Hyatt Ziva Cancun - January 2018

For two people that have always considered themselves very against all-inclusive resorts (“But what do you do there??”) we recently found ourselves booking a trip to one of the nicest all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, Mexico.

About two weeks before we landed on the sunny shores of Cancun, we were shivering our booties off in freezing rain, and I was personally counting down the days until the sun was shining again! Cut to the stars aligning and us finding an incredible deal and cheap flights, and we were on our way south of the border for sun relaxation and sunshine!

We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva Cancun Resort.

This resort is family friendly, but don't let that put you off if you’re not into sharing your vacations with little ones. We stayed in their adults-only tower, Turquoize Tower. Now we’re not ones to splurge, but I am so glad we decided to upgrade to this particular area of the resort.

Our upgrade came with a jacuzzi on our ocean-front balcony, access to the adult-only infinity pool, and a 24/7 butler. Our room was fabulous. They had a bottle of whisky waiting for us on check in and we chose the “relax” aromatherapy for our room so the room smelled incredible all week! The room had a gigantic shower right in the middle, with glass on three sides so that when you were taking a shower, you could see right out to the ocean.

To be honest, we have always felt a little weird about having a butler. We’re very independent people and didn't think we would use the butler at all, but it was nice to have the option! Our butler did decorate our room for check in and also ran us a bubble bath in the Jacuzzi one night after we came back from dinner! If you’ve never had a warm bubble bath waiting for you, and if that bubble bath wasn’t out on your oceanfront balcony, then you’re missing out!

But the best part of our room for sure was the balcony.

Our room was on the second to the top floor, on the corner, so our balcony overlooked both the Gulf of Mexico waters and the Caribbean Sea. I woke up at 6:50 AM every morning, went out to our balcony (which had a lovely chaise lounge) and watched the sunrise. If I could do that every morning for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly content.

The thing we used most with our upgrade was the adults-only infinity pool. It was located right above the lobby and was only accessible by swiping your room key in a private elevator. This pool had the most amazing views of the whole resort. Plus the bottom of the pool had glass windows over the lobby, so cool!

Some of my favorite moments were at that pool: drifting along in the sun-warmed water, laying in the cabanas drinking coconut water straight from the coconut, sipping frozen chocolate-y drinks in the rain (it rained for part of our stay but we didn't care - we were wet anyway!) But the rest of the resort had amazing pools, too! 

Then there was the beach! The private beach was small, but it certainly made up for it in terms of beauty! Most resorts in Cancun have the straw bungalows, and ours was no exception. They were an amazing way to stay out of the sun and still enjoy the everything the beach had to offer. And the waiters bringing you drinks while you lounge in the sand doesn’t hurt either!

The water was so clear, it was a great way to try out our new full face snorkel mask!

Also, have I mentioned the hammocks in the water? This was one of this things I was looking forward to the most, and did not disappoint!

Because the Hyatt Ziva Cancun is a family resort, they had a lot of activities to do around the property. There was a dolphin pool on site where you could swim and do tricks with the dolphins if you wanted (I’m not sure how I felt about this, but we often saw trainers and caretakers with the dolphins, so they didn't look like they were being neglected). They also had a floating inflatable iceberg in the water to try and scale (Barry did it twice, I on the other hand, lack the upper body strength to really get the job done), and a floating trampoline. Both were a ton of fun! You could also rent paddle boards, kayaks, snorkeling equipment and boogie boards for water fun!

The resort also has a really fun area to explore near the tip of the peninsula. There was a rocky jetty with a lighthouse and it was fun to walk around and explore! Plus it was an excellent place to search for seashells!

So it's an all- inclusive, right? What about the food? Well, to be honest most of the food on the property was just ok. I mean, look, it was free so I am not one to complain about a “free” meal, but the food could have been a bit better. Don’t get me wrong - a lot of the food was tasty! The steaks on property were good, and I probably ate twice my bodyweight in Brie cheese. Did you know that frozen Brie cheese is a dessert? Well it is and its great!

They also have a really cute coffee shop we went to every morning. One of the baristas there was an amazing latte foam artist. He made me an adorable little snail (I had wanted a sloth, but the word for sloth in spanish is VERY different, and it is very difficult to explain what a sloth is!) and he made Barry a cute lion (although Barry still insists it was a dragon).

Also the drinks - the drinks were great! A lot of people told us that the drinks are watered down in Mexico, but this was definitely not the case at our resort! We like to drink, but are never out to get silly drunk, so the quality of our drinks are important and Hyatt Ziva Cancun did not disappoint

They have a margarita bar called Juana Margarita and at night they have tequila tastings. Now, I am not a huge tequila fan, but now I am thinking that maybe I just hadn’t had the right kind of tequila. The tasting reminded me of a wine tasting. First we had to check the viscosity and when we took a sip, we pressed the sip of tequila to the roof of our mouths and inhaled. Finally, we swished it around our mouth to get the full taste before swallowing. Who knew tasting tequila was more than singing the “1-tequila, 2-tequila” song?

I can definitely say that Cancun turned me into a margarita fan! Specifically, watermelon margaritas. Yummy!!

So in the end, we enjoyed ourselves. Would we stay at an all inclusive again? Probably! We did both have the same thought that while it was nice, it would have been a lot more fun with a big group of people to hang out with!