Mr Flippitti and I recently returned from a week’s stay in a 1-bedroom unit (from 25 Nov – 2 Dec 2007). We’re world travelers but this was our first stay at a Fiesta Americana resort. We had a couple of minor problems that were resolved quickly and overall, we enjoyed our stay here.

We had a 3rd floor room facing east so we got the morning sun but were in shade in the afternoon heat. We were allowed to check in a little early. Our unit's large bedroom had a king-size bed, conventional TV (not flat-screen) , and ample closet space with a safe. The bed is VERY FIRM. The only thing harder than the bed was the tile floor. The bedroom also had patio doors that lead out to a very large terrace balcony overlooking the pool area and with a great view of the ocean.

The living/dining/kitchen area was also quite large with a pull-out sofa and chairs, conventional TV, stereo system, more closet space and another set of patio doors leading out to the terrace balcony. There are beach loungers and chairs out there and it was nice to relax in the afternoon and watch the sunset.

The kitchen/dining area is very compact with a table for 4, small fullsize fridge, 2-burner stove (electric), microwave and dishwasher. No oven. All dishes, pots and pans, a coffeemaker, blender, cooking utensils and a few cleaning items are also included. We didn’t do a lot of cooking except for making coffee in the early morning.

The kitchen looked a little bit worn and well-used – cracks and stains on the laminate counter, missing shelves in the fridge and the dishwasher had been installed crooked so the door rubbed against a counter when opened. There were also drawers that didn’t open properly and the shelf where the microwave was located was also crooked. This area of the unit seemed to have poor workmanship, as if the contractor just slapped it together in a hurry.

The bathroom area was large with lots of granite and tile. There were some chipped and cracked areas of granite on the counters and shower walls and we saw mold just outside the shower door. There’s a separate shower unit and a separate water closet where the toilet was located. We also had a whirlpool tub. Our unit had two separate vanity areas with sinks so Mr Flippitti and I could get ready separately without bumping into each other. Loved the bathroom space.

The entire unit had tile floors, even the terrace. The A/C unit was set on high when we arrived and the unit smelled a little moldy and musty. Setting the A/C to a lower temp to cool it down helped get rid of some of the moldy odor but it never went away entirely.

Minor problems: We had ants. The front desk quickly resolved it by sending someone to get rid of them while we were spending the day on the beach. I also had to ask that our sheets and pillow covers be changed the first day because they smelled moldy and felt damp. I couldn't sleep with the moldy smell on my bed. Front desk quickly sent someone up to change linens. Another minor problem was on the first 2 days, our maid forgot to replace the towels. One call to the front desk resolved that problem.

The unit didn’t have its own washer and dryer but there’s a laundry room on every floor. You have to buy or bring your own soap and supplies. They’re also available at the little café on the first floor for a few pesos.

The resort is basically dead after 9PM. No activities whatsoever after 11PM. The resort is family friendly and pretty quiet at night.

The grounds of the FA Cancun are beautiful. Felix the activity director is just wonderful. If you get a chance to participate in any of his activities, do it. He’s a lot of fun.

We ate most of our breakfasts at the only on-site restaurant, La Palapa. I thought the breakfast buffet (152 pesos) was just wonderful. Lots of variety, something different every day and sometimes a little odd things show up in the buffet (like fried hot dogs). We had half our dinners there as well. It’s very quiet, almost dead really, and the dinner menu was a little boring but the food was good. We tried their steaks one night and they were delicious and done just right.

The service at the Bikini Bar (adjacent to the restaurant) was a little slow most of the time. They made great lemonades, average margaritas (a little stingy on the tequila) and horrible mojitos. There’s also another bar and social area inside next to the lobby but it opens at 4PM. You can also get a fairly good pizza at this bar.

The café and store on the ground floor had a good selection of food, fruit and drinks and supplies. That’s also where the laptops are for internet service. You can get a sandwich (60 pesos) made by the on-site chef, as well as coffee and soft drinks. Prices are about as much as you’d pay at any resort.

The beach is small but nice. We never had any trouble finding empty lounge chairs and a palapa to sit under any time. There’s really only one good place there to swim. Most of the beach area is too rocky. We never saw the beach overcrowded.

The pool is also very nice, with lots of shaded areas and available lounge chairs. The only hot tub at the resort is on a separate “island” in the middle of the pool accessible by small bridges. The hot tub was ALWAYS in use by the same people when we were there – a small child and an elderly lady apparently using it as their personal swimming hole all day and into the night. That was a bit annoying.

The FA Cancun excels at customer service from the front desk, maintenance, housekeeping, restaurant and bar. Everyone spoke English, they were all polite and helpful and some of the best hotel staff we've encountered in our travels. We declined an invitation to join their “newcomer’s welcome reception”, a euphemism for timeshare talk, and it was never mentioned to us again. The concierge was also very helpful about bus information and the local area.

It's in a great location, the bus stop is right out front and everything is just a short ride away.

The resort needs to renovate, seriously. There are small signs everywhere that things are starting to fall apart. We walked through one of the wings on the first floor and noticed areas on the ceiling where water apparently seeped through. We also found a couple of wet spots on the floor from water dripping from the ceiling.

We'd love to come back, hopefully when they've done some remodeling and fixed the problems. It's a great resort and could be so again.

I went with my family from last 1-5 december. This hotel is very nice, clean, well maintained. We loved the food, specially the room services, which is competitively priced and with excellent options, very tasty.

The bad: a small beach, few night activities, a little small building and a hot tube small and always in use. The restaurant and room services close at 11 PM

The good: Nice pool and clean rooms, many cable channels, excellent food, and very conveniently located, in the middle of the night life and near the Conventions Center. The staff is kind and useful.

Unlike other commenters, I don't think the little store is "extremely expensive", averaging 20%-50% more than other stores downtown (well, compared to other hotel stores we've seen). They don't have internet access in the rooms, but you can access wireless connection with your own laptop in the store for a $6 an hour rate.

We spent the first three days getting a room. The first room had mold growing around the tubs and walls, then they finally agreed to change rooms and wanted to give us a room with water dripping into a pool of water in the middle of the living room. Fianlly, they "upgraded us" but by then we were exhausted and would have taken just about anything. We booked through HGVC, as did most of the other guests we spoke to. This jsut is a black eye to the entire HGVC-FA program. After FA finally agreed to change our rooms, they wanted us to wait until they called and got approval from HGVC, even though I had them on the phone and they approved our using more points (what a joke) to change to a room that did not have mold in it. I must have spoken to a dozen families there who had been in two or three rooms. Finally, I had to get the FA manager involved. This facility simply needs to be torn down and something else built on that site. The food also was not up to standards. There was so little activity at nights that the bars were manned by people who could not even make a mixed drink. We had stayed at a FA property in Los Cobos a few years prior and it was perfect in every way. I cannot begin to express how disappointed I was with this entire experience.

My boyfriend and I just spent a week at this resort - we booked it under the Hilton Grand Vacation Club. We have traveled to many of the HGVC and RCI Resorts before, so we had high expectations.

Positives:
Very decent breakfast buffet at the on-site restaurant, gorgeous, huge pool, impeccable, thoughtful and nice staff, the most beautiful spa I've ever seen, and a good location. The resort is close to a mall and restaurants, and not far from clubs and other activities. The resort also had a nice relaxing bar and game/lounge area with a pool table, checkers, big screen tv, etc.
Very clean rooms, and unlike others who wrote reviews, we had no plumbing or hot water problems.

Downsides: Very firm beds, small beach access, very few tv channels in English, and only one restaurant onsite, which was over-priced. However, I must say the incredibly friendly staff made up for these things.

Extra Note: A week before we left for Cancun, Norma called me from the hotel to set up a shuttle to and from the airport. The service was at an extra cost, but was cheaper than a cab ride, and the drivers were prompt, knowledgable, and great. I was impressed with the ease of getting around.

We did not rent a car, and we didn't miss it at all. We walked a lot, and took a few cab rides to some other locations.