If you want to go to a resort that feels like a town in and of itself and is complete and totally separated from the country, culture and character of the surrounding area... this is the place for you. 99% of the guests were white Americans, most spoke zero Spanish and all that we talked to were adamant that leaving the resort would surely end in death by cartel. Come. On. Thankfully we had a few great days outside the resort exploring the ruins and cenotes and Mayan villages, and ziplining, canoeing and engaging with - uh, you know, MEXICO. But the resort, while lively, may as well have been in Missouri. No thanks. Once and done. read more

Love this place..Been twice and definitely will be back again! Enormous pool with friendly staff and fast service. Great beach area with plenty of seating and tons of decent food options for when you're not eating in Playa del Carmen or Puerto Morelos. El Manglar is a fun little course filled with sand bunkers and wildlife..designed by Nicklaus I believe. My family has been coming here for a while and it's always a great trip! read more

The only good thing is the design. Staff was unprofessional and indifferent to non-Spanish speaking guests. Melissa, the front desk rep who checked me in, booked a second suite under my name and credit card without my knowledge and gave someone else access to it. The hotel staff tried to make me feel like I was the problem and were very rude during the resolution. They refused to give me a copy of the report I filed. I never had a working key to my master room, we had to use the door for the secondary side of the suite. I checked the other suite booked under my name to see if my key worked for it. It didn't. So who didn't Melissa give the second suite to? They argued housekeeping confirmed the room was used during my first night and security footage confirmed my usage. When I asked to see the footage they refused and said no manager was on site. I advised I would be calling the police. Immediately Marco, who identified himself as a front desk manager became available, but said now there was no security footage. Disturbingly, once I filed a separate corporate complaint I was told no one stayed in the room. What a change in narrative. They demanded a high incidental hold on my credit card but offered other guests the option of how much they wanted held on their credit OR debit card. While my hold was $300 I overheard another guest who only had a $150 hold. I overheard this conversation days after I checked in while I was at the desk disputing my bill. They also increased the hold without my knowledge when our charges exceeded the hold amount, when anywhere else I've been would have simply charged us the remaining balance at checkout. The increase was far more than our bill at the time of increase. I was very disappointed in the poor character, lack of integrity, and unprofessionalism of Vidanta's Mayan Palace management and front desk staff. The maintenance and service workers were better in decorum than they were. It was a disgusting experience to have on vacation and they were a poor representation of what I have experienced prior in other parts of the beautiful country. read more

This resort was absolutely great. The staff is incredibly friendly. ITS A HUGE PROPERTY! They have pools all over the place. If you enjoy nature, plants, low key easy going...this is the place. If your looking for cheap food and cheap prices and get S faced on drinks....Baja California has plenty of places for you. There are different sections to the resort, from basic rooms, rooms with living room and kitchen to 5 start high end trendy. Certain portions of the resort are for guests who have chosen the higher end suites. There is a 24 hour pool the size of a football field. The experience is what you make of it...if you act like a rude idiot...then you get that in return. You have families to singles to couples visiting here. It's a great place to chill and use Central place to visit other parts of Cancun. You can park your rental vehicle for about 10 bucks a day. There is golf cart type train that takes you through out the property. THE RESTAURANTS AT THIS RESORT ARE THE BEST AND COMPETE WITH ANY CANCUN HIGH END RESORT....I'm talking about the sit down nice restaurants so dress appropriate...this is not McDonald's type restaurant. They also have a full super market, coffee, bakery, clothing store at the resort....very affordable. It's true the beach is not the best but you can snorkel, bring your wet shoes and gear...or rent it.Check out the photos. read more

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Would anyone with a brain sign a 10 year contract for $68,000 IMMEDIATELY after a presentation without doing any research? Yet that's what the folks at the Mayan Palace expect you to do. It's not a hotel as they claim, not a "Private Residency." It's a time-share scam right out of the 1980's, except with more deception. If you are lucky enough to get a reasonable salesperson, be prepared for the "closer" who in our case was a 30-something year old with bleached blond hair wearing a too tight a black dress and enough make up for three people. After being berated for not being intelligent enough to not accept a "wonderful" deal,I was accused of coming only to get the promotional fee. It didn't make a difference to her that I was told this was promotion for a new resort--a way of getting upscale vacationers to book the next time with them. When I said that since I was a travel writer, it would be prudent to be less rude, she threatened to call security and have me thrown off the property! A scam? I'll yield to other reviewers on that assessment. But if buying a used car or being held hostage on your vacation isn't something you look forward to, I would stay away from these folks and any property they own. read more

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! read more

This was our first trip to Rivera Maya. We read so many reviews from many different websites and I am here to share our great experience! We stayed at Vidanta Mayan Palace. First, transportation.. transportation from the airport to Vidanta is included. When we arrived in Cancun we were greeted by so many welcoming people helping us to find our correct transportation area and they bought us straight to the mayan palace lobby. The rooms.. they could be updated but they were nicer then I expected. Mayan Palace is the lowest luxury of the hotels on the resort but still not bad. Request to stay on the third floor if possible. House keeping was great, everything was cleaned when we were gone during the day and they came in the evening to make the sofa beds for us. We stayed in building 17 so it is further away then the lower numbered buildings. You can catch the shuttle anywhere but you can also walk and everything is connected and closer then you think. The pool.. They are huge and they are very nice. They have the main pool which is where most people go but they also have the grand mayan pool. The beach club pool/area is exclusive to Grand Luxxe and Grand Bliss guests. They give you towel cards to get towels by the pool and when you turn the towels in they give the cards back. They have a flamingo exhibit, crocodile exhibit, and they also have Iguanas and Cautis (in the raccoon family) around the property. The beach.. While we were there the beach wasn't the best. It varies by season and just depends on the year they are having. You can still relax on the beach and they have cabanas but we did not go in the water. The food.. the food on the resort is great. They have restaurants located by the main pool and also the Salum. The Salum was our favorite place. It is a nice hangout spot to go to at night and grab a drink and something to eat. They also have entertainment, ice cream, churros, and souvenirs. We went to Walmart on our second day to buy groceries to avoid spending a lot of money eating out. I would recommend doing this only if the Jade Boutique (grocery store on the resort) doesn't have what you need. The taxi to Walmart is about $48 round trip so even if the resort store is a little more pricey it is worth it by not having to take a taxi. Havana moon, blue fish, and blache snack bar was our favorites. The hamburger, chicken sandwich, quesadilla, nachos and pizza were very good. Excursions.. I recommend doing Xplor Park if you have never done it. We have done that one before so we did Cenotes at Tankuh this time. It was 4 different Cenotes where they have 4 different ziplines, one biplane where you jump into the water, and the other Cenotes were canoeing, swimming with fish, and snorkeling. They provide you with free transportation, a traditional Mexican lunch, and a tequila tasting at the end. Although we were never bombarded with anyone trying to pressure us into buying a timeshare, we voluntarily signed up to receive a discount on our excursion. They assign you an employee that takes you to Havana Moon for a free breakfast buffet then and hour presentation on how timeshares work and what they have to offer. You can say no, it is not something you HAVE to do. It was nice for us just to learn more about it. They also give you a blue VP card which gives you different deals and discounts during your stay and you also get 10% off all of your room charges for your whole stay. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY A TIMESHARE, JUST SAY NO. The check-in/check-out process was easy. Everything you do on the resort is charged to your room so just make sure you keep your receipts and check the room charges before you pay. The taxi back to the airport on departure is not included. It cost about $24. We were flying Delta/Aeromexico. The cab driver dropped us off at Aeromexico and we were tricked into paying $20 for the 3 minute drive across the airport to the Delta terminal. ALL of the shuttles at the airport are free, DO NOT let them tell you you have to take a taxi. We loved it here, it is very luxurious and the landscape is beautiful! We have no complaints. If you do not like to walk or wait on a shuttle, this may not be the place for you. Other then being on the resort, we took a taxi to Cancun (about $80 round trip) and went to Mandala Beach Club for one day. We paid about $300 for a poolside cabana for 4 people and that money goes towards your food and drinks. The beach in Cancun was well worth the trip. The sand was white, the water was clear and there was only a little bit of Kelp (seaweed). Playa del Carmen is also a nice area to visit (about $50 round trip). We went to 5th Street which is a more touristy area. We went Prana Hookah Bar and had a great time. The staff was great. Things to remember.. bring BUG SPRAY, sunscreen, water shoes if your doing an excursion, and a power strip because they have few outlets. read more

Avoid Vida Vacations / Vidante / Mayan Place!!! Even though the resort itself is nice and clean and the staff are friendly, it's just not worth it as the staff and management are tricky and conniving. As soon as we checked in, my boyfriend and I were misled into attending a "60 minute" highly pressured and stressful timeshare presentation that lasted about a total of 7 hours. The staff members at Vidante are friendly and nice, and will tell you anything and offer you gifts and promotions (including a free brunch) to attend this presentation. After eating brunch with one of the representatives, we were shown the different unit types and sizes that were offered with their timeshare program. Just when it was about to hit the hour mark and I thought we were almost done with the presentation, we were then led into a large conference room. This is where we were pushed for several hours into buying one of their timeshare/travel programs. After continuously refusing their outrageous offers for a timeshare that started at $60,000 and was reduced to about $15,000, they presented us with another opportunity that I should have known was too good to be true. They called it the Private Reserve Vacation Collection. Please do not fall for this scam. Their representatives verbalized false promises when they presented us with this option. First off, they attempted to have me apply for a new credit card, which I promptly refused. They then told me how wonderful this deal was and that they were only offering this option to a select few people. At this point in time, we were incredibly mentally fatigued and hungry. After much persistence, they wore us down and we bought into the scam. They promised us 15 "preferred" vacation weeks and 30 "elite" vacation weeks (these weeks are through the Private Reserve Vacation Collection) to exceptional hotels and resorts throughout the world as well as 1 vacation week to return to their property in Cancun. The representative told us that we could easily book at places such as the Ritz-Carlton, Marriot, and the Hilton. They also told us that to book an elite or preferred week that there would be a small supplemental cost once I booked online. But the representative promised and reassured me that the costs per week would have this exact break down for the elite weeks: $99-studio, $199-1 bedroom, $299-2 bedroom, etc. He then stated that the preferred weeks would have this exact break down per: $199-studio/wk, $299-1 bedroom/wk, $399-2 bedroom/wk, etc. By the end of this, I was charged about $4,000 for this travel package. We then left and I was promised to get a package from them in 3 weeks that had all the information on my new travel package. Three weeks passed and I received nothing in the mail, but they did send me an email with login info to get onto the Private Reserve Vacation Collection website. To my horror, what was presented online was not what I was told during my presentation. I went online and searched for hours and found little to no hotels or resorts that we listed for the prices mentioned above. On top of that, they have such a small inventory and for the ones that are listed they are either in the middle of nowhere or they have incredibly low ratings on trip advisor. And the icing on the cake, we still have to pay $99.oo a year to keep this so-called travel program. All of this is a complete and utter scam!! It still makes me sick thinking about it: how we were lied to, cheated and tricked; how we were pressured all day; how we were hurried into completing the paper work; how those people can be so uncompassionate and conniving to their fellow man. Please whatever you do, do not take this review lightly. Even though the resort was nice, both my boyfriend and I regret even coming to Cancun and staying at the Mayan Place due to this whole experience. It truly wasn't worth it (accounting for the scam our trip cost us more than $6,000). Please take my advice and STAY AWAY. read more

This review is regarding the timeshare presentation that we had and not the property itself. It's a beautiful property, but I was shocked & in a state of unbelief after what happened. Short review: When we declined their offer after a 4+ hour presentation that was supposed to be 45 minutes, they 5th rep that we were passed to became irate, rude, elbowed me in the stomach (seriously), threatened us, and used a derogatory phrase. Yep, read below for details: Long Review: We took them up on their offer to do the "45 minute" timeshare presentation. We met with the first salesman and he was great. After we declined his offer, we were handed off to his manager. After another 20-30 minutes, we were passed to the "marketing team" that needed to provide us with some info. After them it was a man that needed to give us a survey regarding our treatment that day (he was also a salesman trying to pitch another deal), and finally we were passed on to a manager by the name of Silvana Jiminez. We let her know that we weren't interested in staying at the property, as we were 4 hours into a 45 minute presentation! This is where the craziness began. My wife was ready to leave and began looking at her cellphone when Silvana came to the table. She asked my wife to put up her phone, to which my wife calmly replied, "no thanks; we're ready to go." At that point, Silvana told my wife that she needed to get off of her phone, stop being rude, and listen to her presentation. My wife responded, letting her know that it wasn't rude since she let her know upfront that she wasn't interested in hearing the pitch. Silvana then responded, "You aren't finished until we say you're finished!" At this point, I got up and went to go request a manager from inside (we were out on the patio). She jumped in front of me, stuck her elbow into my stomach and told me to go away. I began to advise that I was going to call the corporate office, but when she heard me say the word call, she said, "What, are you going to call your homies? You're going to spend your vacation in jail for trespassing if you don't leave!" I found this kind of funny because the issue that caused this was her telling me that I couldn't leave! We requested to have it escalated, a manager from inside took my statement and said it was being escalated. I reached out to them the following week and they got me to a member services manager and he wasn't aware of the situation. He e-mailed me later and said that she was suspended for a week and apologized for the inconvenience. If it didn't happen to me, I wouldn't believe it myself! read more

Cons: 1. Check in is long! Takes about 30 minutes and they pigeonhole you into listening to someones pitch to get you to go to a timeshare presentation and they offer a bunch of free stuff as consolation, we just said no over and over until they let us go but it took forever and they were pushy. 2. We booked with Sears vacations and they said we would have a mini fridge and coffee maker in the room, when we got there we were informed that we would not have either. (We ended up "refrigerating" all of our perishables on ice in a bag that we would leave in the tub or sink during the day to drain off melted ice water, and we would just refill the bag with ice daily it worked fine but i just wish Sears and the hotel were on the same page about the amenities offered) 3. The room smelled musty (not sure if it can be helped though considering just how humid Mexico constantly is) 4. The toilet was running our entire stay (we could have called maintenance but it was not a big deal we just closed the bathroom door so we wouldn't hear it) 5.They dont take cash! (excerpt the Jade grocery store they will take American or pesos) not a big deal just wish i had known ahead of time 6. The shuttles are a bit confusing some are the same route but travel in different directions and they have inconsistent pick up/drop off areas, some areas have benches and signs and its very obvious that its a pick up/drop off area and some areas are barren but theres a random pick up there, it was hard to figure out the first day or two 7.Employees are very pushy about tips (thats to be expected i dont hold it against them) Pros: EVERYTHING ELSE Beach, pool, food, room amenities everything else was great! If you walk around in less populated areas of the resort there are huge orange iguanas (not friendly but awesome to look at) staff was nice, our favorite restaurant was green break. read more

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!! read more

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!!!!!! read more

My family and i stayed in this hotel 12 years ago and I am giving it a five star review for the pleasant memories i had . However i do remember the service being grrat as usually. I don't recall the food much but i am sure it was good. I am sure there will a f.: gringo complaining about this hotel as usual. read more

If you like being strong armed on buying into the timeshare experience this is the place for you. They wouldn't even let us get to our room and it was late. They have an entire scam..i mean routine to reel you in. My refusal was treated as rude but I could care less. We were hot, tired and why would we even agree to something like that without even seeing what a room there looks like?? I refuse to take part in that scam as we already own our timeshare and do not want another one. We traded into this with our Interval timeshare we own on Oahu. Believe me, this place does not even come close to what we have in Hawaii. When you check in, be prepared to have them put a hold on something like 750$$ on your credit card for charges to your room. What's left is to be refunded at check out..it was. The first room they tried to give us was right off the lobby on the lower floor and was noisy and dark. We refused this room and were then taken to a building in the dark through the jungle so far away we thought something bad was going to happen....the room in Building 17 Mayan Palace was on the second floor....we stayed there a week, but did not want to. First...it stank of mildew, mold and old ventilation. The sheets, pillows, (hint..pillows at walmart are cheap..i bought one so I did not have to sleep on the stench) the filthy couches the filthy chairs all stank. The tiny 2 burner kitchen with a dorm frig was awful...and no coffee, salt, pepper..the usual things that are furnished with a kitchen unit or "limited" kitchen were missing. We were refunded some funds...for this even though we didn't even know that stuff was supposed to be there the whole time. We were so disappointed. The shower/mini tub was so gross looking I would not dare take a bath in that mess. The bathroom sink only ran hot water..the kitchen did have cold. These units have no patios to sit on just sliding glass doors to a cement ledge and railing covered with bird droppings, and the sliders do not lock. So comforting seeing the guys on ladders painting the outside of the units with no locking doors..safe? We did not want to sit on the furniture...so kind of stayed on the bed. The floors were so dirty that our feet were dirtier in the room then they were by coming from the outside. Never saw a mop and bucket, or cleaning solutions the whole time we were there. If you need wash cloths and hand towels bring your own. I got two washcloths in 7 days and one hand towel. Fun to wash your face with a bath towel of which they made sure we always had 6 for the two of us. Now don't go thinking you are secure in your room either..even though the door is closed, we were walked in on 5 times in our week there. There are no locking mechanisms on the inside of the door. One lady walked in and actually had a conversation with us at 9pm about turn down service and chocolate kisses she could leave on our pillow while we were laying in the bed reading almost asleep. One visit was unexpected when my husband was using the bathroom and I was changing...they can and will come into your room anytime. On check out day..check out is 11am, they walked in 4 times that morning to get us out and start ... cleaning hahaha. First visit that morning was at 8:30am. Now if you love to walk, through the humid jungle, and be lost 90% of your time and no one speaks fluent English....you will love this place. This is a labyrinth of walkways and golf cart trains. In the Mayan Palace building 17 we were a 15-20 minute excursion from the pool and the beach. What's that? You want to swim in the ocean?? The climb over the rocks was attempted by some...looked so painful and some people fell...very unsafe. It's not a swimming beach. So bring water shoes or hiking boots to give it a try and good luck to you. Never got to swim in the ocean there. None of the buildings in any of the three hotels there have a beach view because the beach is the actual end of the property and the buildings are way into the jungle on acres and acres. So when you go to the pool or beach, pack for the day. (Do not forget to stop by the poor crocodile exhibit. I actually felt sorry for the crocodiles..so we opted out of trying to find the flamingo viewing area...) Anyhoo...It's not just a quick trip to your room for lunch or a cool off...its a game of survivor and this tribe has spoken. I vote this property off my list!! read more

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The Resorte itself is beautiful and well taken care of. The staff is rude, especially a lady named Karla who was annoyed because I asked if we could be closer to my family staying in the same resort. Since that incident Karla decided to charge me a $1000 USD deposit, my family was only charged $250. Also stay AWAY from Groupon and other third party sites as this resort charge a fee for using those site, which is clearly not listed On any site. I was charged a $75 USD fee. Not only that there is hidden charges everywhere, be aware! This is the second time I stay at a Mayan Palace (previously I stayed in Nuevo Vallarta) and something is ALWAYS wrong with their service. I absolutely hate this resort and have given it more than one try, I will not be staying at another Mayan resort EVER again . Also, my makeup (Naked eyeshadow palette) somehow ended up missing and my email confirmation says I booked the Grand Luxxe resort and for some reason Karla put us in the Mayan resort. I am beyond annoyed with this resort. Avoid the hassle there are many more other beautiful resorts. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

The staff are super friendly, cleaning crew are awesome. That is where it ends. Never got towel cards and my husband and kid walk to room soaked. You are staying at the hotel. We have keys on our arms, give them a towel. Only free WiFi for three people. You are lied to about a breakfast & discounts. I had a pushy sales man insult us for not giving him $40,000, for our future! Once we got up and left they apologized... 4 hours of my life lost... shower mats molded, pillows smell like barf, they do not provide you with face towels, you must ask... key cards are not working... never coming here again... you need a tram to go dinner, the pool, get your car. You have to wait 30 minutes to get your car... they are turning this into a Disneyland... read more

I am giving it 2 stars just because of the customer service around the resort (not including the Manager at the lobby who was rude and did not care to solve our problem). The room was good, but the beds were hard and uncomfortable, our backs were aching all week. The "kitchen" had a mini fridge and an electric cooktop that took a long time to heat. The microwave was tiny and did not have enough power to pop corn. To get to your room you have to get a series of shuttles who in many occasions take forever to pass and sometimes are full so you have to wait forever again in order to get to where you need. If you rent a car you have to park at the complete opposite side of the resort in a dirt parking next to all the heavy machinery and again wait for another shuttle in order to get to the lobby and then another to your room. Just parking your car and getting to your room can take 40 minutes if not more. The pools were large so they were not over crowded, at night it was dark though when you went for a swim as only the pool lights were available and the shuttles take twice as long. The beach is very rocky and full of algae so swimming there was a no. We did a timeshare exchange and had to pay exchange fees (nothing new). Online it said you would get charged a resort fee but if you went to an informational session they would credit that charge. Well they did not. They promised many incentives which they did follow through except the $75 USD credit. When checking out, of course super early in order to get to the airport. The receptionist said there was nothing to be done and I could wait for sales or the manager in a couple hours. Of course traveling internationally we could not wait as we needed to get to the airport. Mysteriously the manager was available but very rude and did not care nor did she try to clarify the situation. With that said, the men and women who operate the shuttles are very courteous. Rooms are clean. read more

Ok first of all the ,other 2 bad reviews yea you might have to deal with the annoying time sharing presentation but HEY you get a FREE BUFFET!! Who wouldn't want that? I've been coming to The Mayan Palace since i can remember and I always enjoy it! Yea it might be expensive but that's what this hotel is about.. If you have a kitchenette go out to buy groceries and there, no more expensive stuff! If you don't want to enjoy this luxury/relaxing hotel then don't come here! Im coming back with my whole family this july and i can't wait! Pool-GREAT! Super big . So spacious that everyone fits and doesn't feel that it's too small . Food- don't remember going to the restaurants in the hotel but theres always a lot of people so I'm guessing it's really good! Rooms- SUPER NICE! Always clean and spacious that after a long day all you wanna do is go to the bed and relax! And if you have a kitchenette , everything is there all you need to do is buy food ! Activities- there are always plenty of activities for kids or teens! During the day there's usually someone who starts a volleyball game , so that's fun! Also around the pool theres more games oh also theres a movie night for kids around the pool while the parents are inside the pool in the bar. Beach- uhm not so great compared to others but it tends to be very relaxing if you just want to walk ! I personally don't like beaches so i tend to stay in the pool but yeaa and the boardwalk is so relaxing to walk on it on the afternoons . This hotel is perfect! Once you go to this HUGE beautiful hotel, you wouldn't want to go to another one! & for those who complain about the money or the time presentations i have 3 words for you: SUCK IT UP!! Its cancun , HAVE FUN enjoy your trip!! read more

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! read more

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There are many reviewers that found this resort below their expectations, and I understand their concerns. But I think it is unfair to put them down in an undeserving way We knew when we were coming here that Vidanta contracted a cab company to pick us up from the airport. It took awhile for them to get to us (about 40 minutes), but this is not the US or some European country. Cab operators in third world countries are always trying to squeeze as much money as they can get out of each trip We attended a time share presentation and it took a while. But we decided to make the most of it and asked plenty of questions about the points system, fixed time system and the private resort club system and how we can leverage our exchange power. In return they gave us two days of all you can eat breakfast, a trip to Matis Jewelry factory, a Tequila outlet and a tour of the ruins in Tulum. We had a blast! By the way if visiting historical places or archeological ruins is not your thing you may get bored. The biggest complaint about Vidanta is their transportation system of golf carts and trams. They may take long sometimes specially during a downpour when everybody is trying to flee the beach. But the reason they use this system is because they are trying to preserve the natural, jungle like setting of their environment. I am more than willing to give up a few minutes of my time in order to have the peaceful and natural ambiance of an equatorial forest. This makes this place an absolute jewel. If people were allowed to drive their cars into the resort it would destroy the very thing that they are trying to create. I come from Southern California and I am filled to the brim with cramped, noisy, pollution chocking surroundings . If you don't want to ride the tram, the resort made wooden walkways behind their buildings that run through the jungle canopy that is absolutely wonderful. Vidanta, keep this up and never change it or compromise. There is another complaint that the resort is cashless and charge everything to your CC. This has not been my experience as they accept both pesos and dollars in their restaurants and boutiques. When it comes down to it money is money. Are there definite negatives to Vidanta Resort in Quintana Roo? Yes absolutely! So let me put down a short list that will validate some Yelpers who mentioned the same. First is the beach. It is not good for swimming due to its rocky and coral strewn bottom. The sand is mixed in with decomposed corral that can cut you feet. They even have signs on the beach warning people of this fact. But this is not the fault of the resort as it is just the natural setting of the property. Although the pool is large, it is only slightly four feet deep all throughout with some elevated platforms that come up to within three inches of the water surface. So it is not a swimming pool but a wading pool. I think that is a lame. Their activity center is lacking. I am on my 5th day and all I saw to keep me busy (aside from the gym) is one table tennis, an outdoor chess set and a bean bag toss. Room coffee is not provided. If you ask the front desk they will charge 43 pesos for a single drip bag - this is a rip off. So we ended up buying our own coffee set. The TV definitely needs work. In the Mayan Palace they have two TVs in their one bedroom but both are small measuring about 40 inches. The cable channels are mostly in Spanish so we really can't watch anything. It's good that we brought board games. Their free internet is very slow and their faster internet is too expensive. Ok that will do it for the negatives. Their service it is top notch. Our room was cleaned everyday. At night the service maids offered to fix our beds in the living room and provide fresh linens. The concierge service is right in our building and fielded questions we asked on touring, transportation, checking in and checking out. As far as checking out is concerned, Carol our concierge told us that we may stay up to 11:00 AM in our room. When I told her that our flight is at 7:00 PM, she said that the bell boys can keep our luggage secured and staged in the lobby until it was time for us to leave. In the meanwhile we can hang out in the resort and use their facilities. Their breakfast buffet in Del Lago is very good. The selection is vast and some are very unique, like their fruit juice bar, hot Mexican chocolate drink, some salad greens I have never seen before, Mexican pot stickers made out of corn flour to name a few. The bad thing - it is expensive at $20.00 USD. I would like to give Vidanta Mayan Palace a five star review, but for the negatives I listed I cannot. If you are deciding to visit this place consider everything mentioned above and if the positives go with your persuasion then give it a shot. I think you will be pleased. read more

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 :). read more

Mayan Palace - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

I went to a sales presentation because a representative said they would give me a $300 gift card. After a few hours of saying we were not interested, they finally gave a gift card. Please people do not opt for this. The card Is called vacationprivileges.com. They tell you that you can shop and use the $300 online, but it is a scam. None of the shopping links work, and it redirects you to another website where your login credentials don't even work. What a complete waste of time and energy. read more

Operation is only about doing whatever they can to take your money. In other words a major scam. Stay away. Like the other reviewer explained, they start off with some ludicrous deal then keep chopping away at the price til you agree to buy something. The entire time saying "yes, that's exactly what I am saying" when you ask a question to gain clarification. In my case it was a bare minimum deal for a couple grand. To keep things short, everything they said was a lie and got nothing I was told I was getting. When I said they should refund me for misrepresentation they only replied "you shouldn't go on what we tell you. You need to read the fine print." If it smells, tastes, looks, and sounds like a scam...it must be a scam. Stay away! The one star is for the cool iguana we saw on their property. read more

For all of this properties beauty, lies headaches, terrible transportation and pushy sales tactics. We chose this resort because of our daughter. The pool is amazing and it is a beautiful resort with some wild animals running around! The problem lies in the location and the layout of the resort. This resort is composed of multiple resort that are class seperated . It also lies in the middle of no where! So i hope you like paying extra and staying on property. Getting around this property is THE BIGGEST pain of all. With the poor layout, you have to walk forever to get to where you want. The other option is waiting for the super flawed shuttle system. We have waited for over 30 minutes for shuttle to lobby. Then have to wait another 15 for another shuttle to go to front gate. More often then not , the people.directing you can not speak english very well and will tell you incorrect information. Every day has been a major headache trying to get out of the hotel! They also tell you over the phone that they will charge an 11$/per person/per day resort fee that covers transport.... but its only one way! They also will rope you into super pushy timeshare presentation that they wont call "timeshare" but private residences ". Its a timeshare. Did i mention the crappy beach? The pool amazing. The beach... not so much. Filled with lots of broken shell pieces and rocks making it hard to get past the 2' mark. The water is not clear either. So if you want crystal clear water, this is not the beach you want. read more

I implore you to stay away. This place might look beautiful on the outside, but underneath that beauty is immense dishonesty and deceit. They will go to any lengths to get you to buy. We originally purchased our membership in October of 2017 after being held captive for 6 hours. Upon using our membership for the first time in March, we were informed we did not purchase what we absolutely thought we had purchased - the Grand Mayan. We were put in the Grand Mayan for this "one time only". You see...when you visit your resorts, you have "classes of customers". Lower class (Mayan Palace, The Bliss, etc) cannot participate in the things the Upper Class (Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss, Lux, etc) can participate in. There are so many, many reasons I am telling you to stay away! Upon our arrival, we were asked to attend an "update". We were once again made to sit through a sales presentation that was pitched to us as an "update on your properties" for hours and hours. The horrid sales people kindly let us know that we didn't buy what we thought but that we could cancel the contract we had if we purchase a new contract. Yes - again, to get out of there, we signed. This company preys on people like us who have a very hard time saying no when being held captive. I sent a letter within the 5 days cancelling the new contract, but they have informed me that they signed me back into the old contract. That is not how it works. The old contract was cancelled when the new contract was put in place. We signed a new finance contract and paid a new down payment. I still have the credit card bill from the old contract. I was told that Vidanta would cancel the old contract "only if I removed any and all negative reviews of the resort". This is what they do to anyone wanting out of their contract and this is how they keep a 4* rating. I initially agreed to remove the negative reviews, but only if my entire contract (new and old) is cancelled. They are refusing to cancel the contract. This is a pyramid scheme - they also give you certificates to give to family and friends to come "enjoy" the resort - what they don't tell you is that your family and friends will then become captive to their "sales presentations". I would never put anyone I know through this...EVER. Vida Dollars are a joke - they are virtually worthless. You can find better hotel deals searching online on your own. They really push the vida dollars making you think you are getting dollar for dollar savings. I am warning anyone and everyone to never purchase from Vidanta. read more

We spent a couple days here on a recent week long trip to Mexico. Family was staying here so we left our nice hotel in the heart of Playa Del Carmen to visit them. I was not a fan of this resort, not at all. So here are some details... The Mayan Palace is a large resort, inside an even larger resort complex called the Vidanta. To get here you take a taxi from Playa or Cancun (about $17 USD). We think that the Collectivos also pass by here, but didn't try. Once you arrive at the Vidanta complex you take a shuttle to your individual resort and then once you're at your resort you walk or shuttle to your room, the pool and the beach. The shuttles did run quite often (they seemed to pass by about every 5 to 10 minutes max). Getting from our room to the pool/beach was about 7-10 minute walk. After the experience in Playa of being able to walk from our hotel and be at restaurants and the beach in less than a 1/2 block I did not like the feeling of being so trapped inside this resort. The room (2nd floor) had a very musty, mildewy smell. In fact, after arriving home I've washed my clothes at least 4-5 times trying to get the smell out and some of my clothes still stink. I had to wipe down every hard item I brought (brushes, hair dryer, bottles) with a disinfectant to get the smell off it and sprayed our suitcases with Febreeze and aired them outside for days. If you have sensitivities to smells, or allergies, please do not stay here. I was home two days before I started feeling normal again. The restaurants on the resort are very Americanized, you may like that, I did not. We were enjoying delicious Mexican food in Playa Del Carmen (before coming to the resort)...meals cost less than $10 for an appetizer, entree and drink(s). On the resort the restaurants were just like what we'd find at home, and for similar prices. Some reviewers complained about the beach, I thought the beach was nice. There is a section that is rocky, but the rest is nice sand. The pools are also very nice and the resort's entertainment team does a good job keeping guests occupied with activities. All of the staff we encountered were very friendly. A highlight was seeing baby sea turtles released....if you're interested, ask about this, during May and Oct there's a good chance it will happen while you're there. On our last day we found out that the resort offers a shuttle to Playa Del Carmen (5th ave) a couple times a day for $6 each way. I wished we'd known about this as we might have taken advantage of it to get off the resort. In a nutshell, if you like these large resorts built for tourists and prefer to eat American food when you travel, and spend every day laying at the pool, and you don't have any allergies (the mildew didn't bother my boyfriend) you might like this resort. Otherwise, I suggest - stay at a nice hotel in Playa Del Carmen where there is so much to do, many restaurants to choose from, and the freedom to come and go as you please. read more

I gave 4 stars, but I'll be looking for a different place next time. I stayed at the Mayan Palace part of the Vidanta resort for 7 days from April 15-22, 2017. Some of my comments refer to other comments I've seen here. Pros: + I must have gotten lucky on location because the room was just a short walk to the gigantic pool and beach. + We had the two bedroom apartment with the kitchen. I thought the hotplate/small fridge/microwave were just right. We made many meals. + The living room was nice and big with seating for 6-8. There were just a few TV channels in English so we ended up watching kid movies a few times. + We were not pressured even once to attend a sales promotion. The checkin guy didn't even mention it to us. + The gym was GREAT. A few treadmills weren't working but the gym was never full so it wasn't an issue. There's a protein smoothie and snack place right in the gym. + Not one person was pushy about getting a tip. + I did not find the shuttles to be late or difficult to use. Whenever we needed one they seems to be there in a few minutes. There was often a guy on walkie talkie at night to call one if you need one. The guys driving were great and made sure everyone got to where they needed to be. + We had a broken telephone and a stopped up toilet at one point and maintenance was there fast after we complained. + There were no smells and I did not see bed bugs. + Overall a very nice place. The pool was huge with two swim up bars. I liked Havana Moon for happy hour (noon-2pm) for snacks and 2 for 1 drinks. Drinks were 125 pesos. Service was great and the people working there were happy and helpful. If someone said we had to go back there I wouldn't be too sad. Cons: + Biggest con was there was nothing for adults to do at night. This is really a family friendly place. Another resort I went to a few years ago had a disco every night which I was really looking forward to. A few evenings there was some live music but it was still very family friendly and not something I wanted to sit through. There was a great jazz trio at the French restaurant but you have to like that sort of thing. + They use one non-fitted sheet on top of the mattress. That is it. I found that a bit gross. We asked housekeeping for an extra sheet and doubled up the sheets, but still it's strange. Because it wasn't fitted and the sheet wasn't quite big enough you'd wake up with your feet on the mattress. Not good. + The beach is not a good swimming beach because of lots of rocks and seaweed. I went sailing ($65/hr on the little catamaran for up to 3 people with a captain) and that was fun. + We had four people with two bedrooms and the max free wifi was only 3 devices at a time. We all had two devices. So it was a constant switching of devices, knocking our friends off, and re-logging in. I called and to get more was $10 per hour per device. Seriously? The wifi was slow but it was still okay to watch youtube videos. + Do not expect to use room service if it is raining. We called for 3 meals and were told an 80 minute wait. This turned into 2.5 hours and we called probably 10 times, only 3 of which they actually picked up. The food came at 10:30 and 2 of the 3 were inedible (chicken nuggets were overcooked rocks and the fries were undercooked; the hamburger had sat so long it was cold and mushy). We were able to get our money back on that one (890 pesos). + Expect to pay US-rates for everything. There are no deals here. + We were taken of $80 from a guy at the airport who said we were buying Chitzinitza tickets. We didn't...the tickets were for a time share talk that we elected not to go to. Also we paid $20 at the car rental place to attend a time share talk and get lots of discounts at the resort. We blew that off too. Don't get taken in when you first land by these guys unless you don't mind the sales promotions. Both pro and con: We rented a car from Fox at the airport. We got a deal online before we went for $118 for the week. We also bought the supplemental insurance for $99. But when we got there, they made us buy the local insurance. The cheapest package was $265 for the week. Plus they put a hold on your card for the deposit of $800. (Note that the resort does the same, so be sure to have room on your card!) So we felt really cheated renting our bucket of bolts for about $500 after taxes, etc. However, once we got to the resort and saw the prices if we ate out each night plus took cabs everywhere, I think we did okay. We drove to the Mega store next to Walmart in Playa del Carmen and bought food for the week. We made our dinners each night (except for the rainy night) and ate our lunches out. We also had breakfast in the room. We also bought our alcohol at the Mega store which saved us a lot. We did drink at the pool and Havana Moon, but our evening alcohol was store bought. I think this saved us a lot. So in the future, we'll probably get a car again. It was easy to get the shuttle over to the parking lot. read more

We stayed at the Mayan Palace for a week over the 4th of July weekend. This is a not an all inclusive hotel like many other competitors around town. The room was pretty excellent, everything worked well, good AC and everything else. The restaurants were great, specially the buffet in Del Lago and the Blue Fish or Havana restaurants. All of them were fantastic. The timeshare Sales people only bothered us on Saturday and Sunday and I was very glad that I didn't have to get rude on them. The level of service by the staff was extremely high, everyone was friendly and helpful. The pool and beach were a bit far to walk but there were shuttles at all hours every 10-15 mins apart. There were no mosquitos except for when it rained. Overall, the issue that I had was the high cost of the place compared to what I got. A $100 buffet for 4 people or very expensive drinks, etc. I didn't see the value. Washing the room dishes = additional charge. Pool towels, get a ticket and must be returned. Pool shade, $30. Compared to what you get in other hotels that are all-inclusive, this hotel falls way short of my expectations. Not staying at this one again. read more

While the property is nice, the employees at the Grand Mayan properties are extremely nice but in a slavery kind of way. I stayed the grand bliss for a week and noticed that employees every time the have an interaction with guests will greet you by raising their right hand and though their chest. This is to let you know the serve with heir hearts. At first I thought it was a cultural custom of the region but later on I discovered that it is a requirement of the corporation which it is enforced by management otherwise the employees can lose their job. Another downside is the group Vidanta that hunts you down to their sales presentation and while they say it is 90 minutes, they will take a lot longer and stress you out. We kept insisting that we already had a membership through our partners but they kept insisting. When we thought it was over and we're about to be released another sales person came to the game and this time offered 7 weeks st the Mayan Palace plus one free on and 700 weeks (yes you read right seven hundred) for a one time payment of $4800. They will tell you that the $4800 can be split in 27 months without interest assuming you get approved for a RCI credit card for the first six month and then you find another one to transfer the balance for 21 months. According to the sales persona "everyone" in the US gets offers from Discover and Chase. I made the mistake of going on their offer which supposedly by Maritza it included access to the Gran Bliss and DeLuxe beach club. Well after signing and checking it the property I found out that no, I would not be able to make use of the beach club and little more research I found out that booking those 700 weeks it's other hotel was going to be a pain. Well same day I called and sent an email to advise that I wanted to cancel and by Mexican law there is a 5-day cool off period that I was going to make sure to enforced. Next day I went to the sales office asked to Canché and I was assigned to Sabana who sarcastically said "why would you lose your $5K?" And I told her that I would not lose the money because I was still within the grace period, she went back and forth try to sell more weeks and confuse me, she was rude, very unprofessional and when she brought her supervisor Omar, he had to asked her to go away. Later on she came back to apologize, Omar kept on insisting for me to keep the membership. I asked for a cancelation letter, he said i couldn't get a refund and suggested to deal with credit card directly disputing the charges, I said I could do that but first I needed something in writing proofing that I was there that such date and they refused to issue a refund. He said that I was being so peaky for wanting to cancel over not being able to access a beach club, he even suggested that I should keep the bracelet for the grand bliss and use it for future visits. I asked for someone higher, this other person keep on insisting that I should keep the membership, suggested dispute the charges with the credit card and finally said I would get a refund. A fourth persona who evidently seemed upset presented a cancellation letter with "surprise" a full refund. This company takes advantage of the guests and deceive customers to keep their money and will stress you out by confusing and defraud you with lies order to fall on their scam. Be really careful and if you decide to cancel you have the right by Mexican Law to do so within 5 days. Just be firm and very patient because they will test you until you believe their lies so they keep your money. read more

When we checked in, the timeshare host roped us into a presentation that was only to be 1 hour. On Friday, when we went to the presentation, they took 3 1/2 hours to push us to buy something. When we decided against it, they were quite rude. The final gentleman that we spoke with said that there was a penalty to the timeshare company for taking so long. He said that instead of the 50% off the resort fee as we had been told, he would take care of 100% of it. He failed to mark that in the system. And when we went to check out, they only took off 50% of the fee. It's not a huge difference for us, but even after speaking with the Supervisor from Vida, they said there was nothing he could do, and they charged us the 50%. Integrity is a huge part of my life, and when someone promises that something will be done on behalf of their company, you expect it will be done. Even if we were interested in purchasing with this company, a lack of integrity killed it for us.  The biggest reason we didn't purchase their pressure sale was because of the room we stayed in. We were there to celebrate our 3 year anniversary, and I called 2 months and then again a week before to request a King bed instead of 2 Fullsized beds since I am a big guy. We just don't fit in a full together. When we arrived, they said tgat it is 1st come 1st serve and the King bed rooms where all taken. They also told me that they were Queen sized beds not Full, but not to worry, we could push them together. When we got to the room, they were full sized not queen, and the beds are solid wood and way too heavy to move without help. We slept uncomfortably because of it.  Not only did we sleep poorly, but the furniture was beat up,  the mirror was all scratched up and dirty, and there were 2 Big balls of hair on the bathroom floor by the tub. We were more than a little grossed out. The worst part of all was that was when we told Vida Timeshare(Vidanta's Selling Company) about it, our representative told us that Mayan Palace is old, but we would be purchasing a much better quality. There was no apology or offer to move us, he just kept telling us that Mayan Palace was the lowest quality they have. I still don't know how that excuses balls of hair on the floor and grease streaks on the mirror though.  One other thing, never buy tours from anyone else except them if you want to have a great experience. Vidanta is the ONLY resort in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Or Playa del Carmen that doesn't allow tour companies to pick you up inside. Vidanta has transportation to the front gate starting at 8am, but most tour companies will pick you up before then. In our case, it was raining at 6:45am when we had to be at the front gate, so we had to get a taxi. $7USD later, we got to the front gate. Also, when the shuttles pick you up at the front gate, you better hope there are no mosquitos out or it's not raining....1 night we got eaten alive, and 1 night we had to seek shelter inside the guard house until the shuttle came, and then, because the shuttle has no sides to it, we all got soaked because the rain was coming down sideways.  Save yourself the headaches, if you want a timeshare in the Cancun area, buy somewhere else, and think twice before ever staying here. Also there should be signs WARNING people of the Fire Coral that you have on the big pot looking things in your artificial reef. My husband and I both got stung. Mine went away, but since we have been back, my husband's has turned into an allergic reaction to the sting and is now undergoing medical treatment for the infwction that it causwd. The only thing your first aid guy did on the beach afterwards was spray us with vinegar. "DON'T LET YOUR KIDS GO IN THE WATER!!!" should be your new sign. read more

Just horrible first the doubled hotel fees. Then you only have part access to resort and restraints. You can't even book here with confidence because when you get here that's when they the change price. read more

The resort is beautiful but not worth the horrible customer service that I received from Fernando the General manager. It is embarrassing that this hotel has this type of management. Their time shares are overrated and this establishment fails to hold the arrangements that they make with people. read more

Got put in a building with COVID positive quarantines (know if you see security guards, they are to keep the COVID positives in their rooms, we discovered this on our 2nd day after hearing our neighbors discuss being in quarantine) however, circulation of air is throughout the building. By the end of the trip our party was COVID positive too... Surprise surprise. Ok so we quarantine, that's fine, I understand it's a risk. Except that they promise that they will retest in the rooms and nobody shows up. Even if they do show up and you subsequently test negative, they won't send you the results and the security guards won't let you leave... Which means you can't get to your flight. We have now scheduled tests 9 times. We had someone show up one time. We retested negative and didn't receive the results email. Nobody responded to phone calls or emails and the concierge would not respond to calls. Next day, nobody showed when we scheduled another test. So we rescheduled. Nobody showed. So we called the concierge again and they said they would send someone. Nobody showed. We have now been here for 2 weeks, stuck in a room with 3 kids, and security will not allow us to leave our rooms even to retest at the center. I reiterate, even if you subsequently test negative, the security guards will not allow you to leave. It's a prison. A nice prison, but still a prison. read more

This is the nicest, worst Hotel I have stayed. The hotel in itself is very nice. The problem is that anything in the hotel is created to take your money and your time. First they kept calling to charge me for extra stuff after I paid them (security box) some how there is an extra charge for that. Upon arrival the told they needed a 400 dll deposit per room and that they were charging the taxes out of that which were not included in the original price. You have to ride golf carts everywhere you go so plan for endless bus stops to go anywhere. Restaurants are at par with the US or slightly higher. If you rent a car they charge you 5 dlls per day. Also they told me that transportation was included but turns out that it just from the airport to hotel. In the way out you are on your own. We talked to the front desk and they said they were going to complement us with breakfast and that turned out to be one of those 4 hr meetings to get you to get the timeshare. I had a horrible experience in the hotel. Next time I am following my friend's advise and go to a all inclusive and not worry about anything. read more

This place is super far from anything and you will have to rent a cab from the hotel at their over priced service or they make u walk all the way to the entrance of the hotel if you wish to get your own transportation (entrance is extremely far!!) They try to make you buy everything threw them so they can over price u ... this place is a big scam stay away rent at another place Just to give u an example the can the hotel sent us in was 35 bucks just to wallmart and the taxi van we got out side the gate (with a 15 min walk) was 2 dollars per person Worst thing of all the beach behind the hotel is the worst I have seen for cancun ... big disappointment read more

We booked this place on an exchange from our time share, so we had to stay at The Bliss, so this review is based on our experience staying at the Bliss. If you don't know how timeshare exchanges work, it's hard to explain, but just know you will never stay in a place nicer than what you own, and most likely, it won't be as "nice". Don't get me wrong, unless it is old, every resort in the Rivera Maya is extremely nice, and let's face it, you are not at home or at work. That being said, we were just not fans of this resort compared to other places we have stayed. We were not all inclusive, and to be honest, I don't even know if they have all inclusive option, so you are stuck paying by the meal for the resort food, or you have to pay to take a taxi to Cancun, Playa, or Puerto Morelos (which I do recommend going to Pureto Morelos). The place is huge. Like HUGE. You have to take a tram to the parking lot to catch a shuttle off site or to any excursions, and you have to take a tram down to near the pool, then walk the rest of the way. It was nice that we were near the lobby and tram stop, but overall, we felt it was kind of cumbersome to get anywhere on site. The trams only run at certain times too. There is a shuttle service to Playa and it is like $5 a person. It runs every few hours between noon and the last shuttle back from Playa is around 9. You can also take a taxi which will run you about 300-500 pesos I believe. We spent a lot of money on transportation to and from Play and Puerto Morelos because we wanted to get out of the resort. Let me just run through the rest of the cons while I am thinking about it. The time share. Yes, you kind of "have" to go and it is the waste of half of a day. Really, no big deal. I think you end up getting 10% off your bill, and maybe a few other perks. I have fought through many time share presentations and just keep saying no, and leave, but understand it will take up a few hours. Just smile, enjoy your free breakfast, then enjoy the rest of your vacation when it was over. Honestly, if we were looking to buy, it would't be at this resort. if you have been to the Rivera Maya before, you know all over town you get approached for time share presentations, and everyone gives you discounted excursions, free breakfast, etc. to waste half a day saying to to a pressure filled sales pitch. If that is your thing (because you can get up to $300 US of value by doing it), the people at the resort are really against it. I mean, the even told us they would give us the same deal to NOT go to another time share presentation without having to sit through another one. So, use that little bit of info to your advantage if you want. You would just be out the cash you give the other place to hold your spot (usually $20) and if you run into the guy again on the street, he might be nice to you. So, anyway, it kind of makes you feel like a prisoner to the resort. Didn't care, we ended up getting some cash, a great excursion, and we actually sold the time share we owned and bought another package that better suited our needs. So, we won. Enough about time shares, that is how Mexico functions. Another con was the layout of the resort. The maps are not real clear, and you can seriously get lost out there trying to walk down the walking paths. I am sure we missed out on some neat stuff because we just didn't know how to get around very well. We stuck to our room, the pool, and the restaurant by the pool for the most part. We did find our way to the beach, which was okay, not great, and we went to the French restaurant one evening. We had to make a reservation for that. So, now the pros about this place. First, you are on vacation and in Mexico. Hard to beat that. I will say this, the food....the best we have had at a resort. It was fantastic. The golf course seems nice. We played a round, and I think it was $100 for two of us. Maybe that was with a discount, but if you ask, I bet you can get that price if they don't offer it to you. I am not a big golfer, but I had a good time. The only way to rate this place is to compare it to other places we have stayed in Cancun and Cabo San Lucas, and it just doesn't measure up. We enjoy a more intimate place that gives you a good view of the ocean. This felt more like we were in the jungle. read more

I am very tempted to do a 1 out of 5 stars. This place is a total ripoff. If you want to take three shuttles to go to the pool this is the place for you. My boyfriend and I left the hotel early because our experience was so disappointing. When we told a manager before we left about a few things that would happen he told me he would refund my card $136. It's been three weeks and the money is still not back on my card. I've called about 10 times and have been emailing back and forth with someone from the hotel who is very unhelpful. I have finally reported them to my credit card company and filled a claim. Go someone else! read more