breakfast and sometimes lunch, and bent over backwards to make our meals fun. (Even getting us the last piece of key lime pie that day)
Ricardo @  5 O'clock somewhere bar.... fun, engaging and attentive
Ernesto @ S.O.S bar.... attentive  and  fun to talk to.
Carla @ the reception desk... always attentive and friendly
The porters/bell hops...always friendly
These staff members make this place.

The landscaping and cleanliness was again immaculate.  I love the Margaritaville decor and vibe.

There were a few downfalls this time that while not game changers, are concerning:
1.This is the slow season, but this week was really slow.  There were not any buffets,  menu only. I don't mind this at all, but at a time when quality could have stood out...the food was lackluster.  I think the Noche mexicano was the worst... lack of choices and my chicken mole was cold.
2. They shut down  the main restaurant to have a gala dinner for prestige members. Pehaps they could have used the specialty  restaurant  space that was closed that night for that so there was more choices for non members.
3. While i am happy that i wasnt hounded to become a member or sit through the dog and pony show, there were a couple of incidents where we "became invisible "  when someone with a black band came to the bar or restaurant.  (The staff mentioned above NEVER  did that)
  -one meal the server had a 10 minute  conversation with another table while one person at our table didn't have their meal. It was luke warm when it got to us.
- a bartender skipped over us to serve members who came in after us...waited almost 20 minutes to refill a drink.

Over all Margaritaville Island Reserve is a great place to visit if you want to relax, soak up the sun and have a quiet resort. If you want clubbing or non stop activites this is not that resort.

Date of Stay: October 2025

S5201UAroberts wrote a review October 2025

Amazing

Third time here. Was amazing!
The staff make the holiday special.
From Rueben and Herbert in the restaurants to Landi the fabulous yoga instructor.
Came at a quiet time but the resort is so chilled.

Date of Stay: October 2025

charliedLeeds wrote a review October 2025
Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England

Poor service and rude staff

The service in the restaurant are very poor if you are a solo traveler. I had eaten my food before I got a drink, I hope it improves as my trip continues as the review could get worse

Date of Stay: October 2025

kittysnook wrote a review October 2025
Greater Manchester, England

Great chilled out resort

A very chilled and relaxing resort. We had a suite swim up room, which was really spacious, with a great sitting room area. The staff were friendly. We received exceptional service from Nathaly in the coffee shop!

Date of Stay: October 2025

michaelhL9122AB wrote a review October 2025
Minnesota

Great experience, can't go wrong here. Say hi to Pepe and Gambino!

This resort was a pleasant surprise. The buildings, decor and amenities were excellent. The rooms and campus were very updated,

Everything about the resort was clean and well kept.

The staff was attentive, especially Pepe from the swim up bar and Gambino from the buffet. They both were top notch and tended to our group of 10 like familia!

The one issue needing attention would be the limited menus at the restaurants, the food was good but the number of higher end offerings at each place were limited.

If you're going make a point to find Pepe at the pool bar.

Date of Stay: October 2025