quality

Does any one have an oppinion of the resort and entertainment ideas. Are there other resonable golf deals in the area. Any ideas on transportation and what will there be fo 2 teenage girls to do ages 16

billc155 wrote:

Does any one have an oppinion of the resort and entertainment ideas. Are there other resonable golf deals in the area. Any ideas on transportation and what will there be fo 2 teenage girls to do ages 16

Bill,

The Grand Mayan between Cancun and Playa del Carmen is a great place for families and couples. My wife and I have been happy owners there for over 3 years. We upgraded our ownership to "Elite" status on our last visit in October. We started going to that area of Mexico about 10 years ago and have stayed in several resorts in the Mayan Riviera area and on the Pacific coast. This Grand Mayan is the nicest resort we have stayed in anywhere. The only objection (by some people) is that you have a 5 to 10 minute walk from your room to the pools and beach. We got used to it quickly and enjoy the exercise. You can read detailed accounts by dozens of various people about anything you could imagine to ask about the Grand Mayan at "tripadvisor.com". Be sure you look up "Grand Mayan Riviera Maya". These reports will inform you in great detail how to get to Walmart at Playa del Carmen and to the many Mayan sites in the area using busses, vans, or rental cars. They report on all the various restaurants in the Mayan Resort complex and where the best places are to buy groceries.

We stayed 3 weeks this year at the Grand Mayan, in Buildings 5, 6 and 7 with the lagoon view. The resort swimming pools are huge and wonderful. There are lots of activities for the kids (and adults). Our favorite place to hang out is the "El Playa del Secreto", a 10 minute easy walk along the beach to the North of the Mayan Palace beach. OOPS, now it's not El Secreto any more! There are about 15 private residences scattered along a mile of beach there and it was deserted there during our two weeks in October. You can see the huge El Dorado Royal resort about a mile North of the "secret" beach. We have walked from the Grand Mayan/Mayan Palace beach to the El Dorado Royal beach in about 25 minutes. The beach at the Iberostar is about a 10 minute walk to the South and is as nice a swimming area as you will find anywhere in Mexico. Just don't sit on the rope with floats that marks the swimming area or you will get lots of tiny leach like creatures on your skin. I did that one time and will never do it again! They do come off, but not easily. Sort of an ocean equivalent of wood ticks in a forest. Go down the beach to the South another 10 minutes and there is another wonderful secluded sandy beach great for swimming. The last hurricane changed the shoreline and made it sandy and easy to walk on for miles each direction. Before the hurricane, there were sharp rocky areas that made it hard to get very far along the shore. Arrange for your transportation on arrival from the airport to the hotel ahead of time. It costs less that way the you will easily find the person holding the Mayan Resorts sign as you exit the airport terminal building and he will escort you to the van. You can get reservations at the hotel consierge for a van to return you to the airport at the end of your stay. Good luck and enjoy the beaches... Bob M

Is there an all inclusive option available at this resort? What is the best way to rent a unit? Which buildings are closest to the pool/beach. I have read that the beach at the resort is too rocky to swim. I assume from your posting that this is not the case on the beaches you mentioned that are a short walk. What is the surf like?

To all other readers: Has anyone who has stayed at one of the Royal Resorts stayed here? I am curious if anyone has some comparison they can offer.

Any information anyone out there has that could be helpful would be really appreciated!!

susang121 wrote:

Is there an all inclusive option available at this resort? What is the best way to rent a unit? Which buildings are closest to the pool/beach. I have read that the beach at the resort is too rocky to swim. I assume from your posting that this is not the case on the beaches you mentioned that are a short walk. What is the surf like?

To all other readers: Has anyone who has stayed at one of the Royal Resorts stayed here? I am curious if anyone has some comparison they can offer.

Any information anyone out there has that could be helpful would be really appreciated!!

My family stayed in Bldg. 6, 2nd floor, facing the "lagoon" side (a better view than the "jungle view" which actually faces a tacky residential area) at the Grand Mayan during the '06-'07 Christmas & New Year's 2-week school break. Our unit's 3 rooms were spacious, modern and had some luxury touches (although suprisingly there was no dishwasher in the kitchen) - we had a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit with a combined living room/kitchen in the middle for our 2 teenaged daughters and the two of us. Swimming off the beach was tried by only one or two crazy people during our 2 weeks there due to the jagged rocks everywhere, and the surf is generally very strong. Waves will knock you right over even at waist height if you're not careful. On the other hand, the beach area is large and sandy with lots of lounge chairs and nicely maintained. There are some nice shaded huts (but not enough of them) if you want to avoid sunburns, despite high SPF sunblocks. Offsetting the rocky no-swim area is is an unbelieveably large and beautiful pool area which is where most guests hang out all day. All cabanas were taken by 7am when I came down as guests "reserved" them by seemingly sleeping on them or leaving books/bags on them. Then there is constant construction going on in the Grand Mayan lagoon area, which isn't suprisingly horribly noisy but it's certainly not asthetically pleasing to look at from your balcony. You can see the ocean if you stand on your toes and lean over the balcony railing. Weird setup, but this is how it's done in the Mayan Riviera. Beachfront is prime property but they can only build height-restricted low level buildings all the way (1.5 kilometers) to the main federal highway. Oh, the walks are fine but, after a few days, the novelty wears off, especially when the humidity and heat is overbearing (yes, almost every day even in late December and January). I did the walks to the other beaches and resorts - these are not just fun little walks and you do not want to do this every day if you're supposedly on vacation at a major resort (esp. with kids). Rented through RCI connection at a nice discount. Unfortunately, our particular unit became infested with little ants so we had to move after settling in for a few days. They arranged for an identical unit in Bldg. 7 but I expected a courtesy gesture of goodwill for our trouble - like a complimentary meal at a restaurant for a half of a vacation day lost while arranging the move and the trouble of packing/moving. Complained to the front desk manager - she said that our inconvenience was "no big deal" from her perspective. Many of the restaurant staff we encountered were not very attentive unless we flagged them down for service...although English is their 2nd language, our lack of Spanish was a major hinderance. Speaking to Housekeeping staff on the phone was an annoying joke - they never kept commitments to come when requested. The maids actually did a good job and worked hard. The on-site "grocery" store was skimpy as they have a few essentials only - and they were expensive. Each night there is a dinner buffet - food was OK but cost was $U.S.30 minimum per person before drinks. Having no internet in the rooms was unexpected and the Mexican phone system options are either brutally expensive or outdated. A few tv stations are in English. The closest buildings to the pool/beach are #1, #2, #7, and #6. Anything else is closer to the main lobby and a much longer walk. Caveat re: Bldg. #1 - it's also closest to the ongoing construction, so you may wish to avoid it. There are much better choices for a resort on the Mayan Riviera, in my opinion, especially since the Grand Mayan is not an all inclusive - check Trip Advisor for the features that are most important to you. I will not go back to this Grand Mayan. We also stayed at the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta last March break - (highrise) units are exactly the same, but the ocean view from our 8th floor was breathtaking and the grounds were more attractive. There were large wave pools, a slide, and a lazy river which the kids and I really enjoyed. Of course, there was also construction there too.

There is no all inclusive option. The 3 average restaurants are few (for a resort this size) and expensive (a hamburger and fries and coke was $17.) The taxi to the nearest Walmart is $U.S.18 each way, and the fridge isn't huge. Full dishware and utensils are privided but only a microwave - no stove or oven. A la carte meals are just typically expensive in many Mexican tourist area restaurants...but I wouldn't eat food in Mexico anywhere else - it's just not worth ruining your vacation. Good luck!

We just returned from our trip to the Mayan and the Royal Haciendas (Which is much closer to Playa Del Carmen) Both had construction going on, though not annoying. The Mayan has a better pool and lounge facilities. It also has plenty of entertainment for the kids (Big and little) It also has more choices (food, spa, shopping) However, the Royal Haciendas has a more beautiful building, better equipped kitchens, DVD Players and stereos, better service and a nicer beach as well as a huge open air hot tub, it also has Wi-Fi and is prettier overall. It will be a much better resort for the fancy and easy group. The Grand Mayan will be better for the fast and fun group, especially kids - when both are completed, that is.

susang121 wrote:

Is there an all inclusive option available at this resort? What is the best way to rent a unit? Which buildings are closest to the pool/beach. I have read that the beach at the resort is too rocky to swim. I assume from your posting that this is not the case on the beaches you mentioned that are a short walk. What is the surf like?

To all other readers: Has anyone who has stayed at one of the Royal Resorts stayed here? I am curious if anyone has some comparison they can offer.

Any information anyone out there has that could be helpful would be really appreciated!!

orvilleff2 ;

I am curious about the difference between Royal Haciendas and this one....when you say there is more for kids at the Grand Mayan what do you mean.

I will be going with 3 adults and then a 13 year old boy and 15 and 18 year old girls..

orvillef2 wrote:

We just returned from our trip to the Mayan and the Royal Haciendas (Which is much closer to Playa Del Carmen) Both had construction going on, though not annoying. The Mayan has a better pool and lounge facilities. It also has plenty of entertainment for the kids (Big and little) It also has more choices (food, spa, shopping) However, the Royal Haciendas has a more beautiful building, better equipped kitchens, DVD Players and stereos, better service and a nicer beach as well as a huge open air hot tub, it also has Wi-Fi and is prettier overall. It will be a much better resort for the fancy and easy group. The Grand Mayan will be better for the fast and fun group, especially kids - when both are completed, that is.

Thanks! This is really helpful. One more question...Is the beach at the Royal Hacienda's swimable??? We stayed at the Royal Sands last year and the waves were very rough (especially for small kids). They however, spend a lot of time telling you how calm and swimable the beach is at the Hacienda's. Would you agree?

susang121 wrote:

orvillef2 wrote:

We just returned from our trip to the Mayan and the Royal Haciendas (Which is much closer to Playa Del Carmen) Both had construction going on, though not annoying. The Mayan has a better pool and lounge facilities. It also has plenty of entertainment for the kids (Big and little) It also has more choices (food, spa, shopping) However, the Royal Haciendas has a more beautiful building, better equipped kitchens, DVD Players and stereos, better service and a nicer beach as well as a huge open air hot tub, it also has Wi-Fi and is prettier overall. It will be a much better resort for the fancy and easy group. The Grand Mayan will be better for the fast and fun group, especially kids - when both are completed, that is.

Thanks! This is really helpful. One more question...Is the beach at the Royal Hacienda's swimable??? We stayed at the Royal Sands last year and the waves were very rough (especially for small kids). They however, spend a lot of time telling you how calm and swimable the beach is at the Hacienda's. Would you agree?

No I would not. The beach is big and sandy and there are areas that you can walk out (sandy bottoms) but you have to be very careful as there are plenty of sharp rocks and coral that I would not want to hurt myself on or destroy. My husband and another friend went out snorkeling and loved it as it is not rough. But I wouldn't let my kids out to play in it. I love the Haciendas and am an owner at both places, If I have kids or teenagers I will be staying at the Grand or Mayan Palace. Much more fun for them. If I just want to lavish in the calm breeze and beautiful, peaceful surroundings I'll stay at the Royal Haciendas.

Sorry for the post....I started a new discussion on this.