This fall, my family and I wanted to take a trip to the beach. We wanted it to be warm and not miserably hot, so we decided to go during Fall break, in October.
First of all, let's talk about the best time to visit Cancun. June and July are the hottest months, so while the resorts might be less crowded, you will be miserable. August is when hurricane season begins. September and October are the rainiest months. It's not as hot, but the humidity makes it feel very hot. December and January are the BEST months to visit Cancun. I haven't been there during these months, but I've been told at the resort to make sure I go back during those months. February and March start to get crowded because of Spring Breakers. April will be crowded because many people travel there during Holy week and Easter. May might be a good time to go as well, especially early May before it begins getting too hot.
We've been to a few resorts in Cancun. Our favorite one and the one I would recommend to any family is Finest Playa Mujeres. Playa Mujeres is a private beach area located north of Cancun's hotel zone and about 35 minutes from Cancun's International Airport. Isla Mujeres can be seen from the resort Finest Playa Mujeres. Before arriving at the resort, there are 2 manned security checkpoints that will only allow traffic through if they have a reservation at Playa Mujeres. The security at the resort made us feel safe.
Before you travel, reserve your private roundtrip transportation from the airport to the hotel. If you book directly with the hotel, you will receive free hotel transportation from Seasons Tours. When you arrive, they will pick you up at the airport in a clean SUV and take you to the hotel. After checking out, they will also pick you up at the hotel and take you to the airport.
You can also check-in online and your check-in process becomes much quicker. To make it clear, both times we've been there, we have reserved one of the Finest Club Suites. I don't know if you get all the perks with the Finest Suites. Paying a little extra for the Finest Club is well worth it.
The rooms are spacious. Our room had 2 queen beds and one king-sized sofa bed. You will find a cold bottle of sparkling wine and some fresh fruit. The room has a mini bar stocked with beer, juices, soft drinks, water, and snacks. They are replenished daily and you can ask for it to be replenished with the items that you like. You will find brand new liquor bottles in one of the cabinets. The mini bar and liquor cabinet are part of the all-inclusive package! No mini bar fees!
After checking out your room, you will be hungry and will want to eat. They have 14 restaurants. The restaurants are not open all open every day and for every meal. Some only offer dinner options. Right now there were 2 restaurants that were being remodeled and were closed. Even then, there were plenty of dining options and the food was amazing.
We loved having breakfast at The Market Kitchen. They had so many delicous choices of food.
Las Dunas Beach House was a great option for lunch. Once you ordered, they would cook your food especially for you. We had some quesadillas and tacos there. They also had seafood ceviche.
We did go to Legends for lunch one day, just to try it out. Their food was really good. We had burgers, fries and pizza. We were pleasantly surprised.
La cocinita food truck is perfect for lunch if you're wearing a wet swimsuit and you don't want to change for lunch. We had some quesadillas and tacos there. Those were alright, we're glad we tried them but we didn't go back.
For dinner one day, we went to Duke's at Surf and Turf. We enjoyed this meal. If you're an adventurous eater, try the octopus, it was really good! If not, just stick with the lobster and you'll be fine. Yum!
At the restaurant Lizo, once a week they do a Mexican Food Fest. They change it up every 3 or 4 months. This time, they were serving food inspired by the cuisince of Baja California. This was one of the best meals we had while at the resort. I'm sure the rest of the food served at this restaurant was just as delicious the other days, but we ran out of days and weren't able to go back to try their regular menu items.
Dommo was by far the best restaurant. It's an adults only restaurant though, so if you have a family, you might not be able to try it. My husband and I shared a 45 oz. Tomahawk Beef Cut and it was amazing! (Amazingly included in the all-inclusive package, too!) It's a very fancy and quiet restaurant, so it makes a great dinner date. My husband, my son, and I enjoyed this dinner.
The Teppanyaki at Shoji was a great experience as well. You do need to make a reservation for the Teppanyaki, so make the reservation early in your stay so you can get in. It was fun and the food was great. The chef put on a great show!
The night before we left, we had a late "snack". We went to Tinto & Tapas. They have the BEST sangria there. Most of their plates here are small, that's why we went hours after dinner.
One of the nights we were there, they had a Mexican Party. I believe they do this once a week. It was so much fun! They set up food outside, decorated, and they put on a Mexican Show. We had so much fun that night! So, if you're there and they have a Mexican Party, you can not miss it.
There were 3 restaurants we didn't try and there were others we wished we could have gone more than once. You have to look at their schedule to plan out your dinners because not all restaurants are open every day. Also, if you go right when they open, you have a much better chance of getting a table right away. If you go an hour after they open, you might have to wait up to an hour to get seated.
Bars...there are 5 that are easily accessible. Almost any which way you turn, you will find a bar. They do a good job to keep you hydrated! I enjoyed their "Palomas" and my husband enjoyed their "Limonadas con agua mineral". They also have a Tropical Juice Bar. It was kind of out of our way, so we only went to it twice. That's where they have the coconuts. You can also ask them to put some rum in your coconut...so yummy!
Oh, the Sweet Corner! This was one of our favorite places! It's like an ice cream and coffee shop. Everyone will find something here. They also have little desserts and cookies to go with your coffee.
The Kids Club is wonderful! The last time we went, my daughter was about 6 years old. She loved the kids club so much that she begged to go every single day. The ladies there are so nice, they play with the kids and they do activities with them. She had been wanting to go back to the Kids Club, so we took her this time. She just turned 11 and unfortunately, she didn't have as much fun this time. I don't think there were many girls her age for her to play with this time. My sweet girl still stayed there and didn't call me to pick her up early. She was only there a little over an hour, but still. If you have little kids, they will have so much fun at the kids club. They take good care of the kids, they give them lunch and snacks, and they play with them. The Kids Club also has different activities every day. My daughter got to go on a short horse ride. We just had to sign her up at the Kids Club.
Activities...There are so many activities scheduled throughout the day. My son went on an hour bike ride. They rode bikes on the outskirts of the resort. He enjoyed the ride and the views. He also participated in a ping pong tournament. My daughter did archery and horse riding. Both were very short, but she still enjoyed the experience.
Finest Club members also receive one free hydrotherapy treatment per person per stay at the Spa (13 years and up). You need to make a reservation for this as well, so you need to reserve it right after you get there. This is a nice relaxing experience.
The service at Finest is great. Just about every employee that you encounter will smile at you and say "Hola". They make you feel very welcomed. If you ask anyone questions, they are always happy to answer and sometimes even go above and beyond. The service from the waiters at the restaurants is wonderful most of the time. Every so often, we got a waiter that wasn't exceptional. Most of the waiters were excellent. Some of the waiters that did a wonderful job were David at Lizo, David at Surf and Turf, Angel and Charly at Market Kitchen, Isidro at Tinto and Tapas, and Julio was very friendly, patient, and nice answering all of our questions about the activities. I can't remember the name of the man at the Palapa that would set up our towels at the beach for us, but he was very nice and friendly every time.
Other nice details.
The hotel was very clean. Everything looked well kept and clean. If there was a mess, they made sure to clean it up right away. There was no trash anywhere to be seen.
Room service was nice. They have 24 hour room service. The menu does get smaller after midnight, but food is still available.
Although they have 450 rooms, it doesn't feel crowded. At least during the day it doesn't. The late mornings can feel crowded at the Market Kitchen and the evenings get crowded with everyone trying to have dinner. The pool and the beach didn't feel crowded. It was nice to not be in such close contact constantly with other people.
They have a 24 hour doctor on site. If anyone in your family gets sick, you can go to their clinic for treatment.
All of their menus are on their app. This was very convenient because you could look at their menu before deciding if that's where you wanted to dine.
Finally, don't forget to take some $1's, $5's and $10's to tip. Although the tip is already included in the price, tipping is encouraged and appreciated, and we felt it was well earned.
I've shared all the wonderful things about Finest. Now, let me share the downside with you. Finest is so far from Cancun's shopping centers that if you want to go shopping, it will cost you around $100 roundtrip for a taxi. If your vacation plans include a lot of activities outside of the resort, it's something to keep in mind. We have stayed at resorts in the main hotel zone and at Finest, and the water is definitely clearer in the hotel zone. It might have something to do with being behind Isla Mujeres at Finest Playa Mujeres. If you're planning on a lot of snorkelling, you might find the less-clear water a minus.
I'm not affiliated with or sponsored by Finest. I'm just trying to personally recommend a beautiful resort to my family and friends.
If you're looking for a family friendly resort with amazing food and service, be sure to check out Finest and book their Finest Club Suite.
Happy Vacationing,
Angie