My husband and I were upgraded to the Aura after one night at the Wyndham Sabor March 28-April 4. The upgrade was all due to the effort and excellent service provided by Enrique, the concierge at the Sabor, and Daniel, the manager at the Aura. When we arrived at the Aura we were greeted by Daniel. He made us feel very welcome and when we ran in to him during the course of our stay he was always very friendly and asked each time how our stay was going and if we had everything we needed. Like all of the staff we encountered at the Aura, Daniel was great. Also excellent was Jesus at the front desk, and every other individual who was working at the front desk when we needed anything. While we had access to all the restaurants at the Sabor and the Wyndham, after a couple meals at the Hava Grill and the Isola Restaurant the food and experience was so fabulous that we cancelled our reservations we had made upon arrival and ate exclusively at the Aura's restaurants. The staff at the Hava Grill during the day always exceeded our expecations. Angie, the chef, went out of her way to make my husband's steak each day just the way he liked it. Margarito and Leslie took very good care of us - even at the pool. They were all so pleasant and eager to please. The entire staff at the Isola Restaurant were top notch. Rebeca, Miguel, Waldo, and each and every staff member were so eager to make sure our dining experiences were positive and memorable. I wish I could remember all of their names. I celebrated my 50th birthday on the last night we were there. They had a guitar player for entertainment, an unbelievable five-course dinner, and at my husband's request, the wait staff all came out and sang Happy Birthday to me and presented me with a beautiful dessert with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the plate. How special! They made my 50th so memorable! The presentation of the food all week was equal to a five-star restaurant in most cases. Special thanks to Gabriella for making my crepes every morning. This resort has the best food we've ever experienced - and we've been to many resorts in mexico. Lastly, want to give credit to Dalel, Adrianna, and Nick of the Activities staff. They went out of their way to make make sure we were entertained (when/if we wanted to be), and were very friendly and outgoing.

This resort is beautiful. The grounds, accomodations, room furnishings are beautiful. The king-size bed is so comfortable. The fitness center overlooks the ocean, and has beautiful equipment and splenty of it. Like the rest of the resort, it was very clean at all times.

I would highly recommend this resort for a wonderful vacation with lots of attention from the staff, great food and drinks and an awesome view of the ocean no matter where in the resort you are.

My husband and I just returned from 7 awesome days at the Aura! We had booked the Wyndham Sabor and found out when we arrived that we had been upgraded to the Aura...immediately we were whisked in a golf cart to the Aura property and fell in love. The lobby was beautiful and the staff were focused on us. No lines to wait in, just one on one service. We were taken to our suite immediately and were given an overview of where things were...we ordered room service (it was pretty late) and just sat on our balcony and listened to the ocean. I have to say, room service was quick and the food was very good...no complaints about anything in the food or drink category. Our in room fridge was restocked daily with water and soda, and 2 times with beer as well. The beds were really comfortable, and other than the TV not working for the first 3 days, we had no complaints. Showers were hot, jacuzzi tub worked great, and the room were cleaned every afternoon.

We ate at the restaurants in the other Wyndham resorts, and Mosaique was good, but didn't compare to the Hava Grill and Isola we had on site...you really don't need to leave if you don't want to.

Every day we sat by the pool (never had a problem getting loungers, even at mid-day) and were waited on contiunally, yes, we tipped our servers, but we do that at home as well!! By the second day, we didn't even need to ask for a drink, they would replenish what we were drinking before our glasses were empty! They all knew us by name, and greeted us whenever they saw us. The entertainment staff (all 3 of them) were awesome! Everyday they had activities planned and asked all guests if they wanted to join in, we did most days, and had a blast.

We had read on the internet about the "optional lifestyle" that was part of this resort. I can say, other than a couple of topless bathers, we experienced nothing like that. All the guests were couples, honeymooners, or friends there for a relaxing, fun time. We met alot of great people, and not once did we wonder if they might have ulterior motives!! I think that some things have been blown out of proportion in the forums!! I would say don't beleive everything you read! Check the place out for yourself....form you own opinion, thats what we did, and can't wait to go back next year.

If I had any complaints, it would be that they don't have enough umbrellas around the pool...we found out that they were on back-order and out of control of the staff...big deal!! I ended up with the best tan! Not a real downfall in my opinion!

If you are looking for a great resort, with exceptional service and ammenities, try this place out...I can't say you won't have a different experience, but the chances are good you will love it as much as we did! Happy travels!

J & D
Burlington, Ontario
Canada

We just got back from Aura, aka Paradise. I have no idea what the prior person was talking about with a buffet. The only buffet we had was one morning at the resturant. The meals were great.

The staff - awesome. We were upgraded to a swim up room - fantastic. Pools - wonderful. Beach - quiet although rocky upon entering water. Room service - on time and hot. View - awesome to be out of town so a cruise ship is not parked in front blocking the views of the ocean. Spa - very good and priced reasonably.

Our only complaint is you could hear the noise from the hallway...really, not a big deal.

We had brought a $100 in ones and tipped throughout - thus no problems with service, water, cleaning, anything...

We can't wait to come back next year as we are hooked on the Aura!

On the last night of our vacation, my wife and agreed that, while waiting for dinner on the beautfiul Cozumel coastline, we were actually looking forward to returning to our cold hometown. The Aura offerred great promise, but our experience fell unbelievably flat.

To be fair, I will say that the hotel itself was truly remarkable. It looks like it just opened yesterday, with beautiful rooms, a great open-air lobby, and spacious pools. Our food, once we were served, was excellent. The room service was fast and the food was great.

But a hotel cannot expect to be judged solely by its appearance and the taste of its food. Food has to be served, rooms have to be cleaned, drinks have to be served - and to be honest, all of those on the service end seemed like either they didn't care or had no idea what they were doing. It appears that they are greatly understaffed and don't have time to offer the best possible service.

Our first meal after checking in was at the outdoor restaurant, Hava Grill. My wife and I waited, literally, an hour for a cheeseburger and a chicken sandwich. We chalked that up to an anomoly in what we perceived as an excellent resort for food. We later discovered that the waitstaff at this restaurant also waited on poolside patrons at the same time they were serving lunch at the restaurant. It wasn't that they didn't work hard, but you can't be everywhere at once.

Our first dinner that night was at the Isola restaurant, which is half inside and half outside. I think the concept of this restaurant underscores exactly what is wrong with this hotel. It's a beautiful restaurant that looked just like the website picture, but it has a buffet 5 nights a week. If buffets are your thing, fine, but in my opinion, a luxury hotel offers sit-down service. Not to mention that the buffet was out of half of the items and we had to settle for old pasta with marinara. One of the nights that they did offer a set menu, we had to wait for a table, along with 5 other couples, even though the restaurant was only a third full. While we waited, I asked for two glasses of wine at the bar. I was told that they were out of all white wine. I walked over to the bar at the nearside Hava Grill and was promptly served 2 glasses of wine in 2 soda glasses. Again the food was great, but it takes about 45 minutes for the service, and while you wait, no one stops by to refill your water or wine.

The website describe the hotel as "An all-inclusive adult couples only resort". We saw about 4 or 5 families at the Aura with kids, ranging from middle school to high school. I asked the front desk about this, and they told me that these were families bumped over from the adjacent Sabor and that in Mexico adults are over 13. They also said it's going to 18 and over in May, but I wouldn't believe that. There are two hot tubs at the top-floor Brisas bar, and while we were up there to watch the sunset one night, one was full; the other was full of kids.

The rooms generally were clean. One night we got back from to our room at 5:30pm and it wasn't cleaned. I called the front desk to ask for it to be cleaned. At 8:30, I walked to the front desk and asked again for it to be cleaned. I was told that they were going to clean it right away and was given several towels so my wife and I could at least shower before dinner. After they cleaned the room and we showered, we finally arrived at the Hava Grill at 9:45pm. We were told that the restaurant closed in 15 minutes and we were denied service. That led us to the only other option, a night at the Isola buffet. On a separate note, the floor in our room clearly wasn't cleaned, because we had a swarm of ants in the room on our last night.

If you do decide to stay at the Aura, my one piece of advice would be to hoard as many water bottles as you possibly can. They say it's "All-Inclusive", but they won't give you water bottles at any of the restaurants or bars. The mini-bar in the room is stocked with 2-3 bottles for an entire day and you cannot ask for more; not to mention that ours wasn't re-stocked on 3 of the days. My wife and I both got sick for 2 days, and I don't know it was from the lack of water, bad water, or bad food.

I completely understand if this review sounds like it's coming from a snubby, up-tight traveler. But I can promise that my wife and I have never complained about a hotel before. The thing you have to consider is that many of the positive comments we heard we from those upgraded from the Sabor side. Once the hotel actually starts to fill up with those that actually book the Aura with the regular rates, the hotel is in for a rude awakening. There are about 100 luxury resorts throught Cozumel and Riviera Maya that all cost around that same price, and this particular hotel is not worth the price of admission, at least not yet.