I went some 8 or 9 years ago and had a good time even though it rained the entire week we were there.

Fast forward to October 13-20. For our second go around we were pleasantly surprised to find better up to date facilities.

I’m going to start with the bad as I want people to remember the good. We arrived with my parents and were promptly checked in and found that we were upgraded. A pleasant surprise as we never get the upgrade. Now for the the bad. We were given room 1201 which has a lot of space and a view that was great. The bad was as we walked in I immediately noticed a dehumidifier and that the a/c did not work. We promptly brought it up to the front desk and they sent some kid from maintenance that did everything any normal individual would do and said he reset the a/c via the thermostat and to give it some time to recirculate. I waited 3 hours before going back to the room to find that the temp did not go down. I again brought it up to the front desk and was told the maintenance guy fixed it and it will take time to cool off. I told them it’s already been 3 hours. So I asked for another room. They said they are booked and have nowhere to move me and Ty at they would send another maintenance guy up to check on it. Mind you this resort wasn’t even packed to be sold out. Again maintenance came and “fixed it” without ever truly checking anything. Finally at midnight I called down and asked for a fan so I could at least cool off as the room was 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Not a comfortable temp to sleep in at all. The following day they knocked on the door early to get started in the a/c again. Before you knew it our room flooded as a water line must have gotten hit. So we left for the beach. Came back and they fixed what leaked and took my fan. No A/C still. Since there’s no room to move to I again asked for a fan as I wasn’t living in those conditions for a week. The A/C never got fixed for the duration of our stay and no further apologies were offered as I was told that’s a comfortable temp for those of us that live here.

Now for the good

The resort has for the most part modernized. Rooms are clean, common areas are maintained, and beach is gold. The beach has lots of seats and while the seating is set back, you can pull your chair forward if you want. The pool is amazing and by far the latest I’ve ever been aloud to swim. We were never really kicked out of the pool until 8ish. The water is crystal clear and clean. The pool bar/snack bar is a great common area. The drinks are plenty and the food never ends(except when meals are being served. They use that time to clean the food serving area, but the bar never stops. The lobby bar is nice but if your not a member you don’t take presidence(fair enough). The shows aren’t what they used to be but, the one night they incorporated the kids from the daycare to participate and it was the best show I’ve ever seen. The staff are friendly and short of the A/C fiasco always willing to help in any way they can. Knowing at least basic Spanish seems to get you a little further and it doesn’t need to be perfect. If they can see your attempting something your clearly not comfortable with they appreciate that as much as they do a tip. Tips go a long ways so make sure you tip everyone that serves you from the maid, to the restaurant staff and bartenders.

Overall this is a beautiful property with a lot to offer and even though I went without A/C we will be back.

Overall our trip was fun this time we visited Azteca. There are major renovations going on both at Viva and a hotel next door which made for much noise starting early in the am and continuing throughout the day. That was a bit disappointing, but progress moves on. The restaurants were very enjoyable, and the buffet was ok, many choices for most anyone's palette. We enjoyed the dance nights starting from 11 to 12 with many of the entertainer/fitness staff. The bars were active and bartenders willing to put together what you requested even if it wasn't a usual mix. Staff seems to really appreciate each other and also the guests. Shows were ok, some better than others.
Our room was comfortable, the pillows were not good, tho. It was always fun to see what the "towel art" would be on our bed. Many international travelers which was also fun.