Westin Lagunamar Cancun Resort and Spa
Do you crave more space in a hotel room beside a room with two beds?
Wish you had a larger refrigerator so you didn’t have to go out to eat all the time?
Enjoy the amenities of a large scale resort?
You may want to look into timeshares. I don’t mean buying a timeshare (unless you want to, of course). Many timeshares rent just like a hotel. The well-known hotel chains each offer their version of a timeshare or vacation ownership.
My husband and I own several timeshare properties within the Starwood brand (Sheraton and Westin). We love the flexibility they provide with a separate bedroom and a full kitchen.
Spring Break 2017 at the Westin Lagunamar Cancun
Some of you may be thinking, ‘I’m not going to Cancun on Spring Break’. After doing some diligent research, I found that because this is a timeshare resort, the majority of people here are families. In fact, I don’t think we encountered a single college student here at the Westin.
The Westin Lagunamar is a massive property of 580 suites. It enjoys a perfect beachfront location and is directly across the street from La Isla Shopping Mall at km 12.5 on Kukulcan Blvd.
Rooms
All rooms face the pools or the never-ending blue ocean. You can sit on your balcony and enjoy the view all day if you desire (very tempting).
Our one-bedroom villa was 740 sq. ft. It had a full kitchen, dining table, sofabed and two chairs, a bathroom with a separate tub and shower, and a spacious bedroom. Both the bedroom and living room lead to the balcony.
The villas come completely stocked with a microwave oven, full-size refrigerator with icemaker, dishwasher, coffee maker, toaster and blender. In addition, all your dinnerware, glassware, utensils, bakeware and pots/pans are in your kitchen waiting for you. There is also a washer and dryer which definitely comes in handy when trying to get sunscreen and sand out of your clothes.
Since the Westin Lagunamar Cancun is part of Starwood, you can use points to reserve it or pay cash if you desire. It is a higher tiered property at 20,000 points per night. Remember, SPG members get the 5th night free when booking on points.
Pools
To say there are only two pools is quite a bit of an understatement. The main pool behind the lobby is enormous. It has a zero entry area, a waterslide, a pool bar and an infinity edge that makes it seem you are in the ocean.
Little TFT wore herself (and us) out by continually going up and down the waterslide, as did all the other kids. The waterslide is tucked into a corner so you don’t have to worry about other people swimming when you come down the slide.
A downfall of the pool area is that people will come out very early in the morning and reserve their lounge chairs by putting towels and books on them. This was quite annoying to us as we go to the pools at 8am when they open and couldn’t find chairs in the area we wanted because they were all ‘reserved’.
Even more frustrating is that these same people often didn’t show up until noon! The hotel says it has a policy against this, but we didn’t see anyone enforcing it. So, be aware of this if you go!
A second, but smaller, pool area is located by the newer buildings. We never made it over there as our hotel suite faced the main pool area.
The pools are as gorgeous in person as their pictures depict. Even I can take a great picture when the colors are so vibrant!
Things to Do
Planned, daily activities for both adults and children are offered throughout the day. You can find a list of activities on the weekly printout at check-in as well as by the activity center at the pool.
Kids Club
Little TFT loves going to kids clubs. It’s a nice break where she can meet other kids and have fun. This time, we didn’t drop her off alone, but rather stayed with her as she was doing her crafts. By doing it this way, we didn’t have to pay the kids club for watching her. We only had to pay for the activity she was participating in.
We did both the Spanish lessons and the tie-dye t-shirts. She loved both of them, as usually is the case.
One evening, they had a campfire on the beach where you can make s’mores. We all enjoyed that.
There is a daily activity guide and you can do as much or as little as you want. It’s completely up to you as it’s your vacation.
Iguana feeding
On this trip, we didn’t get to see as many iguana’s as we have on other trips. They must have been hiding or just not hungry. We tried coaxing them out with fruit, but didn’t have too much luck.
Putt putt golf
The hotel has a free miniature golf course right on property. It was a nice break and it wasn’t crowded at all when we went.
Off property
There is not a shortage of things to do in Cancun. We chose to stay close to the resort for a relaxing vacation. That’s mostly how I like to spend my timeshare stays. We cook about 75% of our meals on property. They have grills and grilling utensils for you to use.
La Isla Mall is directly across the street from the Westin. We ventured over here daily just to walk around, get an inexpensive lunch or ice cream.
We also took a bus down to Senor Frog’s. Usually, we enjoy going here, but maybe because it was spring break, it wasn’t the same. It’s also not outside on the water like the one in Nassau which definitely didn’t give it the same atmosphere.
This time, we did not go on any tours. We have done Chichen Itza and Tulum before and felt this time we just wanted to stay on property and relax.
Timeshare presentation
I almost forgot to mention this! You are asked if you want to attend a timeshare presentation. For us, it is an owner’s update since we are already Starwood owners. My husband absolutely hates going on these updates. However, he’ll do it grudgingly. They usually always incentivize you to take a tour. This time, we took the $100 resort credit.
The man who gave us our presentation was excellent. I told him our plans that we were not interested to purchase any more at this time, but possibly in the future, and he was very accommodating. He answered all my questions (I usually have several) and then we were on our way. We were happy campers to have it go so smoothly!
Overall impressions of the Westin Lagunamar Cancun
We love this resort. It is clean, the staff is helpful and the location in the Cancun hotel zone is perfect.
You can do it, too!
If you are looking for more space than a traditional hotel room, you should look into renting a timeshare. Since this Westin is part of Starwood, you can get the SPG American Express card and use it’s signup bonus to pay for a part of your stay. Or combine it with a spouse/partner’s points for a longer stay.
Looking for information on timeshares? Contact me with any questions and I’ll try my best to answer them!
Have you ever rented a timeshare instead of a hotel room? What’s the number one thing you look for in a hotel?
