Azul Beach Resort Cancun: The Good, The Bad and The Smelly!

Sun, white sand beaches, and turquoise water draw millions of people to the Cancun area every year. It’s an easy flight from most major cities and has something for everyone.

I booked 5 nights at the Azul Beach Resort in a Junior swim-out suite, before I read any reviews. I was super concerned after I eventually watched several on YouTube. Guests mentioned that staff made them feel like they overstayed their welcome. Others didn’t love the food and wished they booked other resorts.

This is an honest, unsponsored, review of our stay.

***One note, we visited in June 2021. At that point the resort was operating at 50% capacity which may or may not impact service.***

CHECK-IN IMPRESSIONS

We arrived at the resort around 1:30 p.m., on a Sunday afternoon, but check-in wasn’t until 3 p.m. We were already aware of the check-in time from other reviews, but I wanted to see what kind of reception we would receive. Some reviews mentioned the reception was chilly, front desk staff was rude, and people didn’t feel welcome.

I’m happy to report we did not experience any of this!

The bellmen went out of their way to take our luggage as soon as we stepped out of the shuttle upon arrival. We left everything with them, except passports and a wallet because we assumed we’d need those to actually check-in at the resort.

When we reached the front desk, the staff was efficient and helpful. They even immediately explained what we needed to do to schedule our COVID test before leaving the resort. We learned our room wasn’t ready because we arrived before 3 p.m., but we were welcomed to explore the resort and have lunch, if we wanted.

As soon as we turned around to leave the desk, someone was there with a bubbly welcome drink. As we sat in the lobby with our drinks, a bartender came over, introduced himself as Oscar, and asked if we wanted another drink in the nearby Mojito Bar.

Review of the Mojito Bar at Azul Beach Resort Rivera Cancun

After enjoying several, we decided to grab some lunch and then go to our room. When we arrived at our suite, our luggage had already arrived.

THE ROOM

Our suite turned out to be incredibly large. It included a separate bathroom area with a water closet and shower with a waterfall showerhead. The bathroom had a makeup mirror and a hairdryer. Body wash, shampoo and conditioner was all available in the shower. There was also a separate jacuzzi. 

The A/C worked incredibly well, and we even had to turn up the temperature so it wasn’t as cold. 

The minibar was stocked with water, soda, and beer. You will not find any hard liquor in a regular room. It wasn’t a big deal for us because of the location of our room. We stepped out onto our patio and were at the pool bar in about 15 steps.

Our room was also incredibly quiet, even being so close to the pool. During the day we could hear the music, but noise wasn’t an issue at night.

THE POOLS

Our room had fantastic access to the adults-only pool. I also liked that there was a channel with direct access from the swim-out suites to the pool. You didn’t have to get out of the water to reach the larger pool and the swim-up bar.

The pools were never full, which was incredibly nice. They did get loud during the afternoon, but that just added to the atmosphere. 

The only issue seemed to be the cabanas around the adults-only pool. As you’ll hear from other reviews, they are claimed incredibly early in the morning and people occupy them all day.

RESERVATIONS AND RESTAURANTS

I was disappointed to lean when we arrived that Le Chique, the resort’s award-winning restaurant was closed because of the pandemic. According to the resort, Le Chique  has been rated one of Latin America’s top 50 restaurants and one of Mexico’s top 25 places to eat.

The pandemic also impacted the other restaurants at the resort. Restaurants were only open certain hours each day. For example, Spoon, the buffet was only open for breakfast. Lunch was served at either Zavaz or a small buffet near one of the pools. Pizza Pizza was open for lunch and through the afternoon, but closed before dinner. Zocalo, Tapaz, and Siena were only open in the evening.

This was different than the hours listed on the resort’s website. We even called the resort before we left and were told that nothing was closed because of the pandemic.

Overall we enjoyed the food, just don’t expect extensive options. Room service was also good, there just weren’t a lot of options on the menu.

Reservations are needed for dinner, and there is a loose dress code. That means no flipflops, no hats or tank tops for men, and no swimming suits.

I showed up to Tapaz the first night without a reservation and wearing flipflops, shorts and a t-shirt, just to see what would happen. We went very early, and not during the dinner rush, but the staff seated us immediately and didn’t even mention our clothing. 

Other guests were dressed casually and some men even wore board shorts. There were also a lot of people dressed up for the evening.

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THE SALES PITCH

Even though you paid a lot of money for your room at this resort, you’re going to get a sales pitch about a discount membership. Expect it to be like a timeshare pitch, without the annual fee and there are no blackout dates.

We attended it so I could explain what you can expect. We were told it would last about an hour. We were tied up for at least 2 hours, toured the resort and were pitched pretty hard by 3 different people.

In exchange we could get 2 free 25-minute massages OR a BOGO snorkeling OR catamaran tour, and $50 off a tour or anything at the gift shop. We skipped the massages and instead used the BOGO offer and $50 on the catamaran tour to Isla Mujeres. The tour would have cost $200 for 2 people. We paid a total of $65 after the discounts. An additional $15 per person tax wasn’t covered and we paid that at the marina.

If you’re interested in the discount vacation membership, you’ll basically buy-in at around $12,500 that must be paid over the next 5 years. They will also throw in $2,000 worth of airfare, for an additional charge, every year for the next decade. Membership increases to about $150,000, depending on the perks and level you buy.

There are also other discounts on things like spa treatments and dinner on the beach if you are interested. If the sales pitch isn’t for you, just tell them the first time they start talking about it.

THE STAFF

I really can’t say enough about the staff. Everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly. Even the maintenance staff. I know because we managed to lock ourselves out of our room twice! Maintenance had to cut the safety lock to get us back inside one of the times. They even returned minutes later to put a new lock on the door for us.

Our concierge actually hunted us down in the pool to see if we needed anything because she didn’t see us for a couple of days. 

Housekeeping made sure we had everything we needed, including an extra blanket upon request.

THE SEAWEED

OK, now to the only issue that may actually keep us from booking this resort again.

THE SEAWEED!

I knew seaweed was an issue in the entire Cancun area (not just this resort) during warmer months, but I seriously underestimated the amount that would washup on the beach. I mean you want to use the beach if you book a beachfront resort, right?

There was so much seaweed on the beach and yards into the water that Azul closed the beach. The beach bar wasn’t open, they didn’t serve food on the beach, and while cabanas were up, staff didn’t even bother putting out loungers.

The resort even created a “seaweed department” in 2018 to deal with the issue, but there is so much workers can’t make a dent in it. There is construction equipment on the beach piling up the seaweed, but it just keeps watching ashore.

AND THE SMELL!!! The rotting seaweed smells horrible.

OVERALL REVIEW

If you get a great deal on this resort, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. We really enjoyed the swim-up suite option and the majority of the food we ate was very good. Just keep the seaweed issue in mind when you make your decision, because you likely won’t be able to escape it in warmer months.