Sunfinder Vacations

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 Fiesta's 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.

Offering lots of children's facilities and various adults-only facilities, this hotel is spacious enough to accommodate both children and grownups without one interfering with the other's pleasure. Helped by a policy that allows up to two children age 12 or younger to stay for no extra charge when they occupy the same room as two guests paying adult rates, the resort primarily attracts families seeking active holidays; but it also serves couples seeking rest and relaxation.

This family-oriented resort features an expansive granite-floor lobby with dark-wood accents, wrought-iron chandeliers, and an elaborately decorated dome ceiling with a vine-draped balcony. The resort attracts vacationers seeking casual, activity-filled holidays.

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.

This casual Cancun resort attracts couples and families seeking a lively, social ambience and active vacations.

A $10- million renovation completed in 2004 transformed the Fiesta Americana 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

Adult guests seeking tranquil, romantic relaxation enjoy this mid-sized resort. Guests frequently walk to area shops, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Designed in a distinctive Mexi-Caribe style that provides expansive, shaded open-air spaces, and sea and lagoon views both large and small, this hotel displays a rough-concrete exterior enlivened by bright pink, blue, and yellow accents and monumental pieces such as huge white-concrete fruit, large balls, and random stands of colored columns.

Lavishly renovated in 2006, the Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort is arrayed along a wide beach, where soft, white sands meet the Caribbean Sea. Soaring palm trees, exotic plants, and colorful flowers grace the gardens and recreation areas. Gently flowing rivers with shimmering pebbles meander through the grounds. The resort's tower has a marble-floored atrium with hanging vines, a tile waterfall, and a skylight.

With its long swimming pools, expansive beach frontage, and large public areas, the Gran Melia Cancun provides plenty of space for both families and couples to enjoy activity or tranquility.

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.

Designed for families, Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa 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.

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.

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.

Barcelo Costa Cancun All Inclusive attracts families, young adults, and couples seeking casual, active holidays without the formality of restaurant dress codes.

The Grand Oasis 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.

Featuring a low-key, personal-service ambience, the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort attracts couples and families seeking restful vacations during summer and holiday seasons.

Flanked by two white-sand beaches, the Hyatt Regency Cancún is an energetic cosmopolitan-chic resort with a local Mexican flair. The resort is in the heart of the hotel zone, with easy access to the convention center, nightlife, shopping, dining, and top-notch golf courses.

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.

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.

Reopened in late 2006 after a complete renovation, ME by Melia Cancun has transformed from an all-inclusive, family-style resort into a sophisticated and modern establishment. The beachfront resort features a sleek, streamlined design in public areas and guestrooms, as well as quality service, relaxation amenities, and fine-dining options.

This family-friendly resort, completely renovated in June 2007, attracts guests seeking walking-distance access to Cancún's principal shopping, dining, and entertainment center, which is about a block away.

Guests enter a broad lobby with warm-toned gray and taupe marble floors and, to the side, a wall of cascading water, below which lies a large sculpture of a reclining figure. Directly ahead, steps lead to landscaped grounds dotted with dining and drinking spots, and paths that wind to the beach, where rows of

An expansive three-story atrium lobby featuring gray-marble floors, leather couches, and tropical greenery provide tranquility. This adults-only hotel is for those seeking beachfront relaxation, entertainment, and a variety of dining options.

The Riu Caribe All Inclusive caters to both families and couples, with the latter divided between young and middle-aged adults. While activities run day and night, guests use the long beach and expansive pool deck for rest and relaxation. A large atrium lobby has a lounge that is often lively from after lunch until midnight.

Styled like a Spanish palace, the gleaming white hotel contains a granite-floored lobby with ornately painted coved ceilings; a stained-glass ceiling; crystal chandeliers; pink columns with carved, mahogany-stained bases and caps; tapestries; and plants in ceramic pots. A veranda faces the sea. Although children are welcome, the resort principally attracts romance-minded couples and other adults.

Adult couples and families come here to get away from the congestion characterizing the northern end of Cancún Island. Enticements include day and night activities, many different food-and-drink options, and a casual, rest-and-relaxation ambience. No restaurants require reservations and snack foods and alcoholic beverages are available all night.

This luxury resort offers enticing white sand beaches and a variety of both lively and leisurely activities for guests to enjoy. The hotel was designed to reflect the rich Spanish heritage of Mexico, featuring tiled roofs, wrought-iron handrails, fountains, private patios, sculptures, and stained-glass windows designed by Mexican artists.

Pop Art jungle and seascape murals behind the reception desk in a large, airy, marble-floored lobby containing gardens and upholstered seating establish the informal ambience that attracts couples and families to the resort.

Amenity highlights:

The resort has three pools with swim-up bars, including two on the rooftop. Spa facilities include 12 treament rooms, a sauna, steam bath, and a couples' suite. A kids' club offers supervised daily activities; a children's pool is available.

Insider tip:

As part of the All-Inclusive Plan, guests may use facilities, restaurants, and bars at seven 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; Playacar Palace; and Cozumel Palace. Transportation to the other resorts is not provided except for guests booking spa treatments (surcharges) at Moon Palace.

Completely renovated in 2006, Cancún Palace continues to offer a variety of daily activities and nighttime entertainment with a spa for even more relaxation. Couples represent most of the guests when children are in school. Families arrive during school holidays.

Entertainment staff at this couples-only resort organizes games and activities on the beach and at the main pool, which guests may participate in, or not.