Choosing a honeymoon location was difficult, very difficult. I agonized over many places and destinations, between cruises, all-inclusives, and other hotels. Finally, it came down to Aventura Spa Resort and Xpu-Ha, both Palace Resorts located on the Riviera Maya. We compared the two, and decided on Aventura Spa Palace for the spa atmosphere, wedding location, and because it was adults only (18+).

There are numerous Palace Resorts in Mexico. Xpu-Ha is less than one hour south of Cancun on the Riviera Maya. It is just a few miles south of Aventura. Each location is an all-inclusive, and you can take a free shuttle from one Palace Resort to another. As they say, stay at one, play at them all.

I was surprised to learn that Xpu-Ha is not only a hotel but a tourist attraction; hence, this review, because we visited and spent two whole days at the resort. There were buses of tourists from Cancun and other places that were at Xpu-Ha when we were there. This is not only a hotel but an eco-park where you can easily spend hours going to the beach, lagoon, estuary, animal exhibits, restaurants, and other attractions. This place used to be Xpu Ha Eco Park and was later made into a Palace Resort. I can see where they are still making additions to this resort; for example, adding a gazebo by the ocean lagoon and more hotel rooms.

I do not know how much it costs to spend an all-inclusive day at Xpu-Ha, as I was obviously coming from another Palace Resort.


Xpu-Ha Palace ("ish-pu-ha")

Xpu-Ha used to be known only as an eco-park. It was only recently that hotel rooms were added to the property.

This is an easy place to find. From Cancun, you follow Highway 307 south. Xpu-Ha is spelled out in enormous letters and there is a gigantic archway as you drive in. There are also road signs that point to the turn. Unlike Aventura, the hotel lobby is right as you pull in (instead of a distance down the road).

The lobby is a gorgeous outdoor lobby with a palapa-style roof (thatched roof). We took pictures of the lobby there because it is amazing, with a beautiful chandelier and incredible tile mosaic floor. As you walk out of the lobby, a covered walkway meanders through paved paths that have trees mingled in the walkway. There are enclosures with animals in them, such as coatamundis and monkeys.

There are numerous areas to the resort, so we did quite a bit of exploring. I spent a half-day there as part of a tour to Tulum, and then we decided to go back for a full day a few days later.


Rooms

I obviously did not stay at Xpu-Ha, but I had some observations on their rooms. We were impressed with Aventura's 1266 rooms, and although Xpu-Ha covers 90 acres, it has only 464 rooms. The rooms are arranged in small palapa or bungalow-style buildings, which look like little huts. As "eco" as this place soundssounds, the rooms are very nice, and very different from how you would expect - very luxurious! Each room is just like Aventura's rooms and has a double Jacuzzi, satellite television, balcony, and much more.

Looking up into the roofs, you are looking into the structure of the palapa (no traditional ceiling). The hotel rooms are arranged scattered around the property and are not clustered in just one spot. I thought the rooms are really neat. I have seen many pictures of the rooms through chatting with other brides on theknot.com, and have heard raves. The accommodations seem to be on the same par as Aventura, with a unique twist.


Getting Around

There is a lot of ground to cover at Xpu-Ha. I never have a problem walking unless we are on a time budget. There are many golf carts (with several rows of seats) that offer rides around the hotel property. There are also bikes available for use, although they had all been taken when we were there. One of the guests there told me that she lucked out a few days in finding two to use, but after that there never seemed to be any available or that they were just plain broken, which presented a frustration. We both agreed that people who stay at the hotel should be assigned bikes. I would be highly irritated to stay there and not be able to find bikes because visitors from outside the resort were using them!

There are little "bus stops" throughout the resort that are covered and have benches. We did utilize these spots on occasion after swimming and not wanting to trek around in wet flip flops and soggy snorkeling gear, and I found it to be convenient.


Eco-Park Features & Animal Exhibits

There are a variety of animal exhibits. Outside of the lobby there are large enclosures with animals like monkeys and coatimundis. There are water exhibits like flamingos, crocodiles, and turtles.

There is also an aviary and trails where you can see deer, etc., but those areas require entrance by an eco-park guide. We missed our chance to catch a tour, and I would have liked to go. People were talking about how they got up very close to the animals that roam around freely in the tour area.

There are some short trails that we enjoyed. The paths alone were very nice, and I was interested in the exotic plants, from some tropical ones to cacti to others. We also saw some wildlife, including squirrels (who knew?!) and some coatimundis. There was a pond that had a viewing platform with fish food mounted in a bucket, and there were about 6 coatimundis that had gotten into the food, and were fairly tame, which made for some really great photos. It was nice to see animals that were not in an enclosure, even though all of the exhibits were nice.

We also saw some other critters along the way. Some of these included a small blue land crab, hermit crabs, dragonflies, lizards, birds, and much more.


Ocean Lagoon, Pools & Beach

Xpu-Ha has both a lagoon and a beach. The lagoon is a protected area that is fed by the ocean. There are docks with staircases where you can easily enter the water. There were plenty of fish, and we saw a variety of kinds as we swam around to different areas of the lagoon. You can swim out by where the water enters the lagoon, which has small waves, to the more sheltered areas along the edges of the lagoon.

They also have fish food in buckets set up along the outside of the lagoon. We brought in some fish food, and were absolutely swarmed with fish. At one point one kid was screaming about how he had gotten bitten by a fish (obviously not harmed), and then when my husband was swimming, some fish were nibbling on him as well (nothing to be concerned about, more of just a testament to how many fish there are!).

I got great photos of fish both from outside the lagoon with a regular camera, and also with some underwater cameras.

I did not go swimming at the beach since it was getting late, but we did lounge on it! There are plenty of lounge chairs out, many of which are under palapas, which provide shade or at least a spot for setting one's drinks. The water looked inviting and good for a swim, but we had already spent so much time in the water, I just enjoyed some sun.

At the beach, there is an outside shower, bathrooms, a little convenience stand, an activities hut, and other amenities. My husband complained that the bathrooms were small, there was nowhere to hang things, and made it difficult to change (for dinner).

There are two pools, which are both very nice. We stopped at the snack area and bar that is next to one of the pools, and spent some time in the pool. It was very refreshing and the pools are gorgeous.


Estuary/Cenote

Xpu-Ha has its own estuary, which you could also consider to be a cenote ("say-note-tays"). These are water-filled sinkholes, and look much like a mangrove.

There is a place you can rent life jackets, snorkels, flippers, and other equipment at one part of the estuary. The snorkel tubes were cool because you got your own, wrapped in plastic, for keeps. My husband went into the estuary off a dock area where you take stairs down into the water onto a platform, from which is it easy to swim. The water is very, very clear and I could see lots of fish in the water. My husband said the water was chilly, and I opted not to go swimming because it was slightly drizzling and I was already feeling chilly.

However, a little later, the sun came out, and we took a kayak out in the estuary. There are both one-person and two-person kayaks. Again, they have stairs that go into the water on to a submerged deck, which makes it a breeze to get in the kayaks. We explored around the estuary for a while, and found it nice and peaceful. The kayaks are just sit-on-top ones, which are a cinch to use and require no instruction.

I have heard various rumors about manatees in the cenote. You can only swim in a small portion of the estuary, so you are not likely to see a manatee. Supposedly, there are two in there, but they are shy, and the resort does not quite publicize the manatees. We certainly did not see any, but it is a neat thing to think that they are in there.


Restaurants

There are three restaurants and a snack bar on the premises. The restaurants are Italian, Oriental, and Mexican. We ate at "Bambu" for lunch, and then "Regazzi" for dinner, as well as the snack bar (on different days). We just had buffet-style food, but it was pretty good. There is quite a variety and an interesting assortment of food. The staff is really friendly and helpful, just like Aventura, and the waiter melted/molded swizzle sticks into various animals! When we ate at Regazzi for dinner, and the ever-present cats showed up. I think we had kitty visitors at every single place we ate at in Mexico! They were friendly and were very happy to get food from visitors.

The snack bar was also pretty good. I always loved the chips and guacamole at Aventura, and I definitely liked it at Xpu-Ha as well.

There is also a cart that someone drives around with various drinks. It was awesome because you're walking down the paths in the hot sun, and someone drives by and asks if you want a drink. So you're kind of like, sure, I could go for an ice cold Pepsi!


My Experiences, Thoughts, Tips

The reasons why I did not choose Xpu-Ha were pretty simple. I simply was looking for somewhere to get married, and Aventura Spa Palace was just a more elegant atmosphere. I have an environmental studies background, and I found Xpu-Ha a very appealing concept. When it came down to it, the 18 policy at Aventura clinched the deal. The two hotels are simply very different! As I say, give me 10 years and two kids, and I'll gladly stay at Xpu-Ha.

I recommend knowing some Spanish. I was surprised at how much I really could have used at least a basic understanding of Spanish. They did not speak much English at either Aventura or Xpu-Ha, and in retrospect, I would like to have been better prepared. Even knowing simple words would have made things much easier. I am definitely going back to Aventura and will make an effort to study some Spanish before returning.

We only experienced bugs at Xpu-Ha while standing around on the trails. Otherwise, I had no problems. I recommend bringing some bug spray. Also, you of course want to bring plenty of sunscreen.

I am not sure how I feel about tourists visiting Xpu-Ha. I do not know how many people visit Xpu-Ha on a daily basis, but I would think it might become annoying to have crowds visiting that are not actually staying at the hotel itself. We loved visiting Xpu-Ha on two separate day trips, and that was how I liked it, coming from Aventura.


Overall

I personally would not have chosen Xpu-Ha to stay at this time around, but that was because I preferred Aventura for my wedding and honeymoon. Looking at the website, I knew Aventura was the place for me. I was glad that we chose Aventura, especially for our wedding location.

Even though I did not personally choose it, Xpu-Ha is a very unique place to stay and I can imagine that it is great, especially for family vacations. We saw lots of kids and they all looked entertained. The service here is great, the rooms look great, and the amenities are wonderful. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a background in environmental studies, and this would be my kind of place. In addition to the hotel, I quickly found that the Mayan Riviera has so much to offer. It is more peaceful than places like Cancun, but are packed with tourist destinations like archaeological ruins, cities like Playa del Carmen, and other attractions.

3.5 stars as both a visitor and Palace Resort guest: Xpu-Ha is fun, interesting, unique, with great accommodations, dining, and great service.



Palace Resorts: http://www.palaceresorts.com
Mexico: http://www.visitmexico.com

My other related reviews:
Aventura Spa Palace
Aktun Chen
Casa Cenote
Paamul
Playa del Carmen


Thanks to SurgRN911 for adding this destination to the database!

This review was moved from a previous posting, under Xpu-Ha Palace.

If you are interested in seeing pictures from my trip, or have any questions, e-mail me at EpinionsJavelina@hotmail.com.



Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Friends