The Avalon Bacarra was everything that we anticipated. It’s a quaint hotel, not a sprawling luxury resort. Our room had a few minor maintenance issues, but by no means was it a disappointment in any way. The staff was always pleasant and there to answer any of our questions and give us assistance with our daily itinerary. It was the perfect place to stay for me and my wife although if we would have been accompanied by our kids (in their late teens) we would have chosen a larger resort nearer to km. 9 where the nightlife is.
Don’t let people scare you away with dramatic tales of climbing stairs. Each level is only a half flight and the 6th floor is the top I believe. My wife and I are 50 and average fitness and it didn’t faze us one bit staying in a 4th floor room.
Right across the street is a nice mall equipped with shopping, dining and even money conversion. There are bus stops for both directions conveniently located to the hotel. I highly recommend using the Cancun bus system. It is inexpensive, convenient and will take you anywhere you need to go. Take a bus to Walmart for inexpensive liquor and delicious bakery items. The bus marked “Pto Jaurez” will take you to the ferry to Isla Mujeres which is a day trip we highly recommend. When you get to Isla Mujeres rent a golf cart and explore the beautiful island. It is very easy to fill your entire day there. We also enjoyed shopping downtown at Mercado 28. The R2 bus will drop you off about 2 blocks away, but the people are friendly and it is a short, pleasant walk.
We purchased a dining discount card online from Entertainment-plus and were very pleased with it. It got us 2 for 1 meals at numerous places such as Pat O’Briens and the Hard Rock. The Hard Rock was by far our favorite place to eat in the Hotel Zone.
We also booked our Chichen Itza tour through Entertainment-plus and everything went flawlessly.
We are already planning a return trip in 2010 because there were so many things we didn’t have time to do this time. A day at Xel Ha is on top of our list next year.

We arrived on the 5th of July and were pleasantly greeted by name before we said anything. The pool was specatular and by 5 or 6 pm would get shady although the water stayed warm all night. Its beautifully lighted with waterfalls etc... there was a staff member in the pool bar if you want drinks or food. We were often the only family out at the pool but a few times there were only 2 or 3 other people out there. We went out on the beach as well and its small (still recovering from hurricane) but still plenty big for us and was never crowded. While there we ordered food and drinks and service was fine. We are not very picky nor needy so didn't encounter any service issues and they were very attentive when we did need something so I don't think service would ever be an issue. We had an all inclusive package but only had breakfast there every morning since we had tours everyday. The breakfast was fine but my husband found the restaurant a little hot for his comfort since the sun rises on that side of the hotel. The waiter did all he could to adjust the temperature and within about 10 minutes seemed to cool down to my husbands satisfaction. We stayed in 201 which has a kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a living and dining room w/ 3 TV's. It was very clean and had a great view. The beds are firm but that's how we like them. Some others on this website complained that the water was cold when they showered and we found the water in the showers would warm up after it ran for about 10 minutes but it was never ice cold. The bathrooms were very roomy with plenty of storage space for you to dress etc.... especially if you have girls - you know how they have make-up jewelry everywhere. The master bedroom had a spectacular view and at night the moon was gorgeous on the water. The secondary bedroom had a view of the alley which was okay since the living/dining room had an ocean view and we also had a large balcony with a hot tub (we never used it). There are only 27 rooms in this hotel a nice change from the giant chains - we've stayed at those too and were looking for something different - we found it! There were nice toiletries in the restroom and the towels were thick and giant - you also can get towels from the front desk for pool/beach area. It is an older hotel but is well maintained and the staff was constantly cleaning/working on it. We ordered room service one night since we were tired and didn't want to shower/dress for dinner and we had hamburgers/fries/cokes and chocolate cake - they were excellent and delivered promptly. We had a great time and will stay here again - it was roomy, quiet and the price was fair. If you want to get away from the crowds, relax and be left alone - this is the place to stay. If you want a loud, rowdy crowded atmoshphere this is not the hotel for you. We came to celebrate our daughters 15th birthday (she wanted to go to Cancun) and she enjoyed it just as much as we did however she is the quiet type that shys away from crowds too. There are two other "sister hotels" (affiliates) one is two doors down the other is on Isla de Mujeres both are much larger and if your all inclusive you can use their facilities as well though we didn't.

I husband and I went to Avalon Baccara Cancun for our honeymoon. When planning our honeymoon I told my husband that I didn't want to stay at a large resort. This place was absolutely perfect. He booked the honeymoon suite and it just blew me away. There was an eating area off of our front balcony and a jacuzzi tub and lounge chairs off the back balcony. Every day when we came back to our room we had a different design on our bed with flowers (when we first checked in it was rose peddles shaped into a heart). This place was very relaxing, quaint and made my honeymoon more romantic than what I imagined. The staff was very nice and friendly. One night we asked where we should go eat and they arranged for us to go to a mexican restaurant in downtown Cancun. We had a great time, when we got there they made us dress up in Mexican outfits and took our picture (it turned out really good). The band was great and interactive with patrons. We have planned on going back to the Avalon Baccara Cancun on our 5th anniversery. I would highly recommend this place.

My wife and I stayed here as part of our honeymoon. We wanted somewhere different to the huge all-inclusive chains that crowd the coastline, especially as we were staying over Spring Break! The Avalon Baccara was perfect - a small characterful hotel with a beautiful, uncrowded pool. We had room 305 - a gorgeous oceanside studio with kitchen, lounge and private hot tub on the balcony. The hot water is occasionally luke warm if you catch it after everyone has showered, but staff were always friendly and helpful, and it was handy to use the facilities at the sister Hotels next door and on Isla Mujeres (amazing beach there!) There are great restaurants nearby (La Destilleria for proper Mexican) and the drinks/snacks at the hotel are good value. Buses to Cancun are cheap and frequent, and trips to the Mayan sites well worth it. I would reccommend this hotel to anyone who doesn't want the 'could be in a room anywhere in the world' carbon copy experience and who doesn't want to fight for a place at the pool. After the hurricane and the current flu scare Mexco will need tourism more than ever, so make that reservation!