This is my first time in Cancun (and Mexico) and there are so many hotels to choose from! I did extensive research and finally set my eyes upon the Canopy by Hilton hotel. The deal is hard to resist: Amex The Hotel Collection comes with a 3-for-2 offer plus $100 credit, and I have the $200 Amex Travel credit from the Platinum card.
So I paid just over $300 for three nights. However, I had my doubts as this is not a traditional resort like others in Cancun. The Canopy hotel is not next to any beach and the nearest one is about 15 minutes away. Although they’ve signed a deal with an external beach club, you must pay $30 for entry and it’s a few minutes drive.
In summary, if you are looking for a staycation or beach holiday this hotel is not for you. However I had planned a lot of tourist stuff for the first two days so we didn’t mind.
There’s a pedestrian cross right in front of the hotel and a bus stop nearby. Frequent buses bring you to all the major sites at the cost of $1.
Uber is quite convenient too. Note that however Uber’s airport pickup is banned so I booked the hotel’s transfer at a fair $35. You can ride with Uber to the airport.
The hotel sits beside La Isla which is a massive shopping complex. There are many shops, restaurants and cafes here.
As you can see from the pictures above, the hotel is basically one standalone building and not very big. The lobby is nice though.
I booked a Sunset Double Double room, and got upgraded to Sunset Premium after I made an inquiry in the online chat. Then I arrived just to find that they changed my reservation to a Sunrise Premium instead.
Although they tried to convince me that it’s a better view etc I didn’t buy into that nonsense. They didn’t have any Sunset Premium Double left, and Premium King with a rollaway bed was not ideal, so I had to begrudgingly accept the assigned room.
The room is nice and functional, the bed very comfy. I was aware that there’s no balcony, but to my surprise there’s no bathtub either.
The so-called Sunrise view has an aspect of the opposite hotel, and the sea view is quite poor.
There’s a transfer lounge on the second floor, serving guests before their transfer to the beach club.
Come with me to the rooftop!
This is the very best part of the hotel, and ideal for your Instagram shots.
Sunset rooms have exactly the same view of this ferry wheel, and I hope you understand my perseverance with the room type now. The infinite pool is pretty good for a swim.
The jacuzzi on the other hand is pointless – who would want to soak themselves in hot water when it’s 32 degrees and humid?
Gym is next to the rooftop bar.
Breakfast is complimentary for Diamond members, which is buffet-only except for the egg-cooking station.
The spread isn’t the best that I’ve seen, but the quality is top-notch, and they change the hot dishes every day. They’ve put a lot of thoughts into the breakfast and the menu is very nicely curated, thanks to it not being a massive resort overwhelmed with guests.
In addition to the usual breakfast offering, there are some local delicacies including grilled fish and pork / beef stew. I’m most impressed by the dessert section – all the pastries here are incredibly fresh, special and tasty!
This is the only restaurant the hotel has, so I used my $100 credit on two dinners with my Mum.
Even better than the breakfast offering, the dinner menu here is outstanding. We ordered tacos, grilled octopus and spider (beef) steak, and every dish is simply amazing. The spider steak especially is probably the best steak I’ve ever had – awesome charcoal touch, crunchy surface and soft inside.
My 2pm late check-out is granted with no issues. This Canopy hotel has its very obvious pros and cons. If you intend to travel a lot when you are in Cancun, it’s a great base to explore the area at a very reasonable price.
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