Hotel overview
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy - This hotel cannot guarantee a spring break-free environment.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
1459 reviews
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Sep 14, 2020Family trip
We highly recommend staying at this location! The activity staff (Renata,Vega,Edgar,Ruben and Samuel) are phenomenal! Their hospitality & coordination of the activities were superb! Can't wait to go back!
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Aug 07, 2020Not worth the premium price
First off I will say that the property is exactly as you see in the pictures. It is beautiful and quiet. The rooms are very nice as well. My mom and I had a Double Casita. I had called ahead and asked for a non-connecting room because I am a light sleeper and I was informed that they are all located on the second floor. I was glad to see my request honored upon check in. Speaking of which, it took way too long IMHO. You're outside in the heat and have to talk to a few people to register, go over the activities, and get introduced to your "personal concierge". She was nice and all, but there was nothing special she did for us. This process needs to be shortened big time. We were also offered "insurance" for $20 for our whole stay for the two of us. He couldn't really explain what it was but said something about if we needed an ambulance and he offered no brochure or anything in writing. I was hot and wanted to just get to the room so we got it. It's only $20 so we figured why not. Still have no idea what it was all about, so maybe give people something to read and some type of policy. There would have been no way to prove we had it if we needed it so that's kind of sketchy in my book but whatever. The room: We has room 207 and it was in the Marlin building which was super close to everything and were very pleased with the location. Upon entering we were pretty surprised when there was no divider or privacy screen or anything separating the shower area from the rest of the room. We laughed about it and it became kind of like a joke when one of us needed to shower or change - "Turn around, no peeking!". I can see if you're in a King room with your SO but this is beyond awkward for a family. Our safe and fridge weren't working upon arrival, and we let them know. As we were eating dinner, I saw them carry the safe out and replace it with a new one. However, the fridge still didn't work. We let them know again and they claimed it was fixed. I let it go overnight, and still nothing. Told them again the next day and they insisted it worked. It didn't. Not until after dinner on our second night did we get a working one. Also we asked for it to be stocked with strictly Diet Coke and they said no problem. Every day we asked and were promised it would come but it never did. On the last day they said they didn't have any. Well if that was the case and they didn't intend to get any, then just say so. Don't keep making promises you can't deliver on. We also didn't get our breakfast basket one morning which was disappointing because mom likes her coffee in the morning. The first day they had some type of cinnamon muffins in there and they were delicious! The other days were mini croissants which were hit or miss. Upon checking in they ask you what time you would like your room cleaned each day and we said 11:00AM. Two out of the four full days we were there, we had to let them know that no one came and we had been out of the room for hours. The second time it was 1:30PM and still nothing, They finally sent someone up. We didn't even need the sheets changed or anything, just exchange the towels because it stayed humid in the room even with the AC on and they wouldn't dry. Actually, we had clothes out that were never wet and they became damp. My swimsuit didn't dry even after 2 days and I went home with it like that. The AC cuts off via a sensor when you open/close the patio or front door and unless you move around, it stays off (like when one of us would go out and the other stayed behind, you had to stand up to trigger the motion detector in the room to turn it back on). One day there was a knock on our door and there were 2 guys with a ladder. Apparently someone told them to fix our shower door (not us). It closed almost all the way so water never got out, but I guess it should have swung both ways. Would have been nice to have gotten a heads up. The food: We had our first meal - dinner at the Explorean. It was OK. I had steak. The menu was really too "Boutiquey" if that's even a word for us, so with the exception of breakfast, we ate next door at the Fiesta which was better, yet still kind of meh. We tried them all with the Italian being the best of the three for dinner. The restaurant down by the beach on the left was our favorite which is where we had lunch. It was a beautiful view and you could even order cheeseburgers and chicken wings which we didn't find out until the last day when we saw some kids have them. No one ever mentioned that to us, they only showed us the chalk board outside. We aren't very picky eaters, but a lot of the stuff just didn't sound appealing or tasted pretty bland so we mostly ate lunch with a small dinner. I actually lost 3 lbs on this trip and my mom lost weight too. That was a first for us! The hotel itself is beautiful and it reminds me of places I stay in Honduras. I was looking for another peaceful vacation away from the crowds and this place absolutely delivered on that. But I feel the food and customer service leave a lot of room for improvement. I understand they were only open for about two weeks after reopening so some of it may be due to getting back into the swing of things, but I feel for the price I paid, it wasn't worth it. They were only at 30% occupancy so it's not like they were overwhelmed with guests. I could have stayed at another well known AI for about $500 less and I'm regretting that I didn't. We didn't do any of the activities because they all involved water and/or biking and being mom had just turned 71 and can't swim, she was unable to participate. But no big deal, that's not why I booked this place. We will be going back to Cozumel, but unfortunately, we won't be back to The Explorean. It's very nice and we loved a lot about it, but there is much to be desired especially for the price.
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Aug 02, 2020
Average at best
I booked this hotel based upon the high ratings on tripadvisor. I'm not sure why it gets such high ratings. We were less than impressed with the food and service and won't return. We arrived around noon. Our room wasn't ready, which is a pet peeve of mine. If the hotel is operating at a 30% capacity, our room should be ready when we arrive, especially at the rate we are paying. We waited two hours for it. Room was fine, everything was good quality, beds were comfy and room was clean. There was a refridgerator stocked with sodas and beer. We only drink Coke. We always left a dollar for the guy who stocks it. On the one day we didn't leave a dollar, we got everything but Coke - passive aggressive maybe? We did not have hot water on the first or second day. When I complained, I was told to let the water run for 10 minutes first. I did and that solved the problem but 10 minutes? Really? Ever heard of water conservation? You would think they would do something about that. Maybe install individual on-demand hot water heaters. The food was awful and the wait was agonizingly slow. We ate four meals at the Explorean. The waits for food were between 30 to 45 minutes long. Even ice cream took 20 minutes to receive. I don't think it was the server's fault. I think it was probably some reason with the kitchen. Food was beautifully plated and presented but not good. When we asked for hamburgers, we were told we couldn't have them because they weren't on the menu. There wasn't a lot for the kids to eat (no quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, sandwiches, spagetti, etc.) I had to throw a hissy fit and go to the manager's office to request that my kids get some sort of food they could eat. After that, we could order hamburgers. Note the Fiesta has free room service, but NOT the Explorean. We tried the "Coffee Cafe" pastries every day but EVERY DAY they were stale and we threw them away. There was a gentleman who helped us with the hamburgers from the mexican restaurant. I left him a $5 tip. When I asked it he had gotten it the next day, he said no, so someone who works there stole his tip. It was hard to communicate with staff. We know a little spanish so we got by but not very many of them speak english. Service left a lot to be desired. My son was struggling to bring back all of our snorkeling equipment and he kept dropping things in the lobby. Even though there were five employees there (1 bellhop, 1 taxi person, 2 concierges and 1 tour guy) no one bothered to help him, or even ask if he needed help. I had my hands full with towels, sunscreen etc so I couldn't. Snorkeling was hard to do due to the current. We did see eagle rays, a variety of fish and an assortment of coral. We had to wait 30 minutes to get snorkeling fins and life jackets because the person who was giving those out was at lunch. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone in the entire resort who could give these items out except that person. Perhaps they should cross-train someone else who could do this in that person's absence instead of making the guests wait. That is probably what bothered me the most. We spent around 2 hours each day, just waiting for stuff. Food, equipment, drinks, etc. We went on one "adventure". It was good but not worth the extra money to stay at the Explorean. The other adventures that we wanted to do, i.e. jeep, mayan ruins, were not being offered during the time that we were there. The three adventures on offer when we were there were biking/snorkeling; biking/cenote and just biking. Note that you do not have to go on a tour to take the bikes out. Unfortunately, we found this out the day before we left. Had someone told us about this we could have biked every day. There is an "environmental" fee added to the bill. It was $26 here but only $8 at another hotel we stayed at during the same vacation. The $8 hotel had one less night. I'm not sure why there was such a big discrepency but you have to pay what they tell you to pay so we did. No shows due to COVID. They do have one pool table and one fooz ball table. Arcade games and air hockey were never on and if they were, I don't think they are free as they had slots for quarters (or pesos). On the plus side, there are free washer/dryers on the fourth floor of the Fiesta. Buy soap at the front desk for $3 or bring your own. The pool that is in the pictures in beautiful and lit up at night. With the lights on it at night, you could see it was disgustingly murky. We did not go in that pool but went to the Fiesta's pool. In summary, we paid too much and received too little in terms of services and food. I would not recommend this resort.
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Jul 25, 2020
GETS BETTER EVERY TIME!!!!
We just got back from Cozumel and stayed at the Explorean once again. This place absolutely gets better every single time. The service, the staff, the food, the drinks, the rooms, the amenities, the excursions are just a few of the many many perks. We got to see our favorite staff Roberto, Renata, Samuel, Alfonso, and Rueben!!! They ALWAYS greet us with a smile and a "Welcome home mi familia". And it truly is a home for us. They always go out their way to make sure we are well taken care of and have everything we need. Renata is an absolutely AMAZING host/tour guide. She is very enthusiastic and VERY knowledgeable about the island and the spots. We shall DEFINITELY be coming back very soon!!!!!
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Jul 25, 2020
Wonderful!
Just got back from a trip to The Explorean, as usual everything was amazing. The service there is always great, the activities with Renata were so much fun and we will 100% be back to see what she has planned for next time. Renata, Ruben and Roberto (and everyone else) we thank you for your hospitality and can’t wait to come back.