Active Advisories
There will be renovations in the Lobby and Lobby Bar the week of May 18-21st 205. All efforts will be made to minimize any impact to guests.
Overview
The Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort is nestled between 123 acres of tropical foliage and sandy beach. There is something for everyone, a wide range of activities, restaurants and their Signature Golf Course by Jack Nicklaus. The possibilities are endless.
Stay at 1, Play at 4 - Guests have access to the services and amenities of select sister resorts including Beach Palace, Moon Palace Cancun, Playacar Palace and Sun Palace. Transportation to sister properties
not included, please see hotel front desk for complete details.
Other fees include
- A Government of Quintana Roo environmental tax ranging from $1-7 USD* per person per night is to be paid locally to the hotel. *Subject to change.
Check in
3 p.m.
Check out
12 p.m.
Rooms
2058
Inclusions
- Daily activities
- Round-trip airport transfers
- All taxes
Rooms
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Garden view
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Garden view
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 4 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Balcony
- Jetted tub
- Smoking rooms available (upon request)
- 24 hour room service
- A/C
- Alarm clock
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Crib (on request)
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Rollaway bed (on request)
- Safe
- Slippers
- Turndown service
- TV
- Stocked liquor dispenser
- Complimentary toiletries
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Ocean view
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Ocean view
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 4 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Balcony
- Jetted tub
- Smoking rooms available (upon request)
- 24 hour room service
- A/C
- Alarm clock
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Crib (on request)
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Rollaway bed (on request)
- Safe
- Slippers
- Turndown service
- TV
- Stocked liquor dispenser
- Complimentary toiletries
- 1 king bed, and 2 double beds
- Garden view
- No more than 6 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, and 2 double beds
- Garden view
- Minimum 1 adult, maximum 4 adults
- Maximum 4 children
- No more than 6 guests in the room
- Balcony
- Jetted tub
- Mini-bar
- 2 connecting Superior Deluxe Garden View rooms
- Gaming devices
- 24 hour room service
- A/C
- Alarm clock
- Bathrobes
- Coffee maker
- Crib (on request)
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Rollaway bed (on request)
- Safe
- Slippers
- Turndown service
- TV
- Stocked liquor dispenser
- Complimentary toiletries
Amenities
Lobby
Lobby Bar
Pool
Kids Pool
Kids Club
Awe Spa
La Gondola
Carvao
El Manglar
Golf
Location
Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
All you need to know for Family of 5 on Spring Break
Matthew B (Baltimore, Maryland) on Apr 26, 2025
Overall good experience. I would not classify this as luxury, nor would I classify it as "budget"; somewhere in the high-end of the "middle". We traveled as a family of five (children ages 12, 10, & 6) f...rom Baltimore, MD and we met our in-laws (2) at the resort; we stayed for 6 days/5 nights. Here are my detailed observations: PROs 1. The resort is HUGE. There are effectively 3 resorts in 1 (Sunrise, Nizuc, and the Grand). We stayed at Sunrise and our room was in Luna (just two buildings away from the main lobby and all of the action). This made getting around pretty easy, but I could see where staying in a building a little further away could be a pain. Nevertheless, the resort has its own inter-modal system of golf carts and busses to get around. We never had trouble getting on any. The walk between the center of Nizuc and Sunrise is maybe 10 minutes at most; no big deal. The Grand is not really walkable, but you can take the Lobby to Lobby bus that comes by every 5 minutes or so. I'm not sure if this was a function of how big the resorts was, but it NEVER felt crowded, not at the pools, dinner, shows, or activities. We stayed the Monday after Easter thru Saturday (our Spring break). The Grand did feel pretty busy when we went there one evening. 2. You have access to ALL three resorts. This includes the Grand (we think). We sat thru a timeshare presentation to get free access to the waterpark at the grand, but NO ONE checked our wristbands when we got there (this includes at the Grand's "Playroom" , so I assume that you can enjoy the amenities at the Grand without having to pay the premium to be there; maybe that's not true of the restaurants? 3. Depending on what you are looking for, the location is great. Maybe 15-20 minutes to the airport. However, this also means you see planes flying overhead throughout the day; if that bothers you, you may want to stay further away. We liked being close to the airport so that we spent less time traveling to and from the resort. Beaches & Pools: 1. The beach was no good. This may have been the time of year (late April). There was too much seaweed to swim and though they tried to rake it up in the mornings, it was still left un-swimmable. They also posted red flags each day we were there, meaning conditions were not good enough for swimming (which also meant no lifeguards were posted). No one really spent time on the beach except for watersports and organized activities like volleyball and sand soccer. This seemed to be the case for all three resorts, though Nizuc's beach seemed to be the one that was taken care of the most insofar as seaweed. 2. The pool at Sunrise is AWESOME; the best one of the three for sure and really the best I've been to in Mexico or anywhere really. It's huge and there's no shortage of chairs and shade. There also several areas you can choose to camp depending on what you're looking for (quiet, active, kids, on-between, etc.). Sunrise also has the flowrider which is great for the older kids. Nizuc's pool is nice too, just not as expansive; though they do have one larger waterslide, but their area for little kids (under 6) is not as good as Sunrise. We did not explore enough of the Grand, but it doesn't seem like they have as large expanse of pools. Instead they have the waterpark that supposedly you have to pay $100pp if you're not staying there (or attend a 90-min vacation club presentation). I would encourage you to just go there without doing either. No one checks. The waterpark is ok; certainly not worth $100pp; maybe $20 at most. They only have 2 slides really (2 innertube slides which are exactly the same and 5 racer slides which are all the same). There's a lazy river, a super small kiddie wave pool, and then a standalone splash zone with the dumping bucket and maybe 4 other slides. There's also a kiddie area similar to Sunrise. There is NO POOL at the water park, except for the lazy river and kiddie wave pool. Food & Service 1. The food left a lot to be desired. We tried the following restaurants: Pier 38 (Sunrise), Momo (Sunrise), Gondola (Sunrise), Brazillian Steakshouse (Nizuc), Rivera Maya (Golf Course), The Cafe (Sunrise), Bombagillas (Sunrise Buffet), Smoked (Sunrise Pool Buffet), and the burgers and dogs served at the pool. The best overall meal was Riviera Maya at the golf course; the worse was Pier 38. There was also another Italian Restaurant at the golf course that looked really good too. 2. Drinks - Pool drinks were typical of any all-inclusive - watered down with not much creativity or flavor. When compared to Excellence-Play Mujeres, this fell short by a lot. No drinks in fresh pineapple or coconuts or anything fun really. The most creative drink (and good) was the off-menu traditional Mayan coffee at Riviera Maya. Beer choices were basically limited to Dos Equis; no real fresh fruit in drinks except for the occasional garnish. On top of that, the ice (for all drinks) was great big bullet ice, not cocktail ice, nor single cub ice for single spirit drinks. The buffet offers a Bloody Mary Bar and Mimosa Bar that basically consists of just Orange Juice and Tomato Juice not nearly as much "stuff" to mix in as you might see in the US; and no pre-mixed bloodies like Zing-Zang (just Tomato Juice!) Drinks get a grade of maybe a D or C-. 3. Food - I do not recall seeing salads, or much of any healthy options, on any menu, except maybe a ceasar salad offering at Gondola. It took us 3 days to eventually get fresh avocado (finally discovered at Riviera Maya). The guac served at the buffet and by the pool resembled the bagged guac that you would get at Subway or Taco Bell. The fruit never appeared to be fresh; at least not as experienced elsewhere. Meat, sides, and everything tended to be over or under cooked, and presentation left a lot to be desired. Aside from the meal at Riviera Maya, which felt authentic and was very tasty, I thing the hot dog by the pool was one of the best things. When compared to the meals you might receive on a cruise, this fell short. Food gets a grade of a C+. 4. The Cafe was not great. Not a lot of coffee offerings, and the coffee and food was mediocre. If you're hoping for a Starbucks experience, this will not scratch that itch. On top of that, we waited a long time (over thirty minutes) for a couple of crepes and three coffees. Save yourself the time and just order room service breakfast the night before (that's what we did 3 of the 5 days and it was great). One thing I'll say about the desert side of the cafe, and about the deserts in general, is that the head Pastry Chef was on-point! Every bread and desert that we had was great! A+ for deserts and pastries! 5. Service - Service helped the food to taste better. EVERY SINGLE server was fantastic. Super attentive, always accommodating, fun, and engaging (especially with the kids). The only place where we had an inconsistent experience was at Pier 38; which wasn't bad...it just wasn't great. Overall I would grade service with an A. Other "Stuff" and some cons... 1. The entertainment and activities staff was great. We attended a few of the nightly shows, 3 shows at Sunrise (Michael Jackson, Clowns/Circus, and Glow Motion), and 1 magic show at the Grand (whose theater is indoors and REALLY nice; again, no one checked our bands there; even though we had a day pass band). All of the shows were great. Glow Motion and the Magic Show seemed worthy of Vegas. 2. Major con for us was check-in and check-out. We asked about making dinner reservations during check-in and were whisked away to meet with someone (whom they suggested was the concierge that could assist us). Instead, we got stuck listening to a 10 minute sales pitch about going to a 90 minute presentation at the Grand if we want to get 2 days of free passes to the Waterpark and other Grand amenities. They roped us in by saying we'd have breakfast at the Circus restaurant at the Grand (which was something of interest to us) and that we would just go for 90 minutes and then get our free passes. We did all of this, but in hindsight, it proved to be an enormous waste of time with incredibly push salesmen and crappy breakfast in a restaurant that probably isn't all it's cracked up to be for dinner; and with all of that we found that we could have gone to the waterpark on without wasting all that time in the presentation. At check-out they also tried to do the same thing. Unlike normal hotels, you can't just hop in your uber and leave. They make you physically "check out" and get a "check-out" card. It seems like the sole purpose of doing this is so their salespeople can corner you on your way out just as they do on their way in. I get it, and understand the tourist economy, but this sort of pushy salesman garbage did not feel consistent with a 4 or 5 star resort. 3. We didn't use the Playroom at Sunrise, but it looked cool; and looked to be the better of the two (Sunrise and Nuzic). We DID use the playroom at the Grand and it's pretty awesome....bumper cars, ropes course, escape room, laser maze, time beater game, play pen thing, games, candy and food. We also went to the wired lounge a few times and never had any issues getting games. As for the Dreamery, I expected something very different from how it was portrayed on the website. The Dreamery seems to not be a physical place; it's just a "concept"; except maybe the little hut by the pool where they can make bracelets and balloon animals. The website really led me to believe that this was a separate place altogether, like another version of the playroom. 4. Our room was great. We had a family suite. Which is really just two connecting rooms. With 3 kids, finding a room that can accommodate us can be a challenge. This gave us an option that wasn't as expensive as having two separate rooms, but still allowed each of us to have our separate spaces anyhow. Shower was huge, water was hot, beds and pillows were comfy. We had a garden view room, but you still had a view of the Ocean. Our room was at the end of the spur (closest to the Lobby), but if you had a garden view room further away from the lobby it would definitely improve you ocean view. AC was cold, but didn't dehumidify much; room always felt damp, but the rooms each had oil diffuses that you could use to keep them smelling fresh. Nice balconies with hammocks was a plus! Only time the property showed it's age was the lack of power receptacles and no USB ports or charging options (so bring you "blocks" with your USB cables for charging). Not a big deal, just an observation. 5. One last thing that struck traveling with older parents) was the resorts accessibility. The amount of ramps and thought put into accessibility was noticeable and all of the staff went out of their way to help. Overall, we had a great experience as a family of 5 and we would come back again. Overall grade for me would be an A- with the following subgrades: Room - A Pool - A+ Beach - B (maybe just time of year) Food - C+ (A for deserts and pastries) Drinks - D Service - A Activities and Entertainment - A+
Not the 5-Star Experience We Expected
Giovanni M (London, United Kingdom) on Apr 24, 2025
We did not enjoy our stay at Moon Palace. Unfortunately, the experience did not reflect a five-star standard, especially for a resort in Mexico. Key Issues: Small Beds: The beds were too small for two ad...ults. We had to request an extra bed to sleep comfortably. Dirty Room: We found a gecko in the room and had to move furniture to locate it—only to discover a lot of dust. There was also limescale buildup near the shower. Pool Cleanliness: The pool was poorly maintained. Cups, straws, sunglasses, leaves, sand, and plastic toys were visible at the bottom and left there. Poor Service: Service was extremely disappointing. We arrived at 11:30 PM and requested towels and an extra bed. They arrived at 1:30 AM—two hours later—despite the “Do Not Disturb” sign being on. No one helped set up the bed, and the linens were missing, so it was left outside. Luggage Policy: We stayed for 4 nights, left for 2 nights in Mérida, and returned for another 5 nights due to a fixed reservation. Shockingly, the hotel refused to store our luggage during the 2-night gap because “the service didn’t exist.” Lack of Transparency: The resort consists of three separate hotels, but this wasn’t made clear at booking. We were placed in the Sunrise section, which felt outdated and in need of refurbishment. Generic Experience: The resort lacked local character—it could have been anywhere in the world and didn’t feel like Mexico. Overpriced: For the quality and experience offered, the resort is not worth the high price. We hope that as the Sunrise section undergoes refurbishment, service and standards will be brought up to what one would expect from a high-end resort. Sadly, this stay didn’t live up to the expectations or the cost.
Vacation Offers
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Enjoy a complimentary golf package during your stay at select all-inclusive Palace Resorts in Cancun, Mexico.
Riviera Maya, Cancun
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