Hotel and Fitness Center Review – Westin Resort and Spa, Cancun

I was recently in Cancun, Mexico to attend a conference for travel bloggers called TBEX.  The host hotel, and location for the seminars was an all-inclusive hotel called Moon Palace.  I chose instead to stay at the Westin Resort and Spa in Cancun.

In some ways, the Westin was a good choice, in other ways the choice was less than perfect, but it all worked out fine in the end.  Cancun is one long stretch of hotels. The Moon Palace stands pretty much by itself on the other side of the Airport.  When I chose the Westin, I thought that, since it’s closer to the airport, it would be more convenient for transporting back and forth to the Moon Palace.  This was not the case.  The more popular area of the Cancun strip was a mile or two further than the Westin, and TBEX arranged a shuttle bus from this further location – not from the Westin.  The area near the Westin was a little  remote, but this didn’t really matter for me, as I spent most of my time at conference-related meetings and events.  Also, I was fortunate to meet some really nice women and men who were also attending TBEX and staying at the Westin, so carpooled or shared taxis.

The Westin was quite large and the rooms were well sized.

from the Westin website.

Our room faced the Atlantic, and I’m a sucker for an ocean view.   The staff was helpful and accommodating.  There are definitely newer properties, but this was just fine, especially for a price of about $100 per night.

The pool looked really nice – but I didn’t get a chance to swim as it was stormy on our one “free day.”  This also hampered my plan to run outdoors.  I did walk for a while on the beach.

I then went to the hotel fitness center.   The fitness center is fabulous.  The entry is through a lovely full-service spa.

in the spa area, outside the gym, looking in through glass walls

Although I did not use the spa, many of the spa facilities, such as the lockers, showers, jacuzzi, steamroom and sauna are available for use by hotel guests.  I also saw signs around the hotel that you could purchase a massage with SPG points, but the amount of points required for this was outrageous.

Did I mention that the gym is fantastic?  They had more state-of-the-art equipment, and more types of equipment, than most hotel gyms I’ve seen.  For example – there was a whole section of  9 Le Mond Rev Master Spin bicycles – who wants to take a spin class?

spin class, anyone?

Analysis

Size: Very large

Equipment: plentiful, modern, state-of- the-art ; well-arranged with plenty of room between machines

Types of equipment: in addition to the spinning bicycles, the gym had 7 life fitness treadmills, 1 life fitness step master, 1 life fitness stair master, 3 life fitness stationary bicycles, 2 life fitness recumbent bicycles, a full circuit of life fitness weight machines, and Bala free weights.

Cleanliness: very clean

Air: fresh

Light: good light, plenty of windows; ocean views.

Mirrors: many mirrored walls

Spa: full spa facilities, lockers, showers, jacuzzi, steam-room and sauna

Outdoor pools

Amenities:  towels, chilled towels, headphones, newspapers and water

Here are some more photos: