The Ritz-Carlton Canun, one of the few oceanfront, triple AAA Five Diamond resorts in the world, garners the top rating for the hotel plus two of its restaurants. Stepping from the street into the lobby, we shed the Hotel Zone bustle, for reserved elegance. Crystal chandeliers, pink marble floors, Oriental rugs, antiques and 18th and 19th century portraits of grande dames against idealized landscapes create a formal feel. This could be a city hotel in Europe.

As much as we admire the decor and dignified ambiance, we miss the sense of a Mexican beach resort. Some of that comes when the bellman points out the Ritz's Very Important Kids registration desk. At the child-sized, red and blue desk, youngsters sign-in with crayons and are handed a scavenger hunt sheet. Questions such as "What are the hours of the Kids Camp?" and "How many sculptures are in the pool area?" help familiarize kids with the hotel.

Ages 3 to 12 also receive a bucket with a plastic rake, watering can, fish molds and other beach toys. When children turn in the quest's answers to the front desk, they receive a pinat with Mexican candy plus either a doll or a valero, a stick-like toy with a wooden top attached by a string. As we try to figure out how to move our arms so that the top lands on the stick, a bellman tells us that he will bring citrus iced tea to our room so that we won't have one more thing to carry in the lobby.

Such thoughtfulness is part of the Ritz panache. After all, a hotel has to be more than a pretty face to earn her diamonds. Guest rooms are oversized, tasteful blends of light woods and beige fabrics. Pool concierges keep you supplied with cold face cloths and the bath butler can draw you a Margarita bath, an Energetic bath or even a Kids Bubble Bath. The food is wonderful, even at the poolside grill, an eatery that, at most properties, you expect little finesse and get, sometimes, even less. All 365-rooms have at least a glimpse of the ocean, a result of the Ritz's E-shaped, two tower configuration. The shops off the lobby sell Escada and La Perla.

In addition to its "beach club", a lot sized section of sand alongside the building, the Ritz, like most of the hotel zone resorts, had only a thin sliver of beach in front of the property. As a result of the December 2009 beach reclamation project, the Ritz, along with many other hotels, has added a wide stretch of sand between the resort and the ocean.

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