The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Has anyone been there? If so, what did you think? I think it is near Playa DelCarmen or about 25 +/- miles from Cancun. How is the transportation and is there plenty to do that would keep folks busy?

Or would you recommend staying in CanCun?

We would have three families with four kids ranging in age from 15-6.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Great resort but if you want my advice book a week here and a week in Cancun.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

The pool complex is fantastic, and with kids this

is a great place to stay. It is out of Cancun, closer to Playa.

They resort runs a shuttle into Playa for iirc $4.00 per person round trip.

The resort also has a shuttle to and from the airport, I think that it is now free even to non-owners. I could be wrong.

We were there in Building 1 for the 2 weeks prior to Easter.

We had also rented a couple of units to another party that was there, and they had teens, that were absolutely having a great time.

If you need a copy of the transportation voucher, email me.

This would be a great choice.

jmho,

Greg

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

If you have time, I agree with Big Frank. Otherwise, it depends on what you want from your resort. Grand Mayan has a great pool complex, several good restaurants on site, and it's close to Playa Del Carmen and not that far from Cozumel. You can get up to Cancun if you want, but if you don't rent a car, it could get expensive if you go frequently. It's a bit less crowded than many of the resorts in Cancun itself.

If you want to be near the clubs, the many US-based restaurants and the activities that are available in Cancun, then it may not be the best place for you. The beach in Cancun itself is also a bit better (although I hear that you can walk to a decent beach at this resort). I own at Mayan Palace (adjacent to Grand Mayan), but actually haven't been able to stay there yet. I have stayed in Cancun and have enjoyed it, but still liked the other enough to purchase there.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

How are the car rentals in Mexico, now? The one and only time I was in Cancun, must have been 1995, or there about, we paid around 125 USD for a VW Bus.

[urple2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close urple2]

Has anyone been there? If so, what did you think? I think it is near Playa DelCarmen or about 25 +/- miles from Cancun. How is the transportation and is there plenty to do that would keep folks busy?

Or would you recommend staying in CanCun?

We would have three families with four kids ranging in age from 15-6.

I just recently submitted a review that is in the data base. This should offer you some information.

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

We were at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya for 2 weeks last month. It was our second visit. It is our favorite resort of all the ones we have been to over the past 20 years. We have also stayed at the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta. We will be going back to the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya next spring. We are not owners and do all of our exchanges through SFX.

I wrote a pretty comprehensive report a few weeks ago about our recent stay in the thread "Back from the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya".

We don't like Cancun at all and far prefer the Riviera Maya. Our first time there we split our visit between the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya and the Royal Mayan in Cancun. We far preferred the Grand Mayan. I also wrote a pretty comprehensive report on that in this forum. Some people prefer Cancun. It all depends on what your preferences are. There is no right or wrong.

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

We were there last November and had a great time. The units in the Grand Mayan are a bit nicer than those in the Mayan Palace but Mayan Palace ones are very acceptable also. We were in a unit out near the Golf Course so it was quite a walk to the pools or restaurants but they have shuttles that run all over the grounds and at least in November they were very accomodating, they would pick you up if your were walking and sometimes go out of their way to bring you right to your building even if that wasn't really their route. Might not be quite that way in very busy season tho.
The pools while incredible were very cold in November and therefore only the hardy were using (One day my wife and I were the only ones in besides a couple of kids). The other down side is that the beach is not swimmable, too much rock and coral, but you can sort of find a place to go in the ocean if you walk a ways up the beach. Also, you can go to Playa del Carmen and the beaches there are great.
We walked out to the road and took the small van buses that cruise and stop there, they were only $1.50 each way to Playa del Carmen.
All in all I would say book it, as you will enjoy the resort. As Frank said if going 2 weeks I would try to get one of them right in Cancun.
Have a great trip.
I have some pics of resort posted on Webshots at Mexio07-GrandMyan pictures from travel photos on webshots