My wife and I booked our trip based on cheapticket's and other travel websites reviews. However, we read tripadvisor's reviews AFTER we booked our trip and, needless to say, became quite concerned. My wife almost wanted to cancel the trip! Yet, after 5 incredible days at Dreams tulum, we are still wondering what all the sensationalistic headlines were all about.

After reading the reviews, we were most worried about food sickness, airconditioning, and nasty smells. Neither of us got sick (using only bottled water, of course). Our airconditioning was frigid in the 95 plus degree heat. (However, we did note that people in the newer building -- the 6000's-- were having some air difficulties). As for the smell, there was a distinct sulfur smell coming from the fresh water cenote in the center of the resort. We only smelled it when we were immediately next to it. It is DEFINATELY not sewage...big difference beween the smells. Our room smelled better than many of the chain hotels in the states. Also, we never had a problem with hot water.

The purpose for our stay was rest and relaxation...to "get away from it all..." We weren't interested in a party scene or a full day packed with activities. We just wanted to relax on the beach, read a book and have an adult beverage or two. We got all of that..and more.

We loved all the food at the hotel. The buffet in the morning had practically everything that you may want to start your day with. A server would show up with coffee before you had a chance to look around for one. We never tried the buffet for lunch because El Patio had such great food we kept going back (Try the Fajitas...yummy). We also tried the Italian and the Asian..both were awesome. However, the portions are very small, so make sure to order an appetizer. (One disappointment though -- the French restaurant was closed for remodeling the entire time we were there...shame) Also, the only time we noticed slower service or a wait for a table was on Saturday, as the resort became considerably more crowded.

The beach was raked every morning and there was minimal seaweed (unless, of course, you go off their property) There are only a few places in the water that doesn't have rocks, so if you like to spend time walking or wading in the water, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. However, the rocks and the reef a couple hundred yards off the beach makes for awesome snorking and you can use the resort's snorking gear for a couple of hours a day. Also, we found the kayaking to be quite relaxing.

The resort did make some attempts at activities, including bike tours, musicians and live acts, but it seems most people were not all that interested. However, the last night we were there they had the first pre-season football game on a huge movie screen on the beach, with a kayak full of icy coronas right next to it. Now, that's the way football was meant to be watched!

There were multiple travel agencies and car rentals in the lobby if you want to journey out of the resort. Every morng multiple families would leave to visit a variety of touriest attractions in the area, including Xel-ha, Playa del Carmen, and some other Mayan Ruins.

We were amazed at the number of kids at the resort and it seemed that they made great strides at keeping the kids busy, including games and movie nights with popcorn. It made us miss our kids even more and we will most definately bring them with us next time.

They were constructing three additions to the resort while we were there. However, we never heard any powertools or banging. Once in a while we saw a worker, but nothing noticable.

All in all, if you are an extreme nitpicker...wanting EXACTLY what you want, EXACTLY when you want it, I would NOT recommend this hotel. You'll be so frustrated and angry that your drink took 10 minutes or your room wasnt cleaned until noon that you'll miss the serenity and beauty around you. (We watched one guy screaming at the help and calling them "retards" for not having enough kayaks...wow...way to ruin a vacation real quick) For a few hundred dollars more Im sure you can be waited on hand and foot in a hotel in the tourist trap known as Cancun, but this place, with all its quirks was perfect for us.

Suggestions:

It was tough to barter with stores in Tulum, we actually found some better deals at the Airport of all places.

The phone card that we bought from Orbitz does not work in that part of Mexico and phone calls are $4 a minute to the states.

Consider getting a private shuttle to the hotel. The one we took had to make several stops on the way to Tulum and it was almost a two hour ride.

Cab trip to Tulum or the Ruins is $7. We went to Tulum for $7, then to the ruins for $3, but were charged another $7 to get back to the hotel. We'll try the bikes next time.

There are movies every night in the Hacienda. There was rarely anybody up there at night.

The asian and the sushi restaurants have limited seating. Consider getting there a bit early, as there are no reservations.

Dreams August 12 - August 16

Having read all of the reviews on Trip Advisor, I was mentally ready to experience Dreams first hand. The transfer from the airport to Tulum was long. Due to construction on the roadways it took us over 2 hours to arrive at the hotel. Because I am in the travel industry, I have had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of resorts around the world. I am not a hard person to please, and understand that this is not like home, and that I am in Mexico. We arrived at the hotel at 12:00pm. I totally understand that check in is usually at 3:00pm. This was fine for this party of (3). The lobby was nice, very simple, but I expected this. There were ceiling fans everywhere, and it was so HOT that the front office clerk had to keep giving me wet cloths because the sweat was pouring off of me. For anyone that can't handle HOT, don't go here... There are only a few areas that offer any form of AC.

A. Italian restaurant
B. French resturant
C. Asian/Sushi

( keep in mind that these resturants are only Dinner )
D. The Hacienda which is where they serve the buffet claims to be A/C... but I could not tell.
E. The Gym
F. Your room if you are lucky.

We were finally allowed to check in at 5PM. The front office clerk kept telling me that the room is not cleaned... When we finally arrived to our room, there was one KING BED.... at this point we were fine with the room. We had a rollaway and the daybed. My room was located in the new building ( Room 6216 ). I have to say that the A/C never really seemed to be working, but I will have to say that the weather was HOT, and the ceiling fan did help in the evening.

The room was nice, the bathroom was nice.... Be sure to make sure your room is not located near the pool bar, you will be up until the wee hours of the morning with the activities going on, people yelling, singing... and rightfully so, having a good time. You just heard everything.

There was no HOT water at all. At times it felt great especially after returning from the hot sun.. but other times, you needed it to be at least luke warm, it wasn't. I knew to expect this, but I did tell the front desk. Nothing happend. we had no hot water for the full 5 days we were at Dreams.

Communication. I know I am in Mexico, I had the worst time trying to communicate with the front desk. Our safe didn't work, the room keys didn't work, our phone didn't work. After hours they finally fixed it, and replaced it with a old dusty old style phone. When you called the front desk, they answered 100% in Spanish. You would ask if they spoke english, and they would say no. After being placed on hold, they finally found someone who could understand our simple request.

This happend throughout the resort. It became a joke, we would ask for a Barcadi and Coke, they would return with a Pina Colada, we just went with the flow, we tipped, and we knew they really appreciated us being there.

The SMELL.
Was it present? YES ! I noticed that some days it was stronger than other days. What is it? The natual Cenote located in the center of the resort is my only explanation. The water they use comes from the Cenote. Some days walking past the cenote It smelled like a dirty fish tank. Other days, it smelled just like raw sewage. That same smell was present in the Italian, French and Japanesse resturants. The smell was so powerful, that it literally gave me a headache. And to add insult to injury that tried to mask it with insense, just made it worse. If you could block out the smell, and you sat there for 20 minutes, you would get used to it, however if you have a weak stomach, you will not be able to get through dinner. I noticed that there was one day that the toilet water smelled just like the resturants. The musty smell is common, that is expected. I would also like to add that the crown molding in our room was covered in black mold. We just delt with that too.

The Beach.

Sitting back in the lounge chairs, you could see hints of green and blue. Overall it's not a good beach. In front of the property it is clean, but not the crystal blue water like you would see in St. Marrarten, or the beautiful water of Cancun. If this is what you want to see, you will be very disappointed.

The pools were nice, but not cold. I have a feeling they too get the water from the same source.

Food. I have to say that the food and service were good. I think once the new addition is complete, this will be a good resort. There were a lot of families at the resort, everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially the kids.

I hope this helps anyone with questions they may have. As you can see, it wasn't bad and wasn't good... just okay.

We took our kids 7 and 9 as well as Grandma. We stayed from Aug. 9-14th . We all had a blast! Except for the airconditioning, there is really nothing we can complain about. Read all reviews, had an open mind and we were very happy with our stay! Thought it was a great deal!!! We never put our kids in the childrens program (we were having too much fun playing with them). The beach was amazing and so beautiful, some rocks....water shoes were helpful. My kids loved the water trampoline and rock wall. The staff was friendly. Rooms were clean, did not have a funny smell. We all brushed our teeth with bottled water, the tap water tastes funny because of the minerals. When we needed anything (room service or towels) we waited no longer than 30 minutes. Plenty of towles by the pool. Food by the pool was just ok. We really enjoyed the Asian and Italian restaurants. The others were just ok. For this price we were prepared for the food to not be gourmet. We are very picky about sushi the kids liked it , we thought it was just ok. We booked a dolphin swim with the girls from our hotel....they were very helpful! We would go back again!!!

We just returned and we loved this hotel. I don't know how anyone could cut down this hotel. We stayed at the new dreams building and loved it. We have been all over the caribbean, and we found a new home. We will be returning next year.