The downtown Cancun region was the hardest hit of the resort areas in the Yucatan Peninsula and vacationers would be wise to avoid Cancun until late summer 2006. If you are a bargain hunter, you might be hard pressed to find discounts. Many of the overflow visitors scheduled to stay in Cancun have filled the resorts in the Riviera Maya.
As you might expect, the work to rebuild the tourist areas of Cancun and the Riviera Maya started immediately after Wilma had passed. The Mexican Government and the people of Mexico are working day and night to restore their beautiful resort destinations. They look forward to welcoming you back to relax on their white sand beaches. When you do return, you will find that many of the beaches in the Riviera Maya have been expanded. Some have decreased; it varies from resort to resort. Some of the properties are listed below. Cancun will begin a $20 million beach restoration project in December 2005.
The airport is fine, and undergoing minor repairs. Here is a breakdown of some of the individual resorts in the Riviera Maya that are accepting vacationers. You can find additional details and photos at GoAwayTravel.com.
Iberostar Paraiso Maya - looks great, beach is fine
Iberostar Paraiso Lindo - one restaurant is being repaired near the beach, property and beach are fine
Iberostar Paraiso del Mar - freshly painted on the outside, property and beach fine
Secrets Capris - looks great, gained more beach
Bahia Principe Tulum - at 100%, gained beach
Bahia Principe Akumal - at 100%, gained beach
Bahia Principe Coba - new hotel complete and ready to open
Sunscape Tulum (Dreams as of 12/15) - gained beach. New pool and some oceanview rooms will be ready 12/15.
Grand Palladium Colonial and Kantenah - looks great
Grand Palladium White Sand - new hotel, rooms are complete. Construction still going on with pool and restaurants but still scheduled to open on time
Barcelo Maya Tropical and Colonial Beach - new hotel, looks great, beach is great
Barcelo Maya Beach - everything was fine, freshly painted outside, beach is great
Adventura Spa Palace - repairing one restaurant, everything else is great. All spa facilities are fully functional.
Iberostar Tucan - hotel and beach are great. The jungle area is sparse but the animals are still there
Riu Yucatan - fully operational, still a great beach
Riu Playacar - fully operational, still a great beach
Riu Palace Mexico - fully operational, still a great beach
Jack Reidelberger is co-creator of the online travel website GoAwayTravel.com, a website that specializes in treating your vacation like it's their own.