My husband and I went to Sun Palace to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. We were not disappointed! This place has Sandals beat hands down!! We got married at Sandals Dunns River Villagio and Sun Palace is 100x more romantic and beautiful. 

It is a quiet resort , so don't come here if you are looking for a party atmosphere. But it is kid free and very quiet and romantic. 

Booking- We booked this trip through Expedia. Have no complaints. But if you have a special request, call the hotel yourself because Expedia did not seem to pass on requests. 

Airport- The airport in Cancun is immaculate. Once arriving, you go through immigration and then customs. You press a button to get through customs and if it turns red, they search your bags. The light was red for us, so they searched our bags for like 10 seconds and let us go on. Very polite. Also, the "time share sellers" are now wearing white shirts and khakis, so just keep walking until you get outside and see your transportation company sign.

Transfer-Best Day Travel- We booked our transfer through Expedia. When we walked outside, we saw the person with the sign for Best Day Travel and they directed us further down the stripped. We registered our name and waited for like 10 minutes for more couples that would be going to Sun Palace. It was a very pleasant experience. The van was air conditioned and it took only 10 minutes to get to the hotel. 

Arrival- I was given a carnation and we were taken to the 5th floor concierge desk to check in. We were offered a soda or champagne or beer from the fridge. We were given room 410 concierge. The process was pretty quick. We then went to our room which was very clean and spacious.

Room- I loved the concierge room. We were able to make one call for anything we needed and the concierge always responded with "my pleasure". Also, the iPod dock and DVD player came in handy. The ocean view was splendid. In addition, we used the pillow menu and the aromatherapy menu and it made me sleep like a baby. It was worth every penny. The bathroom was not a big deal. If you are sensitive to bathroom sounds, bring a sound machine (ocean sounds etc) that you can get cheap at walmart. Also they have great mirrors for the ladies and a very good blow dryer.

Vacation Planners- We went to book our trips first thing since I heard they book up quickly. The vacation planner was helpful. He did try to get us to do the time share, but I said no because we were only going to be there for 4 days and I didn't want to give up 3 hours time. However, if we were returned for longer time, I would probably go. We also booked spa appointments.

Bonus- They are offering a really great promotion where you can get free spa services, tours and extra perks. Check out the website as I think they are running until the end of December. We took advantage of some of the offerings.

Food- I felt the food was good. We ordered room service a lot and it was always good and came within 15 minutes. We went to the Mexican restaurant and enjoyed it also. The drinks were good, and plentiful.

Service- OUTSTANDING. I have never been treated so well in my life. The staff goes out of their way to make you feel special and everything ends with "my pleasure". Sandals could definitely learn a thing or two from this place. Tipping never was an issue . We did tip and sometimes forgot to bring money downstairs to and so no difference in service.

Spa- I received a free facial from the promotion and it was heaven. I have never had a spa facial before, but I left the spa feeling like I was walking on clouds. The spa isn't super big, but I felt the service was on point. I also had a basic pedicure and it was good also. They use OPI products which was nice.

Language- I had some concerns that I would have to know a lot of Spanish to easily navigate around the airport and resort, but that was so not the case. Everyone speaks both English and Spanish and I found that after awhile, my high school Spanish came flooding back.

Beach- There appears to be some erosion, but there is still an area to swim. I heard that the beach and Beach Palace is extraordinary.

Buses- my husband and I were the most chicken about taking a bus, and we didn't get a chance to, but next time we go back we definitely will. 

Tours-Chichen Itza- We went on the Chichen Itza tour. It was a pretty long trip, 3 hours each way and 2 hours on site. We stopped about 2 hours on the to Chichen Itza at a indoor flea market/out door cafeteria and shopped for 1/2 hour and ate for another 1/2 hour. The tour guide said that the stop is there to help support the local economy. But I found that it just made the trip longer. We could all easily get boxed lunches from the Palace resort and eat on the bus. By the way , if you want a box lunch, just call the night before and it will be delivered. Same thing for breakfast before you leave for the trip. Our lunch and breakfast was promptly delivered at 6am. The tour at the site is pretty long and extremely hot so make sure to bring a hat, sunglasses, sun block, bug spray , WATER, and comfortable walking shoes. We walked for 2 hours straight since our guide "Mary" wanted to show us all of the structures. Normally you do a tour for an hour and then walk around and shop at the vendors for an hour. About the vendors, they will approach you and call you as you walk buy, but just say no thank you or "no gracias" and they will keep moving. I didn't find the vendors nearly as aggressive as I have seen in other Caribbean regions.

Overall, this is a super romantic and quiet hotel. I saw all age groups there and it is a very relaxed hotel. You don't have to get all dressed up to go to dinner which was nice and everything is convenient. We did not get a chance to look at the other resorts, but I definately would go back to a Palace resort in Cancun

Feel free to email me if you have any questions at [email protected]