There are SO many resorts! We prefer resorts south of Cancun instead of in Cancun proper because they are more secluded, although you won’t find quite as pristine beaches and water. We have obviously not tried all the resorts in this area all and would love for you to
tell us your favorite resort and why. But here are some of our favorites:
Dreams Natura
This is a great resort for families with young kids! It is all-inclusive, not too big and well-contained, clean, safe, has multi-room family suites, and has a kids club where you can drop your kids off to enjoy activities with their friendly staff while you enjoy some kid-free time. They have water slides, pools, a lazy river, a zip line coaster, a rock wall and other fun activities. There are 9 restaurants on site, and all food and drinks are included. The beach is sandy (some resorts in this area have rocks/coral) but the blueness of the water will vary based on the time of year and currents and is sometimes reddish due to the runoff from the surrounding jungle. The best part of this resort is the spa! It’s designed to look like you’re inside a cave and they have a full hydrotherapy rotation you get to go through with any treatment and it’s heavenly! Dreams Resorts are part of the Hyatt family.
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Hotel Xcaret Mexico
This is a great resort for adventurous families with older kids and teens! The best part of this hotel is that access and transportation to all the Xcaret parks is included! These include Xcaret, Xel-Há, Xplor, Xplor Fuego, Xoximilco, Xenses, and Xenotes. With access to all of these awesome parks, this is great choice for active families that like adventure. If you just want to relax by the pool or the beach, this hotel will be overpriced. The resort itself is beautiful and very large, with a new expansion opening Summer 2025. They have family suites, plenty of restaurants, a spa, and great amenities. The beach at the resort is a bit rocky (like many in this area) but with so many pools and parks, swimming at the beach is not the main focus.
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Vidanta Riviera Maya
This is a luxury but family-friendly resort that is not all-inclusive. It is actually a timeshare/vacation club property so you can rent them and find good deals through
RedWeek, VRBO, and others, or do a timeshare exchange through RCI if you own a timeshare that exchanges with RCI (Interval not currently trading with Vidanta). There are multiple “hotels” in this resort, and we recommend staying at The Grand Mayan, The Grand Bliss, or the Grand Luxxe for the best suites and pools. The suites are huge and have kitchens so you can store and make your own food to save money if you would like. If you’d rather not cook, there are many excellent restaurants and the overall quality of the food and drinks is very good. The resort is set in the jungle and is gorgeous with a variety of pools (the photo at the top of the page is one of their pools) and the beach is lovely, but a bit rocky. Since this is not all-inclusive, it’s a good choice for people who plan to spend time outside the resort, people who aren’t big eaters or don’t drink alcohol heavily, or people who would like to make some of their own food to save money. Despite it’s luxury setting, this could be the most affordable option if you make some of your own food and get a good rental deal. (Big tip – because this is a timeshare place they will want you to go a presentation. Don’t go unless you are VERY good at saying NO or are in the market for a timeshare and you have enough money to not finance it.)
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