Overall Rating: 2/5 Stars
We recently spent a week at Planet Hollywood Cancun as a family of eight, staying in four rooms on the standard family side of the resort, not Star Class or adults-only. I've stayed at numerous all-inclusive resorts, and while Planet Hollywood had some genuinely excellent experiences, the overall stay was disappointing.
Between the aging facilities, inconsistent service, lackluster entertainment, and the way standard family-side guests are treated compared to adults-only and premium guests, this resort fell well short of my expectations.
I'll start with the positives, because there were some!
THE FOOD — SOME OF THE BEST PARTS OF OUR TRIP
Surprisingly, the specialty restaurants were among the biggest highlights of the resort.
Italian Restaurant — Highly Recommended!
We ate here twice, and both visits were excellent. The brick-oven pizza was phenomenal, and the steak was absolutely delicious. In fact, multiple people in our group agreed that the steak at the Italian restaurant was better than the steak at the actual steakhouse! If you're going to order a steak at this resort, this is where I'd recommend getting it.
The pasta was a little hit or miss, particularly the fettuccine, which was fairly bland. But overall, this restaurant was one of our favorites.
Indian Restaurant — Outstanding!
Another fantastic experience. We ordered several dishes, and everything was top-notch. The Indian chef even came to our table personally to make sure we enjoyed our food. You could tell there was genuine care and attention going into the meals. Definitely worth visiting.
Steakhouse — Very Good
The food was good, and the sides were enjoyable. Just keep in mind that the steaks are relatively thin, which seems pretty common at all-inclusive resorts. Again, though, we actually preferred the steak at the Italian restaurant.
Hibachi — Great Show, Tiny Portions
The hibachi chef was excellent. Very interactive, entertaining, and clearly skilled at what he does. The food tasted great, too.
The problem? The portions were ridiculously small. By the end of the meal, the amount of food we received would have filled approximately half of a normal cereal bowl. Nobody was particularly full afterward.
Go for the experience, but don't expect a filling dinner.
Buffet — Great for Breakfast and Lunch, Not Dinner
The breakfast and lunch buffets were consistently impressive, with tons of options and generally good quality. Our group gave them high marks.
Dinner was another story. On our final evening, I walked around the buffet twice with an empty plate, couldn't find anything that looked appealing, and eventually put my plate back and left.
Guy's Burger Bar — Disappointing
The burger actually tasted good, but it was served ice cold. Even stranger, each burger came with literally about SIX french fries. I'm not exaggerating. I have pictures, and everyone was receiving the same tiny portions.
Room Service — Terrible
The room service menu on the standard family side was extremely limited, the food wasn't good, and delivery took over an hour. We spoke with multiple other guests who had similarly disappointing experiences.
One major complaint across ALL the specialty restaurants was the service speed. While the food was often excellent, expect dinner to take approximately two and a half hours. Service was consistently slow, regardless of which restaurant we visited.
THE ROOMS — SPACIOUS BUT SHOWING THEIR AGE
Our initial check-in experience was frustrating.
We had requested two separate beds, but upon arrival, we were told the resort was completely booked and that we'd have to make do with a king bed and pullout couch. We were told we might be able to switch rooms the following day, potentially in another building away from our family.
Thankfully, the resort eventually accommodated our bedding request, which I appreciated.
We also had to wait until exactly 3 p.m. to check in.
Once inside, the rooms were actually pretty nice in terms of size and amenities.
They were spacious, the beds were comfortable, the air conditioning worked well, and there was plenty of storage. Our room had a couch, table and chairs, stocked mini-fridge, coffee maker, safe, bathrobes, umbrella, and other conveniences.
There was even a complimentary welcome treat with champagne, a chocolate-covered strawberry, macarons, and another dessert.
Our second-floor balcony overlooked the pool, which was a decent view.
Unfortunately, the rooms are clearly showing their age.
We noticed broken wall decorations, missing letters from decorative signage, peeling balcony paint, aging shower grout, and a magnifying bathroom mirror that didn't function properly.
The bathroom itself was spacious, with dual sinks, a separate toilet area, and a large shower, although the lighting could have been better.
There were also some strange omissions. The only trash can was a small one in the bathroom, and there were no mirrors outside the bathroom. If someone was using the bathroom while another person was getting ready, you were out of luck.
The room also had a slightly musty smell, although I've experienced worse at other tropical resorts.
One positive worth mentioning: the resort uses an automated WhatsApp concierge system. I requested a dehumidifier, and someone delivered it within approximately 20 minutes. That was excellent service.
Another oddity was the four-bottle liquor dispenser in the room. It was empty, and apparently you had to purchase bottles starting around $40 to use it. At an all-inclusive resort surrounded by bars, that seemed a little ridiculous.
THE RESORT IS IN SERIOUS NEED OF MAINTENANCE
This was one of my biggest complaints.
Everywhere you looked, there were signs of wear and neglect. Chipping paint, broken fixtures, burned-out light bulbs, and equipment that simply wasn't working.
One afternoon, the weather was overcast and chilly, so we decided to enjoy the hot tub. Unfortunately, the water was ice cold. When we asked an employee about it, he simply told us it was broken.
That seemed to be a recurring theme throughout our stay.
To make matters worse, there's a new multistory resort being constructed immediately next door.
Construction noise started around 6 a.m., with hammering, banging, and clanging loud enough to disrupt our sleep. We actually had to use a white-noise app on our phones just to get some rest.
The resort isn't just showing cosmetic wear. Some of its facilities genuinely weren't functioning properly.
THE BEACH — NICE, BUT SERVICE IS POOR
The beach itself was very nice.
There were usually plenty of available lounge chairs, even later in the day, and employees were actively cleaning seaweed off the sand.
If you're wondering about chairs, here's an important distinction:
Beach chairs were generally easy to find. Pool chairs were practically impossible.
The resort allows people to reserve chairs with towels, and every single day we went to the family pool, virtually every chair was occupied or claimed.
Beach beverage service was also extremely disappointing.
You might see one server every hour or two. During one three-hour visit, I was offered a drink only twice.
Most of the time, you're better off getting up and finding your own drinks.
Another disappointment was the lack of convenient food around the beach and pool.
There was essentially a hot dog trailer near the pool, and that was about it. No convenient grill offering nachos, burgers, and other snacks like I've experienced at many other all-inclusive resorts.
Your other option was walking farther into the property to Guy's Burger Bar.
THE LAZY RIVER — DISAPPOINTING
The lazy river was another missed opportunity.
The water was extremely cold during our visit, and members of our group didn't stay in very long.
The resort does provide some complimentary floating rafts, but there were so few available that getting one was extremely difficult.
You could purchase your own for approximately $30, but I feel that an all-inclusive resort with a lazy river should provide enough tubes for guests to actually enjoy it.
THE BARS — POOR SERVICE AND CONSTANT SHORTAGES
This was another major disappointment.
At most all-inclusive resorts I've visited, bartenders are part of the fun. They're friendly, engaging, joking with guests, and making entertaining drinks and shots.
That atmosphere was largely nonexistent here.
Most of the bartenders we encountered seemed completely disengaged, almost robotic. They made drinks with very little personality or interaction.
Even worse was the inconsistent availability of ingredients.
I'd order something at one bar and be told they were out. I'd walk to another bar, and they'd be out, too.
One example involved a piña colada with Irish cream liqueur. I had to visit FOUR different bars before finding one that could make it.
Rather than offering to restock an ingredient or find a solution, the response was generally just, "We're out."
Also, unless you're a premium guest, don't necessarily expect name-brand liquor. The Irish cream available to us was a substitute for Baileys.
There was one bright spot: a drink called a Chi-Chi, essentially a piña colada with grenadine, that we discovered at the bar near the children's pirate ship pool. It was delicious!
ENTERTAINMENT — MOSTLY A HUGE LETDOWN
For a resort named Planet Hollywood, I expected considerably better entertainment.
Unfortunately, most of the evening productions were extremely underwhelming.
Wonderland Show — 0.5/10
This was honestly one of the worst resort shows I've ever seen. It consisted largely of performers spinning illuminated LED wands for what felt like an eternity.
I've seen better street performances in New Orleans.
1970s, 1980s, and 1990s Retro Show
Essentially a band playing music. Very little theatrical production, no elaborate staging, and nothing particularly memorable.
Day of the Dead Performance
A few performers dressed in Day of the Dead attire singing onstage. There wasn't much of a production, and the singing wasn't particularly impressive. We didn't stay.
Michael Jackson Tribute — Excellent!
Finally, a show worthy of a resort!
The Michael Jackson impersonator was excellent, accompanied by approximately six backup dancers. The choreography was synchronized with actual Michael Jackson footage playing behind them.
It was an impressive hour-long performance and easily the best regular stage show we attended.
Unfortunately, the resort scheduled another Michael Jackson tribute on the following night rather than providing the variety of entertainment we had hoped for over Halloween.
Halloween Haunted House — OUTSTANDING!
Credit where credit is due: the resort absolutely knocked this one out of the park.
For Halloween, they transformed the entire upstairs disco area into a haunted house.
Approximately 20 staff members dressed in elaborate costumes, roaming the resort and participating in the haunted house to scare guests.
The effort, atmosphere, and execution were fantastic.
This was one of the best experiences of our entire vacation and demonstrated what the resort is capable of when it puts genuine effort into entertainment.
DAYTIME ACTIVITIES — VERY DISAPPOINTING FOR FAMILY-SIDE GUESTS
This brings me to what was probably my biggest overall frustration with Planet Hollywood.
If you're staying on the standard family side, be prepared to feel like you're missing out on much of the resort's best entertainment.
We traveled as a family of eight, including my nephew, who was just two months shy of turning 18.
Because he was technically under 18, our group had to book on the family side.
What we weren't adequately informed about beforehand was just how much that would affect our vacation.
The resort has activity boards posted throughout the property showing the daily entertainment schedule.
Almost every day, the adults-only section seemed to have the more appealing activities: foam parties, bingo, and other organized entertainment.
Meanwhile, during our entire week on the family side, we got ONE foam party.
The family pool was constantly crowded with children, noisy, and had relatively little organized entertainment.
I understand having a separate adults-only pool. I've stayed at other resorts with similar arrangements. But I've never stayed somewhere that made adults traveling with family feel so excluded from the fun.
One particularly frustrating experience involved beach volleyball.
I love playing volleyball, and it was advertised on the activity board. I showed up at the scheduled time, excited to finally participate in something I enjoyed.
No staff. No volleyball. Nobody showed up.
I contacted the resort through its WhatsApp concierge system and was told someone from the appropriate department would follow up.
Nobody ever did.
If you're an adult traveling with children or older teenagers, understand that your entertainment options may be substantially more limited than those of guests in the adults-only section.
STRICT AGE RESTRICTIONS
My nephew was 17, turning 18 in January, and was given an under-18 wristband.
The resort strictly enforced it everywhere.
I completely understand the legal drinking age, and I'm not suggesting that minors should be served alcohol.
But even the disco wouldn't allow him entry with our adult family group.
There was no flexibility, and very little comparable evening entertainment available to him.
As a result, our family frequently had to choose between splitting up or missing activities altogether.
For families with older teenagers, this is something I'd strongly recommend considering before booking.
OTHER ANNOYANCES
The resort also allowed nightclub promoters to approach guests around the property, encouraging them to attend an off-site club. I found the repeated solicitation annoying.
And while some staff members were helpful, the overall service experience lacked the warmth and hospitality I've come to expect from a quality all-inclusive resort.
FINAL THOUGHTS — WOULD I RETURN?
Planet Hollywood Cancun has some genuinely excellent features.
The Italian and Indian restaurants were fantastic. The breakfast and lunch buffet was very good. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The beach was nice. The Michael Jackson tribute was excellent, and the Halloween haunted house was outstanding.
But those highlights couldn't overcome the larger issues.
The resort is showing substantial wear, too many amenities weren't functioning, service was inconsistent, bars were frequently out of ingredients, beach service was poor, restaurant meals took far too long, and the entertainment was mostly disappointing.
Most frustrating of all was the way the resort divided its guests into different experiences, leaving our standard family-side group feeling like second-class customers.
I understand premium packages come with additional perks. But when you're paying for an all-inclusive family vacation, you shouldn't feel like most of the fun is happening somewhere you're not allowed to go.
My recommendation: If you're considering Planet Hollywood Cancun, especially with older teenagers or as a group of adults traveling on the family side, I'd seriously compare other resorts before booking.
There are some excellent individual experiences here, but the overall vacation simply didn't live up to what I expected from a quality all-inclusive resort.
Overall: 2 out of 5 stars.
