My wife and I just returned from Cancun this morning. We had a great time (we stayed at the Royal Islander) but I was incredibly disappointed to see what I'd feared - the beach is devastated from Punta Cancun to Punta Nizuc, and most hotel beachfronts along there are practically unusable. The rocks...well, to be accurate, they're more like boulders - line the beach and if you do find a sandy area to get in, there's more boulders underwater to contend with for about 10 yards beyond the waterline. Keep in mind there ARE some clear areas up and down the eastern beaches, but they're few and far between. We chose to spend one day at Playa Tortugas instead (north side of the Hotel Zone, next to where Fat Tuesday used to be) and wished we'd spent more time there. I'm certain the Mexican Government will get this problem solved, but in all honesty $25M USD seems like a bargain to get these beaches back in order. The government should be willing to gladly pay ten times that amount if it'll result in a sustainable, permanent replacement to the way the beaches once were - especially if there's some way the company who gets the contract can ensure the replacement sand is finely crushed prior to being applied! The shelly/pebbly replacement sand used in the last beach reclamation isn't typical of Cancun.
