Looking for recommendations on the best family friendly resort in Mexico! 2 kids under 5 years old. Preferably Cabo (closer to home) or Puerto Vallarta.
Thank you!!

We have stayed at the royal Decameron complex in Bucerias . Just outside Puerto Vallarta . Nice complex . Market is about a 15 min walk . Very nice neighbourhood , very safe area .

Geordie great kid
Friendly hotel and reasonably prices

Geordie don’t do it…I stayed there last October and it was terrible. The restaurants were never open, ants in the rooms, pools pretty dirty and the iquanas had taken over

Janet we stayed they for a friends 65 bday in mid February. They have started to renovate the whole place . No issues with restaurants being open . Didn’t notice any ants or critters in our room , Ac unit work great , food was ok nothing special . We went on 4 excursions while we were there . All 10 of us really enjoyed the week we were there .

Geordie glad it worked out for you

Janet sorry for your experience. October is still a bit before the season, may explain the restaurant situation.

Geordie I was here in Nov with my parents and we loved it! Tons of families and kids

Geordie we stayed there last year with 2 little kids. It was great. So many evening activities, kids club & kids swimming area with slides. Loved it. Food is average.

We stayed at Royal Solaris in San Jose del Cabo. They have an excellent kids area. The service is excellent the food was just okay.

Melissa do they still have the waterslides for kids?

Sabine they have the whole area for the kids. Its a really good set up for the younger kids

Melissa We stayed there 2 years ago and found that the membership/purchase push was very aggressive. The food was okay but the pool and service was great. Affordable. They had shows as well. I’d rank it medium but the cost was reasonable for what we got.

Hyatt ziva in Cabo is outatanding!

Hyatt ziva cabo is 15 minutes from the airport and is a decent resort for family.. And there is a strip mall with a grocery store McDonald's, subway etc about a 7 minute walk.

Royal Decameron in Bucerias has a great family pool , play area & daycare services. We’ve stayed there numerous times .

Elizabet see previous comments…it’s not what it used to be

Janet oh no
haven’t been there since 2019 . Sad to hear this !

Cabo does not necessarily mean closer.
Airport can be busy and take over an hour to get through and full of time share sharks.
Then it can be a 45/ 60 minute with a taxi costing over $100 Canadian.
The ocean is deadly especially for small children.
Strong undertow, rogue waves.
The one sometimes swimmable ocean called Medano is full of spring breakers and loud mouth steroid punks.
You can't walk the beach.
It's full of vendors and time share sales people.
Deadly ocean full of boats and personal water craft.
Also Cabo is the most expensive place in Mexico and the Caribbean.
North American type prices.
I would honestly pick anywhere else.
This is what some people call a swimmable ocean in Cabo.
https://youtu.be/pBnj7Tv6Ot0?si=EUlg2SFSUWfdH45S
YOUTUBE.COM
Drunk man and water Man up man drunk in Los Cabos

Greg as a mom of 3 having gone to Cabo on a girls trip I came back thinking it was not a place I’d want to take kids due to the non-swimmable beaches.

I've stayed at the Grand ( Royal) Decameron in Bucerias a couple times and it's 2 star at best.
Needs to be renovated 15 years ago.
Old school room key.
No drink fridge.
Not even a coffee maker in the room.
Food is not very good.
Uncomfortable lounge chairs.
No room service.
No drink service around the pools.
No drink service at the beach.
No coffee shop.
No mimosa.
No mojito.
The least amount of seafood I have seen at any resort.
Next to nothing for airconditioning in the common areas.
No kids club.
Smallest standard size rooms in Mexico at 275 sq ft.
Great beach and location.
640 rooms are way to many vs the amount of amenities.
Always look for the amount of rooms vs amenities.

Are you set on the pacific side of Mexico ie Cabo and PV?

Tara only bc the flight is 4 hours. Playa is my fav but just a bit too far w the kids. 6hr flight plus hour long bus ride.

Kate ahhh ok. Good luck

I've been to Iberostar Playa Mita near Punta de Mita 5 times.
454 rooms.
4 specialty restaurants.
Great kids club and small kids pool with slides.
level entry main pool.
Swim up bar.
Activity pool.
Baby sitter service.
Lots of airconditioning in the common areas.
Basic room service.
Drink fridge.
In room WiFi.
Entertainment is in an actual indoor auditorium located one story below and away from the rooms.
24 hour Starbucks type coffee shop with snacks will make you any special coffees you want.
Made to order drink service including around the pools and beach.
Employees will put up free umbrellas anywhere along the waters edge.
Bathrooms, bar and tacos /hamburger grill at the beach.
Seperate food and bars around the pool from beach.
An oceanfront bar and lounge area on a sundeck that runs the entire length of the resort.
Gated community.
Golf course surrounds the resort.
Nice flat secluded beach.
True ocean front rooms:
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We just went (as in we are on the plane back from PV) and stayed at the Grand Venetian as a family. What I liked about it is the 1-2 bedroom options with full kitchen. There is a restaurant, pools, and amenities. It is not all inclusive but that’s what we wanted and I’d recommend it over many of the all inclusive we stayed at before.

Although not Pacific side, the Playacar area in the Mayan is really lovely. It's a gated community. Maybe 30-40 mins from the airport, so not too bad. Stayed in that area with our 7 year old earlier on this year. We stayed at the Sandos Playacar, but there are many resorts in that area. We also ordered a car/van instead of taking the bus that stops at all the resorts to alleviate the lengthy car ride with a little one

We have stayed at royal decameron many times. Our travel agent will no longer book that property due to recent terrible reviews

Arami yeah I’m shocked at all the recommendations stations for it. My in laws just stayed there and said it was not great

Arami

Arami was a swingers resort prior. I wouldn’t go with kids. Lots of swingers still go there and tried to pick us up .
food sucks .
Any Riu is a solid choice.

I just booked Royal Solaris in Cabo. Amazing kid amenities with no age restrictions. I was originally booking Dreams or Krystal Grand, but changed it for this kid friendly resort. Kate

We stayed at Riu Jalisco in Nuevo Vallarta, last year, and absolutly loved it! All inclusive, including entertainment daily, plus they have a specific pool for kids too and a lovely sandy beach. I'm hoping to return there again!

Paola
Most resorts around 300/450 rooms
Riu Jalisco 700
Riu Vallarta 678
The most rooms of any resort in Riviera Nayarit/ Puerto Vallarta.
Even at 3 to a room that's over 2000 people.
No room service.
No beach service.
No washrooms at the beach.
No free umbrellas on the beach.
Riu Vallarta pool :

Greg it definitely wasn't this crowed when I went. Umbrellas at this beach aren't needed. It's one of the few beaches still fill of lovely, shady palm trees. Bathrooms are actually close by too! But hey...to each its own.

Greg I wasn’t a fan either, pools were way to crowded and waves in ocean are probably to big for little kids. My kids in their early 20s loved it though.For me it’s worth the extra flight time to go to akumel.

Grand palladium in PV was great.

Stephani we have stayed there 3 times, even through a hurricane. It’s a small resort and I love how it’s just on its own. Easy cab/bus to bucerias or punta Mita or PV if you want it. I have found the food to be great and the staff lots of fun. But I’m not super picky. Over the years they built an awesome kiddy wading pool with waterslide and my kids loved the kids club. We are beach people and I love that they have a breakwater wall creating a natural ocean pool with fish and a sloping beach, which my kids loved to snorkel around. I’d love to go back.

Riu PV. We are going 2nd year in a row. Loved it.

Iberostar at Punta Mita has a great kids’ programme, play area etc, my grandson aged 4 absolutely loves it. One flies into Puerto Vallarta.

We prefer to air bnb in Mexico. We are heading to Bucerias next week. We have a modern condo with pool, 2 blocks from the beach and close to awesome, cheap restaurants and the grocery store. We are paying $83 a night. Total, with our flights to Puerto Vallarta, for 2 of us, with upgraded seats, for 9 days, is $1600. We book our flights through expedia. Something like this might be an option for you?

Nonie I would love the link to the airbnb you rent if possible

Tiffany https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/40233392?viralityEntryPoint=1...
AIRBNB.CA
Condo in Bucerías · ★4.85 · 1 bedroom · 2 beds · 1 bath

For all inclusive, and little children, the Bahai Principe Grand Coba in Akumel is amazing. Great water area for kids, and kid's club. You have to fly to Cancun and then take a shuttle down, about an hour.

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Chloe Roberts

Hyatt Ziva, but you can not swim in the ocean there. It’s close to the airport and the beginning of the hotel zone, in San Jose.
Honestly with kids I rather take that extra 2 hours flight to Mayan Riviera.

Rui Vallarta - Neuvo Vallarta

following

Hyatt Ziva!

Hyatt los cabos have nice kids playground pool. but big waves on the beach

Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres

Riu emerald bay mazitlan. Highly recommend-

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Xcaret...hands down...nothing remotely close in quality, activities etc....it's near Cancun but more than worth the time....
https://www.hotelxcaret.com/en/
HOTELXCARET.COM
Hoteles Xcaret

https://www.xcaret.com/en/buy-my-ticket/?gad_source=1...
XCARET.COM
Admissions to Xcaret

If you want to swim in the ocean Cabo is not the best, alot of the beaches are not safe for swimming due to the rip currents.

We stayed at Crown Paradise in PV, great for kids with a pirate ship. Also located beside Crown Paradise adults only and you can use their facilities.

Royal Solaris! Very family friendly, great kids area. We've been two years in a row, close to airport so the travel is really easy.

You can't go wrong with the Riu brand.

Gerry Rius have too many rooms vs the amount of amenities.
3 star at best.
500 person cafeteria food for the masses.
Zero room service.
Riu Sante Fe 1200 rooms .
Riu Emerald Bay 1300.
Riu Jalisco 700
This is 678 room Riu Vallarta:

Greg I don't go on school breaks, that's when it's nuts.

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el cid resort and marina in Puerto Morelos - direct flight from Vic
To cancun and a 20
Min drive. Beach was ok but the resort and pool and food are 5 star ! Check it out

Or in PV....
Crown Paradise, there is a kids club there , water slides etc

Doug Morrison

Club med!!!!

Villa La Estancia in Nuevo is fantastic! Great food and a smaller resort. We went with a large group (families) and we all loved it
Another vote for Iberostar Punta Mita as well
We have young kids and have stayed at both recently!! Both resorts are clean, excellent service and for an inclusive, excellent food!

Wow thank you to everyone who took the time to respond. I’m combing through all of the messages!
More specifically - does anyone have any experience at the Marival emotions resort and suites?!
Thanks again everyone!