Catalonia Yucatan Beach

Note: this review is written by someone who doesn’t drink. So my experience is clear-headed. Pros: The staff are excellent. Kind and willing to help. I didn’t have a single poor interaction. Esther at customer service went above and beyond to help me get a room that wasn’t full of mold. The cleanliness is excellent. The staff clean the pathways with bleach water everyday. They rake the sand, they wipe the pool tiles. There is never overflowing trashcans. They work so hard to keep it spotless. The pools are great with a swim up bar and shade for every few loungers. In July it was easy to get shade even around 11am when it was most busy. Probably harder in January-March. Cons: The basic rooms are not fit for use. They look like the per-hour rooms you’d find in downtown of a big city. While clean, they were moldy, peeling, chipped and rusty. Threadbare towels. The phone didn’t work. It did not feel like a 4 star hotel. It felt like a motel. There were no bedbugs or stained mattress so that was good. The buffet. We booked this resort because we saw you could use the amenities at the sister hotel. Turns out you can’t use their restaurants and that you only get 1 reservation for dinner for a 5 day stay. That meant we had to eat 4 Lunches and dinners at the same buffet. If you’re drinking a lot you might not notice but for me the identical food got old fast. It was decent variety but I did not want it for 8 meals. The beach. It was rocky so wear water shoes. But that is the best part. They built an enclosure to keep out fish or sharks I guess. But that means no waves and a small area to swim. There is a rocky peninsula on one side and past that is a second beach that smells like feces. Seriously. Not kelp, not seaweed, but animal feces. I think it’s stagnant water. No one at this resort can enjoy the beach here. The room we had was in front of the delivery bay. At 7am there was a beeping reversing delivery truck unloading. Every day. So the layout seems a bit off. Some rooms are behind night club and I am sure that is loud too. Pros: We paid to upgrade ($25USD per person per night) to a renovated room. That felt 4 stars. Walk in rainfall shower, nice tile, working fridge, fluffy towels. The à la carte Mexican restaurant was great. Elevated dining experience with a 3 Course meal and excellent service. It is not the same food as the buffet. The gym was decent even though some machines were older and had duct tape on the seats. It was above par. The breakfast buffet was great. I had no problem having that everyday because there was plenty of variety. The beach shop has everything you need if you forgot anything. The nightly entertainment was dated choreography and costumes but a really fun experience. The highlight for us was the beach party. I enjoyed dancing on the sand to live musicians. No food, just drinks and music. It was excellent. The sports bar during the World Cup was excellent. The Creperie is open 1-5pm and is delicious. We looked forward to sweet or savory crepes and ice cream by the pool. Excursions nearby include Rio Secreto and Xcaret. Both highly worth it. Final: Overall, I would recommend this resort to families with young kids, or friends coming to drink and lounge by the pool since you will not notice anything else.

We've been to Catalonia twice in 6 months hoping it woulg get better. However, the food got worst with no selections, repetitious, cheap chop up vegetables to make the buffet look selective. Second, the pool on both sides need serious attention due to dirty water and maintenance. Third, unfortunately, the beach was a write off. Fourth, they're trying to constantly sell membership but the resort itself is nowhere near to catering to tourists. Therefore, the owner is very misleading due to lack of improvements when it comes to events, ala carte selections, better food, and fairness to other tourists that shows Yucatan package. This Yucatan package is by far the worst and degrading offer to a vacationer. Unless otherwise there will be improvements this resort will lose tourists. The only positive comment is the staff are very wonderful and accommodating.

We stayed at this hotel at the start of June for 2 weeks. I’d like to start with the positives, the atmosphere was great. All the staff at the hotel were amazing, friendly, and so much fun. It is situated within a gated community making it feel safe to explore the surrounding areas. There is a beautiful harbour full of restaurants, bars, and shops no more than a 10 minute walk from the hotel which was great for wanting to go outside for some local food. There are several pools to choose from and even a private lagoon at the beach. The hotel was extremely clean, however, the room which we stayed in was extremely outdated and in need of painting as there was peeling paint and chipped surfaces on all the furniture. The hotel is adjacent with its sister hotel, and if you are planning to book I would recommend looking at that side as it has been more modernised recently and gives you access to both hotels. As if you stay at Yucatan you are not allowed to use the restaurant or beach bar of the sister hotel. However this hotel has many good bars so we didn’t notice. Overall, we had an amazing time and I would recommend a visit as it is good value for money and a gorgeous location. However, my only warning would be the seaweed. I was aware before we booked that June is the start of the season for seaweed and it completely blocked the beach off and it was not possible to go into the sea / beach areas (the lagoon was fine) for the duration of the holiday. Therefore, if the beach and sea is a must i recommend not booking June-September to avoid it.

Julio Cesar Chaveź in the reception was excellent! he helped us with everything we needed, and even printed out papers we needed before we left the hotel.

Wow this place was not anything like we expected. Pool closed at 7. Food was aweful except the deserts and breakfast trying to book a resturant was impossible. Resturants always booked and full it says and when we did finally get booked it seemed odd that most of the tables where empty. The crepe station ran out of savory snacks and icecream almost daily. The seaweed made the beach off limits and omg the smell was so bad I was almost sick!!!!! The pool bar and beach bar open at 11 amand then closed at 7.pm. So not evening drink by the water at all. Loungers all gone by 6am. The breakfast was good and the servers really nice. All the staff where absolutely amazing. Very friendly and approachable. The bar staff made amazing mango margaritas and so friendly and smiling. They had lizards and small animals all over the complex and they where so cute. The one thing I did love was the spa. The best spa ive been to in a long time. Hydro was fantastic and the massauge was to dye for. I had 2 because wow. I had a manicure and it was amazing too. The spa and the staff are the reason to go here. Power outages so no TV internet lifts or ac was ridiculous. Then hauling suitcase down 3 flights of stairs on check out due to power out was crazy. Concierge asked us to go to a reward meeting. When we got there we realised it was a hard sell for a hotel program. The wanted nearly 1500 deposit and then over 30k to join program. Offering discounts. Save your money. Paying 30k just to recieve an upgrade which u can pay 20 usd a night instead made it a scam. Although the free spa for going made it worth going to meeting. Also the 4th floor had very little lighting at night. The stairs also had little light which when the lift wasnt working dangerous. If you want a quiet basic holiday then this is for you. It is not a 24 hour all inclusive. Its only inclusive at set times as everything is almost always closed or booked. The smell and lack of facilities are not good. The staff however are amazing. They made the holiday a welcoming place. Not sure if i will ever go back there again. If I did it would only to use the spa and the staff that make me book again.

Anel is very very nice thanks for the service

I would not rate this resort 4*. Room in need of TLC and a coat of paint. The lock inside was broken. While there was a variety to choose from, the food at the buffet was average; either very spicy or no taste. Pools need to be cleaned more often or better (slimey, green walls) Very few activities during the day; or just didn't happen (bingo). The public washroom has no locks on the doors, all broken. The evening entertainment was good.

Neldy was perfect she helped us at the front desk either our reservation and help us look around. Good energy

My husband and I are about to leave the Catalonia Yucatan Beach hotel. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The rooms are clean, spacious and cool. The gardens are beautifully manicured containing lots of different flowers with gorgeous vibrant colours. The food is plentiful and tasty and there are a large variety of drinks to suit every person. The pools areas are great with plenty of activities going on throughout the day for people to get involved in. All the staff at the hotel have been very professional and personable throughout our stay. In particular, Alfonso at The Beach Bar is an incredible asset to the hotel. He is very friendly with lots of positive energy. He even helped us to develop our Spanish speaking skills. He enhanced our holiday experience. At the time of our visit, there was seaweed present which is blighting the whole of the Carribean coast line. This personally did not detract from our enjoyment of the hotel or our holiday but it may be a consideration for other people.

Not a good experience. Our room was really outdated and smelled so bad we couldn't stay one night in it. The awful smell of seaweed was everywhere. The beach was buried in seaweed and unusable. This hotel isn't a 3 star. We had to pay another $600 CAD to get a decent room on the Catalonia Riveria side. All the staff are really great especially the bartender at the sports bar. The food was ok but repetitive. The alacarte restaurants were very good. The pools we nice but not clean

Hotels grounds are beautiful, but rooms need upgrading to include more plug sockets, el Mercado buffet restaurant we found the food to be very poor and breakfast was the most disappointing, ala carte- the Mexican was ok, the burger was ok, we were underwhelmed with the Italian, can't comment on the steak or Asian as we were not allowed to use them unless we upgraded for an extra 300 dollars, majority of staff we encountered were pleasant but jeadiah and antolin in the beach bar were exceptional , mauricio in the Mexican restaurant was good at his job and added some class. The pictures do not show the excessive problem of the seaweed, smell was overwhelming and made the beach a bit of a no go area . Mosquitoes 🦟 was another problem everyone was bitten to buggery, someone had been bitten 70 times in one night, we had been looking forward to this holiday since we had booked it but travelled home thinking we had been short changed as this hotel never had the wow factor that you would expect for ££££'s paid and being in the Caribbean, after 8pm on most nights it felt like the hotel just closed down with little or nothing to do

The surrounding area is green and clean, and that's where the positives end. The beach and access to the ocean are only theoretical.We stayed at this hotel for two weeks. As soon as we arrived from the airport, we were greeted by a stench as we stepped off the bus, and that was just the beginning. The first night was the worst (Sunday night into Monday night) because there was so much weed in the water and it stank so badly that you could smell it in the room and it was impossible to sleep. The food was awful, unless you want to lose a few kilos or are strictly vegetarian. The selection was small and the quality was poor. It was mostly just a few vegetables (fried onions, potatoes for three courses, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and a set of homemade vegetarian salads), and dry pasta, slightly touched with some kind of sauce.Very poor evening entertainment, which made me fall asleep. I don't like watching dance shows, and that's all there is to it. There are also 3 parties near the pool/beach, which are right under the windows, so it's loud and impossible to sleep until 11 p.m., and even then, their quality leaves a lot to be desired.The drinks are weak, with a small amount of alcohol counted for each drink. Hardly anyone on the staff speaks English. On the plus side, the kids club, Gabi and Sole, do a really great job and have a great approach to kids.

Less than, horrible beach. Amateurish entertainment, lousy buffet food, unfriendly staff, room was ok. Would not go back.

Everything was fantastic. Check in was fast and easy, Ana, the front desk personnel, was amazing, always smiling (a super big smile) and when I changed something... no problem. The rooms were fine, very clean. The pools were good and the swim up bars were fine. Only complaint, on some days they ran out of the drink of choice early (Rum). The buffets were good, lots of variety and the a la carte dinners were good too. We had a family group of 9 and the waiter we had and the manager at the Mexican restaurant went out of their way to accommodate us. They typically can only sit up to 5. It was one of our son's birthdays and they made him feel special, brought out a small cake with a candle and a big metal figurine holding a guitar for pictures. The Fitness Centre, which is important for us, was probably one of the best at an all-inclusive resort we have ever had. Lots of equipment and everything was working and well serviced. There was a gentlemen in the Centre to help all the time. He did a great job. The Sports Bar is good but the best bar is the Lobby Bar, by the theatre. We only saw one show it was really good. I'm sure the others were too. The grounds were clean and well taken care of. There were lots of areas to hang out if it rains. It did rained one almost full day. The only part we didn't like is the size of the beach. It isn't very big and we like to walk the beach every day. We knew this coming in. Leaving the resort to walk is wonderful, we felt the area outside the resort was safe. It was like a neighborhood. You are in a gated/controlled area. The "small town' by the harbour is a short walk and interesting to see, both day and night (well lite up at night) The dolphins can be seen during your walk. The small taco and gelatio stands were with it. We left the area during the dy and walked to the supermarket, about a 20/30 minute walk, again no issues. Big store. This is our second visit to the Catalonia Yucatan and would go back for a third. .

Wonderful place! Beautiful people! Beach awesome with snorkelling within arm reach! Food authentic and delicious! Clean and spotless! People happy , attentive always smiling! We had some family travelling from Europe who just loved everything about this resort! I will explore more of Catalonia resorts in the future! Thank you for being so in tune with my father who is deaf! We will be back! Thank you Catalonia Team!