Residence Inn Cancun is an all-suite Marriott hotel with kitchens and separate living rooms, designed for longer stays. That gives you flexibility: we can pick the best evening of your trip and meet at the right beach for it. Our sessions start at 295 USD, and the gallery arrives in one to three business days.
Guests here tend to be staying a while, sometimes for work and sometimes with the family. That is a luxury for photos, since we can wait for the right sky. We usually meet at one of the public beaches, as the hotel is not on the classic strip of resort sand.
Residence Inn Cancun at a Glance
- AddressHotel Zone
- HotelAll-suite Residence Inn by Marriott
- Size158 suites, each with a full kitchen and separate living space
- StayDesigned for longer visits
- Water facesWest, over Nichupté Lagoon, with the Caribbean across the boulevard
- From the airportAbout 15 to 20 minutes
- Who staysFamilies and couples
- Sunset here6:06 pm in November to 7:32 pm in July
- Our sessionsFrom 295 USD, gallery in 1 to 3 business days
Where We Shoot at Residence Inn Cancun
Playa Delfines. A wide public beach and lookout with the colourful Cancun letters. It needs no resort pass.
The lagoon. The Nichupté Lagoon is where the sun sets over water, so it is the place for the last minutes of the session.
Your suite. A calm start for a family, with room to get ready together.
The Light at Residence Inn Cancun
Times for this exact stretch of beach on the 15th of each month in 2027. Quintana Roo stays on UTC-5 all year, with no daylight saving.
| Month | Sunrise | Golden | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:27 am | 5:55 pm | 6:27 pm |
| February | 7:17 am | 6:15 pm | 6:45 pm |
| March | 6:56 am | 6:27 pm | 6:57 pm |
| April | 6:28 am | 6:37 pm | 7:06 pm |
| May | 6:10 am | 6:47 pm | 7:18 pm |
| June | 6:06 am | 6:58 pm | 7:30 pm |
| July | 6:14 am | 7:00 pm | 7:32 pm |
| August | 6:26 am | 6:47 pm | 7:17 pm |
| September | 6:34 am | 6:21 pm | 6:50 pm |
| October | 6:43 am | 5:53 pm | 6:23 pm |
| November | 6:57 am | 5:34 pm | 6:06 pm |
| December | 7:16 am | 5:36 pm | 6:08 pm |
Most Hotel Zone resorts watch the sun set behind their towers. From the lagoon side you get the opposite: the sun reaches the water, the mangroves go dark, and the sky fills with colour.
Seaweed and Weather at Residence Inn Cancun
Residence Inn Cancun is on the water that stays cleanest in a heavy year: the Nichupté Lagoon is sheltered from the open-sea push. Sargassum usually builds from April and is heaviest from June to August, and November to March is normally the clearest stretch. When the Caribbean beaches are lined with seaweed, the lagoon usually still looks clear. Our month-by-month sargassum guide has the detail and the outlook for the season. Summer and early autumn bring afternoon showers that tend to pass quickly. We keep an eye on the forecast and adjust the hour with you the day before.
A Sample Session at Residence Inn Cancun
Here is how we would run the last hour of the day, with the real sunset for this beach. We adjust it to your exact date when you book.
| 60 minute session | January | July |
|---|---|---|
| We meet at the hotel lobby or the beach | 5:15 pm | 6:20 pm |
| First frames at your suite | 5:25 pm | 6:30 pm |
| Group portrait at Playa Delfines | 5:55 pm | 7:00 pm |
| Last light at the lagoon | 6:10 pm | 7:15 pm |
| Sunset | 6:27 pm | 7:32 pm |
With children under five we often flip the plan to sunrise: they are awake anyway, the beach is empty and it is cool. Sunrise here runs from 6:06 am in June to 7:27 am in January. Our guide to sunrise with young kids explains why it works.
Bringing a Photographer to Residence Inn Cancun
If you are staying at Residence Inn Cancun, the photographer comes in as your invited guest: give the front desk our name and the time of the session a day or two ahead, and we check in at the lobby. Rules for outside photographers belong to each resort and they change, so we confirm the current policy with the hotel in writing before your date. Guests of another hotel should expect a day pass for the photographer. Our guide to bringing an outside photographer to a resort covers the usual rules.
Close to Residence Inn Cancun
Mexican law keeps every beach public, so a session at the water's edge does not depend on the hotel's grounds policy.
Other hotels we have written about on this stretch of coast:
- NIZUC. Photographer guide
- Westin Resort & Spa Cancun. Photographer guide
- Club Regina Cancun. Photographer guide
- Sun Palace. Photographer guide
Our Work Around Residence Inn Cancun, Through Our Lens
Real IVAE Studios sessions on this coast, so you can see how this light and water look on camera. They show our work in the area, not necessarily at Residence Inn Cancun.
Which Collection Fits Residence Inn Cancun
All collections include full editing and a private 4K gallery within one to three business days, and you can upgrade anytime by paying only the difference.
| Collection | Time | Photos | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Postcard | 35 min | 15 | 295 USD |
| The Keepsake | 45 min | 25 | 375 USD |
| The Chapter | 60 min | 35 | 475 USD |
| The Story | 75 min | 50, 2 looks | 545 USD |
| The Editorial | 90 min | 70, 2 looks | 645 USD |
| The Heirloom | 90 min | Full gallery, 2 looks | 895 USD |
Families usually do best with The Chapter at 60 minutes: enough time for the children to warm up and for a group portrait before anyone tires. With two looks or three generations, The Story or The Editorial gives you room.