Hotel Maya Caribe Faranda

“Time flies when you're having fun!”

We were lucky enough to vacation twice in Cancun last year, with the second visit lasting only five days (13/12/22 - 17/12/22) and there's only one place we'll stay in Cancun and that's at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas! My wife and I say the same kind of thing after every visit and it's worth shari... more

We were lucky enough to vacation twice in Cancun last year, with the second visit lasting only five days (13/12/22 - 17/12/22) and there's only one place we'll stay in Cancun and that's at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas! My wife and I say the same kind of thing after every visit and it's worth sharing with everyone; we have never experienced such a fantastic all-round experience when staying at hotels all over the world, as we do when we stay at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas! Where else will the hotel Manager ensure that you get to stay in the room you love, year after year?! How many hotel Managers give you a hug when they see you're about to check in, because they're so happy to see you again?! Which other hotel Manager makes sure you have a complimentary bottle of Champagne in your room on your first day, just because you love staying at the hotel so much?! The hotel Management, the porters, the maids, the maintenance guys, the bar staff, the chefs, the waiting staff, the reception staff, the entertainment team, the shop staff, the spa staff, the hotel security, the food, the drink, the views, the location, the hotel grounds, the beach, the peacocks, the ambience *ALL* made our stay what they always are - Perfecto! In fact, we love the place so much so, that we've just booked to go back for 22 days later on this year! As always, some people deserve a special mention for their outstanding hospitality and from our last visit, they are as follows: Yeing - Hotel Manager Always happy to help, nothing is too much trouble. Josue - Porter Works hard, but always has a smile on his face. Luis Cen - Restaurant Iguanas Supervisor Friendly guy, who always makes sure I'm topped up with chocolate milk! The Pizza Chefs (apologies, but we will remember your names for the next review we promise! We blame the Tequila!) There always seems to be a queue for pizzas, because they make them taste sooooo good! Snack Chef - Cielito Lindo Restaurant (again, apologies, but we will remember your name for the next review as well, we promise! We blame the iced beer!) He never stops! He's either cooking (the food is always delicious!) or clearing tables. Marco Valle - Bartender Cielito Lindo Restaurant A natural entertainer, who always knows how to keep the guests happy (iced beer for us!). Roll on August and 22 days in paradise...

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“Mi casa es su casa...”

Stayed (20/08/22 - 03/09/22) The title of our review literally says it all. Every year we return to the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas, we feel like we've returned to our second home and this time was no different. Once we'd arrived and entered the reception, we could see Yeing (the hotel Manager) behi... more

Stayed (20/08/22 - 03/09/22) The title of our review literally says it all. Every year we return to the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas, we feel like we've returned to our second home and this time was no different. Once we'd arrived and entered the reception, we could see Yeing (the hotel Manager) behind the counter. As we approached, she looked up and recognised us straight away. She was so happy to see us, that she came from behind the counter to give both my wife and I a hug. We have never felt more welcome and valued in our lives. Yeing told us that unfortunately, we were unable to stay in 'our' room (the one we request to stay in every year) in the Maya Caribe until the following Tuesday but if we needed anything at all, to not hesitate to get in contact with her or the reception and they would sort it straight away (we moved into 'our' room in the Maya Caribe on the Tuesday, just as Yeing had promised.). Two prime examples of this were - 1. My wife went down to the reception to ask for a hairdryer for the room. This is a 6-minute round trip. By the time she had returned to the room, the hairdryer had already been dropped off by housekeeping. 2. I celebrated my birthday on the 1st of September. My wife went to the reception the day before and spoke to Yeing. She wanted to sort out/pay for a bottle of Prosecco to get brought to our room at 7am on the morning of my birthday. Yeing wouldn't accept any money from my wife and so at 7am sharp on my birthday, a free bottle of Prosecco and 2 Champagne flutes were delivered to our hotel room. What a lovely touch, from a lovely lady. We cannot fault Yeing and her team's customer service, year after year. Nothing is ever a problem and nothing is too much trouble. Every year we return, we always see improvements around the place. For example, we now get a strong Wi-Fi signal in our hotel room in the Maya Caribe. Having a strong Wi-Fi signal in our room isn't a priority for us, but to have one is always good. The reception staff are always attentive to the guests needs. The porters always keep busy helping guests to and from their rooms, day and night. Housekeeping always do a good job, as and when we need them for anything. The entertainment team always do a wonderful job of entertaining the guests every day. The bartenders & waiting staff always do a fantastic job serving the guests almost non-stop, hour after hour, day after day. There's always a good selection of fresh food available every day and night (we especially like Fiesta Mexicana on a Tuesday night) and the ice-cold beer (and other all-inclusive drinks) always hit the spot! As always there are a few members of staff who deserve a special mention and as usual, my wife and I foolishly forget some of their names. Yeing - Hotel Manager Always leads by example. The most professional, approachable & friendly member of hotel management we have ever met. Andreas - Porter He's like an amigo to us. He took our cases up to our room the first ever time we stayed at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas and he has looked out for us/taken care of us every visit since. He once again greeted us shortly after we'd arrived with his usual big smile and fist bump. Luis Cen - Waiting staff Always enthusiastic and happy to see us. He always made sure we never wanted for anything when we were eating in the Restaurant Iguanas. Alondra - Masseuse I've never had a bad massage whilst staying at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas, but Alondra gave me the best massage I've ever had whilst vacationing in Mexico! Pizza chefs (forgot their names unfortunately) They were busy making pizzas from 12pm - 7pm every day, but they always had a smile on their faces and the pizzas that we had were always perfectly cooked and always tasted muy bueno! Snack chef - (forgot his name unfortunately) Cielito Lindo Restaurant He never seemed to stop cooking from the minute he started his shift, until the minute his shift ended. Always happy no matter how busy he got. Makes the best burger with cheese sauce south of the border! Pedro Hernandez - Bartender Restaurant Iguanas He was always happy to serve us and he always made sure that we got the light beer instead of the dark. Marco Valle - Bartender Cielito Lindo Restaurant Marco is a true professional. His drink and cocktail knowledge are second to none! We love the fact that he knew what our favourite 'iced beer' drink was, when we first asked him to make us two (always two more!). He even remembered us from when we stayed last year, even though we only got served by him on our last day. Even though it seemed Marco never stopped either serving drinks or providing table service, he was always happy; smiling, laughing interacting with all his 'friends' (he classed all the guests as his 'friends') singing, dancing, taking photos for guests/appearing in guests photos. Marco couldn't have been more hospitable and he even made me a special surprise birthday cocktail (I have no idea what went in it) which tasted like nectar of the gods! Marco helped to make our stay at the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas exactly what it was once again, perfecto! Come to the Maya Caribe/Dos Playas for the gorgeous views, excellent location and fantastic food & drink! Stay for the truly authentic Mexican hospitality...

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“Good location and overall a good stay - would go back”

Overall a good stay, here's my breakdown on a 1 (Unsatisfactory) - 2 (Needs Improvement) - 3 (Satisfactory) scale: Room (2): The room is outdated, but also quaint at the same time. It has a beach feel to it with wooden styles, etc. Bed (2): The bed was a firm, but I did not find it uncomfortab... more

Overall a good stay, here's my breakdown on a 1 (Unsatisfactory) - 2 (Needs Improvement) - 3 (Satisfactory) scale: Room (2): The room is outdated, but also quaint at the same time. It has a beach feel to it with wooden styles, etc. Bed (2): The bed was a firm, but I did not find it uncomfortable as someone who is used to softer beds in the US. The blankets/sheets are on the thinner side, but in Cancun it's hot so this works. Pillows were the right thickness for me, too much for my wife. Hotel was accommodating in providing extra pillows. Customer Service (2): The guy at the front desk spoke perfect English and was quite helpful. The standout for us was Ivan in the restaurant, he went above and beyond to help me when my wife was sick. Huge thanks to him and how helpful he was on this trip! I will say not all the staff were as friendly - one day we had a lady knocking on our door several times when we had the do not disturb sign on and it turned out she was trying to ask us to checkout when we just checked in the day before???? Didn't appreciate that. Then there was another woman at this hotel with quite the attitude who gave me a hard time for having a friend meet me on the beach. This hotel is quite strict about the wristbands, which frankly I don't understand if we are on the public beach below. Then when checking out I called in the morning for a late checkout, yet I get a rude woman from the front desk calling me telling me I'm past the check in time. Didn't get this persons name, but they were quite rude from that phone call all the way to the check out process. Security (1): A lot of reviews mentioned theft was a common issue at this hotel. Actually when we checked in someone was asking the front desk how they will get reimbursed for a missing item - yikes! Not what you want to hear when checking in and reading those reviews. While we didn't experience any theft issues with our items, we did have trouble with our door not locking! I would advise anyone staying here to push the door in before you leave the room. I wonder if this happened to other rooms and might be the reason people are losing things! We ended up using a lock and putting our valuables in the closet. The hotel was also quite prompt in fixing our broken door. Wifi (3): We had good connection in our room. My wife watched Netflix all day when she wasn't feeling well. Cleanliness (3): While the room itself was outdated and could use a touch-up we didn't find anything was dirty or felt unclean. Smells (3): Didn't find any weird smells. Noise (3): We didn't experience any issues other than that annoying lady knocking on the door several times that one day. Water Pressure (3): Good pressure! Hot Water (3): No complaints here. Hotel grounds (3): Really liked the jungle like theme and the peacocks you see in the morning - nice touch! The hammocks outside and lounges were quite nice too.

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