My wife and I just returned from a relaxing five-day stay at the Hilton Cancun. The Hilton far exceeded our expectations. The pictures of the hotel property do not do it justice. It is absolutely beautiful, and the service you receive is second to none.
Airport - Everything at the airport went very quickly and smoothly. Sadly, the airport and bathrooms are much cleaner than most in the US! Customs and immigration took less than 15 minutes combined. Once you exit the customs area, you will be bombarded by people trying to sell you tours, etc. Walk past them, and outside the airport. This is very crowded and chaotic. We had booked a shuttle in advance through BestDay travel. It was $34 round-trip for my wife and me. They were a top-notch service with friendly drivers and clean vehicles. The only downfall with them is that the representative you need to meet with to schedule your return shuttle to the airport will try to sell you excursions. Ours called us multiple times at our hotel, and even got my wife out of bed one morning while I was reading on the balcony. She was NOT happy! While we didn't book any excursions on our trip, we would not have used them simply due to the high-pressure sales tactics. You can book excursions right at the hotel, but be prepared to pay! They were on-time for our shuttle to the airport, and the driver told us not to use the airport porters, as they often want as much as $20 US for two bags. If you can, carry your bags by yourself!
Pools - I have to agree with most on this board that the pool is simply incredible. The multiple terraced pools going down toward the ocean, ending with an Infinity pool is a spectacular sight. There were plenty of covered tables and lounge chairs (although we were there during the start of their low season). The pool-side wait staff is both friendly and efficient. The pool-side food is OK – typical burgers, fries, pizza, wraps, etc. The guacamole is wonderful! We typically spent about $20 on lunch, and drank our own bottled water we purchased from the convenience store down the street. I would recommend stocking-up the first day. We bought water there for $1.50 US and the bottles of water in the room ranged from $4 to $8.
Rooms - We had a deluxe ocean view king room, overlooking the ocean and the pool area. We were welcomed with a birthday cake in our room from manager Maria Jose. What a very thoughtful gesture and a great way to start our vacation – with chocolate!! We very much enjoyed the view from our room and our balcony. The standard ocean view rooms do have balconies, but they are about six feet wide and less than two feet deep. I did see others who brought the room desk chairs out onto those balconies and placed them sideways. Our balcony was equipped with two chairs and a small table. We used this to eat breakfast, have drinks, or play cards. We spoke with a gentleman in the pool who upgraded to one of the suites with the hot tub on the balcony, and he said it was well worth it. The only reason I don’t give the rooms five stars is that I feel the rooms could be spruced up a bit. The grout could stand to be redone. Otherwise our room was very clean, much cleaner than I expected in Mexico. We tipped the housekeeping staff a few dollars a day which seemed to be appreciated. We asked to upgrade to the Villas while we were there, but were told they were closed for renovations.
Pizza & Pasta restaurant - Our first night we were exhausted from a long day of traveling, and decided to try the pizza and pasta restaurant. The wait staff was very friendly, and the food very good. We shared a caprese salad for an appetizer which was very good. My wife had the fettuccini alfredo, and I had the funghi (mushroom) pizza, and both were excellent. With a bottle of water, the tab came to about $40 US. The only complaint was there were just four of us in the entire restaurant due to it being the low season, which was somewhat strange. On the plus side, we enjoyed the undivided attention of our waiters.
Mitachi Seaside Restaurant - We had traveled to Cancun as a surprise trip for my wife’s birthday. I had been in contact with Miguel at Mitachi to set-up her special birthday dinner. He arranged a table for us right next to the beach, complete with decorations and tiki torches. Miguel and his staff went above and beyond to make this a special evening for my wife. They presented my wife with a birthday cake, and the mariachi band that was there even came and sang her happy birthday. Our experience was so fantastic that we cancelled the off-site reservations I had made and dined here the rest of the nights. We had crab appetizers, salmon, mahi mahi, and grouper, all of which were excellent. These meals came with a choice of garlic mashed potatoes, french fries, or rice; mixed vegetables, ratatouille, or asparagus; and choice of sauce: red wine, peach chutney, or béarnaise sauces. My personal favorites were the mashed potatoes, asparagus (cooked to perfection), and the red wine sauce. For dessert we had birthday cake one night which was some sort of flourless chocolate cake, second night had crème brulee, and third night a cake that was like cheesecake, but a little different, topped with an assortment of fresh fruit and an edible chocolate sign saying “Hasta la vista”. We got a good laugh out of that! Ask the bartender to make his special drink – a mix of strawberry margarita and pina colada, and you will be in heaven. I felt their prices were quite reasonable – with our dinners ranging from $50 to $90 US depending on appetizers, drinks, desserts, etc. I can’t say enough about this restaurant and the level of service you receive. You leave there feeling like family. Thank you to Miguel and his staff!!
Hotel services - We used the hotel to exchange money, as it was secure and more convenient than going off site. The exchange rate when we were there was 12.80 pesos per $1 US. I did see slightly more favorable rates in town, but not enough to make it worth shopping around for. I enjoyed the security of doing this in the hotel. I asked if there was anywhere I could check-in for our flights home without paying $12 for 2 hours of internet service at the business center since I only needed (and wanted) 10 minutes. The concierge desk said they would be happy to help me. They checked us in and even printed our boarding passes. We didn’t bring our laptop (it is a vacation – leave it at home!), but if you do I believe the charge for wireless internet was $12 per day.
Bus service - We used the bus service to go and see the more touristy areas of Cancun. The busses are frequent and very safe, and only 7.50 pesos per person (or a little more than 50 cents). While exact change is appreciated, I would pay with 20 pesos for my wife and I and they will give you change. The drivers are also very good at remembering where you are going, so if you tell them when you get on where you would like to go, for the most part they will stop and point it out for you. It never hurts to bring a map along and watch the resorts you pass to make sure you haven’t gone too far. The bus stop is right in front of the Hilton.
Overall, this was exactly the vacation we were looking for. The Hilton Cancun is a relaxing and pleasant experience at a top-notch hotel with incredible customer service. We will definitely be back. Feel free to contact me with questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability. I have to admit that I was apprehensive going to Mexico, but the trip went very smoothly, and if I can help with your questions at all I would be happy to do so.
