Oleo Cancun Playa Resort

If you're looking for a quieter resort, Oleo is for you. None of that noisy, pervasive music that keeps you stressed. The highlights were the food and the proximity to the beach. I also loved that your wrist band was also your room key. So great that the staff liberally handed out bottles of water! The check in was pleasant and informative and it's only 15 minutes from the Cancun airport. The downside is that there was no entertainment: no water aerobics, no mariachi band. Also, the lounge chairs get saved early. The waves can get pretty crazy, so be aware.

In January 2026, my wife and I spent two wonderful weeks at the Oleo Cancun Playa, a welcome respite from the Canadian winter. It was our first experience vacationing in Mexico. We wanted to relax rather than party, so we picked the Oleo because it is compact, all-inclusive resort, right on the beach, and recommended by Air Canada. We had a truly memorable experience. Although some of the infrastructure is beginning to show its age, the professionalism of the staff makes this resort memorable. In particular, what really stood out for us was the quality of the food and the restaurant staff. The chefs and serving staff take incredible pride in their work and do everything possible to provide an exceptional experience for their guests. They quickly learn and remember your your name and your preferences, and treat you like royalty; the high quality reminded us of the dining room experience while cruising For a small resort, we found there was a remarkable variety of food in the three restaurants; always something new and authentically Mexican to try, and the freshness of the fruit and vegetables were amazing. Special shout out to the Hakka Restaurant, the smallest and most intimate of the restaurants, which really allowed the attention of the staff to shine. Among many stars, Chef Olan, Chef Santiago, and the Meseros led by Crispin were exceptional. We truly appreciated being treated as if we were in their home as their special guests. Highly recommended.

We just spent the past two (Jan. 28 - Feb. 11) weeks at the Oleo Cancun Playa and let me just start by saying that we are not very fussy people and so there is barely anything to complain about. We were kindly welcomed with a welcome cocktail and check in was thorough and very informative. We were greeted in our room with a bottle of champagne on ice and some fresh macarons. At no fault to the resort, we had rare, cool, very windy weather so that wasn’t great but the sun was hot regardless. One thing that was different for us was that there was no real space between resorts. Along the beach side, there was just an ongoing line of concrete (resorts) and the Oleo didn’t have any grounds with gardens and palm trees to speak of. None of that was an issue for us because it was a new experience. Now for the resort itself: Food and Drinks: always good with plenty of choices. There is 1 buffet, one pool/beach grill with quite an extensive menu and 2 al a carts (Asian and Italian) to which you do not have to make a reservation (we never had to wait for a table). Because we stayed for 2 weeks, we were eligible for a special dinner that was set up at a beautiful table for four and there were four courses all delicious with superb service and table visits from the chef. Alcohol was premium, and there were many lovely cocktails to choose from. The bartenders were fabulous and would make any drink the way you wanted it. Rooms: they were totally immaculate and absolutely delightful. We had an ocean view room, with a tiny balcony. The view was stunning and our friends had a junior suite that was wonderful (nicer room than ours but no ocean view) so it depends on what you prefer and if you want to pay the extr cost for ocean view. The rooms facing the street could be a bit noisy with the traffic. The in-room fridge was stocked every day and housekeeping came every other day, which I think is a fabulous way to help with the environment. Who changes their sheets every day at home anyway??? Beach- 🏖️ Long strand of sandy beach for walking and the bluest water ever! We never had trouble getting chairs on the beach, but we did make sure we were there by 7 AM to save beach chairs as did everyone else. One immediate concern we had was that there was no shade to speak of. They did have large sun umbrellas, but most of them were broken. Our friends and I were asked to fill in a survey about our first 24 hours at the resort. We both commented on the lack of shade and on the broken umbrellas and within a couple of days all of the umbrellas were fixed. Wow!!! The beach was raked every day and the wait staff taking drink and food orders on the beach were extremely accommodating. Vendors were there to show their wares but did not bother you if you weren't interested. Buildings and grounds - There were elevators for the upper rooms and during the time we were there, everything was in working order. The whole resort showed that it was cared for. Everywhere was super clean and we saw staff upgrading, repairing or cleaning constantly. We can’t say enough about the care and quality of service in all areas of the resort. Everyone went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed, and that we were enjoying ourselves. There are two pools side-by-side…one with a swim up bar. We only swam in the pool once and the water was pretty chilly. There seem to be plenty of chairs surrounding both pools. One last thing to rave about was that there was NEVER a shortage of beach towels. Beach towels were available before 7 AM in the morning and if you wanted to exchange them midday, or into the early evening, there was never an issue. After travelling to quite a variety of resorts in the Caribbean, this resort had to have had the best beach-towel exchange service. Entertainment/ activities: none that we were aware of. We are early risers and early to bed people so that didn’t bother us. In room TV was great with a variety of English channels and streaming services that you could utalize as well. The Oleo set up a wonderul assortment of finger foods at the lobby bar for the football crowd who were watching the Super Bowl on all of the lobby tvs...another nice touch. Like I said at the start, no complaints.

When we arrived they offered us a glass of champagne which we accepted. Check in was very easy and personal. We received our bracelets and were escorted to our room. We were shown how the air worked and other features of the room. Very nice people. Always ready to serve you. Beach was beautiful and water was turquoise blue. Restaurants served good food. Breakfast at Azul was buffet style but you could get an omelette or fried eggs at the grill. Service was prompt and friendly. The pool side snack bar offered small portions compared to the US, but they were good. Better to serve less than to waste. Dinner restaurants opened at 5:30. We ate at all 3 for dinner throughout our stay. The Mediterranean theme served fish, chicken and beef. The salmon was very tasty. At the Asian restaurant, we had Mongolian beef. Wasn’t my favorite, but it was good. Drinks at the bars are a little weak but the object is to have fun, not be totally drunk everyday. We enjoyed our stay and would definitely recommend.

The best restaurant they offer is Hakka. For starters their food is incredible from start to end, but what made us come back three nights in a row was their manager, Alexander. He made us feel welcome and was excited to see us back every night. Marselino and Crispin are amazing servers. They’re attentive and provided us with an amazing dining experience. They were a big reason why our stay at Oleo was so fantastic. Do yourself a favor and dine at Hakka!

Nice location along the hotel zone. Taking bus to visit some place in the area is very easy. Stuffs are very friendly, and helpful. The atmosphere is relax for adult, and like 80's. We got free upgrade from standard to premium that complimentary for three people. The Hakka Asia restaurant has excellent Japanese food and others, I like every dishies Almar also good with seafood and beef diishies. This is our first trip in Cancun, and bring a lot of happies to us. Thank you.

Lovely position right on the sandy beach. Quite rough waves but fun! Not really any good for snorkel. Nice pool area, plenty of sunbeds by the pool and on the beach, good waiter service for drinks & pool swim up bar. Very good breakfasts, egg station and lovely omelettes. Fresh fruit, pancakes etc. plenty of choice. We had an upgraded inspira sea view room but only had a tiny balcony with no furniture so couldn’t really sit out but lovely view and nice listening to waves. Be aware that not every sea view room has a balcony or even windows that open. The other side of the hotel looks out onto a busy road. The location is at the quiet end so only 1 or 2 local bars. If you don’t go all inclusive you will need to go into the main part of the tourist hotel zone which is about a 20 min bus ride. Bus stop outside hotel and every 5 mins or so. Very cheap 12 pesos each to anywhere along the route. Make sure to have correct change. The main tourist part was a let down, not many nice restaurants and mainly souvenir shops that have a person outside each shop harassing you to come in which put us off. Not much to do there at all. It’s NOT like European destinations with loads of bars and eatery’s. This area is mainly hotel based for food and entertainment so choose hotel wisely. Oleo hotel had a few pool games and singer in evening but that’s about it. A big disappointment with this hotel was the bar was inside with nowhere to sit outside for drinks or to enjoy the view in the evening. Pool bar shut at 5pm. The inside bar was very noisy and echoing, with not much seating. There wasn’t really any nice walks to do either except along the beach but there’s no beach bars as it’s just all hotels and you are not allowed in if not a resident of that hotel. I would recommend catching the bus to downtown where all the local shops are, much cheaper and big choice of shops with no tourist shops. We felt safe there. Lunch and dinner in hotel buffet restaurant was fine , a bit hit and miss if you’re a fussy eater veggie as I am , there was a pasta station on two occasions but not all the time. Food was generally nice and hot. Puddings were lovely. The waiters were all nice and friendly with good service, and a special shout out to waitress Yesali who was always smiling, helpful and friendly and knew how us English like our tea in the morning! We tried the Almar restaurant which was not that good. I ordered cabannara which was undercooked spaghetti with a tiny bit of tomato and ham but NO sauce , so dry and so salty it was inedible. The pizzas were nice though. Snack bar by pool was ok but food never very hot. I don’t understand why the hotel doesn’t have a Mexican restaurant, it would’ve been better. Rooms were quiet & quite clean and cleaners did a good job. Good shower and water pressure. Only bad thing was that the beds had a plastic sheet on the mattress which was very uncomfortable and sweaty to sleep on. Did they think we would wet ourselves every night? !! A trip to Isla Mujeres is a must, lovely local feel to it much better than Cancun tourist area. We caught the ferry from the big terminal downtown. Bus dropped you off nearby then we got a locals minibus into the terminal which was fun! Ferry took about 22mins and everything in walking distance when you’re on the island. Ferry’s every half an hour from this terminal. To conclude hotel was nice but improvements needed especially outside evening seating and don’t allow kids to use hot tub as paddling pool! Checkout at 12 but our flight wasn’t until 10.30pm so they made you pay for using the facilities after you checkout which isn’t fair considering on our first day we didn’t use any facilities as didn’t arrive until late. Would not come back to Cancun. Mainly American and Canadian visitors . Best part was the beach and the bus service, no need for expensive taxis.

This was my second time at Oleo and again it did not disappoint! The rooms and hotel in general were always clean and the food is good for an all-inclusive. I love the pool and swim-up bar. The ocean view is spectacular and I love that Oleo has a nice beach area if you want to enjoy the beach. The workers here truly make it such a special place! The entertainment by Rambo is great and the dining experience at Hakka was made extra special by Chef Ofelia Olan, Chef Santiago, and Mesero Crispin. The bartenders were very attentive and friendly, especially Fernando, Felipe, Gerry, and Armondo. Felipe made great espresso martinis! My only complaint would be that there should be entertainment/music in the lobby bar in the evenings. When I visited in January of 2025, there was an event almost every night. I was disappointed that this time there was only 1 event during our stay. It was the most lively and enjoyable evening at the lobby bar! Other than that, Oleo is great and I will be visiting again.

Would have given it a five but for the attitude of some of the reception staff. Hotel was lovely, good food and the waiters and bar staff were exceptionally friendly. Particular shout out to Enrico and Francisco who we are sorry to leave behind. They were great!! The hotel is in a great position right on the beach and there were always plenty of subbed. We stayed over Christmas and New Year. The New Year festivities were phenomenal. They really pushed the boat out and all the staff worked really hard to make sure everyone had a good time. Trips out were reasonably priced and the temple at Coma/ cenote were well worth visiting. Also make sure you visit the Isla Majurtes

Coming back to Óleo for the second time this year, we were excited and looking forward to another great trip — and Óleo did not disappoint. It truly exceeded our expectations! We stayed for five days and four nights and had an amazing time every single day. Rambo, the poolside entertainment host, was awesome. He interacted so well with the crowd and created a friendly, fun vibe all week. Every staff member was incredible and treated us with genuine respect. The food and drinks were also outstanding. For an all-inclusive, Óleo does a great job serving good food. Especially the pool side menu items. A special shoutout to the bartenders — Gerry and Armando at the pool bar were fantastic and always noticed when we needed another drink. Felipe at the lobby bar made the best espresso martinis and we were impressed by his bartending skills. At Hakka, Crispin made my friend’s birthday dinner a truly special experience and made us feel celebrated. We went to Hakka most of the time just to see him! Another big thank you to Fernando and Antonio, who always waved and said hello whenever we passed by — those small touches really stood out. We will definitely be back to Óleo and can’t wait to see all our favorite staff members again. 10/10 trip!

Incredible resort staff, who truly made our stay exceptional. Everyone was warm, welcoming, and always greeted us with a genuine smile. I would especially like to thank Luis from the Almar Restaurant for making my father’s birthday so special and memorable. Such a beautiful surprise!!! The attention to detail was outstanding, and the food was fantastic — the salmon was absolutely perfect. On another day, Yeselie and Iliana went truly above and beyond. They instantly fell in love with my baby and made every effort to celebrate our special occasion. They even fulfilled my son’s wish for ice cream on a Sunday, when the coffee shop was closed — finding a way to make it happen and bringing so much joy to my children. Thank you for such a warm welcome, exceptional service, and unforgettable moments. The staff truly makes this resort shine.