January 30, 2018

Family Vacations {All Ages}: Cancun Crown Paradise Club

It’s the time of year when many Canadians are needing a break from the cold winter and searching for hot all-inclusive family vacations. With a family group of all ages it’s not easy to find a resort that offers something for everyone from toddlers to seniors but when we booked at the Cancun Crown Paradise Club Resort in Mexico we knew we found the right fit.

When booking a group family vacation, it’s not easy to accommodate a mutual date that works for everyone’s work schedules or kids sports schedules, that’s a challenge in itself. My in-laws managed to get everyone together for a wonderful gift of travel experience and lifelong memories, deciding on taking the kids and grandkids to Cancun, based on the activities the Cancun Crown Paradise Club had to offer children and adults.

Family Vacations: Cancun Crown Paradise Club – Where to Stay

The resort is large but manageable; in terms of walking distance everything seems to be in close vicinity to the room towers. The rooms were fairly standard (being updated upon our departure) with several restaurants, 3 pools, water slides, kids club and so much more. If you are looking for an family vacations with an all-inclusive resort that has a lot to offer for a reasonable price, this is it. There are additional activities off resort but with so much to do on resort, our family decided to stay on-site with more than enough to entertain us.

*There are several upgraded room options from standard to a family suite, depending on your price point.

Family Vacations: Cancun Crown Paradise Club – What to Do

Mini Golf – A nice way to get some shade while having fun with family.
Swimming – This is our kids #1 must-have activity when we choose a resort or hotel on family vacations; they would spend most of their time in the water if we let them. The only downfall was that the pools are not heated; in hot weather this is a non-issue but we went in January and experienced windy, overcast and warm but not overly hot days which made the pools a bit too cold.

Kids Paradise Club – Open to kids ages 4-12. We loved the ability to sign in (and out for safety/security reasons) to the kids club so they could enjoy activities geared towards their ages and this super fun water park which included water slides, splash area and pirate spray ship.

Basketball, soccer, tennis courts and a fitness centre – As an active family, we would get our morning workouts in at the adult fitness centre then head up to the courts for a friendly game or two of basketball with our teen. Ballers.

Entertainment – Beyond the entertainment around the pools where the entertainers would make sure everyone was enjoying themselves, Crown Paradise Club provided nightly shows. The kids enjoyed the Snow Fantasia where the performers often included the crowd to participate in portions of the performance.

In my opinion, the entertainment was better than most I’ve seen at other Mexican resorts and something we looked forward to as a family each night of our vacation.

Family Vacations: Cancun Paradise Club Resort – Where to Eat

Restaurants

With poolside food provided at different times, there were a lot of options for various travellers tastes which is equally important when we plan our family vacations. We often ate at the buffet because it was easiest with kids but with so many choices, we never were never bored eating at the same buffet for the week. Our other favourites were the sushi house and the poolside pop-up feasts.

La Palapa: Open breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet style. My kids loved having their own kids section of foods to choose from and the endless ice cream. No reservations required; no bathing suits.
Fujiyama: Sushi House located near the main pool, open noon to 4pm. No reservations required; no bathing suits.
Wayne’s Boots Steak House: Dinner reservations and dress code required. Located near the Kids Paradise Club on the walkway towards the basketball courts. Dinner and entertainment with bull riding, should you be so brave. The food was good here and desserts even better.
La Piazza: A La Carte Italian – Dinner reservations and dress code required. We enjoyed pizza, pasta, loads of bread (LOVE, love the bread) with a salad bar and desserts. This wasn’t my favourite restaurant but the kids seemed to enjoy it.
Fisherman’s: Seafood – Dinner reservations and dress code required. If you enjoy seafood, this restaurant has a good selection and the atmosphere with fish tanks was perfectly mesmerizing. My 6 y/o daughter tried Octopus for the first time here and liked it.
Los Gallos: Authentic Mexican – Dinner reservations and dress code required. We enjoyed a family meal here; the food was delicious and entertainment was a nice touch. (Note – tip for the mariachi band to sing at your table)
Sans Souçis: Gourmet a la carte – Adults only.

Bars

The Crown Paradise Club has several bars, some include dancing or games for adults only, but the Lobby Bar and Collage Bar are open to all with entertainment such as Karaoke, mini movie theatre and a games room. We spent time there after the nightly entertainment was over before the sun from the day finally had us begging for our pillows.

Family Vacations: Cancun Paradise Club Resort – Beach Front

I saved the best for last, the beach. With little kids in tow what they loved most was the beach front access to white sand beach and the fun of wave jumping in turquoise blue water.

Had it not been a risk of serious sunburn, I’m sure my kids would have spent the entire day playing in the sand and water. As for myself, I guess I’m not as talented jumping over waves but if there was an award for wiping out a family of kids, I would have taken home the gold. Graceful is not my middle name.

If you are looking for all-inclusive family vacations with something for everyone, a resort you don’t have to leave for activities, take a look at Cancun Crown Paradise Club. Our kids are still talking about our time there and that’s how we know we picked a great spot to make family memories.