The Westin Cancun Resort & Spa is a mid-tier beach hotel on the Cancun strip. We headed there after spending as part of our Merida trip.
Here’s what we liked:
- Easily accessible to the Cancun airport
- Great value, especially during peak season
- Right on the beach!
Here’s what we didn’t like:
- Odd beach bar hours (only open between 12pm and 5pm). What happens for happy hour??
- Slow check in (~20 minutes) and slow check out
- A bit far from anything except for the airport
Location
The Westin Cancun is on the southern end of the Cancun strip, right on the beach. We liked the location since it’s easily accessible to the airport. Whether you’re flying or taking the ADO bus in, this makes getting to the beach super quick.
The beach is absolutely beautiful with the 3rd finest sand, right behind Taylor Bay in Turks & Caicos and Wahiba Sands in Oman (that’s a desert, but sand is sand).
If you’re looking for the mall, bars, and other fancy nightlife stuff, this may not be the best location for you. It’s about a 15 minute car/bus ride from those areas.
One side of the hotel faces the Caribbean sea. The other side faces the lagoon. Both have amazing views. I prefer the lagoon views since it’s west facing (good for sunsets) and cheaper.
Cost
During peak holiday season, Cancun hotels go nuts and charge ridiculous rates. A no-frills eco-hotel (aka a shack on the beach) runs you more than $300 a night. The Westin Resort and Spa runs about $400+ a night.
After being sticker shocked, we looked into using points. Luckily, point hoarding pays off.
The Westin Resort and Spa was going for only 7000 points a night since it’s a SPG category 3 hotel. We value SPG points at 2 cents a point, which makes it $140 a night. For our stay, the Westin was an incredible value for the time of year and what you get for it.
Food
The Westin Resort & Spa has 6 different dining options on premise. Not all of them are open at the same time though, so your options are actually more limited.
- For breakfast you only have El Palmar. Pro tip: Order a la carte if you’re not doing all-inclusive to save some $$$.
- For lunch, you can grab food/drinks at the Sunset Bar and Brisa (includes waiter service on the beach).
- For dinner, there’s Arrecifes, Sea & Stones, and The Place (bar with apps).
You can also check out other nearby hotel restaurants, or nearby local spots like El Galeón Del Caribe (Pescadillas el Galeón), just a 10-15 minute walk from the Westin.
Tired of hotel food? You can walk a few minutes can get a giant plate of ceviche.
Rooms
The Deluxe Room that we stayed in was clean, comfortable, and had everything you’d expect in a standard hotel room.
The second night, we were moved to a Balcony Room by a manager that pulled some strings since the guest next door was smoking up a storm. Hooray for upgrades!
Wrapping Up
The Westin Resort & Spa is a great value hotel. If you’re looking for a beautiful beach, good service, clean and comfortable rooms, and looking to go during peak season with points, this place is a no brainer.
Even though we were there during peak season, there were more than enough space on the beach to feel like you’re not crammed in with the next guest.
There’s a spa and fitness center too, hence their namesake. The fitness center is above average for a hotel and includes your standard free weights, cable machine, smith machine, and treadmills.
I generally recommend the Westin Resort & Spa and rate it a 3/5.
Westin Cancun Restort & Spa
Boulevard Kukulcan KM 20
77500 Cancun, MX-ROO, Mexico
Website
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