This is the most charming and relaxing resort we have visited in the Caribbean. So much friendlier than anything experienced on the other islands!
Any better proof than the fact that we have already stayed here twice for 4-week periods each in 2006 & 2008? And it got better each time.
The rooms are spacious and well appointed; three choices of pools; and a very clean beach; all within steps of your sliding door.
The hotel's main restaurant offers a fine variety & high quality northern Italian dishes. The recent addition of truly gourmet dishes, elegantly served in a separate area, exceeded any expectations for the location: world class!
While service occasionally can be slow, it is never inattentive, and mistakes/omissions are promptly taken care of with lots of smiles from every single member of the staff.
We have travelled the world. Villa Rolandi is as good as they come!
Cherry & Hans, Philadelphia.

The private yacht over to the island is very nice. The food is good for Northern Italian, but you’re on a small mexican island- you should really take advantage of the fresh local cuisine. The room was clean, the 6-head shower/steam bath was my favorite. The private jacuzzis are on the balconies and filled with fresh water- like a bathtub, hopefully cleaned inbetween each guest. The second night I got in ours the bottom was slimey. We called to have it taken care of the next day but no one came. The large salt water jacuzzi in front was also filled with algea- however, they had drained that our last day for cleaning. The bed was comfortable and there were always lots of towels and bottled water. We weren’t able to use the sailboat because "that employee wasn’t around." It’s just a little more rough around the edges than I had expected from reading the other reviews.

We stayed at Villa Rolandi for five nights in February. I had really high expectations, both from the reviews on this site and from the price tag ($500). As background, my husband and I travel a lot for business and pleasure and we regularly stay at very nice hotels that are $500 or more a night. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay, but we did think it was overpriced. It wasn’t quite at the level that we expected for the price. I know this is contrary to all the other reviews on this place, but I felt like I had to give a little different perspective. Pros- the rooms are amazing. The welcome from the boat with cold towels and a mimosa was a nice touch. The bathroom is great as others have mentioned. The staff was very nice and made an effort to know your names. The continental breakfast was one of my favorite times of the day. They deliver it to your room each morning whenever you want it. I loved that the hotel was so small and everything seemed much more personal. Wireless internet in the lobby was also good. The turndown service with carmels on your pillows was also a nice touch. Hot tubs on the balcony are great too. Now time for the Cons – Our bags were taken to the wrong room, but the staff was apologetic. We had to wait longer than we should have for our room to be ready. It was clear they were intentionally trying to stall us during check-in and we had to wait even longer after that (it was almost 4pm). The bathroom was missing a part of the door to the toilet, which was kind of weird and it wouldn’t close. The hot tub didn’t work the first time we tried it, electronic safe wasn’t working the first day, and the coffee carafe was broken two of five mornings with breakfast. Staff was sent up pretty quickly, but still, we felt the problems could have been avoided. I was disappointed in the bath products, especially since they were noted on the website as “spa quality.” The conditioner was absolutely awful, and none of the products were replenished during the stay – again, I know it’s a small point, but remember the room is over $500 per night. Probably the biggest thing we were disappointed in was the food. The food is raved about on the website and some guests thought it was great, but we thought it was only mediocre. We are foodies form Chicago and maybe too critical – I won’t go into the specific details, but there were issues with more than half the things we ordered. Things were always way over-salted, the steak was awful (and it’s hard to screw up steak), pasta sauces were bad, the tuna tartare was filled with more fillers and mayonnaise than tuna and looked like it came out of an ice cream scooper, and the lobster ravioli had potential until I started chewing on lobster shell pieces that made it into the ravioli. As usual, the staff was always apologetic and tried to make us happy, but we would have appreciated quality in the first place more. The way the hotel works is that continental breakfast and lunch OR dinner is included. They also have a new “specialty” restaurant that is $20 extra per person. It is much better than the original restaurant but the extra cost sort of put us off. What’s included and what’s not can be confusing to both staff and guests and we think they should either be all-inclusive completely, which would justify the price at $500+ per night OR they should not include anything and reduce the rate. I don’t want sound like a hotel snob, but I use these reviews a lot for our trips and I wanted to make sure I provided all the information I could for potential visitors to Villa Rolandi. We continually felt like it was “almost there” in terms of service and quality. If a few of these issues were fixed, it would be paradise. As it is now, it was a great trip, but a bit overpriced, especially given that it’s Mexico. We stayed on Maui in a Fairmont for $500 per night. It didn’t include any meals, but it was Hawaii and the quality and service of EVERYTHING definitely surpassed Villa Rolandi. The icing on the cake was looking at the final bill and being told that there is a $6.50 daily “maid service” fee. Yes, I know that often places now include a “facility” or “resort” fee but Maid Service? Come on, it was excessive on top of the already exorbitant rate. And I might add that our room often was not made up until 4pm in the afternoon and more often than not, our breakfast dishes were still sitting outside the room at 7pm. Not a big deal, but the comment of the trip was usually, “At this price, we’d expect better.”

We stayed at Villa Rolandi the week of February 2nd to February 9th and it was absolutely amazing. About us, we're a married couple in our thirties that work 70 hour weeks (DINKS) and were looking for complete relaxation for a week - at the Villa Rolandi we found it. We also look for "luxurious value" - i.e. good value for luxury. We often stay at Ritz Carlton’s and Four Seasons during off weeks to stay in the nicest places possible for the best value and Villa Rolandi is the perfect example getting great value. Our Deluxe Suite was $500 a night and included two meals (breakfast and dinner). I did a ton of research and comparable island/beach get always were $800-$1200 a night during this same time period.

Here's what we got. The hotel room was absolutely gorgeous with marble floors throughout, a huge balcony with Jacuzzi that looked out directly to the ocean. The sound of the waves on the beach and an incredible sound system throughout the entire room. A shower that is the most amazing we have ever seen, six shower heads with a steam option in addition to the showers. The shower also had the music system and a window that you could see out to the room/ ocean. Breakfasts were always the same with fruit, juice, amazing breads, coffee/tea and either pancakes or french toast. You could order more but that was extra - but it was good. Dinner was very strong for the Caribbean. The local fish (Red Snapper) was the highpoint for all meals. Salmon/tuna and meats were not excellent but that is typical for the Caribbean and Mexico - the preparation was flawless. The most amazing part of the dinners were the pastas - either freshly made or imported from Italy. The pasta (tortellini, angel hair) was equal if not better to the best Italian restaurants in Washington DC. Snacks by the beach were fantastic. The absolute best was tostados with red snapper - imagine fresh fish on mini tortillas with avocado and fresh salsa. Mix it together with guacamole and chips, some coronas and you have a great mid day lunch.

The hotel facility is small but it never felt that way. There are two pools and one is absolutely gorgeous with an infinity pool to the ocean. We are beach people and spent all of our time down at the beach which was great. It is small with about twelve loungers but at the most there were about six people there. Some days we were the only ones. The hotel was full but many people fish during the day and many liked the pool - there is enough space that it never gets too crowded anywhere. Also, there is a salt water Jacuzzi and another waterfall wading area by the beach. It was amazing. The restaurant looks out to Cancun and is set up very nicely - it’s rustically elegant and romantic.

Service is the only area where we had any issue at all. The majority of the service was amazing - Ariel, Miguel, Jesus and Delia take incredible care of their guests. You could not ask for more. The only issues we had was when there was a problem and it needed to be resolved. Unfortunately, we had some small issues three times and each time the way the issue was resolved was not what one would want from a five star hotel. These occurred in a 24 hour period at the beginning of our stay and by the end of the week it didn't matter - it just is worth noting that if there is an issue it’s not always resolved the way one would prefer.
Couple suggestions – bring bug spray, sun tan lotion and whatever other supplies you need as the hotel store had strange hours and not always the what you needed. Rent a golf cart and see the island – its gorgeous and fun. Also, be sure to go into town after five – once the Cancun day trippers leave it will seem like a ghost town in a good way. Our last day we went kayaking and had a blast. We were disappointed we did not do it sooner and just grab the paddles and go – its worth it. Overall, the island offers different things to do and so whether you’re a beach or pool person, or want to explore somewhat you can do it.

Overall, this hotel is truly a gem and we would highly recommend it.