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How To Beef Up Your All Inclusive Cancun Vacation – Moon Palace Cancun Review

There’s nothing like a perfect steak. Marbled meat, grilled just right so all that luxurious fat dissolves to create a melt-in-the-mouth beef experience. But how do you guarantee every bite delivers? In 2017 Palace Resorts signed a deal with Certified Angus Beef to make sure it’s all inclusive guests will only ever get the highest quality beef. In this Moon Palace Cancun review, we visit the new The Grand @ Moon Palace restaurants to get the low down on why their beef is so good.

We took our most sophisticated palates and tasted as much of their food as we possibly could – all in the name of science, of course!

Article Updated Jan 2019.

moon palace cancun reviews - certified angus beef - moon palace restaurants

One of the many cuts at the Beach BBQ event – Moon Palace Cancun review

 

All inclusive resorts in Cancun are everywhere – it’s what they do. So how do you know which ones will be right for you? I asked some of the members of our Foodie Facebook Group what their thoughts were when it came to the quality of food. And what their all round opinion about all inclusive resorts in Cancun was, and someone replied: “There is always the great the bad and the indifferent.”

Eeeep – can you imagine putting all your vacation money into your dream all inclusive vacation and then end up walking away feeling indifferent? I always imagined being wowed by an all inclusive experience… not just having to put up with another lame breakfast buffet (we’ve all experienced those).

So when we were invited to stay at Palace Resorts latest addition to their Moon Palace property we obviously had our fingers crossed for the “Great” all inclusive resort experience…

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What’s New at Moon Palace Cancun? -Moon Palace Cancun Review

The Moon Palace has been an icon of Cancun for donkey’s years. When I announced we were spending a weekend there one of my friends commented “OMG I got married there! Many many MANY moons ago.” If you know anything about all inclusive resorts in Cancun – then you’ve probably heard of Moon Palace.

But, did you know they have a new, sexy, super-luxurious wing that will have you salivating for your entire trip!

The Grand at Moon Palace recently opened its doors and what can I say but WOW. This is one of the most Instagramable resorts we’ve ever stayed in, I even had to take a picture of one of the lobby bathrooms it was so pretty! Everything from the spa, to the lobby bar (the best place to get amazing cocktails btw) to the white sand private beach, was picture perfect… and so were their signature restaurants.

The biggest win for all inclusive is that everything is taken care of. Once you arrive, you can put away your wallet. Eat and drink as you like, even the gratuities are covered. It’s nice to let go of reality and jump into a foodie bubble of relaxation. Any great vacation involves indulging in all the food you deny yourself every other day of the year. Vacation calories don’t count, right???

 

Mas tacos por favor!!! #thepalacelife #foodworthtravelingfor #tacos #yespalace

A post shared by Tommo & Megsy (@foodfuntravel.rocks) on

Let’s Talk Food….are you ready for some food porn?

moon palace cancun reviews

BBQ’d Fillet Mignon – Moon Palace Cancun review

One of the reasons we were there was to experience first hand the new partnership between Palace Resorts and Certified Angus Beef. Tracking the practices and quality of the companies rearing your beef is important for quality dining. You want to know the meat will arrive at an expected standard. Palace Resorts now import only Certified Angus Beef directly from the United States & Canada direct to Mexico (cause what’s a vacation without a succulent steak right?).

In fact, Palace Resorts are currently the only chain in the world with a universal working partnership with Certified Angus Beef. Yes, from the beef tacos to the beef yakitori, the burger patties in the buffet restaurant to the prime cuts in the JC Steakhouse. Every single ounce of beef is Certified Angus Beef. Resort wide.

Why is it so important to get true Certified Angus Beef?

  1. Certified Angus Beef ® comes only from black cattle – the black hide is a characteristic of the Angus breed
  2. It is then evaluated, using the brand’s set of 10 science-based specifications for marbling, size and uniformity.
  3. If it’s good enough to make the cut (literally), then it earns the distinctive Certified Angus Beef ® brand label.

Beef that doesn’t meet the standard does not get certified. Simple as that.

We had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the CAB team and their Director of Culinary Arts Chef Tony, who is probably the most passionate CAB chef you’ll ever meet. He looooves Certified Angus Beef:
 
“Certified Angus Beef ® brand cuts are the best beef you can buy! They’re always tender, juicy and flavorful because of the abundance of marbling — the small flecks of flavor within the lean that melt while cooking and give beef its great taste.” – Chef Tony Biggs
 
It’s all about the marbling… that’s where the yum times are happening. And my oh my did we have some yum times.

If you are not the biggest steak eater never fear you will NOT go hungry, Moon Palace restaurants are in abundance. In fact, there are at least 5 main speciality Grand at Moon Palace restaurants on site to choose from, and that’s not including the Grand Buffet, Los Tacos, various pool side buffets and pizza places and their 24-hour room service. By the time this article comes out there will be even more as they were still completing a few restaurants when we were there, including a Mexican Cantina and a Wine and Tapas Bar.

Ready to feast at The Grand @ Moon Palace – Click Here For the Latest Prices and Availability – Book direct on their website for special deals. Or Book on Booking.com | Expedia | Hotels.com

So what Moon Palace Restaurants are there to choose from?

Moon Palace Cancun review: Habibi – Lebanese Restaurant

We had the pleasure of experiencing Habibi for breakfast. Habibi and the Grand Buffet were our go-to breakfast spots. We love Lebanese food but there were some things on this menu that we had never tried before. And it was amazing. Any culture that incorporates cheese into breakfast is ok by me! We were told that the owners of the resort have some family ties to Lebanon so I’m sure they keep an eye out to make sure the flavours are perfect for every single bite.

moon palace restaurants

Chakchouka in spicy tomato sauce – Moon Palace Cancun review

 

moon palace restaurants moon palace cancun reviews

 

Moon Palace Cancun review: Italian Restaurant – Tavola

Who doesn’t love Italian? And Tavola won’t disappoint. The focus, as with all the restaurants, is on fresh ingredients and incredible authentic flavours. Our personal favourite was the Rigatoni quattro formaggi – The four cheese sauce was so perfectly balanced with creamy-salty deliciousness. I’m pretty certain Tommo licked the plate clean. When the sauce is that good nothing shall be wasted! 

moon palace restaurants

Rigatoni quattro formaggi – Moon Palace Restaurants

moon palace cancun reviews

Moon palace restaurants Pizza Roberta: Salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage and fresh prosciutto with mixed olives, house tomato sauce and mozzarella. Yes!

 

Caprese Salad – The Grand @ Moon Palace restaurants

Moon Palace Cancun review: Jade – Modern Asian Cuisine 

Probably our personal highlight of all of the restaurants. Every restaurant had their own sensational qualities, however, Jade won our hearts. The selection of shareable dishes had us wanting to order everything on the menu… And we were tempted let me tell you! Crispy dumplings, perfect mouthfuls of sushi with only the freshest ingredients, and fascinating sauces full of unique flavours to accompany everything we tried.

moon palace cancun reviews

Pork belly dumplings – Moon Palace Restaurants – Jade Modern Asian Cuisine

 

moon palace cancun reviews all inclusive resorts in cancun

Left: Salmon cucumber and avocado roll with manchego (cheese) / Right: Octopus with cilantro sauce on a skewer

all inclusive resorts in cancun

 

Moon Palace Cancun review – JC Steak House

The place to go to really beef up your stay at The Grand at Moon Palace is, of course, JC Steak House. Meat eaters can rejoice for this where you will surely die and go straight to beef heaven!  Just watch out for those meat sweats LOL.

moon palace cancun reviews - certified angus beef

This dish was specially made by Chef Tony the Director of Culinary Arts at Certified Angus Beef – sadly you won’t find it on the menu. But there are loads of tasty things that are on the menu….like the burgers below! Yum

moon palace cancun reviews - certified angus beef

Beef Sliders – Moon Palace Restaurants

moon palace cancun reviews - certified angus beef

Mango Sorbet – Moon Palace Restaurants

More speciality restaurants have been added including a Mexican Cantina, tapas bar & A Peruvian Restaurant. Check the website for latest information though.

Get Our Free & Interactive Online Riviera Maya & Yucatan Tourism Map

Every hotel listed in this article – plus all our top picks of things to do, eat and visit – are featured on our exclusive, personalized Google map overlay. Access all the info live on your phone/tablet or computer (including new updates) at any time by getting access to our Free Map.

Includes:

  • Cancun
  • Tulum
  • Playa Del Carmen
  • Merida
  • Chichen Itza
  • And more!

Tourist favorites – as well as local secrets that almost all tourists miss!

Waking From Your Food Coma – You can’t just eat and nap all vacation, can you……?

Of Course, You Can! It’s your vacay you can do whatever you want.

But there are certainly a few highlights I would recommend also checking out during your stay.

Adults Only Pool

We don’t have kids and the only kids I tend to like are ones related to me….so being splashed, listening to yelling, squealing, crying etc from the young ones of others is not my idea of an awesome vacation.

The one big downer about The Grand at Moon Palace is the fact that all of the swim up bars are in family friendly zones. Don’t get me wrong I totally get that’s amazing for parents who are wanting a few drinks while they watch their kids play in the pool – it is a great feature for them.  But for us – who love swim up bars – it kinda sucked.

Wondering what to Pack For Cancun – Here are a few tips! 

moon palace cancun amenities

My amazing new swimsuit from Swimsuits For All ?

Thank God for grown up zones…..with kickass inflatable floaties. Because we all like to play too!

If they were in the kid’s zone you would NEVER get a chance to mess about on these things. It was awesome. Downside as I mentioned before – no swim up bar in the adults only pool. But they have rectified this situation by having staff on hand to take your order anytime you like. In your cabana, at the edge of the pool, on your giant inflatable flamingo…anywhere!

There is also a DJ there daily playing some cool tunes to get you in the chill out party zone. It was 100% our go to place to cool down, have a few too many margaritas and really relax and play.

moon palace cancun amenities

AWE Spa

I’ve been to a few spas in my time but this one is AWE-some (see what I did there). No, it actually is lol.

Tommo and I were booked in to have a nice couples massage, but it was everything leading up to the massage that put the experience at the next level. The design is just jaw dropping, they have their own hydrotherapy pools (remember to bring your swimsuit unlike me – idiot) and we thoroughly enjoyed the couples area.

You have to go to your separate boys and girls areas first to get changed, but then you are taken to a special zone where you meet up with your significant other and have some quiet chill time in their hanging baskets both before and after your massage – is that the name? hanging baskets? Here’s a picture to show you what I mean.

moon palace cancun amenities

*Please note the AWE Spa could cost extra, it depends on your particular booking. Please check this before turning up and being disappointed that you can’t have a swing in these baskets too

Thinking about staying at The Grand @ Moon Palace – Click Here For the Latest Prices and Availability – Book direct on their website for special deals. Or Book on Booking.com | Expedia | Hotels.com

The Original Moon Palace

Staying at The Grand means you have full access to all of the amenities of the Moon Palace as well – this does not work in reverse just FYI. This includes MORE RESTAURANTS!!! A flowrider surf simulator, a 27 hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course (I’m guessing if you play golf you know who that is – just thought I’d mention it anyway) and they even offer scuba diving trips in Cancun and Cozumel, something we absolutely plan to take advantage of next time we visit.

moon palace cancun amenities

The main pool at Moon Palace

They also have a state of the art convention centre where they host international acts like Bonnie Tyler (Old school awesome) and Backstreet Boys who will be performing on my birthday… hint hint Tommo! Obviously, the concerts are not included in the standard room rates but they do have plenty of deals if you are super keen to see one of their shows.

I’ll also let you in on a little secret. The Moon Palace has an ice cream parlour where you can grab a fresh homemade ice cream – yep they make their own ice cream and it is heavenly. Personally, my favourite is the coconut but you can try them all if you like… it’s all included!

 

My head says go to the gym, my heart says eat more ice cream!!! ??? #palacefoodies #thepalacelife #foodworthtravelingfor

A post shared by Tommo & Megsy (@foodfuntravel.rocks) on


Going back to “the great the bad and the indifferent” I have to admit that The Grand at Moon Palace certainly sits in the “Great” category for me. I have never stayed at a resort that is so large and yet so food focused. Usually, you only get this sort of attention to food in small boutique places.

With over 1300 rooms in the Grand at Moon Palace alone, they certainly have a lot of mouths to feed, and alongside Certified Angus Beef they are really dishing out quality. In fact, they have their own food processing centre on the property where they make fresh bread, biscuits, I already mentioned their incredible ice cream and more…we got a sneak peek inside and it’s super impressive.

moon palace cancun reviews

Some of the amazing chefs at The Grand at Moon Palace

So that’s our Moon Palace Cancun review. I have to admit, there’s a reason why Palace Resorts is a powerhouse when it comes to all inclusive resorts in Cancun. If you are a foodie looking for the ultimate in all inclusive resorts in Cancun, this one is a winner. You certainly won’t go home hungry….remember to pack your stretchy pants or just succumb to the moo moo I hear they’re making a come back?

Want to plan your stay to The Grand @ Moon Palace – Click Here For the Latest Special Offers and Availability – Book direct on their website for special deals. Or Book on Booking.com | Expedia | Hotels.com

Or check out the original Moon Palace Resort – none of the above restaurants are available at the original resort, only for guests at The Grand.

Get Our Free & Interactive Online Riviera Maya & Yucatan Tourism Map

Every hotel listed in this article – plus all our top picks of things to do, eat and visit – are featured on our exclusive, personalized Google map overlay. Access all the info live on your phone/tablet or computer (including new updates) at any time by getting access to our Free Map.

Includes:

  • Cancun
  • Tulum
  • Playa Del Carmen
  • Merida
  • Chichen Itza
  • And more!

Tourist favorites – as well as local secrets that almost all tourists miss!

Love this post? Why not pin it on your favourite Foodie Pinterest board?

Moon Palace Cancun Review - We recently experienced what All Inclusive Resorts in Cancun are all about. Here's a tip: Foodies will love this resort! Moon Palace Cancun Review - We recently experienced what All Inclusive Resorts in Cancun are all about. Here's a tip: Foodies will love this resort! Moon Palace Cancun Review - We recently experienced what All Inclusive Resorts in Cancun are all about. Here's a tip: Foodies will love this resort!

Disclaimer: For this Moon Palace Cancun Review we stayed at The Grand at Moon Palace Complimentary – all opinions remain our own. And that opinion is -> we loved it! Big thanks to Palace Resorts, Certified Angus Beef & Lou Hammond Group for having us. This article may include affiliate links.