Catalonia Yucatan Beach

Note: this review is written by someone who doesn’t drink. So my experience is clear-headed. Pros: The staff are excellent. Kind and willing to help. I didn’t have a single poor interaction. Esther at customer service went above and beyond to help me get a room that wasn’t full of mold. The cleanliness is excellent. The staff clean the pathways with bleach water everyday. They rake the sand, they wipe the pool tiles. There is never overflowing trashcans. They work so hard to keep it spotless. The pools are great with a swim up bar and shade for every few loungers. In July it was easy to get shade even around 11am when it was most busy. Probably harder in January-March. Cons: The basic rooms are not fit for use. They look like the per-hour rooms you’d find in downtown of a big city. While clean, they were moldy, peeling, chipped and rusty. Threadbare towels. The phone didn’t work. It did not feel like a 4 star hotel. It felt like a motel. There were no bedbugs or stained mattress so that was good. The buffet. We booked this resort because we saw you could use the amenities at the sister hotel. Turns out you can’t use their restaurants and that you only get 1 reservation for dinner for a 5 day stay. That meant we had to eat 4 Lunches and dinners at the same buffet. If you’re drinking a lot you might not notice but for me the identical food got old fast. It was decent variety but I did not want it for 8 meals. The beach. It was rocky so wear water shoes. But that is the best part. They built an enclosure to keep out fish or sharks I guess. But that means no waves and a small area to swim. There is a rocky peninsula on one side and past that is a second beach that smells like feces. Seriously. Not kelp, not seaweed, but animal feces. I think it’s stagnant water. No one at this resort can enjoy the beach here. The room we had was in front of the delivery bay. At 7am there was a beeping reversing delivery truck unloading. Every day. So the layout seems a bit off. Some rooms are behind night club and I am sure that is loud too. Pros: We paid to upgrade ($25USD per person per night) to a renovated room. That felt 4 stars. Walk in rainfall shower, nice tile, working fridge, fluffy towels. The à la carte Mexican restaurant was great. Elevated dining experience with a 3 Course meal and excellent service. It is not the same food as the buffet. The gym was decent even though some machines were older and had duct tape on the seats. It was above par. The breakfast buffet was great. I had no problem having that everyday because there was plenty of variety. The beach shop has everything you need if you forgot anything. The nightly entertainment was dated choreography and costumes but a really fun experience. The highlight for us was the beach party. I enjoyed dancing on the sand to live musicians. No food, just drinks and music. It was excellent. The sports bar during the World Cup was excellent. The Creperie is open 1-5pm and is delicious. We looked forward to sweet or savory crepes and ice cream by the pool. Excursions nearby include Rio Secreto and Xcaret. Both highly worth it. Final: Overall, I would recommend this resort to families with young kids, or friends coming to drink and lounge by the pool since you will not notice anything else.

We've been to Catalonia twice in 6 months hoping it woulg get better. However, the food got worst with no selections, repetitious, cheap chop up vegetables to make the buffet look selective. Second, the pool on both sides need serious attention due to dirty water and maintenance. Third, unfortunately, the beach was a write off. Fourth, they're trying to constantly sell membership but the resort itself is nowhere near to catering to tourists. Therefore, the owner is very misleading due to lack of improvements when it comes to events, ala carte selections, better food, and fairness to other tourists that shows Yucatan package. This Yucatan package is by far the worst and degrading offer to a vacationer. Unless otherwise there will be improvements this resort will lose tourists. The only positive comment is the staff are very wonderful and accommodating.

We stayed at this hotel at the start of June for 2 weeks. I’d like to start with the positives, the atmosphere was great. All the staff at the hotel were amazing, friendly, and so much fun. It is situated within a gated community making it feel safe to explore the surrounding areas. There is a beautiful harbour full of restaurants, bars, and shops no more than a 10 minute walk from the hotel which was great for wanting to go outside for some local food. There are several pools to choose from and even a private lagoon at the beach. The hotel was extremely clean, however, the room which we stayed in was extremely outdated and in need of painting as there was peeling paint and chipped surfaces on all the furniture. The hotel is adjacent with its sister hotel, and if you are planning to book I would recommend looking at that side as it has been more modernised recently and gives you access to both hotels. As if you stay at Yucatan you are not allowed to use the restaurant or beach bar of the sister hotel. However this hotel has many good bars so we didn’t notice. Overall, we had an amazing time and I would recommend a visit as it is good value for money and a gorgeous location. However, my only warning would be the seaweed. I was aware before we booked that June is the start of the season for seaweed and it completely blocked the beach off and it was not possible to go into the sea / beach areas (the lagoon was fine) for the duration of the holiday. Therefore, if the beach and sea is a must i recommend not booking June-September to avoid it.

Julio Cesar Chaveź in the reception was excellent! he helped us with everything we needed, and even printed out papers we needed before we left the hotel.

Wow this place was not anything like we expected. Pool closed at 7. Food was aweful except the deserts and breakfast trying to book a resturant was impossible. Resturants always booked and full it says and when we did finally get booked it seemed odd that most of the tables where empty. The crepe station ran out of savory snacks and icecream almost daily. The seaweed made the beach off limits and omg the smell was so bad I was almost sick!!!!! The pool bar and beach bar open at 11 amand then closed at 7.pm. So not evening drink by the water at all. Loungers all gone by 6am. The breakfast was good and the servers really nice. All the staff where absolutely amazing. Very friendly and approachable. The bar staff made amazing mango margaritas and so friendly and smiling. They had lizards and small animals all over the complex and they where so cute. The one thing I did love was the spa. The best spa ive been to in a long time. Hydro was fantastic and the massauge was to dye for. I had 2 because wow. I had a manicure and it was amazing too. The spa and the staff are the reason to go here. Power outages so no TV internet lifts or ac was ridiculous. Then hauling suitcase down 3 flights of stairs on check out due to power out was crazy. Concierge asked us to go to a reward meeting. When we got there we realised it was a hard sell for a hotel program. The wanted nearly 1500 deposit and then over 30k to join program. Offering discounts. Save your money. Paying 30k just to recieve an upgrade which u can pay 20 usd a night instead made it a scam. Although the free spa for going made it worth going to meeting. Also the 4th floor had very little lighting at night. The stairs also had little light which when the lift wasnt working dangerous. If you want a quiet basic holiday then this is for you. It is not a 24 hour all inclusive. Its only inclusive at set times as everything is almost always closed or booked. The smell and lack of facilities are not good. The staff however are amazing. They made the holiday a welcoming place. Not sure if i will ever go back there again. If I did it would only to use the spa and the staff that make me book again.