you cant go wrong with Aventura Spa Palace.. I was there in Feb of this year loved it.. going back again in Oct... you have everything you need... Room Service, Mini Bar, several bottles of booze in your room... a GIANT 2 person jazzuci in your room.. it worth it.. only about 45 from Cancun....

Idimatti ~ Please tell me what your thoughts are on lack of a "real" beach at the Aventura Spa Palace...That's the only thing that turned me away from going there. Thanks!

Honestly... I didnt mess the beach at all... a couple reason.. 1- they have a HUGE pool there.. 2- the lagoon is very nice to swim and snorkle in.. 3- Xpu-Ha Palace is only 5 mins away and they have an GREAT beach... Because is it part of Palace Resorts, you can eat and drink there for free.. Just have to pay for the cab ride there about $7 dollars each way... Let me know if there is anything else you need.. FYI.. Im returning to Aventura Spa this Oct... 17th - 25th.. Cant wait

We moved our reservation from Secrets in PC to Secrets in Mayan Riviera for October 9th... we will be one of the first to go there, and Im SO excited. If for some reason they are not ready, we have confirmation that we will be spending the week at Secrets Capri, another FABULOUS resort.

From what I have read at other posts... Secrets is a smaller more luxurious resort, where as Aventrua Spa Palace is massive complex. Both offer something different. for us we wanted this trip to be about romance and ultimate pampering... so we chose to stay with Secrets!!!

:O)

Thanks for the input everyone! We are still up in the air about our trip... Punta Cana or Mexico... we will have to make a decision within a week as our airfare will be due. Still have my heart set on Secrets Excellence Punta Cana (will hold out for another week to check on current conditions...keeping my fingers crossed!), but would consider trying the new Excellence in Mexico if I read decent reviews on it. In the mean time I'll keep checking in to see what people have to say.

Thanks for the input everyone! We are still up in the air about our trip... Punta Cana or Mexico... we will have to make a decision within a week as our airfare will be due. Still have my heart set on Secrets Excellence Punta Cana (will hold out for another week to check on current conditions...keeping my fingers crossed!), but would consider trying the new Excellence in Mexico if I read decent reviews on it. In the mean time I'll keep checking in to see what people have to say.

My husband and I stayed at the Aventura Spa Palace for 2 weeks last Sept. We loved the resort. Good to excellent food, excellent service, beautiful landscaping, fantastic pools, excellent help, great rooms. We loved having our own jacuzzi, and the wall dispenser for drinks in the room. I spent 2 days at the spa, and it was out of this world, so worth the money. Husband went deep sea fishing twice, and loved it. The only thing we did NOT like was the lagoon, but down the road is Xhu-Pa (spelling), and the beach was fantastic, food was also very good at this resort. We really enjoyed snorkeling there as well. We don't repeat resorts, so no, we wouldn't stay at the ASP again, but ONLY because there are so many places and resorts we'd like to try. If you want more info post on the mytravelboard4.com board, and look for bills (he's been to ASP a number of times, and has excellent reviews, and pictures). Regardless, enjoy!

We stayed at Adventura Palace the year it opened and were very disappointed in the beach. It is a lagoon the resort created because the water is too rough and rocky there. Everything else about the resort was wonderful, but being real beach lovers, we were very disappointed.

Hi Faithbaby,

Tks for you reply to my questions on Iberostar Paraiso Lindo. I have some comments on beach area at Aventura Spa Palace. We stayed at the Riu Palace (playacar true ocean) for one week then Aventura for one week. The lack of beach may be okay for some people. Our problem was that we like to play in the waves. The beaches at the Aventura Spa Palace and Aventura Palace are more like swimming pools with fish and sand bottoms. No current - no waves. They have blown out rock and created lagoons. There really is no place to walk along the beach as there are huge boulders all around the lagoons. Hope this helps! The resort is beautiful and all round a 5 star. If you are not into waves it's great!