This is a very large and spread out resort. We were there Feb. 10 - 14. All of us (4 adults & 2 children) had blisters by the third day from walking around this place. I was concerned about the kids activities and weather more than anything when we booked the trip. Had one bad day of weather with rain all of that day. The swimming pools were cold unless you move around quite a bit. The kids stayed busy and were wore out by the end of each day. Federico is in charge of most of the pool activities and does a great job with the kiddos. The staff was great all over the resort. The food was good and there are plenty of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mixed drinks were not very good at all. I'm a beer drinker so it didn't affect me as much as the ladies. They would have had to drink 50+ pina coladas to feel any alcohol effect. My main complaint at this resort was the golf. I was prepared to and did pay alot of money to play the golf course. For 2 adults and a child it ran $520. Way out of line. Shouldn't have been more than $150 for all of us. Would not recommend the golf to anyone unless your on someone elses expense account. Overall... we all had a great time, ate too much, drank good beer, and watched the kids have a blast on the beach and around the pool. With the kids I'd go back. Adults only trip, would not.

We arrived on 2/2/08 from the UK after a long 11 hour flight. Check in was instant and reception staff very friendly and helpful although we had read bad reviews about them. We were given a glass of champagne and a red carnation.

The bell boy took us to our room and was very friendly and showed us all the things available in the room.

We had got married in Vegas 3 months previously so had booked in as a honeymoon couple and were given pink bands. A bottle of bubbly and fruit was bought to our room almost immediately. You also receive a 10% everytime you buy anything in the hotel shop.

We were given a top floor room in the Iguana block, Nizuc side but after the first night, found the noise from the water plant too noisey. Reception were very helpful and within 30 mins moved us to Palmera block which was much better as in the middle of Nizuc and Sunrise so made access around the resort much easier.

We always prefer top floors anyway but I would still recommend them as there is a double jacuzzi in every one so if you were on a ground floor, everyone can see you. When people walk around the grounds on the pathways, you automatically look in the rooms on ground level.

We had read reviews about the resort being too big. I disagree and found that it was very easy to move around both lobbies, pools and restaurants. We only used the hotel transport to get to the golf club house.

The Grand side was open although not advertised and this was great although still a bit quiet and lacking atmosphere. There are only 200 rooms ready and the lobby is still being built. However, both pools are finished with luxurious double thick foam sun beds and the Caribbean restaurant was great. It also does fab breakfasts and lunches. The staff are so helpful, especially Miguel in the pool bar. We think this is because there are so many staff and so few people. You must visit!

The Sunrise pool side was very, loud, busy and noisy. It holds the conventions so it seemed more to me like a 18-30 holiday and was very busy. Nizuc pool side was much quieter and alot of the time, very empty. You will see from the photos how many loungers are available. There were so many and yes, people did reserve beds but nothing was done but maybe that was because it wasn't full.

However, the Sunrise lobby was better in the evenings as much more atmosphere. The Nizuc lobby was still good and always a great place to get a coffee and snack after a day at the pool.

The beach isn't like a carribean one, lots of seaweed which didn't bother us and they continually clear it. The sea is very rough as it is always windy, very dark and cold. However, if you take the hotel bus up the coast to the other palace resort hotels, it is totally different there. We went to the Beach palace and loved it. It is a new 12 floor contempory hotel with a pool with hot water and the sea is spectacular. Turquoise water just as you would expect for the area and warm water. However, there is hardly any sand as the beach was lost in the last hurricane. There is also 2 roof pools, bars and a jacuzzi which was too hot to sit in! The pools at the moon palace were not heated and did seem a bit cold.

We will book again and choose this hotel. There is also the Cancun Palace and the adults only, Sun Palace.

The food was outstanding! Cannot understand the negative reviews. The Italian and Oriental restaurants at the golf club were the best, both with great atmosphere and top food. You would pay lots of money to eat in these in a normal town.

We ate in the beach steak restaurant twice on the Sunrise side, called the Barracuda. This was great with thick juicy steaks.

The Brazillian was great and also ate in there for breakfast and lunch. The terrace tables overlook the pool.

Then there was the El Manglar which is the buffet style, again all good quality. We had a take out on our first night and several breakfasts although the staff are so helpful, as soon as you have food or drink and start walking to your table, they take it for you.

They print a free cancun daily newspaper which is a good read, we always picked our copy up at breakfast or in the gift shop.

We also used room service which came on the exact time and was top quality food.

The entire resort staff give 110% service, greet you with a friendly smile and hola. The drinks service everywhere was 5*, whether we were at a bar, in a restaurant or by the pool, we never had to wait for a drink.

The only slight negative was with the room maid. We tipped from day one, were a honeymoon couple, yet never received one towelling animal even though we had read reviews of so many others receiving them. Petty I know but it would have been nice to receive one. Also, we didn't use the mouth wash yet ended up with 3. Used the other products but didn't get them replaced and left a note asking for more. Also, the toiletries are good but they do not have shower gel.

The room has free wi fi internet so remember to take your laptop. The TV has a good selection of channels.

We did the kitchen tour which is very good and makes you feel quite humble. They work so hard. Everything goes on underground and volume and amount of work that goes on is amazing. They work 8 hour shifts with one half hour break for $400 a month. I don't think people in the UK would do that yet they gave 100% to the job and seemed genuinely happy.
Nothing was too much trouble. no tips were ever expected but a few dollars was always gratefully received.

We didn't use any mosquito products, see any or get bitten at all. Infact, didn't see any bugs of any kind, just a few small lizards outside.

The weather was great everyday. Sun with a few clouds and rain in the middle of one night. We got a really great tan and came back home feeling very relaxed and totally spoilt.

Feel free to ask any questions and book a holiday here in full confidence.

As seasoned travelers, my husband and I thought we had signed up for a luxury 5-star all inclusive resort. The Moon Palace was far from 5-stars. I would rate this resort more along the lines of a 3-star resort. Like many travelers I also reviewed this site extensively before booking at the Moon Palace. Much to my surprise this resort was definitely sub-par. For the first time ever we were actually counting down the days until we went home! The food was well below our expectations. The buffets for breakfast and lunch focused more on serving quantity than quality. The a la carte dinners were the exact same food found everywhere else throughout the resort - the only difference was it was served to you. The resort itself was not welcoming, comfortable or luxurious. There was definitely no "WOW factor" to this resort. We stayed on the Nizuc side which is smaller and geared more towards couples and families. The Sunrise side was massive and geared towards convention goers. The pools were extensive but unimpressive, the hotel grounds were very unimpressive as well. If you like concrete you'll love this resort - no lush anything, just what seemed like miles of concrete walls everywhere around the pool. I was also completely shocked by the clientele. This was by no means an inexpensive vacation and was surprised by the type of people vacationing there. It was definitely a lower class crowd. I would NEVER go back and would NEVER recommend this resort to anyone.

I got married at the Moon Palace on April 20, 2007. It has taken me awhile write this, but I wanted to because I read almost every review before we got married there. First of all, I want to say that the wedding and resort were amazing and perfect. We had 50 family and friends come with us and I was very nervous about planning a trip for so many people with so many different interests. It really worked out because there is no much to do for families with kids of all ages, singles, young couples, etc.
My thoughts on the resort first….
- The food is not bad, but it’s not great. The resort is huge so they have to cater to so many, meaning much of the Mexican food is not very authentic and even though there are many restaraunts, the food choices are not that diverse…that being said, I think 80% of people would think it is great and it is definitely a great bargain for the all-inclusive price. Try the tortilla soup from room service…someone ordered it and it became a trip favorite for everyone.
- The rooms are absolutely beautiful. My sister went on her honeymoon there years before we got married and they have renovated the rooms since, making them very modern….stocked full of drinks, can’t beat that.
- Grounds, pool, beach, etc. The pools are perfect…love the swim up bar. We were in that pool the whole time. The beach is a bit sea weedy, but gorgeous. We went in it and took pictures along it. Make sure to check out the water sports. Free kayaks and wind sailing. We had a great time with it. The grounds are just beautiful. I will get to my recommendation on which resort side when I talk about the wedding.
- Included excursions – many in our party took advantage of these with happy results. Just know that each excursion really takes up most of a day. The families with kids went to the waterpark and loved it. We went to an excursion that ended up being at a gorgeous beach in Riviera Maya where they are in the process of building a swanky looking resort…smart, eh. It included a snorkeling adventure which we all refer to as “swim for your life’…it was pretty funny. Once there, you can pay to ride horses in the ocean, ride four wheelers on the beach, rent jet skis and small speed boats, etc. I highly recommend the horses and the four wheelers. They set up a course with all sorts of fun sections. At one point you see alligators in a pond and then you are right on a gorgeous beach driving through palm trees right on the water. It was a blast and well worth the $.
- Spa was gorgeous, a wonderful experience. Beware that the sessions included in wedding package can’t be done together unless you pay a lot more to go into the couple part of the spa. There are separate men’s, women’s, and couple areas, which is actually really nice.
- Grooms parents did the timeshare session, it took the entire day, not 2 hours!!! Not worth it.
- Didn’t golf. We all decided it was a bit expensive considering none of us are golfers.
- All but 4 people never left the resort for a long week. There is so much to do. Small group went to the bars one night in Cancun.
Now for the Wedding
- Planning the wedding with the resort was nerve racking because there service office in Florida is TERRIBLE. I cried multiple times and I never cry. You just have to stay on top of them and email them one question in each email. She doesn’t read past the first question and has a 2 second memory. Just get through it. The wedding planners onsite are amazing. I learned a lot about the process. Email me if you have any questions.
- Nizuc vs. Sunrise - Here’s the thing no one told me before we got there. All of the wedding stuff is on the Nizuc side - the chapel, gazebos, terraces, salon, wedding office, etc. I requested that everyone be on the Sunrise side because I heard it was more active. When we got there, they gave us a room on the Nizuc side and they couldn’t really tell me if everyone in the wedding party was on the same side. It ended up being a blessing to be on Nizuc and we were all there. It is smaller scale, less of the convention crowd, has the best breakfast and dinner buffet (restaurant in lobby). All agreed, even the young singles. It’s also just a very short trip over to the sunrise side. BTW – We had three families who booked through RCI. They ended up in the swanky golf part of the resort, which was a bit of a surprise.
- There are 2 things I would highly recommend: 1. Have a private reception. I can’t say it enough, worth every penny! Have it outside on a terrace…magical. We extended ours because we were having such a great time and ended up getting an hour free…they just let us keep going. Bring a CD of music. They have a small sound system worth renting. 2. Bring your own photographer. We brought one from home and have 7000 pictures. He was with us for 4.5 days. You will not regret it. Check out some of our pictures at randallsonline.com - Go to destination wedding section – Erin And Brad. They don’t mind if you bring your own, but you can’t have a local one from Mexico come in.
- If you have more than 10 rooms in your group you get a free cocktail reception or you can have a credit toward your reception. I highly recommend the credit. We had our own little “cocktail reception” at the sushi bar in the evening and it didn’t cost us a thing.
- It took the salon 4 hours to do my manicure, pedicure, and hair. I had to skip the makeup because I was afraid I was going to be late to the ceremony. Also, the salon employees don’t speak English.
- We did a civil ceremony. It was beautiful. The service at the reception was jaw dropping. Example: I would set my drink down to take a picture and a waiter would come pick it up for me. When the picture was done and I had forgotten about my drink, the waiter was right there handing it to me.
- They did a great job pressing my dress, but left it in a clear bag on our bed...luckily I came in first.
Well, that is the major stuff. Send me an email if you have any questions. I have a lot of recommendations about planning a destination wedding. It was a fun experience.