We stayed at the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya in Cancun, Mexico, for a couple of weeks at the end of January, 2010. Before going to Cancun, we looked at several reviews of the hotel, but found them in many ways insufficient. So, we’ve decided to write a slightly more thorough review, and hopefully – if you’re planning on staying at the Casa Maya anytime soon – this will provide some tips to making your stay a bit more pleasant.
The Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya is located on the north facing shore of the Zona Hotelera in a perfect location between El Centro (downtown Cancun) and the bulk of the hotels in the zone. We had the advantage of being close to everything while having the feeling that we were away from all the commotion. Our beach was the best in the area – beautiful shallow swimming areas, lots of space on the beach and an unhindered view out to the Isla Mujeries. More on that later.
I’ve got to say, overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya. The service was, for the most part, excellent, and the staff was friendly. The rooms were cleaned every day (unlike some timeshare places we’ve been, where they are done once a week) and in general the place was very well maintained.
Alright – let’s talk specifics!
Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya - The Beach
One of the best parts about the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya is the beach (and hey – that’s why we go to Cancun, right?). Having walked the beach for a few miles in each direction (as well as a few miles on the other side, in the Hotel Zone), I can easily say that Casa Maya has the best hotel beach I’ve come across in Cancun. It is not only long, but it wraps around a point close to a small harbour, so there is a protected area that is very shallow and warm. In general of course, the hotel is located in the part of the hotel zone that is protected from the open ocean by Isla Mujeres, and therefore the water is calmer than you find deeper into the hotel zone.
The hotels on the part of the zone that isn’t sheltered by Isla Mujeres are exposed to the ocean swells, so they constantly have several foot tall waves crashing on the shore, making for a very turbulent, and often dangerous place to swim. Not so at Casa Maya.
I don’t know what this place would be like during high season, but when we were there, Casa Maya had a bigger chunk of beach available per person than most of the other places. Other hotels had narrower beaches that were extra packed, right down to the water, with sunbathers, while we had lots of room to spread out, with lots of extra sand still available as well.
Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya - The Rooms
We ended up with three rooms at the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya, because we had a party of 7. It worked out pretty good. However, the queens they promised us ended up being doubles, and rather ‘orthopedic’ as Sarah likes to say. Orthopedic is code word for hard. The first few nights I didn’t sleep well, mostly due to the hardness of the bed, however when I finally went at spoke to someone at the front desk about it, they had a foam mattress cover delivered in less than an hour. That foam made all the difference, helping tremendously.
Two of our rooms had ocean view balconies, which was very nice, and the main room had a double balcony.
During our two weeks, we had 3 coffee makers crap out on us, however as soon as we told the front desk, we’d have a new one delivered in less than an hour. Same thing with a plugged bathtub drain and a burnt out light – they dealt with each problem quickly, so it wasn’t really a big deal.
As I mentioned, the rooms were cleaned once a day, and although it was fairly simple, they did manage little bursts of character by doing little origami flower things on the end of every fresh roll of toilet paper or Kleenex box. Nice little touches.
Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya - Hotel Food
When you go somewhere for a week or two, you’re almost always going to end up sampling the hotel fair. We stayed in Puerto Vallarta (actually Nuevo Vallarta) last year, and felt like we were so far from everything that in the end we ate mostly at the hotel, which was pricier than we really wanted. Not so in Cancun. First off, you’re a 50 cent bus ride from all kinds of restaurants, and secondly, the hotel fare at the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya actually wasn’t that bad!
Each night they do a different special, some of them all you can eat buffets. In addition they have a full menu, with food ranging from 6-7 bucks all the way up to 25 plus. Many meals around the 8-12 range. I found it more varied than other hotels, offering a decent range. Not everyone wants to eat a 25 dollar meal each night, you know?
Conclusions
All in all, we all agreed that we would go back to Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya. The rooms were good, if not the fanciest I’ve ever stayed in. The service was good. The hotel fare was reasonably priced, and pretty tasty (for those days when you don’t want to venture out on the town). The beach was the best, by far, of any hotel that I saw in Cancun.
Bottom line? I’d go back to the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya again tomorrow.
thank you for your comments i am headding there end of march and looking even more to it after reading your review…thanks
I’m sure you’re going to love it!
Hi! Loved your page. Is this resort only for time share owners? I was trying to find an all-inclusive flight + this hotel for a week and not seeming to find one. Like with RedTag or Expedia, etc.
thanks,
Sandy
Hi Sandy, I’m pretty sure it’s not just time share owners.. but that said, different agencies purchase different blocks of rooms, so it might be hard to find availability through some sites. You might try phoning them directly (the hotel) to find out. Cheers.
Hey,
Thinking on going there in JAn 2012 and was windering if this was an all inclusive place i dont like to cook and was planning on going for 3 weeks
Thanks
Lorne
Hi Lorne,
They do have all inclusive options, but I think it depends on the package you get. You’d have to check with them or with your booking agent..
Thank you for taking the time to post this review for Hotel Casa Maya. My friend and I our going there in April. Can’t tell you how estatic we are. It’s a girls get away from the homefront. Something I haven’t done ever! Kids are all in their 20′s now! Anyway did you do any excertions when you were there? I’ve done some homework and found a great zipline place called Selvatica. We really want to visit the island mentioned in the article (do some snorkelling)and get to Tulum both to the ruins and the beach. Any suggestions? Thank you again for your review. We spent hours looking on the internet, talked to a local travel agent and the stumbled on Hotel Casa Maya. We are not timeshare holders.
Hi Jacqueline – I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself
Have a look around the site as the various excursions we did are mentioned.
Just left from Casa Maya. I am a internal international owner. We have been at many resorts and was disappointed with Casa Maya. The age of the resort has never bothered us. After traveling since 7 am was ushered into the bar for a free margarita and of course a sales pitch. No room key no food, tired, hot and aggravated trying to drive with the traffic. Was not in the mood to deal with it.The resort is beautiful, clean but everything You had to pay for. The gym.$10.00 a day to use. Internet in the lobby only, when working and a charge for it’s use. Food was very good especially outside by the pool. $10.00 taxi to go anywhere. We attended a wedding at Dreams which was all inclusive. We wish now we would have stayed there after spending the money we did at Casa Maya and paying for everything. Sorry not a good review from us. Wont go there again.
So glad I found your review of the Imperial Fiesta Club at Casa Maya (Cancun). We have been trying to make up our minds where to go next and I think you have done it for us.
Alex & Norma
Hey just wanted to let you know we had an amazing time! The place was great. We did lots of “excersions” and were beach bums too. I would go back there again. Regards, Jacqueline
Lili I am not a time share owner and I have to agree with you on the way they give you no choice to either wait for a sales rep or check into your room. We got there after a long day of travel and were seated in the bar to wait for our rep (about an hour). I envisioned we would be escorted to our room when we arrived however that was not the case. I booked our room through Armed Forces Vacation Club. Unknown to me we would have to sit through a sales pitch before we could enter our room. At first we were not happy at all, however, long story short we were offered discounts off excursions and an upgrade for our room plus $100 to spend in the resort. We had to attend a seminar & sales pitch for 1 1/2 hrs. Was it worth it yes, but I wouldn’t do it again (the timeshare pitch) because once again they were not truthful. Both my friend and I have attended timeshares sales pitches. Putting this all aside, I enjoyed the week stay at Casa Maya & in Mexico very much. I would go back again but I would have to know through the booking agency I would only do so if I could be checked into my room upon arrival. My vacation time is way too valuable to sit through a sales pitch again.
what’s the best way to get to the resort?
did you go to the ruins? how did you schedule it?
thanks for all the info, really helpful.
Hi Kary,
We just took a taxi – if you arrange it in advance you might get the hotel to pick you up. I’d recommend talking to them about it. We schedule the trip to the ruins via the concierge at the hotel, and they picked us up at the front door.
Do they have an all inclusive. Am a timeshare
owner and would love to take adavantage of
a program if they do.
Yeah they have bracelets you can purchase… best to contact them for complete details.