Hyatt Zilara Cancun Bars – All-Inclusive and Adequate

The Hyatt Zilara Cancun is an all-inclusive resort located in the hotel zone area of Cancun. This is the third post in a series reviewing this property from my visit in December 2022. Being an all-inclusive resort, bar availability and drink selection is an important factor. This, along with costs, location, and food quality, are some of the most important considerations when picking an all-inclusive resort. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun has five dedicated bars. All the restaurants at the resort also have a bar. However, those are covered in the separate restaurant review for the resort.

1. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Hotel Overview & Room Review
2. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Restaurants
3. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Bars (this post)
4. Hyatt Zilara Cancun – Amenities & Activities

Hyatt Zilara Lobby Bar

The main lobby bar is located on the ground floor at the rear of the hotel lobby. It sits right next to the doorway leading to the pool, and it’s between Spice Buffet and the café. The location is near the nightly entertainment making this the perfect bar to grab a drink before, during, or after the show. Alternately, if you are waiting for a seat for dinner, it’s a great place to pass the time and enjoy the resort’s vibes.

The lobby bar is very large spreading out people who are ordering a drink. You don’t feel like you are packed in trying to get to the front to put in a drink order. Even though the bar is large, the bar top provides limited seating. Most of the seating in the area is off to either side of the bar or spread throughout the lobby. Anytime I visited this bar, I ordered a drink to take somewhere else.

Overall, the drinks were good at this bar, but everything was standard. Many other Hyatt Zilara and Ziva resorts have specialty cocktail menus at each of the bars. This Hyatt Zilara lobby bar was different and did not have a menu available. This was unfortunate as I like to peruse a menu to see if there are any new creative cocktails. In addition to cocktails, the bar served about four wine options – a chardonnay, a pinot grigio, a pinot noir, and a cabernet sauvignon. The beer options were Corona Light, Corona, Pacifico, Modelo Especial, and Michelob Ultra. In my travels of Hyatt Zilara and Ziva resorts, there were several better lobby bar options (such as the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Maya Lobby Bar). Because of that, it was hard to not feel a little disappointed. However, the lobby bar severed its purpose.

Hours

• 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM

The Den

The Den is the other bar situated just off the hotel lobby. Located on the opposite side of the lobby seating area from the main lobby bar, The Den is set off to itself and bills itself as the mixology bar of the resort. Due to its location, it is also a great place to go while waiting for the nightly entertainment or grabbing a drink before or after dinner. While the main lobby bar sits in the middle of the lobby, The Den is a much more intimate atmosphere. A much smaller seating area ensures that this space is a little quieter and a little more laid back.

The Den was my favorite bar to visit while at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. This bar was the only one that had its own specialty cocktail menu. Perhaps the resort was trying to make up for all the other bars not having a menu since this menu had about twenty specialty cocktails on it. The menu had something for everyone with novel takes on cocktails based on tequila and mezcal to whiskey and vodka. In addition, The Den was the best place to find a trained bartender who could explain the drinks or create something new based on your preferences.

This bar was often the host for special food and beverage activities in the early evening. The beverage activities included things like a mezcal/tequila and mole pairing, Mexican whiskey and chocolate tasting, tomahawk preparation and cooking, mixology lessons, and wine talk. I have done several of these special culinary experiences while at Hyatt Ziva/Zilara resorts in the past. They tend to be a very enjoyable way to get some additional activities/local immersion in the early evening. The vast majority of the time, these experiences don’t cost anything extra to participate in. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun charged nothing for these experiences. However, a reservation was required. I participated in the mezcal/tequila and mole pairing. Participates tasted 4 different tequilas and mezcals during the one-hour pairing. These tastes came with a complementarily mole while a mixologist explained tasting notes and the origins of mezcal and tequila in Mexico.

Hours

• 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Time Out

Every Hyatt Ziva and Zilara brand always has a sports bar; the Hyatt Zilara Cancun is no different. Time Out is the sports bar on the property. The bar has televisions everywhere and broadcasts sports from around the world. If you are wanting to watch a live sporting event while on vacation, this is the place to go. Time Out is located in the lobby of the hotel immediately next to The Den. While the sports bars don’t attract a lot of people during the day, they tend to attract a lot more people in the evening. In addition to being a sports bar, Time Out is also the late-night bar. Almost every night, there were DJs or musicians who would play in Time Out as soon as the main nightly entertainment show was completed in the main lobby.

I only entered Time Out once during my recent stay. I tend to not be a sports bar person. Add to that the fact that Time Out became an extremely loud DJ bar in the evenings, and you have a perfect recipe to keep me away. However, with that being said, if you are the type who enjoys DJ music and dancing in the evening, Time Out may have what you are looking for at night. Time Out is also open the latest of any bar at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. While midnight isn’t really late when you are talking about nightlife, this is the best you will get without going off the resort.

Hours

• 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM

Trade Winds Swim-Up Bar

The Hyatt Zilara Cancun names their swim-up bar in the main resort pool, Trade Winds. However, the resort didn’t place signs anywhere so most guests wouldn’t know this. The swim-up bar is located at the base of the Punta Vista pool deck restaurant. While Trade Winds is a fairly large pool bar, it is the only bar on the pool deck so it tends to get a lot of people congregating around it.

Since the bar is in the lower section of Punta Vista and covered by most of the restaurant’s overhang, it stays shaded for most of the day. This is a great place for swimmers to get some respite from the sun during the day. If you like to hang out in the pools, this bar will become a mainstay for you. The bar makes all the traditional beach resort drinks like mojitos and frozen tropical drinks. However, it is also a full bar so almost anything can be ordered. If you like your Johnnie Walker scotch while you are at the pool, you can get it.

I visited the Trade Winds swim-up bar a couple times during my visit. While the bar can attract a lot of people (especially in the afternoon), the bartenders provide pretty quick service. The bar has underwater stools that make great spots to sit at the bar and wait for a drink. You can also stay for an extended time and enjoy some conversation with other pool-goers and the bartenders. The only downside is that the bar is on the backside of Punta Vista which means anyone sitting at the bar will not have views of the beach and the ocean. It’s also back in a corner of the pool so it starts to feel crowded if a group of people are waiting on drinks.

Unlike many other swim-up bars, Trade Winds does not have an area that is walk-up from the pool deck. To order something from the pool deck, requesting drinks from a waiter will be your best bet. However, while in the water, it is hard to beat the convenience of Trade Winds. One additional note is that the swim up bar is only open to the main portion of the pool. The left/activities/North side of the pool is blocked from access under a walkway.

Hours

• 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM

Tequileria Beach Bar

The final standalone bar that isn’t a part of a restaurant at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun is the beach bar. Hyatt named this bar Tequileria. However, similar to the pool swim-up bar, you wouldn’t know this unless I told you or you looked it up on the resort map. The beach bar is located in the middle of the resort underneath the Punta Vista deck. While waiters will come around to guests located on the beach, this bar is your best bet if you want something between visits from a waiter. Despite having the name Tequileria, it wasn’t clear that there were any more tequila offerings or anything special about this bar to set it apart.

Unlike the swim-up bar, there is no seating around the beach bar. Guests will need to take their drink order back to their cabana or chair on the beach. While I think most would want to do this to enjoy the beach and ocean, I know many people like to hang out around the bar to talk and meet people. There isn’t a good way to get that here. Finally, it was somewhat difficult to find this bar when initially trying to get a drink. While the bar is in the middle of the resort on the beach, it looks like a bar that services the waiters and not necessarily customers. Making the bar a little more obvious to patrons and providing some seating nearby are two opportunities for improvement that I think the Hyatt Zilara Cancun should consider.

Hours

• 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM

Wrap-Up

The Hyatt Zilara Cancun has a variety of bars spread out across the property. During my recent stay at the resort, I was able to sample all of them. Each bar had attentive staff and made quality drinks. However, I enjoyed the bar experience at several of the other Hyatt Ziva and Zilara hotels better than the Zilara Cancun. This was primarily because the other resorts had more themed options and inventive cocktail menus. With that being said, the bars at the resort fulfilled the necessary purpose for an all-inclusive resort and didn’t detract from the resort experience.