If you’ve read my other blogs, you’ll know we are a “quantity over quality” travel family, and we’ve found amazing value to fit that ideal with the Krystal Resort in Cancun, Mexico!

If you’re looking for a once in a lifetime vacation, you can stop reading right now. This resort is not a culinary delight with excellent service, but it’s got everything you need for a vacation at an amazing price.

We paid $2,275 on Expedia for 2 adults for 5 nights hotel, airfare, and ALL food, drinks, and taxes included. (It said online tips were included, and there was some confusion on this. The front desk said tips to housekeeping were included but not wait staff. They only told me this after I asked.Im still not totally sure, and they should make this clearer…🤷‍♀️) This was well under the price for all other resorts in the area after searching Priceline, Apple Vacations, and Spirit Vacation Packages, and it was perfect for what we wanted.

We did pay at the resort to upgrade to a balcony room on the top floor ($269 US) and did purchase our seats and a luggage upgrade on Spirit ($240 US), but we would have paid that at any other resort too. The balcony was worth every penny. Having coffee with the view every morning was priceless.

This resort is in the heart of the Cancun hotel zone (Zona Hotelera). It’s a great home base for touring the Mayan ruins, zip-lining, exploring natural water parks, shopping, water sports, or nightlife— whatever you want on your vacation. Since we have been to Mexico so many times before, we focused on relaxation this time, but we did go off the resort to go to Isla Mujeres and the downtown area. If it’s your first time in the area, I recommend a day trip to Chichen-itza. It’s well worth the visit. It will be a full day- usually a 10-12 hour trip, as it’s 3 hours from Cancun.

Food

With the all-inclusive option- you don’t have to pay for any food. (Note- there are 3 food plan options, so be sure it says “all-inclusive”.) You can order as much as you want for any meal, anytime, and as many meals as you want. There are also premium options that cost additional for all-inclusive guests like lobster, but those items are clearly marked and aren’t necessary. There’s also a Starbucks that isn’t included, but the resort coffee is better than Starbucks in my opinion.

The resort has 5 all-inclusive places to eat in total, but they are all open at different times. For 3 of them, you have to make reservations for dinner. The reservations can easily be made online once you log into their free wi-fi (another bonus and it actually works quite well most of the time). It looks like this:

Getting used to where to eat and when is a little tricky. Here’s a summary:

Dinner

There is an Asian restaurant (Las Velas with a great ocean view), Mexican (el Mortero), and Italian/ Mediterranean (el Mediterraneo). Each of these offer reservations at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 only. You can only make reservations for the same day and/or one day in advance. I suggest making reservations when you get up in the morning for the following day. If you don’t want to make reservations, you can always eat at the buffet in Aquamarina (6:00-11:00 pm) or get room service (24 hours). Room service food is always free for all-inclusive guests, but there is a $5.00 US service fee that you have to pay upon delivery with credit or debit only. The resort does not take cash except at the front desk. Servers can accept cash tips.

There is also a themed dinner by the pool with a show on certain nights from 7-10 pm. These vary, so refer to the handout they give you when you check in that is in both Spanish and English. During our 5 night stay, they had one theme night. It was a Mayan dinner show on Friday night. We had already eaten, but we watched the show from our balcony.😁

Lunch

You can eat at the Fisheria (noon-6:00) poolside.

Or, you can go to the lunch buffet in Aquamarina (1:00-5:00), las Velas sit-down restaurant (1:00-5:00–this is the Asian dinner restaurant at 6:00 pm, but the menu is not Asian for lunch), or order room service (24 hours).

Breakfast

There are only 2 options- Aquamarina buffet (6:30-noon) or room service.

Late night

From 11 pm to 6 am, the only option is room service, and the selection is very limited: cheeseburger, club sandwich, quesadilla, chicken soup, and French fries. That’s it! 🤪

Last notes on food-

Avoid the buffet when possible except for breakfast. It’s usually cold, crowded, and not very good!

The service was often slow, and they seem to not have enough staff to properly take care of all the guests, so be prepared to wait.

Rooms

The rooms are nothing fancy, but they’re clean. The maid service was top notch. Again, the balcony is SO worth it!

The rooms include a DELICIOUS expresso machine and a mini-bar stocked daily with water, pop, and juice at no charge for all-inclusive.

Your room key is a waterproof wristband that also gets you into the restaurants for the free food.

Amenities

There are 3 pools, a hot tub, a kid’s pool, hammocks, beach chairs, palapas, Balinese beds on the beach, shaded beds, organized activities, a beach volleyball court, live music, a kid’s club, a towel service (the towels are oversized and very nice!), a spa, shops, and of course…the beach! All are included except the Balinese beds on the beach and the spa. You can get a coupon for one day for a free bed, but you have to reserve it, arrive by 9 am, and purchase a minimum of $50 in premium food and/or beverages. I’m not sure it’s worth it as there are first come, first serve shaded beds that not on the beach that are free. ONE NEGATIVE- the hot tub closes at 7:00 pm.🤦‍♀️

Off the resort

I would recommend Chichen-itza, Tulúm, Xcaret, or Xel-ha if it’s your first visit. Here’s what we did since we’ve done all of those many times.

Downtown Cancun

Cancun has an amazing bus system. The busses are nice, and it’s only $1 US to get on the bus and go as far as you want. There are bus stops all over, and the busses run every few minutes. On one side of the street the busses go north. On the other side they go south. The bus drivers often don’t announce stops, so tell the bus driver your stop when you get on the bus.

The Krystal is on “the point” that I circled below in yellow. The blue line goes north and the green line goes south. This is just for the map purposes. The busses don’t look different and aren’t different.

We took the bus to downtown Cancun (going north) and explored the shops and restaurants. I had never tried authentic pozol de cacao, so I got some from a street vendor for $30 pesos ($1.50). It’s definitely an interesting, indigenous drink- corn meal and dark chocolate. It tasted like grits mixed with chocolate milk. This is where the locals live, eat, and shop.

Isla Mujeres

You can take the bus ($1 US) to the ferry ($30 US round trip) to an island- Isla Mujeres. Take the Cancun bus to Playa Caracol or Playa Tortugas. Then, take the ferry UltraMar to the island. We tried to leave at Playa Caracol- a 5 minute walk from our hotel, but that port was closed. So, we took the bus from there to Playa Tortugas. Here are the schedules for both ports:

While waiting at the port, there are plenty of places to sit and relax or grab a snack.

The ferry tickets are $30 US per person for a round trip. The boat ride is an experience in itself, complete with live music. Upstairs is open-air and a better view, but downstairs is air-conditioned. The boat ride itself is only about 30 minutes, but it takes about 15 minutes for everyone to board. Don’t lose your ticket. You get one ticket for there and back so I kept ours in my phone case.

When you arrive, you will be bombarded with people trying to sell you things. We had been to this island many times before. I can’t begin to tell you how much more busy and crowded this island has gotten since we were there last, which actually makes me sad.😫

Renting a golf cart is the best way to explore the island. Use your GPS on your phone to walk a few blocks from the crowds to Indios Golf carts for a much better price than right off the boat. We paid $65 for the day, and right off the boat they were asking $120 a day. You can barter though. You can park your golf cart anywhere the curbs are painted yellow.

Isla has beaches, a turtle sanctuary, LOTS of shops, a natural water park (el Garrafon), some ruins, a basketball court, and lots of restaurants. This 5 mile long and one mile wide island still definitely has charm even though it’s getting more and more built up. It used to be so quiet. Even though it’s busier now and not as quiet, it’s still got the small island vibe with quaint, small businesses that you won’t find in the hotel zone. I recommend getting there early and taking the day to explore. Eat free breakfast before you leave, enjoy a lunch/snacks on the island, and then make a 7:00 or 8:00 dinner reservation back at the resort.

Language

Most people speak at least some English, but it’s MUCH easier if you know some Spanish. I can’t tell you how many smiles I got when I responded to their broken English in Spanish. I love being in Mexico and getting to use my Spanish! 😆

Money

The exchange rate is right around 20 pesos per dollar. For easy mental math, move the decimal point over one and cut it in half. $500 pesos – 50.0/2 = $25 US. The exchange rate varies just a little (20.8, 19.4, etc.) depending on where you go.

It helps to have pesos on hand. There are 2 ATMs in the lobby of the Krystal- one for US dollars and one for pesos. Take out some pesos before leaving the resort. Most places take credit cards, but some don’t. You’ll also need cash for the bus. Busses take $1 US, but the $12 pesos is a better deal. Also, let your bank know you’ll be traveling before you leave, or they may flag your withdrawal. Our bank declined our withdrawal, and we had to call them which cost vacation time waiting on hold.

Airport Transfers

I booked transfers through Expedia. It was called Speedy Shuttles. I paid only $40 for both of us to and from the airport. Getting from the airport to the hotel was easy. The shared shuttle (colectivo) was ready, easy to find, comfortable and left quickly. The driver even pointed out sites on the way. It was a 25 minute ride.

On the way back to the airport, we ended up taking an Uber. Speedy Shuttled wanted to pick us up at 6:25 am for an 11:00 am flight. I scheduled an Uber at 8:30 am instead so we could eat breakfast before we checked out and not sit at the airport forever. The Uber was $23.75 US. Everything went smoothly. I probably would just Uber both to and from next time.

Check in and out

There was a long line when we arrived at noon, and we waited about 30 minutes. Once we were able to check in, they had a room ready for us which was a pleasant surprise. Check-in isn’t guaranteed until 3:00 pm.

We checked out at 8 am with no line at all. We were able to return our pool towels to the front desk. They cut off and take your wrist band. If you don’t return it, it’s a $1700 peso fee to ensure you don’t pass them on to anyone else.

Summary

Not having to worry about food cost, the most turquoise water and beautiful beach you’ll ever see, along with an excellent location all make Krystal Cancun a great value. If you want to see Mexico, but don’t want to break the bank, this resort is perfect for you!

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