Last year around this time, we were in warm, welcoming Mexico, at one of the best best Caribbean resorts for families, enjoying the sun and the people. Lexi and I were at Dreams Resort in Riviera Maya, Cancun, reviewing the resort for Daily Mom, and finishing up our travels around Mexico. My mom was with us adding an extra dimension to our time in Mexico. I absolutely love taking my two girls traveling with me, my daughter and my mom. My mom grew up during a time when international travel in Russia wasn’t exactly feasible for the common folk, and after it became available it was too expensive to afford. Now she feels she is too old to travel, unless I drag her, like I did last year to one of the best best Caribbean resorts for families, like I dragged her with us to Paris last month.
VIDEO OF Dreams Resort in Cancun, Riviera Maya
Table of Contents
OUR REVIEW OF DREAMS RIVIERA CANCUN
Where: Mexico
What: Dreams Riviera Cancun
When: early December
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Quick thoughts: Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya, as usual, did not disappoint. It held up the high standards that AM Resorts has for its properties. We mostly spent time relaxing and enjoying our private swim up suite, eating healthy at all-inclusive buffets and restaurants and playing volleyball with the staff and other Mexico vacationers. Note on the staff: INCREDIBLE! They will bend over backwards to please you, but not in a servant way, in a pleasant “I am your friend way”.
What I liked about Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya :
- clean
- high quality finishing touches
- excellent food
- great buffet
- several pools
- many activities:
Three pools, two of which are heated, and two outdoor whirlpools
Ping pong and table games
Water and land aerobics
Beach and water volleyball
Cooking, cocktail, dance and Spanish lessons
Yoga
Bocce ball and billiards
Soccer and football
Climbing pyramid
Big screen movies by the Barefoot area
Live nightly family-friendly entertainment
Biking
Weekly beach parties
Mexican Bingo
Theme nights
Beach Olympics
Euro bungee
Hobie Cats
Kayaks
Snorkeling
Sailing
Water polo - great entertainment staff, very friendly and fun.
Tips for Dreams Riviera Cancun:
Get a swim up suite, you won’t be disappointed. It easily adds extra relaxation factor and makes your vacation feel so much more private and luxurious. Visit El Patio for dining with a Mariachi band at your table or Bordeaux to dine at a private wine cellar room.
Our stay at and review of Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya, one of the best best Caribbean resorts for families
We spent a total of 2 weeks in Mexico visiting different areas and different resorts. My camera went dead on the second day of our trip, so I spent the rest of the two weeks having to deal with cell phone pictures only. Excuse the quality.
Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya, which is a part of AM Resorts, is always special for me, because it was one of the first resort brands I visited with Lexi. There is a distinct feel about all Dreams Resorts, one of the best best Caribbean resorts for families, and they are all consistent. You get what you’re used to: luxury, service, great food, cleanliness and high quality design and materials. You may laugh, but it makes a difference in the feel of a property.
We spent about 4 nights there and I definitely did not want to leave. I won’t bore you with stories and details of our stay (unless you want me to, in which case, let me know), so I will jump to useful stuff with a little bit of our experience thrown in. I’ll separate this into categories so it was easier to navigate and scroll through.
Room Review at Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya
This is probably Lexi’s favorite aspect of any resort. She loves checking out the rooms that we stay in, especially if those rooms have a SWIM UP POOL. Ever since we stayed at Dream Las Mareas, she has been absolutely obsessed with swim up pools. So here she begged and begged until I made sure we had one. My mom was pretty darn surprised too, she’s never stayed in a room with a private pool 🙂
Dreams Riviera Cancun is made up of 486 guest rooms and suites available for your family to get away from it all and live like royalty while you are there.
- Rooms have private balconies or terraces
- Some rooms have private plunge pools
- Views of the ocean or pool area available.
- Complimentary WiFi, international calling and more with Unlimited Connectivity.
- If you need more than one room, connecting rooms are an option.
- Maid service twice a day
- Rooms are beautifully designed for relaxation and comfort
Rooms at Dreams are always so nicely done up. The floors are marble, the decor is beautiful and upscale, everything is so impeccably clean. We barely had a chance to spend any time looking at the room before Lexi insisted we all hang out at our pool, all day long.
If you’re visiting any of the AM properties, splurge if you can. These rooms are well worth it. They are offered at only the best best Caribbean resorts for families and will make your vacation feel so much more private and unique.
DINING
This is probably a theme but I am going to once again say, food and service at Dreams Riviera Cancun are impeccable. We did not mind eating at buffets because the food was fresh and unique and so varied, but when we did go to restaurants, we felt like royalty. We were treated like special guests.
When and what to eat can get a little annoying when traveling with kids. However since Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya is all inclusive, the dining is unlimited and included! Your preschooler wants another snack? He can have one! Just because it is unlimited does not mean it is not good. The food and drinks at Dreams in Cancun is excellent. From special treats to healthy choices, they have it all and they have it available all the time.
- Gourmet dining is available at all times, including room service 24 hours a day.
- Bordeaux is an adult only fine dining experience available at the resort.
- For family meals, choose from any of the other options.
- Dining options include Mexican, Pan-Asian, Local seafood, and other international choices.
- The international buffet, World Café is fantastic.
- Unlimited international and domestic top-shelf spirits and unlimited natural fruit juices and soft drinks are included. For drinks, choose from the many bars.
- We think the swim up bar at the pool is especially fun.
At the Mexican restaurant, El Patio, we had a mariachi band play songs at our table while Lexi and I danced (we couldn’t resist)
At the French restaurant, Bordeaux, an adult only establishment, they let us dine with Lexi in a private room while the Chef prepared a special meal for her, fish and vegetables, which she promptly decided to skip and fell asleep. Not really! While we were waiting for food, this sunned out, all-day swimmer passed out. The wait staff was sweet enough to make her a bed out of chairs and covered her up with a napkin, with her fresh meal placed in front of her. My mom and I enjoyed our food, while she slept, and then took turns taking photos with the talented chef and practicing our/my Spanish with him.
GROUNDS
What I do love about Dreams properties is that while all the restaurants and the level of service and quality are the same across the board in all the destinations, the grounds are always completely different. This time it was a more modern Cancun architecture than the tropical Tulum style at Dreams Tulum.
There are three pools, two of which are heated for the random chilly day in this tropical paradise. There are two outdoor whirlpools. You will find the pools are not too crowded and your kids are welcome to play and act like kids here!
While at the beach or the pool, Dreams professional waitstaff will make sure you have all the food and drinks desired. Just imagine lounging by the pool with a tropical drink in your hand while the kids swim and play. It sounds like a dream but it is a reality here.
Yet in the style of the best Caribbean resorts for families, it had hammocks placed all over, pool side cabanas for the whole family to enjoy (at no cost), pools everywhere, tropical vegetation and of course the best activities programs.
LEISURE AT DREAMS in CANCUN, RIVIERA MAYA
What blew me away once again at Dreams Riviera Cancun is how friendly and fun the activities team was. They were incredibly kid friendly and enjoyed having fun with Lexi whenever they would see her. They were competitive at volleyball and always upbeat and inviting to every changing activities.
The activities you can enjoy at Dreams in Cancun, one of the best best Caribbean resorts for families:
- Three pools, two of which are heated, and two outdoor whirlpools
- Water and land aerobics
- Beach and water volleyball
- Cooking, cocktail, dance and Spanish lessons
- Yoga
- Bocce ball and billiards
- Soccer and football
- Climbing pyramid
- Big screen movies by the Barefoot area
- Live nightly family-friendly entertainment
- Biking
- Weekly beach parties
- Mexican Bingo
- Theme nights
- Beach Olympics
- Ping pong and table games
- Euro bungee
Water Activities:
- Hobie Cats
- Kayaks
- Snorkeling
- Sailing
- Water polo
Golf
Guests receive complimentary greens fees at two nearby golf courses.
Tours and Excursions
There are a variety of tours and excursions that you can ask the concierge to help you set up. Go see the ancient ruins of Tulum, explore a cenote ( I highly recommend). Ecological tours let you explore the unique nature of the area. Book fishing trips, go snorkeling and diving. This area of the world is full of wonder and you can see it all without traveling too far from the resort. Make sure to visit one of the Xel-Ha parks in the area which are amazing for kids
The Explorers Kids Club
You may be wondering how you will be able to go to the spa for some of those amazing services if you have your wild kiddos with you. The Explorers Club at Dreams in Cancun, Riviera Maya is one of the things that makes this a kid friendly hotel. Kids ages 3 to 12 can come here to hang out and have a blast while parents have some adult time. The staff is friendly and professional. Every day they have different activities based around nature, science and exploration. Once a week the Explorers Club has a camping adventure on the beach. If you want to have a romantic dinner with your partner, kids can stay at the Explorers Club for dinner as well.
Explorer’s Club for kids was a great place to drop of Alexis for a few hours to catch a game or two of volleyball for me. You know how much I love that. I was given a pager that would vibrate if she asked for me or it was time to pick her up. There was a rock climbing wall, a grassy area to run around and get splashed by a sprinkler, and different activities rooms. The Kids Club calendar was packed and it was hard to get bored there. Though being the social butterfly that she is, the second some of the kids she liked would get picked up, she would ask for me.
Explorer’s Club takes kids 3-12 and includes the following activities:
- Planetarium kid’s theater
- Pyramid-shaped climbing wall
- Splash fountain
- Playground area
- Indoor game room with digital interactive game tables, board games, TVs and video games
- Arts & Crafts
- Piñata competitions
- Weekly campout adventures
- Big-screen movies by the Barefoot area
- Sandcastle contests
- Treasure hunts
BEACH
The beach area, in the traditions of the best Caribbean resorts for families, was impeccably maintained. The water was that perfect dark teal color. We spent many days at the beach, playing chess, sitting at the swinging bar chairs, hanging out under palapas, relaxing in the beach hammocks while I played a few games of volleyball with the crew and other vacationers. We didn’t get to do any of the water sports because to be honest, we were tired from traveling and just needed to relax and enjoy being at one of the best Caribbean resorts for families.
Lexi especially enjoyed our beach games of chess. The activities team gave us a little gift which was this awesome game box with chess, checkers, cards and a few other games and this was about the age Lexi was excited about learning how to play chess.
HOLIDAYS
Obviously this was a very special time to visit the best Caribbean resorts for families. I am actually really fond of traveling somewhere for the holidays (this year it’s Europe) so if you have the opportunity, I’d definitely recommend winter Holidays to visit Mexico resorts. Everything is decorated, there are gingerbread houses, Christmas trees and a generally festive atmosphere.
Hope you enjoyed this guide and the photos. Feel free to check out our TRAVEL section for more TRIPS AND TIPS!
Plan your family getaway to Dreams Riviera Cancun or any of the Dreams Resorts and Spas. They have options for couples or couples traveling with kids. As moms, we have fallen in love with their kid friendly hotel options. The Unlimited-Luxury® here makes it actually feel like a vacation from real life instead of just continuing our mom duties in another location. An elegant, all inclusive resort is the best way to travel with children and Dreams Resorts and Spas is the best in all inclusive travel for families.
EXPLORE AND CONNECT
The Resort | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube
Does Mom need some girl time? Check out:
Dreams Tulum: Perfect Place for a Mom’s Escape
Vaera Women’s Retreat
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