This was our second stay at this resort and it was just as exceptional as the first time we stayed here. We would come back to this resort in a heartbeat! If it was up to our kids, we’d be coming back here every year. This year we stayed in a two bedroom with a living room and kitchen in building 6 and it was very spacious for the six of us. They were not able to accommodate our request for a building closer to the pools because we came during the off-season and they were doing repairs and maintenance during that time. This resort is so massive that the work they were doing was never even noticeable. Make sure you bring a pair of comfortable and cushioned flip-flops or sandals and be prepared to do a lot of walking. Did I mention that this resort is massive? Even with its large size, the resort is impeccably well run with plenty of staff always around to help. The staff is extremely courteous and service minded. Compared to some other resorts we’ve stayed at, this one was the best for service and cleanliness. I won’t repeat myself for what I wrote about the resort last year so if you are interested in reading more be sure to read that review as well. Snorkeling at the Grand Mayan is awesome and it is right off the beach of the hotel! For more on this, read my snorkeling review for the Grand Mayan.
GROCERIES:
Before our stays at the Grand Mayan, I had read on several forums about how expensive the resort market prices were and that people were paying for a taxi to shop at the Wal-Mart in Playa del Carmen. We cooked at least one meal a day in our room and we never found the grocery prices to be unreasonable. Unless you are staying at the resort for two weeks, plan on cooking three meals a day in your room, and enjoy schlepping for groceries on your vacation, traveling to Playa del Carmen to go grocery shopping seems penny wise and pound foolish. We chose to cough up a few extra bucks and enjoy our time at the beach rather than shop. The hotel shuttle to Playa del Carmen is $100 pesos (about $8 USD) round trip per person. It’s true that the American brands are a little more than what you would pay in the states, but if you’re willing to try the Mexican brands, it’s not expensive at all. Beer and liquor matched American prices. The resort market is not large so if there are specific brands or items that you must have, I would suggest packing them in your suitcase. We packed snack foods, coffee, and Easy Mac for the kids. If you have a baby, definitely pack enough diapers, wipes, dry foods, and formula to last for the length of your vacation. The resort market does sell baby items and baby food but the variety and quantity is limited.
RESTAURANTS:
We ate at Frida’s Mexican restaurant (near the Maya Palace pool), Havana Moon restaurant (on the beach), Snack Balche (beach and poolside service), Lago breakfast buffet (on the lagoon), Creperie (near the Boutique Pasel market), and Jade Deli (deli counter near the market). The food was good at all of these with Frida’s and Lago as our favorites. The Creperie and Jade Deli were good for take-out crepes and sandwiches after a long day at the beach. If you reserve a pool cabana, the $30 USD cost will be applied toward poolside food and beverage purchases. We ate at the Lago breakfast buffet several times because it was fantastic. For $17USD for adults and $8USD for kids it was well worth the price. The Mexican breakfast buffet serves: enchiladas, empanadas, chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, plain scrambled eggs, moles, pork, chicken, bacon, sausage, omelets, cereals, pancakes, breads, meats, cheeses, yogurt, churros, fruit, fresh juices, and Mexican hot chocolate. I’m sure I left a bunch off of this list. The Lago restaurant also has a Mexican Fiesta dinner performance on Thursday evenings which we missed both visits but several guests told me they really enjoyed it. You’ll need to make reservations for this in advance.
TURTLE RELEASE:
This was the highlight of our hotel stay! The resort operates a turtle hatchery program where they collect the eggs from the nests on the beach and rebury them in the sand in a contained area. This prevents the nests from being inadvertently trampled on by tourists and protects them from natural predators. You can see the turtle hatchery if go the beach in front of the Havana Moon restaurant and walk a little ways north of the pier. The eggs are kept in a fenced in area just above the rocks. When the baby turtles hatch, the resort allows the guests to release them! Green Sea Turtle nesting season is from May through October. Check at the concierge for hatchings daily and they’ll tell you if there are turtles ready for release and what time to be at the beach. The release is always in the evenings at dusk (it was at 6:45pm during our stay). No flashlights or flash photography is allowed.
INTERNET:
Computers are available for internet use for $6 USD per hour in the Arcade across from the Deli in the Jade shopping mall.
LAUNDRY: Each building has a self-serve washer and dryer on the second floor near the elevator. You’ll need to get tokens and soap from the concierge desk in the lobby and they’ll charge it to your room. The cost was $6 USD for a complete washer/dryer load.
BUBBLES:
I can’t remember what these things were called but they were clear, giant, inflatable balls at the Mayan Palace pool. For $10 USD for 30 minutes, you can stick your kid or spouse in it and laugh hysterically as they roll around the pool like a giant hamster. It gets really hot inside these things so they may not be able to last for the full thirty minutes bet you can sure that whoever rolls around in it will be sleeping like a baby at the end of the day.
TRAVEL TOURS:
The hotel has a tour booking agency operating from their lobby called Mexican Travel. Last year, we were disappointed in the variety, pricing, and helpfulness of this agency. This year, it seemed that they offered some more tours but I was still disappointed in the customer service this agency provides. They only have one person staffing the desk and their hours were from 8am to 5pm which was inconvenient. We had a negative experience when we tried to get a refund for an elderly member of our family who was having pain while walking and could not go on the tour. The travel service said that there were no refunds unless we got a note from a doctor for the medical excuse. Mexican Travel blamed the refund policy on the tour company but we had experience in the past with the park that we were going to where we had to get a refund after entering the park and the company was very understanding and accommodating. After much discussion with the travel agent, they agreed to give us a 50% refund which never appeared on our receipts during check-out. I saw other people having problems changing their tour plans with this agency. This is the one area the hotel could improve upon. However, if you plan ahead, you’ll know exactly what tours you want to do and how much they cost before you get there. I would suggest researching this before you go (all of the water tours we’ve been on are reviewed on oceaneyecandy.com) and contacting Mexican Travel in advance for pricing and tour times. If you are booking a tour where the tour transportation is not approved to enter the Grand Mayan resort, you will have to be picked up outside of the resort grounds. This should be considered in your planning because from the lobby of the hotel, the highway and resort entrance is at least a ½ mile away...too far and hot for us to walk with kids and backpacks. The tours we’ve booked with the hotel were all excellent and include: Coba, snorkel Puerto Morelos, and Xel-Ha.
HOTEL TAXI SERVICE:
The hotel only allows their contracted taxi service in the resort so you’ll want to travel with them for added safety and security. The taxis were all clean, the drivers were professional, and they all had seatbelts! We decided to get a taxi driver for a day rather than hassle with renting a car. A car rental that seats five people through the hotel would have cost us $125 USD and the large taxi van with a driver for 12 hrs was $220 USD. The large van seats 8 or 10 people and if you are 4 or less you can go with a regular taxi which won’t be as expensive. It was worth the extra money to sit back and relax and to have someone watch over our gear in the van. They’ll send your driver to your building to pick you up in the morning but if you get back late, they are not allowed to drive to the buildings after a certain time so they’ll drop you off at the lobby.
