Hotel Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort All Inclusive

Wonderful resort in general. The grounds were immaculate as well as the rooms. There are plenty of pools to choose from from adults to kid friendly. There is a coffee cafe with fruit and pastries which seems to be open all day and into the evening. We paid the extra money for platinum room (jr suite) that has a jacuzzi and three butlers who are there to help with whatever we needed. Our butlers Luis, Hugo and Noah did a fantastic job! Downside is that in order to not eat at the buffet every night you need a reservation at the other restaurants. When we arrived our butler was able to secure one reservation. The buffet is good but if you don’t arrive and stand in line before they open at 6:30 you will be waiting a while as the dining room is not big enough for everyone. It also has a lot of the same foods. The restaurants onsite that were great were the seafood and American. The Mediterranean one was probably the worst food we had. The Japanese place Cobo was just ok with small portions. We did not try the Italian or French restaurants. The marketplace for lunch had good food and a great variety Overall we recommend this resort.

We were put in an old studio unit in the worst area-a lot of commercial fan noise and very loud generator when the lights went out on 2 occasions. They were also re-roofing a building next to us so that was noisy as well. The worst was the small ants/bugs crawling on the counters/nightstands. We were told they'd try to move us then said it was full and they couldn't change our room. Later we talked with another couple who had problems with their room and they were told the resort was at 67% capacity so they got a different room but had to pay more money to change.

We have been going to El Cid twice a year for the last seven years. We love our time there. With all those visits Ricardo and Freddy stand out as the best butlers we have ever had. They respond quickly to meet all our needs and many times do things before we ask. We will ask for them in the future .

We had a great vacation! Our Butlers, Ricardo and Fredy, were incredible!! They were so attentive to our needs! Our concierge, Christina was amazing too! So helpful! We had a fantastic time!! We’ll be back soon!!

The resort is amazing. It is so clean, pools are gorgeous and food is outstanding. We had two butlers(Ricardo and Freddy) that checked in with us daily, got us great reservations and made sure our rooms were stocked. We will definitely request both of them again when we stay there.

Once again the resort didn’t disappoint! We have come here many times and we’ve always had a great experience. The staff here is amazing. The resort is so well maintained and the standard of the food remains outstanding. I do need to specifically highlight Luis Diaz and Manuel Diaz, the butler “A” team that made our stay extra special. We can’t say enough about how they treated us and helped us with our asks. Thank you to you both!

This is a huge hotel of just under 1000 rooms. In order to house and feed all guests, it is going to be busy, loud and chaotic and you aren’t necessarily guaranteed a tranquil experience that you may hope from a holiday nor consistency in delivery of the expected service. The rooms are fairly dated and tired. The plumbing is not always up to dealing with a large number of guests. Regular maintenance men walking around with plungers visiting hotel rooms. Food is aplenty you won’t ever go hungry although quality of food and service differs. There are not always reservations available for the restaurants for the evenings. You can book up two reservations in advance per day but there are not that many reservations available in the first place. When you do manage to get one the experience is of stark difference to that of the chaotic loud hectic buffet that you are consigned to otherwise. The Iberian-American restaurant was such a treat. Just make sure you dress up warm as the air conditioning is set to Arctic temperatures. The food however is amazing. The Kobo Japanese restaurant is pure theatre. Chefs stood in the middle of group tables cooking steak, chicken and shrimp. Some chefs are more exuberant than others. The Italian felt more like an Indian in ambience and the food wasn’t quite up to scratch but still a lot nicer to sit and eat in than the buffet. My recommendation would be to not order steak/beef, the cuts served at this hotel are very tough and fatty. Evidenced by much nicer steak at our next hotel we stayed in half an hour away. The welcome on arrival is not brilliant, while the porters at the front door are very efficient the reception staff not so and the sales team who then greet you after your long tiring reception experience is not great. You really do not want to be thrust into a sales patter the second you start your holiday. Much better to be invited to go to meet them after you have settled in. You are also supposed to receive a welcome drink when you are in reception. This would have been a welcome touch especially given it is an all inclusive so it isn’t going to cost them over and above but you spend the first 30-60 mins stood waiting at the desk absolutely parched dealing with slow reception service and then straight into a sales person. Despite being told a welcome drink is meant to be given when I mentioned this as a suggestion, I didn’t once see anyone provided with one on arrival. Even a bottle of water would have been welcome. You are not tagged with your arm band until the second you are about to leave reception where you turn and instantly get pounced in by the sales person. You have access to the two neighbouring hotels, golf carts are available to transport you. It is good manners to have some peso or dollars available to tip when there has been good service or following a trip on the golf cart. The other two hotels are in stark difference to the Marina hotel which is tired. They are much more modern, the staff there appear to be much more welcoming and the facilities nicer. The pool at the marina is packed with guests and has loud music from about 11am through to 4pm with staff screaming and shouting with excitement to try to drum up hotel guests to join them. Foam parties, conga and balloons feature regularly and you will need noise cancelling headphones if you would like to be able to sit by the pool and read a book I found I repeated the same page for the whole morning and gave up in the end. There is a very small beach area with a few sun loungers which is quieter. Alternatively, you will need to move on to the other two hotels where there is a much more tranquil experience awaiting you. The newest hotel has the nicest pools with a choice between two roof top pools and two large pools with plenty of space between the sun loungers. Note all sun loungers in the three hotels are cheap plastic ones that are often sagging or broken parts. There are no cushions for good reason. It rains a lot and with that cushions become a breeding ground for mosquitos which are a problem in Mexico and I would recommend you bring plenty of repellent and not just for the evening. Dotted about the three hotels are some very inviting looking double beach loungers with curtains that do have thick cushions but we found when sitting on them we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. The beach towel station only opens at 9am. So if you want to sit out before then make sure to swap for a clean towel before they close around 5pm. They regularly run out of clean towels so be mindful you might need to wait until the next day anyway even in the middle of the day we had to wait a good hour for clean towels. We weren’t given towel cards on our arrival (assume that was something reception should have given) but the towel station refused to give us towels and wanted to charge to our room $40 fine per person for losing our towel. The hotel were exceptionally tight on internet provision. They provide a code for each person staying at the hotel and they will only give you one per person. So if you want to use your phone and an iPad or laptop that is an additional $60 US per device and that is only to get a very slow connection. It is an additional $90 US for anything of reasonable speed. It also has a very poor range not always accessible by the pool. They also cut you from it the minute you check out so if you are trying to connect with your transfer company make sure you do so before you check out otherwise that will cost you a lot on data. Note Ubers are not generally welcomed in Mexico. They may be cheaper but you will not be able to get one at the airport nor will the hotel permit one arriving at the hotel you will have to take yourself off the complex in order to meet your driver and in our case when we were leaving with our suitcases we had to drag them in the pouring rain down a steep slope to the boundary of the hotel. Manuele the hotel duty manager was lovely and approachable for the issues that occurred during our stay however it is disappointing to have had so many. Most staff had smiles on their faces but I do wonder about their conditions behind the scenes. Lots of staff were coughing and one of the reception staff was sneezing over customers. Do they get paid sick leave. Do they get adequate rest days. They seem to be worked very hard.

Excellent experience. The entire El Cid staff was very friendly, professional and always available. Our assigned “butlers” Noah, Luis and Hugo were particularly outstanding; extremely accommodating; proactively ensuring that daily we had what we needed to enjoy our 4-week stay at ECVC - Ventus.

We've been to close to 20 all inclusive and this El Cid is where you get the most value for your money. Food - 5/5 Amazing food and service at all the restaurants, bars and room service. Rarely had to leave our chairs to get a drink by the pool. Though, we had to do the buffet the first two nights because no bookings were available for two days upon arrival. Every restaurant we went to knew the exact ingredients to avoid allergies and some cooked a fully dairy free version of the meal ordered. Access to water was great, better than any resort. Dial the front desk and they will bring up however many bottles you need. Coffee shop was amazing as was the lunch option next door. Poke bowls galore! Cleanliness - 4.5/5 everywhere you step someone is cleaning something. Would have loved another room clean during the week, ours was done twice. Medical - not always something you need to rate but the lifeguards and medical staff helped me on 3 separate occasions with a bad scrape and blistering and they were being kind, compassionate and empathetic. Entertainment 5/5- there are some amazing bands that play at Waves, the lobby bar and the adults bar through the week. The actual shows were less than appetizing as they are inside a warm theater with limited seating. Hilarious pool side entertainment every day. Also, they had some fantastic mashups of various artists playing at the main pool which was great for the atmosphere. Returning? Yes!

Review: One of the Most Frustrating and Disappointing Vacations We’ve Ever Had I don’t usually leave long reviews, but our experience at this hotel was so shockingly bad that I feel compelled to warn others. What was supposed to be a relaxing short getaway turned into days of stress, discomfort, and frustration from the moment we arrived. Food: The food was honestly terrible. Bland, tasteless, and the fruit selection was practically nonexistent. Even with reservations required, the “restaurants” felt like crowded buffets with long lines and zero atmosphere. We ended up dreading mealtimes — something I never thought would happen on vacation. Rooms: We paid for an upgraded room, but the reality looked nothing like the photos. The room was tiny, worn out, and had constant issues with hot water. We had to call a technician three different times just to take a normal shower. No mosquito screens meant we couldn’t even open the window at night to hear the ocean; instead, we were fighting off mosquitos and even saw spiders. This is completely unacceptable for a hotel claiming any level of quality. Cleanliness & Safety: Jacuzzis and pools were not cleaned on time. In the spa area, there were exposed electrical outlets with wires literally sticking out — a clear safety hazard. It’s shocking this is allowed to remain open to guests. Beach & Facilities: We couldn’t even swim at the beach. Towels weren’t available until 9 AM, which is ridiculous for a beach resort. Everything felt disorganized and poorly managed. Service & Staff: Many of staff support barely spoke any English, which made solving problems difficult. When it rained, we waited 20 minutes for a golf cart that never arrived — even after calling twice. Upon arrival, instead of being welcomed or taken to our room, we were stopped by ansales representative trying to sell massages and excursions.It immediately set the tone for the rest of the stay. We tried to speak to a manager about all of this, and we were informed that he was “unavailable because he was having dinner.” That’s the level of customer care here. Follow-Up: I later received a survey from Hector Lopez, the general manager. I filled it out honestly, hoping someone would finally acknowledge the problems. No one reached out. No apology. Nothing. It perfectly sums up the attitude we experienced throughout the stay. The ONLY person who showed genuine kindness and professionalism was Diego at the reception during checkout. He was the one bright spot in an otherwise awful experience. Final Thoughts: This trip left us frustrated, disappointed, and honestly exhausted. We spent our vacation dealing with problems that should never exist at any hotel, let alone one presented as a relaxing getaway. I truly hope management will finally start listening, because guests deserve so much better than this. For now, I cannot in good faith recommend this hotel to anyone. P.S. neighbor property seems abandoned and doesn't help view or the overall experience. Please see photos attached