We travelled to this luxurious resort to get married. Everything was perfect; we were treating like loyalty from the moment we stepped from our airport transfer.

Airline Seats, we upgraded to premier (First Choice) which in our opinion was not better than standard seats. We could have saved hundreds if we just played for extra leg room.

Airport transfer- was about 15 min (I think), and because we upgraded our flights with First Choice we had a direct transfer in an 8 seated mini bus.

On arrival- the hotel our luggage was taken from us by the porters and we were taken for light snacks and champagne while we were booking in.

Room- We was offered an option of room. Twin or double. The rooms were brill, with a very nice double Jacuzzi (standard in all rooms). Every night we had a turndown service where the sheets the pulled back, chocolates placed on the pillows, lights dimmed and music played. The rooms were cleaned daily.

Resort was massive with 13 restaurants and bars. The food was amazing vast selection. There were 4 ala carte options which were brill. The BBQ grill was amazing where the steaks were bigger than your plate! And cooked to absolute steak perfection.

The resort was split in to three and due to the size of the hotel golf buggies transported you’re around. One side was the quieter side; the other seemed slightly busier (side with Casino and Disco). The other side seemed to house the weddings, which was amazing and added a very romantic feel to the place.
The third section was the golf club and spa. This was fantastic and golfing looked amazing and spa was a definite.
Night time entertainment- seemed ok but we never stayed around to watch. Casino is as expected with just slot machines. Disco/ Night Club was good for the odd night.

The generally surround to the hotel were nice and brill for night time strolls. I think it took us 10 min to walk from one end to the other.

Over all we had the best holiday ever here and are saving up to go again for our 5 the anniversary. I can't praise it enough. And the staffs there were brill too.

The weddings were amazing too and would recommend it to everyone.

There was also crazy golf, great kid’s pool with slides. Nice little plays area for all ages from 2 to 16. Our little girl loved it. The only down side is the bike hire had no children’s bike seats so we couldn't go.

Finally the hotel sits right on its private beach which was nice.

The hotel ALL INCLUSIVE really is all inclusive 24-7 Inc all room service all drinks including Champagne and in the rooms you have u=your own set of optics! One down side to the rooms is a kettle would have been nice. But you were provided with a coffee machine and ground coffee!

Absolute must for all ages and all types of people.

It was a company conference like 1500 persons! Back in Feb 2010, horrible experience! The place looks amazing on the website, massive in size, however:

* Staff were faking a smile and faking being helpful
* Food poisoning from the second night ( I am talking about a group of 1500 and tens were suffering juts within my circle)
* Very low quality of food (although we had our own buffet/beach parties/events I checked all other restaurants as well, mediocre and below) in the seafood restaurant I ordered a mixed seafood, they serve me a huge plate with 5 pieces of big steaks of fish, none is tasty, none is fresh, some were smelly, there is no even a space on the plate to manipulate the food, I had to leave the entire meal and head else where, what a waste!
* It is not easy to get to the strip of hotels and the bus rides as the hotel is in remote location


Riu Las Americas is the best value in Cancun ladies and gentlemen
World Traveler - Age 47 - Family man

The Moon Palace resort is a great place for families. We had one of the deluxe family rooms in Sunrise section. The deluxe family room is actually two connecting rooms - much better than the advertised family suites at other resorts which is really just one large room and one bathroom. Having the second bathroom and separate sleep areas makes a big difference. The rooms were nicely equipped; however I gave Sleep Quality only a 3 rating because the doors to the exterior hallway did not provide any sound abatement. Very noisy at night from other guests and noisy early in the morning from the grounds staff using golf carts. We found the beds to be very comfortable. It would have been nice to have gotten more sleep in them!
The beach at Moon Palace - there is a lot of seaweed. We read the reviews and hoped it was just periodic, but in fact there is a field of seaweed/ocean plants(?) right off the beach. It was a little smelly, but not offensively so. The water wasn't very nice either - rather brown. We had taken the kids on cruises in the past and had some stops at very nice beaches, but were looking forward to a true beach vacation - wake up and stroll down to the beach each day. So, the Moon Palace beach was very disappointing at first. It actually ended up being fine - believe it or not, as we were motivated to use the hotel transportation to their sister resorts.
The bus transportation was easy and convenient, but you have to line up about 40 minutes in advance to get a ticket. They say it's first come, first serve, so there's that fear that you won't get on, but it seemed that the one day there were a lot of people, they just got another bus.
So we got there on Sunday, looked at the beach and got on the bus Monday to go to Cancun Palace. Great beach with turquoise water. Cancun Palace is on the hotel strip, so attracts young adults. Really a party atmosphere at the pool area, but beach activity was pretty calm. Waves at this beach were perfect for riding in. Kids had a great time.
Tuesday, we stayed at Moon Palace and enjoyed the pool area in the Sunrise section. It really is very nice - the nicest of all the Palace resorts we visited, in my opinion.
Wednesday, we took the hotel transportation to the water park, Wet 'n Wild, which is also owned by Palace resorts. Entry and food/beverages included. This was so much fun. It was not crowded and there were no lines for anything. Kids loved the wave pool and slides.
Thursday, we took the tour to Tulum and the Xpu Ha Palace Resort. No extra cost for this, either. We had a great tour guide, Marco, for Tulum. As with any tour involving ruins, there's a lot of walking and it's very hot. But, we enjoyed it. Marco showed the kids that iquanas like eating red hibiscus. That was a big hit. Anyway, Xpu Ha Palace is in a nature preserve. You get the feeling it's like a hide away for honeymooners or the rich and famous. It's very peaceful there and the beach just a couple hundred feet north of the pool area is gorgeous - very calm and there are fish and small wrays you can see while just walking in the water - but don't worry, nothing attack you.
Friday, we went to the Beach Palace. This beach was shell paradise. A lot of broken shells, though, that you have to walk over to get into the water, also a brilliant turquoise.
Saturday, we spent at the Moon Palace pool and played mini golf.
The restaurants - we didn't need to wake up early every morning(although we did, thanks to the noise) to make reservations. It wasn't crowded, so we just showed up and were seated right away. Service was excellent, except at the new Caribbean restaurant in the Grand Section, which was a little slow. We really liked the Italian restaurant at the Golf Club. We weren't thrilled with either of the Asian restaurants, but they were ok.
The shows - about what you'd expect. Our favorite was the Circus show. The others were pretty much Vegas type with loud music. Oh, there was a Mayan show - fun costumes. Got some great pics of the kids with Mayan "natives".
A highlight - my kids both tried the pottery painting available by the kids pool area(Sunrise). The woman who runs it, Eustina, paints pottery while the kids are working on their pieces. She's extremely talented and you can buy some of her work there at the stall. So much more personal than buying something from the shops.
All in all, we had a great time. Going to the other Palace resorts made us feel as if we did a lot more than just stay at the same hotel for a week, and it was all included. The only thing we spent money on was a few souvenirs and gratuities, which we were happy to do as the service was great.

I got married at the end of April 2010 at Moon Palace, and it was a time that I will not soon forget -- amazing! I had never been to the resort myself, but took a leap of faith and decided to plan my wedding there. I had a couple of close friends who had been to this resort or other Palace resorts and had positive experiences. That put my mind at ease, but after reading some bad reviews (horrible food, terrible beach, food poisoning, etc), I started to get a bit worried. As it turned out, I had NOTHING to worry about -- everyone (just over 30 of us) had a BLAST and some are even planning their next trips back.

I'll start with the hotel in general and then talk about wedding specifics.

Rooms -- The rooms were very nice. Our whole group was in the Nizuc section, which I thought was the best section. It was right in the middle of everything -- a short walk (5 minutes or so) to the Grand or Sunrise sections. Some have written that the rooms are very small. I didn't find that to be the case. We had plenty of room for what we needed. True, there is a very large whirlpool tub in the room (which we didn't use at all), but there was still enough room for our things and to move easily around. We stayed in the Ballena (whale) building, which was absolutely fantastic. We had a corner room and had vast and sprawling views of both the Nizuc pool area and the ocean -- definitely the best of both worlds! The bathrooms are very nice -- roomy, stand-up showers -- and the beds are quite comfortable. No complaints. Plus they give big bottles of lotion, which is really nice lotion! I brought it home with me and am still using it. I loved Nizuc -- not too big, not too small -- just right. Nizuc overall had the most buildings with great views, too. Sunrise was a bit too big for my taste -- although, I did visit the brick oven pizza by the pool for lunch one day (yum!) and the fun swing bar! The Grand is very new and the most modern of the sections. It is very nice, but far smaller and quieter than either Nizuc or Sunrise. The Grand also appeared to have very few rooms with good ocean or pool views. If you'd prefer to have a more modern, larger room and don't care about an ocean view, then the Grand is nice. I tend to enjoy a beautiful ocean/pool view, though, so Nizuc was definitely the place for me (and the rooms are still quite nice).

Grounds in general -- The resort is really pretty and well-maintained. I read in one of these reviews that there are no flowers anywhere. Not true while we were there. There were plenty of beautiful flowers and some great wildlife -- even an alligator at the Grand! Let me just say that the resort is big, but anyone who is able-bodied and complains about the walk from section to section is just plain lazy. It is not that bad at all -- no more than about 15 minutes from one end to the other. If you are in Nizuc, it is only about a 5 minute walk to each of the other sections. Plus, when you do walk, you are walking on a path that overlooks the beautiful ocean -- who wouldn't like that?!? If you are one of the lazy people (or, of course, if you truly do have a physical handicap which prevents you from getting around easily), then there are definitely shuttles that go from section to section. They run about every 10-15 minutes or so. That is a good alternative for those who need it, but if you are able-bodied, then you can walk it and be to your final destination before the shuttle even comes around.

Pools -- Great! Large enough so that they never felt crowded. We had no trouble finding lounge chairs by the pool at all. There is also food and beverage service at the pools, which is really convenient.

Service -- Generally, service was good; although, from time to time it could be a little slow. It was especially slow initially when you get there and book tours, spa treatments, etc. Plan on spending a couple hours doing this. We thought it would take about 30 minutes to plan out all of our excursions, etc, but we were there for much longer. That is one negative. They could definitely work on speeding this part up quite a bit -- I think it would help if they got some more up-to-date computer equipment. They seemed to be working off of very old programs.

Tours -- Due to wedding activities, etc, we were only able to do one tour -- zip-lining. I had never been zip-lining before, so it was a good introductory experiece for me. However, I was glad it was free. If I had paid for it, I probably would have been disappointed. It was definitely fun for free, though! Plus, it didn't take the whole day like many of the other tours. Members of our group did some of the other tours to the ruins and such, and mostly enjoyed those. The drawbacks are that they are all day long and are very hot.

Spa -- very good. I had a short 20 minute back massage, and I was sorry I didn't get more. It was one of the best massages (if not THE best) I've ever had. So good! I also had a manicure/pedicure/hair/make-up done. I was happy with all of my services.

Food -- Ahhh. Here is the big one. This is the part of the trip that I was most worried about, as I had several "foodies" in my group (including my husband!). I was very happy with the food overall. It was definitely solid. Some places were better than others, but I didn't have any meal that was terrible. I'd say everything was good to very good. I mean, none of the meals were the best I've ever eaten in my life. But the very best I've had have been well over $100/person for one meal. I didn't ever expect the food to meet those standards. My husband and the other "foodies" were also quite pleased with the food, which made me very relieved. There is a huge variety of food around the resort and even a very picky child in our group was easily able to find food he enjoyed. I didn't get to nearly try all of the restaurants, but my favorite place was Mo Mo No Hana (Asian at Sunrise). That was delicious! I also thought the Brazilian steakhouse at Nizuc was very good (although, we had a special menu there for our honeymooners package, so we didn't eat the meat off the swords). The filet I had at the Brazilian steakhouse was every bit as good as some of the best filets I've eaten. If you like shrimp, then anything with shrimp was very good, no matter where we went. The drinks were excellent, as well. We didn't find them to be weak, as some have said. Although, if they are too weak for you, then just ask to double-up on the alcohol and they gladly will. We did always specify what brand of liquor we wanted, though. If you want a certain kind, you have to ask for it. We always asked for Don Julio in our tequila drinks, for example. Otherwise, you might get a lesser brand.

Access to other Palace hotels -- We went to the Beach Palace one day in the Cancun strip, which was nice to see. The water and beaches there are gorgeous -- perfect, clear, turquoise water. However, red flags were up, so you couldn't swim in the water. The Beach Palace was nice, but I preferred the Moon Palace. I do not personally care for the hotel zone of Cancun -- it is too crowded with hotels and VERY touristy. I prefer to be more off the beaten path, and enjoyed the location of the Moon Palace. The Beach Palace does have a rooftop pool, though, where there are views of the entire area.

Beach -- I agree that the beach at the Moon Palace was not pristine. There is seaweed. The seaweed is really like straw, though -- it isn't slimy stuff. I love to walk on the beach and not really swim in the ocean too much, so it was fine for me. Even if I did want to get in the water, there were red flags up the whole time we were there (8 days), so you couldn't swim anyway. I suspect the same was true for all the resorts in the entire area (including the hotel zone). It was REALLY windy for about 3 days of our trip, and that is when the seaweed was the worst and the water was the darkest. The water was never ugly, though -- it just wasn't always a bright turquoise. The last days, though, were great and the beach had less seaweed and the water was a bright turquoise.

Wedding -- It was magical! Everything went off without a hitch. Angelica was my wedding coordinator and she was really on top of everything. We went with the complimentary wedding package and then upgraded the things we wanted. I chose a ceremony on the beach and didn't upgrade much at all -- just added the Mexican trio for music (they were great!) and bouquets for my bridesmaids. The complimentary set-up is gorgeous and so is the bridal bouquet. I couldn't have been happier. For the cocktail hour and reception, we were at the Venado terrace which is right by the beach and overlooks the ocean -- perfect!! We had Zuniga designs (who the hotel contracts to do decoration) put together a lounge area with hanging lanterns, tiki torches, table runners with candle centerpieces, lighted cocktail tables, and candlelit staircases. Just beautiful! Zuniga designs was great and Lily (my contact there) was SO helpful. She gave me such great ideas! We also had a DJ, who rocked! Everyone was dancing and had such a great time. My husband is a huge music buff and had very specific do's and don'ts for the DJ, and he came through for sure. Although the complimentary wedding package includes a wedding cake, I did upgrade mine, and I am so happy that I did. It was just gorgeous (and delicious!). We chose the vanilla flavored cake. My husband doesn't even like cake and even he couldn't stop talking about it. At least 3 people said it was absolutely the best wedding cake they had ever eaten. There was even real vanilla bean in the buttercream - it was so good! The food was good at the wedding. Everyone enjoyed it. My only complaint was that the beef dish was a little tough. It tasted good, but was tougher than I would have liked. There were plenty of other things, though, so it was fine. Oh, and the full bar for our private reception was great -- you could get anything including any of the specialty frozen or mixed drinks. It was really great for a beach evening! I chose to use an outside photographer for my photos (which I am still waiting to get -- I only have ones from friends right now). The hotel's policy is that you have to use their photographers. You can get around this, though, if you pay for an outside photographer to stay a night at the resort. I did this, and nobody asked any questions at all. Any brides that are planning a wedding at the Moon Palace (or are thinking about it) have nothing to worry about. You will have a fabulous day!! It was perfect!

I guess I should wrap it up, but I really had a great time and so did all of my guests!