Just got back from a great stay at the Omni. To me, the biggest negative was the unusable beach. I do not believe this is the hotels fault though. If you walk down the beach you will notice that there are giant boulders in the water in front of many resorts on this side of Cancun. Do not be tempted to swim in the water even on days the rocks are not noticable. They ARE there and will slice you open (speaking from personal experience here). Another very small complaint was the food. It was not bad by any means but it wasn't off the chain either. I would just say soso, slightly above average. I was sad they got rid of the coconut shrimp :( The last thing I did not like was the beds, they were very hard I thought. That being said this was my 4th visit to the Omni Cancun (I went with parents who refuse to stay anywhere else). The service this trip was excellent, much better than every previous experience. The conceierge not only provided us with an awsome taxi driver (who took us all the way down to Tulum and then .stopped in Playa Del Carmen, at our request, to drink at a bar before making our way back to the hotel) but were also very helpful in giving us pointers for the other individual excursians we went on. The grounds were imaculate. We got up very early every morning (breakfast at 7 am sharp) only to see numerous staff members caring for the property before most people ever awoke. Actually, the cleanliness of the entire hotel was very impressive...We were never approached by anyone selling timeshares and enjoyed the pools as well. Overall this was a very good hotel and I am sure we will be back.

I am finally writing a review on here because I feel guilty about using TripAdvisor so much and not contributing! In the case of the Omni, I feel like we had such a good time that I need to counter some of the more negative reviews.

We are a young married couple in dental school, and we have been on a quite a few vacations in our marriage, and this was our second in Mexico. (For anyone wondering, Cancun was probably better than Puerto Vallarta, only because it is touristy so you have better access to transportation to get out of the touristy parts. PV was a little less touristy which is good, but at the same time it makes it harder to explore other places).

We chose the Omni after reading reviews on here and Expedia. The price was right too (about $2200 for 12 days). We did not do all-inclusive because A. we don't drink and B. we like to explore the cities we stay in versus staying in the hotel and eating. Less expensive too, obviously, which helps because we are students.

I think the Omni was exactly right for what we needed, minus the beach. Here's why:

1. The staff was super accommodating. We were going to be there for 12 days, and the only thing we didn't like about the Omni was that there wasn't a fridge, and we like to buy food for breakfast to eat on our own. The staff cleared out the minibar and let us use it as a fridge. Also, the tech people were good when the internet wasn't working to fix it. We didn't have a problem after the second day.

2. The concierge was fantastic about answering questions. Instead of going on tours with 50-60 people, we like to search out private vendors and figure it out ourselves. (The exception was Chichen Itza). He was super helpful in explaining how we could get places by bus, where bus stations were in other cities, and other general questions...as well as regular stuff like dinner reservations.

3. The room was always very very clean, and the room was big enough that we didn't feel cramped after 12 days. Some afternoons we would rest in our room, so it's not like we were always gone either. The TV channels weren't the best, but it's Mexico, and I wouldn't pick a hotel based on the channels offered...

4. I thought the pool area was nice, and there was space for everyone. Granted, we went in May which may be slightly off season, and sometimes it was difficult to get shaded chairs, but for the most part there was lots of turnover, and we could get chairs without holding them with towels anyway...if we went in the morning, everyone else was still hung over from the night before. hahaha.

5. The beach does have rocks and that makes it difficult if not impossible, to swim. However, just a hotel down (3-4 min. walk) is a nice non-rocky area (at the Oasis). I would personally not stay at the Oasis for that reason alone though, because it's full of teenagers and college kids (I know I'm 22, but we're married and kind of over that).

6. I can't comment on the food, except to say it was expensive from glancing at the menu. I can see why some people want to do all-inclusive, but if you are going to do that I would maybe go to a bigger "resort ish" complex, versus the Omni which is basically a really nice hotel...with only 3 restaurants.

7. We weren't bothered by Omni timeshare people ONCE. In fact, I'm a little mad we didn't do it because you get the $300 food credit. Maybe my husband is too young (26). Although other timeshare people jumped on us when they found out he was going to be a dentist.

Suggestions:
1. This is kind of for Cancun in general: Get comfortable taking the bus. The taxis are too expensive, and the bus system is too good, to NOT do it. It's 65 cents to get anywhere (basically) you want in Cancun. It was only $3 a person to take an air conditioned charter bus from Cancun to Playa del Carmen. Seriously, their public transportation is a gold mine. Don't be a snob and take a $60 taxi to Playa del Carmen or Tulum...take the $3 bus (the same bus you would get on a hotel-booked excursion). You'll be glad you did. Also, if you are slightly adventurous, book your own tours! We found a private snorkeling guide in Cozumel for less than the hotel/time share tours, and he was awesome. Plus, there were only 6 of us on the boat, and we went to 3 reefs.

2. If you need something, ask the staff. Everyone was super friendly and helpful.

3. Based on other reviews and my experience in seeing the restaurants etc., I would probably not do all-inclusive at this hotel. It is expensive (even for non-alcohol its $79 a day per person), and you only get your choice of 3 restaurants (one Mexican, one Italian, one poolside bar). I am happy to say we had 12 days/nights of EXCELLENT food, only because we were willing to go out and do our research.

4. JOIN THE FREE SELECT GUEST PROGRAM ON THE OMNI WEBSITE. I cannot stress this enough. Because I took the 4 minutes to sign up prior to coming, we got:
free wireless internet
turndown service every night
free drinks in the morning at our time of choice

Plus, I think they were a little nicer to us.

5. Finally, if you can, maybe learn a little Spanish. My husband speaks Portuguese from a service mission in Brazil, and studied spanish before we came. I think they appreciated us trying, versus being obnoxious and yelling at them in English. At the very least, don't yell at them if they don't understand you...yelling won't help them get it. Most spoke pretty good English, however.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email. I know I pored over reviews for a month before booking, and I'm glad I did. We really enjoyed the Omni.

Our stay (my fiance and I) at the Omni in May 2008 was awesome. We had a beautiful oceanview suite, the hotel was updated and immaculate, the restaurant food was diverse and delicious, the pools were plentiful, and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. This is a great time to go too, between spring break and summer vacations, so it's not crowded, the weather is still temperate, and you can actually keep your tan for the summer when you return to the northern country where we're from. We'll definitely be back.

Recommend to the omni from the this website. Read several reviews and was surprised of the pros and cons. We went to celebrate our wedding anniversary and had the most wonderful time. The hotel is immaculate. The staff is forever cleaning. The food was good. We loved the themed food nites. The best was the ShisKabob nite. Had no pressure with sales for the vacation club. Just say no thank you if you don't want it. Loved the 24hr room service. The beach was beautiful. For those who complained about the rocks... well what do you expect from a location after they have recovered from a devastating hurriane Wilma!!!! The beach was beautiful.. I guess they missed the 5 different colors of blue green ocean and the smell of fresh air and sunshine. Loved the design of the hotel rooms. Whenever you ordered drinks poolside or at one of the swim up bars the service was good and there was very little wait. We would definetly stay again.