Occidental at Xcaret Destination

I loved my stay at the Occidental Xcaret hotel where all the amenities were available for service, from entering the grand lobby, to the rooms, to the beach it all is well maintained, even the animals were amazing to see. You really have to experience a place like this

I wanted to give a shout out here to the drink batman service Hugo, César, Aurelio, Giovanny and Marcos thank you

I had a wonderful stay at Occidental at Xcaret Destination. The property is beautiful, surrounded by lush jungle and wildlife, creating a unique and relaxing atmosphere. The beach is small but peaceful, and the pools were clean and enjoyable. The food was good with plenty of variety, and the staff was consistently friendly, attentive, and welcoming throughout our stay. One of the biggest highlights is the hotel's convenient access to Xcaret Park, making it perfect for anyone planning to visit. Overall, it's an excellent destination for couples, families, or anyone looking for a memorable all-inclusive vacation in the Riviera Maya.

We're a British family of 3 and are nearing the end of our 2 weeks here at the Occidental.

This is our 4th time to Mexico, but our first to the Occidental.

It's a big resort, but you do get the hang of the layout very quickly.

Check-in was a little slow, but it wasn't an issue, there's just a lot to go though.

The rooms (we're in block 22) are fine.  Clean, enough space and quiet.  If the Aircon could have gone down just a couple of degrees from 19 to say 17 or 16 that would have been even better, but apart from one particularly sticky night, it was perfectly acceptable.

There are lots of pools, we personally liked the First Club pool and a shout out to Alfredo at the bar there who is just a wonderful person.  Helpful, hard working and a credit to the hotel.  Genuinely a lovely human.  There were a couple of times when some of the 'tourists' think that their country and western music  or gangster rap needs to be heard by everyone around the pool.  I bet you can picture the scene.... Make Pool Music Great Again.🤣. JBL clearly make good speakers so if nothing else I'll know what I'll be blasting The Wurzels out to next time!

The food is lovely.  If you can't find something to eat, seriously consider just staying at home as holidaying really isn't for you.  We also had NO problem at all booking for the a la carte restaurants.  Book them in 2 days in advance and you'll always get in somewhere.  We liked them all, but especially the Oriental, Italian and the Steakhouse.  The fish one, personally, you can select the exact meal you want (and better) from the main buffet restaurant.

The beach area is ok.  The lagoon misses the sargassum seaweed, but does lack the authentic beach that you might want.  That said, there's great snorkelling to the right of it if the flags say it's safe.

The animals around the hotel are lovely.  All sizes of Iguanas, Deer, Paca, Agouti, Coatis (my favourite) and monkeys who will steal any fruit you have, so be careful.

We did the unlimited Xcaret pass for 2 weeks through the hotel and it was a game changer!  At least one of us walked in (2/3 min walk) every day.  It's well worth it if you can.  Highly recommended.

Small improvements I'd personally make would be popcorn and ice-cream cart availability all day, just to keep the kids happy rather than traipsing to the snack bar for a sit down.  Some days you just want to pick up something on the fly.  Also kicking the 'louder guests' JBL speakers into the pool by accident.  Anyone caught doing it could perhaps be offered an upgrade 🤣. I joke, but lots of people would really appreciate it!

We've really enjoyed our stay, thank you.