One of my birthday traditions is to travel somewhere warm. I’m a December baby who hates the cold, so this has always been like my gift to myself. Well for the first time this year, I decided to take the kids along. And take them along by myself at that. Although I’m single, I still like to have an extra set of hands when traveling with the kids since one is still a (reluctant) napper and just because it makes life easier.
So we visited the Nickelodeon Resort in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Mexico for five days over Christmas. I don’t know if it was because of the Christmas magic or what, but it was a 10 out of 10 vacation for me AND for the kids! Every time I tell someone where we went, I get the same questions, so consider this a Q&A-style review. If you have questions I didn’t answer, feel free to drop them below or send me a message and I’m happy to answer it. Also, my phone was water damaged so I don’t have a ton of photos unfortunately. Hopefully, the team at Nickelodeon Resort can bring me back to do a full review and bring y’all along for the ride!
**Note: there is another Nickelodeon resort in the Dominican Republic. They are not the same, not even owned by the same company, so this review is not affiliated with that one at all.**
Q: Why did you decide to go to a kids’ resort for YOUR birthday?
A: To be honest, I just wanted to have a good time. And if the kids are bored or not enjoying themselves, it’s harder on me! The more I have to entertain them or split up fights or whatever, the less I’m going to enjoy MYSELF. Parents know. That was my thought process going into selecting a resort like Nickelodeon.
But oh after I got there, I quickly realized that – despite the name – this is not a “kids resort.” It’s a resort for millennial parents who have kids. Very important distinction. There was SO much “Nick” nostalgia! And it was so well done. Like not cheesy at all. The breakfast restaurant was Sponge Bob-themed, but with furniture and art that I could actually imagine in my home. And the breakfast buffet had liquor, serve-yourself style, complete with the limes and the mixers – right there on the buffet! Kids’ resort where?!
The lounge/bar where a lot of the evening entertainment happened was called the SNICK Lounge. Y’all remember SNICK on Saturday nights?! All That? Ren & Stimpy?
One of the restaurants was Good Burger – yes THAT good burger. The kids were confused as hell at my excitement when the waiter came to our table and said “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger, may I take your order?!” I just… this place was made for me!
My kids kept calling Reptar “that big green dinosaur thing” BABY THIS IS REPTAR! So now we gotta go home and binge Rugrats bc why would you disrespect him like that.
And I know water parks are usually for kids, but AquaNick was SO nice! I mean sit-down restaurants, a kids club, selfie stations so you didn’t have to bring your phone, the whole nine. The best part were the servers walking throughout the park taking food and drink orders. And by drink I mean DRANK. I mean, do you know how long I could stay at a water park watching kids play while margaritas and pizzas are delivered to my beach chair?!
I can’t believe I didn’t start this list highlighting the Náay Spa. It was probably one of the nicest spas I’ve ever experienced! I got a massage and facial and it was 5-star service all around. Love, love, loved it!
How were the rooms?
The rooms were SO nice. Every room sleeps up to 5. Our room had a king bed (they also have some with two queens), a sleeper sofa, and a “hidden” Ninja Turtles-themed murphy twin bed – which my son absolutely loved. He couldn’t wait to claim his spot and crawl into bed every night. I am trying to figure out how to create a murphy bed in his room because if you’re that excited to get into bed?? Sign me up!
Every room also had two full bathrooms to accommodate the larger families, a mini-bar fully stocked with all the beverages (could have used more snacks in my opinion), two televisions, and access to a swim-up pool. Yes, every room has a swim up pool off the patio! I was a little concerned about the safety of this at first but there are gates on every patio door that the kids couldn’t open. So I felt extremely safe.
How was the food? I hear the food at all-inclusives is not it.
I was pleasantly surprised at the food options, variety, and taste! I may or may not have lower expectations for food at all-inclusives, BUT there were still meals we had that made me want to go back again. We ate at Good Burger twice. And as much as I loved the nostalgia of our waiter using the iconic Good Burger greeting, it wasn’t a fast food burger joint at all. In fact, it was pretty nice with a bar and plenty of non-burger options including steak, prime rib, chicken, all that good stuff! The oldest did decide to get a burger though and it was, in fact, GOOD!
Was it safe? I heard Mexico wasn’t safe.
Absolutely felt safe. We didn’t really leave the resort, but even still, I felt incredibly safe at AquaNick, the beach, leaving the kids at the Kids Club. Every where. I felt safe leaving my belongings on the chairs at the water park while we went in the lazy river. Just all around no real concerns regarding safety.
What was there to do? Was there entertainment and nightlife?
OMG so much to do. Of course Aqua Nick was a main attraction. It’s a water park on steroids. In addition to the lazy rivers (there were 2), the multiple kids areas, and the big kid slides, there was also daily entertainment like Slime Parties, scavenger hunts, multiple restaurants, kids’ clubs, contests, and character greetings.
There were kids’ clubs throughout the resort where you could check the kids in and out. We didn’t go to the kids club until the 3rd day, and that’s good because if we had went on day 1 they wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else! They absolutely loved it. In addition to the regular toys and arcade games, they also had fun scheduled activities like video game contests, cupcake-decorating, science experiments, and so much more. This was amazing for me because I got to go to the beach and read and nap in peace.
Every evening there was some type of scheduled entertainment like the Glow Party (my favorite!), an aerialist show (think cirque du soleil-lite), a magic show, family karaoke night, and more. What I loved most about the evening entertainment is that it was for the whole family. Some of the other all-inclusives I’ve been to, the evening entertainment was geared towards the adults so I wouldn’t have been able to go since it was just me and the boys. But no, we were at the Glow Party turning up together. Really, I was turning up by myself because the kids ran off with their new friends to play arcade games.
How was the beach?
I am a bit of a beach snob, and to be honest the beach was fun for playing right at the shore, but it was super rocky once it got about waist high so not great for swimming or hanging in the water. The water was warm enough though, even in December, and we could order drinks right from the beach so that was all I needed. I wish we’d bought or brought more beach toys to dig in the sand with, but the boys spent most of their time searching for sea shells anyway. It was perfect for that!
Was it expensive?
In a nutshell, yes. It was way more than I would typically pay for 3 people for 5 days. But I also felt it was worth it and don’t regret spending the money. I also booked it last minute and traveled over the Christmas holiday, so I knew it was going to be a little pricey. I did end up getting a membership to the parent company that owns the resort, so I have access to significantly cheaper rates now. A friend who is going with her two kids on my membership is going to pay about half what I paid. I’m hoping to go back before the year is out, but I’m glad at least someone is able to benefit from my membership so soon!
Some other things I loved about this resort was the customer service! When we checked in I was assigned a concierge and I was able to text her via WhatsApp with any questions or concerns and she would check on us every day. I forgot to pack something we needed and she was able to coordinate delivery from the local pharmacy for me.
Basically Nickelodeon Resort Riviera Maya was a 10/10 experience for us and we’re absolutely going back and hope to take more of our family with us next time! It’s only been 2 months and the kids are already asking when can we go back. The oldest asked if we could go there and stay. I wish, buddy, I wish.
If you are considering giving the Nickelodeon Resort Riviera Maya a try, let me know and I can check rates via my membership! It might save you a few dollars.
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