We fly to cancun on 21 of august. we are a family of 4 ( 2 boys with 9 and 11).
we want advise about resorts, hotels in Cancum or Playa del Carmen. First we prefer a nice, sandy and clean beach, Second a good 4/5 star hotel.
Can someone give some names of Resorts or Hotels.

Nuno

There are dozens. I personally prefer the playa del Carmen area over cancun but there are nice places in both locations. We've satyed (with our kids) at the Barcelo Maya (1 1/2 yrs ago) and Gala (several years ago). Both have very nice beaches and I beleive are listed as 5*. There's also some Iberostars in the area that are frequently recommended here. When we most recently went to the Barcelo, my son was 11. He really enjoyed the sports related contests and activities (which none of the rest of us participated in at all). He also was thrilled with the availability of tennis and basketball courts (as you can tell he's the sporty type). I like the idea that there was never a problem finding a shady spot by the pool or ocean. If I remember correctly, chairs at the Gala were claimed early inthe morning, if you tried to find one inthe afternoon, it was not easy. I would say the food at both was comparable. Every AI I've ever been to, the 1st few days I enjoy the food, by the last few, I'm pretty much sick of it. But there is always variety and plenty for picky kids. Gala is very close to the town of PDC (where you can also catch the ferry to cozumel). Barcelo, is more isolated, maybe a 15 min cab ride to PDC. Overall they are pretty similar.

Can you let us know what your preferences are - like do you want a kids club, pool, AI, smaller hotel, etc...

The best 4/5 star hotels are:

The Ritz Carlton
JW Marriott
Marriott Casa Magna
Le Meridien
Fiesta Americana Condesa
The Hilton

These are all in Cancun on a wonderful beach...

You left out the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach.

All the resorts I mentioned are AIs. I've never stayed in a non-AI in Mexico.

You don't want an AI if you want 4 or 5 star food unless you count Royal Hideaway.

Not any 4 or 5 star resorts in Playa del Carmen, but there are some further out of town.

I agree with most of the other posters.

My list (most were already mentioned) is:

Five star -

Ritz Carlton
JW Marriott
Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach

Four star -

Le Meridien
Intercontinental Presidente

With the family, you might want to consider a condo. Royal Resorts offers a wide selection of outstanding 2 bedroom condos in Cancun. All have excellent facilities--most of which are at no additional charge.
These are timeshares--I owned at 2 of them for many years. They are the originators of the timeshare concept in Cancun and you will not be pressured to buy when you stay with them. (they sell without resorting to these tactics)
You can find more at www.royalresorts.com. I would highly recommend this opposed to the AI's. Then you will have the chance to sample the excellent restaurants in the area, including the well priced resort restaurants.

Ditto RobertSDF's reply. Also as an owner at the Royals, having the extra space of the two bedrooms and the fully equipped kitchen is the way to go with kids. The facilities are 5 star, beautiful white sand beaches, and top notch restaurants both on site and in Cancun itself. The reasonable cost of food and the huge variety and number of restaurants make all-inclusive unnecessary and very restrictive. You should go all-inclusive, however, if you go to Playa as getting around is not as easy unless you rent a car. The beaches in the Riviera Maya are generally not as nice as those found in Cancun's Caribbean hotel zone. You are late in making reservations. Whatever you decide, do so quickly.

Thank you all.

First we prefer THE BEST BEACH.
Second we prefer a nice hotel.
It can be AI or not.
We prefer a 4 Star hotel with a good beach than a 5 star with a not so good beach.

Thanks

NUNO

for me, the "best" beach is the one by the Ritz, the Marriotts, FA Condesa. (all the same beach)
The views, sand, water are all gorgeous.
But for reliably calm water, people swear by the FA Grand Coral Beach Hotel.

I'm not familiar with Cancun. We always go to less populated areas south of Cancun. The best beaches are Xpu-Ha and Tulum. Go to locogringo.com and check out their aerial views and beach reviews. I have friends who stayed at Copacabana in Xpu-Ha and liked it. We stay in Tulum - this year at Rancho San Eric. Last year at Los Lirios. Another time we stayed Captain Lafitte north of Playa (the beach front or north side are the way to go) We have a son who is 11; there are a lot of interesting things to expose them to in the area: sea turtle nesting, ruins, cenotes. Get a map from cancunmap.com; they are extremely useful.

The best (prettiest, clear water, powdery sand) beaches in Cancun are in the south hotel zone. The hotel zone is laid out like a large number 7 with the city of Cancun being at the top and the airport toward the end of the 7. Now the surf is not calm along this stretch of beach, but its not unswimmable. The beaches toward the northern part of the 7 are smaller and can be a little rocky in places, but not bad. And several of the resorts have a man made reef as protection against the surf which means the water is calmer.

Thanks again

The beach in Cancun is better than the other places like Playa del Carmen??

And in the south part of Cancun is there any good AI hotel?

Thanks

NUNO

I have only been to PDC twice and in PDC itself I didn't think the beaches were that nice as compared to the ones in Cancun. I think a little south of PDC like Playacar, the beaches are better. For me, I prefer the beaches in Cancun.

As for a good AI in the south hotel zone in Cancun, I'm not sure of one. But we stayed at the Omni in June, which is in the south hotel zone. They are not an AI hotel, but you can purchase their AI option for all or part of your stay. After the first day, we purchased the option for 3 days and it was well worth it. We paid $85 each per day for the AI. What's nice about their all inclusive is that you can order ala carte for each meal. They don't have a lot of buffets. All their restaurants have excellent food.

The Omni is a beautiful hotel and the grounds, pool area, and beach are outstanding. It has a 4 diamond AAA rating by the hotel industry. We loved our stay there.

If you want to stay in Cancun, you should go to tripadvisor.com and check out the hotel reviews