Hi I think you might have to make this question slightly more concise. Mexico is a large country with loads of resorts & hotels. Can you point out the ones you've read that have had problems. We have been twice to the Riu Tequila in Playacar and had a fantastic room
each time.

Thanks for the quick reply, we are looking at Riu Palace Riviera Maya and Riu Palace Mexico in Playacar and have read reviews that say the rooms smelt musty and that they were using perfumed candles to disguise it. Do you think people are just being picky, they tend to blame it on the jungle type climate (humidity). We have never stayed anywhere 5* before and can't believe what some people moan about.

we have just returned,from the gran bahia principe,riviera maya today & never had a musty smell,in our room.
can't say,i could live with it,for a fortnight,especially if it needed candles,to try to disguise it.
tracy

To be honest, I think that this is a risk you run anywhere in the Caribbean or Central America in the rainy season. The air will be very humid, gardens and unpaved ground very damp etc. It will be more prone to happen too in those hotels that tend not to be busy in the rainy season ie anywhere where the rooms aren't in constant use and hence not kept permanently aired. You will notice it more in ground floor/garden rooms too because what you'll be smelling a lot of the time is damp garden smells coming in from outside rather than the room itself being musty.

In Cuba, I find that it can be very noticeable when you first walk into a room and the trick is to keep the air conditioning on continuously and with the windows open - counter-intuitive I know - but this seems to be the quickest way to get a complete rapid air change through the room. Then after a couple of hours, still with the AC on, close the windows so that the room gets de-humidified. And then keep the AC running all the time even when out of the room - an old credit/gift card will work just as well as the room key card in the wall slot to keep the power on. In my experience this usually does the trick. As long as you keep the room well aired then you should be OK. I think a lot of the problem is that in order to keep the room cool people tend to keep wondows closed and AC on and a lot of hotel AC systems are just re-circulating the air and very little fresh air actually ever is allowed into the room.

Human beings in the sort of weather conditions that exist in these regions during the rainy season give out an awful lot of water vapour and if the air is continuously re-circulated rather than replaced then you're going to have problems with musty smells if the rooms are properly ventilated.

SM

Just take some Breeze and put in front of the Air Com outlet room will smell great then

We were at Riu Palace Mexico in Feb and didn't even notice musty smell [wouldn't have bothered anyhow 'cos hotel is fab]

Thanks for all the replies, don't think I'll be put of my choice of hotel anyway I just think some people don't know what to moan about. I've never stayed 5* before so it will be luxury to me after years of staying in basic studios in Greece.

hi you wont be disappointed with your two choices, the riu palace riviera maya is newer and more elaborate than the riu palace mexico, but we stayed at the riu palace mexico and had a fantastic time, i would price both up and depends on the difference, if its less than £100 i would go palace riviera maya as it's newer, but if its several hundred pounds you will not be disappointed with the palace mexico. where the are placed is an area owned by the riu hotels so there is nothing other than riu hotels, small parade of shops nearby, you can go in all the other hotels but they cant come into yours. food is amazing, so much choice, branded drinks, in the palace they even had included in the AI a £40 per shot bottle of whisky.... any questions please ask. As for the musty smell, there is a slight dampness to the room but this is due to the humidity. we went middle of May for two weeks and had glorious weather, so much that it was too hot to sunbathe and spent most of it under the parasol. It rained for about 10 mins one evening but apart from that not a cloud in the sky.

will check the prices, thanks