HILTON CANCUN RESORT Cancun, Mexico 🇲🇽【4K Resort Tour & Review】All Inclusive Done Right!

HILTON CANCUN RESORT Cancun, Mexico 🇲🇽【4K Resort Tour & Review】All Inclusive Done Right!

These one liner intros are the hardest to  write when a hotel really kinda blew me   away- so I’m going to take the easy way out  today and just say that- this place kinda   blew me away and I’m going to show you exactly  why in today’s full tour. Welcome to Cancun. 

Before we get into it, let me welcome  you to the channel if you’re new here.   My name is Kevin and I am the Flip Flop Traveller. I’m here to give you honest content about flights,  

Hotels and trains and cruises. I paid for this  trip out of pocket and the price I paid is in   the description below, as always. Hilton had  no knowledge I’d be filming today and I didn’t   receive any compensation from them, though  part of this video was sponsored by Level8  

Luggage. Everything in this video is my personal  opinion based on my unique experience. The rest,   I’ll let speak for itself. Let’s get into it. We are now heading south on the primary highway   that cuts the Yucatan Peninsula from north to  south, but just for a few miles. The location  

Of the Hilton Cancun puts it into a love it  or hate it category as it’s to the south of   the popular Hotel Zone. For me personally, this  was actually my first stop in Cancun since I took  

Four flights to get here and this was the closest  of the ten hotels on this trip to the airport.  We are driving through a mangrove  reserve where the resort is located   with our first view of it in the distance. Opened in November 2021, this Hilton was  

Actually built along side, no scratch that- was  built with the Waldorf Astoria Cancun which opened   around the same time. The hotels are physically  connected. I did stay at the Walford as well,   that video will be out in a few weeks. I will  tell you the worst thing about the Waldorf now  

Though- that would be the fact that they attached  a really really good Hilton to it which charges   less than half the price and is all inclusive.  You could say, this hilton is a Walforf Lite.   The rest of the comparisons between the two-  there are many- I’ll leave for the Waldorf video. 

Let’s head inside. As we head inside let’s   talk about how this hotel came to be. The hotel is said to “[combine] Yucatan   sensibilities with an ambiance of stylish  sophistication. The design of the 715 room,   family friendly property embodies feelings of  tranquility, authenticity and rejuvenation.  

Interiors explore the intersection of  light and shadow in salute to the sun   and its undeniable ability to transform  color, texture and form” and so on.  You know I don’t usually rely on marketing  material quotes like this but I do think it’s  

Pretty accurate here. In trying to figure out why  this Hilton felt a bit more elevated than other   Hiltons I’ve been to or seen recently, I think  I stumbled upon the answer in the designers.   For this property, HBA San Francisco was at the  helm. When it comes to luxury hotel development,  

These guys are heavy hitters. Just in the past few  years they’ve lead the design of the Waldorf Doha,   Okura Manila, Conrad Tulum, St. Regis The Palm  Dubai, Capella Bangkok, Park Hyatt Suzhou,   Siam Kempinski, the Mandarin Oriental Beijing and  the list just continues. I think we can all agree  

These brands I just mentioned do hit a bit higher  than a typical Hilton. So for whatever reason,   we are lucky enough to have a property that  feels decidedly higher end than expected.  There are times when the 715 room capacity  of the hotel can be felt though and that is  

Normally in the lobby at check in time. They’re smart in that they do all of the   check out procedures on busy days from  the connected convention center which   eases the crowding in the central lobby quite  a bit- I just wonder what happens when there’s  

Also a large event in the convention center. Check in for me was very quick and easy though.   Because of a great rate that I found,  I did not book directly through Hilton,   which meant my Gold elite benefits would  not apply, which is exactly as I knew it  

Would be. I booked the cheapest room on site  without a view. I was offered an upgrade to   a corner oceanfront room, which I believe is  2 or 3 categories higher, for $100 per night.   Considering the great price I paid, I pounced  on this and was incredibly happy that I did. 

Outside now, the hotel itself is in the shape  of a W, so there are two crescents of rooms and   spaces like this, this being the smaller one. For  a better look, let’s take a look at the location.  Located on the northeastern tip of the Yucatan  Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo, Cancun  

Means quite a few things depending on who you’re  talking to. As a city and a hotel district,   we are keeping our eyes up here- but fact of the  matter is many would consider all of these areas   to fall within the Cancun purview- we will  explore quite a few of them in this series,  

But today we are looking at a part of the  coast that you’d be surprised to know isn’t   that developed- but there’s a reason for that. Most hotels in this area simply refer to it   as Cancun, but it’s widely known  as the Puerto Morelos area just  

To the south of the Hotel Zone and airport. This is the Hilton and the Waldorf Combined-   this part specifically is the Hilton- you can  see the W or M shape I mentioned. For reference,  

My room was right around here smack in the center. One thing I do need to mention and it’s one of   the two primary negatives about this resort.  Not only is the location in general isolated   from the hotel zone, but the resort itself is  isolated from the road and Hilton knows this  

And they take advantage of it, I’ll explain this  in a little bit so I don’t clog up the beginning   of the video with details some may not care about. If you’re looking for driving times, weather info   and transport costs- this is the graphic for you. I was here during Mexican Independence Day,  

Which is why there are so many decorations and  chairs are missing from this area at the moment.   Normally it would be full of loungers, but the  festival they put on at night was well worth it.  Something else that was well worth it was my  recent switch of luggage brands. This part  

Of the video is sponsored by Level8 Luggage. As some of you know already, I’m a little bit   obsessed with my new 20” Voyageur bag- especially  because of the wide and sturdy handle which means   pushing this bag through the airport on a daily  basis is literally effortless. When it comes to  

Bags, I love minimal design, but I know tastes  vary so that’s why I also wanted to try out the   Gibraltar Aluminum bag on my recent trip to Bali. Made of aerospace-grade aluminum magnesium alloy,   this bag looks even better in person and  is built to last, which is probably why  

All Level8 bags come with a lifetime warranty. Beyond it’s good looks, the Gibraltar truly is   an absurdly functional bag as well. It has dual  TSA approved hinge locks to keep everything tucked   away and secure and inside. It has latched  dividers to keep everything in place and the  

Small details just make this a really satisfying  bag to use. The Gibraltar also comes with a full   set of custom packing cubes so you can arrive  wherever you may be going organized as ever. 

If you’re in the market for a new bag or a  gift for one of the travel lovers in your life,   click the link in the description and use  code Kevin10 at checkout to get an extra   10% off of their already surprisingly reasonable  prices and you’ll help the channel out as well. 

Many thanks to you for checking them out  and to Level8 for their continued support.  Back to the beach. Now, I mentioned there was one other   low point about this hotel and that is surely  the beach and it explains a lot about why this  

Area in general isn’t very well developed, yet.  You’ll see throughout this video that the beach   here is not very deep and expansive, but that’s  not the problem- the problem is the water itself   and the seaweed and algae which typically  hits this part of the coast pretty hard. 

You may have heard of sargassum seaweed before-  I showed it in my last video at the Hyatt Zilara,   but here it completely changes  the color of the water as well,   turning it into a hue which I like to call, Arnold  Palmer- that’s iced tea and lemonade mixed, fyi. 

Sargassum is not dangerous but it makes the water  here look decidedly unrefreshing. There were some   people swimming while I was there but safe to  say, this is simply not a resort you should be   going to if your priority is beach time. If you  love pool time, then you’ll likely enjoy it here. 

Also note that I’m not claiming that the water  looks like this year round. Fact of the matter is,   it’s impossible for me to know. Most if  not all of the marketing photos of course   show beautiful blue or turquoise water- take  a look at recent photos on google though and  

They paint the same story I’m showing here. Let’s take a walk around the resort’s largest   pool which is near the sea- and just behind it is  probably the biggest kids pool I think I’ve ever   seen. This pool alone makes this a really  good choice for families with young kids-  

From my childless perspective at least. As we look around, let me explain the   taxi and uber situation I hinted at before. If you’ve been to Cancun before you know that   taxis charge extortionate prices and because  of that, private transfer companies do as  

Well. Uber does exist in Cancun, legally,  but they cannot pickup from the airport,   so you’re forced into this ecosystem. Uber prices are often ¼ of what a taxi   would charge, but Hilton does not allow them  in the front gate, even if you have one booked  

Already. If you can book an Uber, you’ll need to  quickly exchange info with your driver and then   give the hotel staff their information, mentioning  it’s your friend or family coming to pick you up.   Mention Uber and you’ll be shut down. On one  occasion I was able to get one through and was  

Talking to the driver and he said the only hotels  in the entire Cancun area that do this are the   Hilton and Waldorf combo as well as the Royalton  which is just down the road- his words, not mine.  With Uber, I paid the equivalent of  $16 USD to get to the Hotel Zone and  

Around $30 from the hotel zone back to the  Waldorf some days later. The hotel told me   a taxi to the Hotel Zone would have been $60. If you like to stay planted at your resort when   you go on vacation, this likely isn’t a big  problem, but this really isn’t a great choice  

For you if you plan to goto the hotel zone for  eating or shopping on a regular basis- in that   case or if you wanted to explore the greater  region, renting a car is probably a wise choice.  As always, I try to film during  times that won’t bother other guest,  

But since I know everyone loves to see  live action day time shots, here ya go.  On the south side of the resort you can see it  simply continues to the more manicured Waldorf.  And on the north side of the resort the beach  just continues as far as you can see straight  

Up to the hotel zone. There’s also a limited   number of water sports equipment. The hotel does cooperate with a few local   tour and activity companies so you’ll see some  promotion for them throughout your stay, but at   no time did anyone actively try to sell or upsell  me something, besides the upgrade on arrival. 

Before we start to explore the the food venues  on site, I’ll just pause for a moment and show   you a sample activity calendar. The first is for  day and the second for night. If you scan the QR  

Code in either of them it’ll take you straight  to the most up to date calendars for daytime pool   activities, chill vibe pool activities,  fitness programs, nighttime activities,   kids club and teen club activities. It also  lists which days which restaurants are operating. 

One last thing to mention on the north side  of the resort is the Kids club. As always,   I do not attempt to enter kids clubs at any  hotels. Obviously I’m not going to ask to   access it while it’s closed and asking to take  video clips inside while its open and kids are  

There is just creepfest 2024. So I’ll just say  there was a sizeable kids club hidden behind   the north wing and all of the relevant activities  are listed via the QR codes I showed previously.  Ok so before heading up to my  room, let’s talk tacos and tequila. 

The first venue we are going to take a  look at is the Maxal Taqueria. Maxal is   their signature Mexican restaurant  open for dinner, but the Taqueria   is attached to it outdoors and open for lunch. It’s a nice open and breezy space with a decent  

Selection of tacos and the like on had as well  as a full bar. Service here, like just about   everywhere at the hotel was a solid bit better  than what I was expecting. There’s nothing wrong   with it per say, but in Cancun you do tend  to get a lot of scripted styles of service,  

Which is what I expected here- but it was  pleasantly natural and friendly. There was an   aim to please here which is more characteristic  of a true luxury hotel rather than a premium   big box resort. Props to them for that. The next venue to check out is Sunan which  

Is open for lunch or dinner- I’m showing the  dinner menu here. This is their pan-southeast   Asian restaurant and especially at night has a  really nice loungy vibe- again with it’s own bar.  Speaking of bars, there are  three stand alone bars. One  

Behind each pool and the third in the lobby. If you’re curious about which alcohol varieties   are on offer, here is a quick scroll. As with most resorts like this one,   generally everything except for some premium  meals and bottles of wine is included. 

One more option for lunch was the grab and  go deli just off of the lobby which served up   actual wood fired sandwiches and also served  as the resorts’ round the clock coffee bar.  Here’s your friendly reminder to click that like  button, subscribe to the channel and share this  

Video with friends and family. Those are truly  the easiest ways- all free for you- to help   the channel grow. If you’d like to support me  further my Patreon is linked in the description   below. Thanks very much in advance. Now, it is time to head to my room. 

Had I not upgraded my room, I presume I would have  had one of those rooms you can see here. While   it’s not an ocean view, it is an uninterrupted  green mangrove view, so that’s not nothing.  In general, I found the construction quality  to be decent- not amazing but decent- except  

For the room numbers which seemed to have  a bit of a problem no matter which door   you looked at. Honestly one of the  more entertaining flaws I’ve seen.  My room was 6100 or was it 600.  I suppose we’ll never know. 

And welcome to my oversized corner oceanfront  room which I was really really happy with.   I know for some the design may seem a bit  sparse, but I love seeing rooms which are   functional but I know will also be easy for  housekeeping to maintain without an absurd  

Amount of effort- the layout is definitely my  first of three favorite things in the room.  As you look around, here are the  extra bits you may want to know about.  In this case, the AC was definitely the winner and  the bedding was definitely the loser. These were  

Some of the scratchiest sheets I think I’ve ever  felt. They almost felt like that plastic layer on   the top of hologram trading cards. Have a listen. As seems to be a trend these days, the room key   and the all inclusive bracelet have morphed  into one, which I enjoy. The little fob on  

The bracelet acts as your key card. The  bracelets themselves are color coded to   match your Hilton Honors elite status which  I think is a little bit cringe- though I know   many people love recognition and stuff like that. So the sheets and the lumpy limp pillows are the  

Fist thing I didn’t like about the room,  the second is one I see loads of people   complaining about in reviews and that’s the  totally exposed bathroom. There is no way to   make it more private that what you see here.  The family is going to get to know each other  

Real well on this year’s vacation. Considering how big the room is,   there wasn’t much closet space, but  there was a ton of counter space.  The room had a Nespresso machine and a really  well stocked minibar after it was stocked a  

Couple hours after arrival. My second favorite  thing was how even without asking, it was filled   to the brim with water. It really is all about  smart small touches that make a difference.  The bathroom had a single basin  with loads of counter space again. 

The specific brand of amenities I did actually  like, but one thing I hated was that there   was no body wash or bath gel of any kind. Just  bar soap which I haven’t seen since like 1998. 

Last thing I loved about the room was the balcony  and the ledge that was built into the railing-   making it a perfect space to sit in the mornings  and have a cup of coffee as the sun was rising. 

Although the bottled water was all glass, there  was a filtered water dispenser on each floor.  Also near the lobby there  were a few shops and sundries.  Let’s check out the options for dinner  and we’re gonna start with a biggie,  

The nightly buffet at Vela. Vela is their all  day buffet restaurant. Service is efficient,   food is kept stocked and is hot. Beyond the basics which they did   well though, there was just a really  good variety of food on offer,  

Honestly far surpassing the expectations I had. As I mentioned in my last video, I’m leaning   into all inclusives this year and food offerings  like this are a big part of that. The industry   is improving this niche faster than any other  that I see. So far, Hilton is not a big player  

In the field. While they have 80 properties in  Mexico, just five of them are All Inclusive,   but they’ve made it clear that they are determined  to grow that quite a bit in the years ahead.  Next up, we have Maxal, the Mexican  Restaurant. One thing I highly suggest  

Is planning your dinners and reservations before  arriving. My first night by the time I arrived,   Maxal was already fully booked and my next  choice of restaurant was closed that night,   which is why I headed to the buffet. Next up is the Italian Restaurant,  

La Luce. I’ll point out that just about every  menu here has a specific Vegan Menu section.  Finally, we have Auma, their signature Steakhouse. Auma has an open kitchen and grill with seating   surrounding it and an outdoor seating patio. Here is where you’ll find the menu with the most  

Chargeable upgrade options, but I didn’t choose  any upgrades and was perfectly happy with my food.  Things started out with grilled  bread, but I think set the tone   for- when it’s good, simple is enough. I had a smoked caesar salad which was  

Very good and a provaletta which was  a bit bland surprisingly. Would have   helped to have quite a bit more bread too. The steak I ordered though was cooked well   and flavorful. My only complaint would be the  sweet potatoes which were a bit underdone. 

Last up was a satisfying lemon tart. That day was Mexican Independence Day and I   was lucky to be there for it. The- essentially-  cocktail party that they put on was actually   really really well done. While I can’t say  whether the entertainment is anywhere near  

This level on a nightly basis, they certainly  do know how to put a nice event together.  In addition to a few sponsored beverage  stations, the resort also had street food   stations, loads of them, setup throughout- each  representative of a specific state. There was  

Also live music and lots of other things for kids  as well. I’ll let you have a quick look around.  You can have a listen out here how good the  center rooms are. The party is still going   on but you can’t hear a thing. Quite a beautiful sunrise the next  

Morning which made me second guessing whether I  was in a hotel room or in a cruise ship cabin.  For breakfast, we go back to Vela. Again a really  good mix of foods with multiple cooked to order  

Stations outside as well- actually I think the  best food was outside on the patio. Even just as   they opened everything was already hot inside  and out and the food quality again was just   quite a bit better than I was expecting. Here are my rankings so for for Breakfast  

And for Food Overall for the 11 Cancun hotels  which will make it to the channel. Let me note,   this list is to show relativity- it doesn’t  mean the bottom half has crap food. In fact,   only the very last place was absolute crap  for food. With each video, I’ll fill more in. 

As we finish off the buffet and then have a  not really a peek peek at the fitness center,   which definitely felt too small for a 700  room resort, let’s see if I can wrap this up.  One of my notes I wrote while I was  there was “Appropriate for Brand” but  

I should explain what I mean. This resort,  beach and uber stuff aside, is appropriate   for the brand which I think Hilton tries to  sell. Hiltons, like many big box hotel brands   often feel like just that, giant hotels with  endless rooms and little personality. This one,  

This Hilton is not that at all. At no point  does it ever feel like a 700 room hotel. At   no point does it feel soulless or generic. This  is I think the image that Hilton is trying to  

Sell and I’m here for it. If every new Hilton  is of this caliber then I may need to rethink   my hotel strategies for 2025. I’m excited to see  more of what Hilton can produce in this space.  So, I really do hope you enjoyed this  review today, if you did please be sure  

To click the like button and hit subscribe and  turn notifications on so you don’t miss out on   my twice weekly postings. I’ll see you next time  for a once in a lifetime experience, flying ANA   First Class from Tokyo Haneda to New York JFK. Oh  and as always, thanks for watching until the end. 

If you head down to the description you’ll find  my next five videos to come out as well as other   bits and pieces like the soundtrack titles  featured in this video. On your way down there,   don’t forget to subscribe- I release full  length videos every Thursday and Saturday.

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Watch this video if you want to see what the new All Inclusive 5-star Hilton Cancun Resort is all about. A full resort tour and review is coming up!

🎥 In This Video:
-Oceanfront King Room Tour
-All a la Carte Restaurants & Menus
-All Bars & Lounges
-Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & una Fiesta
-Breakdown of Activities
-Full Tour Around Pools
-A Talk About the Beach
-A Talk About Uber & Taxis at the Resort
-Full Buffets
-Entertainment Options
-Location Info & Transport

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💸 Rate Paid
Rate Paid: $314.20 USD (Includes $100 Upgrade)
Category: Oceanfront Corner King
Inclusions: All Inclusive

📺 Videos & Playlists You Might Enjoy
⇢ Hyatt Zilara Cancun: https://youtu.be/2kIz7KYxxUQ
⇢ Wyndham Alltra Cancun: https://youtu.be/vB-ysZrBinA
⇢ South America Hotels & Resorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8PxOdTXP7_fmN-Vik2EA43B
⇢ Mexico Hotels & Resorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL83ZLLu2Le8Ob7Qbmw2F7Fi2Gf-5vED_h

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-This video contains a paid promotional ad for LEVEL8 Luggage. All views and opinions are my own and have not been evaluated in any way by LEVEL8 prior to publishing this video.
-Every scored review I produce (of a flight, hotel or anything else) will be based on an entirely self-funded experience which I paid for via published rates/fares.
-I will never endorse a product, company or site that I do not actively use. If and when I endorse a product, it will be clearly disclosed and will be relevant to the channel from a brand I likely couldn’t live without.
-For sponsorship inquiries, please refer to the email address published on the About tab of my channel.

📽 Next 5 Videos (🩴 = Must Watch)
⇢ 17 Feb: ANA 777 First Class Tokyo to New York 🩴🩴🩴🩴🩴
⇢ 22 Feb: Jetblue JFK to Cancun Roundtrip (2 Styles of Economy)
⇢ 23 Feb: Air Canada Express CRJ Business Class Philadelphia to Toronto
⇢ 24 Feb: Andaz Mayakoba Cancun, Mexico 🚨🩴🚨
⇢ 29 Feb: Air Canada 777 Business Class Toronto to London 🩴

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🎶 Background Music in This Video
⇢ “La Bella Cafe” by Luc Allieres
⇢ “Salsa Picante” by The North
⇢ “Flavour of South America” by Jodi Dalmau
⇢ “Busy World” by Cinematique Vol. 1
⇢ “El Ritmo” by FASSounds
All music tracks featured in this video are licensed under an Artlist Unlimited License.

↪ Video Chapters ↩
0:00 Intro & Hotel Info
00:56 Driving to Resort
01:44 Resort Exterior & Entrance
02:54 Lobby & Reception Area
05:14 Hotel Location & Map
06:24 Need to Know FAQs
06:31 Exploring the Pool Areas
08:21 Let’s Talk about the Beach
10:01 Family Pool Area
13:06 Resort Activities
14:06 Lunch at Maxal Taqueria
14:54 Sunan Asian Restaurant
15:32 Pool Bars & Alcohol on Offer
16:12 Lobby Deli
16:52 Heading to my Room
17:46 Full Oceanfront Corner King Room Tour
22:37 Vela Dinner Buffet
26:06 Maxal Mexican Restaurant
26:30 La Luce Italian Restaurant
26:48 Auma Steakhouse
27:19 Dinner at Auma
27:56 Independence Day Festival
29:50 Beautiful “Cruise Ship” Sunrise
30:23 Breakfast Buffet at Vela
32:06 Final Thoughts
33:04 The Flip Flop Score

This is NOT a promotional video. I pay for all of my flights and hotels (and I always tell you how much!) so I can be as honest and impartial as possible. I do not receive any special treatment that wouldn’t otherwise be publicly accessible, in fact, the hotels and airlines have no idea about my visit and that’s the way I like it!

#hiltoncancun #cancun #resortreview