My mom and I stayed at the JW Marriott Cancun from 8/2/07 - 8/7/07. It was truly a wonderful experience. The hotel was beautiful and very well maintained. Arrived right at checkin 4:00pm and had no problems. Received the exact type of room we booked through the hotel’s website. Received the 5th night free and a $100 food & beverage credit. Requested airport transportation on their website, and a rep called to finalize the arrangements. $14 per person, one way. Walked out of the airport and straight ahead to find the Marriott Rep.

ROOM: Our room was awesome! Deluxe Ocean View on the 10th floor facing the main pool area. Great view of the ocean and hotel zone. Request a room ending in odd number to face the main pool area. The lower the number, the closer to the ocean. Rooms ending in even numbers face Casa Magna Marriott, which is still a good view facing the private pool area with swimup bar. All rooms have a private balcony and great views of the pool, ocean and hotel zone. Bathroom was very spacious with double sinks and a separate shower. Button on side of the toilet was a little hard to flush! Housekeeping and turndown service was great.

POOLS: Pool is great and big! There are plenty of cushioned lounge chairs and umbrellas if you need shade. Get to the pool early (7am) to pick out your chairs. Pool Concierge will help move umbrellas, chairs and bring extra towels, etc. Plenty of waiters to order drinks and food. Great infinity edge pool to hang out and watch people on the beach. Neat shallow platforms in the water to layout. No music and very relaxing to hear the ocean waves. There are a couple of areas around the pool for oceanview massages. Ate chicken quesadillas poolside for lunch from Beachwalk Cafe’ and were very tasty. Marriott cheeseburger is huge and good. If you want a refreshing cocktail, try the Frozen Monkey! There is another pool on the Casa Magna side with a swimup bar and waterfall.

BEACH: The azul waters are beautiful! Truly breathtaking. Sun is bright so wear plenty of sunblock! Beach area is great and clean. Plenty of lounge chairs, palapa huts and a beach bar. Water is a little rough at times but there were always people swimming. We enjoyed the waves. Very salty. No rocks.

BREAKFAST: Ate the breakfast buffet at Simply Seafood. $22 USD. It has everything you can imagine and then some. Omelette station, Mexican food items, variety of fruit juices, fresh fruit, pastries and much more. The waiters will carry your plates to your table. Great service. The orange juice was a little bitter for me and did not taste well with food.

LOBSTER/PRIME RIB BUFFET at Simply Seafood: It was good. $50 USD. Must make reservations. Wed, Fri and Sun nites. They will bring as many lobsters as you can eat. Great service. Variety of salads, vegetables, bread, baked potatoes, desserts and much more.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Rode the Skyrider. Booked onsite through Aquaworld at the towel station. Similar to parasailing but you sit in a seat rather than dangle from a harness. Great way to see the hotel zone and take pictures of your hotel from the sky. It is not scary. You just float in the air. Rode a waverunner from the beach to the boat and the waves were big. Fun! Bring a water camera and money for tips. Aquaworld staff was great.

2. Stopped at Carlos ‘n Charlies to relax and have a drink after a long walk. Beware! This place is a huge party! Great margaritas, plenty of shots, fun music, audience participation, dancing in bar stools, more shots, then dancing ON the bar! We met some great people and had a lot of fun, until the shots caught up with us. My recommendation is stay away from the shots, especially tequila shots! Seriously. You will thank me the next day. Carlitos was a great bartender!

3. Took a taxi downtown to Puerto Juarez ($22 USD) and rode a ferry to Isla Mujeres. About 20 minutes. Go on your own rather than a guided tour so you can go at your own pace. Rented a golf cart across the street from ferry. $45 all day until 5pm or $30 for 2 hours. They will need your driver’s license. Rode around exploring the island. On the southwest end in the hotel zone (very secluded area), we stumbled upon Zama, an open air Lounge & Spa with pool, open to the public. It was a neat place to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. Rode back to North Beach where everything is happening. Open-air dining, shops and a public beach. It is very hot in August so drink plenty of water. The only relief we found from the heat was the breeze when riding the golf cart. Ate lunch at Miramar, toes in sand. Ate chicken fajitas and grilled shrimp and were fresh and tasty. Miserably hot though and sweating while eating. Couldn’t wait to get back to Cancun and cool down at the hotel.

RESTAURANTS: Outside the hotel, we only ate at La Madonna, Italian/Martini Lounge, in La Isla Mall. It has a neat, swanky atmosphere with music to match. Service was great. Food was a little expensive but good. The decor gives you plenty to look at.

CELL PHONES: Prior to vacation, I signed up for International Dialing through Verizon and had no problems calling and receiving calls from the US as well as sending and receiving text messages.

Overall, we had a great time in Cancun and an amazing experience at the JW Marriott. The hotel was very clean and the staff was truly “at your service” the entire stay. Everything was beautiful. We loved our room, breakfast, and relaxing at the pool. I will definitely stay at the JW Marriott Cancun again in the future! You will not be disappointed with this 5 star resort!