Dreams Riviera Cancun is an excellent family resort option.  It is set on a nice stretch of soft, sandy beach and offers pools, beach activities, fine dining, and so much more.  As usual, my photos are first, and my review will follow.  Enjoy.  Back to Mexican Resorts.

Dreams Fact Sheet

Dreams Riviera Cancun is ideally located between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, and is a short 20 minutes away from the airport.

Size:  Dreams Riviera Cancun offers 486 suites located on five different floor levels in each building, along with a Spa, 6 bars, 8 restaurants, and one cafe.   It is a very easy resort to navigate and nothing is too far away to access by foot.

Star Level:  In terms of service and overall property, we would rate Dreams Riviera Cancun 4 Stars.  As with other resorts we’ve reviewed,  we were only here for the day (from about 7am to 11pm) and did not stay overnight.  We are again basing our rating on the interactions and service we experienced during our visit.

The overall service was wonderful.  The front desk staff was amiable and helpful, the wait staff (with one exception we’ll mention below) was outstanding and courteous, and the pool servers went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of.

Category:  Dreams Riviera Cancun is a very upbeat, active resort ideal for families and multi-generational reunions.  They also cater to honeymooners, and have set aside special room categories as well as dining options for adults only.  I would, however, most likely choose an adults-only resort option if I wanted to ensure my honeymoon or anniversary celebration were “kid-free.”

Rooms:  We were able to visit two room categories.  Both were beautiful with some unique touches to them.  For example, there is a shuttered divider between the bathroom and the bedroom that allows for privacy as well as views into the bedroom and outside, depending on what you prefer.  The bathroom is spacious and beautiful with a full tub, a separate shower, and two sinks.  The upgraded rooms have their own jacuzzi tubs outside on the balcony or patio.  Some suites also have swim up pools.  The Preferred Club rooms also offer access to a separate lounge with additional amenities like breakfast, snacks, desserts, and private check-in.

Beach:  We really enjoyed the beach here at Dreams Riviera Cancun.  The sand was soft and white and the beach itself was long and wide.  There was some seaweed present (see photos) but it didn’t seem to be a problem.  We snorkeled just off the beach.  The bottom of the sea was a combination of soft and sandy with patches of seaweed and sea grass.  It was definitely swimmable but not immaculately clear.

Activities:  Dreams Riviera Cancun offers all of the same activities as its sister properties.  You can kayak, swim, snorkel, play volleyball and soccer, enjoy a game of ping pong in the shallow pool, or a life-sized game of chess.  The list goes on.  We loved the choices at this resort.  The only thing we were not too thrilled about was the one female staff member who was leading games and activities.  In our opinion, she was dressed in a very inappropriate, skimpy bathing suit.  We were a little confused by this, because all of the other staff members participating wore professional activewear like white t-shirts and black shorts, but for whatever reason, she chose to dress this way.  It was somewhat offensive, especially with our children participating in the volleyball and soccer games, so we will hopefully touch base with the resort, and just share our thoughts on this.  Otherwise, we really enjoyed everything else.

Pools: There are three great pools at this resort, and each one is different.  One is an infinity pool that overlooks the beach and sea.  You can watch the waves or a feisty game of volleyball while floating or swimming.  This pool also has submersed “sunbathing beds” on which you can relax.  The second is a very shallow pool area where little ones can wade or swim.  At times, they also place ping pong tables right into the water (see above).  The third pool is a regular pool.  All three have plenty of seating.  When we visited this resort, they were at 100% capacity, so the fact that we were able to find seats around the pool and at the beach was pretty impressive.  At 100% capacity, however, there were definitely a lot of people in the pools.

Nightlife:  Like the other Dreams Resorts, this resort also has limited nightlife.  When we were there, they set up a stage and seating behind the lobby, and had a show but unfortunately, by the time we completed dinner, we missed the show.  At that point, it was 8:30pm and the only entertainment going on was in the bar areas where people were talking, laughing, and dancing.  Otherwise, things were relatively quiet.  We entertained ourselves by visiting CoCo Cafe for a few Frappes and cookies, and then we headed to the pool area, where we waded in the pool and watched newlyweds celebrating their wedding.  (Did I mention there were two separate weddings on the resort that day?)

Dining:  First, let me say that I just LOVE that the AM Resorts do not require you to wear bracelets throughout your stay.  While that may seem like a small thing, it wins huge points for my family, as none of us enjoy wearing cheap plastic bracelets!  Ok…that said, I can now move on to the dining at Dreams.

The World Cafe buffet breakfast was fantastic.  There were so many choices, I can’t imagine anyone being unhappy.  We enjoyed lots of protein like bacon, sausage, and made to order eggs.  There were hot Mexican breakfast specialties, a large selection of fruits and smoothies, yogurts, meats, and pastries, the list goes on.

We also dined at Portofino, their fine dining Italian Restaurant.  We were leaning toward having dinner at Bordeaux, as we have absolutely loved their cuisine at Dreams Tulum as well as Secrets Silversands, but we decided that we needed to try another restaurant.  Well, we were somewhat disappointed.  The evening started out a bit stressful, as Ryan arrived with the two boys a bit earlier than the girls and I did.  We were just a few minutes behind him, but the restaurant was reluctant to seat them until we arrived.

Since there was a growing line, he completely understood their hesitation, but assured them we were literally just a minute away, which we were.  Unfortunately, the hostess did not want to wait, and said they were going to put him at the back of the line unless we showed up right away.  So…he ran to get us, because he knew that waiting could add an hour or more to our wait.  When he found us, we all then ran to the restaurant, and arrived a bit sweaty and stressed.  So…not the best start to the evening.

Our waiter then approached us, and while he was courteous, he seemed a bit impatient as he waited on our kids.  We were a bit disappointed with this as well, but it happens.  When our food arrived, the presentation of each dish was beautiful.  Everything was cooked wonderfully, and the only negative I would mention is that the food was not seasoned too well.  Some dishes were a bit bland.  Overall, however, it was a very pleasant dinner.

Overall:  Overall, this is an excellent resort for families and guests looking for a variety of daytime options, great pools, attentive service, and a soft, sandy wide beach (with a bit of seaweed).  Keep in mind, however, that it is much quieter at night, and should you desire a variety of entertainment or nighttime activities, you would need to go off property to either Cancun or Playa del Carmen (both about 30 minutes away in either direction).