One of the most frequent comments I’ve gotten when reviewing either the Hyatt Zilara Cancun or the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall has been: “Which is better?” Unfortunately there’s no clear cut answer, because each property has their strengths and weaknesses. So rather please take this as my way of comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica.  

Comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica – Property

The two Zilara properties could not be more different. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun is more vertical, while the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall is much more spread out. Cancun is stand-alone, while Rose Hall shares a larger former Ritz Carlton footprint with the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall. Of course, this results in a different experience. For example, the lobby of the Cancun property is beautiful, spacious, more vertical, and also ends up being the central point for nightly entertainment.

Whereas the Rose Hall property is more spread out, but does have an evening entertainment area on the Ziva Rose Hall side of the property.

As far as pools go, the Cancun property has a single expansive pool spanning the property with more cabana style lounges rather than regular chaise lounges.

The Rose Hall property on the other hand has 2 pools on the Zilara side, and an additional pool on the Ziva side. Both seemed decent in size. There were however only a few cabanas, and those had costs associated with them.

Winner: Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall

Rationale: I like to walk on vacation, so the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall definitely won when it came to property  

Comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica – Food and Drinks

Where the Cancun property lacked in property it certainly made up in food. The Hyatt Zilara Cancun’s food options were plentiful and all were wonderful.

Our first day started with lunch by the pool in Pelicanos, a very reasonable start.

We escalated from there to tepanyaki grill that night,

But the coup de grace was the Chef’s Table. It was phenomenal. This was not just a meal, it was an experience – somewhat customized, and prepared in front of you. 

For example, I don’t typically eat seafood, so they substituted chicken in place seafood in some dishes. 

now with chicken instead

Even the buffet restaurant looked rather appetizing with ice cream, and a variety of dishes.

The Rose Hall property’s food offerings on the other hand, left something to be desired.

Similar to our Cancun experience, we decided to have lunch upon arrival at the restaurant close to the beach and pool. It was Jamaican flavor, which was appropriate and probably our best meal of the trip.

That evening, we ate at the Brazillian inspired restaurant, figuring we might need a day to sleep off the food coma from all the wonderful meat. It wasn’t as good as we had experienced elsewhere, but it wasn’t bad.

We also tried the Asian fusion restaurant and the British Pub. Ironically, for dinner options, the pub food was probably the best of those restaurants we tried.

meat pie at the pub

For breakfast, we didn’t venture out, instead opting for room service, which was reasonably good each day. 

Winner: Hyatt Zilara Cancun

Rationale: Food was a very clear and deliberate focus at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, and it made a huge difference.

Comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica – Service

This is probably not the most fair comparison, as we had an upgraded room at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, but were upgraded to a Butler Suite at the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall. This meant that well, we had a butler. That made an impact, but it wasn’t the only impact. Every single employee we saw when wandering the resort was kind, and truly seemed to care about how we were enjoying ourselves. The lady who brought us our drinks at the pool remembered what we were drinking and truly enjoyed her job. Everyone came off as happy, and it didn’t look like an act.

That isn’t to say that the Cancun properties’ employees didn’t. They did, but just not to the extent that the Rose Hall property’s staff did.

Phone that Butler Suite residents get for anything they need at the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall.

Winner: Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall

Rationale: If the Cancun property made food a priority, the Rose Hall property made service the priority.

Comparing the Hyatt Zilara Cancun and Jamaica – The Room

The Cancun property’s room was reasonably expansive, it had an in room hot tub, a nice lanai, a sitting area; all the necessities of a nice quality room.

The Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall on the other hand provided us a pretty impressive Butler Suite which was significantly bigger than that of the Cancun property. This room had so much space that sometimes it felt a little empty. 

Overall, the suite provided plenty of room to spread out, which was nice, even though we spent most of our time down at the pool.

Winner: Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall

Rationale: This was a tough one, because its hard to truly compare the two rooms since we had a suite at only one of the two.

Final Thoughts

Both Hyatt Zilara properties are great. I think though it depends on what matters more to you, as to which one may be a better fit for you. For me, I would likely return to either, though I did appreciate the ability to walk around the Jamaica property, but the food was really quite good in Cancun, so it could be a toss up. 

What are your thoughts? Have you been to both? Did you have a different experience?