Catalonia Riviera Maya

Service from bar staff was below average. They are quite rude and tend to ignore you, we spent way too much time just waiting for service on a few occasions(up to 20 mins while they argue amongst each other). Resort is beautiful and the servers in the restaurants are great....

Service from bar staff was below average. They are quite rude and tend to ignore you, we spent way too much time just waiting for service on a few occasions(up to 20 mins while they argue amongst each other). Resort is beautiful and the servers in the restaurants are great. The rooms are a little bit aged and the beds seem old. Overall a good vacation minus the service from bar staff.

We were so excited for our first trip to Mexico. We were met by our Amstar Rep at the airport, and the ride to the resort was great. Our driver Carlos, was wonderful. On arrival at the Catalonia was awful. We waited 5 1/2 hours for our room. Room was...

We were so excited for our first trip to Mexico. We were met by our Amstar Rep at the airport, and the ride to the resort was great. Our driver Carlos, was wonderful. On arrival at the Catalonia was awful. We waited 5 1/2 hours for our room. Room was awful. No upgrade available, but the room we booked, was not the room we got. None of the outlets worked, the coffee maker didn’t work, the air conditioning was on the fritz, and the room smelled terrible. It was impossible to book any of the restaurants for a meal. So we ate at the alacart restaurant every day. The staff spoke very little English. If you go to this hotel, be advised… if you don’t book the “Privileged” packages, you are prohibited from using the sandy beach, and many amenities. The hotel also does not accept their own currency, so make sure to bring your credit cards! EVERYTHING here, is overpriced. Be sure to bring a lot of US currency, or you won’t get a drink at the pool bars. The pools are very dirty…On a positive note, the housekeeping is wonderful! The ladies are hard working, and although they aren’t fluent in English, they do what they can, to make your stay pleasant. We won’t be back.

LIKE THE OTHER RECENT 1 STAR REVIEWS STATE YOU CAN’T MAKE A RESERVATION AT ANY OF THEIR RESTAURANTS - APP FREEZES EVERY SINGLE TIME, HAS KNOWN GLITCHES THEY KNOW ABOUT AND WONT FIX IT. “GUEST SERVICES” IS ALSO A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME (SUPER RUDE & UNHELPFUL) THEY BASICALLY PUSH...

LIKE THE OTHER RECENT 1 STAR REVIEWS STATE YOU CAN’T MAKE A RESERVATION AT ANY OF THEIR RESTAURANTS - APP FREEZES EVERY SINGLE TIME, HAS KNOWN GLITCHES THEY KNOW ABOUT AND WONT FIX IT. “GUEST SERVICES” IS ALSO A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME (SUPER RUDE & UNHELPFUL) THEY BASICALLY PUSH YOU OUT THE DOOR. THE WOMAN IN THERE REFUSES TO HELP YOU AND SAYS “IF IT WONT LET YOU ONLINE THEN THERES NOTHING I CAN DO” WE THEN WENT TO THE FRONT DESK AND ANGELLO AT THE FRONT DESK SAID SORRY I CANT DO ANYTHING. WE THEN ASKED FOR HIS SUPERVISOR AND HE LITERALLY REFUSED TO GET ONE. YOU CAN TELL THEY ARE USED TO THIS AND JUST SIMPLY DON’T CARE. IT MUST STEM FROM THE TOP MANAGEMENT. THEIR EXCUSE IS TO JUST USE THE BUFFET WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING AND LET ME TELL YOU ITS THE WORST LOW END CRAP FOOD WE HAVE EVER HAD (PASTA SAUCE IS 95% WATER, MEAT IS SO BAD ITS NOT EDIBLE. DESERTS ARE BLAND STALE ALL TASTE THE SAME) FOOD SITS FOR HOURS AND THEY JUST LEAVE IT COLD AND HARD. WE EXPLAINED HOW WE TRAVELLED 10 HOURS CAME HERE FOR OUR HONEYMOON PAID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND ARE UNABLE TO EVEN USE THEIR RESTAURANTS THEY ADVERTISE AND ANGELLO AND “GUEST SERVICES” DIDN’T MAKE ONE ATTEMPT TO HELP OR CARE ONE BIT. THE WORST “CUSTOMER SERVICE” I’VE EVER ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE! WE ARE STILL HERE FOR A WEEK AND DEBATING JUST GOING HOME OR PAYING AGAIN TO A DIFFERENT RESORT. HOPEFULLY THIS REVIEW HELPS SOMEONE ELSE HAVE THEIR VACATION RUINED LIKE OUR HONEYMOON WAS

My husband and i went for 7 days to this resort. We found it very clean, including the room and balcony. easy to walk wherever we wanted. Its hard to get a place around the pools, people reserve them early in the morning. there are sign everywhere that nobody is...

My husband and i went for 7 days to this resort. We found it very clean, including the room and balcony. easy to walk wherever we wanted. Its hard to get a place around the pools, people reserve them early in the morning. there are sign everywhere that nobody is supposed to do this, but everyone does it. Lots of towels laying there and lots of times the people dont show up for a long time. very unconsidered The food choices at the buffet are mostly the same. Nothing really great. My husband got sick on the second day after eating fried fish. He is still sick after a week. even though the rooms a very nice and the beds very comfy, it is very noisy. the doors slam closed and you hear everything from outside. lots of noise from the disco and partys . If you like to party, that is a good place for you. If you like it quiet and like bigger pools, go to the grand palladium. The food is better there as well. We would not go back..

This was my second time at a Catalonia chain resort and this one didn't disappoint. The service provided by everyone (and I mean everyone) was impeccable. The resort grounds were very clean and there was a variety of activities at the main pool all day. The buffet was good with...

This was my second time at a Catalonia chain resort and this one didn't disappoint. The service provided by everyone (and I mean everyone) was impeccable. The resort grounds were very clean and there was a variety of activities at the main pool all day. The buffet was good with lots of variety. The a-la-cartes were very easy to book (despite previous reviews) and most you could book a couple days in advance, except the teppanyaki. As long as you receive the confirmation email from the hotel, booking is very simple. If not, it can be a bit frustrating, but someone is always willing to assist. I recommend upgrading to the Privilege Premium Deluxe room. It was a very modern, clean room with all the bells and whistles. We were in room 418, so if you face the back like we did, it can be a bit noisy as it's a route for the service trucks. You also get to go to the B-Loved restaurant (and that was delicious) and have the use of Pure chill out bar, which is a mere 10 steps from the edge of the pool. Burgers restaurant is also a must try, as is the juice bar, Maloo!! Wi-Fi was very good throughout the hotel. If you are looking for a beach, this resort is not for you – there is a very small beach for Privilege guests that isn't rocky (the other side is very rocky) and the larger beach area is at the sister resort next door. It's very safe as it's in a gated community and we walked 10 minutes down the road to the marina to check out the shops and cafes/restaurants. Or you can rent a golf cart from Paul who is out front of the hotel daily. There is a golf course close by, but seriously overpriced. Check out Nauti Burro and Munchys down by the marina – both make an amazing margaritas. I found having pesos was much easier than having them convert to USD all the time - it doesn't seem to be as "accepted" as it was in the past.

This was our second trip to this resort. Once many years ago and this winter. I was so impressed by the cleanliness, friendly staff and excellent food. The resort is a nice smaller size so easy to get around. Snorkelling right at the resort was great as well as the...

This was our second trip to this resort. Once many years ago and this winter. I was so impressed by the cleanliness, friendly staff and excellent food. The resort is a nice smaller size so easy to get around. Snorkelling right at the resort was great as well as the short walk up to the marina area off resort for restaurants and shops. We will be back for our 3rd stay hopefully next year.

What an amazing holiday at the Catalonia in Riviera Maya. Hubby and I had not been in Mexico before and were pleasantly surprised. The staff made us feel welcome and we had astounding time. The beach was not the best we had been to, but the resort and staff more...

What an amazing holiday at the Catalonia in Riviera Maya. Hubby and I had not been in Mexico before and were pleasantly surprised. The staff made us feel welcome and we had astounding time. The beach was not the best we had been to, but the resort and staff more than made up for it. A big shout out to Jose, Kevin, Alex and Oscar. You were fantastic entertainers. We will never forget you, you made our holiday exceptional. Special thanks to Oscar for opening up the Sports Bar for us to watch the Cda/ Usa hockey game . You all went above and beyond. We will definitely be back. Thank you Catalonia for a great vacation. Rick/ Pauline

3rd and final year at this hotel. It's too bad, you have a beautiful property and great staff and rooms. Your Al a Carte lottery is a nightmare, who wants to be on their phone at 8 am every day to try and secure a booking that never comes? I'm...

3rd and final year at this hotel. It's too bad, you have a beautiful property and great staff and rooms. Your Al a Carte lottery is a nightmare, who wants to be on their phone at 8 am every day to try and secure a booking that never comes? I'm on vacation. Your buffet was your last saving grace but you changed it. How can you expect people to eat the same thing every day and have no option for an al a Carte? Why did you change the buffet??? And what's with no toilet seats in the beach bathroom? Perching on the edge of a porcelain toilet seat so I don't fall in is not my idea of luxury. Sorry, for the amount of money I paid I can go elsewhere and have a sane booking method for al a carte restaurants. Extremely disappointed, I thought we had found our yearly destination, we'll keep looking.

For context in case it is helpful - we are a couple in our mid-thirties and travelled alone from Canada. We do not have any kids, but we are expecting, this was our "babymoon." We could see that this resort was definitely family friendly with lots for kids and families...

For context in case it is helpful - we are a couple in our mid-thirties and travelled alone from Canada. We do not have any kids, but we are expecting, this was our "babymoon." We could see that this resort was definitely family friendly with lots for kids and families to enjoy, but there was an equal focus on adult activities as well. Room - The room (premium deluxe) was simple, but clean and beautiful. It had everything we needed, although it would have been convenient to have a clock in the room. Sound proofing of the room was decent; We couldn't hear our neighbours on either side, above, or below at all, which was nice. As with most places, the doors are where the sound really comes through. We did often hear other guests and people in the hallways and on the stairs, but that was expected and didn't bother is too much. Unfortunately a LOT of people seemed to slam their doors all the time which was very loud and echoey and irritating - this is not a reflection of the resort itself of course. I enjoyed that the shower offered the option for both rainfall shower head, and regular. My husband loves rainfall showers, but I hate them, so it was nice to have the option for each of us. Atmosphere/activities - We passed by a lot of resorts which were bigger and "fancier" but we truly loved the vibe of this resort. It was relaxed, and laid back; we felt at home and at ease. There were activities going on all day if you wanted to participate, which I really enjoyed. There was a great mix of activities for adults, as well as children. The beach was great, and the water was fantastic. There were so many fun and beautiful sea creatures to see, my husband could have snorkeled all day observing them all. The pools were great and plentiful. We were able to walk on and off the resort at our leisure, and just a 5-10 minute walk down the road was a wonderful marina with plenty of shops, bars, restaurants, activities, pharmacies, dolphins and manatees. We also happened upon a wonderful night market there with a lot of vendors. The marina area, along with our resort (among a few others) and some private residences were within a gated community and we felt incredibly safe. We enjoyed that everything was very close by and "compact" it was not overwhelming to get anywhere or find anything. This was especially appreciated due to my pregnancy, as I get tired quickly and need to rest often; but I honestly would have appreciated it regardless. Staff - I did not interact with a single staff member that wasn't incredibly warm, kind, and helpful. Even without asking, on a handful of occasions staff approached me and asked how they could help (I guess my "I'm lost" face must be obvious. LOL) and they were always very helpful in pointing me in the right direction or to someone who would be able to better assist me. Restaurants - the buffets were wonderful with a lot of options. The snack bars were great! Of the sit down restaurants we had the opportunity to try all but two of them. We had wonderful meals and wonderful service at all of them. We didn't realize that Ayami, the Japanese restaurant was hibachi, which was a fun surprise!! It came with 4 courses, and was a wonderful experience. The restaurant booking system was difficult in that the website opens for reservations each morning at 8am and everyone is rushing to book their ideal restaurant/time slot. If you don't get in by 8:10-8:15ish, you're probably out of luck. The staff at the guest service hut are very helpful with this if you are having difficulty with the website, but ultimately if everything books up, they can't do much. Some online reservation systems will hold your timeslot for a couple of minutes until you finish filling in your information, however this system does not. So you might pick a timeslot, and then by the time you enter your name, room number and telephone number, someone else might have taken it and you have to start over. This happened to me 2x one morning, and I finally got a reservation on the 3rd try, for 9:00 pm. It's hard for me to fault the resort for this, and I don't know if there is any way it could be fixed - dinner reservations are simply in high demand, and I understand this to be the case for many resorts. Fortunately, if you're unable to get a reservation for dinner on any particular night, there are other options; the buffet is fantastic as mentioned previously, the Hamburger restaurant does not require reservations (and has incredibly fast service!) or, the marina mentioned above is just a short walk away and has plenty of options for a great dinner! Overall, I would highly recommend this resort, and hope to return in future!!

After reading reviews on here I nearly changed my booking. So glad I didn’t, lively hotel, amazing staff and great food. As a coeliac I was very well catered for. My only very small niggle was that the privilege pool allowed children. It’s not the biggest pool and was overtaken...

After reading reviews on here I nearly changed my booking. So glad I didn’t, lively hotel, amazing staff and great food. As a coeliac I was very well catered for. My only very small niggle was that the privilege pool allowed children. It’s not the biggest pool and was overtaken on a few days by lots of little ones.

Yesterday I was at guest services to ask about the ridiculous restaurant reservations method used. The employee supposedly checked a couple of things on my phone, showed me the booming screen, then returned it ro me saying the everything seemed fine. It was not. He used my phone to write...

Yesterday I was at guest services to ask about the ridiculous restaurant reservations method used. The employee supposedly checked a couple of things on my phone, showed me the booming screen, then returned it ro me saying the everything seemed fine. It was not. He used my phone to write a 5 Star review on Google complimenting himself at the same time. How many other of the reviews here or on other sites were also written by "helpful" employees. I filed a written complaint but only after insisting. The front desk did not want to hear about my problem. Obviously they don't take someone using my identity very seriously. Other than that the food and wine are sub par. Buffet lacks variety day to day and food, even when the tray has just been put out replenished is cold. Rooms are fine, but after paying for a "privileged" room we are awakened every morning between 5 and 6am by the delivery trucks and the very noisy carts taking supplies right by our room. The beach is nothing special, pools and beach lack enough chairs and space. A la carte restaurants, so far ok, but nothing special for the price we paid. Never coming back. On day 4 of 9 and can't wait to go home.

Anna at the lobby and Bellman Luis were so helpful this week! Smiling, friendly and worked to get us settled in a perfect room. Kindness and understanding are great gifts in a resort’s staff. These two are first rate. Thank you for all you did mi amigos!

Let's start with the Travel Agency since we booked with Westjet and got a direct flight from Calgary to Tulum wich it was a plus since the bus ride from there to the hotel is cut in half. Once we landed and cleared customs, (The army soldiers will ask you...

Let's start with the Travel Agency since we booked with Westjet and got a direct flight from Calgary to Tulum wich it was a plus since the bus ride from there to the hotel is cut in half. Once we landed and cleared customs, (The army soldiers will ask you to open your suitcase and inspect it) we head out towards the exit where you will find a lot of people with signs for the arrival, I did not see a big sign that said Westjet and head out towards the small shuttles to ask where did the Westjet representatives were. After been instructed to get back to the airport and "look" for them I finally found two representatives with a fairly small sign that instructed me to go towards the big busses at the other end of the airport. (Make sure that you look for the guys wearing an orange shirt. They are the Nexus transportation company). The process is very disorganized and quite confusing. The bus ride was unevenful and we drove around dropping people at their hotels until our turn. Once we arrived to our hotel we went to our room; We stayed in room 4021 and immediately found an old and tired room that had one main light on one end, an old mattress that was never flipped and showed two huge sags, a noisy air conditioner, a bathroom window that was bolted shot, the patio furniture looked tired and the chairs did not have a cushion. Additionally, once I lift the phone to call front desk I realized that even the phone had a loose cord that will make communication almost impossible at best. We went to the front desk to ask for another room and Guest Services Manager Esther just brush us off in an unpolite way. Then the next morning we were woken up at the sound of hammer and chisel into the building walls; the last thing I would expect in a four star hotel. The bad part is that we did not receive a note to explain this construction operations beforehand. Through our stay I had to go and talk to front desk in three more ocasions over issues with a leaking air conditioner, old pilows a patio light that was never fixed. You may ask, but probably you will not receive. If you want to get a sun chair be prepared to wake up at 7 am and take your towels to save one of the very few and crowded spots available. the beach is very small, and it gets covered everyday with sargasus; and piles of it that people work dilligently to remove throughout the day. The picture here in Tripadvisor is not up to date. the beach has now been cut in half, a large amount of rocks and wavebreakers were installed, and the bay is almost closed. Space is at a premium for these neighbouring properties and snorlelling is poor at best. Now let's talk about the food... The food is flavourful and the service try very hard to be helpfull, unfortunately the menu is set and does not change. Yes, you will see the exact same food every day for the duration of your trip. There are many local dishes available like cochinita pibil tacos, however the tortillas were cold all the time. The selection is unfortunately not good. They have other a la carte restaurants that you book on an app once you are checked in (Make sure you do this asap, space fills very quickly). If you want to go to the Japanese restaurant, you will need to make a reservation at guest services since the restaurant is not available on the app. (FYI, there is no limit on the number of times you can book the same restaurant) We booked the Japanese, the Italian, the Mexican and the Steakhouse. In Mexico the all inclusive Japanese restaurants offer noodles, however, be prepared to receive spaghetti noodles. For the Italian, we ordered a carbonara that came in the form of a watery alfredo sauce, disapointing. The Mexican restaurant was quite good and I will recommend to go to the steakhouse and get the grilled octopus. That was good. Please don't be surprised to see an agouti in the premisses forraging for food. Please do not feed it! I almost forgot to mention that I did not see an elevator to take you to the specialty restaurants, however I may be in the wrong, to access them you have to climb around 20 steps. Our overall experience of this trip is not a great one. We booked the trip to get some relaxation at what we thought it was an adults only, four star resort. The reality was that we stayed in what I could classify as a three and a half star all inclusive resort that offers two levels of service. There is no separation between adults only and adluts with families. A resort that clearly is trying to compete with their surrounding competitors. Unfortunately, the buildings and the grounds show their age, the wear and tear, the rooms are small, dull and outdated, front desk is there to listen to you, but they just can't fix most of the issues or know how to. Please be aware that throughout the property you will find hotel staff trying to "Help you with any issues you may have encountered throughout your stay". The reality is that they are there to try and lure you with endless offers to go to a presentation, where they will try to sell you a hotel membership (Probably something close to a time share scheme). My final thoughts for this trip were that I paid for an overpriced package that was not worth $ 2,500 for an alleged four star hotel that delivered a subpar service and product. I will not recommend this hotel to people that are looking for a nice beach to walk in, good snorkeling or looking to have a good gastronomical experience. This property should be marketed as a standard run of the mill property in the three to three and a half star category and priced accordingly. Another idea may be to seriously consider to close the property; go under a property transformation that may allow you to update your service and elevate the quality. Sometimes less is more!

Mexico itself I would honestly tell everyone to go it was amazing. The hotel on the other hand was a disaster. The pool and jacuzzi were freezing cold, not one guest was swimming, apparently the heating system broke a long time ago and they never fixed it. I had booked...

Mexico itself I would honestly tell everyone to go it was amazing. The hotel on the other hand was a disaster. The pool and jacuzzi were freezing cold, not one guest was swimming, apparently the heating system broke a long time ago and they never fixed it. I had booked a wedding on the beach they gave me a table in their beloved restaurant. The staff was absolutely horrible. They argued everything and made me feel like it was my fault, even when their housecleaning stole a personal item from my room. Worst hotel I ever stayed at!

Overall very crooked .. lack of info on amenities.. found out more about facilities from other tourists Very difficult to book the included ala carte restaurant, a scam .. u get in IF u buy wine which is overpriced.. cheapest wine was us$35 which u can buy outside for $8...

Overall very crooked .. lack of info on amenities.. found out more about facilities from other tourists Very difficult to book the included ala carte restaurant, a scam .. u get in IF u buy wine which is overpriced.. cheapest wine was us$35 which u can buy outside for $8 .. not very customer orientated , felt some prejudice. Lots of food however average

Overall stay here was excellent! The whole resort was exceptionally clean and all staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. The food was amazing and so many options to choose from. They have made positive changes due to previous feedback on how you book the themed restaurants and we had no...

Overall stay here was excellent! The whole resort was exceptionally clean and all staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. The food was amazing and so many options to choose from. They have made positive changes due to previous feedback on how you book the themed restaurants and we had no issues at all booking these for the week on the first day. The beach is rocky, as we expected but we brought water shoes as most people and we did and had no issues with the beach. Our room was amazing and big. Housekeeping was amazing as well. The entertainment staff were so great! The shows were so well done and you can tell they put a lot of time in to make it a great experience for everyone. It’s a smaller resort but has everything that you need. We loved our stay here and would absolutely return and recommend.