Grand Mayan woes!!!

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Thanks for the support and suggestions!

Thanks everyone. Pittle, I hadnt thought of contacting the concierge. Great suggestion! I think that our holiday will still be great, although not as expected.

[mpvictim Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mpvictim]

Grand Mayan Woes

Sounds like RCI is in bed with Mayan Resorts. I can't believe Mayan Resorts has been scamming people for so many years and US and Canadian citizens who have purchased there have not taken them to task for their fraudulent practices. To find out how to fight back check out: http://www.mayanresorts.info/

[alanmj Banned Find all posts View Profile Close alanmj]

Grand Mayans part of The Registry Collection

Grand Mayans are now part of the new "exclusive" RCI upmarket exchange program called The Registry Collection: http://www.theregistrycollection.com/

This program costs something like $225 PER YEAR membership, and $225 for each exchange.

What this means - I surmise - is that all deposited weeks will go preferentially to exchanges through The Registry Collection first, to the extent that they will "bump" normal RCI exchanges away from GMs to MPs.

So expect more and more complaints from RCI exchangers who arrive to find themselves bumped.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

I just don't get how they can get away with this. What a ripoff. If a small business treated customers that way consistantly they would no longer be in business!!!!! But I gess when you can pass blame like the proverbial hot potatoe then neither the resort or RCI has to fully take the blame.

[pittle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pittle]

Happymum - How did it work out?

How was your visit to the Mayan Palace at the Mayan Riviera? What kind of room did you finally get? We are heading that way in 2 weeks. We have 2 weeks scheduled at the regular MP and one at the Grand. We are looking forward to seeing how much has been done since the last time we were there.

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Great vacation!

We thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks. The first week we were in Mayan Palace building 8. I had asked for the newer units but this is what we were given. The location worked out fairly well as it forced us to do quite a bit of walking to and from the pool. This was a good thing as we did very little else! The weather was very good for both weeks. I must admit that we peferred the Grand Mayan. It felt that Mayan Palace "cheaped out" on a few things. No alarm clock in a 2 bedroom suite, and when we called were told that none were available. No starter pack of dish detergent or coffee. Also annoyed that these items were not available for purchase in the store, either. Minor details but they affect perceptions. The hosekeeping was much better organized in the MP, however. In the Grand we occasionally had to call to have the beds made up and some nights they would do one, other nights 3? The food was excellent at all the restaurnats, although over-priced.
We fell in love with the beds under the palapas, and because we had 4 families the second week, this necessitated 6AM arrivals to get 3 beds together.For 1 bed 7:30 would have been sufficient. That was one area that needs work, however. Despite the resort posting "no saving" signs, many people did and almost every morning there were strong disagreements. People would reserve a bed with their belongings, but then disappear for the next 5 hours. The "bed police" seemed loathe to do anything about it. There were also instances of resort staff being paid to reserve beds, and children and staff apparently paid to sleep all night on the bed to reserve it. We saw instances of staff having wound "danger" tape around a unit and telling everyone that it was to be repaired that day, then removing the tape for family/friends/employer.
Very tacky and reflected badly on the resort.
Obviously, these are minor compared with the overall beauty of the resort.
Tumtah is now Havanna Moon, a pretty liltte restaurant with a varied menu. We were very impressed with the Brio building. What a stylish, beautiful place to work out. It seemed very busy and we enjoyed the smoothie bar.
Work was progressing on the new water park, albeit at a slow pace. They put landscaping in while they were there, which lead me to think that it wouldnt be too much longer. The new central activity center is a long way from being done and work progressed very slowly on that. We were in building 2 of the GM and liked the location. We were disappointed that despite numerous e-mails and personal requests, we had not originally been assigned units that were near each other. Luckily, after close to 2 hours of standing around in the lobby, they were able to work it out.
The transportation services were excellent and efficient. Concierge service, less so. The staff seemed uncertain of info and we were often given conflicting info. One particular annoyance was regarding New Years eve supper. Tramonto and Havana Moon both had large expensive parties that were fully booked (Del Lago was $350 US per seat), but we were told that Balche would have its normal Sunday night steak and shrimp buffet. That would have been great as the restaurant was packed! Instead, they only offered the lunch menu. Again minor, but frustrating!
Sorry - way more info than you wanted, Im sure! All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would love to go back.

[pittle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pittle]

Thanks for the info. I too, go into great detail in posts. I appreciated all the comments. (I'll remember to pack a travel alarm.) I'm glad that the beach front restaurant is open again and the main thing that I was happy to read was your last sentence - you would love to go back. I know you were quite upset about your cancellation of the Grand.

We went there 3 weeks after the hurricane hit and the resort staff was working frantically to get rooms ready. We loved going to Playa del Carmen and it was recovering more quickly than most places. We decided to try it again now that they have had time to get everything "back to normal".

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Makes me really look forward to my visit next year!

[samsarmy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close samsarmy]

Wow, I feel pretty fortunate after reading this. My wife and I stayed at a Grand Mayan for the first time (in Acapulco) last Thanksgiving through RCI weeks exchange from Fairfield points. No problems, nice trip. After we declined the sales presentation at check-in, I was especially pleased that nobody from the front desk called us later during the week to try again!

Mike