Just stayed at the Grand Occidental Flamingo XCaret from June 16 – 23rd.

Hi !

We spent a wonderful week at the Grand Occidental Xcaret in the Mayan Riviera ( April 17-24) . The resort is absolutely beautiful and the weather was fantastic ! In general we were very pleased with the resort with just a few minor exceptions. Everywhere on the property was very clean. We were in building 19, directly beside the 'activity pool ', on the third floor. The rooms was spacious and since we were in the back, we looked out on the jungle from the balcony. We ate at the buffet most evenings as we made friends with a waiter and he became our ' regular'. The service was top notch ! We found the food and the service better at the buffets than at the a la carte restaurants. There was plenty of variety at every meal. We particularly enjoyed having breakfast and late lunches at the beach club, overlooking the water.

The beach is man-made and I actually preferred it. The water was very clear and you could easily see the sand below and lots of fish. There were a few days where the red flag was up and if we had been directly on the coast, we couldn't have gone in the water. The waitresses are very attentive at refreshing your drinks, both at the beach and the pools. Because of the size of the resort, I guess, it never seemed crowded anywhere and there were lots of places to sit,etc.

We were very satisfied with the evening entertainment and also with the day we spent at Xcaret park. It is a wonderful place !

I will mention the negatives just for interest sake. We would not choose to go to such a large resort again because we spent alot of time trying to find our way around, despite our map and the several ' you are here ' maps' all over the place. We seemed to get lost every day ! We got roped into a time-share presentation for a vacation club. I knew what it was but I didn't know how to refuse without offending our concierge, which I thought was important. It took 2 1/2 hours of our precious vacation time, longer than the 90 minutes that they say. We finally had to be firm and there wasn't much pressure, which was good. We were given $40 USD to spend at the gift shop for our time.

We stayed at this resort from Mar 3 - 10. 3 couples in our 40's and 50's. This was the 3rd time at this resort for my husband and I and our other friends 1st time. We all loved it. The weather wasn't the best but we still had a great time.

Food
The food was excellent. Buffets were good and had a good variety. We visited only 2 of the a la cartes - the Seafood and the Steak and both were very good. Excellent fillet mignon at the steak and awesome creme brulee at the seafood. I gained 4 lbs this week.

Beach
We really like the cove to swim in because the water is nice and calm even when its rough out in the ocean. There are tons of fish to see and you can feed them bananas and bread. They practically bubble out of the water to get it sometimes. On the second to last day the lifeguard took the guys out in the cove beside the adult pool (between the resort and xcaret park) he showed us where to snorkel and dove down and got us a star fish to hold and take pictures of. He called the spot just out from the front of the resort barracuda reef. We all got up early on our last morning and went out to snorkel there. Our friends had taken a snorkelling trip a few days before and said they saw more fish than they did on their paid trip. A huge sea turtle swam under us and we also saw a small barracuda. We wished we had known to go here earlier in the week. I guess they don't advertise this because its a protected area and they would have to get special permits if they did. The lifeguard just asked us to sign a book saying they would not be responsible and let us go out.

Pools
All very nice. Tried a different pool each day.

The free pass to the park next door is a great bonus. We have been there a few times and find it hard to see all of the park in one day. We all really enjoyed the float down the underground river. There are 2 sides to it. One side is more natural and has many caves. The other side is man made. Less caves but the caves that are on this side seem longer and darker. The show is long but is still excellent.

Rooms
We stayed in Bld 12 at the front of the resort which I thought I wouldn't like. The 1st trip we were in bld 20 (next to the swim up bar). 2nd trip we were in bld 15 (next to the quiet pool). However building 12 ended up working out great. We had a bit of rain so it was nice not to go out in the rain to get to dinner or the show at night. Rooms were a little musty at first but we left our door open for a while and it seemed better after that. I guess this can't be helped with the humidity.

Excursions
We went on the Coba, Mayan Village Tour on Thursday. Went to a Mayan Village, hiked through the jungle, went down a zip line, repelled down a cliff, canoed across a lake and then had an authentic Mayan lunch at the village. After that we went to a Cenote to swim (an underground cave filled with fresh water). Then to Coba to see the ruins and climb the highest pyramid in the Yucatan. The girls went to Playa del Carmen for the afternoon one day to get our souvenirs. The guys went deep sea fishing for the morning $375 US and caught nothing. Also beware - they booked at the booth down by the beach and were told that beer and snacks were included. They were not and they had to buy there own as well as pay for the taxi to get there. Its true what they say - always book through your tour rep at the resort and you will get what you pay for.

We almost overlooked this resort because of the dug out beach, opposed to how the beaches normally are. Our travel agent had been here before and suggested it, and we were not disappointed!

It was one of the most beautiful resorts we had been to. The pools were amazing! You never had to hunt for a lounge chair, there were plenty, the food was awesome, the rooms were very clean and nice.

The bonus to this place is that you get a one day free pass to the Xcaret Eco Park next door. You can come and go as you please. We got our passes the night before (to avoid the line up), and were at the gate at 8:30 am. If you want to do the Underground River, and yes, do it, do it first. We were the first ones in and had the place to ourselves. No one else came through for 20 minutes. When we walked past at 11:00 am, there was a huge line up. You can put all your stuff in a locked bag, you get the key, and the people deliver it at the end of the river. We walked the park, went back to the resort at 1:00 to have lunch, laid by the pool for awhile, then showered and went back to the park for the night show. Since I don't speak a word of Spanish, some things I didn't understand, but it was still fantastic! The park was great, but I'm not sure I'd want to be there ALL day.

We went to Playa Del Carmen one day, did 5th Ave. The prices were high, but you could bargain with them. I bought a mexican blanket, which originally he wanted $35 US for and I ended up paying $20. We walked a few blocks in and went to a grocery store. Much cheaper. My husband bought a big bottle of Vodka for $8.00 US, opposed to $40 on 5th Ave. But don't take them a Travellers Cheque, it really confuses them. Take cash.

We had beautiful weather everyday, except one day of rain. 79 to 85 degrees F.

We just returned from our wedding/ honeymoon from the Mayan Riveira Mexico. We left Jan. 6/07 and returned Jan. 20th.

The first week, we had a group come down for the wedding and stayed at Occidental Grand Xcaret.

The resort is pretty big, not the best for people who have trouble walking around, however they did have a little train going around which was great. The food was fabulous, everyone enjoyed it and there was always plenty of variety. The buffet would change their "theme" every night to one of the a la carte restaurant menus: seafood, mexican, oriental etc. My only complaint about the a la carte restaurants were that you had to make your reservations to get in and ofcourse they would be booked up. We tried to book the same day we arrived and had difficulty getting into all of them, especially the seafood. I was really upset, especially as this was for our wedding.

The rooms were great, I must say the showers always had hot water, great water pressure and were very clean. They come with shampoo and body wash mounted on the walls, so you don't need to bring any from home... however they don't have conditioner.

We stayed in building 19 which is located right by the pool. It was perfect for us.

The pool was very large, perfect temperature to cool off, but not frigid and was very clean. The waitresses were very good about coming around to serve drinks in the afternoon. The entertainment team was very good, because they would ask to include you, but would not continue to bug you if you weren't interested in their games or events.

There is a little man made beach which is nice as an option, but not if you are interested in taking long walks. It is usually pretty busy. The water is warm and there are plenty of fish to see.

The wedding:
We got married at 5pm. I would suggest getting married between 3-4 as the sun went down at 5:20pm and it was very dark for photos.
It didn't help that there were dark clouds that day, however I wish we had it at 4pm for more light.
We got married out in the gazebo by the coast and they set up white covered chairs for your guests. We had 32 in total and they accomodated us no problem.
It is very very windy down there most of the time, so be prepared for that.
Otherwise, the ceremony was perfect. 20 min. in length and they translated into english for us.
Immediately after we had champagne to toast for everyone, which was a nice touch.
We had dinner reservations at the Mexican restaurant. Initially I wanted the seafood restaurant, but they had a conference booked there and we couldn't go. I was disappointed, however the Mexican restaurant was great. We had a corner to ourselves that they decorated for us and it was very good food. Our wedding cake was heart shaped and very cute. There was enough for all of our guests.
The flowers were absolutely beautiful. I was thinking that I would have to have tropical flowers, but when they showed me the book to choose from, they had roses and lillies and anything that you wanted. I was very impressed with the arrangements and it was well worth buying additional flowers for the rest of the wedding party.
Our wedding coordinator Edith was very good at responding to my questions via email prior to going and she was wonderful once we got down there aswell.

I would highly recommend this resort.
Our second week, (after everyone else left) we had our honeymoon at Aventura Spa Palace **Adults only. (about 10 min. away) We had to arrange for our own transportation and got a taxi that cost $14 US. Our room was excellent. Every room has a HUGE 2 person jacuzzi tub and I would highly recommend using it. The bathroom again was great, clean & they supplied you with everything. From shampoo/conditioner to toothbrushes and toothpaste. You don't have to bring much in the bathroom department. The best part was being able to brush you teeth with the tap water as they use reverse osmosis so you don't have any contamination. They had a 4 bottle bar (tequila, rum, brandy & whisky) no charge and would refill the bottles if needed. You have your own fridge, (stocked daily) with water, pop & beer. All inclusive is no joke*** They have 24 hour room service (no charge) and get it to you in 20-30 min. All of the restaurants and food were amazing. The a la carte restaurants were first come first serve, no reservations. Which meant that you got to go to all of them without being told "sorry, it's booked for the rest of the week". We never had a problem getting in. The only one that had a waiting list was the Steakhouse. The resort is HUGE, it's 2 sides. The south and north side. It's like it is 2 resorts in one. They had a shuttle going from one side to the other constantly and this was very convenient. We stayed on the North side (spa side) It was great. Quiet and relaxing. The pool was very nice, a little cool, but was refreshing with how hot it got. The lagoon style beaches were not what I expected (again no long beach to walk along) but they were very nice anyway. Lots of umbrellas to sit by and quiet for the most part. The water had plenty of fish to see. The gym is unbelievable, indoor pool & hot tubs... very very nice. The spa was amazing. We had a romantic couples massage and it was extremely relaxing. They are pricey, but the resort gave us "spa dollars" and we only had to pay $80 US. We went to Moon Palace (closer to Cancun, 50 min. away) to go golfing and the course was fabulous. The carts were included and you could get free clubs too. If you wanted to upgrade to Nike or something it was a $30 US charge. You have to pay for the driving range, but it's very reasonable. Bring your own balls, or they have some for sale in the pro-shop (new and used) The shop was well equipped with anything that you needed, all brand name stuff. The resort also offers many tours that are free. I would recommend checking a few of these out. They also have a shuttle bus going into town or Cancun free, so you can go shopping or to the Water park. Palace resorts owns Wet n' Wild in Cancun and you can go free. We had an amazing time at this resort and I would highly recommend staying there!!!!

Hi everyone – we (my husband and I) and another couple stayed at the Grand Xcaret from Dec 3 – 17, 2006. We are Canadians eh. Three of us are 30-something, and one is a really ancient 40 year old.

My husband and I (neither of us is 40) have a different opinion of this resort than our friends. We were not impressed with the place and our friends thought it was great and say they will be returning. I think this proves the diverse tastes of people and why it is so important to read reviews like this and take time to decide where you’d like to stay. I DID read the reviews religiously and have to say that all my apprehensions about the place were well founded.

Some background – we have traveled a fair bit and so we know what we like and what is possible. Our beach holiday travel experiences include:

• Caribbean cruise
• Cook Islands – fantastic by the way!!!
• Australia
• Dominican Republic (Punta Cana)
• Cabo San Lucas
• Cancun
• Hawaii

Booking: We booked with Selloffvacations.com. This is the second holiday I have booked with them and think they have a great service: at least $100 cheaper per person than with a travel agent.

Air Travel: We traveled Air Transat from Vancouver – this is a charter and, no, it is not luxury. You can pay $250 – 300 for upgraded seats to Club Class but they go almost immediately so good luck!!! I personally don’t mind it – it’s only 5-6 hours of your life each way.

Airport arrival: Easy to clear - it’s a random red light/green light system – you push a button, if you get a green light you’re good to go, if you get a red light they rummage through your bags – not fun! We got a green light so no problems.

Airport return: Scam artists!!! You will almost invariably have to pay for excess baggage. They only weigh checked luggage though, so put as much in your carry-on as possible. Tip: you can take your booze in carry-on (we didn’t think we could cuz of the liquids issue, but apparently it’s ok?) On the way down we had our snorkel equipment in with checked luggage and were fine with weight, on the way back we put it separate (each person is allowed one sporting good item for free) and they said we were overweight??? We got dinged $20, our friends were dinged $100!

Another tip for airport return, consider arranging your own transportation to the airport instead of using the free transfer. All you do is spend your time picking up people, waiting to check-in, and sitting around in the airport. You can get another ¾ of a day if you make your own arrangements.

Hotel: It is very average in my opinion. We stayed at the Grand Paradise Bavaro in Punta Cana (4 star) and the Xcaret was not materially better and it is rated a 4-5 star.

• The food is excellent. There is lots of variety and the standards are excellent.
• The staff are very friendly and they make a point of getting to know you if you make the effort.
• Stay away from the rooms in the main building (11 and 12). They put us in 12371? The first night and it is right by the sewage treatment – the smells wafting through the halls are interesting to say the least!
• We asked for building 18 or 20 and got 18103. Great building – we were right outside the main pool and the next closest building to the main lobby where all the restaurants are.
• Went to the gym once (I know!) and it was adequate – treadmills, ellipticals, weights
• Sex in the Poooool is great – get your mind out of the gutter! This is what they call the shots (any concoction they can think of!) at the swim-up pool bar. Have a few Sex in the Poooools and the issues I talk about next may just disappear.
• The funniest entertainment nights are the audience participation ones –guests will do the funniest things. The actual performances are average at best, but what else can you expect?
• The entertainment staff is great – Ra, Franco, and Louis do a great job and they go out of their way to make sure the ladies feel special. To give you an idea: their favorite number is 69 and they are often heard to say, “I love my job!”
• The shops in the hotel are very good – the quality is great and I don’t think you pay anymore here than on 5th Ave (the main shopping area in Playa del Carmen) unless you are looking for the junky stuff.

• Far too big – although most in this area are very large. I like to be able to move back and forth from beach to pool as the mood strikes me and this is not possible here.
• The beach is bad – let’s face it. You can candy-coat and talk about the fish (very few!) or you can get real and say that a murky bay that is only about a 200 feet long is not a beach in any sense of the word.
• The pool bar is totally inadequate for the size of the pool. Yes, the waterfall is cool (you have to go through it to get to the bar) and the Sex in the Poooool is great, but it is noisy and makes keeping warm an issue – we didn’t have great weather!. If you don’t want to go there, then you have to rely on the waitresses who are few and far between. We started to order two or three drinks at a time just to avoid a half hour wait. And we’re not lushes, although the mango margaritas do go down quite nicely!
• Make sure you ask for premium liquor – i.e. if you order a Caesar they will use some god awful vodka that smells like boat gas unless you specifically request Smirnoff.
• Food is not regularly available. There is no place that is open all the time. The beach club is open the most consistently (7 – 5 I think) but unless you’re down there, you’re not going to make the trip from the pool. You can’t just go somewhere to get something to eat; you have to make sure it is open. There is no 24-hour place. The latest is 2 am for anything.
• There is no room service.
• If you just want a snack – good luck. You can’t eat by the pool or take things out of the restaurants. Sometimes the main buffet will give you a to-go package but it depends on the mood of the maitre-d. At the pool restaurant all you get is, “Is not possible Missus, too messy!” When I am lounging by the pool all day I don’t want to move – I want a quick and convenient way to get some nourishment other than the mango in my margarita. The restaurant by the pool opens at 11:30 so if you’re hungry before then you go to the main buffet. I typically get up early, get a lounger, and want to eat around 10:00 – I now have to pack up, and head off to the main lobby area to get some food, which I can’t take back with me. I’ve got to sit down, in the restaurant and eat my food like a good little girl. It may sound inconsequential but if you’re not a breakfast, lunch, supper type of eater, it’s a pain and I’ve never encountered this anywhere before.
• The staff at the buffet restaurants is inconsistent – we tipped all the time and sometimes our plates were removed promptly and other times two dirty plates sat in front of us. Missing cutlery is common but you just have to steal it from the table next door!
• The FunClub pool pipes the same music everyday, repeated three or four times a day and we were there for two weeks. Get some new music guys!
• I tried unsuccessfully for two days to get the movies working in my room – it’s like $11 for a movie but we wanted to watch one. No-one could get it right, so I just gave up.
• This hotel is a long way from the highway so you have to take a cab everywhere. Other reviews talk about catching the Collectivo and going anywhere you want for $1.50. Not so at the Xcaret.
• There are unexpected sewer smells all over. I think this might be a problem at all resorts but it’s not pleasant when it happens.
• Don’t waste your money on the $25 lobster you can get at any of the a la Carte restaurants. Mine was like eating rubber it was so overcooked.
• The seafood restaurant El Pescatore, by the water is a complete let down. We were expecting so much and it was by far the worst meal. The Italian and grill restaurants were excellent and we LOVED Paco’s Tacos – the causal dining place that you can go for dinner anytime instead of the dinner buffet. It switches daily with the Pizzeria, which is not as good.
• Activities are not great – you can play tennis if the pro is there. The FunClub do their best but most of the stuff is lame. Yoga is just some pre-aerobics stretching. Pool Volleyball and Water Polo never happened. There are five or six pool floats available (at pool and beach) so if you want to make you get one, bring your own.
• The concierge people will try to sucker you into looking at the Royal Club. They insist it’s not a time-share, but it’s the same sh$^, different pile. I’ll save you the bother – (our husbands went for it cuz they were told the ladies would get a free massage, but we didn’t end up getting it because we didn’t attend.) For $49,900 US you can join the Royal Club which allows you to stay at any Occidental resort from $85-$115 per night and they help arrange discount airfare. Membership lasts for 100 years so you can will it to your kids. There is a yearly membership fee of $455 US. Essentially I can do lots of other things with 50 grand – like invest it at 10% and go on a vacation every year while still keeping my principle working for me. It’s a no brainer for me, but hey, again, different strokes, for different folks. While we were there we only saw two or three couples using the Royal Club – nuff said.

While we had a good time, this is not the resort for us. But like I said, our friends loved it, so there you go. I would rate it a 4 star at the most.

Tours:

• Xcaret is great. The show is too long for my liking but interesting.
• Xel-ha – wonderful. The huge fish by the bridge next to the open ocean are a must see. There are also huge rays swimming below – awesome. We saw the largest Parrot Fish ever – complete with barnacle type things on his lips that made him look like he had a goatee.
• Tulum – interesting but they have all the paths close to the largest ruin blocked off so you can’t really see anything. Don’t pay for a tour ($45) just stand by one and learn what you want. The beach here IS amazing – plan to spend some time at it.
• Cozumel – awesome. We rented a Jeep and toured the island. Stop at each of the bars on the beach for a cocktail! Very rugged, very beautiful.
• 5th Ave – shopping in Playa Del Carmen – must experience but the prices are high compared to the rest of Mexico (Cancun excluded). This is not a cheap Mexican shopping experience but you have to buy some stuff, right?! Go to Sam’s Club on the highway for cheap booze and smokes.

Weather – ours sucked! We had 4 days of sun out of 14! Everyone tells us how out of the ordinary that was, but all I know is what we experienced. It is blazing hot when the sun shines, so I hope you get good weather if you do decide to go.

All in all an average vacation at an average resort. We will probably try Cuba or go somewhere in the Indies like the Maldives for our next vacation.

This review covers [1] KUONI TRAVELLERS USING MONARCH AIRLINES (ESPECIALLY THOSE TRAVELLING FROM MANCHESTER) and [2] review of a 1 week late-availability Kuoni holiday in late October 2006.

[1] KUONI TRAVELLERS
For anyone thinking of booking a Kuoni holiday package here please note the airline booked is Monarch. Having experienced the Monarch service we would not recommend this unless like us you either get a good late-availability £price or want to travel Kuoni to this hotel. This is because the legroom, seat comfort, food, entertainment and service are strictly short-haul standard and not suitable for a 10-12 hour long-haul flight. This flight is seriously long, even without delays (and we suffered delays on departure for both legs of the journey). Monarch charge for everything, the quality of food and entertainment is low and Monarch’s punctuality record is poor (2 weeks before our holiday the actual connection from Manchester to Gatwick was cancelled). For us the £250 Premium cabin upgrade each would have effectively almost paid for another person to come with us, and still only takes you to the Economy class of most scheduled airlines. For this reason we would not book another holiday with Kuoni using Monarch regardless of how good the actual deal or hotel was.

[2] GRAND FLAMENCO XCARET

CANCUN AIRPORT
Despite previous reviews we sailed through passport/luggage. Make sure the immigration and customs cards are filled in correctly before leaving the plane (there are websites for Yucatan and Mexico which show you the format and how they should be completed) and remember to keep the retained bit safe with your passport. Check carefully with your travel agent/rep if you pay departure tax on leaving or not – the price of this varies and if it doesn’t remember to leave enough $. Remember to carry some small denomination pesos for the luggage porters who will take you past the various touts to the correct stand for your travel rep. Be aware they all seem to use identical white Chevrolet minibuses so make sure you get on the right one. On departure excess baggage was charged at £7sterling/kg and lots of those on 2-week vacations fell foul of this and suspected a scam with the weighing machine. If your luggage is heavy make sure you have enough currency in case as they don’t accept credit cards.

CHECK-IN
Initial impressions are great, large spacious Reception and a fast check-in. You get 2x swipe room keys and 1x each towel cards. Don’t lose either or you will be charged when you leave plus a map of the resort. If lucky you will be escorted to your room – we weren’t but although large there are numerous large maps around the place and everything is well signposted. Luggage will be delivered to your room so remember the small denomination notes for the luggage porters as they earn it. The staff are generally excellent and friendly but be aware some don’t speak much English and a few words in Spanish are easy to learn and go a long way.

ROOM AND LAYOUT
The resort is large but once you’ve found you’re room you’ll find like us that you will probably only need the pool, beach and buffet complex so it’s easily cracked. The walk from the buffet to beach is an easy 10-15 minute walk maximum and the shuttle runs regularly even if it doesn’t stop outside every block. Some blocks have easy short-cuts, other’s like 14 don’t. As mentioned on previous reviews be aware some floors can be lethally slippy. All the hotel and grounds were kept spotless.

Room was large, clean and comfortable (apart from lacking a 2nd chair) with an excellent maid service. We were in Block 14 overlooking Xcaret on the 3rd floor. Note some rooms will overlook the pool, and some pools can be noisy. There are no lifts and although easy the stairwells were not lit at night so if mobility is a problem ask for a ground floor room. Good storage space, complimentary mini-bar that was re-stocked every day. Bottled water is handy for trips out, if you need more ask the maid. The air-conditioning was excellent and works when the room was empty, so you return from a day by the pool or beach to a cool room. If it rains there is a complimentary golf-sized umbrella that you will need (when it rains it seriously rains). Note the safe needs to be re-programmed every time it is opened but is large enough for things like cameras etc. Bathroom was large and spacious, complimentary toiletries provided and the power shower was excellent.

BEACH
We used the beach rather than the pools, the gardens are nice and immaculate but you cannot move sunbeds round to somewhere quiet so you have a choice of either pools or beach. The pools by block14 were noisy with Americans, the other pools even worse and apparently have piped music as well so it depends whether you want noisy or relaxing. Beach is an easy 10-minute walk away from block 14. Pick up your towels en route and remember to take them back.
The beach is actually a man made cove, tiered with sunbeds and some hammocks and was almost deserted but may get busy in high season. Don’t come here expecting a 5-mile walk along a beach. The sand is nice, and its safe shallow bathing if you’re not a good swimmer. For shelter from the sun and occasional showers get there early to nab one of the thatched covers that were excellent. The beach bar opens at 7 for breakfast and there’s also a drinks-only bar. Down fronting the Caribbean is a nice adults-only pool but again this might get packed in summer.

FOOD
The food was frankly the most disappointing thing about the hotel. It wasn’t bad, just disappointing. The buffet is large, spacious and well air-conditioned but got busy even in the time we were there. There are no set tables every meal, you wait to be seated somewhere. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the main buffet, with other meals at other locations dotted round the site (try breakfast in the beach bar overlooking the ocean). The breakfast was geared towards American but there was a choice of juices, cereals, waffles, pancakes, toast etc. If you prefer tea to coffee trying practicing this in Spanish as you need to ask for this. We had lunch at the beach bar when in the hotel which was good. The dinners were usually on a themed night but we found the choice uninspiring and lacking variety plus the items were likely to re-appear the following day (Yucatan style pork for breakfast for example). As for the quality it was alright for the grade of hotel just nothing exceptional, so don’t expect gourmet quality. The main complaint was the service, every day at least 2 of tables we were led to were incomplete, missing cutlery, cruet pieces or napkins and it was a pain having to appropriate them all the time. As for bars there are loads round the resort serving alcoholic and soft drinks, all were good though some waiters/bar-staff struggled with orders in English but generally the waiter service was excellent, even without being tipped every time.

RESTAURANTS
You can book up to 4 speciality restaurants in a week stay, be aware if you do organised excursions as like ours they may arrive late back at the hotel so you miss your reservation. We were disappointed with ours, we tried the Steak Grill and the Seafood ones. The steak grill was nice but felt rushed, we had 4 courses in under an hour – no sooner had you finished 1 course than another was in front of you so don’t expect a leisurely evening. The seafood was a disaster, they use the beach bar but almost the only lighting inside is a covered tea light on the table so we read the menu by Magilite and weren’t sure if we got the meal we ordered. For a 9pm reservation they began clearing up tables around us at 9.15 and a rude and noisy American party in the same part of the restaurant basically ruined our meal so it wasn’t a great night. Don’t forget if you book an early reservation you can always leave early and head for the buffet, if you book for 9pm you might miss the entertainment. Note that there are strict dress codes for these restaurants and tipping the waiter expected.

ENTERTAINMENT
Organised entertainment is laid on daytimes, and there is a free gym and spa. At nighttimes there are shows but the theatre was full packed even off-season and there wasn’t much of a waiter service for drinks. We only saw 1 show (Broadway musicals) which looked good but there’s not much else at night if you aren’t into that sort of thing. There is a lobby bar that also got busy but there is no games room as such. If you wander round at night time be aware the site isn’t that well lit.

TRIPS
We booked 2 full day trips online in the UK when it was booked through Kuoni who use Gray Line. If you do this check carefully whether it includes lunch or not as when we got here we had to pay for one we thought was included. We did the Chichen Itza trip with the Tulum/Xl Ha trip but note there is a lot more choice from the Kuoni rep in resort though the prices quoted there are in $US which makes a price comparison difficult. [a] Chichen Itza – note this starts from Cancun so arrived with us an hour late. Expect another 2 hours of pick-ups and travelling so you won’t get on site till lunchtime. They do stop for ‘restroom’ breaks but note the place we stopped at charged you for toilet paper. Their souvenir prices were expensive though there were items not seen elsewhere – note you will be inundated at Chichen Itza will hawkers of all kinds. Lunch was at the hotel near the entrance, you won’t enter through the main visitors centre. The tour/route march lasts 2 hours in the heat (or rain) so be prepared and covers quite a large area. The guide lets you wander off to do your own thing if you feel confident of being able to get back to the minibus. The site is spectacular providing you can avoid other tourists or hawkers, it might make more sense if you have seen a plan or a guidebook first and note if you like taking pictures be prepared to run to catch up with the group, the guide was a good laugh but don’t expect to learn too much. On the way back the tour diverts to a cenote for those willing to take a dip/swim which is a shame as we’d preferred more time at Chichen Itza itself. Expect yourself back from the trip 8-9 at night so don’t book a restaurant. [b] Tulum/Xl Ha – we knew from the previous trip to expect a delay and this one was another hour late one. This meant less time in Tulum which isn’t too far travelling but felt rushed with only 45 minutes. This site was seriously crowded with tourist buses so don’t expect any souvenir pictures without seeing lots of other people in shot too. This trip was also available as a ½ day excursion which we would have taken if we had waited till we got in resort. Xl Ha is an eco-park and scuba/dive park similar to Xcaret. There’s not a lot to do if you don’t want to swim/scuba etc. We paid for all-inclusive wrist-bands ($24US each) that cover most things, including meals, drinks and ice creams. If you don’t then note that these are seriously pricey and as the temperature was early to mid 30s on the day we were there it was too hot to do anything but sit on the beach. Our tip is to wait until you get in resort and then decide, note there are other tour companies and you might prefer to try theirs.

XCARET PARK
You get 1 free pass per person per visit, its exchanged for a ticket at the Xcaret shop by reception. The hotels own entrance is signposted from reception and takes about 10 minutes easy walk from the buffet. You can go in and come out again during the day, so we recommend going early to see the things you want before it gets too hot and crowded, coming back to the hotel for lunch (as the pass does not cover food and drink) and either going back or the beach for the afternoon. The evening show is excellent and not to be missed, it runs 7-9 so bear this in mind if you book a restaurant meal and go early to get a good seat – you can leave at 9 and still get the buffet. To see everything would take all day, and involves a lot of walking. They give you a map but it is seriously easy to get seriously lost (especially coming back out from the orchid house as we did) and some staff don’t speak much English. Our tip is plan what you want to see to avoid back-tracking too much and take plenty of water.

TIPS

1. Tipping – some Americans tipped for everything, others never tipped. Tipping didn’t seemingly bring you vastly better service and we found it impractical carrying lots of small denomination notes around with us all day for tipping every drink but there’s no provision for tipping the whole restaurant staff for example before you leave. The maid was excellent and was tipped accordingly, when you leave remember a tip for the porter who collects the luggage and the front lobby porter.

2. Better exchange rate at the hotel for £sterling than $US - hotel only exchanges travellers cheques for Mexican peso$ and not US ones. Think Mexican $peso for spending though some prices are quoted in £US as well – juggling 3 currencies can be confusing but note if you buy with $US you will get change in $Mexican.

3. Phone calls home – we were warned by the rep that using the room phone direct is seriously expensive. We were advised to try a ‘Toucan’ pre-paid phone card ($100 peso) but despite several attempts we could not get ours to work for any UK number so be warned. Mobiles might work in Mexico but not our Orange pay-as-you-go, even for texts.

4. Timeshare scam – previous reviews mention a ‘concierge’ who offers you a tour of the site as a bait for a timeshare promotion. Ours was slightly different, we had a phone call on the Tuesday from someone purporting to be from the tour company asking us to meet them in reception the following day at 4pm to discuss changes to our flight details home. Luckily we were seeing the rep the following day to pick up tour tickets and mentioned this but were told it’s a timeshare scam so beware of any unusual messages or phone calls.

5. Shops – hotel shops look great but are mostly expensive designer clothes and jewellery. The ‘tobacconist’ sells things like hats, clothes, snacks etc, but the prices seemed high. For ‘souvenirs’ such as pottery, cigars or tequila there are some at the airport duty-free and these seemed cheaper.

6. When you leave make sure you request luggage collection in good time as they can have several hundred arrive/leave at any one time. When you hand back your various keys and cards you will be given a booking-out confirmation and when your luggage is collected the porter will give you a slip with your room number and the number of pieces. When the mini-bus/taxi arrives make sure the porter gets both bits of paper.

My wife and I, along with 2 other couples (ages between 30-37yrs) flew in from Canada and vacationed at this property from Sept. 30th - Oct. 7th. This was a great trip from start to finish, except for one small incident, not the fault of the resort. This issue, I'll get to later in the review.

FLIGHT DOWN
No problem, flew down via Skyservice and it was on time, meal, not bad...no complaints! Once in Cancun, yes, get ready for the "time share" folks, they're everywhere but a simple "no gracias" is all it takes. We usually like to enjoy a frosty beverage or two while enroute to the hotel so we made a very short jaunt over to the bevi stand and purchased a few for the ride over. A little steep in our opinion (approx. $5USD for 1 cerveza), but hey we're tourist and they know that, so they try and cash in! We were surprised they didn't have beer on the bus, but certainly not a problem.

CHECK IN
No problem here...it was obvious the resort was only 1/3 full so there was no line up. Only one of our 3 rooms was ready at the time so we just stored our friends luggage in our room until theirs was ready, not a problem. Nice to have the much welcomed "welcome drink". I should add they also delivered our luggage to our building (#20) which was right near the swim up bar (NICE!)

ROOMS
Outstanding, clean, spacious, colourful etc. No complaints here. We had rooms on the first floor and experienced NO BUGS in the room the whole week. As a bonus, our balconies were right at pool level, so you could litterally swim over to your balconey if you wanted...very cool!

GROUNDS
Awesome...very lush, well maintained and HUGE! Yes, there is a shuttle service if were sick of walking but we didn't mind the walk...it was great excercise, especially after indulging in the excellent cuisine. Hats off to all the grounds keepers, who work tirelessly and often receive little credit for their efforts.

FOOD
Yes, often a very opinionated subject but the consensus among the 6 of us was that it was excellent. The buffet was always a treat with a wide variety of choice and very attentitive restaurant staff. We particulaly liked "Pacho's Taco's" by the main stage, upstairs, excellent grub! We also enjoyed 3 of 5 specialty restaurants, the Mexican, the Oriental and Steakhouse. All were great and a pleasant dining experience had by all!

POOLS
This resort was so big we actually never made it to all the pools. The ones we did hit were, the swim up and the one in front of our rooms. We did walk by the other ones, while enroute to going somewhere else and they looked great! Pools were always clean and there was definitely NO PROBLEM getting a lounger.

BEACH
Again, open to debate here but from our perspective, EXCELLENT...very cozy and intimate, a great place to read, not over populated and again no problem getting a lounger. Now, and it's been said before, if you prefer the long beach for long walks, then no, this may not be the beach for you. However, we had more then enough exercise, just walking throughout the resort, so it was fine with us. Water was always calm and there were always fish around, to watch and/or feed bread if you wanted. (little guys were harmless)

BARS
Plentiful, they were everywhere, so you never went thirsty. We are in they habit of bringing our own cooler mugs, which save you trips to the bar (they hold more then those standard plastic cups) and keep your drink cold. It never fails, every trip we take, people always ask "where did you get those?" If you can grab one, take one along, you'll never regret it! Lots of choice at the bars and they usually had many premium brands of liquour available.

GYM
Unbelievable...we actually made it for 3 workouts during our stay. Yes, we're on holidays, but for us it helps take the guilt away for all the consumption we indulged in the rest of the time! The facilities were very, very nice, one of the best, of the many resorts we've stayed at previously. Lots of equipment, clean, etc.

SHOWS
We thoroughly enjoyed them, again always open for debate depending what you like. We thought the dancers, house band and musicians were all excellent and very talented. They worked very hard and it was only a shame that the crowd reaction was often unapprecitative.

DISCO
Very nice set up inside and although we only went twice it started out busy. You see, for some unknown reason, the DJ liked to play music which did not correspond with what was happening on the dance floor. What happened was there was alot of mexican music played at the start, which was great, some would dance, but after, say, 20 minutes of this, the requests for actual dance music started flooding in. The result was 80's glamour rock or some other rock band from the late seventies. Hey, we all can appreciate great music from all genres but, it was obvious people were getting frustrated with the music selection and started leaving fast. Ironically enough after several trips to the booth, the guy finally plays "dance music" unfortunately the place had virtually cleared out by that time. The same situation happend BOTH times we attended. Perhaps a change in DJ's would be in order here!

DAY TRIPS
We attended 3 of them.
1) Xcaret Park, which is located right beside the resort...it was free for resort guests so this was a bonus (regular $80.00USD per person) if you were staying at another resort. The experience was awesome. I had read somewhere that "someone" had found it "boring". Don't know if they were at the same place, we were just mad that we only gave ourselves 5 hours to see it. There were many animals, exhibits, ruins, resting areas, you name it...too much to list. The bonus was the night show, which went from about 7pm to 9pm. Outstanding...the actors are true professionals and we really enjoyed ourselves.

2) Tulum Xtreme...amazing! It was a mixture of zip lining, repelling into a cave, snorkleing and visiting the Tulum ruins. A full day trip with lunch provided. (amazing lunch too!) The ride into the place was adventurous, while bouncing along on the "smooth" dirt roads...awesome! Just a word of advice, DO bring insect repellant, not so much for the zip lining, repelling, but for the actual RUINS portion at Tulum. The "little darlings" were VERY hungry. It was actually comical...this poor tour guide is giving us a briefing on the history and all you can see/hear are about 40 people slapping themselves silly at the pesky little buggers! I guess you had to be there to appreciate the visual!

3) Popped into PLaya Del Carmen (approx 15 minutes away by taxi) and it was cool as well. Lots and lots and lots of shopping to be had here. We didn't find the vendors to be as agressive as in other countries we've visted so it was a pleasant experience overall. This is where you'll find the ferry for Cozomel as well. The taxi ride is a standard $10.00 - $12.00USD.

STAFF
Were outstanding, always friendly, smiling and never hesitant to help or answer any of your questions. English was WIDELY spoken throughout this resort but do yourself a favour and practice your spanish...they appreciate it and eventually, so will you!

OVERVIEW
This trip was among the best we have taken. We're not travel guru's by any stretch, but have travelled quite a bit. Your trip is always as good as YOU want to make it. Understandably, some things happen which are beyond anyones control, but a POSITIVE attitude goes a long way. Having said that, the only issue we certainly did not enjoy was witnessing the "drunken tirade exhibited by a gentleman from Massechusettes. This person, along with his lucky new bride decided to drink themselves into oblivion and cause UNBELIEVABLE ruckus in front of the guests in building #20. In short, the man was convinced that the HOTEL had purposely locked him out of his room. The actual problem was he was too liqoured up to operate the door card properly, I know, a tough task! I know this because as he was continually kicking the crap out of his door, I offered to help (my mistake) only to have this classy gentleman now accuse ME of conspiring the whole event. Yes, this in turn warranted him into wanting to fist fight me.

Being the bigger man, I turned and walked away. Assaulting an extremely intoxicated man was not my idea of a vacation. I often deal with these type of individuals at work, so I didn't feel it necessary to continue having my efforts, to calm him down, fall on deaf ears. I simply turned and walked back to my room. Unhappy that his provocation for a fight was being ignored, the male decided to toss a few pieces of HOTEL furniture around after the fact. Our party of six, left for dinner and to my knowledge, they were kindly escorted off the property by the Mexican Police. (sucks to be you!)

Travelled to the grand xcaret August 12, 2006 - August 19, 2006. We are from Canada. Family of four aged 19 – 50.

Hotel: Overall this resort was amazing. No complaints whatsoever, except the size of the beach, yet it is still very nice. Service was great, the staff very friendly, and warm. Very clean rooms were always done on time as well as the hotel itself very well kept.

Pool: there were 5 huge pools; we stayed at the main pool most of the time where the fun club was as well as all the action. The other pool in front of our room (#17) was the relaxation pool, no music just little huts and lots of seating, as well as a Jacuzzi. These were the two main pools we stayed at. Very large, lots of seating no need to wake up early to grab a seat, there are plenty.

Bars: there were so many bars I think around 14, there was a waterfall bar in the main pool very close to, where you had to get your drink underneath the waterfall and drink it there which we all thought was very neat. As well as the next pool over there was a swing bar where you sat on swings literally while sipping on your margarita! So relaxing…every pool had its own unique bar. There was a lobby bar, theatre bar, snack bar, etc...

Food: the food was amazing, no complaints at all. We ate at 3 a la cartes the oriental, the Italian, and the Mexican. The buffet was just as good as the a la cartes if not better. We didn’t visit the seafood a la carte because on our last day the buffet had a seafood festival which was amazing for seafood lovers; they had mussels, jumbo shrimps, and crab!! No charge. It was very tasteful. The buffet had its own themes every night and each and everyone had its own variety. Their ice cream by the way was very yummy! The late night snack bars upstairs were very good as well, I liked the paco’s tacos which was open till 2am and the pizzeria they served things such as quesadilla’s, enchilada’s etc.

Disco: the disco was bumpin’ most of the nights, people from all over the world visited in there; therefore you see very different dance moves. All ages from 18 to 50. Anyone could be seen there. They played good modern music, along with some traditional Mexican music; the bar in there was good as well. The seating in there was nice, lots of privacy, a medium size dance floor. We went twice and enjoyed it both nights.

The Flight, lovely our 1st time with Air Canada Vacations

Arrival at the Airport and Coach ride to Resort — Super efficient hadn't been to Mexico in over 13 yrs, luggage was there as fast as we got to the carrousel. Ride to resort was about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, had to wait almost an hour before taking off from airport due to a big family arriving 20 minutes after evryone else on bus!

Arrival at the Hotel: Quick and efficient, only funny thing is that a hotel employee walked us to our room but never offered to take my luggage.

The Buffet Was awesome, great food, great variety, heck at times it was better than the A la carte ones!

The Alacarte Restaurants — Not better than buffet! Very disappointing, langouste was not included in the seafood restaurant (extra $25USD) considering that if you have langouste you are not eating something else that the extra would be reasonably priced. The Mexican was no better, nothing truly spicy on the menu, nothing authentic. After these two we gave up and stuck to the buffet.

The room — Very nice and clean with a lovely bathroom with HUGE shower with bench all tiles nicely. Minibar service A1.

The Beach — This is not why you go there. It's a small inlet that lets sea water come in. Not the great expanse of white sand and sea you expect. But, the chairs were plentiful on 3 levels and nice gazebo beds with drapes.

The Pool, We really are not ones to go to a resort and want a lot of games and noise around us which is what the main pool has to offer up. So we didn't stick around the Fun pool. We stayed by the adult pool (which is sea water) near the sea.

HI There
We have just come back from a wonderful holiday ,at the grand flamenco xcaret. We stayed there from the 16 may 2006--30may 2006 As a family we have stayed at at all inclusives in the dominican republic,and cuba, and can honestly say that the grand flamenco knocks all the rest flat.

when we arrived the scale of the lobby area just knocked us back....it was like a cathedral....and we were met with very friendly reception staff waiting for us with a lovely cooling cocktail. we were dealt with very quickly and shown to our rooms....which after traveling all the way from the uk was a godsend not to be left hanging around. we were put in block 18 near to the main pool area, which was perfectly positioned for us as it was central to all the amenites. the room was lovely it was a good size with a lovely walk in shower, tv ,internet ,mini bar stocked with beer soft drinks and water, which was replenished every second day. we really coulnt fault the room at all.

the grounds were so well tended and lush green ,it realy is an oasis. as it has been mentioned by other reveiwers they are very exspansive but let me tell you that everything is in walking distance ,and very accessible. after all the lovely food your gonna eat over the vacation,the walk will do you the world of good.

while im on the subject of food......there is so much choice to choose from the buffet is fantastic very wide variety to suit all tastes. many times i only whent in at lunch times to keep my wife company,saying im having nothing ....only to see a chef turning a lovely juicy sirloin steak... just had to have it mmmm you just wont be able to help yourselves

theres also all the other restuarants that you can book. we ate in the italian which was great. the mexican ,the oriental,senora grill(steak house)and not to forget our favourite pescador seafood restaurant. all were fantastic with excellent variety and first class service. hey people you certainy are not gonna go hungry at this resort,thats fo sure. well lets get on to drinks.....lobby bar was our favourite because the margaritas that they serve there are out of this world. you can have any cocktail that you want and all that we tried were excellent and of good quality. the beer they serve is carona which is a good refreshing drink.

the pool bar is a must to frequent as you have to swim up to it and go under a waterfall to get to it ,then just sit there waist high in water and relax and take in your wonderful surroundings

the main pool area is definately the place to be if you wanna have fun, the guys and girls who work there are so very friendly and make sure you enjoy yourselves , must say thanks to all the fun club crew alex,mariana,jaqueline,david,oscar,and miguel you guys rock

there are so many activities to do from vollyball, water polo,archery,rifle shooting,water arobics,cookery classes,spanish lessons,salsa lessons where do i stop the list gos on and on.

well the entertainment on the evening is just first class the resident dancers and singers are so so proffessional. they put various shows on through the week like the broadway show ,latin exsplosion,the 80s show various others and we could not fault any of them. just gotta say that chrissy the leader of the troup is so very talented as are all the others.

Date of Travel: April 29th – May 6th, 2006
Tour Company: Nolitours
Flight: Air Transat
Booked through: Selloffvacations.com

This was my 6th All-Inclusive vacation to the Caribbean, and so far it was the best(previously to: Barcelo Beach Resort – Punta Cana, DR/Barcelo Solymar – Varadero, Cuba/Bavaro Princess – Punta Cana, DR/Allegro Papagayo – Liberia, Costa Rica). The Mayan Riviera is a beautiful spot with lots to do, great weather and great resorts. Price paid for trip: $1430CDN taxes included. I travelled with my girlfriend and 2 other couples, all in our 20s.

Flights:
Our flights both ways were great(I guess I won’t complain about the movies). Both were on time(even early on the way home). This was the first time that I was offered “fast food” on a flights…we got breakfast sandwiches from Harvey’s on the way down and a Subway Roast Beef sub on the way home. The one complaint that I did have was that the luggage limits were less on the way home than they were on the way down, meaning if you are close to the limit departing, make sure not to buy anything down there, or else you will be paying through the nose on your return flight.

Transport to Hotel:
Cancun airport is a little confusing and busy, but there was only one way out, and all the tour operators were waiting right there. The bus ride to the hotel was about 50 minutes, and we were the first to be dropped off. My only complaint here was that a cold Corona would have been nice for the ride, but not a big deal, as you can have all the Corona you want, fresh from the tap as soon as you get to the resort

Check-In:
They certainly know how to start your week off right. As you check in, there is barely enough time to finish your welcome cocktail before you are checked in and somebody is showing you to your room, as well as all the other services the hotel has to offer along the way. We arrived at the resort before noon, so we weren’t expecting our rooms right away, but to our surprise, 1 of the 3 rooms were ready, so we had a place to change/store our luggage.

Resort Grounds:
Yes, this resort is big, but not to worry, as you will find everything you need at all corners of the resort.

Beach:
This is a small beach, but quite nice, with a bar about 25 feet from the water’s edge. The breakfast/lunch buffet(as well as Seafood Restaurant at night) all overlook the beach area. They have many beach chairs and even some private beds. The swimming is nice. If you walk down the beach to the left, you can access the Mayan Ruins that are on the hotel property.

Pools:
There are several pools on this resort, and they each are a little different. We were in the partying mood most of the week, so we stuck to the main pool, which is where they have another lunch buffet, 2 bars, including a swim-up bar with a waterfall(the only issue here is getting your drinks back out without getting pool water in them). They have activities going on all day(movie soundtrack trivia, volleyball, obstacle courses, water aerobics…etc.) They also have waitresses coming around all day to take your drink orders. Tip them at the start, or all day, and of course they will come find you more often.

Restaurants:
As I travel more, I find food to be more and more important, and this resort took the cake(pun intended). We had our 4 a la carte meals, which you can book for the week as soon as you get there. El Pescador – Seafood – This was our favourite a la carte, Mexican – good, but if you are in a mexican mood, Paco’s Tacos is the place to go. It is just outside the Mexican restaurant, you can sit down and order from a menu – awesome – beware of the green salsa, very spicy. Oriental – not bad at all, but don’t look for anything too exotic. Steak House – Very good, the only problem we had was that this dinner was booked for 9:30pm, and this is when the entertainment starts, so we were serenaded the whole time by the lovely kareoke singers(oh wait, sarcasm doesn’t work while typing, does it). The buffet is good for most meals(they even had veggies burgers, I’d never seen that elsewhere). If you take one thing away from this review, make sure it is to visit Paco’s Tacos…Plan to eat at least one dinner there…very good mexican food.

Shopping:
We went to Playa Del Carmen, and it was fun, but you will find that you can find most of the stuff from PDC on the resort or at the airport(and therefore doesn’t count towards your luggage limit). It’s a funky little town, and they have many bars right on the beach.

Excursions:
We did 4 excursions: Xcaret Park – Interesting little park, the underground river is a must. The night show is pretty amazing. I wouldn’t have paid for this tour if it wasn’t included with our resort. Xel-Ha –about $80USD This park was amazing. Take the all inclusive. Great snorkelling, the lazy river, good food, great booze. Captain Hook Pirate Ship Dinner Cruise $80USD– this was one of the highlights of the trip. They pick you up at the resort, and take you into Cancun. >From there, you get on an old Pirate Ship and they take you out into Cancun Bay. There is a comedy show for a good hour, which is hilarious. The whole time, they are feeding you whatever drinks you want. After that, you get a lobster and steak dinner right on the ship. It was great food. After dinner, they have everybody return to the main deck and they have the 2 ships meet up and the pirates have a battle. After the battle, they get everybody up dancing and more drinks. Let’s just say everybody in our group was a little tipsy for the ride back to the resort. Scuba Diving $120USD– We took the course right on the resort, and were bussed into Playa Del Carmen. They took us out on the boat and we got 2 full-tank dives. The coral was nothing spectacular compared to what I say in Cuba, but the wildlife was pretty amazing(the most fish I’ve ever seen, Giant Sea Turtle, Moray Eel, Big Spider-like things, a white sting-ray. The only thing here is remember to bring a bottle of water or juice with you, as between dives, you get a little thirsty, and they didn’t have anything to offer/sell.

Where do I begin. Let me start by saying that this is our second all inclusive trip. We went to the DR two years ago and loved it. We decided to try Mexico because we found a package out of Sudbury which eliminated the need to travel and overnight in Toronto. My husband and I stayed at the Grand Xcaret 28 Feb – 7 March 2006. We booked our A/C vacation online with Wholesale Travel. If you’ve ever seen cheap prices online and wondered if you’re actually getting a 5-star package, the answer in YES. We ended up paying much less than if we would have booked through a travel agent face-to-face. A/C flight was great out of Sudbury, ON. Lots of leg room compared to the cattle-cars the charter flights use, plus the plane was about half empty so we ended up with two seats each which was great for stretching out.

Here are some of our highlights and tips:

Timeshare: These people will get you at the airport and at the resorts. Firmly say ‘no thanks’ and be on your way.

Check-in: Smooth. I use a cane for walking and there are no elevators, except in the main bldg, so we had requested a ground floor room. Upon checking in we found out that we had been booked onto the third floor. The staff quickly recognized the error and was able to switch us to a ground floor room but not until the next morning which still worked out fine. We were escorted to our room by a lovely lady who explained to us all that the resort had to offer as we walked to bldg 18. The rooms look just like they do on the website and brochures, very clean and tidy. The safe is in the closet and it is programmable. Choose whatever combination you want. Next morning we were moved to a ground floor room and received upgraded pillows, fruit basket and four bottles of premium liquor for the error.

Resort Layout: The resort is spread out, but still very manageable on foot. There are little trolleys that will take you through the resort, but honestly, you’re on holidays, what’s the rush, walk. Besides, when you walk the resort you can see all the wildlife: deer, flamingos, iguana, mirandas, boars, etc.

Beach: The beach area is small, but it’s a good place to snorkel as there are many small fish that use that area. They will normally swim right up to you. Also plenty of chairs. Good snorkeling in this area.

Pools: The pools are massive and have plenty of chairs. Most mornings we didn’t even have to put out towels to save seats. Swim up bar is fantastic have a Miami Vice.

Food: The buffet and a la carte restaurants were excellent. We could always find something to eat. By far, the seafood restaurant was our favorite. Breakfast at the beach club is great.

Xcaret Park: The free day pass to Xcaret Park is great. There is so much to do there from swimming with dolphins to floating down the lazy river. It’s a whole day adventure where the wildlife roam free! The night shows are excellent.

Shopping: There are many shops right on-site. You don’t even need to leave the resort. If you do, Playa del Carmen is the place to go for great deals.

Money: Bring American money and travelers cheques. You’ll have no problems with either.

Phones: Your Bell/Sprint calling cards won’t work here. You need to purchase a Mexican calling card for $100 Pesos. This will give you approx 12 mins worth of calling time. These cards can be purchased in a vending machine located by the pay phones to the right of reception. You can make collect calls from your room; however, there is no way to determine what rates you’re paying.

We were at this resort from the 12th to the 26th of February 2006

We loved the resort, the food was great as was the wine and drinks. Found the staff always pleasant and helpful. Being able to book the al a carte resteraunts for a week at a time was certainly a plus. The rooms were very clean and well appointed.

One pool was closed the whole time we were there in fact they had just completed the re-tiling and were filling it up the day we departed. This made the other pool and small man made beach quite crowded at times, this should be much better now that all the pools are open.

This is a family resort and we found there were just too many children, some parents just seem to arrive and turn their little darlings loose, also (not the fault of the resort) doors slamming and loud noises in the hallways all hours of the day and night.

As mentioned in a previous review - Cancun Airport is a disaster on the weekends with numerous aircraft landing and the place filled to capacity. When you finally get your luggage and clear customs you are desended upon by people selling time shares and all manner of things. The departure was also terrible as from the time you got to the airport untill you were checked three times by security and all your luggage opened twice you were starting to wonder if this was worth it.

Just returned from staying at the Grand Xcaret for five days on the Mayan Fun and Sun Surprise booked thru FunJet.

It is a bit worrisome flying into the Cancun airport and not really knowing where you were going to stay, but we were delighted with the resort. The look on peoples faces when we told them was priceless.

Running the gauntlet @ CUN airport was no problem, this was our third trip to Riviera Maya so we are used to the hassles from the locals. We paid an extra $26 for a direct FunJet van ride to the hotel so it only took 45 min and it was direct to the lobby, no stopping at other hotels and it was worth every penny.

After an exciting ride down the highway, we arrived at the resort to find that it is 99% repaired from hurricane damage. Only painting and staining were going on with very little wind damage to the gardens visible, unlike the rest of the area with is still littered with debris and rebuilding (especially around Playa Del Carmen).

We arrived early, about 1000, so we knew our room wouldn’t be ready, but we packed our pool gear in our carry on luggage, and after meeting with our rep we went right to the pool for a few hours.

Note: Our FunJet rep warned us about the new crime issue in Playa Del Carmen, there are many people with no employment due to the hurricane so we were told not to venture too far off the main drag in town (5th Ave.) to avoid tempting the local thugs.

The room was ready around 3 pm and our luggage was in the room when we finally went to get cleaned up. The rooms are nice we were in building 15 which is on the smaller more quiet pool. No thumping music or harassment by the entertainment staff, and the bar there is staffed by Jose. He’s got a pretty quick wit so watch out! But he does make your drinks with good mixes and consistency, this bar tended to be less overcrowded than the beach bar and the main pool bar.

The beach is non-existent but for a cool man made lagoon, and there is an adults only area there with lounges and hammocks.

The service was awesome. Always someone asking what you needed, and it didn’t take a Mexican minute to get everything, drinks were still frozen and cervesas mas freia. The food was average for an all in