I stayed here with family for 4 nights in April. The facilites are very clean and the rooms are nicely appointed. The in-room mini bar and liquor dispenser are included in the room rate. The fitness facilities are very nice as well and we enjoyed the rock climbing wall. There seemed to be a little confusion when we would ask for 3 of any amenity (ie. slippers, robe, etc.) since there were 3 of us staying in the room which I guess was uncommen. Also, lunch options are limited- go to the restaurant at the South pool or try the buffet at the North pool. The early morning yoga was nice, we enjoyed hearing the ocean waves. The Thai lounge made great mixed drinks. Make sure to try a Mayan coffee at dinner, they are incredible. Overall a very nice resort with friendly staff. I would definitely stay here again.

I also recommend taking the included tour to Tulum, but bring lots of bottled water with you since it gets really hot.

My husband and I decided to travel to Mexico for our honeymoon. We reached out to GOAWAYTRAVEL.com to get some information on locations and packages for our big trip. I had the pleasure of working with Jenn Monroe. She was eager to help us find exactly what we wanted for our honeymoon. Aftering reviewing the information that had been provided by our wonderful agent, we chose to travel to the Mayan Riveria and stay at Aventura Spa Palace. We knew that Aventura would be a wonderful place since we had other family members who had traveled there, but we were not prepared for how much we would love it. The resort itself is absolutely gorgoues. We were greeted quickly and warmly the moment we stepped off our transport. The staff wants nothing more than to please you. I was impressed by the fact that every member of the staff will stop and speak to you as you walk by. The room was also wonderful. It had a king bed, standard bathroom (shower, sink, and toilet), and a DOUBLE JACUZZI TUB!!!!! Most of the rooms also have a hammock on the balcony. When we weren't in the room we were lounging by the pool sipping on miami vices, pina colodas, and mudslides. If that wasn't enough there were different shows or gatherings each night. The resort even gave all of those people who were on their honeymoon a special dinner. There are so many other wonderful things to say about the location, but our advice is to go there and experience it for yourself. We loved it so much we are considering going back next year and making it a group event!!!!

We have vacationed at many All Inclusive resorts, and have to say that ASP was our greatest disappointment.

First the positives:
• The weather was amazingly good (last week of April 26-May 3). We enjoyed sunshine every day, but the only shaded areas were around the lagoons and up at the indoor pool. We found the latter to be a delightful respite from the sun. It also had a great juice bar with refreshing and healthful drinks.
• The staff at the Resort is great. They are happy, friendly, courteous and very hard working. We also were impressed with the employment opportunities, training and benefits that local and international workers enjoy, including a Foundation that benefits needy employees and their families.
• The Spa was also wonderful. The staff is very well trained and the massage services are the best I have had at any resort. Although the resort was nearly booked, there was no problem getting a spa appointment, even same day.
• Tours: We took advantage of the Tulum Express tour and liked it very much. The tour guide was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and had a lot of good insight into the history of the ancient Mayan ruins. We also did the ASP “Kitchen” tour and I highly recommend it also. It will give you an appreciation of the standards which are maintained for accepting and preparing food, and a glimpse into the types of training, benefits and personnel policies that govern the facility.

Mixed Blessings:
• Property: The property is beautifully landscaped and the grounds are well maintained. You have to wonder why in this day and age they still cut hedges manually, but at least they do a good job. The buildings and rooms are constantly being repaired and painted, but surprisingly the quality of the patching of cracks and tiles is extremely poor. It was sad to see beautiful tiles with plaster smudged over cracks.
The size of the property is a disadvantage. It is huge - hosting a convention center and 1200 rooms. Now I know that we are suited to smaller, more intimate properties, where you get to know the staff and have a chance to make more meaningful connections. Convention goers are not looking for the same type of travel experience as vacationers and that confuses the level and quality of service that can be offered.
• Food/Beverages: There are seven restaurants and we tried all but the Vegan one. At best I would describe the food as plentiful, but only fair. The Mexican restaurant is very noisy; the steaks in the Argentine steakhouse were of poor quality (I doubt seriously that the beef was from Argentina); the Asian restaurant was like local carry out; Pizza & Pasta had a good carving station, and the pasta station was fair, but our group of four each wanted something different, so our opportunity to eat at the same time was disrupted by the challenges of seeking out the food options. El Greco and the fine dining Italian were mediocre, at best. While ASP boasts free flowing premium booze, it too is a disappointment. Most drinks were watered down. It is best to ask for double shots in the mixed drinks. Another downer was that the restaurant bars served martinis in wine glasses. On the plus side, the wines from Chile and Argentina were very good, and if you are a big drinker, you can drink yourself silly in the privacy of your room; however, I felt that most people were not inclined to do so. The booze bar is hanging on the wall.

Negatives:
• Class Distinctions: ASP is a Vacation Time share property. A lot of heavy marketing goes on, but once you say no, they leave you alone. Members wear black and silver wrist bands, while the rest of the peons (Apple, American Express, honeymooners, etc.) wear other colors. The members have certain entitlements, including the preferred rooms and the ability to make reservations at the restaurants, along with some other perks. We arrived with another couple and we both expected water view rooms. The other couple had a water view room, but our room overlooked dead shrubbery and trees and if you angled yourself around the balcony you could get a glimpse of the water. I immediately requested a room change and was given the run around by several desk people, one of whom told me (perhaps against company policy) that they could not promise a room change because we were with Apple Vacations and not part of the ASP membership. After a series of heated discussions with the Apple Rep at the resort and the Public Relations rep, our room was changed on Day 2. Except for suites, all standard rooms are basically the same and they are a huge disappointment.
• The Marketing Tour lasted 90 minutes and we received $200 in spa and activity credits for our time. While we were being briefed at breakfast, several people who are members of the Vacation Club were giving us a negative nod, and later said that they were not happy with the Club.
• Rooms: All rooms have a two-seater Jacuzzi, which takes up a large amount of large amount of floor space in what is already a small room. You also have to plan to use the Jacuzzi because the water pressure is low and it takes forever to fill up the tub. The rest of our room was filled with a King size bed, a combination desk and small dresser drawers, along with two desk chairs. There was no place else to sit or lounge, except on the bed; no luggage racks, so your suitcase must sit on the floor. The solution to our luggage rack issue was to send us short outdoor patio plastic patio tables. The bathroom has a small vanity with only one sink and little space for toiletries. Lighting is very poor throughout. The hallways are concrete so you can hear the carts rolling and people walking throughout the day and night. Fortunately we ended up in Building 4, which was quieter than most of the others, because it was away from the dining and entertainment areas. Another, quality issue is the patio. They had cheap plastic chairs and a netted hammock, while member room balconies had upgraded furniture.
• Rates: The package price was much higher than other highly rated resorts that we have stayed at. When you pay a lot more, you expect overall quality and water views, without having to argue about what your expectations are.

Did we have a good time? Absolutely. Once we worked out the room issue, we did exactly what we wanted to do, and overlooked the shortfalls.

Unfortunately, I know that we will not return.

We were at ASP for our Honeymoon in May. We booked the trip almost a year in advance, but were given a room with 2 double beds when we arrived because they said the other rooms were all full. They were not very friendly about changing us to another room and even argued with us about when we booked and when we paid to the point where we had to show them proof! Finally, we were given a much nicer room that had a king bed and was more up to date than the first room. Our bed was very comfortable- we may have had an upgraded room based on some of the other reviews I saw about the beds. We also had a flat-screen TV and a great view.

After a rocky start, things got a lot better. The resort never seemed crowded because it was so big and we really enjoyed our time at all of the pools- there was always a place to sit. We hung out on the South Side and swam and played volleyball- we also met a lot of other really nice couples to talk to. There are a ton of indoor and outdoor activities, which is really nice- pool, tennis, basketball, kayaks, etc. We didn't mind walking from one place to another and felt that the resort was the right size for us.

We pretty much stayed on the resort but did to the El Bakam ruins tour and the Paradise Snorkeling Trip- I would recommend both. The first tour is long and you will be tired (it's about 2 hours away but they stop you at a couple places on the way to shop) but it's worth it. We jet skiied and rented ATVs with the snorkeling tour and it was a lot of fun.

We felt that the service was great and everywhere we went, there were staff there willing to help us- they were timely in bringing us drinks and always very friendly- when we needed something for our room, they brought it right away. We tipped depending on service but didn't feel like they expected it- they seemed like they really enjoyed helping us out and we didn't see anyone without a smile on their face.

The breakfast buffets were really good, but we were not impressed with the rest of the food. We tried every restaurant for dinner and really didn't think any of them were good- the top two were El Greco and the Oriental place. The wine was really bad in every restaurant with the exception of La Trattoria- we thought the food there was the worst we had had, but the wine was better. We also ordered room service one night and that food was subpar as well. I would suggest to fill up on the good breakfast buffet so you can eat light the rest of the day.

We were a little frustrated that they tried to push the timeshare on us, as we had used our current timeshare to book the trip, but they still wanted us to upgrade it- we thought that since we already had a timeshare, they would back off, but they still asked us many times- we did not attend the presentation.

All in all, it was a good trip- very relaxing, good drinks, great pools, nice staff. If we were to stay there again, we would probably go off property for dinner, though.