Ocean Coral & Turquesa El Beso, Riviera Maya

Our group of 2 couples stayed at OCT resort Jan 15-25 in the El Beso section building 4. Here is my review of the trip and the resort. - Flight - We started with a couple of mechanical issues on our WestJet flight out of Winnipeg delaying our arrival 5+ hrs. But as a note: if you fly out of Canada and are delayed >3hrs for issues in the airlines control you are entitled to compensation. (3-6hrs $400, 6-9hrs $700, over 9hrs $1000) - Hotel Personnel- We stayed at this resort 6yrs ago with our adult children, their spouses and 1 grandkid (we have added since). The grounds and facilities were fantastic and continue to that standard. What I did notice was a shift in culture amongst the workers. I must congratulate the leadership on a job well done. The staff was truly exceptional across the board. I do however need to mention a few that really made our trip one of the best (weve been to this area of Mexico 20+ times). Freddy in the Bistro restaurant (El Beso) knew who we were and our preferences on the second day. Your humor and willingness to joke around was appreciated. Richardo is probably the hardest working guy on the entire resort bringing drinks to those around the El Beso pool and covering a large portion of the beach (management keep him happy, he does way more than you know for the guests). And finally saving the best for last. Elizabeth (Trainee!!!) her smile will light up any room. She is a naturally happy person, but the smile she puts on for every guest day after day is amazing (tip: treat her right and you may get a hug). Elizabeth kept the El Beso guest entertained with crafts and dance. Our group will truly miss her until our return. - Beach We are more attracted to the pool than the beach, but if beach is important to you, this might not be the best resort. There has been a lot of seaweed washing up on shore. The staff does what they can to maintain the beautiful grounds, but it is a never-ending task. The seaweed is soft and can be walked on with bare feet so other than visual its not really a problem. Suggestion: management buy an old beet or potato harvester with a cart or even a baler to complete this task in a fraction of the time and with better results. - Loungers - Reading the other reviews before our trip in preparation it was clear the 2 most common complaints were lack of loungers and inability to book a la cart restaurant. I am a very early riser, so the loungers were never an issue for me and my group. However, every lounger around the El Beso pool was often reserved before 7am. It is very nice not being piled on top of each other around the pool, but please listen resort management. When you read all the reviews and the biggest complaints are lack of loungers you may want to come up with some solutions. There is plenty of room to add at least 50 loungers around the El Beso pool, half of which can go beside the pool near the Bistro. - a la cart Reservations - we reserved every night without issue. The trick is to get on the web reservation system just before 10am, select your desired restaurant, then the moment your cell phone flips to 10:00 you proceed with the booking. This will take a total of 3-5 minutes including the 2 minute prep time (you can thank me later). - Rooms rooms are large and well laid out. We had no complaints. Housekeeping was good, maintenance was up to date. - Activities There is plenty to do at the resort. My day was filled with Bocci ball, Beach Volleyball, Bowling, sipping on some cool drinks and pool time. There is something for everyone. My buddy and I also took the bike tour into Puerto Morelos (sign up at guest services in the lobby, bikes depart at 9:30, ride is about 20-25 mins each way at a light-moderate pace and then close to an hour in town). - New Friends - We came as 2 couples and left with many new friends. It was such a blast. I encourage you to just be kind and welcoming, the group we formed would not have happened without opening our mouth and being friendly. That's all it takes. - Airport Transfers As mentioned earlier we are well seasoned travelers to the Mayan. From past experiences we now choose private airport transfers. This typically saves us 1hr+ airport to hotel, and 2hrs+ hotel back to airport. Our transfer for 2 couples was $100USD return and worth every penny. Note: I tracked the incoming flight by texting myself the incoming flight number and noticed they were delayed over an hour. We departed the resort 2hrs before our new departure time and had plenty of time on the other side of security. This earned us a minimum of 3 hours at the resort vs. those that went on the bus allowing us to enjoy the sunshine and buffet restaurant before leaving, which more than paid for the private transfer not eating at the overpriced airport. Dont worry about booking at OCT, it will be great.

We enjoyed our 14 day stay here (1-7thru1-21-2026) The resort is maintained to a very high standard,all areas were very clean. Resort staff were all very professional,friendly and helpful. Photo shown was taken with our Butler, Elizabeth on our last day there. She was made sure that we had everything we asked for,including making all of our dinner reservations, and recommendations on what to see and do there.

Stayed at Ocean Coral & Turquesa for 2 weeks from 16th to 30th November Excellent hotel, staff we encountered very friendly and helpful and worked really hard to ensure guests had an enjoyable stay. Room Stayed at the El Beso (Adults only) part of the hotel. Room was spacious and cleaned to a high standard each day and mini fridge re-stocked daily with water, soft drinks and beer. Must mention the cleaner Raphaela who usually cleaned our room, she was so nice and always smiling. Shower and air conditioning was good and TV with a number of English channels Food We mostly ate at the buffet restaurant Casa del Mar, breakfast and lunch very good, however dinner could be a bit hit and miss but there was a good range so you could always find something. As others have mentioned you need to ensure you log on and try and book one of the restaurants from 10:00am. We ate at Sensai the oriental restaurant which was excellent the chef put on a really entertaining demonstration and the food was very good, we also ate at Ritratto d'Italia which was also good but not as enjoyable as Sensai. Entertainment We went to most of the nighttime entertainment but as we were there for 2 weeks it repeated but this wasnt really a problem as it was very good, especially the Mexican night. There was also music in the lobby area and then at 10:15pm there was a live DJ by the main pool. The activities team worked hard throughout the day with various activities on the beach and in and around the pools. Beach Thankfully we visited at the tail end of the sargassum season, so we did use the beach on the days we werent out and about. Most days were yellow flag days (swim with caution) however this wasnt an issue. Wi Fi strong on the beach and also drinks service so you can relax. Pools There is a medium size pool at El Beso, then there is a main pool with swim up bar where most of the activities takes place, there is also a large quiet pool and a kids pool. It was a struggle to get a sun bed at any of the pools after 9:00am, so you had to be down early. The hotel was about 75% capacity when we were there so I can imagine when the hotel is full that this can be a problem. Not sure if it is feasible but it may be an idea to have a few more loungers dotted about on the grass areas around the main pool. Location This hotel is in a very good location. The town of Puerto Morelos is just under a 4km walk along the beach. We did this quite a few times as we do like to walk and even in the heat it wasnt too bad as you had the sea breeze, although we tended to get a taxi back to the hotel as we usually had shopping. On our penultimate day it took us 50 minutes to do the walk compared to our first day when it took an hour. Puerto Morelos is a lovely town with a really good supermarket called Chedraui and must also mention a great book shop called Alma Libre. You can also find plenty of places to book excursions to various cenotes, Isla Mujeres, Chichen Itza etc. All in all, we had a great stay at this hotel and I highly recommend it.

Luis was our knight in shining Armour! Always there in our hour of need. Though we had a few problems with rooms he was always there to help. A wonderful employee who deserves success. Brandon was also there for us and helped us in many ways. Enrique, on sun bed duty was always there for us supplying towels and iced water on a regular basis. Great worker! All restaurant staff were amazing. Cleanliness of rooms immaculate. We will be back! Thank you to H10 Ray & Jen