I typically do not take the time to write reviews of the hotels I stay at, but I had to share my recent experience at the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun as the experience far exceeded my expectations.

We arrived in Cancun around 1pm and had arranged for a private transfer to the resort. This is something I would highly recommend as you do not have to wait for others to arrive. So within 20 minutes of reaching the driver we were at the entrance to the Hard Rock Cancun.

We were greeted by incredibly friendly staff who took our luggage and escorted us inside to the front desk. I was a bit nervous that we would not be given a room since we were there an hour and a half before check-in, but this was no problem--they had our room ready for us! We got checked in and went to our room and our luggage was brought up within minutes of stepping foot in the door. The bellman explained everything in the room to us--showing us the liquor dispensor, mini-bar, bathrobe, slippers, safety deposit box, and more. He also explained and showed me the instructions to make FREE calls back to the USA (Canada and Mexico too, which I didn’t use) as well as FREE wireless internet. I have to say that being able to call home for free was something I had read, but did not understand the value of. It was great to be able to call home and check-in on the pets! I also used the free wi-fi on my Iphone constantly!

On day one we stopped by the Little Big Club to get information for dropping off our 2 children the following day. We were thrilled to learn that we would be able to start off the trip the next morning with a special breakfast with Barney, Angelina Balerina, Thomas the Train, and Bob the Builder. Our daughter is especially found of Angelina so I knew this would be perfect for her!

We also went to the lobby to look into using our Resort Credit (we received $1500 to spend during our trip since we were staying for 5 nights). We easily made reservations for the following items: couples massage, Premium Dolphin Swim and the Romantic Dinner. This easily would have cost us an additional $1000 plus dollars had we not been given this resort credit! A FANTASTIC deal!

Our family has been to quite a few high-end all inclusive resorts with good food, but the food at the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun was a BIG surprise to us. We found the food to be the best we have had at any all inclusive resort EVER and better than most restaurants we dine at frequently back in Chicago! We ate at the following restaurants and would recommend all of them: Zen (Asian), Ipanema (Brazilian Steakhouse), The Market (buffet), Frida (Mexican with outdoor seating), and Ciao (italian). Our personal favorite was Ipanema, but our kids would argue and say Zen (they love tepenyaki tables).

We absolutely loved the pool area and it was perfect for our family. It has a great swim-up bar, zero entry for the kids, and there is no shortage of pool chairs. We never had to worry about finding chairs together. This is rare to find at all inclusive resorts so it was a very pleasant surprise to us! The beach was great as well--beautiful white sand and turquoise water! We spent half the time at the beach and half at the pool--both of which had great waitstaff service for food and drinks.

Overall we found the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun to be TOP NOTCH all-inclusive resort with a very unique rock and roll twist. This is definitely something that has been needed in the all inclusive market as every other all inclusive brand we have been to seems pretty much the same. Everywhere you turn at the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun there is something new and different! Mix that rock and roll uniqueness with amazing facilities, great food, outstanding service and you have a winning combination! I would recommend this resort to everyone (and I already have). We have already decided that next year we are going to go to the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta (a sister property to the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun)!