Moon Palace Resort Cancun – Started excellent but ended average

Summary: Despite the many pros and the food poisoning I contracted on my last day (making flying very unpleasant), I m-i-g-h-t return at a discounted rate because the pros were so very nice.

Pros:
Check in: I don’t know if it was because we had an upgraded beach front room, but check-in was a dream. They made us feel special by handing us a cool and scented facial towel then personally accompanying us down a hall-way, were we ordered drinks, then to a reception room where there were appetizers laid out for hungry travelers. We were checked in by an individual behind a glass wall, then guided back out to a guest services desk where they explained our resort credits and how to use them. From there we were personally escorted with our luggage to our room, which was ready before the official check-in time of 3:00.
Gym: The gym was very well appointed, including the locker room. Other than first thing in the morning, it was never crowded. This was particularly important for me as I’m training for an Ironman and spent several hours a day here.
Guest Services: We were always greeted with a smile (except for the one guy who didn’t know how to help me figure out how to cancel a shared ride).
Activities: There were plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained starting at 10:00 every day, from concerts, to games, to stretching and volleyball. They staff were all high energy and walked around the pool area to engage participants.
WiFi: There were very few places we went in the resort that didn’t pick it up. They must have had boosters all over the place.
Service: Everyone, I mean everyone, had a smile on their face, starting at breakfast. They weren’t just smiling for the guests, they seemed also to genuinely like each other.
Food: The food was plentiful and available at multiple locations and a variety of casual to luxury dining. What we appreciated the most was that we didn’t have to commit every morning to where we wanted to eat. Everything was always very spontaneous.
Landscaping: The grounds were beautiful. There wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t see a crew working on the landscaping.
Beverages: My husband drank primarily beer, but I switched every day between tequila and vodka. They’ll give you the house brand by default but if you ask for a topshelf brand they’ll give it to you … and keep giving it to you. We never had to remind them that we wanted the “good stuff.”
Pools: We walked around all three compounds, but liked ours (Nizuc) the best. We don’t have kids so we appreciated the primarily older and quieter crowd than we encountered at Sunrise.
Amenities: The line of personal hygiene products was upscale and the bottles generously sized. They were big enough that I didn’t have to break open a new bottle of shampoo until day 5. The laundry line in the shower was a nice touch for those of us who do a little laundry while traveling.
Balconies: They were a tad on the small size, but outfitted with wicker chairs and coffee table and fronted by glass so we had an unimpeded view.
No Upcharges: No matter what we wanted or what we ordered, we never heard “that’s extra.”
Safe: Its always a relief to have somewhere safe to store your valuables.
No Tipping: Tipping wasn’t required, but we did anyway.

Cons:
Resort Credits: We were told we had $1,500 included credit to spend on our account, which we could spend in a variety of ways, including spa, romantic beach dinner and gift shop. What they don’t tell you is that you have to pay taxes on those credits. For instance, we booked the beach dinner, which cost us $60 in taxes. So really, you’re not getting anything for “free” and its cheaper to make your own arrangements, which is what I did on the tour we took. They tell you that if you have any credits left over that you can use them for cigars or tequila, but you’re still going to end up paying taxes. Its cheaper just to let those credits go unused and buy those items at duty-free or in town.
Shared Rides: We reserved a shared ride from the airport and back through the resort and canceled both. When we arrived at the airport we were guided to a row of buses along with several hundred other people and were told it would take “awhile” to be processed and placed on the bus, which would then go from hotel to hotel dropping people off. We’re talking a waiting time of at least an hour or more. We said no to that and they arranged a private van to take us. We got there in about 15 minutes. We were told that the return “shared” ride would leave from the hotel at 3:30am for a 7:00am flight. We said no to that, too. It took five minutes for the taxi to arrive at the front driveway and another 15 to the airport. It was $25 but so worth it for the added sleep.
Sounds: We kept the fan running every night because otherwise we could hear people talking and partying as they walked past our room.
Cold showers: Take one before 10:00am or after 3:00pm, otherwise, you’ll get no heat.
Coffee: Every single day we had to call housekeeping to bring us caffeine because they only left us decaffeinated pods.
Beach: The beach was piled high with seaweed and the red flags were flying every day.
Room service: It was not intuitive to find it on the TV and they don’t have hard copy menus in the room. When we did finally figure it out they didn’t follow up on bringing the items that didn’t get delivered.
Gift shop: The gift shop was nicely appointed with a variety of goods, but incredibly expensive. Save your money and get what you need in town.
No recycling in the room: It wasn’t clear if they separate off-site, but they did have recycling in public areas around the resort.
Romantic Beach Dinner: This was one of the things we did “buy” with resort credit. We were told it would be on the beach, unless the beach was unsuitable then they would have it somewhere else outside. As noted above, the beach was unsuitable so we (and several other couples) were led to a large open green space and shown to a table for two, which was already set with romantic lighting. The other tables were far enough away that we couldn’t over hear each other’s conversations. The dinner included a saxophone player who wandered from table to table, and our own personal waiter. All of that was nice. What wasn’t nice was the actual food. It was awful. The steak was so tough I couldn’t cut all the way through it and the lobster wasn’t much better. For the first time in my long life I got up and walked away from a meal. I felt bad for the waiter, who encouraged us to stay for the dessert, but I was hungry and in search of a dinner I could actually chew.
Pool Debris: This is not at all the fault of the staff, because we saw multiple members in and around the water washing the tile and skimming, but something needs to be done about the filter. There was way too much debris floating on and in the water. It wasn’t bad the first few days we were there, but by the end of our stay it was clear the filter wasn’t working very well.
Food poisoning: It was the very last meal on our very last day that had me awake at 12:30am. It was either the fish or the bacon dressing for the salad. I was afraid to leave the room, but I made it to medical services at the airport and was given a shot to manage my nausea and a couple of pills to manage my diarrhea until we got home. Six days later and I’m still not properly digesting food. I’m getting tested for parasites on Monday based on some other reviews I read here and elsewhere.
The Pub: The first night at the resort we shared a hookah and was told it was $10. The next to last night we tried to do the same and was told it was $30