Cancun with Katie - Oct 2025
I was excited to take my whole family to Cancun, Mexico this year. We booked in for seven days at
Hotel Catelonia Grand Costa Mujeres, just north of Cancun. It is rare that the whole family has an opportunity to travel together and it was my first time at a resort with a larger group – two teenagers and three adults.
We had an early flight from Vancouver International Airport, so we opted to stay at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel to ease the morning rush. This is a great option if you are connecting through YVR and want to keep the departure easy. As always, the Fairmont YVR Airport was lovely, with excellent rooms and service. Savour Restaurant and Jetside Bar add a touch of quiet luxury, especially appreciated amongst the busy hustle often associated with most standard airport fare.
I used the Park n’ Fly service for our vehicle while we were away. While it involves a quick shuttle hop, I find the Park n’ Fly shuttle faster than YVR long-term parking and I avoid wandering the lot, trying to remember where I parked a week ago.
We booked through WestJet Vacations. With five family members, we flew economy class but found it comfortable enough for the six hour flight. In-flight service was as expected with the welcome addition that WestJet in-flight WiFi is increasingly easy and convenient.
We arrived in at Cancun Airport and caught the shuttle to the Hotel Catelonia Resort. It was comfortable and easy and took about 45 minutes as we had to go through Cancun traffic mid-day. While taxis and Uber are available, the shuttle was a better option for five people with luggage.
Arrival at Catelonia Resort was pleasant and easy. Staff were friendly and got us to our rooms promptly, ready for some proper rest and relaxation. We opted for the Privileged Family Suite and Swim Up, and Privileged Suite and Swim Up. Both rooms came with their own semi-private pools to cool off in the evenings. All pools close at 8 pm, which does help control noise in the evening but felt a bit too early for our family.
The rooms were well laid out for both couples and families. With a family, the separate toilet and shower enclosures helped the whole family share ablutions without tripping over each other. Water and other drinks were restocked daily, and a basic room service menu was available 24 hours a day. The beds were quite comfortable, and the family suite had bunkbeds for smaller children, if needed.
The experience at Catelonia Grand Costa Mujeres was excellent throughout. There was enough variety that it didn’t feel repetitive over the seven days stay. The resort boasts three pools for a variety of needs and moods; a high-energy pool, a quiet pool and a kids pools. Both adult pools had swim up bars.
The beach, however, was the highlight of the resort. Having been all up and down the Yucatan, this was the softest, cleanest and most beautiful white sand beach I’ve experienced in Mexico. There are three beach bars, one each for Superior, Privileged and Exclusive Class to spread out the guests a little. As we visited during the shoulder season, this wasn’t much of an issue. The causeway to the beach is long and gets very warm and sandals are recommended.
There are seven restaurants at the resort, and all were excellent. Reservations are booked through the resort website. We favoured Mama Mia (Italian) and Steakville (Steakhouse) for dinners. The buffet was the best fit for breakfast due to the variety for a large family, but the Privileged BLoved lounge was great for a more intimate experience. For daytime we enjoyed the excellent Taco Bar and occasional food trucks. Of note, one of my family has celiac disease. All restaurants had gluten-free options and were excellent at ensuring our meals were tasty and safe.
One of my family was unfortunately injured towards the end of our stay. Thankfully, as a travel agent, I take my own advice and we had travel medical insurance to help with the hassles and costs. The hotel’s medical staff and concierge were quite helpful at arranging transportation to the hospital, a wheelchair and medications, so there was minimal disruption to our trip. I can also affirm that the resort is indeed wheelchair accessible throughout. Though there are a lot of ramps and a strong person to push is helpful.
On our return, we had the opportunity to pass through the new Cancun (CUN) Terminal 4. It is a modern and comfortable improvement over Terminal 3. WestJet was very helpful at assisting us with wheelchair transport in both CUN and YVR, getting us home in as much comfort as possible.
I wholeheartedly recommend Westjet Vacations and the Catelonia Costa Mujeres. However, I think it is best suited for couples and families, with not much excitement for the younger crowd.
