All Inclusive Review: Hyatt Zilara Cancun with WOH
We had a week off this September 2023 so we decided to go to another all inclusive! I recently opened the Chase World of Hyatt (WOH) credit card for this reason (if you’ve been around me recently, you already know since I’ve been talking about it nonstop).
We booked Hyatt Zilara Cancun for five days, four nights in the middle of September. In retrospect, I am glad it worked out because booking a resort near the gulf or around the Caribbean is risky because it is hurricane season. Last year I remember being very anxious about the flights and weather (I had to cancel a conference in Florida last year because of Category 4 Hurricane Fiona). So this near we were more fortunate because the weather was amazing. But my first “note-to-self” or NTS: perhaps book a resort when it’s colder, like in the winter.
When I got the credit card, I was already upgraded to the “Discoverist” tier. There is 1) Member 2) Discoverist 3) Explorist 4) Globalist status tiers in the WOH world. I was able to get the member price on the Hyatt website, which was slightly cheaper per night (if I remember correctly like $50 cheaper a night). We were also able to get a great deal for the “Ocean View Junior Suite King.” There are only two other rooms better “Ocean Front” which is on a higher floor and “the Presidential Suite.” We had a great room. Amstar shuttle between the airport and the resort was seamless(this is my second time using Amstar and I definitely recommend — I’ll be sticking to them for now). NTS: they wear blue Hawaiian shirts.
The resort itself was beautiful. What impressed me the most about this trip was the beach. It was clear and very blue and the sand was clean in comparison to the beach at Punta Cana, DR.
Now as a WOH Discoverist, we got a small perk of having “private check-in.” Basically rather than check-in at the front desk they bring you to a private WOH office with AC and bar and a dedicated clerk to check you in. That’s when you can ask for a complementary suite upgrade if they’re available (I wasn’t able to get one and he said I had to be a “Globalist” to get it — that’s OK). This perk isn’t anything much but makes you feel better when you’re treated for having higher status.
The Food:
Food overall was like 3.5/5. They were trying to be fancy but it wasn’t good compared to our Punta Cana experience. We felt like there weren’t too many options. The options are:
- Punta Vista (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Maria Marie (Mexican dinner)
- Asiana (Hibachi dinner)
- Spice (Buffet for breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Room service (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Chef’s Plate ($85 pp additional for a tasting menu or $85 for 2 people with Discoverist)
We frequented Punta Vista and had lunch there on arrival, and had breakfast and dinner there the 4th day. Maria Marie was supposed to be there Mexican fine dining but I wasn’t too impressed with the food there.
Surprisingly the most enjoyable meal was the Teppanyaki/Habachi experience at Asiana. But my favorite dish was at Punta Vista (their veal shank). Punta Vista is located in near the pool, outside. So it was quite a nice dinner by the beach in lieu of a “romantic beach dinner” which went for a premium $200+.
The room service breakfast was also one of the better breakfasts that we had. We were able to order an assortment of things in the comfort of our room.
We opted for an excursion to get out of the resort and just do some fun stuff. Similar to last year we went to an “adventure park.” We paid $150 each to do a 6 hour day of zip lining, horseback riding, ATVs, and swim in a cenote (lagoon/sinkhole), which included a traditional fajita lunch. It took a lot of persuading and encouragement to get me to do the zip lining due to my fear of heights but I was able to muster of the courage to experience something I’ve never done before.
We didn’t get photos of the activities because they made us put the phones in the lockers ($5 a lock). They were selling photos for $35 each. Way to expensive! But we were able to get a photo of ourselves at the cenote. Very impressed by the service and how accurate the time frame was. We were able to leave the resort by 9AM and get back by 3PM so we still had a day to enjoy ourselves. NTS: Don’t drink coffee before excursion because the rides can be long since we’re picking up other people from other resorts.
Another thing about the resort that was nice was free “culinary experiences.” We went to a whiskey tasting with chocolate the second day which was fun. There was a sommelier there named Juan who was excellent. We also went to a Tomahawk steak tasting after our excursion. All free. Great events when you’re tired of sitting at the pool or beach.
I am getting a little tired of writing so I am going to go over some main takeaways and things I would do to improve and prepare for my next trip:
- bring my microfiber towel for excursion
- book culinary experiences prior to arrival if able (staff reached out to me via email 1–2 weeks prior to our trip)
- bring water shoes for excursion
- bandana for excursion was good
- don’t need so much underwear because we’re wearing swimsuits most of the time
- one sweater is enough — it’s not going to be that cold if its 80–90 degrees, plus the lobby is outdoors
- get new flip flops
- one pair of long pants just in case (they didn’t require it this time for dinners)
- one book
- no need for a water bottle since they provide water bottles
- maybe a thermos next time for cocktail refills
- no beach massages in Cancun (Spa was $189 for 80 min massage with promos)
- place towels and other stuff on free cabanas early
Overall, I had fun. I think I prefer the Hyatt Punta Cana Breathless Resort and Spa given the better food and size of resort. We definitely enjoyed the beach and our ocean view suite in Cancun more though. I can’t wait to rack up more points so I can pay for more vacations in the future. NTS: Hyatt Zilara Cancun is a Category E resort (highest is Category F). Right now it’s around 35-40K points a night for a repeat Category E stay. I already racked up 45K from the SUB. Seems like around $400. Would I recommend this resort? Yes. But I would probably suggest trying other ones too.
DK
