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Well hello! I hope you’re having an amazing week! Let me tell you that I really wish I was writing this article in present tense, because it is FREEZING here and looking back at my trip to Hotel Xcaret Mexico with our kids brings me back to much warmer days and nights.
If you’re not familiar with Hotel Xcaret Mexico, it’s definitely special. It’s unlike any all inclusive hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Located about 1 hour south of the Cancun Airport in Playa del Carmen, this resorts offers a lot of great things including being an eco friendly hotel, a full service hotel with the friendliest and most helpful staff you’ve ever met, as well as offering an all-fun inclusive experiences which gives you access to tours and parks at no additional cost (which is amazing).
So if you’re reading this post, it’s most likely because you are traveling with little kids to Hotel Xcaret Mexico and aren’t entirely sure if this is the place for you. I get that. I felt the same way. It’s definitely an amazing hotel for couples and groups of adults, but does it translate to little kids?
I’m sharing our experience at Hotel Xcaret Mexico with kids
We travelled to Hotel Xcaret Mexico with a 2 year old and 4.5 year old. We booked a Garden View Suite room, and were upgraded to a River View Suite with a bonus of a second balcony. Our room was in the Espiral Building which was very close to the main pool, mexican buffet and bridges to the beaches.
What we loved so much about this resort is that every pool, beach and restaurant was kid friendly. Even the main pool with a swim up bar and amazing look out allowed for children. The exception is that there is 1 building that is adults only, so we had no access to that, but that didn’t matter. There was also 1 restaurant that we did have access to which was adults only, however that restaurant was at an additional charge so, again not a big interest for us.
High Chairs and Strollers
High chairs and strollers are available throughout the hotel. Yes, you read correctly, strollers. There were several strollers that you could use at your leisure. We had our own, so we didn’t need them, but they were available in either single stroller or double stroller which was neat.
Kids Pool
The kids pool, which was located on the complete other end of where we were staying, has a huge octopus slide. This was a mega hit for our kids. The water didn’t seem to be heated, however our kids didn’t mind. There is a buffet (geared towards families) right beside the pool as well as bar.
There was a pool side waiter, lifeguard and even someone there folding your towels for you. Truly amazing. If the pool was heated I think we would have stayed there for the entire day.
Main Pool
As mentioned, the infinity pool is the main pool which has a swim up bar and an amazing view of the ocean. We spent the majority of our pool time at this pool. It was heated which made it very comfortable (we travelled in January which can be a bit cooler, so that heated pool made for a nicer experience).
The kids loved ordering apple juice from the bar, and we enjoyed a few drinks there too. Like the kids pool, there is a pool side waiter as well as a lifeguard (who is very attentive), and someone there to fold your towels or tuck them in your chair when you’re in the pool.
The Beach
Pros and cons for this one. To answered the most asked question… yes there is a real beach. There is one on either side of the resort. There is a roped off swimming area and the clear the debris every morning. The beach isn’t huge and on the actual beach there are no seats and no umbrellas on the beach.
That being said, the man made beaches within the resort on the river are a great option for little kids. No waves and kids can easily go in and out of the water without fear of waves. Lots of seats and umbrellas for shade – and lots of options. Every building has it’s own river beach, so your really don’t have to go far.
Food For Kids
My kids are “special” eaters. Their main food group is beige. There was also an amazing selection of food for them. At the main buffet, the Mercado – Mexican themed, I had them make a made to order spaghetti with meat sauce for the kids and sneaked in a few veggies. They didn’t seem to mind. At Xin-Gao, they LOVED the tappanyaki menu (rice and chicken) and experience. (keep in mind the earliest seating is at 6pm and you aren’t seeing food till at least 6:45pm). At Las Playas, the restaurant under the pool and beachside, they kids devoured the burgers. There was also pizza available. All this to say, your kids will eat and eat well, don’t be worried.
Kids Club
There is a kids club on resort. It’s for kids ages 4 plus. Because of this we didn’t use the kids club as our youngest is 2 and these guys love being together. That being said, on the day it rained we went to see if we could bring them to the kids club and stay with them while they played. We could not, however the ladies gave our kids colouring books and toys to keep them busy for the day. What we did end up using was the “family recreation room” Xiipaal. There was a some giant games and places to hang out. Definitely killed a few hours there on a rainy Monday.
All-Fun Inclusive Activities – Tours and Parks
So this is where we hit a bit of a snag based on the ages of our kids. When you stay at Hotel Xcaret you have access to tours and parks free of charge. (I believe there are 8 to choose from). We only tried out Xcaret Park and Xenses Park. Xcaret Park was a promising one, however after touring the animals and watching one show, the kids were done and there wasn’t much else holding their attention. On top of that, the kids park within the park was catered to kids 6 plus, so our kids weren’t allowed there.
Xenses we had way more fun at, again we couldn’t fully enjoy the park as our kids were too small. The water activities were for older kids. But easily killed 2 hours and it was a lot of fun.
Both Xenses and Xcaret have a shuttle from the hotel every 20 minutes. Which made it easy to check out for a few hours and then return back to the hotel without any headache.
Xel-Ha would have been another choice for us, however this one is a full day trip and for a two year old it’s a bit much so we gave that one a skip. (we still treasure nap time) We’ve heard you can hire a cab to get back to the hotel as if you want to leave early, however that wasn’t of interest to us.
Shuttle from Airport via Hotel Shuttle
Car seats was a question and concern for me. After contacting the hotel, they couldn’t confirm car seats and I didn’t feel like brining ours. However they really weren’t needed. When you travel from the airport to the hotel on the Hotel Xcaret bus, it’s like a coach bus (think greyhound) and not one of those vans you usually get with resorts. If you have a baby, sure a bucket car seat would work without issue as there are seatbelts. Our kids were happily strapped in with their seatbelts. There is also bottled water and a bathrooom on the bus, so rest at ease… your kids are covered 🙂
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