Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancún - A Karisma All-Inclusive Experience for All

8.6

Excellent

1058 Guest reviews

8.6

Excellent

1058 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness9.4/10

Service9.2/10

Comfort9.2/10

Condition9.0/10

Amenities8.6/10

Friendly service, great food, plenty of drinks

If you are looking for a RELAXING vacation spot - this is the place for you. The staff is FANTASTIC, the property is very clean and well maintained, and even when the resort is at capacity, there are spots at the beach and pools for you to lounge (even at 2 in the afternoon). There are a variety of activities, but not a ton of them. There only 4 restaurants (one of which is just a lunch spot) but the food is good. They have themed dinners several evenings during the week and the only buffet is at breakfast. I'd recommend downloading the app so you can read the menus and see the activity lineup. If you are looking for a place with a hopping night life and a TON of activities and dining options - look elsewhere - this is not your hotel. With only 148 rooms, it's small and quiet. We went to unwind, relax, and just chill - Margaritaville Cancun (the family friendly one) was perfect for us and we'll be going back.

Small resort , perfect for couples and a relaxing getaway. When are large group arrived they became understaffed. Otherwise fantastic staff and everyone was super friendly and spotlessly clean

This was a good all inclusive hotel right on the beach with lovely pools and landscaping. I was upgraded to a swim up room which was lovely. The hotel had a Mexican fiesta on the beach one night with dancers and musicians and I did the morning yoga. The restaurants are menu service for lunch and dinner. The only downside is the hotel is not near a town centre and has a very poor road to get to it. Overall I enjoyed my stay here!

Small resort .. very quiet not much nightlife

Pros: -Close to the airport, typically you will be the first drop off and last pick up from and to the airport which is important. - Cozy - Clean - Relatively good food but not the best, we liked the Latino restaurant better - The area is within the Uber pick up range - Good room service - Overall, friendly staff Cons : - Not so many fun activities specifically no playing, game or sport, not sure if is the planning issue or the people prefer to relax and lay down - I tried calling front desk from my room several times and no pick up, I had to walk to the lobby - There is an on tv resort app and mobile app that appears to not be synced with each other, the mobile app is more up to date with the plans, schedules and activities - we tried to order food and room service through the app, although it appeared to be sent on the phone after a 1.5 hour waiting, I went to the lobby and the concierge said the request was not received - Not a walkable neighborhood In overall we had a good experience and enjoyed our stay.

Great chill trip, great service and food, very accommodating for food allergies. It is dated but very clean

We really liked the vibe of Margarita Ville. Staff were so friendly and welcoming, providing the best service.They all seemed to like their job.There were also many activities you could attend each day like paddle boarding, painting classes, chocolate tasting, dinners at the beach, etc. Food had a good variety but the quality was on the medium side rather than excellent. But I will go back for sure and recommend to others as I am not a foodie. Lol

Outstanding stay all around

In Brief: it did not live up to 5 star expectations but overall good value. I’d like to provide a more comprehensive set of ratings in my review so please see below for Food/Restaurants, Room/Amenities, Service, Entertainment, Overall Thoughts. Food/Restaurants: 3/5 TAKEAWAY: if you don’t care about food you will probably be ok with many of the options. Not for foodies. Room/Amenities: 5/5 TAKEAWAY: The rooms are great and you can’t go wrong with a ground floor room but keep in mind what you want to prioritize- cool room? Swim up. Access? Garden Suite. Service: 2/5 TAKEAWAY: there are lots of gaps in service to be considered 5 star, more like a 4 star at best. Entertainment: 4/5 TAKEAWAY: understanding that it’s Margaritaville the rock makes sense but we wish there was more cultural music and it doesn’t need to be so loud as this is the more family friendly resort vs the adults only one. Overall: 3.5/5 I wish I could give this resort a higher rating but there were enough gaps that I feel it has a lot of room to improve. That being said it was a great value for the money and there were standout moments. It was an overall enjoyable time and we made a lot of great memories. The standouts were The Compass Bar, Joes Merchant, Latino and the overall environment. The backdrop made it possible for us to enjoy ourselves and we learned where to go and when to get the most out of our experience (which bars, which restaurants etc).

Quiet nice clean hotel. Good dining options, wish there was a steakhouse, however you can order a steak at two of the restaurants. More activities could be planned. Would highly recommend!

Great spot for a quiet stay. Relaxing and great staff.

Overall, staff was excellent. Property was continuously being cleaned. Nothing at all around the area in walking distance. Limited activities on site. The food was average but good. Best thing about the stay was the people staying at the resort. It was small enough that you were able to see the same people and get to know them during your stay.

Have been to the resort on another occasion! Things have changed and not necessarily for the good! Menus have changed and the food is just OK. Also, the point system has changed and the lack of choices is disappointing!

We loved our stay!

This is small quiet resort. The room we had was absolutely terrific - large and extremely comfortable. There is a breakfast buffet, all other meals are restaurant style - it works. Lots of loungers. The beach is good - shallow for non-swimmers. Snorkeling is poor. Apparently, weekly beach meals/barbecue. The staff are friendly and helpful. As with most resorts, there is constant "music" playing throughout the property.

The resort was nice, not too crowded and clean but the food was very disappointing. Everything was very bland.

Ty

Love this place! Had a wonderful time here with my hubby.

Very informative and welcoming staff. Just a very enjoyable stay with good noighttime entertainment.

Property was nice. Small enough to meet new people every day.

I enjoyed the size of this property. The location was not ideal with limited beach to walk and run. The properties on either side were run down, and they had bull dozers constantly clearing sea weed from the beach all day long. It was annoying to hear the noise and breathe in the diesel. The food was ok, but not 4 star, and the "upscale" restaurants on the property left more to be desired. The best part about the resort was the staff and activities. I enjoyed yoga and pilates with Landy most mornings, and they have a great blended health bar with smoothies that Angie made us every morning. They did make an effort at giving healthy options.

I like the staff (all around) It not to big (a lot of people) the food and entertainment. The room and swimming pool and Bar tender. People were all pleasant to be around.

The spa is beautiful, very professional, the beach special dinners are delicious and a great treat, Rita's Taco house has a great assortment of tacos and beverages and the staff are wonderful...nothing is too much trouble. The beach is beautiful and clean.

Every light fixture was covered in dust. The whole place needs a deep clean. The food was awful. All three of us got sick on different nights, including our poor 12 year old daughter. Bartenders ignored us. Limited dining options. All round, terrible experience.

This was our first time at a Margaritaville property and were very excited. The resort itself was adorable and perfectly sized. The pools I wish were a bit bigger only because when they got crowded (especially with the groups with kids) it felt like you were on top of others. The 5o'clock somewhere pool is where the foam party was and it was VERY cloudy the rest of our visit after. SOS pool/bar was our favorite to hang out. It saw sun all day. Plenty of chairs at the pools and beach when we were there, did not have to wake up early to secure a seat. With there only being 3 places to get dinner, you expect the menu to be full, yet every place was always out of multiple things making your choices smaller. Rita's is by far the best food, we wish it was open for dinner as well. Room service menu was very small and not that great which is always disappointing. The room was amazingly huge and peaceful. We did experience a sulfur smell for 2 days during our trip when showering and outside on the patio, and talking to other guest it sounds like this is an on going issues with the rooms on that side of the resort. Check in and Check out was quick and easy. Beverage selection is one of the better we've seen from other resorts. We have stayed at Karisma owned resorts before and had very high expectations for this one as well and we were sadly let down.

We loved that the resort was was smaller/less crowded, and the swim-up room was awesome!. Staff was very helpful and kind. Beds were a little hard on the back and the food was just okay.

It is a quiet resort but we really enjoyed our stay. Staff is attentive to every need. The resort is beautiful. Quiet is what we wanted and needed, so it was perfect!

Excellent staff, facilities, guests and beach.

The ocean was nice, but I did not like their money hungry marketing and prices. They were not customer friendly

Very clean, quiet, friendly staff, comfortable beds, good food-especially at the taco house. Just wish the smoothie bar was open all day!

We liked the quiet nature of the resort

we only allow to have a buffet meal every other day. my first time to get a limited days of access for buffet restaurant.

Nice, small resort. The service in the restaurants and bars was excellent except for the poolside servers….The food is very good

The property was clean and staff was friendly. The food wasn't good . Same menu all the time and was expecting buffet. They have a points system for.snacks didnt like as well.

El hotel es muy pequeño, a parte el clima no estuvo bueno, casi no tiene entretenimiento, decía que era solo adultos y allá vi niños. La cena a la carta si es buena idea pero la comida debería de ser buffet.

Just stayed a week, and would definitely recommend if you want a laid back vacation. The property was clean and beautiful, the beds are very comfortable and the staff is amazing. Frank and Lola's and Latino are the two dinner locations that require a reservation, highly recommend. The Beach House was ok for all meals. Ritas Taco house on the beach is open from 11-5, and is a winner. Snacks are limited, so if your a snacker you may want to stock up before you get there. The beach is really nice and you dont have to fight for chairs. The SOS swim up bar is kind of hidden in the back, but good if you want out of the wind.

I love the staff in general, especially Hector!

We have stayed at 20 of more all inclusive resorts and would place this as our 2nd favorite. I won’t tell you our favorite. This is the prettiest, with big comfortable rooms, great food, and the best most friendly staff we have encountered, by far. If there was something that wasn’t right, they went overboard with making it right.

The best

The staff here was beyond amazing. Always ready to help. It’s very very clean. No bad meals. We never had to wait for a drink , a table or food. Wonderful resort

Easy to walk around and very clean

We were disappointed at what we received. Booked a swim up room which was very pricey and when we were showed to our room we realized we were on the second floor. Obviously not a swim up. Guy showing us to our room was overly confused at how we booked. Went back to reception where the staff were also confused. I had to explain multiple times that we distinctly booked a swim up. Showed our confirmation which said swim up. Mass confusion. After staring at the computer for 10 mins they agreed that we booked a swim up but were being upgraded. We said “No thank you, we only came here for the swim up”. More confusion before they told us that they had no swim up’s in the category we booked. All were full. Confusion about why we didn’t want the upgrade and time ticking away. Finally they “found” a swim up but it wasn’t what we booked and they claimed it was an upgraded swim up but without the king bed we distinctly booked however, they would change it for a king bed the next day. Also the room wasn’t ready yet? Finally got to the room after 5PM which was the whole afternoon gone. It definitely was not an upgrade and we never heard from them again about the king bed. Weird smell of mold or sewer outside our room. No sun at all on our balcony the entire stay and our pool was way colder than the other pools. The area we had booked was always in sun, warmer pool and obviously where the king beds were. Pretty disappointing.

It is a quiet, charming resort with beautiful property. However, it would be nice to have more entertainment options and perhaps an additional restaurant. The food was underwhelming, and it was sometimes difficult to find seating at any of the restaurants. Room service was slow to the point of being impractical. On a positive note, the alcohol was all brand-name, and the drinks were excellent. The resort features several pools, including an adults-only area. I had expected a hot tub on-site, but it was only available in the spa, which required an additional fee. I was disappointed that you had to pay extra for day beds ($100 USD) and paddleboards, which appeared to be in poor condition. They also charged $2 per day for beach access. Additionally, my husband and I won a complimentary spa service, but they attempted to charge us for half of it.

I really enjoyed my stay, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Honeymoon 2024

We had a wonderful experience. Everyone was extremely nice from the bellhop, front desk and all of the restaurant staff. Within twenty four hours day new my name and address me in a friendly manner every time.

The staff was very kind, the service was perfect Alone we left the room shared a very bad pedestal And the sea shared a cesspool they emptied the bad waters inside All inclusive ???? We had the same menu every day and if we wanted anything else, we had to pay to eat fish

The hotel was excellent. Hotel & rooms are spotlessly clean and well kept. Staff are so friendly and helpful. Food Beach House Restaurant This was where you have breakfast, lunch & dinner. Breakfast was acceptable with lots of choice. Most lunches you choose from a menu although we did not eat lunch here. Dinner was buffet with other choices from the menu. Food was ok but not exciting. Service was excellent. Rita Taco House Open for lunch until about 5pm Loved it here. Excellent food and service. Frank & Lola’s (Italian - need to book) Ate here once. Food was very cold and not great. Lumpy mashed potato and meat that looked steamed. Other people we spoke to seemed to like it, so maybe we had a different chef. Iatino (Fusion - need to book) Excellent food and service. We ate here many times and never disappointed. Blended Bar Smoothie bar, really good. Excellent friendly service with a big smile. Beech When we stayed, seaweed was being constantly washed up but they had a team clearing it away, so it was never a problem. Lots of sun-beds and beautiful soft white sand. Entertainment Lots going each and everyday. Live bands at the main pool bar most nights. We had a great time and really enjoyed our stay (12 nights). Could not fault the hotel. The hotel is small with 149 rooms but it has everything you need for a relaxing and enjoyable stay. Nothing nearby but get an Uber to Puerto Morelos and have a wander around. We would certainly stay again. Download the APP.

Love the small non party type atmosphere. Very personable. Very clean!! Friendly staff. Could use a real good coffee bar.

Property was nice, but unfortunately my fiancee and i both got very sick

We came back to this resort, but brought our children as the facility is family friendly, safe & fun. We went in December, so it’s likely that we visited during “down time” for PM services. Several pools were out of service, hottub wasn’t heating & there was an aroma of sewage outside our room. The room was nice, but our swim up area was small & water was milky looking, so we remained out of it. The 2 ladies that do the kids activities were beyond stellar!! I cannot recall their names, I believe Tonya and the other started with an “L” were caliber and attentive to our kids. Hands down the best part of our trip! All of our servers when we ate were also 5 star! They were attentive, got to know our kids & knew what we liked. Rose in Joe Merchants was a blessing! She was wonderfully sweet and remembered my girls names and what they wanted before they ordered. My girls loved to see her as much as they did to get a snack! I was slightly disappointed in the selection in Joe Merchant. When we visited a few months prior they had a large variety - including local fresh foods. This go round was processed foods and canned drinks only. The biggest concern I had with the resort, was o requested how to get a taxi to take us to a mall Or shopping as we had a mid size group with kids. We were pointed to the direction of the Excursion Desk next to the resort reservations desk. We booked an “excursion” assuming it was safe & jeapordized our trip, burning an entire day and never taken to shop.

I had a great relaxing stay here. Staff was very friendly; food was ok nothing crazy but good for all inclusive. Very quiet resort, nice beach access but a lot of seaweed on beach but nothing too bad!

Great staff!

It is worth what you pay for it!

Wish the beach was a little cleaner.

The MOST incredible staff, property, beaches & food!! We had the best time & enjoyed every second. Everything was easy & convenient & we enjoyed every second of our time! We can’t wait to come back!

It was small and intimate! The staff was the most friendly ever and the food was excellent! And it was super clean!

It’s private

The dining options were very limited, and the room service was disappointing, often forgetting items we requested. The room itself had an awkward layout, was not clean, and lacked proper storage for clothing. Nowhere to go around this resort. The road leading to the resort was in terrible condition, riddled with potholes and frequently flooded, making it difficult to get anywhere. Arranging transportation was also a challenge, as it was in a secluded area, and the front desk staff were unhelpful and rude. They even quoted an exorbitant $180 for a taxi ride to a destination only 15 minutes away. Told us Uber was a 2 hour wait. Staff were a bunch of scammers! Literally giggling Infront of our faces. Got an Uber in 20 min. Koodos to our Uber driver that when through the treacherous roads. Hope his car is ok LOL.

Boring and limited dining. Lacks entertainment. Food was okay but not great. Definitely not luxury and no upgrades or VIP amenities offered. Family side was absolutely dead!

Like: Isoloated Dislike: not much activities

It was a calm vacation, I will just have to say that I wish there was more activities to do at night time. Overall experience I would recommend this to go relax and nothing more.

Great experience in all areas, would highly recommend!

Green oasis!!!! Wonderful service! Only one minus- not enough smoking areas..... if you on the beach you have going to front to get smoke ((((

We just completed a 9 day stay at the property. I feel like we got to know the resort well before we left. Whether you would enjoy your stay greatly depends on what kind of traveler you are. Are you there for drinking or adventure? Do you want quiet or a swim up room by the bar? My husband and I were in room 415 and my adult sons were pin 403. Originally they put us in the bottom floor 403 that looks right into the License to Chill bar. That was better suited for the 20 something’s that didn’t mind hearing music from 9-5, so we switched rooms. The downstairs patio opened to the courtyard, so they could bring a drink from the bar to their room. We preferred the upper balcony of 415 & corner window that looked over the ocean. It was ideal for watching the sunrise.Our beach was meticulously cleaned of plastic and seagrass every morning by hardworking groundskeepers. It is much easier to get an alcohol drink than water. The bartenders are friendly and good at their craft. We were always able to find a chair on the beach. There is an excursion desk that’s easy to use if you’d like a day out. I tried to get information before our trip to plan ahead, but had a difficult time. I even got misinformation on Chichén Itzá, so I booked a private tour. Our trip to Isla Mujeres booked through the resort was fun. The resort is isolated. There isn’t much area to explore or places to run or walk around. There is a stuffy, indoor gym with no view. I’d recommend only 4-5 days to keep it fresh.

The property is well maintained and the beach is nice. Rooms were very clean. The buffet is not good, there isn’t many options for breakfast and it opens only on certain days for diner. Even when they have tables available they would tell you to come back in 20-30 minutes for no reason. The restaurants were good but fills up very quickly. The first night we arrived exhausted and all restaurants were full and we couldn’t get a table at the buffet even if we could see the free tables…Every morning it was a nightmare to find a chair and towels for the pool and the beach. Staff would tell us to come back in 30min-1hour maybe more which makes beach vacations not very pleasant when you have to fight for towels at the beach . Some of the staff at the front desk and in restaurant is highly unpleasant. If you don’t need anything your good but if you need something they won’t make it easy for you. Overall I wouldn’t recommend this hotel even if I appreciated the property and cleaniness because of some of the staff negative attitude.

My family and I stayed here with our baby for a week. The resort is smaller and quiet, which was what we preferred. There were no line-ups for anything and always a spot by the pool or beach. The food was a hit most times. We loved getting our daily macchiato at the coffee shop on our way to breakfast and loved having lunch at Rita’s taco house (almost) everyday on the patio - it was a favourite of ours! The facilities are newer and super clean. If you’re looking for a smaller, intimate resort then I would recommend Margaritaville.

I can say. Honestly i was impressed with everything no doubt

beautiful boutique style resort, amazing view and nicely decorated. Only problem is the road condition to access the resort is very bad, I guess all the other resorts can pool the money and get the roads repaired

Les restaurants servent des plats de bonne qualité. Les chambres sont propres et spacieuses. Le buffet est à améliorer. Il manque une salle de sport.

I expected the food to be better at the buffet, options were very limited. The food was not replenished in a timely manner not kept hot. I came home hungry and ready to eat some good food.

Nothing special

Great for kids and some down time!

Na

The property was super clean and the staff were unbelievable! The look and feel of the resort was great as well. The problem with this place was two main things. The first is the location. The road to get there was terrible. We had to drive through water and super washed out roads. This made for a hard travel in and out of the resort. The second thing was that the resort was out of several items. One was red wine. We didn’t have a meal or drink where when we ordered something, we were told that they were out. Like I said, the staff were super attentive and amazing, and the resort was very clean and the room were spacious. It was just those two main things that left us feeling like we didn’t get the full value for our experience

Very attentive staff, very clean property, and excellent food options. The point system needs to be adjusted to include Energy Drinks - that would be my ONLY complaint

Very isolated in a remote area by a road that is not easy traveled. Hard to leave this one resort for activities. The hotel staff up front are there to sell memberships/ timeshare not to truly help with activities. Food was not very good at all for a resort. Hard to get swim towels, coffee, wash clothes, etc…. The beach and Gulf water are full of sea weed and trash. One positive is the drinks and music were good. I cannot recommend or return!

Staff great very friendly but no transportation to the airport and the hotel don’t acomódate when you had a excursion to reserve dinner always could not go in the restaurant and management was pushing always to make a sale on there stuff

A time was had!! Loved everything food, drinks, amazing!! And the staff was so welcoming and nice. Marco at the Beach House is the best!! It rained a lot but that did not stop the fun can’t wait to go back.

I like the service The clean room I don’t like the Italian food I didn't like the road that leads to the hotel, it's full of potholes and flooded, difficult to drive on.

Although the staff were terrific, the hotel messed up our reservation. We originally booked for an ocean view with a king bed and the first room was looking at the parking lot with two beds. They said that room was an upgrade. We’ve been to many resorts and that was no upgrade. After we said no this wasn’t what we booked for, they put us in a suite with a king bed. It was a nice room, however we still did not have an ocean view. The next day we asked them if they were going to give us what we booked for and after waiting all day, we finally received an ocean view room. They wasted a lot of our time. For our first vacation in a while, we spent a whole day waiting for what we originally booked. We will not be coming back.

The best resort

Its super peaceful but the road that takes you the hotel is terrible. In this area you won’t be able to see the clear and blue water.

It was overall a good stay. Employees were friendly, the bubble party in the pool was a highlight, taking pictures with parrots was cool. Food was really good, enjoyed the large portion sizes.

The reaort was quaint, small with wonderful grounds. They were impeccable at keeping the resort clean, maintained and beautiful!

The food and service were great. The manager was awesome. The spa was great. I just wouldn’t consider this a 4 1/2 star resort. Seems like every time I need a towel at the pool they were out.

I was not able to check into this property. The security guard told me they were at full capacity and would not allow my cab entrance to the property. They told me call back during the week to cancel. I called Expedia and notified them immediately of this. Expedia tried to get my refund and property declined the refund and are saying that I no showed.

The hotel is phenomenal, the staff is friendly and very attentive to guests. They make guests feel welcomed and taken care of. The food and some of the facilities were not great as they were putting things back together after the winds from Milton. Overall, however, this is the best hotel in Cancun! Worth every penny!

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary in September 2024 with a three-night stay at Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun, and overall, it was a great experience! Firstly, I want to mention the food. Unfortunately, the buffet left a lot to be desired. There wasn't much variety, and the bakery items were not fresh, leading to a bit of disappointment. While the food at the a la carte restaurants was decent, it was disappointing to find only two dining options available along with a taco bar. On a brighter note, the staff at the bars and restaurants were incredibly friendly and attentive, which enhanced our dining experiences. Their hospitality truly stood out! The resort was clean, and it was evident that the staff worked hard to maintain that cleanliness. However, some areas felt a little outdated, which could use a refresh. One thing we noticed was that the seagrass by the beach wasn't cleaned daily, which detracted from the overall beach experience. On the positive side, the fun activities at the pool were a joy! We enjoyed our time there, and it added to the overall enjoyment of our stay. In conclusion, despite a few drawbacks, we had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary at this resort. We appreciated the friendly service and fun atmosphere.

That place was a great only in the night is little quiet no music in Spanish

Everyone was nice and professional. The resort and rooms were very clean and comfortable.

Loved the vibe at this resort. 4 stars only because the food is not amazing. It’s fine. But just fine.

Staff and hotel were amazing! Would recommend

The food is not very good

very nice place

We loved the property. It was the vacation experience that we needed.

Everything was very average, I didn’t eat a single thing that I was impressed with, it was just enough to fill a hole, the alcohol could be drank allllll day without even feeling tipsy which is crazy. The “entertainment” was pretty lame, Every night from 8-9 was a really bad Dj who was also the bed rental guy on the beach during the day, then they had a band/singer each night from 9-10, after that the bar closes an hour later and there’s nothing to do but watch tv in your room and order room service if you’re hungry, and as I said the food isn’t great. Our AC went out on the last night at 12am they had no maintanence guy on shift so had to give us another room, we packed and went to a downgraded room that smelled SO bad of mould (you know the smell) so I went back to reception and got moved again, that room was fine, got in bed around 1:30am and the sheets were damp but by that point we just stayed as we had to be up at 5:15am to check out and get to the airport as our flight was at 9am. All in all I wasn’t impressed at all, I’d call it a 2-3 star hotel

Not exactly shown in website

Best ever. We will be back. So chilled

I didn’t receive anything only thing I got was a coupon for a little discount on an expensive massage