Going to the sun-palace in march. any experiences or suggestions you would like to share. Going with my husband and eight year old child. We wanted to stay at the Ritz but our travel agent kept pushing this on us. Told us it was the cadillac of all-inclusive. Should we change. any thoughts helpful

Hi: Stayed at Sun Palace in july very nice "All inclusive" hotel but I certainly don't think it is fair to compare it with the Ritz. It is a nice mid size hotel on a very nice beach. A very relaxing "let your hair down" atmosphere (certainly not "Ritz like" ). If you are looking for a nice "All Inclusive" hotel in Cancun which happens to be "ALL SUITE" Sun Palace is a good choice (I hope you understand the food at an "ALL INCLUSIVE" won't rival the Ritz). IF you are looking for the elegance and stuffiness that Ritz is famous for you will be dissapointed. By the way there are several other hotels in Cancun that I would stay at before the Ritz (if price was no object). EMAIL ME IF you need more info !!

hi:


SEE BELOW !!

I , like Carol,have been advised by travel agent to go to Sun Palace in March. I have 2 children(girl 20, non drinker, boy 15, also ND)--- We have been to Cancun before, stayed at Oasis, OK but no frills. We primarily enjoy just beach activities, sun, snorkeling, sailing, etc. Sun Palace seems like it would be very nice but about the All- Inclusive aspect, how is the food served(buffet, order from menu??) Also, how is quality of food compared to other restaurants in area? Any advice you could give is appreciated. Thanks.

Dave,
When will your family be at the Sun Palace? We leave friday the 13th and return to dallas on 15th.
I hear that the food is average. Breakfast is your best bet. Omletes made to order. Lunch is buffet. Dinner is buffet or sit down at one of the resturants. That's all I've been able to find out

Went to the Sun Palace a little over a year ago. The hotel itself is lovely lots of marble and glass. The suites are georgeous with huge two people jacuzzi's and large rooms and bathrooms. The hotel and rooms are very clean. The pool could use a good scrub out however. The beach was great, lots of white sand beautiful sea, well you get the picture. Some of the suites on the upper floors do not have balconies or terraces if this is important to you and the windows only open a couple of inches. As for the food....the word awful comes to mind and the drinks by the pool aren't very good either but at the bar near the lobby they are better. Dinners were either buffet or menu. Service for bars and restaurants was terrible. Long lines and cold food and a super long wait. I hope for your sake these things have improved. I can only give you my experience there.

I do not recommend the Sun Palace. Stayed there three years ago. We always have fun where ever we go, but I would choose another hotel next time. Please understand that the "suites" are JUNIOR suites, unless you upgrade to a larger, more expensive one. We were unhappy with the rooms, and traded two junior suites for a 2 BR Master suite, which I must say was lovely. The food is good but nothing to write home about. The pool is too small for my taste, but may do for others. I found it crowded. The beach is very nice there and not too croweded. We missed several meals, because there is so much to do around Cancun, and there are some very good restaurants (DOZENS!) I do not recommend an all-inclusive in Cancun. The Ritz does not apprear to be the best in their chain either, but I am sure it has Ritz qualities. If you prefer upscale hotels as we do, I would suggest the Melia, Fiesta Americana CONDESA (there are three different Fiesta Americana's), Westin Regina, Caesars Park, Continental Plaza or the Omni. In my humble, but very picky opinion, these are the best hotels in Cancun. E-mail me if you would like more of our experiences. Our motto: "We've been thrown out of better places than this!" (We like to party hard in only the best places)

Thanks for all of those that answered my original post regarding the Sun Palace. I knew from the feed back that the place was not going to be for us but by then all other hotels were sold out due to Spring break. Just returned and things were as you described. Food was terrible and service was inconsistent. The place was clean and employees were very friendly. Spent most nights eating away from the hotel. All-inclusive is not the way to go in Cancun unless you just don't want ever leave your hotel. Many people seemed to enjoy it but we should have stayed at the Marriott, Cesear Park or the Ritz. Live and learn. Thanks again for your help

Am enjoying the discussion on the Sun Palace. We went with our family of five in January, stayed two nights and checked out to the Fiesta Americana Coral Beach. Found the location to be too far away from everything, the food so-so and our room was noisey(right on the highway)and smelled like the kitchen. We had a great time at the Coral Beach!

Carol, I am a senior travel counsellor and have
also just been to Cancun. If you ever had the desire to return stay at the Camino Real Hotel
non all inclusive. I checked a dozen properties
while I was there and found the non-all inclusive
hotels have superior service. This property has
2 beaches, good for snorkeling and children and the
food and service is first class and is much quieter
than the noisy all inclusives of Cancun. I have
been travelling for 25 years (3 times yearly in
the last 5) and have been to most of the caribbean.
I am a Canadian Travel Counsellor working from my
home now, formerly 8 years with a large consortium
travel agency. If you are looking for a travel
counsellor that is interested in your personal
happiness on your vacation contact when you would
like to travel again.
Regards,

Bettyann

P.S. Sorry I did not find your message until you
had already travelled.

Bettyanne and nan,
I wish I had talked to you before we went....I have never used these boards before this trip to Mexico and we travel 2-3 times a year. I have found the post here to be very objective and informative and from well informed and seasoned travelers however they are slow in response time and very few posts. I had posted the same message on the AOL Cancun/travel section and recieved quick and numerous responses. Those post were all very positive regarding the Sun Palace. I've learned you have to be careful who you listen to. If I could have moved out of the Sun I would have. Bettyann, if you could e-mail me some information regarding what services you provide and what areas you feel that you specialize in I would be interested. I;m definetly seeking a new travel agent after this last trip.

I saw your suggestion in Fodors about Cancun Hotels and I would like to ask you some questions. If you have time, I would appreciate a response.

My fiance and I are going to the Moon Palace in the middle of April. Do you think this is a nice all-inclusive? If not, do you think I have time to book in another hotel?

Thank you in advance for your response,
Andres

Please help! I have booked my honeymoon in June at the Sun Palace. I have read your message about the Sun Palace. Please suggest some alternatives. All-inclusive or not?

Please help!

Frank: If you do a search on Cancun.Chat you will find a very active board on Cancun and many people who have traveled to the Sun Palace and had a great time and were very satisfied with the food. I respect others opinion but I have a hard time when people go to extremes and call the food awful or terrible. When we went we were smart enough to learn about the other restaurants within Sun Palace and Palace resorts and not review the food based on the mediocre dinner buffet. Any travel agent that told their client that an "ALL INCLUSIVE" would rival the RITZ is incompetant and shouldn't be used again. The Sun Palace compares very favorably with any "ALL INCLUSIVE" in Cancun but if you and your bride to be are very picky about what cuts of meat or fish you eat or what brand of booze or beer you drink you should forget about an "ALL INCLUSIVE" in Cancun. Other very nice NON "ALL INCLUSIVE " in Cancun includes CAESAR PARK, THE OMINI or the Fiesta AMERICANA CORAL BEACH. ALL are excellent hotels. And I do agree if you stay in the hotel Zone a "ALL INCLUSIVE RESORT" is not needed. EMail ME IF YOU NEED TO !!

Don,
Totally agree that "terrible" is a sweeping generalization of the food. Sorry, should have been more specific. Upon arrival, I was suprised of the variety of the food and since we were starving we dug in. My husband and eight year old both got huge helpings of rice. After several bites we discovered it was infected with load of small bugs and some still alive. During our time there I also observed many basic sanitation rules being violated regarding the serving of the food. Needless to say, we were suspect of the food the entire stay. Just wanted to save everyone the gory details....should have been be specific

Hi!

My husband and I are planning a trip to Mexico in August, and I was intrigued by the Sun Palace Resort. Although I read the other messages on the Fodor's Message Board which were generally not to enthusiastic about the food, I figured I would contact you directly since you were to have travelled there this month and see what your take was.

Please feel free to be as honest as necessary.

Thanx!

Ivy Duke