What to expect: The click of high heels and Italian loafers on the marble floor of a six-story atrium lobby with stained-glass ceiling signifies opulence. A corridor off the lobby contains gardens and street lamps in the center, restaurants and a French café on one side, and modern sculptures on the other. This stylishness and spaciousness attracts discriminating guests from around the world.
Amenity highlights: Shielded from the open sea, the beach provides calm-water swimming in most weather. A heated, freeform, 200-meter (219-yard) pool contains three swim-up bars. A children’s pool offers a water slide. Guests enjoy complimentary greens fees at the 18-hole Pok-Ta-Pok Golf Club two km (1.25 miles) from the resort (use of cart and caddy are obligatory and are not complimentary). Fine dining includes Mediterranean and Mexican restaurants, with casual dining available at a French café and a beach grill.
Insider tip: The resort's fine-dining Mexican restaurant, La Joya, includes a vestibule bar/lounge attended by a tequila sommelier and a cigar-maker.

What to expect: An elegant ambience of Italian marble, brocade upholstery, gilt-frame paintings, tapestries, and antiques; exceptional dining, and discreet, personalized hospitality satisfy discriminating guests. An atrium garden featuring a sea-green Mayan-style sculpture and a stained-glass ceiling contributes a tropical note.
Amenity highlights: A beach-view terrace contains the main pool that floats like a freeform lagoon above the beach, a quiet pool, and a 16-person spa tub. Wood-floor thatch-roof structures furnished with cushioned lounge chairs accommodate from 4-8 guests, with thatched palapas , and two-person lounge chairs with fold-up shades also available for rent. The health spa offers treatments in air-conditioned rooms, in a thatch-roof pavilion, and on open-air terraces.
Insider tip: A cigar-maker plies his trade evenings in the Cigar Lounge.

What to expect: Abuzz with activity from marble-floor lobby to pool deck, this resort attracts families and couples seeking casual, no-fuss vacations.
Amenity highlights: Terraced above the resort's 100-meter (109-yard) beach is a 30.5-meter-long (100-ft), three-section pool that includes a shallow children's section. Sand terraces above the beach offer sunbathing space, and thatched-roof palapas provide shade at one end of the pool deck. Beyond the children's pool a lawn and other terraces provide other sunning areas as well as four palapas and a trellis for shade.
Insider tip: As part of the All-Inclusive Plan, guests may use facilities, restaurants, and bars at five partner resorts: Cancún Palace and Sun Palace on Cancún Island; at Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort south of Cancún Island; and at Xpu-Há Palace and Aventura Spa Palace on the Riviera Maya south of Cancún. Transportation to the other resorts is not provided except for guests booking spa treatments (surcharges) at Moon Palace.

What to expect: Cancún's only resort where topless sunbathing is permitted, this lively spot attracts singles and couples looking for active vacations and adult fun. Nightly entertainment includes music/dance shows, karaoke, beer-drinking contests, and women's and men's "leg shows." Guests must be at least 21 years old.
Amenity highlights: In addition to 300 meters (328 yards) of beach frontage on the north, or bay, side of Cancún Island, where water remains calm in most weather, the resort offers three pools: A freeform activities pool with music, a swim-up bar, and four jetted sections; a square sports pool includes volleyball and basketball nets, and a "quiet pool" includes three jetted sections and a swim-up bar.
Insider tip: Complimentary shuttle-bus service is provided to a companion resort, the family-oriented Blue Bay Club Cancún 20 minutes away, where guests may use facilities, restaurants, and bars.

What to expect: Non-stop activity is the theme here, beginning with stretching by the pool in the morning, and including entertainment after dark. Couples predominate when children are in school. Families arrive during school holidays.
Amenity highlights: The resort features an irregularly shaped, 78-meter-long (85-yard) pool divided into three sections (one for children) that are connected by narrow channels crossed by bridges. Thatched-roof palapas interspersed with gardens offer shade on the pool's sundecks. A hair-braiding station (surcharge), a massage palapa (surcharge), and a ceramics-painting table (surcharge) adjoin the pool. The resort's beach extends 200 meters (219 yards).
Insider tip: As part of the All-Inclusive Plan, guests may use facilities, restaurants, and bars at Beach Palace and Sun Palace on Cancún Island; at Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort south of Cancún Island; and at Xpu-Há Palace and Aventura Spa Palace on the Riviera Maya south of Cancún. Transportation to the other resorts is not provided except for guests booking spa treatments (surcharges) at Moon Palace.

What to expect: Designed for families, the resort offers ample space for couples to sunbathe in tranquility as well as enjoy the resort's oceanside path for romantic seaside strolls. Along the path is a ruin of a Mayan shrine, 500-800 years old. Parents find the children's club's continuous morning-to-night care convenient when they wish to work out in the health club or dine in the adults-only dinner restaurant.
Amenity highlights: One beach faces the open sea. Another is situated along usually calm water, where snorkeling opportunities await and kayaks and Hobie Cat sailboats are also available. A placid saltwater lagoon and two pools provide swimming options. A sea-view spa tub accommodates 15. The children’s club provides supervised activities and nursery care for ages 2-12 in a colorful walled compound from 9 AM to 10 PM. The health/beauty spa contains a private garden with 16-person spa tub.
Insider tip: With advance reservations, couples may order a private candlelight dinner to be served on the resort's pier (surcharges).

What to expect: A $10- million renovation completed in 2004 transformed the hotel from casual to elegantly casual, exemplified by an expansive open-air lobby containing red-and-gray marble, plants, flowers, and upholstered dark-rattan seating. A multi-story thatched palapa shades the entrance, escalators connect to and from the lobby, and a waterfall serves as the hotel's towering signature.
Amenity highlights: A pool complex consists of an upper pool cascading into a meandering lower pool that includes a children's section. Beach frontage comprises 250 meters (273 yards) of powdery white sand extending the length of Cancún Island along the turquoise Caribbean Sea. Cushioned lounge chairs provide sunbathing comfort around the pools, on the beach, and on sand and grass areas terraced above the beach. Thatched palapas furnish shade.
Insider tip: The health spa offers beachfront "wine-and-stars" massages after dark.

What to expect: Vacationing guests enter through an elevated portico, where there is a commanding view of the hotel's grounds, vast garden and pool deck; white sands, and turquoise sea. All visitors are greeted with chilled hand towels and a cool beverage. Lounge music and waterfalls add to the subdued and stylish atmosphere; a massive torch glows on the pool deck, come evening.
Amenity highlights: Beach "furnishings" include lounge chairs and cabanas (surcharge). On the pool deck, a valet is at the ready with magazines, chilled towels, snacks, and drinks. There is also a spa where guests choose from dozens of treatments; some inspired by ancient Mayan and Asian rituals. In-room therapies include massages and hydrotherapy sessions. Celebrity chefs operate the hotel’s three gourmet restaurants and offer New American, contemporary Mexican, and Mediterranean cuisine. At night, the pool bar is transformed to a beach-side lounge where guests mingle amid glowing lights and cabana seating.
Insider tip: Announced by the squawking of scarlet macaws, sunrise Tai Chi or yoga is offered on the beach every morning. Even children have access to yoga as it is one of several kids’ club activities

What to expect: Completely renovated and reopened in July 2003, the hotel manifests its tranquil, adults-only (age 18 or older) ambience with an atrium lobby featuring soft-orange coloring, carved woods, fountains, and a waterfall. Guests register while seated in a lobby lounge sipping a chilled welcome drink.
Amenity highlights: The hotel contains a 38-meter, (125-ft), hourglass-shaped swimming pool terraced above a long, 18.25-meter-deep (60-ft) flat beach furnished with lounge chairs and 45 thatched-roof palapas . Off the lobby is an indoor miniature golf course decorated by lifesized statues of celebrities such as Elvis.
Insider tip: Guests enjoy access to all facilities, including bars and restaurants, at a partner resort, the Crown Paradise Club Cancún, 4 km (2.5 mi) away. Complimentary shuttles transport guests between the two resorts.

What to expect: With its long swimming pools, expansive beach frontage, and large public areas, the resort provides plenty of space for both families and couples to enjoy activity or tranquility.
Amenity highlights: Two freeform pools combine for 298 meters (326 yards) of swimming space. One features three jetted sections and a swim-up bar, and is paired with a children’s pool. The other is a two-level affair. Thatched-roof palapas by the pools shade platform beds large enough for families. Snorkel gear, boogie boards, and parasailing are available for a surcharge. A 9-hole par-3 course is also on site.
Insider tip: Across the street from the resort, the AquaWorld marina on Nichupté Lagoon offers myriad water sports, including kayaking, personal watercraft, sailing, and windsurfing. The marina also books fishing trips and scuba-diving and snorkeling excursions.

What to expect: This hotel is especially popular among couples and singles who are in their mid-twenties and older, and who enjoy the many facilities offered by the resort and its sister resorts, such as the Oasis Cancún Resort, which is situated on both sides of this hotel.

Amenity highlights: Guests of this hotel have exclusive access to a roped-off section of the white-sand beach which runs past the complex, and to the wait staff who come by with drinks. The pool lies within the spacious tropical gardens and measures approximately 448 meters (490 yards, or about a quarter of a mile). It is long enough to host three swim-up bars.

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Insider tip: On each floor of the hotel, a narrow walkway offers a panoramic view of the Caribbean Sea, the white-sand beach, the large pool, and the resort's lush gardens.

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What to expect: Plenty of space around the seven swimming pools and on the beach attracts both couples and families, assuring each of personal and private space. The resort's tower has a marble-floored atrium draped by hanging vines, containing a tile waterfall, and topped by a skylight.

Amenity highlights: A 12-acre pool-and-garden complex comprises seven connected pools--some shallow for children--terraced toward the beach and two 14-person jet spas. The heated main pool includes a swim-up bar and infinity edge. White sundecks furnished with padded lounges and thatched-roof palapas flank pools. Palapas also line the resort's 700-meter (766-yard) beach. On the resort's street side is an 18-hole championship golf course and driving range.

Insider tip: The hotel's doorstaff often can procure free drinks at restaurants in the Cancún hotel zone for hotel guests dining at those restaurants.

What to expect: Featuring a low-key, personal-service ambience, the resort attracts couples and families seeking restful vacations during summer and holiday seasons.
Amenity highlights: All Cancún beaches are public, but one 69-meter (75-yard) stretch fronting the resort is isolated from public access, effectively providing guests a "private" beach with thatched-roof palapas for shade. A fieldstone sunning terrace furnished with padded lounge chairs and palapas contains a freeform pool and a 12-person spa tub. Within the villa areas, two smaller pools, one paired with a 12-person spa tub, are reserved for villa guests.
Insider tip: Two nightclubs, one built over Nichupté Lagoon and the other catering to older couples, lie across the street from the resort.

What to expect: This 14-story hotel stands on a six-meter (20-ft) bluff above the sea. A circular skylight crowns the vine-draped atrium lobby. On the long terrace facing the water, guests relax in upholstered lounge chairs, doze in hammocks, or cool off in thatched-roof palapas . The hotel combines a romantic, couples-friendly setting with easy access to nightlife, shopping, and dining.
Amenity highlights: The two-level pool complex comprises a “quiet” pool with in-water tile tables and stools, and an activity pool with swim-up bar. A waterfall cascades over rocks from the upper to lower pool. Thatched-roof palapas , coconut palms, shaded hammocks, and lounge chairs dot the lawns and sandy terraces. The Sacred Hot Stone Massage, Seaweed Body Wrap, open-air massage overlooking the sea, and nighttime Moon and Stars Massage are among the treatments at the spa.
Insider tip: In addition to access to the two flanking beaches, the resort provides complimentary shuttle service to a companion resort, Hyatt Cancún Caribe Villas & Resorts, 2 km (1.25 miles) away, where the two-section beach stretches for 200 meters (219 yards).

What to expect: Greeted at the entrance with chilled face towels, discriminating travelers arrive expecting layer-upon-layer of luxury and leave with every desire for rest, relaxation, and indulgence gratified.
Amenity highlights: Arrayed above the resort's beach are a main pool, an oversized spa tub, and a quiet pool. A lagoon-style scuba-diving pool is available for lessons. The health spa offers three stories of rejuvenation and activity, including an indoor pool and spa tub; a fitness center; a workout studio for various classes; massage, body treatments, facials; and women's and men's wet sides with saunas, steam rooms, and hot and cold spa tubs.
Insider tip: Guests unwilling to leave the health spa's pampering even for a meal can order room service and dine in the juice bar's lounge, which is furnished with overstuffed chairs and marble-topped tables or next to the indoor pool.

What to expect: Adult guests seeking tranquil, romantic relaxation enjoy this mid-sized resort which opened in August 2005, and is within walking distance of shopping, dining, and nightclubs.
Amenity highlights: The lobby provides a fitting introduction to this hotel’s minimalist design. Open spaces, clean lines, and white upholstered seating greet guests who can enjoy petit fours and wine upon arrival. Personalized resort services include butler service, with one butler on each floor who can bring coffee, prepare baths, iron clothes, and make dinner and tour reservations.

A spa offers hydrotherapy facilities as well as a full menu of treatments, including shiatsu and Thai massage. It features 24 indoor and outdoor treatment rooms including five outdoor couples suites and the 74-square-meter (800-square-foot) Golden Spa Suite, which is like a spa within a spa, with its own sauna and steam room. Surcharges apply for spa products, treatments, and services.

Insider tip: The lively center of Cancún's dining/nightlife area, which surrounds the convention center, is a short stroll, about a quarter-mile (0.5-km), from the resort.

Note: The following amenities are temporarily unavailable:

• Gym and spa
• Tennis courts

What to expect: A study in whiter shades of pale, the resort creates a cool contrast to the turquoise Caribbean Sea and attracts both couples and families seeking tranquil beachfront holidays. The airy lobby features light-colored woods, feathery potted plants, huge flower displays, a wrought-iron chandelier, and a two-story, wood-framed mirror.
Amenity highlights: Terraced down to the beach and flanked by garden sundecks furnished with umbrellas and cushioned lounge chairs, three swimming pools heated to different temperatures provide freshwater swimming. A 1,394-square-meter (15,000-sq ft), marble-lined health spa features a private, outdoor, 15-person spa tub with cascades for waterfall-massage and a tea-and-relaxation lounge around a blossom-fringed fountain. A spacious fitness center offers exercise classes.
Insider tip: Every evening a Cuban cigar-maker demonstrates his craft in the lobby, offering the results for sale.

What to expect: Graced by gardens inside and out, the casual resort establishes a relaxed Mexican ambience. Its vast and airy marble-floored lobby and adjacent corridors contain overstuffed couches under wrought-iron-and-crystal chandeliers framed by stone arches.
Amenity highlights: Terraced above the resort's beach are a family pool and a children's pool. A children’s club provides supervised activities, and a recreation staff supervises complimentary family activities and sports.

What to expect: Functioning as a self-contained village, the immense resort attracts couples and families seeking activity-filled days and nights, golfers eager to play a three 9-hole golf courses, and romance-minded couples desiring spa pampering and secluded sunbathing on the beach.
Amenity highlights: Facing 1 km (0.75 mi) of beach, each of the resort's two sides includes an immense lagoon-style swimming pool measuring more than 200 meters (219 yards) wide. Use of kayaks, windsurfers, Hobie Cat sailboats, and AquaTrikes is part of the All-Inclusive Plan, as is a championship-grade miniature golf course. Golfers pay extra to play three 9-hole courses (each par 36, with a total of 9,874 meters (10,798 yards). Also available for extra charges are treatments in a 30-room health spa.
Insider tip: As part of the All-Inclusive Plan, guests may use facilities, restaurants, and bars at five companion resorts: Sun Palace, Beach Palace, and Cancún Palace on Cancún Island and at Aventura Spa Palace (adults only) and Xpu-Há Palace on the Riviera Maya south of Cancún. Complimentary transportation to the three Cancún resorts is provided, but guests must arrange their own transportation to the two Riviera Maya resorts.