Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya

Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya by Karisma Resorts

Hello to all the Jimmy Buffet fans. This one is for you. Well, you and those that love a nice, clean and classy, all inclusive resort with colorful decor, great service and style.

Full disclosure, I am a Jimmy Buffet fan. My favorite Jimmy Buffet song is Come Monday followed by Son of a Sailor. It is hard when the fate of life keeps moving along, and we find ourselves saying goodbye to Jimmy and his carefree spirit. At least he built an amazing brand for us to remember him by, through his bar restaurants, living communities (!), ships(!) and now a few Caribbean resorts that we can enjoy.

I had the pleasure of attending an in-destination training for Karisma Resorts in Riviera Maya, Mexico last December. I attended the travel advisor training event held by Karisma Resorts at Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya. This is the newest resort, and currently, their only adults-only resort in the Margaritaville Island Reserve line-up.

The resort opened in 2023 and was still under construction of some of their 355 suites while I was there. All amenities were up and running and I didn’t notice that the resort was not fully opened, except for the lower occupancy level at the time of my stay in early December. That was going to change by the following weekend though, when they were expecting full occupancy of their finished rooms for the remainder of the month.

My King Paradise Room

The resort style…

There are 13 different room options available, including swim-up suites and the expansive Coral Reefer Signature Suite with 3200 square feet and a 739 square feet infinity pool! My room was an ocean view King Paradise Room.

Karisma Resorts call the resort style, upscale coastal design, which I think is a great way to sum it up. The resort and guest rooms were very classy and tasteful and at the same time an explosion of bright Caribbean colors. The bed was comfortable and spacious with lots of pillows.

There was a great, under-the-bed light on a timed sensor, so when you got up in the middle of the night you had some assistance. The room had tasteful amenities like a beautiful shower with rain shower head and an espresso coffee pod machine, plus a lime squeezer and cutting board, Klipsch blue tooth speaker, and even stemmed barware for your fun beverages.

The in-room refrigerator is stocked with water, but the rest is up to you, through their unique Joe Merchant’s Coffee & Provisions. Every room reserved is assigned a number of points to use at Joe Merchant’s. The breakdown is by room category and length of stay. You can “shop” for your favorite sodas, alcoholic beverages and snacks to stock your refrigerator as you wish using your room points. I actually enjoyed this feature. It was kind of fun! I had a hard time using all of my points, and ended up grabbing snacks to go for my travel home. Not included, but still awesome, is the ability to rent a Margaritaville frozen drink machine blender for use in your room. Pretty cool, and where that lime squeezer would come in handy.

Because of the Margaritaville connection, wherever you look there are touches of the Jimmy Buffet brand. Lyrics and branded design are very tastefully added throughout the resort. The 4 restaurants and 4 bars all have a nod to Jimmy and his song titles or lyrics. There is the the JWB Steakhouse, Frank & Lola’s Italian Trattoria, Landshark Brewery & Grill, the Salted Rim, License to Chill Bar, S.O.S. (Stranded on a Sand Bar) swim up bar, the Boathouse, and of course 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar and swim up.

I enjoyed amazing street tacos at the License to Chill bar along with the freshest pico and guac and an NA beer. I love the concept at this little bar and restaurant. There is a shallow pool with tables, chairs and loungers so you can enjoy a toes (or buns) in the water experience while you are hanging out.

Our training was in Frank & Lola’s restaurant. The decor in there is really something else, and I was able to sample some great options for special events.

I enjoyed lunch and even a brewery tour at Landshark Brewery & Grill. Yes, you read that correctly. There is actually a small Landshark brewery on site, AND they serve beer straight from the tanks into your pitchers, so you are going to enjoy the freshest beer you will ever drink, right there at the resort. I think that is pretty amazing.

We enjoyed a carnivore’s dream at JWB Steakhouse and a mixology class at the Salted Rim, which is the lobby bar. We even enjoyed a floating taco bar in the main pool after class was done!

Street tacos at License to Chill Bar

So while I am a fan of Jimmy Buffet, I can also say I am a fan of this resort. It is a nice size, not large, easily walkable, with plenty to do. I didn’t mention live music, spa, fitness studio, pickle and tennis ball courts, but they are there too.

It fits a fun, but classy destination wedding with their Sky Weddings roof top terrace or Fins Gazebo. The spa has a nice sized bridal suite for getting ready for your big day. It would also be great for a group as well as a couples getaway.

I loved the Jimmy Buffet theming, and hearing his songs everywhere. IF there is a drawback, it would be the beach. There is a problem with erosion, so not much beach to speak of. They resort staff talked about future options including maybe building a boardwalk kind of experience, but that is not planned as of now.

The resort is ON the ocean, with beautiful breezes and views, about 25 minutes from the Cancun airport. There is plenty of pool space, and lounge chairs galore. I don’t think the lack of beach will bother the resort lovers I know. If I was heading there come Monday, it’d be alright!

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