I was so impressed by my breakfast experience at Hotel Xcaret Arte that I felt like I needed to write a separate blog post about what the buffet has to offer guests.  I’ve stayed at all-inclusive resorts for many years now, and have to honestly say that the buffets at both Hotel Xcaret Mexico and Hotel Xcaret Arte are superlative with the most food and drink offerings I’ve ever experienced.  I stayed at Arte from March 8-11, 2023.

Arte has one primary buffet and that is Mercado de San Juan.  It is located on what I call “restaurant row” which is at ground level towards the back end of the resort–if you walk down the main set of stairs (from lobby level) looking at the main pool in the distance, turn right and go around the corner until you see an outdoor seating area set within a water feature/small shallow-like pool. That is the buffet; to access the restaurant if you are walking on ground level, go across the pathway over the water and the entrance is to your right (I have found with both Hotel Xcaret resorts that signage is unfortunately very poor).  Buffet breakfast hours are from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The buffet interior is bursting with colors and textures–there are oversized hanging piñatas, woven basket-like hangings and ceramic pots which are actually lighting fixtures, while at the back of the restaurant there is a very lovely stained glass ceiling panel over a round counter where you can see staff making tortillas by hand.

Seating is in several areas of the restaurant, but it really doesn’t matter where you sit unless you want a resort view or only want to be seated outdoors. The focus here is on the food, and there is so much to choose from it is relatively easy to move from appreciative diner to glutton extraordinaire.

I have a routine vacation breakfast menu that I term “my Mexican breakfast”.  I look for chilaquiles with red sauce, scrambled eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, chocolate croissants, and some fruit.  I have my black tea and maybe some OJ, if I’m in an even more debauched mood I may have a mimosa.  (Don’t judge, I don’t eat like this on a routine basis, thank God).

Well, I certainly found what I was looking for, and a whole lot more!  Here is a list of the various food stations I found for breakfast at Mercado de San Juan:

• two live cooking stations just for eggs–request staff to cook them specifically the way you like your eggs, most guests decide to have an omelet with your choice of fillings.
• stations with eggs prepared different ways but no live cooking
• one live cooking station for fresh tacos with hand made tortillas
• one live cooking station for tacos and tortas
• one live cooking station specifically for crepes made to order
• typical American breakfast items like pancakes and waffles with various kinds of toppings
• bread station with two separate sections of breads and rolls
• various Mexican food offerings, typically cooked within a stew-like format (FYI–look for the Huevo Oaxaqueño stew–it was fabulous)
• one section entirely devoted to Mexican chocolate drinks and fresh juices
• soup section (I could say who eats soup for breakfast, but then again who eats tortas or Mexican stews for breakfast?  It doesn’t matter when everything is delicious!)
• cheese and meat section on ice (smoked salmon is gone very quickly)
• fruits–standard and some exotic choices as well

There were so many food stations it’s difficult to remember them all…just be reassured you will NOT go hungry.  Mexican cooking and food choices were heavily emphasized here, but American breakfast items were not forgotten.  Everything I tried at breakfast was freshly made or prepared and it all was delicious.

So definitely try the breakfast buffet at Mercado de San Juan–if breakfast was so good, I can only imagine what lunch and dinners are like at the buffet…

What do you think?  Does this sound like one of the better resort breakfast offerings ever?  Take a moment and look at the picture gallery below; these are just some pics I took at some food/drink stations at Mercado de San Juan.  Just click on a thumbnail picture to get a larger pic to view.