Our Trip to Dreams Riviera Cancun During the Pandemic
Hello, friends! We are back from our most recent trip to Cancun, Mexico. And boy does it feel good to travel again. We know this is a slight detour from our usual Disney travel, but as a travel agent I couldn’t pass up a trip to this beautiful area and resort. We chose Dreams Riviera Cancun as our first all-inclusive ever and what a relaxing time we had! Stick to the end to be sure to get the full, rounded review. You know, the good and the bad.
I’ve put together a quick review for you to read as you may be planning to travel! Don’t forget that if you need any help, I am more than willing to walk you through your own trip. Just fill out a quick form and let me know what you are thinking. Scroll toward the bottom for the all-inclusive/cruise options!
The Airport
Alright, let’s get back to business here.
Starting with the airports and flights… I have to be honest that we were not impressed. If you are looking for a socially-distanced travel experience, you won’t find it in the airports. Even though many of the spaces (though not all) had markings on the ground and seats, hardly anyone abided by them. I know that is a bit harsh to say, but it is the truth. We aren’t fearful people, but I can tell you right now there were a couple of times that we swung our suitcase behind us to keep space since people would stand less than a foot from us in line. None of the officials remarked on it.
We flew American Airlines and understood that many of the major airlines are packing their flights. So, it was no surprise when the flight was indeed packed. Hint: Delta seems to be the only major airline taking more precautions than others and we definitely applaud them for doing so. Recently, they extended their social-distancing precautions to March 31, 2021.
It’s no lie that once you exit the Cancun airport’s baggage claim, you will be surrounded by salesmen asking you about signing for timeshares. It’s immediate. It’s intense. You just have to keep your head down and walk intentionally to the shuttle, unless you are planning on getting a timeshare.
The Resort
Now with the traveling aspect aside, let’s chat the actual resort! This was were the vacation began and what a trip! We upgraded to an oceanfront with preferred club. Along with the preferred club, it provided us with amenities that included one reservation for the bali beds, a hydrotherapy session at the spa, access to the preferred club lounge with a business center, among other additions. Both of these were incredibly worth it to us and we adored every aspect.
We traveled in mid-November and the weather stayed pristine just about the entire time. It was supposed to rain every day, but clearly by the time we arrived at the resort. So, the beach stayed open for us! I know many people really want to know the details of the beach, so I’ll share: super fine sand, low waves, and a lot of seaweed. Even with the amount of seaweed though, the staff worked throughout the day keeping the area groomed for guests to enjoy it. We brings us to…
The Staff
The staff at the resort exceeded ALL expectations. I have no clue how they did it, but every staff member remembered our names and greeted us every day. Out of all the guests there, these people could recall stories and things that we did, joking around with us and helping with whatever we needed. Truly they gave us top notch service. If the pandemic weren’t a thing, we can honestly say that by the end of our stay we wanted to give each of them a big hug! They have become our friends without a doubt. From Ernesto (whom we us course added “de la Cruz” to the end becuase how could we not? Sorry, Ernesto.) who always came and found us on the beach to check how we were doing and share fun storys about growing up in the States and returning to Mexxico to be with family. To Christian who was super excited to have downloaded Disney+ (it had just released in Mexico) so that he could binge The Mandalorian. We love our fellow Disney and Star Wars fans!
There are so many more men and women who made this trip such a pleasant time for us. I could go on all day, but you get the idea.
Amenities
The resort has multiple built-in amenties with movie nights outdoors, kayaking, sailing, archery, karaoke, and offsite excursions. We wanted to saty on property this trip and did not do any of the excusrsions. However, we have heard great things about them and they included the most popular sites for tourists.
The last addition that I want to note for you is the spa. I don’t typically pay extra for a spa treatment, but since we were in the preferred club we recieved a hydrotherapy session. It was supposed to be 50 minutes, but we were there over an hour and it was heavenly! They incorporated a sauna, steam room, showers, jacuzzis, cold pools, and water fountains for muscle therapy. Really, we loved all of it and left the spa feeling entirely relaxed.
The Food
I’ll start with the dining options and say the resort has a wide range of dining for everyone! There’s burgers and hot dogs, quick snacks, a small cafe, and gourmet dinners from all around the world. The options cover just about everything you could want and really more becuase they have an option for you to schedule trips to sister resorts in order to experience their dining options as well. What a perk!
Now for the actual food itself. This is where it gets a little difficult for me. You know me and you know I will forever be honest and genuine. Anthony and I were not overly impressed with the food from the start. Nothing bad at the beginning, just nothing stellar either. For all-inclusive resorts, this tends to be typical when you are booking at an average resort. Again, we loved our experience their and choice of resort. So, this was alright.
However.
We had one evening where we got to dessert and noticed something wrong with the food. I won’t go into detail, but I will say that it was not good and we left serious questioning food standards at the resort and if we could even recommend it. Friends, I’ll be honest that we talked for a couple of hours that night about what to do because we weren’t sure if the “higher ups” would take us seriously about our concerns.
The next day we went to the concierge. I say that like we went directly there. No, we skirted around his desk for awhile to get up the courage and then made the jump. We didn’t know how to say it, so we just babbled through a couple of other small food concerns and ended with the story of what we saw at dinner. I think he was trying to follow our point until we reached the end there. At that point, he did the biggest double-take and said, “You saw what now???” He sat down and had us repeat the story to clarify. Once he was sure he understood right, he immediately sent a memo to the entire staff and called one of the managers of the food and beverage team. Honestly, I was so impressed with the speed at which he moved. We could tell he had no idea this was an issue and that it was unacceptable. Our fears of not being heard were definitely gone.
The food and beverage team member arrived at the lobby and the concierge asked if he could catch up his coworker on the story. I don’t know much Spanish, but I could hear enough to know which story he was telling. The coworker was taking notes of each part and he stopped the concierge for a second, saying, “I could cry.” The concierge jumped in then to say, “Oh, I haven’t ever gotten to the worst part yet.”
After they finished, the team member said he was immediately going to implement actions that would prevent this from happening again. We told them we weren’t asking for anything in return, just for the safety of guests and that we would feel confident in recommending the resort. We left it on that note and actually noticed an immediate improvement. The next day, we still aren’t quite sure how, the food and beverage team member along with that day’s concierge found us on the beach to apologize and thank us again for helping them grow and improve. Not only was it a kindness to us, but what a personal lesson in customer service!
I can tell you that the care with which these men listened to us and took immediate action completely changed our perspective. The pool and quick snacks may never be gourmet, but that’s not what we expected. We know that. We weren’t paying luxury money. Still, now we can rest knowing that the staff’s intentions were inherently good. They have taken quick action to correct mistakes, to grow, and to best serve their guests. That means the most to us.
The integrity, care, willingness to change made this resort so much more important to us. We thank the staff for hearing us, for having the humility to fix a problem, and for seeking quality in their service. Not many resorts have guests that can say this about them.
To Wrap It Up
Our last night at the resort took us to the French restaurant. We were a little aprehensive about it from our previous expeiernce but truly could not recommend it more. The waiters were so gracious, helpful, and just plain fun! From the plating to the actual taste, the food was top notch here. We loved it and it quite perfectly wrapped up our time in the Dreams Riveria Cancun Resort and Spa.
On the whole, we left the resort with people who we felt like were our friends. Really, I want to go back and visit them! The one bad experience turned into something that let us see the hearts of the people along with pushing them to stay in touch with their own standards.
We, of course, found it incredibly hard to leave the pools and beach for the wintry climate in Virginia, but we’ve already decided that if God allows, we will be back to this resort in the future!
