Four of us went (2 couples) and we were thrilled to have chosen the Marazul. This resort offers a free boat shuttle to the keys that are visible from the deck where the 24 hr. bar is located. The snorkeling was incredible. Mario who runs the free boat shuttle from approx 9AM-1PM also runs a snorkeling tour $20.00US per person. On our tour with him and his wife Isla and first mate Gary took us to some totally amazing snorkeling areas. In a couple of hours we saw sting rays, a moray-eel, baracuda and a couple of nurse sharks. Isla feeds the sting-rays and if you are inclined you may as well. Desposable underwater cameras work fine...our pictures are truly wonderful to look at and although the images will always be with me they are great to share with others. There's also a multitude of other fish I can't begin to describe. Like swimming in a gigantic aquarium is all I can say. Marazul had great food! Vegetarians will not go hungry and for meat eaters, the best beef, chicken, bacon, pork and of course fish. Jumping around here but at the key on the right (there are two visible from the resort) we had 3 bbq king fish with coconut rice and salad, six beers and a bottle of water for $24.00 usd. they only had 3 king fish left so I shared. Soooooooo good...another great value for your buck!!! Everything is approx 5 min. away by shuttle. All of the hotels in the group offer free shuttle to the other hotels. You can drink and swim in their pools or use their beaches but food must be booked the evening before. Takes a minute at an office near reception. We went and the food at the other resorts was also quit good.
Ricky Key is a stones throw away...hang a left at the road leaving the resort and you can walk there in 10min. From the beach you can walk out to a key that takes you near the sunken ship. the water is only waist deep max. on the walk out. Once again, you can drink for free but if you want to take part in the luncheon there you must book in advance. I also suggest the van tour. they drive with the side door open and it's a few hours to enjoy what the rest of the island looks and feels like. All and all we are looking forward to returning. Great people and an incredibly beautiful caribbean island with the most amazing aray of blues of the sea.

Marazul was very clean and the staff very helpful. We were in a party of 14 and all of us enjoyed ourselves totally. We will definatly be going back.

This resort was advertised as a four star property, but I think even a three start rating would be generous. There were many things that I would not expect in a four star resort, some of which are listed below:



HOTEL COMMON AREAS

The outside areas including the beach were well maintained and groomed. The inside was clean, but the furniture, which must have looked grand at some point a couple of decades ago, was dirty and stained. It looked like it belonged in a basement of a frat house, not a four start resort.



ROOM

About the only thing in the room that wasn't broken or malfunctioning was the floor.

Ceiling: The dropped-ceiling tiles were dirty and deformed, some were shifted. There were holes in the ceiling. It made the room look like a cheap motel rather than a FOUR STAR hotel room.

Bed: The bed was hard and not very comfortable. I like hard mattresses, but this was just too much. The pillows smelled and there were occasionally unexplainable stains on the bed linen. Yuck. We can just hope that the sheets were actually washed.

Electronics: The TV worked and there were about 20 channels in Spanish and all of 3 channels in English. The remote was broken. The fridge was simply disgusting. It was leaking a yellowish fluid. I would not put anything non-sealed in it.


AC: There were two settings - OFF and F^^^^ freezing. Kept it off for the most part.

Other: The furniture was old and drawers didn't open.

Neither did the window.

Overall: the room was decrepit and smelled of mildew and mould. Barely usable. We were truly disappointed with how it looked. If there is one thing that I would single out as the biggest disappointment, and trust me it's not an easy choice, it would be the room.



FOOD


There was the expected recycling that occurs in all-inclusive resorts, but truth be told, there was very little to recycle. The food selection was poor.

Breakfast: Pre-made scrambled eggs tasted like detergent. Juices were watered down and made from vegetables that were not ripe enough. The fruits were mostly green and tasteless (thanks, I can have that in Canada). There weren't any cold cuts, and there was only one type of cheese - processed. The bread/buns were often stale. The only thing worth eating was made-to-order omelette and we ate different variations each of the seven days we were there. Needless to say I won't have omelette for a while.

Lunches and dinners were much the same. I honestly don't think that they had a trained chef on staff.

The a la carte restaurants were not much better. In one (Caravelle) they prepared the food ahead of time and served it re-heated, which ensured quick service, but a really crappy dinner. In the other, the food was good for the most part except that I got sick from the grilled chicken...

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Didn't really expect much since it was advertised as 'free domestic drinks and wine with dinner'. The wine was really bad...it would've been better used as vinegar on the salad...Everything else was OK I guess. Not a lot to choose from.



SERVICE

This was another big minus. I have seldom seen a place where staff is so openly concerned with their own comfort over that of the guests. Three people would manage to either stand around talking to each other or look busy while I was looking for someone to bring me coffee or wine or whatever. At the pier bar it would sometimes take over 15 minutes to get a drink.



BEACH

Terrible. Dirty Water. Algae. Crabs. Completely unappealing. The only good part was that there was free transportation to the keys across from the hotel.



ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT

Not much of either worth mentioning.



OVERALL

We loved the island, the nature, and the greenery but the resort was simply horrible. We visited Isleno and Aquarium and they were not much better. I would love to go back to the island, but would not stay in any of Decameron 'resorts'. I really feel ripped off. I don't expect to be treated like royalty, but I at least like to know that my business is appreciated. Nolitours and Decameron - you miserably failed to provide a four star experience. Not even close.