Finest Playa Mujeres Review: Everything You Need to Know When Visiting with Kids

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Are you planning a trip to Cancun with kids and wondering what the best family all inclusive resort in Cancun is? We recently stayed at Finest Playa Mujeres with kids and think this is one of the best all inclusive resorts in Mexico for families. If you are planning a trip to Mexico with kids, read on to see if this family friendly Cancun all inclusive resort is right for your family. And if you’re wondering if Cancun is good for families, we definitely think it is! Here is our review of Finest Playa Mujeres.

Where is Finest Playa Mujeres?

Finest Playa Mujeres is located in the Quintana Roo area of the Yucatan Peninsula, about 35 minutes from the Cancun airport. A frequently asked question is does Finest Playa Mujeres offer a shuttle service from the airport? The answer is yes, if you are staying for more than 3 nights and book directly with the hotel. When you book the hotel, you will receive an email to schedule your free hotel transportation with Seasons Tours. We were picked up in a private, clean SUV and transported to the hotel.

Check in process at Finest Playa Mujeres

From the moment you arrive, you will be greeted with professionalism and friendliness from the Finest staff. If you booked a regular room, you will continue your check in process in the lobby. If you booked a club level room, you’ll be taken to their club check in area, which honestly is nothing special. We were offered a drink on arrival (champagne for adults/juice for kids) and proceeded right to the check in area.

Tips for visiting Finest Playa Mujeres

While we loved our stay at Finest Playa Mujeres with kids, we have learned some things that will help you when planning your trip to Mexico with kids.

• If you’re looking for a quieter room, stay away from rooms closest to the main pool as they are loud well into the night. These are mainly rooms in building 5, we were very glad to not have a room in that building. For a more peaceful stay, request a room in building 3 or 1 however you will be a far walk to the restaurants and amenities, so I personally don’t recommend them.
• Want to be close to all the amenities at Finest Playa Mujeres? Building 4 will put you right in the middle of all the action. We had room 4001 and it was the best. A less than 2 minute walk to almost all of the restaurants and our swim up suite was the last room, which meant no neighbors on one side and very private since people walking by couldn’t peek in without actually walking into the pool area. The other swim up suites we passed, especially in building 5, were wide open with zero privacy.
• Before you arrive, download the Excellence Collection app. Here, you will be able to see daily activities, restaurant menus (and which restaurants are open on what day and time) and lots of other important resort info.
• Bring some suction cup hooks to hang your wet clothes on the balcony or patio. These came in very hand and our swimsuits dried quickly.
• Bug spray! Do not forget your bug spray. I packed our plant based mosquito repellent and was very glad to have it! We forgot to use it on the first day and we were destroyed by mosquitoes. They are not only everywhere outside at all hours of the day, but also inside the rooms. After we started using the spray, no more bites.
• Want a fresh coconut? Head to the Juice Bar by building 3 after 12 and ask for one. They had plenty into the night during our stay since there were barely any people here, but I heard they run out quickly during peak travel season.

Finest Playa Mujeres Rooms

Are you wondering which room to book when visiting Finest Playa Mujeres with kids? There are multiple room types, including ones for larger families. Built in 2015, this 4 star family friendly all inclusive Cancun resort is one of the best hotels in Mexico for families with young kids. While you will see other resorts in this area of Cancun, Finest Playa Mujeres is one of the best resorts in Playa Mujeres with some of the newest rooms in the area.

We booked the junior swim up suite and while several people warned us that the pool would be too cold to use, we found this to be untrue. It was in the 90s and humid outdoors, and the pool was in the 80s, definitely not chilly at all! Our personal pool was warmer than the main pool, so don’t hesitate to book a swim up suite. We used it all day long without issues. Tip: request that your pool suite be on the side of the resort that stays sunny for most of the day. We loved having our pool just outside our door without having to walk to the main pool area any time we wanted to swim. Our room was 4001 and had sun for a good portion of the day. We had a nice large deck, 2 lounge chairs, 2 lounge beds and a private hot tub in addition to the private pool.

Their family suites sleep up to 5 people, making it one of the best Mexico all inclusive resorts for large families. There’s a king bedroom for the adults and a separate bedroom with 2 beds for the kids. If you’re looking for an all inclusive resort for large families, Finest is it!

Kids Clubs at Finest Playa Mujeres

While we have stayed at many family friendly Caribbean resorts, none have had the kids club experience as awesome as the one at Finest Playa Mujeres. The Imagine Kids Club has activities throughout the day that will keep your kids engaged and having fun with new friends.

The kids clubs are separated by ages from toddlers to teens, so your older kids (12 and up) do not have to be with the little ones. The little kids club takes kids as young as 3 years old (they have to be potty trained) and offers lots of activities, such as art, a play room, water park area and other activities throughout the day. If your child is under 3 or not potty trained, you have to stay with them.

For your older kids and teens, check out the daily schedule. They have archery, basketball, soccer and much more for them throughout the day.

There are also different activities and shows throughout the day at the resort for families. My daughter did a keychain craft one afternoon and we went to a live Disney show one evening, which was surprisingly really fun!

Also, if your child likes ice cream, you will see soft serve ice cream machines near many of the bars with cups and cones for you to fill. We though the staff had to do it, but they told us they are self serve which was even better.

Amenities at Finest Playa Mujeres

Finest Playa Mujeres has 10 pools throughout the resort, which is quite impressive for a resort of this size! However, I have seen reviews from peak season travelers who said they struggled to find chairs by the beach or pool. We didn’t have this issue, the main pool was deserted and we were the only ones there when we visited twice. And the beach had maybe 4 people, that’s the perk of traveling in the off season! If you’re looking for an all inclusive Cancun resort with great pools, definitely check them out!

The main pool is split into two sections-one for families and one adult only. We had the entire family side to ourselves each time we went, which was awesome.

Aside from the pools, kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkeling are free for hotel guests. Other water sports, like jet skiing, can be done for an additional fee.

Near the main bar area, you will find a pool table, ping pong table and some other games to keep your kids occupied.

Throughout the week, various classes are offered to resort guests. These include things like yoga, water aerobics, cooking, dancing…to name a few.

Fitness at Finest Playa Mujeres

Just because you are on vacation, it doesn’t mean you can’t continue with your workout routine. The gym at Finest Playa Mujeres is impressive, with multiple cardio machines, weights and even a studio where classes are held. Need some more motivation? Hire one of their personal trainers to help you reach your fitness goals.

Aside from the fitness center, there are tennis courts at Finest Playa Mujeres and a golf course within the resort.

Beach at Finest Playa Mujeres

If you’re looking for turquoise, calm beach water at Finest Playa Mujeres, you are going to be disappointed. While the beach is private with plenty of loungers to lay in, it’s not the stereotypical turquoise beach many think of when visiting Mexico. Cabanas at Finest Playa Mujeres are also free to use, something many other resorts charge for. We live in Florida so lounging on the beach wasn’t a priority for us, but if it is for you, I would stay elsewhere of visit a place like Turks and Caicos instead. If you plan to hang out on the beach, be sure to pack some packable beach toys.

If you’re wondering about the sargassum issue in Cancun, Finest Playa Mujeres wasn’t affected. The beach in front of the hotel was clear of seaweed and the water temperature very warm without waves, so perfect for little ones who want to play.

Restaurants at Finest Playa Mujeres

All inclusive resorts are not known for stellar food, in fact many leave a lot to be desired. Finest Playa Mujeres is no different and I’m honestly floored at all the reviews saying they have the most amazing food people have ever had. While the food was certainly edible, we certainly did not think it was the most spectacular food we have ever had but we came with the expectation that we weren’t going to have gourmet dining.

If you’re looking for the best all inclusive food in Cancun, look elsewhere because you won’t find that here. We expected this since we have never been to an all inclusive with amazing food and had very low expectations food wise so just be prepared to not experience Michelin level dining and you will be fine.

In addition to sit down restaurants, there is 24 hour room service included in your stay, so you can easily order food to be delivered to your room at any time of the day or night.

And your mini fridge is restocked daily with drinks and snacks as well.

And let’s face it, traveling to Mexico with kids means you are going to need to find snacks throughout the day to keep them full until dinner. The Coffee Shop has ice cream, milkshakes and pastries/cookies/small sandwiches throughout the day. You can get smoothies and mocktails at the bar by the main pool. And the La Cocinita food truck serves hot dogs, tacos and fries that are perfect for a mid day snack.

Keep in mind that the restaurants do have dress codes (which we found they did not enforce at all during our stay, evident by all the man Crocs and t shirts when it clearly stated neither was allowed) and different restaurants are open on different nights, you will find all this information in the app. You also cannot make advance reservations, which we actually liked since we are not really plan ahead type of people and like to eat when we are hungry, not because it’s our reservation time. The only exception for restaurant reservations is Shoji. If you want to sit at the hibachi table, you will need to make reservations.

Here are the Finest Playa Mujeres restaurants that we have tried and our thoughts. With 11 restaurants, there is something for every member of your family. And important to note. Since the restaurants do not accept reservations, if you come during peak travel time you might have to wait 2 hours for a table. The restaurants are small and while the hotel wasn’t packed at all, we noticed that around 7pm, there was a 40 minute or more wait for any open restaurants (they rotate daily, not all restaurants are open every day). But at 8 or later, there were only a few people dining so we preferred to do dinner later.

Dukes

One of the first restaurants we went to was Dukes for dinner. Unfortunately for us, we chose the wrong place for our first meal so it didn’t set the bar high at all. But know that this was the only truly bad meal we had here. Now before I go into our very odd dining experience, let’s talk about the dress code. On the app, it states that flip flops are not allowed yet at least half of the people dining had them. One guy had a tank top, and it clearly states no sleeveless shirts are allowed. So they do not enforce the dress code at all it seems, we always felt overdressed.

On to the food. For our appetizers, we ordered the crab cake, ceviche and clam chowder. The crab cake was slightly larger than a quarter, the clam chowder came with the soggiest piece of bread ever that was not the sourdough bread bowl the menu said it was and the ceviche? Well we didn’t quite now what that was, it wasn’t ceviche at all, just cooked shrimp.

For our main courses, we ordered the salmon, sea bass and lobster. My daughter loved her salmon and it was actually the only decent meal we tried here. My sea bass was super dry and flavorless. They really don’t like to use any kind of seasonings here, salt included. And the lobster? It wasn’t lobster at all! As my husband was eating it he kept saying it tastes like shrimp. He noticed that under all the cheese were actual petit shrimps and pulled out a whole pile of shrimp. When he brought it up to the waiter, the guy fumbled to explain then said they ran out of lobster. I’m guessing the majority of their customers have no idea what lobster vs. shrimp tastes like (many around us were eating “lobster” as well). So if you order lobster, expect to be served a bunch of shrimp covered in cheese sauce and shoved into a lobster tail that they probably reuse over and over.

La Cocinita Food Truck

If you or your kids get hungry mid day and don’t feel like going to a restaurant, head to the food truck, located right in front of the Sweet Shop. Here you will find lots of things like tacos, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, and more. We tried a few different items one day and the clear winner were the pork tacos. My daughter liked the chili cheese fries she ordered as well. Our room was like a 20 second walk to this place so when our daughter got hungry, we were able to walk over then enjoy the food by our pool.

The Market Kitchen

Chances are if you are going to be eating breakfast here, you will go to the Market Kitchen buffet at some point. There’s an impressive amount of options here, everyone in your family should be able to find something. However, the food is super bland and not good at all. We went two mornings in a row then gave up and just ordered room service for breakfast or skipped it all together and waited for lunch. There’s also a kid buffet area with some kid friendly foods and drinks.

The Market Kitchen is also open for lunch daily and dinner on Sundays, all served buffet style. We tried them for lunch one day and again, lots of different options for every member of your family and lunch was slightly better than breakfast.

Shoji

Shoji is the Asian restaurant of Finest and they have a mixture of Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. This is also the restaurant that does hibachi and if you would like to do that, be sure to make a reservation. Hibachi is the only reservation you need to make while here, everything else is first come first served. We reserved a hibachi table the night we arrived for the following evening. The food here was just at like any other hibachi place, definitely one of the better hotel dining experiences!

While we didn’t try the main menu at Shoji, we recommend them for the hibachi if you’re able to get a reservation.

Insiemme

One our favorite restaurants at Finest Playa Mujeres was Insiemme, their Italian restaurant. We visited for lunch one afternoon and really enjoyed our meal. The views are amazing too, you have a nice view of the ocean from their deck.

We tried a few appetizers (mussels, caprese, calamari) and all were good. I tried the spinach pizza and really enjoyed it. I can’t speak for dinner, but we enjoyed our lunch here.

The Sweet Corner

This is the place you will come to for your morning coffee drinks, pastries throughout the day and ice cream. They have a big ice cream selection and can turn any flavor into a milkshake. We came here daily for ice cream and highly recommend eating ice cream every day of your family vacation to Cancun!

Brass Steakhouse

The steakhouse at Finest Playa Mujeres was actually really good. I got the tenderloin which was cooked perfectly, medium rare. My daughter is not a steak fan so she had the salmon which was good as well.

Lizo

The Mexican restaurant at Finest Playa Mujeres is called Lizo. We weren’t huge fans of the meals here (I asked for medium rare steak and it was very well done) but we did enjoy the desserts. They have flan, tres leches cake, churros and lots of other items so come here for dessert and skip the food.

Tinto & Tapas

If you like tapas, then Tinto & Tapas is for you. Most of the items were good here, with a few misses. We also received multiples of some dishes and some weren’t brought out at all so you might not get what you ordered. But we enjoyed our meal here for the most part and most of the items we tried were good. I will say that the portions here were surprisingly big, we were expecting traditional tapas size portions like we had in Spain so be mindful of how much you order!

Day Trips from Finest Playa Mujeres

If you’re looking to do excursions and day trips from Finest Playa Mujeres, you’re in luck! There are many places to choose from. We love the island of Isla Mujeres so we decided to do a day trip to Isla Mujeres from Cancun. There’s so much to do there and you’ll have a blast exploring the island on a golf cart.

Is Finest Playa Mujeres worth visiting with kids?

We certainly think so. Almost every family that was here had young kids with them, the couples without kids were the ones that seemed out of place here. The kids club is one of the few that allows you to leave kids as young as 3, many others start at 5 and up, so this is a great place to come if you have a potty trained 3 year old. Sure the food isn’t the best (though if you live in the US and dine at chain restaurants, it’s no different than home), but don’t come expecting high level dining and you’ll be fine. It is an all inclusive after all! We did come at a time where it wasn’t very crowded, so our opinion might have been different had we came during spring break of a holiday week. We hope you enjoyed our review of Finest Playa Mujeres and that it helps you decide whether this all inclusive Cancun resort is right for your family.

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