Honeymoon Resorts: UNICO vs. Le Blanc

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Mexico. We stayed at UNICO 20° 87° in Riviera Maya for three nights and Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun for three nights. Both properties are 5-star, all-inclusive, and adults-only. While we loved both of these properties, they were quite different in a few aspects. You can read our review of UNICO here and our review of Le Blanc here. Below we’ll highlight some of their differences so you can decide which one might be right for you!

 

1. Size of Property

UNICO 20° 87° is much larger than Le Blanc, with 448 rooms. Le Blanc, on the other hand, has just 260. In addition to having more rooms, UNICO’s property itself is much larger, with two very large pools and one smaller pool, as well as restaurants and other amenities that are more spread out. It was fun to explore the entire property at UNICO, but we loved the convenience of Le Blanc’s small size. It felt very intimate and unlike the usual all-inclusive experience. Le Blanc definitely had the feel of a honeymoon property, while UNICO was great for a honeymoon but geared more towards groups and singles.

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2. Beaches

If you’ve read our reviews of both properties (linked above in first paragraph), you know that the beach at Le Blanc Spa Resort was much bigger and better than the one at UNICO. We usually opt for the pool over the beach, so we didn’t mind it terribly at UNICO. However, the beach at Le Blanc was so gorgeous and easily accessible that we spent almost every afternoon on it.

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3. Rooms

UNICO’s rooms are extremely spacious and comfortable. When we first arrived at Le Blanc, we were given a first level room with a walkout to the pool area. We loved that it was a walkout but it was very small, especially after coming from a stay at UNICO, where the rooms were huge. We eventually moved to a 5th floor room because our back door was broken and needed to be fixed. The 5th floor room was much bigger, with an amazing view. One thing we really liked about our room at UNICO was the balcony area. It was very large, with a couch and a jacuzzi tub. Although we never used the tub (It was over 90 degrees every day with 100% humidity), we did hang out here a lot in the morning and at night after dinner. The views from our rooms were quite different as well. Both were very private, but the room at Le Blanc felt more private because it faced the side of the resort, with partial ocean view and partial lagoon view. UNICO’s room was more set away from the beach area, so while we had a partial ocean view, we also had a view of the whole property. At some resorts I wouldn’t like this but UNICO was so beautiful that I actually loved it. It was especially gorgeous at night, with perfect lighting for great ambiance and tons of palm trees dotting the property.

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4. Food

While both properties had outstanding food, the food at Le Blanc was next-level delicious. Often when I get to an all-inclusive property it takes a bit of trial and error to find the best food options. This was the case for UNICO. For example, our first two meals were a bit of a let down; we had guacamole and chips, octopus ceviche, boneless wings, and Caesar salad at the pool bar. Everything was a bit bland and not what we were expecting, though we were starving and did end up eating most of the Caesar salad and a few wings. In addition, we did not care for the first restaurant we tried at UNICO, which was the Mexican restaurant. However, after that first day we had tons of great food for the rest of our stay! I will be posting a separate blog post on the food at both properties. Le Blanc had some of the best food I have ever tasted at an all-inclusive property. The restaurants at both properties were stunning, though!

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5. Overall Vibe

The overall vibe at these two properties was different in just a few ways. While we saw couples and groups at both, we felt that UNICO had more groups and Le Blanc had more couples. There was definitely more of a party vibe at UNICO, while Le Blanc is extremely relaxing and luxurious – perfect for a honeymoon. However, Le Blanc is located right in the heart of Cancun’s hotel zone, so there are tons of places to go out around the property. UNICO is located in the Riviera Maya about an hour and 15 minutes from Cancun, so we are not sure if there is much nightlife outside of the property. We mostly saw people partying at the resort, which has a DJ nightly. At Le Blanc, we saw many couples venturing out to the bars and clubs. Both resorts had nightly entertainment in the lobby bar, so we stayed on-property during both stays.

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6. Spa Prices

The spa prices were vastly different between these two properties. At UNICO, the pricing was similar to what you’d see in the US. I have a membership to Massage Envy and it was actually a bit cheaper here! We got two 80-minute couples massages for a total of $350. That comes out to about $87.50 per massage. That’s quite a deal for an 80-minute service. Although we didn’t get a great explanation on this, we found out that UNICO and other Hard Rock properties recently changed their spa pricing and resort credit policies, which is why the prices were so affordable. At Le Blanc, however, the prices were typical for all-inclusive properties in Mexico. An 80-minute massage was almost $200 and specialty treatments were pretty outrageous. We knew that the pricing at UNICO was unique, which is why we got two massages each while we could. We did hear people raving about their Le Blanc spa services, however, so I’m sure they are amazing!

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7. Smoking Policy

If you are a smoker, you should go to UNICO. It is very smoking-friendly with ash trays everywhere and you can even smoke by the pools. I was surprised by this because most all-inclusive resorts that I’ve been to have been non-smoking or had a designated smoking area. Le Blanc, on the other hand, has a no-smoking policy. There is a small smoking area in the front of the property in the parking lot.

 

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon at UNICO and Le Blanc resorts! We would go back to either one if we had the chance. If I had to choose one over the other, I would probably choose Le Blanc because it was so unique and the food was so amazing.

 

Interested in booking your honeymoon at UNICO or Le Blanc? Call us today at 402-390-9291 or get started here.

 

 

Last week my husband and I spent three nights at UNICO 20° 87° Riviera Maya and three nights at Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancun. You can read the full review of UNICO 20° 87° here.

Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun was one of the best all-inclusive properties I have ever been to. I did get the chance to attend the grand opening of Le Blanc Spa Resort Los Cabos in 2018. These two properties are very different in a few ways, and since it was a work event I had less time to explore the Cabo property. On our honeymoon, we spent the entire time exploring the resort in Cancun. Take a look at some of our favorite aspects of this 5-star, all-inclusive, adults-only property below!

 

What We Loved About Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancun

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1. Outstanding Food & Drinks

Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancun offered some of the best food I have ever had at an all-inclusive resort. I will do a full post detailing all of the restaurants we tried during our stay, but it’s safe to say we loved it. Not only is the food impeccable, but the restaurants are beautiful and intimate. We loved the Italian restaurant, Bella, as well as the Asian restaurant, Asia. We also loved the fine dining experience at Lumiere. The buffet, Blanc International, was also great for breakfast each morning, and even the food we ordered to our pool chairs for lunch each day was absolutely delicious! We also loved the lobby bar, which has a Madmen-vibe to it. There was nightly entertainment here which we enjoyed after dinners. We also had a great experience with the room service – everything was piping hot (we ordered tortilla soup and a chicken club sandwich) and delicious!

 

2. Gorgeous Beach

If you read our review of UNICO, you know that we weren’t huge fans of the beach there. Luckily we had heard amazing things about Le Blanc’s beach so we saved up all of our beach days for the second half of our honeymoon. It’s huge, with some of the softest and whitest sand I’ve ever touched or seen. In addition, the water was exceptionally clear and beautiful. There is a parasailing company right on the beach, as well as turtle releases nightly during “turtle season” (usually June through November or December). The turtle release was a unique experience that takes place at nighttime around 7:45 PM right on Le Blanc’s beach.

 

3. Amazing Infinity Pools

Le Blanc had two of the most beautiful infinity pools I’ve ever seen. The main pool is where we hung out most of the time. On the third floor, there is also a smaller infinity pool which we did not discover until our last day. There is also a restaurant on this floor that is open for lunch and dinner nightly. This is the only restaurant we did not get the chance to try.

 

4. Boutique Size for an Intimate Feel

We also loved the size of this property. Whereas UNICO was rather large like most all-inclusive properties I’ve been to, Le Blanc has only 260 rooms. The property itself, including all restaurants and the pool area, is pretty small which we loved. It allowed us to experience the entire property and also made everything very convenient to get to. We loved that the beach was just a few steps away from our pool chairs.

 

5. Great Service

The service here was unbelievable. We were especially impressed with the service at the pool each day. The staff was constantly bringing us water for our personal ice bucket throughout the day, in addition to refilling our drinks. We loved that you could order food to the pool each day and really just camped out on our lounge chairs for two straight days. In the late afternoon, we would venture to the beach where the service was also great. One unique thing we loved here was the pool concierge who would come by mid-afternoon to give us mini face and neck massages and a chilled cloth for our eyes. In addition, they came around with random snacks throughout the day like small bites from the restaurants and watermelon slices. The whole experience was completely 5-star and made us feel like celebrities. In addition, I loved that they were constantly bringing us new towels if they saw that ours were getting too wet, and always came by to adjust our umbrella.

 

6. Beautiful Views

The view right when you walk into Le Blanc is jaw-dropping. You can see straight out through the lobby bar doors to the infinity pool and ocean beneath. In addition, the views from the third floor infinity pool and restaurant were gorgeous. We also loved the view from our fifth-floor room. It was partial ocean view, but the beach was so huge it felt like we were ocean front. We faced the side of the restaurant, away from the pool area, so it felt very private. We also had a view of the property’s own lagoon and the ocean on the other half of the peninsula where the resort is situated. Check out our Instagram @enchantedtravel_ for more pictures of the view – saved in our highlights under “Honeymoons”.

 

Stay tuned for a post that compares UNICO and Le Blanc – coming soon! In addition, I’ll be recapping everything we ate at both properties in separate blog posts. 

 

Want to experience Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancun for yourself? Call us today at 402-390-9291 or get started here. 

 

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon, where they stayed for 3 nights at UNICO 20° 87° Riviera Maya and 3 nights at Le Blanc Cancun. Read and see photos of everything we ate at UNICO here. While we liked the food at UNICO (we ranked it an 8 out of 10), the food at Le Blanc Cancun was absolutely amazing. I have never had food like this at an all-inclusive resort before! Check out everything we ate below.

 

Day One at Le Blanc Cancun

We arrived at Le Blanc Cancun at about 1:15 PM last Thursday. We left UNICO 20° 87° at noon so it is a little over an hour’s drive between the two properties. UNICO 20° 87° is located in the Riviera Maya, near Tulum. Le Blanc Cancun is located right in the heart of Cancun’s hotel district. We had lunch at UNICO 20° 87° before we left, so we didn’t try the food at Le Blanc until dinner – and let me tell you, we wish we had tried it sooner!

Dinner: Blanc Bella Italian Restaurant

This was probably our favorite meal of the entire trip. Blanc Bella is absolutely gorgeous, with white linen tablecloths, glass chandeliers, and beautiful artwork. The staff here could not have been more friendly or helpful.

We started with the house appetizer of beet with blue cheese, mandarin orange, and balsamic. This tiny dish was amazing and we knew we were in for a treat!

After that I had the Duo Soup – half tomato cream and half goat cheese cream. If I had been at home for this meal I would have licked the bowl! It was delicious and the presentation was beautiful: they poured the two creams into the bowl at our table and created the perfect yin-yang design.

Ryan ordered the Caesar salad for his appetizer and it was divine. The dressing ws perfect and it had just the right amount of chopped black olives and cheesy croutons. They also brought us a delicious Focaccia bread with fresh shaved Parmesan and Pancetta to go with it.

After that, the waiter urged us each to order two entrees. I had the Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe which was absolutely amazing. The noodles were cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce was soupy and piping hot. We haven’t stopped talking about this dish.

For my second entree, I had the Chicken Parmesan which was great but I was stuffed to the brim already.

For Ryan’s entree, he had the Neapolitan Lasagna – similar to the Duo Soup in that it was half tomato sauce and half goat cheese with meat sauce. It was beautiful and delicious!

For his second entree, he had the Shrimp & Mozzarella Ravioli. This was also impeccably cooked – we couldn’t believe how perfect the shrimp was. We also loved how unique both of these dishes were.

For dessert, I had the Panna Cotta which was amazing. I wished I had extra room in my stomach for more than two bites.

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Day Two at Le Blanc Cancun

Breakfast: Blanc International

We ate a little differently at Le Blanc because the food was so good we couldn’t stop. Ryan had breakfast at the Blanc International buffet each morning and I waited until they began serving lunch at the pool each day around 11 AM. Ryan had a made-to-order omelette each morning which was literally huge – it looked like a Chipotle burrito. They had great fresh juices, breads & bagels, egg dishes, potato dishes – you name it, they had it!

Lunch: Ordered at the Pool

For lunch on day two we ordered our meals to our lounge chairs at the pool because we couldn’t pull ourselves away from the gorgeous view. It was also much cooler here than it was in Tulum (which is an hour and 15 minutes South of Cancun), so we didn’t mind staying outside. For lunch this day I ordered the Cuban sandwich and I’m so glad I did! It was truly delicious and came with a side of Cajun-seasoned fries. I ate the whole thing in a matter of minutes. Ryan ordered the Reuben, which on the menu is described as having pastrami, sauerkraut, and long island dressing but they must have been out of these ingredients so he ended up with a roast beef sandwich. This was so-so but still hit the spot.

Dinner: Lumiere Fine Dining Experience

Lumiere is the only restaurant at Le Blanc Cancun that requires reservations. Blanc Bella and Blanc Yama (the Asian restaurant – we ate there on Day Three) take reservations but the resort was not crowded so we just walked in at both of these spots.

Lumiere was delicious, but more importantly it was really fun to try the unique dishes they offered. They started us off with miniature toasts and salmon mousse, the house appetizer. In addition, they brought us these little mushroom truffles that were great. They also came around with a basket of assorted breads and let us choose which ones we wanted.

We also ordered the crab appetizer which was similar to a crab cake. The waiter suggested we try the Seafood Spaghetti too, which was great. We stepped out of our comfort zone with the Beef Tartar, which is actually raw beef with spices. We had never had this before and I was a bit wary but it was actually pretty good!

After the appetizers, we each had the Boston Rock Salad, served on a chilled rock plate. Then we each had soup – Ryan had an Asian soup and I had a mushroom broth.

For our entrees, I ordered the lamb which I have never ordered before. Who knew I was a huge lamb fan?! Ryan had the Petite Filet and we split the Escargot Risotto. If you know Ryan and me, we love Escargot and we had never had it like this before. This was probably my favorite dish from the night, though I did eat every last bite of my lamb entree.

For dessert, Ryan ordered the Carrot Dish, which was similar to carrot cake. I had the Yogurt Dish which came with berries and caramelized cherry tomatoes.

Late Night Snack: Room Service

We decided to try the room service later that night as we had an early dinner. Each of us ordered a tortilla soup which was great and piping hot. We also split the Chicken Club Sandwich. Everything was tasty and much better than the room service we had at UNICO.

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Day Three at Le Blanc Cancun

Breakfast: Blanc International

Ryan headed to the breakfast buffet for another omelette on our last day in Mexico. We got up extra early to get the best lounge chairs at the pool and I stayed there all day until about 4 PM. It was heaven!

Lunch & Snacks: Ordered at the Pool

I was tempted to order the Cuban Sandwich again but I had had my eye on the Mushroom Quesadillas since we saw someone else order them, so I had those. I also ordered the Chicken Noodle Salad which was tasty and had the best soy dressing. Ryan tried to get a Reuben again but was stuck with another Roast Beef Sandwich. Thankfully since it was all-inclusive we just waited until we were hungry again and ordered extra Cajun Fries and Steak Nachos.

Dinner: Blanc Yama

Blanc Yama is Le Blanc’s Asian restaurant. We were tempted to go back to the Italian restaurant but wanted to try this one. I am so glad we did! We started with the Beef Bao Bun, which was insanely good.

In addition, we ordered Seared Tuna sushi rolls and one a Tempura Sushi Roll. I thought this would suffice for my craving of Seared Tuna at all times, but I ended up ordering the Tuna Tataki (seared tuna in broth) as well. We also had great spring rolls here and perfectly-cooked gyoza (a steamed pork dumpling).

After that, I had the Tofu Ramen Soup which could have been an entree itself. It was huge and very tasty! Ryan had the Miso Soup which was much smaller.

For our entrees, Ryan ordered the Beef Dish which comes with a giant heated rock so you can cook the raw beef slices yourself. This was delicious and so fun!

We split the Fried Rice and I had a Veggie Noodle Bowl. We decided against dessert here because the Husker game was on and we were also releasing turtles that night. All in all it was such a fun experience and I’m glad we tried it!

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Day Four at Le Blanc Cancun

On our last morning, we went to Blanc International for a quick breakfast and I stuffed some Cheese Croissants into my purse for the plane ride home. These were amazing – they tasted like a sweet Crab Rangoon.

 

I would rate the food at a 10 out of 10 here. We only had a couple of dishes we didn’t care for but the delicious items more than made up for that. We can’t wait to go back!

 

Book your own stay at Le Blanc Cancun! Call us at 402-390-9291 or get started here.