Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun

[rubbernyc]

Does anyone have any experiences here lately or ever? I can only find posts on Lagunamar but am interested in visiting this one instead. Any tips or input would be welcome. Thanks.

 

[byeloe]

Will you be staying there on a Star Option reservation in the villas? We were in an Oceanside studio last fall? What information are you looking for?

 

[rubbernyc]

Will you be staying there on a Star Option reservation in the villas? We were in an Oceanside studio last fall? What information are you looking for?

Yes, staying in a 3BR unit lagoon side using star options. Any thoughts on the area, restaurants, etc. I just don't see any feedback or chat on here about the resort, just Lagunamar.

 

[byeloe]

the beach is a little calmer than at Lagunamar. There are not a lot of restaurants that you can walk to. We were there for 4 nights after 7 at Lagunamar, we mostly eat in the room due to food allergies. You can definitely take the bus to any restaurant on the strip. It's a bit of a walk out to the road and a pretty long walk from the lobby to rooms. The studios have King beds and newer appliances.

The oceanside pool area is pretty small, but we liked not having to get up super early to get loungers.(in September)

We prefer Lagunamar but would stay there again since we don't venture off property much

 

[rubbernyc]

Thanks for the feedback. We chose this over Lagunamar since we need ed 3BRs. First time in a Mexico property for us.

 

[daviator]

I haven't stayed there but have been past it many times. It's waaaaaaaay at the end of the hotel zone strip. The positive thing is that it's close to the airport and a much shorter drive to and from there. It's also closer to some of the tourist attractions to the south of Cancun.

But it's much further to go into Cancun proper, so far that I probably wouldn't bother. From Lagunamar you can easily take a taxi or the bus into Cancun, but from the Westin Cancun I think it would be like an hour each way, maybe more if there's traffic. So it's a better choice for those who mainly want to stay at the resort or at least in the hotel zone.

It looks like a nice property and I hear they did a nice job with the conversion from hotel rooms.

 

[jmhpsu93]

We stayed here about four years ago when they were in the middle of the conversion. It's really remote - you can't walk to much unless you're good with a 1 km walk or more, and the sidewalk down there is really rough. We didn't love the vibe there. The other thing is that the smaller bedroom in the 2 BR doesn't have a window which would freak me out (bottom left of floorplan).

 

[daviator]

We stayed here about four years ago when they were in the middle of the conversion. It's really remote - you can't walk to much unless you're good with a 1 km walk or more, and the sidewalk down there is really rough. We didn't love the vibe there. The other thing is that the smaller bedroom in the 2 BR doesn't have a window which would freak me out (bottom left of floorplan).

View attachment 59137

I noticed that when I was looking at the floorplan. I don't think that layout would even be legal in the U.S. – pretty sure you always need a secondary exit (usually the window) from a sleeping room. But maybe I'm wrong about that.

I think I'd have to sleep with the bedroom door open, otherwise there's no light at all coming in when the sun comes up.

But when you're doing a hotel-to-villas conversion, there are a lot of tradeoffs and few of them are good ones. They could have had a hallway exit door from that room (like the Marriott Maui Ocean Club has) which is also kind of weird.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Does anyone have any experiences here lately or ever? I can only find posts on Lagunamar but am interested in visiting this one instead. Any tips or input would be welcome. Thanks.

It shares a footprint with [ Raintree] Club Regina RCI 2662 because they were once had the same corporate owner . The Westin Resort ans Spa was a hotel before conversion to a TS a few years ago. We stayed at Club Regina in Feb 2016 when the Westin was still a hotel.

Since this is your first visit to Cancun I am sure you will enjoy it.
As others have said- close to airport- good beach -quality property.

There is no need to rent a car. Most visitors to the Cancun area take the local bus or cabs. The bus stop is basically at the end of the resort driveway.
We took the bus ; and it was a good way to see the area

 

[Henry M.]

I spent a Christmas there many years ago when it was the Westin Hotel. I liked the beach and the fact you could walk over to a reef area near Club Med to the South, that had some nice snorkeling. It was more interesting to me than the ocean near Lagunamar. The Lagunamar resort facilities are bigger and nicer, and are better situated for going to restaurants and such, but the Resort & Spa is not bad. It is easy to use public transportation as mentioned above.

 

[dioxide45]

It shares a footprint with [ Raintree] Club Regina RCI 2662 because they were once had the same corporate owner . The Westin Resort ans Spa was a hotel before conversion to a TS a few years ago. We stayed at Club Regina in Feb 2016 when the Westin was still a hotel.

Since this is your first visit to Cancun I am sure you will enjoy it.
As others have said- close to airport- good beach -quality property.

There is no need to rent a car. Most visitors to the Cancun area take the local bus or cabs. The bus stop is basically at the end of the resort driveway.
We took the bus ; and it was a good way to see the area

I don't think the Westin Los Cabos had even reopened in 2016? I understand it was heavily damaged during Hurricane Odile in 2014 and reopened after conversion to timeshare in 2017.

 

[Eric B]

I don't think the Westin Los Cabos had even reopened in 2016? I understand it was heavily damaged during Hurricane Odile in 2014 and reopened after conversion to timeshare in 2017.

@T-Dot-Traveller was posting re: the Westin Cancun and Club Regina next door, not the Westin Los Cabos.

 

[dioxide45]

Given the opportunity, I would probably never stay at the Westin Cancun over Lagunamar. The points cost are pretty much the same for what is an inferior location and accommodations.

 

[dioxide45]

@T-Dot-Traveller was posting re: the Westin Cancun and Club Regina next door, not the Westin Los Cabos.

Ahh. Thanks for the correction. I was somehow thinking about Los Cabos, same situation there with a Raintree right next door.

 

[Eric B]

I believe the same situation exists with Puerto Vallarta, though that Westin doesn't seem to be on any timeline for TS conversion.

 

[dioxide45]

I believe the same situation exists with Puerto Vallarta, though that Westin doesn't seem to be on any timeline for TS conversion.

Yeah, and I suspect it won't happen. As far as I know, MVW has the property for sale.

 

[cubigbird]

Given the opportunity, I would probably never stay at the Westin Cancun over Lagunamar. The points cost are pretty much the same for what is an inferior location and accommodations.

The only time we stay at the Westin Cancún over Lagunamar is for extension of days on the front or back of Lagunamar. They haven’t been bad stays by any means. Yes it’s not as nice as Lagunamar, but a cold “winter” day in Cancún is still better than a cold winter day in the US.

 

[rubbernyc]

Thank you all again for the feedback. I will check out the Lagunamar while there and will most likely book that for future stays. We rented a car anyway to get around to some of the sights and can just do cabs to/from restaurant area.

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you all again for the feedback. I will check out the Lagunamar while there and will most likely book that for future stays. We rented a car anyway to get around to some of the sights and can just do cabs to/from restaurant area.

Have you been to Cancun before?

 

[rubbernyc]

Have you been to Cancun before?

No, this will be our first time.

 

[dioxide45]

No, this will be our first time.

If you are renting a car, you need to read up on renting and driving a car in Cancun/Riviera Maya as a tourist;

• Scammy rental car practices. As much as you think you have insurance from your credit card or from home, there will be immense pressure to take full coverage.
• Driving in Cancun is not like driving at home in the USA.
• Watch for police, you may get pulled over for just slight traffic violations and it can all go away with a small payment right there to the officer. They also try to catch tourists returning their car to the airport as they know they have flights to catch. Search "mordida".
• Plenty of scams happen at the gas station. All pumps are full service. Scamps when you try to pay by credit card and they say it doesn't go through and you pay cash only to later find out that your card was charged too. Failure of the pump attendant to zero out the pump. Read up on this too.
• Constant speed limit changes.

For a first time visitor to Cancun I would simply avoid renting a car to get around. Parking in the hotel zone isn't real plentiful and you will find yourself getting around more by the local bus. If you want to go to more distant places like Tulum, book a tour or look into ADO Bus. Renting cars and driving in Cancun/Riviera Maya is not for the faint of heart. We did it once after several trips to Cancun. We will never do it again.

 

[echino]

I did rent a car in Cancun the first time I went there. It was fun being able to explore and drive to all the off-the-radar cenotes etc. without buying a tour. But yes, it was stressful. Next time I was in Cancun I did not rent a car.

I stayed at the Westin Resort & Spa for 3 nights before my Lagunamar week. I booked Oceanside, and the view was fantastic. Everything else was a lot better at Lagunamar. A 3br at the Westin Resort & Spa is about the same size as a 2br at Lagunamar.

 

[daviator]

I have spent lots and lots of time in Mexico, including Cancun, and I would go out of my way to avoid renting a car there. You are just setting yourself up to be targeted in multiple ways, and it adds unnecessary stress to what should be a relaxing vacation.

 

[rubbernyc]

Thank you all gain for the advice. We were planning on renting a car to visit the ruins and things out of the way, but we will look into tours and having the resort help us out with that instead. Sounds like a better plan.