Marriott Cancun Hotels
 

We are thinking of Cancun in June. Which of the 2 Marriotts in Cancun is better for a family of 5? kids' ages range from 3 to 11? Marriott CasaMagna Cancun Resort or the J.W. Marriott Resort? Anything to do for kids in Cancun? How expensive are restaurants? Should we get an all inclusive package? Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes, you should go all inclusive whereever you stay. Make sure the hotel you pick has a variety of places to eat. We stayed at the Royal Solaris and there were 5 places to eat. It made it nice because I've had friends stay at hotels that had less and they got bored with the food.
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Amy

I think with your family you might try the Playa del Carmen area. Many AI's and activities to keep your chidren occupied. I have stayed at the CasaMagna and it is a lovely hotel with a nice beach area. Food is expensive and it is very quiet. There is a bus that takes you downtown for a quarter.

I was convinced that the JW Marriot was for me. It's location in the hotel zone, the views, the pool and the newness all added up to that being the right choice for me. My only reservations (please pardon the pun) was dealing with the daily grind of eating and drinking. If it were only my wife and I, I would deal with the inconvenience.... that incovenience being shelling out money at every turn... and that's exactly what it will be like. I only wished JW had an all inclusive because it would have been a done deal, but as I noticed, the better hotels in Cancun don't offer AI for obvious reasons.. again, my opinion.
After many reiviews I decided on the Riu Palace (Play del Carmen) primarilay because of it's location among the other properties, access to the other Riu properties and the food recieved many decent if not favorable reviews. Although this property seems to attract couples, there are children that are welcomed, though they do not promote many children's activities. But I don't think that will be a problem. I don't know if I helpded or confused you more, but just something else to consider.

Thanks for the advice, it seems that Playa Del Carmen is a better choice for us. Any advice on resorts? How's the Gala Resort?

Actually the Marriott Casa Magna offers an all inclusive plan. When we stayed there last month we noticed a lot of the guests were wearing arm bands and I asked one what it was for and it was to indicate that they were AI guests. So, it is available. Don't know about JW.

JW offers a "European Plan" with breakfast (excellent breakfast buffet).

However, I would say that the JW is not really geared towards families. I've been there a couple of times, and there were very few kids, and it was mostly couples. The Casa Magna is a lot more kid friendly, I believe.

When I was at the CasaMagna in August several years ago, it was extremely quiet. It was in no way geared for young adults. I had 15, 16 year olds with me and they were extremely bored at hotel. The Gala Resorts and others are far more geared towards families. You may try locogringo.com for comments on AI in the Playa area.