When I told a friend of mine I was planning a trip to Cancun, she nearly jumped on me with raving reviews of Le Meridien and how relaxing it had been for her. As I perused multiple websites, I found much better deals in terms of all-inclusive pricing but felt compelled to pay the extra and see what all the fuss was about.

From the moment we arrived at the hotel, staff was not only friendly and curteous but went out of their way to develop friendships and attend to all requests for activities/meals that we had and some we didn't even know we had.
Since we had already decided to pay the extra, we opted for the Royal club which included breakfast (not all that hearty) and cocktails/snack (equivalent to dinner with seafood always included and a waiter to get you whatever you wanted to drink) with plenty of free bottled water (which is an expensive commodity in Cancun) which made the $25 extra/person all the worth it. Royal club gives you access to the concierge who was polite, warm and very informed on what the island had to offer us depending on what side of the bed we awoke. She suggested great places to eat which were always more than her ravings and made the reservations for us.

The hotel rooms were spacious, cleaned twice daily with beds turned down and some sweet truffle/cake left for midnight snacking. The terry cloth white robe and slippers made relaxation almost impossible to avoid. I did not see a single bug in my room or on the premise the entire time! Their section fo the beach is gorgeous the balcony was fantastic for sipping coffee in the morning and listening to the waves hit the beach. The sand is soft and warm. The many pools are different temperatures so the colder ones were great for basking in the daytime and the heated ones were great and romantic for the evenings.
They have a European spa on site which you must also take advantage of. The hour long massage was far superior than any I have had in the United States. They have two on site restaraunts/lounges for when it is rainy and you want to eat in.
The room service was fantastic and they often acted surprised if we tipped them even a little over.
I remembered after staying there that I had stayed at Le Meridien in Martinique once and also had a great experience but after the one in Cancun, I am a lifelong Meridien fan!

we stayed at Le Meridien for three nights last week as part of a ten-day trip in the Yucatan. we booked the rooms only the day before we arrived and got a screamin' deal at $155 a night. if anyone is planning on going to Cancun and wants to stay in a nicer hotel away from the Las-Vegas-y atmosphere that is further north on the strip, i would highly recommend Le Meriden.

we stayed in a standard no-balcony room. the only problem we had during our stay (which was minor), is that we had requested a room with a king bed, and when we got to our room it had two small-ish doubles. we called the front desk, and they said they would move us but that the other room was on a lower level and not as nice. we decided to stick it out in the doubles and it was fine.

the bathrooms! oh, the bathroom was heavenly. by far the nicest hotel bathroom i've ever had. a seperate tub and shower, all marble, lots of fluffy towels, two nice robes (and slippers!), and nice toiletries. i was bummed (but understanding as of why) we only got one set of the Hermes shampoo/conditioner/soap (they replaced the Meridien stuff daily)--i told my boyfriend that he was not to touch those under any circumstance, they were all mine! the turndown service was also nice.

my other favorite feature was the pool area. now i'm a huge beach bum, and i never would choose to sit by the pool instead of be on the beach. except, at the Meridien. the pool area is gorgeous and i felt so glamorous--three pools, thick towels, extremely comfortable chaises, canbanas to sit under in addition to the normal umbrellas (i would imagine in high-season there would be much fighting over the cabanas early in the AM), and a nice restaraunt with waiters that wait on you poolside. my most favorite part of the pool area were the wonderful showers down by the beach. we would walk down to the ocean and go for a swim, and on the way back up the stairs to the pool area were the loveliest showers--huge shower heads in semi-enclosed tiled showers--awesome. we also just happened to arrive on a night when they were releasing baby sea turtles on the beach! we waited down on the beach with a bunch of other guests, and a man showed up with a styrofoam ice chest full of baby turtles! we all got to hold our own turtle and then release them into the ocean. it was really a neat thing to do, especially with all thelittle kids screaming and yelling excitedly.it was very special.

also, we had a great experience with the valets. we had done some unintentional off-roading in our rental car in Tulum, and it was horribly dirty. (i was actually embarrassed to pull up to the hotel in it!) we asked them where a carwash was, and they said they had someone to do it for us. i guess usually they only charge $5, but since our car was so bad, we got charged a whopping $8. the car was sparkling--even cleaner than when we got it from the rental agency, and they completely took care of it w/out us having to do a thing.

to someone who wrote a review earlier complaining that the hotel and services were expensive--well yes, they are. we definitely made an effort to keep our on-site spending under wraps. but, what do you expect for a high-end five star hotel? unfortunately thats how it works. we did do the extra $50 a day for the Premiere Club (i think thats what its called--honestly i dont remember). but i was glad we did, not sure if it was an amazing deal, but it was good. in the morning i thought the breakfast was great--cheese, fruit, yogurt, really tasty pastries, coffee, etc.. in the evening it was assorted canapes, most of which were very good, chips and guacamole and cocktails/wine etc.. more than anything we really enjoyed the fabulous view and service and that there seemed to be very few other people who had signed up as well.

overall, i looooved this hotel and would absolutely go back. (probably in the off season when the rates are what i can afford!) i would highly recommend this place to anyone who doesnt mind indulging in the finer things in life!

My wife and stayed here the last two nights of a nine night vacation. We spent a week at the Mayan Palace ( see our review ). We did extensive research on line priior to going but also visited this resort mid week and they were only too happy to show us a room. We booked two nights here and could not have been happier. We had a deluxe room with a balcony over looking the pool area. They have three pools here, each a different water temperature. Now that's a novel idea! The pools are awesome and the beach and caribbean just outstanding. The pool bar and restaurant were great and the staff very accomodating. Oh, I almost forgot...the walk in shower was the BEST. The water pressure was tremendous and the showerhead gave you a total message. I would return just for the shower! If you want a quiet, quality stay, go to this resort!

If you want to go to a very quiet, , but very elegant hotel then Le Meridien is for you. The pools and ocean are gorgeous and the rooms were spacious and had all the accessories of home.. We were treated in a 1st class manner from the time we arrived until we left 13 days later. The only negative comment I have is if you travel with a laptop like I do the internet service is very expensive. The French restaurant in the hotel was excellent as is the poolside eatery. Also there are many alternatives within walklng distance. The bus stop is nearby and bus service was cheap and easy to figure out. Cabs are plentiful. The staff went out of its way to make sure your every need was taken care. The spa as well is a first class affair.