the Mayan Riviera - 8 adults, 6 teens
 

We're trying to put together a family reunion which will probably be in December 2014 as I don't think this can be done for this Dec. (3 different school districts to juggle so December break is our only option.)
We're a family that likes outdoor activities more than night-life and laid-back rather than glitzy.
We think an AI would work best with so many people.
Any suggestions as to towns and resorts would be much appreciated.

You actually might be better off looking into a condo in Playa del Carmen. You could then visit ruins, zip line, snorkel in cenotes, etc. Of course you can do all that from an AI resort also.
For good family resorts, look into the Iberostars, Barcelos, and Sandos resorts.

locogringo.com has lots of condos/villa rentals.

Otherwise, ClubMed Cancun might be a great option for you...

Thanks for your replies.
I've been looking at the websites of the resorts you mentioned. Pretty overwhelming!
Is there any one Iberostar, Barcelo and/or Sandos resort you favor over the others in the same chain either because of location or ambiance?
Club Med is a real possibility.

We prefer the Iberostar Paraiso Lindo since there you can eat ala carte dinners every night of your stay and have a concierge in your building to make the reservations for you. It is a step or two above the IB Tucan/Quetzal.
However, the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal is a smaller resort with a very "jungle" feel to it. There you can only eat ala carte dinners three nights for a seven night stay. The rest of your meal would be at buffets.
The Barceló have five sections so it is a huge resort, but on a very nice beach and you can snorkel right there.

Thanks so much for the info.
The Barcelo site shows 2 hotels in Cancun and 5 in the Riviera Maya. Is there one you prefer? We don't need/want a kids club as the kids are teenagers (except for an 11 year old who will want to be with the others).
Snorkeling on site would a big plus. Do you know which of the Barcelos has it?
the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal looks like what we'd like, but do you know if it has on-site snorkeling?
What do you think of Sandos' Caracol Eco-resort? The "eco" is what attracted me! Again on-site snorkeling is a perk.
(Club Med pretty much booked up for THIS December)

We prefer the Riviera Maya resort rather than Cancun.
The Barcelos in the Riviera Maya have decent snorkeling right off their beach.
The IB Tucan/Quetzal does seem to be more what you are looking for since it is a smaller resort. There is a great beach, but I'm not sure if the snorkeling is any good there. Right next to the IB T/C is Sandos Playacar which might interest you.

schmerl-
Thanks so much for your help!
We are looking into your suggestions.
Surprisingly, most of the resorts still have availability at the end of December. So this may even happen for this year!

<<<"What do you think of Sandos' Caracol Eco-resort?">>>>>>
The "eco" refers to their mission of trying to use eco friendly products, etc. There is also a lot of jungle, animals, etc. there. Hence....bugs. The beach there is not very good for swimming either.

Here is the link to my Riviera Maya travel report.. hope it is helpful! http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...vel-report.cfm

Many thanks! Continuing to plan.
On the down side, most of these hotels consider over age 12 as adults - some won't allow more than 3 adults in a room - so we'd have to have 5 rooms for 4 families instead of 4 rooms. May become very pricey!

Like I said back in the beginning of the thread, you might be better off looking into a condo in Playa del Carmen.

like schmerl said.... vrbo.com

You're right - I've been browsing.
Villas/condos - this is the way to go.
Thanks.

I know our condo building limits the number of people in the unit to four. You may need several units. If you want help getting everyone into the same complex let me know as my neighbors and I share information. With that many people the resorts will definitely not all more than 3 to a room. We used to do this with our sons and their friends but it got too pricey so now we have our own place.

We allow up to 6 people in our two bedroom condo in Playa del Carmen, a block from the beach. Our condos do not set a limit, the owners do. We can accommodate 4 on beds and 2 on a queen size inflatable bed. I think you could rent 3 two bedroom condos like ours, there are several like ours in our complex where people have two bedrms and an extra inflatable bed, or bunk beds.

Yes, technically all the owners voted to only allow 4 to a unit so that we were not having huge crowds of people sleeping on floors. Helps keep the numbers down in the complex.

Yes, technically all the owners voted to only allow 4 to a unit so that we were not having huge crowds of people sleeping on floors. Helps keep the numbers down in the complex.

hard to enforce this. stack em up like cord wood.