We recently returned from the Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, perhaps our 5th trip to Cancun and our first to the HRHC. We will not return to this hotel despite its many great features. Don't take anything herein as fact, and legally our experience is no basis for what you can expect, etc. Upon arriving, we checked in and were shown our rooms -- which looked nothing like the room we booked: vastly different, with rusty fixtures, black furniture and dingy lighting. One of them (south wing) had visible cockroaches, which we've seen very occasionally elsewhere but never in upgraded rooms in high-end resorts. They offered to upgrade us, but one of our party stood her ground and requested the room for which we'd paid. Rooms magically appeared, which resembled those we booked, and they spun a story that the roachy rusty ghetto rooms were 'still considered platinum rooms'. We joked all week that, had we upgraded, we probably could have received the rooms we paid-for originally. Doors and fittings are a bit 'off' (our bathroom door didn't close properly) as can be found in the humid climate, but the AC will keep up and the rooms ultimately were as we expected and paid. The food was good to excellent, and the wait-staff was generally excellent too; we noticed other resorts - Riu Cancun/caribe, Moon- or Beach Palace - had stellar wait-staff, but the HRH Cancun was still amazing. The beer was the standard three (dos equis, corona, modelo), the wine was sub-par, but the spirits were excellent top-shelf staples you don't normally find in a resort. With the good wait-staff and great food, we had only great interactions with the internal staff, and they mostly made up for trust issues we had over the administrative staff. Learn how red/green works at Brazilian steak houses, and be sure to hit Ipenema and then the Ciao; they were fantastic. Unfortunately, we found the hard rock got a little hard after a while: loud sound isn't as good as good sound, so watch out for ear fatigue. The southernmost Bali Beds (an a-la-carte upgrade) are the quietest, but the staff can't prevent white-trash low-quality tinny bluetooth speakers playing grunty gangsta crap music on the federal beach, for people who go to a rock hotel and don't like music; but just be okay with it. The resort sound system was a little flaky at a few locations too, but keep in mind the age of the building and an environment hostile to wiring. The zona Hotela location was a great location: A M$90 cab ride (the doormen call them) will get you to the posh La Isla shopping, one of many on the ZH strip, and it's a great outing for a 'down' day of strolling and shade if snorkeling and Chichen Itza excursions in the sun exhaust you -- book 'big' excursions like the Underwater Museum a few days apart and remember to rest on vacation. Don't even think of using the Do Not Distrub sign -- the inside staff completely ignores it! Siesta? You'll get 5 callers a day, despite the sign: cleaners, insect spray (which is apparently potent on roaches and magically not harmful if you're sleeping in the room right after!) team, towels and supplies, turn down service, an endless parade of staff knocking on the door and asking to get in. yes, the sign was hung, and it was completely pointless. Learn "no thank you; please come tomorrow" and "5 minutes please" in Spanish as the non-closing bathroom door can come into play here. Use the dead-bolt. In our case, as well, we needed to cancel a fancy dinner date, due to standard traveller/food issues. The front desk staff - remember them? - demanded a doctor's note (no; really! A DOCTOR'S NOTE) before they'd cancel within 24 hours. If you get into this predicament like we did, ask to re-schedule 2 days out, then come back in the evening and cancel then as you'll be more than a day in advance. Always, always, always get a receipt of everything you pay for, including and especially your final bill. In our group's case, one of us damaged a manicure and needed a repair, paying $35US for one fingernail. A good job, at least. When she was out-clearing, though, the front desk staff - remember them? - suddenly demanded payment for an entire full manicure, even though she'd had only one done and paid in full at the time. Then - and this is the big part - they claimed she was LYING to them, despite the obviously-different appearance (ie colour) and receipt. They almost would not let us leave the resort unless she paid again. If you have all your receipts and the front desk staff adds surprise charges and calls an honest, well-paying customer a liar, ask them to separate the suspect charges out, and then it's easier when you get home to explain the entire story to Visa who can potentially reverse the separated charges you dispute. I hope you have a great stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun. We enjoy saving up and travelling yearly, and for our money we will definitely be returning to a Palace or Riu resort next time, or maybe trying something completely new. Despite the great serving staff and food, we feel the administrative staff were a challenge for us, and we do not intend to return to this resort ever again.
My wife has been getting bit by bed bugs here as well. We're in room 537.
We just had a supervisor and cleaning lady come out to inspect and they basically called us blatant liars and said they never had this problem here. This place is a joke. The customer service has been horrible with the exception of the bar staff. All others are rude, dismissive, and annoyed when you try to approach them.
I'll never recommend this place to another and we'll never stay here again. 5/26/18