Cancun, Mexico

Where to stay? How much will it cost? What amenities and services are included? These questions arise upon planning any trip for business or pleasure. There are a variety of options available to meet any traveler's budget, four-star and luxury hotels, the gran turismo and categoría especial. Four-star hotels are ideal alternatives for good service at reasonable prices.

Hotel Zone

Hotels within the hotel zone include the Aquamarina Beach Hotel, the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort, which has a wonderful and interesting nature reserve nearby. Some other hotels include the Caribbean Princess, which is located right on the beach, the Sun Palace which is purportedly great for weddings and with white sands outside your door. All are conveniently located in the island's Hotel District and have a restaurant and bar, ocean view rooms, launderette service, room service, long distance phone access, parking facilities, tourist information office, gift shops, and many other amenities.

Five-star hotels are much more abundant and many belong to international hotel chains, such as the Hotel Krystal Cancún, Meliá Turquesa, Westin Resort & Spa Cancun, JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa y la Sierra Cancún.

Gran Turismo hotels offer complete luxury, each with their individual touch. They include the Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa, Hyatt Cancún Caribe, Presidente Intercontinental, and Fiesta Americana Condesa, to name a few.

Categoría especial hotels offer special packages with international airlines and tend to be slightly lower in price. Among these, are the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach, boasting an enormous spa, the Ritz Carlton and Le Meridien Cancún. Most have a business center fully equipped for meetings, conferences, or any other corporate event.

All have bilingual staff, and some have personnel exclusively in charge of organizing games, events, and beach tournaments for guest entertainment. Most offer tourist information services to assist in restaurant reservations and organizing day trips to different nearby destinations. Emergency assistance is also provided through access to consulates, clinics and hospitals in the region.

Downtown

Alternative accommodations are available outside of the Hotel Zone. Modestly priced, these places do not offer the luxury which is characteristic of the five-star and gran turismo hotels. Located in the city, these small, affordable hotels are ideal for low budget travel. Hotels such as Suites El Patio, Hotel Plaza Kokai Cancún, Hotel Plaza Caribe and the Hotel Tankah all offer great prices and for those that are looking for a more authentic touch of Mexico. Some other moderately-priced hotels that are located on the Nichupté Lagoon where the lagoon meets the sea are the Sina Suites,Hotel Imperial Las Perlas, Hotel Caribe Internacional, very close to many restaurants and the Barceló Costa Cancún with shopping centers nearby. The increasingly popular ecological tourism organizations offer even more modest accommodations, recommending various beach campsites and rustic cabins. These options are suitable for indulging in the great outdoors and fresh air of Cancun.

Outside of the City

If you would like to experience a vacation outside of the hustle and bustle of the city and seek more relaxed environs, there are a few hotels such as the Hotel Casa Maya located on Isla Mujeres (Women's Island) and a perfect place for newly-weds. The Iberostar Paraiso Lindo is another place to enjoy many activities or if you prefer, just relax and get some rest. An upscale hotel located in the serene Puerto Morelos is the Paraiso de la Bonita Resort & Thalasso. This hotel has a massive spa and offers cruises on a luxury catamaran.

As the most popular tourist destination in the country, it is recommended that prior reservations be made when traveling to Cancun, especially during the popular season. Although most hotels are equipped for the possibility of an unpredictable hurricane, bear these occurrences in mind upon deciding when to visit, as the winds or rain may spoil the opportunity to fully enjoy all that the city has to offer. Nevertheless, the opportunity to visit should not be missed, as it is bound to be an unforgettable experience.

The Rivera Maya lies in the Southern part of the Mexican Republic, the Eastern area of the Peninsula of Yucatán, and on the Caribbean shoreline. It is called the Mayan Riviera due to the influence the pre-Hispanic civilization exerted throughout the region, extending from Punta Brava to Punta Allen. The Northern coast boasts an impressive development of its tourist infrastructure, while the Southern shore is dotted with small picturesque villages surrounded by unspoiled beaches. Gran Arrecife Maya, the world's second largest barrier reef is found off these shores and along with the tropical forests of exotic vegetation and mangroves, they constitute a veritable window into the biodiversity of Mexican wildlife species. The South is also well known for its underground rivers, sacred reservoirs, deep-sea caves and caverns.

The Mayans were the original inhabitants of this peninsula. Advanced in the sciences, their civilization is recognized for the intelligence and precision of their calculations as well as the complexity of their religious rites. The peninsula was an important center of commercial and religious activity during the post-classical period, which dates from approximately 1000 CE to 1500 CE. The Tulum Archaelogical Zone was a fortress on the Caribbean shores, Playa del Carmen was then known as Xaman-Ha, and what is now the Xcaret Ecological Park was known as Puerto Pole. Cobá Ruins, with a population of 50,000 inhabitants, was the most important city.

With the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519, the principal Mayan cities, such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal had already been abandoned. The wars and conquests of other peoples, harsh climate and the dangers of the tropical forest, combined with the frequent threat of hurricanes, made it difficult for the civilization to prosper. Xel-Ha went down in history as the first European settlement. Even so, during the colonial period, population growth was hampered due in part to the frequent pirate attacks at sea. These assaults hindered access to firm ground, even when reached, the dense forest provided further troubles, and thus the peninsula remained unexplored for several years.

In 1967 the Mexican Government recognized the importance of the tourist industry as an active ingredient in the country's economy. Given its natural beauty, which would tempt any traveler, this paradise was poised as a strong candidate for foreign investment towards the development of a hotel and entertainment infrastructure. The Palacio Maya and Club Med were the first hotels built in the 1970s, both blessed with exaggerated exclusivity.

Considered a strong tourist attraction during the 1990s, it wasn't until that decade in which Cancún experienced significant growth with the construction of hotels, American-style shopping centers and an array of entertainment facilities.

Cancún is presently divided into three districts: The town of Cancún, with a population of approximately 300,000 and a simple, practical infrastructure; the Ecological Reserve with its incredible lakes, rain-forests and mangroves; and the Hotel Zone, an island of hotels and shopping centers.

There are over 26,800 hotel rooms available, 200 restaurants, and several hundred shops in the city while paved and dirt roads enable access to the tropical forest.

Many facets of Cancun combine to offer the natural attributes of a Caribbean paradise framed within the vestiges of one of the most advanced and intelligent civilizations of the ancient world.