We just returned from a 5 night stay at the Aura for our 10 year anniversary. It was nice, but it was not as luxurious as I had hoped based on their website and many reviews. The property is beautiful, but it has an awful layout. It is a good thing it is not very large because there is no easy way to get from one place to another. We had a swim up suite which was incredible. It was so nice to sit in the pool right outside of the room. Aura was very quiet for the most part. They do not have any activities going on - pool volleyball was played on 2 afternoons. It was rare to see more than 10 people at the pool at one time, so it was very relaxing and they have rafts to float around the lazy river. The only time it was loud was around 1:00 in the morning when the disco closed one night ( only open 2 times when we were there). The walls are paper thin and you can hear people in the hall and in the room above you.

The staff was friendly, but a little slow. They do work very hard to please. When we got there, they could not find our reservation at first. Then when we finally got to our room, it smelled SO BAD. We told the front desk and they said that they did not have any other rooms. I was a little aggravated and complained a little more and they eventually found us a room about an hour later - no aplogies or anything. Keep in mind - the property was no where near full.

The food was not good. We are from south Louisiana and are used to well seasoned food and it was very average for an all inclusive - except for the gulf coast shrimp with banana flan - that was really good!!

All in all, it was a nice trip, but it was not as nice as I was expecting. I was a little disappointed. It was just a basic all inclusive Mexican resort. Do not book this resort thinking it is a luxury resort - it is not.

I just returned from a "girlfriends' trip" to this resort and overall, was pleased with the experience.

We were greeted with a cool towel and champagne and check-in was pretty easy. We were offered a few rooms to choose from and decided on the swim-up suite (no extra charge). The room itself was spacious, modern, with several little extras that were nice (full mini-bar, apples, robes, etc.). It would have been nice to have been shown around a bit so that we knew where everything was located (gym, business center, disco, spa, etc.). We had to inquire to find out where everything was and there was no booklet in the room to give us a map of the property or anything. Small detail, but would have been nice.

The food was inconsistent but I thought it exceeded my expectation of an "all-inclusive" resort. The only time we had a buffet was at breakfast and instead chose to order room service most mornings. I am health-conscious and it was nice to have the option of oatmeal or an egg-white omelette with veggies and shrimp. We ate dinner at Isola for most meals and found most of the food nice but some of the courses were a little odd. I'm kind of a princess when it comes to eating out but I've been fortunate to eat in some outstanding restaurants in my life... I was satisfied, but few dishes left me impressed. We did have a few negative experiences with room service (had to order things several times before they actually came a few times, they were OUT of water one day, out of some items on the menu, etc.) and they never replenished our mini-bar which had been promised when we checked in. They only brought sugar one morning when we ordered coffee which was odd and sometimes silverware was forgotten, etc. Just little things that were eventually resolved but made the experience seem sort of unpolished.

The service was inconsistent as well but I feel that they were understaffed at the times that we experienced the negative service. Dinner service was horrible one evening because they accepted a huge party into the restaurant that was not staying at the resort (and had not made a reservation) which affected every guest dinning at Isola that night. The server apologized, explained the situation, and said they only had 3 servers and 4 cooks in the kitchen for the entire restaurant. Our courses came out at the wrong time, never got bread, etc, etc, but they were definitely trying to do the best they could. My question was why would they accept this party in the first place at the expense of their resort guests???

I read about a manager being present in past reviews of this property but we never met or saw anyone resembling a manager on the property the entire week we stayed. It felt unmanaged...

We did see bugs in the room but it wasn't anything I didn't expect in a resort by the sea. We were eaten alive by mosquitoes the first night we were eating dinner outside but OFF solved the problem for the remainder of the stay.

The pool area was great, never had issues getting an umbrella and there were always towels, etc. A waitress was constantly bringing drinks or whatever you wanted which was very nice. We ate in the seaside cafe and the food was good. We did see a group of kids the first couple of days in our stay which was not what we expected. They were at the pool, making a lot of noise, and the guests were visibly upset by the situation. I didn't think it was that big of a deal but I can see why others would be upset. Also, a couple with a baby checked in and apparently didn't realize it was an adults-only resort until they got there. I never heard the baby the entire time I was there but I know guests were complaining about it.

I worked out in the fitness center three days during my stay and found it to be pretty good compared to other hotels I've been to. I'm a personal trainer so I'm pretty critical of this aspect of a hotel. They had Life Fitness machines, a standing cable machine, a flat and an incline bench, some free weights for the barbells, and relatively new equipment/cardio machines. There was water, fresh towels, and some mats for floor work. My only complaint was the temperature of the room on two mornings was like an oven. The air conditioning only worked on one of the mornings and noone seemed to know how to fix it. Needless to say, I burned a lot more calories than usual...lol.

We did take a snorkel tour arranged by the guys in the little hut by the beach and went out to Colombia and Palancar reefs. It was beautiful but I definitely enjoyed the snorkeling at Punta Sur much more because you were so much closer to the fish. I think the other two reefs were more for scuba divers.

We rented a jeep and cruised around the island. Very easy but beware of the guys in the yellow jackets trying to give you a "deal" if you listen to their 90 minute shpeel about some travel group. I found this extremely TACKY and inappropriate to approach people on their vacation in this way. We also took the ferry to Playa Del Carmen and rented a car over there to visit Chichen Itza. This was amazing but I would recommend taking the toll road (180D) vs. the regular 180. Way faster!!! Chichen Itza was worth the drive and it's one of the 7 wonders of the world! Very cool!!!

I would definitely go back to this hotel and would recommend it to others. I think that, with some small changes this hotel could be excellent but overall was a great experience!

Just got back yesterday, stayed from 7/17-7/21

First of all, the positives.

The view and the property are both to die for. The hotel sits directly on the beach and is gorgeous and modern. LOVED it. We had a swim up room-HUGE and totally worth it. It was awesome and top notch. Comfy furniture everywhere-beds are unreal comfortable. Very small, intimate and upscale.

Negatives:

Service/Food. Not so good, considering the cost.

Examples:

Same SMALL menu for three nights in a row. Food is better than average for an all inclusive but NOT great. AND....my husband got VERY VERY sick for a full 12 hours on what? We cannot figure it out. Blech.

Took three HOURS to have dinner one night. It took the waiter 30 minutes to get our drink order. SO SO slow.

I had to call room service three times to get bottled water sent to our room. They also did not have a few items available from the room service menu.

Pool service was not regular. Beach service non-existent.

I will say I am super picky but I expected a bit more I suppose. I certainly did not think my husband would get SICK there.

This place could be fabulous but needs work...but evern with these issues it still doesn't have that all inclusive 'herd the cattle' feel.

Nice but NOT quite five star.

My husband and I just returned from Aura last night. We stayed July 15-20Th. We travel a lot and try to stay in smaller hotels with great service. We are mid- 30's. I have stayed in CZM many times, sometimes at a hotel and some homes. I know that this is a very relaxed island and that is why I enjoy it so much. Our favorite thing to do is to go to the other side of the Island..it is so beautiful. (rent a car/Jeep..not a scooter!!) This stay we decided to go AI. I'll try and just give you the the good and bad, then you can go from there.


Our check in was not good. We drove up and not one person said hello, we were standing there for at least 10 min before someone said anything to us. Any other place we have stayed there are about 3 people running up to you with drinks and cold towels... We asked the man checking us in what was the "best room" they had.. He said "oh.. just see if you like this room first"..then again my husband asked him .."what is the best room"? (I think he was new). He said "Oh..that is extra and just see if you like..first". I let him know that paying extra was fine... just let us know what you have and how much. Ok, well that went on and on. Finally we just went to our room. We asked for a Kind bed..it was not. The cabinet in the bathroom was about to to fall off the wall. The shower was pretty bad and the toilet had not been cleaned. The fridge was empty. I decided to just suck it up and have fun anyway! :)



We go down to the pool and just let it all go... the pool is nice and the view is beautiful. Then here come about 5-6 kids. Ummm..I am pretty sure they said this place is adults only. I then decide to talk to the Manager. Of course he is not available. I let the lady know about my check in, the bathroom, the bed, the fridge, and the kids. I explained to her it was not right to say adults only and pay extra for that and it not be true. She said that the children were here with guest of the owner and that she was sorry and that she would let someone know. As I returned to my room, the phone rang... it is the front desk, they are now going to give me a swim-up room, no extra charge. I had already unpacked and we decide to stayed in our room. Funny how now I can have a king bed in a swim up room, free upgrade, but when I checked in...it was going to be $100 extra a night per person. I think the reason that upset me so much is because the hotel was only about 40 % full and they had been upgrading people from Sabar for free. I heard from a few guest that they have had a change in Managment and it was not going so great.. who knows??


The food was pretty good and so was the service . It could have been a lot better, they are about 3 people understaffed at each restaurant /bar. I think the few people that do work there are there 24/7!! Seriously! Most of the time I had to ask for more coffee, water, etc. We learned pretty early that it is a lot faster to just go and get your drink at the pool bar then it is to wait for the waiter to come by. (remember he/she is also the person waiting on the outside restaurant, pool and delivering room service)


We went on a snorkel trip that was awesome. We first asked for the glass bottom boat and it was full. They told us that Manual (he calls himself "Crazy Manual") would take us for the same amount, we loved it! If you can get him to take you out, do it!! I have always enjoyed scuba diving in CZM and this was the first snorkel trip that I have ever enjoyed. It was the closest thing to diving as you can get. We also went para-sailing, it was great too. Everyone was wonderful and the service was really good. The hotel is small so you will see the same people through out your stay, this made hanging out around the pool and the disco fun.

We did have a good time, even though it was not what we expected. I am not if sure we will not return to this hotel on a future visit. If you have any questions feel free to contact me..

I almost forgot... the bed was great! Never have I had a bed so good in Mexcio! :)