Mayan Palace

I will upload pictures later but there is so much wrong with this place! For almost 600 a night you’d think you’d be happy with ur 1 bedroom sweet. Nope!

Over crowded and over sold. The grounds are well maintained and beautiful. The beach is all coral and very difficult to get into water. All meals are pay as you go in restaurants or you can buy food to cook in room. The rooms are clean and spacious with long walks to everything

Beautiful resort grounds, but very spread out. Approximately 1 Mile from room to pool or beach. Many pools on grounds but can only access two of them. Many restaurants but never able to eat at them because reservations only and never any available. Everything closes early. Zero nightlife. The worst part is they don’t tell you until you check in that they will pick you up from airport for free, which cost me $ 120 for two people. And of course they don’t reimburse you. Next time would do an all inclusive or just go to Tulum.

Very beautiful… perfect if you love resort vacations. Food has been amazing. Have stayed in both Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace. It’s grown from large to massive in 8 years. Lush. Exquisite surroundings. A!

The resort is big… maybe a little too big. Walking to the pool from out room was out of the question. We had to wait for the golf carts to come by and pick us up. This was a very minor inconvenience. The majority of the staff speaks English which made it easy for us to communicate with everyone.
The rooms are clean and well maintained. The bed is very firm which kinda sucked. The pool is one of the biggest ones in the world, and is open all night. They have two swim up bars, one of which is open until 11 pm. During happy hour drinks are two for one. For the entire week we were out there we spent about $ 20 a day on food and drinks which was an absolute steal.
We ate at 3 restaurants, ordered room service twice, and ate at the swim up bar on a couple of occasions. I have nothing bad to say about the food there.
We attended the Cirque show which was extremely disappointing. Cheapest ticket was around $ 75 and the show lasted a little over 1 hour. Definitely not worth the money because it doesn’t live up to the Cirque name.
A taxi ride to Playa del Carmen will cost you $ 350 pessos (around $ 21 USD). The shuttle which runs every few hours will cost you $ 80 pessos ($ 6 USD) per person.
The timeshare sales staff is like any other one out there. Our presentation which included breakfast lasted around 3 hours. When I asked them to speed it up, they reminded me that I agreed to attend in exchange for free gifts. Those free gifts included 2 breakfast buffets, 2 tickets to the Cirque show, 2 tickets to Xel-​Ha, and 2 tickets to Tulum. We also got them to discount the Xel-​Ha tickets for our friends.
They started their sales pitch at $ 68,000!!! They brought it down several times and even offered to buy our other time share. After they got the point that we were not going to buy, we were sent to survey director to pick up the tickets. The survey director tried one more time to sell us on their cheapest package. After telling her no, she sent us to the tour director who was going to tell us about the free stuff we were getting. He proceeded to try to sell us again. After telling him no, he tried to get us to attend another meeting for more free stuff. After telling him no, we were finally free to go.
The time share presentation and the Cirque show bring down the overall rating.

Vidanta Has been amazing to me! I don’t have much to complain about because everyone was friendly and helpful. The resort is amazing down to the jungle like ambience. It was almost like a jungle oasis. I came with a group of 25. Although we did not all stay in the same building, we were mostly in building 8. I stayed in a suite with kitchen and living room. And I had my cousins in the room next door in which we would leave the connecting door open. They were also nice enough to open up the outdoor area so that it could be connected as well. That was such a plus for us because it was like having one HUGE suite with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. The rooms were extremely clean everyday. We even had a private sitting pool on the patio. The kitchens came fully equipped with everything you needed.
The facilities were all amazing. There are 3 pools I believe but they are HUGE and rap around the resort. Everything is picturesque. They have a surplus of cabanas that you have to reserve. The beach was nice too… Except there is a seaweed issue on the coast and is a tad overbearing. You get a free drink when checking in which is a plus. The drinks are strong and amazing.
The staff was very friendly MINUS one lady who stands at the staff desk at the front desk before checking in (I think her name was Pearla or something like that). She was very rude and refused to help us with our grocery bags to the room which are very far away. The resort only supports certain grocery stores and if taken elsewhere then they will refuse to help you with your groceries back to your room. This is the reason why they only got 4 stars instead of 5 as this situation was very frustrating.
Most of the staff speaks English decent but they take better to native Spanish speakers and locals. I was lucky enough to have both and got a few perks. The resort again is HUGE and everything requires a resort tram to get from point A to B. You could walk too but it may take a little longer.
The restaurants are all A1 lol. My favorite was the Asian cuisine, but I can’t remember the name. It is right above the gift shop. The sushi was to die for and the potstickers were perfect.
This is a great resort that you never have to leave. I stayed for 7 days and could not have asked for a better place. If you are looking for a party hotel… THIS IS NOT IT. You may want to look into hotels in the hotel zone of Cancun as this resort is about 45 minutes from downtown Cancun and the hotel zone.
I would recommend this place 10 times over, but only if they fire Pearla who was very rude and insisted we not be helped by the rest of the staff.

I am an RCI time share owner and exchanged for this week with my daughter. Upon arrival there were several comments about me not «traveling with my husband». I think they knew — «no husband, no sale». Regardless we got shuffled over to the guy who was supposed to «explain the resort to us» and offered us discounts and coupons.
He was very nice and insisted it wasn’t a breakfast for a time share sale because they are not a time share… they have «no maintenance fees»…which I never got a clear explanation how they can survive without maintenance fees. That said, I eased my way out of the breakfast.
The beach is pretty but the seaweed is a problem. It’s up and down the Quintana Roo coast however so other resorts have a similar problem. The guys are down there everyday trying to clean it up.
They gym is awesome. The pools are pretty but the pool water is practically 90 degrees so not refreshing. The food options are OK — they need a good burger joint. Balche during the day is good but turns into Fridas at night and the menu is similar to Green Break. We ate at Tramanto’s one night which was worth it.
Our room was great. They gave us a grand suite with the living room and kitchen plus a plunge pool on the balcony. Very happy about that. However only 5 out of 40 channels are in English. I ended up watching a lot of Fox and CNN.
You need the shuttle service to get around. So be prepared to wait a few minutes. We walked a lot but sometimes you need the shuttle either because you’re tired and don’t feel like a long walk or a time crunch.
The best part about the vacation was going off resort. Since it was only my daughter and I we used Gray Line Tours for Chichen Itza and Ik-​Kil Cenote and Tulum and Xel-​Ha. The next day we used Playa Scuba for diving Playa Del Carmen and then Dos Ojos Cenote the next day. It would be easy to rent a car next time. Amazing, memorable excursions!

We returned yesterday from our week at the Grand Mayan Resort in between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. It is really interesting to see the wide variety of good and bad reviews. Here is mine.
This was one of the largest resorts we have stayed at. Also, I feel it was one of the finest. The pools, there are several, are very nice. But, I would have enjoyed them more if they were a little deeper and have cooler water. We were able to find places to sit everyday.
The food may have been slightly expensive, but what do you expect when you eat out daily. Many options including some deli sandwiches. The coffee was expensive, which caused me to reduce my caffeine usage.
The room was large and our adult daughters enjoy the extra bedroom with their own entrance. It would have been nice to have an oven, but the stove top, refrigerator and microwave were adequate.
The beach area was not great. The seaweed was excessive and smelled bad in certain areas. You needed to walk through it to get to the rocky ocean. The beach itself was nice, except for the odor.
The timeshare sales staff is relentless in trying to get you to a presentation. I said no several times and walked away. They called our suite for a day or two still trying to get us to go to the presentation. Since we already own a timeshare in Hawaii, they were trying to present another option. We did not do it.
If you rent a car, which we did, watch your speed. We did get stopped for «speeding». 4 kph over the limit, equivalent to 2.5 mph. I do recommend renting a car at the resort for a day or two, to allow you to travel to Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and Cancun You may save some money.
Overall, it was a great experience.

1. LIES:
Upon our arrival we were greeted by this extremely friendly woman by the name of Jessica. She went into extensive details of all the benefits of staying at the Mayan Palace, and proceeds to ask us about how we were «heard» about the hotel. My husband (100% disabled Veteran) explains that we went through a Government rewards program; and just as excited as she could be, she tells us of an additional 10% that we will receive because of his affiliation with the military. At the desk asking for pillows (I’ll explain later) we overheard this same discount being given to a non-​military guest. Tuth be told… This «discount «applies to EVERYONE. Please do not think that you are any sort of special because you’re not.
2. TIMESHARE/​INCENTIVES:
Do not let ANY ONE tell you that the «tour» of the property (or the presentation) is 60 minutes. That is a bold face lie. You will spend at least 2hours with a representative COMPLETELY different from who you initially met. After a seemingly great conversation (they want you to buy… why wouldn’t they act interested) they will take you on the tour of the tour property… if you decline… the sales reps attitude (along with your service during your stay) drastically shifts. You won’t receive your incentives until you have sat through the ENTIRE process. *Overall it took us 5 hours* oh and btw. they will push the sale to the bitter end. Even though we declined 4 times with OUR sales rep. We spoke to
2 other people and had to tell each of them «No» mulriple times.
SANITATION :
Our pillows reeked of vomit and mildew. We ran into another couple who said the same thing. We have switched out our pillows 3TIMES, and they STILL stink. Of coarse, the weather isn’t the resorts fault… but it has rained for the last 2days… water is everywhere even dripping into the food at the buffet. I don’t know about you but I don’t like dirty water dripping into ANY of my food.
FOOD/​PRICES:
The Green break was our first restaurant experience. I ordered chicken wings (they were burnt) and my husband had nachos (those were also burnt… and I’m not sure how that happened) birds were eating off of people’s plates and again. Water was EVERYWHERE.
Room service food is nasty-​period– BUT the burger and kids chicken nuggets are thee BEST things on the menu :)
MONEY:
IF YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF HOW CURRENCY WORKS HERE… LEARN. Folks won’t hesitate to cheat you out of your money and not even blink while doing it. I suggest you bring both U.S. and Peso’s. It’ll save you so much headache.
Beautiful scenery, excursion to Tulum SUCKED… but the others were awesome! Just make sure you read fine print and bring PLENTY OF money, being that they charge you for everything!!!
Oh I suggest going to Nectar it’s a great spot that is in an even BETTER location.
Beware of trickery… but have fun :)

READ THE FINE PRINT!!! Charge for hot water, soap in room, electricity, water, and will nickel & dime you to death!
Nice place but on 2^nd day here had my money (Aprox $ 450) stolen from my luggage while on tour that I purchased there @ resort???
When I called security they tried to intimidate me not to make a report by searching me & my luggage and stripping room. Never got any follow up and she I was checking out had to speak to security for room service I paid cash for and was told that they did all that was possible.
Beware of the timeshare scam! Very Pushy!

I’m still half way through my week here and I have to say I’m loving every moment! Staff on sight are affable and very accommodating. Sure I get offered to buy certain things but it’s no bother or shocker lol it’s Mexico! Our suite has two full size rooms, one with full bathroom and another full bathroom on side and small sink area on, t. Full kitchen minus the oven. Market near by so you can pick up groceries! we negotiated car rental prices before hand so got a great deal for a car so we wouldn’t have to rely on shuttles or taxis, God knows how much time an money could be wasted on those! Like I said ATM no complaints :).

This place is so beautiful. The food was great and the pool is so BIG! Participated in bachata dance classes which were super fun and a good chance to socialize with other guests.
The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Communication was easy since we also speak Spanish but I believe the majority of the staff also speaks English.
The only thing that could be better is the beach, not the greatest since it is filled with rocks and seaweed so you can’t really swim in it. If you plan on going to the beach, Playa del Carmen is waaaay better. Also the buffet and the restaurants there are very expensive like ridiculously. Your best bet is to eat out. There are plenty of places to eat outside the hotel especially in Playa that are delicious and affordable.

As far as timeshare spots go, this is the nicest I have seen. Great facility. I do not own a time share. I am a guest. To this point, I would not buy a time share. They are crap investments because you get no equity and are burdened w annual fees. Some entrepreneur should do for timeshares what Karmax did for used car sales — remove the GlenGarry Glen Ross over-​salesy sleaze element from the process.

I’ve been here for 3 days now and I’m not a fan. There are 5 hotels on this property. This means… You either walk long distances or have to wait for different golf carts that are on different routes to get you places. The room is avg. hot water is scarce. Water pressure is bad. Bed has only sheets no comforter. Cable with HBO has not worked for many hours. There is wireless, but it’s slow and u have to pay to get high speed. Get ready to be nickel and dimed… Water in the room is for sale 21 pesos. Only 4 restaurants. Had dinner at one. The live show was below average. Food at pool and at restaurant was average. Pizza is safe bet for room service.

My husband and I had an opportunity to stay here through Home Exchange, a website that allows couples to exchange houses. That being said, we were not subject to the grueling time share presentation that I read about in other reviews. Thank goodness.
The Pros:
1. Beautiful wooden walkways throughout the resort, with flora and fauna present. We saw flamingos, liizards, feral kittens (I hope that someone adopts them), and a red rodent of some kind.
2. The restaurants featured outstanding cuisine. My favorite was the sushi at Gong. Most of the wait staff was pleasant and attentive. I also enjoyed the quality of the wines compared to my visit to Cozumel some years ago.
3. The pool and beach area were pretty. Plenty of places to sit and several shaded spots. The beach itself had a nice, long stretch of seaside for walking.
4. Our room was big, complete with a little kitchen area and a sitting room. The glass doors opened in the sitting room and bedroom for fresh air and views of the property.
5. The drinks were delicious! Our favorites were the Bloody Marys and the Blue Hawaiian. Happy hour was offered a couple times a day with BOGO specials.
The Cons:
1. The customer service of the staff varied from extremely gracious to downright rude.
2. I am glad that my husband kept all receipts because we were overcharged neatly $ 300.00 upon checkout.
3. Although maid service was adequate, every day they would ask if we needed more shampoo or lotion. The bottles of these toiletries were huge, and there is no way we could finish one daily unless we had some kind of fun fight with them. All we wanted was water. One bottle was brought to us, but after that, we were told that we had to get our own.
4. Communication was poor. It would have been nice to have had a schedule of daily activities and of restaurant hours and menus. Plus, we discovered that there were restaurants and pools that we could not enjoy because we were not guests of the right hotel. One place was a burger bar. Come on! When did burgers get to be high falutin’? There also seemed to be more choices for dinner than for lunch. Luckily, we were able to save some leftovers for breakfast and lunch. And, we were able to buy some food at the Walmart in town.
It is a good place, and I think with some tweaks, Mayan Palace could be stellar.

This is a review for the Lago restaurant only.
I did not get a chance to enjoy the rest of the property, but if I could eat every day all day my breakfast buffet for the rest of my life, it would be here.
Came here for breakfast, as the senior staff o our company was staying at the property with their family members. Big meal before the corporate excursions, which meant breakfast/​brunch buffet.
And in my life I have not had a better buffet experience than the meals served here.
Three types of honey, including honey made from coffee plants (you can taste it).
Freshly served EVERYTHING. Remarkably fresh juices. The pear juice was the most refreshing drink I enjoyed. Woke my right up from a long night of partying.
Even the milk tasted like milk from the farm country in the States, not the local stuff.
Healthy servings of everything, and the international dishes tasted amazing and authentic, too. Cuban pork sandwiches, true Italian pasta, sushi that tastes like someone who enjoys Japanese food cooks it… remarkable, all at one resort. And the view and weather made it all feel like a daydream in paradise.
You have to be a guest staying at the Palace, or one of their guests to come in, but it is well worth the effort. A true diamond in the rough.

If I could give them 0 stars or negative stars I would. 1 star is too much.
We accepted the invitation to view the property based on 2 things:
*Presentation would not be more than an hour
*We would get a rebate coupon to put towards our car rental
We were there for 3+ hours and when we turned down the timeshare offer, the rep was NASTY and Mean. She got into a yelling match with my bf and threatened to leave us stranded there (they usually call a cab to take guests back to their hotels) Luckily, we had our rental car! Of course, we didn’t get our coupon either.
Ugh. What a waste of time!
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I liked the resort. The staff is amazingly friendly. But I think a few things needed more attention (understaffed). My laundry came late… Asking for a shuttle was hard because it was always booked (that just means you need another shuttle bus). I seen there wasn’t much staff by the pool either.
If you own timeshares. Also you’ll hate they’re sales guys trying to switch you over. It’s like I’m not interested means «hopefully I can change your mind» it gave a bad vibe. Like I wouldn’t want to use the timeshare here again.

Pasar un fin de semana divertido fuera del estrés de la ciudad, el trabajo, el vecino molesto y lo que quieras… El mayan palace es un lugar ideal.
Es como una pequeña gran ciudad. Para llegar de tu habitación al área de la playa y alberca tienes que tomar unos carritos que pasan como si fueran colectivos y donde te quieras bajar solo tienes que avisar.
La alberca esta enorme, y esta por profundidad entonces a los que nos gusta estar en el agua sin tocar el fondo nos cae como anillo al dedo. Y para los niños también tienen chapoteadero.
Nosotros fuimos en época decembrina y tenían un plan de actividades increíble, ni siquiera sabíamos a que evento ir. Mis papas me dejaron invitar a una amiga y asistimos a una posada que estuvo súper padre en el área de la playa.
Lo único que no me gusta es que si yo fuera turista y viniera a la Riviera maya, el hotel esta tan completa que prácticamente no tienes necesidad de salir. Así es que si te atontas te puedes convertir en prisionero de este pequeño paraíso.

Came here for a week with family. One of our family members has a time share here which is what they will try to sell you. We did not listen to the presentation but from the other reviews they offer you a few perks for listening. Depends if it’s worth it for you or not. We had a one bedroom room. The size was very nice, 2 couches that fold out into beds so plenty of sleeping room for up to 6, small kitchen, one full bath with an extra vanity outside the bathroom and a small balcony. You will either need to buy groceries or eat out every night, it is not an all inclusive place. The pools were nice and there was plenty of them with swim up bars. It was quite a walk to get there since our room was on the other side of the resort but that meant is was less noisy around our room. The beaches were beautiful but rocky inside the water for swimming, watch when your kicking your legs! It is a no cash resort so we had one credit card that you charge everything to your room, not ideal when there are numerous people but if you have exact change you can talk them into letting you pay. They did have construction going on all over and there is 5 other resorts within the place so easy to get lost since it’s so big. They had things planned every night for events but for some reason weren’t always organized, we weren’t able to find a couple of them. Based my experience and the environment I would come here again! I had a great time!

Pasé un fin de semana en las vacaciones de semana santa, con una familia que tiene tiempo compartido en el hotel; así que pude disfrutar de varias de sus intalaciones.
La habitación estaba muy amplio. Con los muebles de primera calidad y con un estilo moderno. Lo mejor de la habitación era la pequeña alberca privada que tiene en la terraza del cuarto; tiene vista a un espacio inmenso lleno de vegetación, así que es una excelente lugar para relajarte y distraerte de tus actividades cotidianas.
Es bastante grande el hotel, y todas las instalaciones me gustan. Tienen un diseño muy particular. Te querrás tomar fotos con todo, en las bancas, en las diferentes albercas, en los camastros que no son nada comunes…
En la playa encontrarás muchas formas para divertirte; pues ponen juegos sobre ella como el ajedrez gigante y un tablero con hoyos donde tienes que aventar costalitos llenos de arena y atinarle a los hoyos.

Este hotel es otro de mis preferidos de la Riviera Maya, este tiene peculiaridades que lo hacen muy divertido e ideal para pasar un fin de semana entretenido y consentido.
No es un «todo incluido» como tantos hoteles… Característica que lo define un tanto más exclusivo; no solo por el precios, si no por todo lo demás que el hotel te ofrece. Tiene más de dos restaurantes de especialidades; todos son lugares adecuados a la especialidad de la casa, decorados exquisitamente y sus platillos son muy elaborados.
Tiene varias albercas, ¡la principal es gigante!, ideal para que los niños jueguen. La alberca que esta frente al lobby, es una más tranquila y con camastros alrededor y la alberca especial, que se encuentra frente a un manglar que le da una vista muy acogedora.
Estoy segura que se convertirá en uno de tus consentidos cuando lo visites,

Okay, despite what the other two reviewers experienced, I enjoyed my stay here.
Nothing to do with the fact I got engaged on their beach… =)
Okay, so here’s the deal with the time-​share presentation. To my knowledge, most resorts in beach towns will have one to offer. That you cannot escape. Vida Vacations (Vindata???) is what is on the Mayan Palace property. They, like all the others you will encounter, will offer you a free breakfast and a free excursion. The deposit is a mere 100 pesos, so just TAKE the damn presentation. Now I have sat in on my share of these things. Yes, it’s long and yes, they are pushy. But shit son, I got a really nice Mexican breakfast buffet and Tulum outta my three hours. Whatever.
Anyways, now that is out of the way let me talk about the property.
It’s HUGE!!! I mean… HUGE!!! Know what else is huge? THE POOL!!! Yes, they boast about the pool size and damn right they should. There was always a free chair, and we never had trouble securing a palapa. They have poolside service and two swim-​up bars. The lower bar is open until 10, so take advantage of that. And it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ so if you are insane or an insomniac and want a 3am dive, go for it!
The resort is cashless, so everything is charged to your room. Make sure you keep track because I’m sure that could add up like crazy towards the end. They have happy hour at various places and at Havana Moon they have a late night one that starts at 1030. Happy Hour is basically a double drink priced for one or 2 – 1 beers. Take advantage of that if you can since it’s a great deal considering.
They on side mini mart isn’t a huge mark-​up either. The beer mark-​up was the main ridiculous one as well as any American products. Everything else isn’t horrible considering you are on a resort and not the local grocery store.
We didn’t actually enjoy as many of the restaurants as liked. We had the free brunch at Del Lago which was great. They had Mexican hot chocolate served in traditional mugs, a quesadilla station (omg that was fun) with housemade tortillas, an omlette station (naturally), a waffle and churro station, a carving station, plenty of stations basically. I didn’t get a chance to enjoy everything since I was distracted by all the Mexican offerings (tamales, beans, carnitas) to grab any of the «American breakfast» offerings, but it all looked good. Try to remember to hit up the donut tree before you leave!
Havana Moon had live music all nights except Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, they offer a service there as well. Assume that it’s a Catholic Mass, we are in Mexico, that shouldn’t surprise you. Havana Moon is right on the beach, so go there at night and just enjoy the sounds of the waves.
Now the rooms. Ours was in the main building that housed the lobby. So to me that was prefect since it was right next to the property shuttle (a golf cart) as well as the shuttles to and from Playa del Carmen (all day) and the ones to Cancun (Tuesday and Thursday only). It was (I want to say) a master suite. Came with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette and a living room as well as two balconies. It was always cleaned so that was really nice. If anything needed fixing, they were more than willing to send someone to help.
Now the shuttles. They one to Playa del Carmen ran various hours while the Cancun one had only one drop off and pick up time. Take the shuttle to Playa del Carmen and head over to MegaMart or Walmart to stock up on groceries for the week (use that kitchenette!). Tip, bring along with you a rolling cart since the waters, beer and booze you’ll undoubtedly buy will be heavy after awhile. The property shuttle took you to various locations, but we mainly used the one for the pool even though the walk wasn’t that bad (it ends at 11pm)
The beach wasn’t really all that great if you compare to Playa del Carmen or Cancun. It’s rocky and reefy. But I like that kind of beach to just walk on, so it didn’t bother me. Check out the tide pools, we found hermit crabs! They have flags letting you know swimming (or lack of) conditions. They also have a dive shop on property.
Overall, I really enjoyed my stay. I’d come back for sure!