Questions for those who have been there

I am planning a stay in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta at the beginning of December. I am going with two friends, one of whom can not walk very well. Is there carts that will take one around the property like they have in Cancun? Or another way to get from the hotel part to the pool and restaurants?

tronstad wrote:

I am planning a stay in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta at the beginning of December. I am going with two friends, one of whom can not walk very well. Is there carts that will take one around the property like they have in Cancun? Or another way to get from the hotel part to the pool and restaurants?

Answer:

The Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta is not anywhere as large as the resort in the Riviera Maya outside of Cancun. When you come down the elevators in the main building, the pool is really quite close. It is definitely a much longer walk down to the beach and the restaurant there than it is to the pool. I believe that there are carts available as well. Maybe you should contact the resort directly to see how accessible they will be for your friend. The resort has a number of restaurants right in the main building off the lobby as well. Also, I believe the SPA, laundry facilities, cash station, stores and internet cafe are next door at the Mayan Palace. This again is a very short walk. Try to stay closer to the side where the Mayan is rather that the Sea Garden on the opposite side. I would really try to contact the resort so your room will be located close to the elevators, etc. It is a great place and we will be going there again this year with a number of families. I hope this answered some of your questions and concerns. Beth

ira10 wrote:

tronstad wrote:

I am planning a stay in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta at the beginning of December. I am going with two friends, one of whom can not walk very well. Is there carts that will take one around the property like they have in Cancun? Or another way to get from the hotel part to the pool and restaurants?

Answer:

The Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta is not anywhere as large as the resort in the Riviera Maya outside of Cancun. When you come down the elevators in the main building, the pool is really quite close. It is definitely a much longer walk down to the beach and the restaurant there than it is to the pool. I believe that there are carts available as well. Maybe you should contact the resort directly to see how accessible they will be for your friend. The resort has a number of restaurants right in the main building off the lobby as well. Also, I believe the SPA, laundry facilities, cash station, stores and internet cafe are next door at the Mayan Palace. This again is a very short walk. Try to stay closer to the side where the Mayan is rather that the Sea Garden on the opposite side. I would really try to contact the resort so your room will be located close to the elevators, etc. It is a great place and we will be going there again this year with a number of families. I hope this answered some of your questions and concerns. Beth

Thanks, Beth. That's very informative.

This will be our first time to Grand Mayan, we have two children aged 12 and 13, what are the activities that we should be sure to include in our 2 week holiday. Anything to stay away from? Thanks Dave

davem7 wrote:

This will be our first time to Grand Mayan, we have two children aged 12 and 13, what are the activities that we should be sure to include in our 2 week holiday. Anything to stay away from? Thanks Dave

Hi,

My family (11 of us, 4 kids aged 17,16,14 and 13) stayed at the Mayan last year and we purchased at the Grand Mayan. We were able to use the pools and facilities at the Grand Mayan because of that. The pools alone kept all greatly entertained. The lazy river was a source of great laughter. Our children all loved swimming with the dolphins at the Adventure Tours located just outside of the resort. We also loved the Beach Party.

Gerri

geryllynnk

davem7 wrote:

This will be our first time to Grand Mayan, we have two children aged 12 and 13, what are the activities that we should be sure to include in our 2 week holiday. Anything to stay away from? Thanks Dave

Hi,

My family (11 of us, 4 kids aged 17,16,14 and 13) stayed at the Mayan last year and we purchased at the Grand Mayan. We were able to use the pools and facilities at the Grand Mayan because of that. The pools alone kept all greatly entertained. The lazy river was a source of great laughter. Our children all loved swimming with the dolphins at the Adventure Tours located just outside of the resort. We also loved the Beach Party.

Gerri[ Thanks for the info Gerri.

I will be at the Grand Mayan in March of 2007. We are travelling with family, however, most of them will be staying at the NH Krystal. Some of my questions: 1) Did I make a mistake staying here and not at the Krystal? 2) How far is it to PV by all modes of transportation, how much do they cost, and what do you recommend? 3) Same questions as above for distance to the Krystal? 4) I have two daughters, 14 and 11, what types of excursions, tours, etc. would you recommend?

billw108 wrote:

I will be at the Grand Mayan in March of 2007. We are travelling with family, however, most of them will be staying at the NH Krystal. Some of my questions: 1) Did I make a mistake staying here and not at the Krystal? 2) How far is it to PV by all modes of transportation, how much do they cost, and what do you recommend? 3) Same questions as above for distance to the Krystal? 4) I have two daughters, 14 and 11, what types of excursions, tours, etc. would you recommend?

cliffordr2 wrote:

billw108 wrote:

I will be at the Grand Mayan in March of 2007. We are travelling with family, however, most of them will be staying at the NH Krystal. Some of my questions: 1) Did I make a mistake staying here and not at the Krystal? 2) How far is it to PV by all modes of transportation, how much do they cost, and what do you recommend? 3) Same questions as above for distance to the Krystal? 4) I have two daughters, 14 and 11, what types of excursions, tours, etc. would you recommend?

Answer: I have 4 units at Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta and believe me all your friends will be over at your place that week. There is no comparison-Grand Mayan is 5 star.

I am a member of GVC and have been to the mayan palace in Qintanaroo, Was not impressed, 1) do you have to pay for every thing you do at the mayan palace in Nuevo? What is included. Every time I changed my mind it cost money in the Rivera Maya. Chaves must be running out of pessos or something

cliffordr2 wrote:

billw108 wrote:

I will be at the Grand Mayan in March of 2007. We are travelling with family, however, most of them will be staying at the NH Krystal. Some of my questions: 1) Did I make a mistake staying here and not at the Krystal? 2) How far is it to PV by all modes of transportation, how much do they cost, and what do you recommend? 3) Same questions as above for distance to the Krystal? 4) I have two daughters, 14 and 11, what types of excursions, tours, etc. would you recommend?

Answer: I have 4 units at Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta and believe me all your friends will be over at your place that week. There is no comparison-Grand Mayan is 5 star.

I am taking my daughter and grands to the Grand Mayan at the very end of May. For weather's sake is this a mistake? Also is Walmart very close for food via taxi and is taxi expensive?

orvillef2 wrote:

I am taking my daughter and grands to the Grand Mayan at the very end of May. For weather's sake is this a mistake? Also is Walmart very close for food via taxi and is taxi expensive?

Your daughter and grandchildren are going to LOVE the Grand Mayan, It is just fabulous. The water park, slide and lazy river will keep them occupied all day long. The beach is also awesome.

We just returned with friends this week, there were 7 kids in all, all ages, and everyone had a blast. The resort is as nice as any I have stayed in all over the world. 5* all the way. You need to request an ocean view ahead of time is possible instead of waiting until check in. We own 5 weeks( meaning we have 10) there, and always request an ocean view for our renters and get it every time.

Also, Walmart is about 20 minutes from the resort, and yes, taxis are expensive. But if you go there and stock up on everything you'll need for the week one time, you'll be fine.

The resort is about 30 minutes from downtown Puerto Vallarta by taxi and is around $18 each way to and from the resort. Don't rent a car, you'll never know where you are going and it's impossible to park anywhere downtown.

Have a great time. If you have any more questions about any of the Grand Mayans, you can contact me anytime.

Beth bethonly@hotmail.com

We have owned at Grand Myan for 3 yrs. Each year they have a new "program" for owners.this year really infuriated all owners we talked to. If you upgrade to their new program for an additional large sum(anywhere from $20-$30,000) you could make reservations 12 mos in advance instead of 6 mos. The only other incentive they would give you are additional weeks at the Sea Garden. This is going to impact the rentals because the availability of weeks for the winter months is going to diminish for those who donot upgrade. All new owners get the 12 mo capibility as well. jkaylor@nycap.rr.com

Hi There,

We own 4, 2 BR weeks and 1, 1BR week at the Grand.

To do this, we took one of our 1 BR's and upgraded it to a 2 BR. In addition, we upgraded all 5 of our weeks when there last week to the new program called Profile A Plus, for much less money than you stated. We can now (1) reserve up to 12 months in advance, (2) if we don't use our weeks they roll over to the following year if we pay the maintenance fee, (3) if we don't want to use them we DO NOT have to pay the maintenance charge, (4) we now have access to a program that will rent any or all of our Regualr Weeks (not vacation fare weeks)if we want them to, and (5) we have access to an exchange program called the Registry Collection program, where we can deposit our weeks in exchange for very upscale programs worldwide including Abercrombie and Kent Travel. This means we can use our Grand Mayan weeks for, as an example, an African Safari if we choose.

They did this for us for us on ALL 5 of our Regular weeks. They also threw in 1 week/year at any of the Mayan Palaces (not to be used Dec-March except for Puerto Penasco).

In addition, we signed the contract that states once we turn 78 yrs old, we can use any of the Grand Mayans free of charge...no maintenance fee at all as long as we use it ourselves.

We ownabout 35 weeks of timeshares and NONE of them excuse owners from paying maintenace fees if they don't use them. It's almost unheard of.

We feel that this was well worth what we paid. We would have done this just for the Registry Collection.

It did not infuriate us in the least. All we had to do was say "NO" The sales people are not walking around the Grand anywhere, and all the sales happens at the farthest end of the Mayan Palace blocks away from the Grand. We choose to do this because from a business sense, it was well worth it to us.

Yes, they do hit owers up to upgrade. But loike any business, the Grand is in this to make money. They are buliding in Hawaii, Buenos Aires, probably in Costa Rica. They are opening in Cabos this fall. And our maintenance charge has gone up only $11-15/year for a 1 and 2 BR.

We have NO complaints. You should try dealing with alot of other very high end resorts and they are much more difficult to deal with and don't have any of the great benefits I mentioned.

Again, if you don't like what they have to offer in terms of upgrading, just say "NO"!

ira10 wrote:

Hi There,

We own 4, 2 BR weeks and 1, 1BR week at the Grand.

To do this, we took one of our 1 BR's and upgraded it to a 2 BR. In addition, we upgraded all 5 of our weeks when there last week to the new program called Profile A Plus, for much less money than you stated. We can now (1) reserve up to 12 months in advance, (2) if we don't use our weeks they roll over to the following year if we pay the maintenance fee, (3) if we don't want to use them we DO NOT have to pay the maintenance charge, (4) we now have access to a program that will rent any or all of our Regualr Weeks (not vacation fare weeks)if we want them to, and (5) we have access to an exchange program called the Registry Collection program, where we can deposit our weeks in exchange for very upscale programs worldwide including Abercrombie and Kent Travel. This means we can use our Grand Mayan weeks for, as an example, an African Safari if we choose.

They did this for us for us on ALL 5 of our Regular weeks. They also threw in 1 week/year at any of the Mayan Palaces (not to be used Dec-March except for Puerto Penasco).

In addition, we signed the contract that states once we turn 78 yrs old, we can use any of the Grand Mayans free of charge...no maintenance fee at all as long as we use it ourselves.

We ownabout 35 weeks of timeshares and NONE of them excuse owners from paying maintenace fees if they don't use them. It's almost unheard of.

We feel that this was well worth what we paid. We would have done this just for the Registry Collection.

It did not infuriate us in the least. All we had to do was say "NO" The sales people are not walking around the Grand anywhere, and all the sales happens at the farthest end of the Mayan Palace blocks away from the Grand. We choose to do this because from a business sense, it was well worth it to us.

Yes, they do hit owers up to upgrade. But loike any business, the Grand is in this to make money. They are buliding in Hawaii, Buenos Aires, probably in Costa Rica. They are opening in Cabos this fall. And our maintenance charge has gone up only $11-15/year for a 1 and 2 BR.

We have NO complaints. You should try dealing with alot of other very high end resorts and they are much more difficult to deal with and don't have any of the great benefits I mentioned.

Again, if you don't like what they have to offer in terms of upgrading, just say "NO"!

tronstad wrote:

I am planning a stay in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta at the beginning of December. I am going with two friends, one of whom can not walk very well. Is there carts that will take one around the property like they have in Cancun? Or another way to get from the hotel part to the pool and restaurants?

tronstad wrote:

I am planning a stay in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta at the beginning of December. I am going with two friends, one of whom can not walk very well. Is there carts that will take one around the property like they have in Cancun? Or another way to get from the hotel part to the pool and restaurants?

There is very little walking involved at the Grand Mayan. It is a high rise 9 stories and the pool and restaurants are directly outside the 6 buildings. Some restaurants are in the bottom floor of one of the hotel wings. They really do not use motorized carts there since it is very flat: however I'm sure if you need or want to travel between the Grand Mayan and the Mayan Palace or the Sea Garden they will shuttle you over and back, and come to think of it there is a bus coach that travels a circuit around the property. Its a great resort to enjoy the pools, lazy river pool around the Grand Mayan pool, the water slide and wave pool, and property.There is a restaurant right at the main pool wherte you can have lunch and dinner, and roomservice is excellent.

ira10 wrote:

Hi There,

We own 4, 2 BR weeks and 1, 1BR week at the Grand.

To do this, we took one of our 1 BR's and upgraded it to a 2 BR. In addition, we upgraded all 5 of our weeks when there last week to the new program called Profile A Plus, for much less money than you stated. We can now (1) reserve up to 12 months in advance, (2) if we don't use our weeks they roll over to the following year if we pay the maintenance fee, (3) if we don't want to use them we DO NOT have to pay the maintenance charge, (4) we now have access to a program that will rent any or all of our Regualr Weeks (not vacation fare weeks)if we want them to, and (5) we have access to an exchange program called the Registry Collection program, where we can deposit our weeks in exchange for very upscale programs worldwide including Abercrombie and Kent Travel. This means we can use our Grand Mayan weeks for, as an example, an African Safari if we choose.

They did this for us for us on ALL 5 of our Regular weeks. They also threw in 1 week/year at any of the Mayan Palaces (not to be used Dec-March except for Puerto Penasco).

In addition, we signed the contract that states once we turn 78 yrs old, we can use any of the Grand Mayans free of charge...no maintenance fee at all as long as we use it ourselves.

We ownabout 35 weeks of timeshares and NONE of them excuse owners from paying maintenace fees if they don't use them. It's almost unheard of.

We feel that this was well worth what we paid. We would have done this just for the Registry Collection.

It did not infuriate us in the least. All we had to do was say "NO" The sales people are not walking around the Grand anywhere, and all the sales happens at the farthest end of the Mayan Palace blocks away from the Grand. We choose to do this because from a business sense, it was well worth it to us.

Yes, they do hit owers up to upgrade. But loike any business, the Grand is in this to make money. They are buliding in Hawaii, Buenos Aires, probably in Costa Rica. They are opening in Cabos this fall. And our maintenance charge has gone up only $11-15/year for a 1 and 2 BR.

We have NO complaints. You should try dealing with alot of other very high end resorts and they are much more difficult to deal with and don't have any of the great benefits I mentioned.

Again, if you don't like what they have to offer in terms of upgrading, just say "NO"!

Hi there,

My husband and I have a couple of Grand Mayan weeks, and are considering upgrading to the 'Profile A' level. We're going down in August, and would love to have an idea of how much this would cost; would you be willing to say how much this cost you? Is it possible to negotiate a price with them, or is it a set amount?

Thanks very much!

annan4 wrote:

ira10 wrote:

Hi There,

We own 4, 2 BR weeks and 1, 1BR week at the Grand.

To do this, we took one of our 1 BR's and upgraded it to a 2 BR. In addition, we upgraded all 5 of our weeks when there last week to the new program called Profile A Plus, for much less money than you stated. We can now (1) reserve up to 12 months in advance, (2) if we don't use our weeks they roll over to the following year if we pay the maintenance fee, (3) if we don't want to use them we DO NOT have to pay the maintenance charge, (4) we now have access to a program that will rent any or all of our Regualr Weeks (not vacation fare weeks)if we want them to, and (5) we have access to an exchange program called the Registry Collection program, where we can deposit our weeks in exchange for very upscale programs worldwide including Abercrombie and Kent Travel. This means we can use our Grand Mayan weeks for, as an example, an African Safari if we choose.

They did this for us for us on ALL 5 of our Regular weeks. They also threw in 1 week/year at any of the Mayan Palaces (not to be used Dec-March except for Puerto Penasco).

In addition, we signed the contract that states once we turn 78 yrs old, we can use any of the Grand Mayans free of charge...no maintenance fee at all as long as we use it ourselves.

We ownabout 35 weeks of timeshares and NONE of them excuse owners from paying maintenace fees if they don't use them. It's almost unheard of.

We feel that this was well worth what we paid. We would have done this just for the Registry Collection.

It did not infuriate us in the least. All we had to do was say "NO" The sales people are not walking around the Grand anywhere, and all the sales happens at the farthest end of the Mayan Palace blocks away from the Grand. We choose to do this because from a business sense, it was well worth it to us.

Yes, they do hit owers up to upgrade. But loike any business, the Grand is in this to make money. They are buliding in Hawaii, Buenos Aires, probably in Costa Rica. They are opening in Cabos this fall. And our maintenance charge has gone up only $11-15/year for a 1 and 2 BR.

We have NO complaints. You should try dealing with alot of other very high end resorts and they are much more difficult to deal with and don't have any of the great benefits I mentioned.

Again, if you don't like what they have to offer in terms of upgrading, just say "NO"!

Hi there,

My husband and I have a couple of Grand Mayan weeks, and are considering upgrading to the 'Profile A' level. We're going down in August, and would love to have an idea of how much this would cost; would you be willing to say how much this cost you? Is it possible to negotiate a price with them, or is it a set amount?

Thanks very much!

Hi there,

We negotiated with them ALOT and it took all day. They say there is no room for negotiation and that it is a certain amount for each upgrade depending on what size unit and when it was purchased. You know, the time share spiel. But honestly, if you are there to upgrade and really interested in doing so, they will drop the price considerably. Go in with a price you want to spend to upgrade the units and tell them that's it. No more. That's what we did and we meant it and they were willing to work with us.

If you have any more questions you can email me directly at bethonly@hotmail.com and then I might be able to give you some more information over the phone.

Beth