My wife and I stayed at the Presidente Intercontinental for three days. Overall, the hotel was rather nice, with fine common areas and excellent outdoor amenities. We were greeted by the concierge upon our arrival and were handled quickly and professionally. The rooms are of average size, and were quite clean. There are no balconies in at least a part of the hotel, which we happened to be staying in. However, we spent most of our time outdoors so it didnt bother us at all. The shower was nice, good water pressure and various toiletries.

The pool and the beach areas at this hotel are phenomenal. Really, you cant beat the beach area, which has numerous palapas and beach chairs for use. The water is shallow enough to wade in, and the sand is fine and plenty. There really are no rocky areas on this beach whatsoever, which is nice compared to properties located nearby, which are very uneven.

The bartenders provided adequate service, I wouldnt say they were overly friendly but they made delicious drinks.

Yes, the food and drinks are expensive at the Presidente. Everyone should know this before heading to the hotel, as it is well established. We had no problems bringing some snacks and beers from the grocery store across the street into the hotel (although we didnt advertise it), which helped to defray some of the high costs of the hotel.

There was a wedding at the hotel on Saturday night, which was beautiful to observe (it was on the beachfront) and we were undisturbed by the participants celebration afterward.

The timeshare representatives were polite, and easily avoided.

Overall, for the reasonable price we obtained this hotel on priceline at, combined with a really beautiful pool and beach, this is a good value for Cancun.

I spent one night at the IC Presidente in Cancun and I was very disappointed in the property itself and the service provided. I have stayed at IC hotels all over the world and this location just isn't in the same class as the others.

The overall property is in desperate need of renovation, and the lower lobby is full of desks occupied by people trying to sell you something (time shares, day trips, Orbitz, rental cars, etc.). I've never seen anything like it.....and just not what you expect at an Intercontinental Hotel.

Since I'm an 'Ambassador' Priority Club member with IC, the hotel 'upgraded' me to an ocean view room which had a great view of the ocean. It was clean, with concrete/tile floors (so you hear EVERYTHING), a small rattan table and chairs, and the hardest mattress I have ever slept on. The decor of the room and hotel were like something from Miami in the late 1980s (remember the Golden Girls?) lots of white stucco, floral prints on the walls, white linens, etc.

The hotel had booked a wedding (or some type of ceremony) and dining reception on the beach for the weekend I was there. Yet the hotel made no reference to this event, or apologize for any inconvenience it may cause to the other hotel guests.

The pool area was nice, and there is a small gym that was great (treadmills, stair masters, dumb bells, etc.). The overall grounds of the hotel were well maintained and clean. And the beach, water and sand were absolutely beautiful!!!

One thing that stuck out to me when comparing this hotel to other IC properties was that there seemed to be a lot of families with small children. Maybe that has more to do with Cancun than the hotel, but generally IC caters to business travelers.

Overall I felt this hotel just didn't live up to what I have come to expect at an IC property and I found the hotel staff to not be very helpful and in some cases rude.

We had spent 4 nights in Cancun, at the Intercontinental Presidente. Our room overlooked the lagoon, from the 3rd floor. The view as actually an eye sore (we kept the curtains shut). I've stayed in many Intercontinentals, but this was by far one of the worst. Here's the basic issues I had:
1. The room was quite expensive, and considering it overlooked the white pillar in the front, wasn't worth the money. The Hyatt offers ocean views for the same price we paid at the Presidente. The hotel was barely occupied, and when I asked to be upgraded (being a premier member), I was told I had to pay $50 USD more per night without taxes.
2. The service was horrible. Here's just one of the many examples: I asked the front desk from where can I catch the bus to go to Center part of town. He just pointed towards the exit, and said "there". When I asked for more details, he actually got mad and said "why don't you tourists simply use a cab?!" Another example: During check out, I asked the bell boy to take my bags down. While I was checking out, he actually approached me and asked to be tipped, just so that he doesn't have to wait till I finish checking out.
3. We were hounded by timeshare sales folks. They have an office right in the hotel, and will call you the minute you check in.
4. The food in the restuarant is absolutely horrible, and too overpriced. Instead go out to eat.
5. The hotel really isn't in too convenient of a location. Other hotels are closer to the main shopping area and restaurants (Hyatt, Marriott, etc). And they are for the same price range.

Overall, I'd not recommend staying at the Presidente. If you're going to spend top dollar, why not stay elsewhere in a better location, friendlier staff, and better rooms?

(of course...I know this posting will get the standard cut and paste reply from the hotel manager citing " we apologise, but we are considering upgrades, etc etc etc...")

Hi Everyone,

I am a former travel agent so this will be an honest review.

Beach and pool area were gorgeous. They offer something for everyone. Two pools one is for 18 and over which is great for those without kids and of course a family pool as well. The beach area has loads of chairs and cabanas. Servers from the hotel come out and you can order cocktails, softdrinks, water etc or even some food. The rating I would give would be an a++++

Exercise room-small but has all the basics one needs if you want to work out. Treadmills, eliptical, free weights, exercise bike. Complimentary water and towels and a view of the pool make it a A- (only because of the size other wise A+)


Restaurants and bars-Outdoors there is a beach cafe that offers the normal burgers, pizza. Other restaurant thats outdoors has a view of the ocean serves a great breakfast buffet. Cooked to order omlettes, pancakes, juice, great chocolate coissants.
Attached to hotel but not owned by them is Alfredos-excellent italian its the restaurant that originated from italy with fettucine alfredo . Only bad thing I can say about all the restaurants with the hotel is that they are all very pricey. But if you know that in advance you have the choice to eat there or not. Most hotels are higher priced than your typical restaurant. You are paying for the conveince so know that going in and you will be all set. So I score an A for the restaurants taste and a C for the prices.

Tip-dont buy waters on the beach. go across the street to a little store and you can fill up for free in the exercise room. Bottle water on the beach are $4 each. That adds up quickly..

Rooms- This is where alot of the complaints seem to come from when I read previous reviews. I stayed in a deluxe ocean front. While the view was amazing I wouldnt pay extra for it because we were a little disappointed there are no balconies. Thats the main reason we wanted an oceanview. Our friends stayed in lagoon view (a little noisier if you have the window open) but the rooms are identical. The rooms are not bad like some people stated. They are simple elegance. The beds are in a soft white which is great for the beach. Very soft pillows and very comfortable. It has your basics tv, table, chair. There is nothing wrong with it! As far as the bathroom the sink area was nice. Only complaint I would have is in the shower/bath area it was a little dated and old so there was some rust around the drain. Could the rooms be nicer, sure but you are not staying at the ritz carlton for 300.00 per night either. Overall I would give the rooms a B- With improvements in this area they could move up to an A very easily. As far as the hallways people are really being picky here. The hallways are not gross! They look like oldmexico with stucco and bright colors.

Overall I would recommend this hotel. The staff are pretty friendly, and the entire hotel is spotless. The hotel seems to offer pretty good rates. The only time I wouldnt recommend it was if you could get a nicer property like the Ritz Carlton or similar for the same rate. Then I would say stay there instead. Any questions please feel free to email me. I hope this review helped you!

Enjoy your trip to sunny cancun...sherry