Why: Former travel agent Natalie Nevares likes the little touches at Ocean Coral & Turquesa: "Chaise longues studded with air jets are built right into the children’s pool, so parents can sit in the water with a pina colada, enjoying the bubbles and watching the kids play all day," she says. Opened in late 2007, these side-by-side oceanfront resorts still enjoy that sparkling new sheen. Guests share six restaurants, a spa, four pools (plus a children’s pool), and a lovely stretch of palapa-shaded beach that boasts the world’s second-largest barrier reef right offshore. And because the resorts are just 15 minutes from the Cancun airport, you can catch an early flight from the U.S. and be swimming in the Caribbean before lunch.
The Dollars: Doubles from $149; up to two kids stay free during the summer low season.
Contact Pat Shouldice at patsea@cruiseadventure4u.com