We have just returned from attending a wedding at the Privilege Aluxes, Isla Murjeres and we found it to be a perfect and beautiful location for such an event. It is truly one of the best beaches in the area. Western sunsets on the beach, silky sand perfect for those lazy day's under a palapa. The resturants are great for an all inclusive, lots of variety, and changeing menus, we never got tired with the food offerings. The rooms are very large with fantastic views of the area. The hotel staff did a great job at every level and were accomodating to our every wish and need. We highly recomend this Hotel to people and families going to Isla Mujeres. We had 2 glorious weeks in the quaint, friendly and very safe island.

Had a great 10 day stay at Privilege Aluxes. We had a Platinum suite that was huge, stretching from the back to the front of the building - with 2 terraces overlooking the pool and the beach. You can look on their website to see what the rooms look like so I won't bother with too much description here.

There are lots of reviews on TA for Privilege Aluxes, ranging from brilliant to appalling, and the same applying to the food and the staff. I'm not at all sure how the same property with the same people and the same food can have such varying results. I have to say I'm on the side of it being great, and struggle with people who let very small items ruin their entire holiday.

Isla Mujeres is different. It's not Cancun, it's attraction is the laid back, fairly quiet atmosphere, the great beaches. It has a charm all of it's own and is certainly not an upmarket place populated by the rich and famous. Because of that, although PA is one of the best (read most expensive) hotels on the island, it isn't a 5* resort hotel that you might have experienced elsewhere. I'm assuming for most people that you are capable of making that mental leap - this isn't Monte Carlo, and the price you are paying might give you a clue.

Back to PA. We had no problems at all the entire 11 days we were there. I had no cause to make any complaints, everything I wanted was available to me. On the beach/at Cafe del Mar I got drinks when I wanted them (who needs to be drinking full strength cocktails at 11 am, really?) they seemed fine to me, they arrived quickly, and if they waiters missed me I just waved them over. How hard is that? Lunch at Cafe del Mar was fine, and it was a dozen steps from my sunbed and if I'd wanted a short stroll to another (very cheap) restaurant I could have made that decision. We had dinner at Satay twice and each time the food was very good. It did make me wonder what other reviewers had slammed the place were expecting.

One thing they could sort out is the reception area. It's not attractive. It looks like the reception of a government office block.

The waiters at breakfast, lunch and dinner were all just fine, although I have to say the Cafe Del Mar team were exceptional. Greeted us by name, remembered our drinks, delivered fresh ones as we had just finished and generally were great. They did NOT, ever, make me feel like I HAD to tip them. I did, because they deserved it. For AI you have to sign a bill for whatever you ordered with $0 as the cost. I guess that this is how they track their costs. Not a big deal.

I've seen comments on a 'musty' smell in the rooms. Well, in ours if it was noticeable at all, it was very slight. Not enough to make a major fuss about. And anyway, that's why you read reviews on TA so I had taken a candle to burn - just in case. How hard was that?

The bed? Slept like a log.

The cemetery? Yes, our bedroom overlooked the cemetery. Not a big deal as I didn't spend any time looking out of the window except to see how the weather was doing when I woke up. The suite (condo really) was SO big that the sitting room and balcony overlooked the pool and beach, so no big deal there either. Note: If your room *only* had a cemetery view, then you booked the cheapest room PA has on offer. What did you expect in the Caribbean for less than $100/night?

The only downside of the entire trip was that from time to time the hotel was occupied by groups who seemed to think that AI means Alcohol Intravenously, and that the way you communicate is to yell at at each other. They also seemed to congregate around the pool bar. The only way to avoided this unwanted noise was to move away from them. It didn't spoil my holiday, it wasn't PA's fault, just an irritation.

I'd go back to PA. Being right on Playa Norte and at the top end of Hildalgo puts it in an amazing spot.

I have read many reviews for about 6 months prior to coming to PA when I decided to take a chance on it and they seem to be either fantastic or not so great. So this is about our vacation from November 11-15th and I hope this helps you to make the right decision for you and your family!

Transfers: We booked through USA transfers and they picked us up right outside the airport and took us to Puerto Juarez for $65.00 Roundtrip. From there we took the ferry which was $12.00 roundtrip per person and is about a 20 minute ride. As soon as you get off the ferry turn immediately left and you will run into PA. It is maybe a 5 minute walk. I have heard of less expensive ways to get transfers but both representatives were very nice and on time, which was really all I cared about!

Arrival: When we walked in we were both hot and tired from traveling all day (I was also sick from a sinus infection and just wanted to crash in our room). Adrian gave my husband and I a glass of champagne and a cold towel to refresh ourselves while we waited on the front desk. Jesus helped us when we checked in and I was a little irritated with their policies upon initial discovery. Such as they wanted to make photo copies of our passports (why) to have on hand and they had to have a $200.00 hold on our credit card even though we had choosen the all inclusive rate (all rightie). I did not give them our passports stating that I was not comfortable with that policy. They were not happy but let us get our way.It was our 15th wedding anniversary so we chose to upgrade ourselves to a room with its own plunge pool and unfortunately it was not ready when we got there at around 1pm. The staff advised us to go to the beach and have lunch at Cafe Del Mar or to find a sunbed in the shade and let me take a nap since I was so sick. We chose to eat and had a lovely lunch at Cafe Del Mar right on the beach! It was so relaxing and by the time we were done Adrian was looking for us to tell us our room was ready!

Welcome to room 153: Our room was on the 5th floor and was spectacular! When you first enter we had a huge living room with a kitchen and balcony overlooking the pool and beach. The bedroom had great storage and had nice linens on the bed. I personally liked the bed but my husband said it was uncomfortable for him. Our room DID overlook the cemetary but we looked at it as it was quaint and a big part of their history. We actually walked through it and it was very interesting to see what they had been decorated with and some of their history on the island. So in other reviews people were horrified to look at it but we saw it as peaceful and tranquil. Then Adrain took us upstairs to our private deck. It was huge and had so much room (at least 1000 sq feet) with two lounge chairs, a sitting area and then our own pool which was heavenly! It was by far the most luxurious room we have ever stayed in and we have been to some fabulous resorts! Here is the bad part... at any given time you would smell sewage and it would about knock you out. My husband had brought candles so we would open the windows and light the candles and it would eventually go away. This does seem to be a running comment from most people so I am not sure why they have not fixed it as of yet. Our wi-fi in the room also would not work though we complained about it many times. Anyways I regress... it was so great in our room that the only reason why we came out was to explore or eat. If you have the money I would highly recommened that you go for the upgrade because it was awesome!! Yes, we will be coming back again! P.S. Best a/c ever in that room also!

Food and Beverage: Once again I was very worried after reading so many reviews that were either very bad or pretty good. I am used to eating and drinking very well so we had put money aside to eat out every night in case it was bad (this was also prior to me getting sick) but we did not have to do this. Cafe Del Mar we only ate for lunch and it was great. We had the ceviche, grilled fish and fried fish and they were yummy every time. As far as breakfast I am so confused by the people who said it was the same every day. They had fresh fruit, tons of pastries, breads,bacon, ham, hash browns, cereal, pancakes, fresh juices, french toast and an egg station that you could request what you wanted. The only thing that was missing was maybe oatmeal... how much more could you want or need people? Antonio the captain in Sabor even made me frozen cappuccinos for breakfast! I mean it was great! P.S. I would highly reccommened the bloody marys they make there because not once did my husband complain about them and he loves them and is a little picky. As far as for drinks being watered down, not once did I encounter that or feel as if I had been "slighted" with alcohol. Also their fresh lemonades with sparkling water are sooo good. We did not try Satay because my husband is not a big sushi fan and it was not catching our interest very much. We ate a Sabor three out of the four nights we were there and had wonderful seafood each night.

Exploring: You must rent a golf cart and tear through town because it is so much fun and so easy to get around the island. We snorkled at the Garrafon de Castilla which was a blast. Buy the fish food because the little boogers are very brazen espicially when you have food. It cost $5.00 per person to get in and $6.00 to rent snorkeling equipment (fish food was $1.50) but it is much cheaper then Garrafon Bay which was $70.00 per person and it is the same fish. We also went to Mango Cafe and had their famous coconut french toast which was very good but it seemed to take forever to be served the food after putting our order in. The turtle farm is also a must see! We rented the golf cart through PA but there are a ton of cheaper companies that rent them out just don't forget where you parked the darn thing!!!

Spa at PA:We bought our package through Living Social and it included a couples massage. When you book the massage it is on the beach in front of all the sunbathers so we paid $14.00 more to have it in the spa where we had a/c, music and privacy. They were very good and it was very relaxing! Highly give it a thumbs up! We did it right away to start our vacation off by being relaxed and focused on just the two of us and listening to music and a bunch of people on the beach might have ruined what WE were going for.

Beach: Playa Norte is beautiful!The best part is that PA keeps all of the peddlers away from where their guests are sunbathing. PA has many palapas with beach chairs all around just waiting for people to claim them. They also had covered sunbeds which were so comfortable that we would come down at night and lay on them while the band was playing. My husband even fell asleep on the sunbed and I had to wake him up because he was snoring so loud! The beach is very clean and well maintained throughout Isla Mujures!

Romance: Since it was our 15th year wedding anniversary my husband decided to have it set up where we had dinner on the beach. He told me to get ready and he took me to a beautiful cabana that had lights and candles lit and it also had drapes that you could close for privacy. We had a personal waiter that took care everything for us and only waited on us. It was I think about 5 courses plus beverages and was so romantic because people could see the cabana lit up and it was right there maybe 20 feet from the water. We also had some muscians that came by and played music for us. The reason why I am putting this out there is because my husband is not the most romantic guy in the world but when he set this up he became not just a "star" but he went to "superstar" status. Guys it was $90.00 but it will be the best $90.00 you have spent. I would also recommend that they set up two of their chairs there so that after dinner you can sit there and talk sweet nothings to each other instead of feeling like you should get up and conclude the evening somewhere else. Just my personal thoughts!

Overall: If you are looking for a place to "party" this is not the resort for you. This is for a couple or a family that is looking for a more upscale hotel to relax at and be with their people. The place was very well maintained throughout and had a good staff. Some of the issues I think that should be addressed are to turn up the ac in the front lobby cause it was always so hot in there. I also think that the wi-fi issue needs addressed since it is advertised as having it. Thank you for the memories and I am looking forward to spending a week there next time! Cheers!

Privilege Aluxes was absolutely wonderful for two people who had always poopooed the idea of all-inclusives. The resort was kept absolutely spotless, the beach was beautiful and our room was lovely, kept very clean and our room maid was a doll. The food at the buffet was certainly adequate (the breakfasts were pretty good) but the Satay restaurant didn't really do it for us at all! Cafe del Mar, however, was totally great! I pretty much loved everything about it! All I can say is I can hardly wait to go again.