Atelier Playa Mujeres

It's difficult to write a hotel review and inevitably you look for faults. I looked for reasons to keep this as 5/5 but felt that some improvements are needed to hold that. The hotel is on the Playa Mujeres private area of Cancun, about 30-45 minutes drive from the airport. The first experience is driving in to the private estate, surrounded by lush green forested areas, and then the arrival at the hotel. Your suitcases are whisked away, and you are handed a cold face towel to cool down. Check in is a welcoming experience and everything is handled effectively and efficiently. The room is stunning, and exactly as a 5 star resort should be. Clean, spacious, well appointed and with the usual amenities. The air conditioning was exceptional, which with average temperatures of 24 degrees centigrade at night, was welcome. Food is available through most of the day from the various restaurants across the complex, but you have to check when they are open. Most are à la carte, with only one being a truly buffet restaurant. The selection is very limited across all restaurants, and I'll say that they meals weren't anything particularly exceptional. The food was good so don't take that as a huge negative. My only surprise was some of the dishes; italian dishes that were available only with chicken or shrimp - that's particularly weird for bolognese or lasagne. The poolside service and overall service of the staff is excellent; friendly and attentive. I'll warn you though, that the american approach of tipping for everything seems to be prevalent from most guests. I didn't and it didn't seem to change anything, other than there being the mildest of delays in case you did. There are a good selection of pool loungers and beds across the different pools and beach. Some areas are restricted to Inspiro Guests (upgrade and cost), but mostly ok. What was REALLY annoying was that people would put towels on beds at about 4 or 5am and then not appear till after midday; blocking out beds, and particularly the four-poster sunbeds. The hotel seemed mostly frequented by american tourists (it was Thanksgiving) and canadian or mexican tourists. During my stay there were three large conferences at the hotel. The hotel has a dining reservation system for today and the following two days. It made getting reservations in some of the restaurants almost impossible unless you got day three at 5am on day one. The hotel had some minor points of wear and tear, but there was an obvious team going round the hotel repairing and fixing any obvious areas. Would I recommend it? Yes - it's a lovely hotel with plenty of amenities. Service and staff - 5 stars Food - 4 stars Room - 4 stars (on the basis of the sound-proofing deficiencies) General - 4 stars Average = 4.25/5 Overall I'll score 4/5 as I feel that improvements could be made Some improvements: Stop people from blocking sunbeds. It's particularly annoying. The soundproofing in the hotel needs a lot of work. The sounds from people walking in the room above (especially heels or a chair/table moving) was loud. The door offered no respite from the noise in the large corridors; and particularly at 11pm or 3am, returning drunken people could be loudly heard in the open spaces. There is no food served between 00:00 and 06:00. That's a bit crap for a premium 5star hotel. Also meant no breakfast on the morning of departure. The resort map doesn't work on the app; that needs fixing, as it's difficult to find places without the map. Read less

Family trip with my Mom, Brother and his wife. We both had Inspira suites- mine a swim up and his a rooftop terrace. Rooms were beautiful, with lots of amenities, fantastic snacks and great bar. Property is beautiful, well maintained ,stunning use of materials and architecture. We had butler service which has some great perks- but a lot of “No’s” - no I can’t get you Dark Modelo, no I can’t get take out from the restaurant, no there are no reservations for that time- sounds petty but we don’t ever abuse the service and just seemed like the few things we did ask for weren’t possible- and other resorts seem more accommodating to requests. Also only saw 1 out of 2 butlers 95% of the time and she was fantastic! Restaurants are very small, wonderful food but difficult to get time preferences. There were days we ate way too early or way too late, we heard many complaints that without Inspira dinner reservations were completely impossible. Can’t say enough about the pools and beach spaces, fantastic and great amenities like Evian water mists, sunscreens, and lotions. Bar tenders were also fantastic! Piano Bar and the player were wonderful but the location of the piano made it difficult to hear over the very enthusiastic bar crowd- it would be great if they moved him to the opposite end so those who came to listen could actually hear him. Room service is great and had I known how great would have definitely done more of that and ate on our beautiful terrace. Overall a fantastic trip! Read less

My husband and I just got back last night from our 9 day stay here at Atelier for our Honeymoon. It was our first time in Mexico and our first time staying at an all inclusive resort outside of the United States. We used a travel agent to book our trip and this was her first recommendation for our very picky and particular requirements. Everything went absolutely smoothly logistically from start to finish. We had no issues at all! We had such an amazing experience so this may be a lengthy review but absolutely worth reading. This resort is something out of a movie and we felt like royalty the entire stay. Not to mention everything is gorgeous! First and foremost, I do want to mention we did stay in the Inspiria Junior Suite Oceanfront with our own private jacuzzi on our balcony. When we pulled up to the resort, we could not get over how grand it looks. That is the best word I can use for it- GRAND and GORGEOUS. Check in was an absoulte breeze, welcome champagne and welcome snacks. The lobby smells like a luxurious spa. The bracelets they give you as your room key are top notch, handy, and actually really cute! After initial check in we were given a welcome margarita (I got Rasberry) which was the best Margarita we have ever had. We were asked to sit with a women, Rosalba (my spelling may not be correct) and she helped us with the map of the resort and let us know how to find everything. It is a big resort, and I had done some prior research so this was helpful. There is almost nothing I can complain about this resort, however she did attempt to sell us on going to a presentation to go over the timeshare options and let us know we would receive a free massage which is valued at $200-$240 US dollars. We passed and she was not pushy on us going but did let us know she would follow up with us later in the week in case we change our mind. We are in sales ourselves so we understand it is her job and we appreciated her not pushing it on us. I saw a lot of complaints on this in reviews prior to coming so I wanted people to know this was not that big of a deal. A second women did attempt to pitch us on the same thing the next day and was a little more off putting and annoying about it but we just told her we would go the next morning and never did and nothing came about it. Once our bell boy guided us to our room, we were overwhelmed with how clean and well stocked everything is. The view was to die for and it made for a very romantic and peaceful stay. The room was private, even allowing us to play music when we wanted without disturbing others. We can not rant and rave more about our Inspiria Butlers, Manuel and Oswaldo. They were there for us almost 12 hours a day, every day. Anything we desired, needed, or just had questions about was taken care of almost instantly. Needed more vodka in the room- we got it in about 10 min. Needed anything steamed, ironed, folded, laundry done- they were on it. Can't get a cappucino at the beach before the servers are out there?- Manuel was there. Every reservation was taken care of with ease, even if we were a little last minute. There was a couple nights it rained and we noticed our jacuzzi was a bit green. Manuel had it cleaned and fixed right away while we were at dinner! I cant say enough about them, they truly are the best. We would ask specifically for them when we come back again! We were so spoiled by them! The WhatsApp app was very helpful with our communication and being able to talk to them at any moment. Our favorite pool was the Inspiria pool down by the beach and El Susprio restaurant. We always had someone helping us make sure we had seats, towels, and had a drink in our hand. If we needed sunscreen or aloe, they had it for us! The bartenders at this pool were super fun and made the best drinks for us. We did head over to the other pools and had a fun experience at the main pool, but it was a bit crowded for our liking- same with the building 3 pool. But they are all gorgeous and you are provided top notch service everywhere. This goes for the beach as well! Service is there when you need it and they will get you what you need. I am picky and did not want what was on the menu there- Reyes said no problem and brought me exactly what i wanted. It was a bit seaweedy one of the days but it really depends on the wind the day you are down there. All bartenders were fabulous and friendly, but our favorite is Alejandro at El Suspiro. He worked the evening shift and we left feeling like we were best friends. He is the best and we highly recommend paying him a visit. As far as food goes, it is so hard to pick a favorite restaurant. My husband LOVED Takeshi. He loves sushi and he said it was SO delicious. My favorite was their spring rolls. We had this twice. The last time was on a day I was feeling a little down after a fun night out and our butler Oswaldo was able to get this to be sent to our room even though it is not part of the room service- just going above and beyond once again! Cilento is where we went most often- twice for lunch and once for dinner. The mushroom soup is to die for but everything we had there was great. If you order the Gnocchi at dinner, it is almost like a Gnocchi cake- just a heads up. I love traditional Italian and that definitely is not what I am used to. The other pastas, and the chicken parm is super yummy! Maria Dolores was included with our stay since we were Inspiria guests and stayed longer than 6-7 days. Like i said I am picky but I ate every single course and it was one of the best dinners I have ever had. They have something for everyone. Even if this meal did not come with our stay, We would have still gone as it would have been worth the money! It might be simple but their take on the caesar salad has me still thinking about- eating at a 5 star restaurant eating a salad with my hands like a taco was so fun and delicious. The other restaurants such as the buffet in building 3, the steakhouse, the Mediterranean restaurant and especially Mercado 19 are all equally delicious. Room service was phenomenal- comes very prompt and the food is great!! We did go to the nightclub a couple of times and had a great time. The only couple things I didn't like too much was lack of familar american music at times (We were in mexico though so i can't be upset about that) and the men and women's bathroom there is kind of connected which made me a little uncomfortable, especially when it was busy. It would be nice if they were actually private. We did not get a chance to use the spa due to excursions and enjoying our pool and beach days but it looked huge and very clean, peaceful and beautiful when you walk by. We did golf at the resort's course for an early morning tee time and the course is gorgeous, we played well and had a blast. The clubs to rent from are all top name brands like Taylor-Made. We did get eaten alive by mosquitos as they were EVERYWHERE on the course, so make sure to bring bug spray as we forgot ours in our room and non was there to be offered. It was cool to see the wildlife on the course including a couple crocodiles that did not bother us. Beware of the groundskeepers as one did try to rip us off on selling us a 6 pack of Modelo for $40 US dollars that he pulled out of his backpack. Just made the course feel a little less luxurious. The beer cart woman was great though and the drinks were reasonably priced. Lastly, the only little hiccup we had the entire stay was on our last night. In the middle of the night, I found a decent size scorpion in our toilet area. This was concerning and pretty scary as you can imagine. The resort is in the middle of a jungle so we understood it CAN happen considering we have a big balcony with open doors at times, but we were on the 4th floor. With that said, my husband somehow trapped it in a glass cup and we called the front desk. We were in the furthest room from the lobby and a manager and faculty were there within 3 minutes at 4:30am to come and take care of the issue. They checked the entire room to make sure we were clear to go back to bed with ease. They handled the situation SO well!! We cannot say enough great things about this resort. The Inspiria experience is 100% worth every penny. We obviously had the VIP upgrades, but the service in general and beauty of the resort I think would be worth it to every guest. If you are on the fence about going- GO!!! Thanks again Atelier- we had the BEST honeymoon ever here! Read less

Had a relaxing few days at Atelier! Overall awesome hotel that I would return to. Grounds/Room: Resort has a contemporary and posh feel with marble bathroom counters, lush landscape and fragrance piped into the building. The rooms are large with a large bathroom (concealed toilet room) with piping hot water and lots of toiletries. The Molton Brown shampoos, etc were high quality. No need to bring your own. Main pool was huge with some daybeds (no upcharge like Secrets). Quiet pool is perfect for those looking to unwind. People/vibe: Fairly diverse with large vacation friendly groups, couples, girls getaway and everything in between across many age groups. Ethnically diverse enough. They do have a lot of conferences, and I would check before reserving when they are happening. What I appreciated was the environment was luxurious but the vibe was unpretentious with no strict dress code, etc. There was something for everyone from people who wanted to just chill to people who love activities and socializing. Food/drinks: Definitely the place for foodies. All restaurants, cafes were really great to excellent and far above most AI resorts in taste and quality with good to great service. Cala Di Luna was my fave. Multi-choice vegan menu at all restaurants and gluten-free options. Multiple mixology/craft cocktail bars that made incredibly smooth, handcrafted cocktails. Also health food cafe for those who need their açaí bowl fix! I've been to several 5-star AIs but the food here is the best. Service: Encountered wonderful service but inconsistent at times. Room turndown happened for a couple of nights then, nothing. They ask at check in and at restaurants if we were celebrating a special occasion (my birthday). At Cilento, we let the front desk know if was my birthday that night. There was nothing, no special cake or out of normal acknowledgement. I thought that was all weird and disappointing but isolated incident. All staff members are friendly, accommodating and work hard for your good time. At check-out, they provided us a little gift and the bellman who took our bags from our room remembered my name in the lobby and automatically got them out. The service was mostly personalized like this. Spa: Best spa facility I've been to with guided hydrotherapy. Massages are legit and worth the $$. Our spa day really set the tone for the rest of our vacation. I would definitely return and bring some friends because I know they would love it. A lot of touches were very similar to luxury resorts like Grand Vegas but at a more affordable cost. Only thing is that the architecture is contemporary and doesn't feel very Mexican. But if that's not an issue, I highly recommend! It's a no regret move. Read less

Fantastic time. Sat in lobby sadly waiting for our transfer to the Airport, Hotel is lovely beautiful to look at. Great amenities. But the best thing about the place is the staff ! So friendly , nothing is too much trouble, special thanks to Rafael Pool Concierge, Rafael lifeguard, Eduardo pool waiter. Great choice of restaurants, especially the Asian and Japanese. Again staff were amazing, Suspiro. Great breakfast and Staff, we are friends from the UK have travelled to Mexico many times this has outshone the rest - would def come back. People do get concerned with the conferences:conventions that are held here but it really didn’t impact on us, yes you have to get up to get the beds but it’s not a big deal , yes people try to save beds and never sit on them but the pool concierges sort it ! Amazing! Thank you Atelier we will be back ! Read less