We love The Grand Mayan at Vidanta Riviera Maya! The plunge pool on our patio was fabulous. The restaurant options and outstanding food are one of the many reasons to keep coming back, with Havana Moon, Balche and Cafe Del Lago being our casual favorites. Balche also services the mail pool area with drinks and eats. The entire staff is always friendly and ready to help. The Cirque Du Soleil show, Joya, is wonderful. We recently enjoyed it with dinner, which was a delicious fantasy come to life. Jungala has Latin America's longest lazy river and we had the best day there. It was such a convenience to charge our drinks and food to our room when we landed at the swimup bar. We really enjoyed the Infinity Pool, exclusively for GM members. The Jade Boutique has most everything you might need, from groceries to souvenirs. Be sure to check out the Monoi Coconut Fig lotion sold at Jade. It's the intoxicating lotion samples provided in the suite during your stay to help you relive the memories of your trip. We visited in early May. There were no crowds and the weather was great! We will return soon! read more

The Grand Mayan - Resorts Near Me - Riviera Maya, ROO

The Grand Mayan is located at the Vidanta Resort in Riviera Maya (south of Cancun). This is one of many 'hotels' on the resort. Our room was spacious and even had a small pool plunge on our deck. We ordered room service a lot which was convenient in between meals. The resort is huge. Lots of walking. The staff were so so nice and accommodating. Super clean and so many wild animals and plants call it home, I can see why! The Coatis are the cutest and the iguana / lizards are huge and just hang out by the pool sunbathing. They had a water park on site, a huge PGA golf course, and also cirque's de soleil - "Joya" - the only one on the east coast of Mexico. The show was outstanding and highly recommended doing the dinner before the show! There are shuttles from place to place, but there is still a lot of walking. My favorite was the flamingos, and crocodile tour! The easiest way to navigate around is the Vidanta app. It was fun checking everyday to see the daily activities and where to eat (I also planned ahead before the trip). They had a lot of evening festivities and loved getting dressed up and having all the local food. All the pools have a bar which was so convenient. The main pool was near the beach and easy access to the water! They have a grocery mart with the best crepes, along with a gift shop and some snacks and food and alcohol. We went during Halloween week and they had everything set up for Halloween and also Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It was gorgeous with the decorations. This resort is for time-share holders only! They had a lot of security to get in and out which made us feel safe that no one was wondering around. Your room key is a wristband which was good because we never lost our room key! Really have to give it up for the staff. Everyone was awesome & great!! Made a great memorable trip!! read more

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After reading so many mixed reviews, I was hesitant to come here--but I'm so glad we did! My family and I enjoyed our stay so much that we ended up coming back two more times. I've been to many resorts where the food is mediocre and the drinks are just okay, but this place really exceeded our expectations. The margaritas were amazing, and the food was consistently great. We ordered poolside pizza that taste great, and we dined at several of the on-site restaurants, all of which impressed us. Yes, this resort may cost more than others in the area, but in our experience, it was worth every penny. From the moment we walked in, the service, cleanliness, and atmosphere were top-notch. The only thing I wish is that it were all-inclusive--that would make it absolutely perfect. The resort is massive, but they do offer convenient shuttle buses to help you get around easily. The staff were friendly, and everything was extremely clean and well-maintained. Overall, we had a fantastic experience and would definitely return again. read more

This was my second time at The Grand Mayan and it was a nice stay. There are pros and cons of course so let's break it down. The food is fine but we tend to do a lot of excursions when traveling and every time we left the food blew us away compared to what we got at the resort. We mostly ate in Salum all 7 days this time and didn't go to any sit down restaurants except for when we did the Mexican Fiesta buffet hosted by Del Lago -- that was a good time with an open bar and great live entertainment. Our favorite food on resort was at Jungala though - the nachos and tacos are top tier and so are the drinks. Service, generally everyone we encountered was happy to be working here and chipper but a few stood out. Arturo at the Mexican Fiesta in Del Lago was great, high energy, a very attentive waiter and was just adding to the experience. Jhony at the swim up bar at the main pool was wonderful, our group of four were the only ones there one late Saturday night so we got to know about Jhony on a personal level and he made sure to give us great recommendations at the bar. Elvis was our guide during the couples resort presentation and we really enjoyed talking to him throughout the process. Although it felt like we broke his heart by not buying into the timeshare-like sales pitch, we enjoyed our free buffet breakfast with him. Jhonny was great at the swim up pool, he was a nice bartender that gave us plenty to chat about! We had a nice time here and may come back again. read more

Our paid transportation voucher from the airport was not honored because we were delayed and the shuttle service they use doesn't go after 11 PM. Had to pay $95 cash for a taxi . Took us 30 minutes to check in only one person working this after a 16 hour journey .We enjoyed our stay more after they got rid of the mildew smell in room, extra cleaning and dehumidifier. Replaced the broken coffee maker. Everybody was nice. The food was OK very overpriced. We had fun with the games and earned a lot of free drink tickets. The mosquitoes weren't bad but bring repellent. We got bitten by ants. Bring good walking shoes we got in 10,000 steps a day. huge carbon footprint here they use too many single use plastics, plastic cups, and all the air conditioning is at highest level. Need water refill stations. read more

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I got a deal through work to stay at the Grand Mayan for a week, and while my experience wasn't perfect I still had a great time! It's likely the nicest resort I've ever stayed at, but it's not without its issues. Pros: - lots to do! On site water park (go after 3pm for 50% off), cirque du soleil show - beautiful, LARGE main pool and many other smaller pools - great 2 for 1 happy hour deal at all the pool bars 12-2, wine bar 5:30-6:30, Salum 6:30-8:30, and beach bar 10-11pm - nice fitness center overlooking the ocean - tram system to get you around the large grounds - the app is super helpful in navigating and figuring out hours/menus/etc -cheap shuttle to and from airport ($15 USD per person) Cons: - the BIGGEST con is that the walls are paper thin in the rooms and the doors don't go all the way down to the ground so you hear EVERYTHING. I sleep with earplugs and was still woken up throughout the night from people talking outside/walking by. Our final night we had a party or something going on above us until well past 11 pm. We heard every stomp, laugh, shout, etc. so unfortunate, especially because we had to be up early to catch a shuttle to the airport. - construction in the room next to us. We were next to a room that was having construction done. This construction started at 7 am every morning (banging, drilling, dragging, hammering -- all the construction noises you could think of). Similarly, staff would be outside the room around the same time, speaking so loudly I could hear them over my earplugs. When I called to complain one morning, someone came up and construction stopped for 10 minutes. Literally 10 minutes, then just started back up again. Later that day, they started PAINTING the room and the fumes leaked into our room of course. It was so ridiculous and not something to overlook. Why would you put someone in a room directly next to a construction zone? - pretty expensive. Upon check in, they place a $1,000USD hold on your credit card, then proceed to charge a made up 15-1 exchange rate. So your deposit is USD, they charge everything in pesos and don't allow cash so that they can charge you their exchange rate. So so so frustrating. TIP: ask them to charge you in pesos upon check out to avoid their exchange rate! - no microwave in room. We had dinner at one of their fancier restaurants on site and had TONS of leftovers, but no microwave in our room to heat them up with. When asking staff, they were pretty confused and assumed all rooms had a kitchenette. Ours didn't. They told us they would "find" a microwave to send up, and someone ended up bringing us one hours after we gave up hope. This was a customer service win, but I'm putting it as a con because it was a big hassle. - no 24 hour around the resort transportation. You're kind of at the mercy of these shuttles to get you from place to place. We had an early flight to leave and they told us we needed to hire a bell boy to get us and take us to the main lobby. When we suggested walking, they told us "no it's unsafe" and we have to use a bell boy. - so many hidden fees at check out: a resort tax daily, an additional fee when translated seems to be some sort of natural disaster help?, and a donation to their "foundation". We were able to remove the donation, but no luck with the others read more

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Vacation time is valuable--don't waste it at Vidanta Riviera Maya. From the moment we arrived, our experience was plagued by frustrating issues that overshadowed our family vacation. The check-in process was painfully slow. Upon arrival, they took our luggage and directed us to wait for a tram or golf cart to another lobby, where we waited in line for over 45 minutes. We were then ushered to another desk and pressured into committing to a timeshare presentation. After a long day of travel, all we wanted was to get to our room. Begrudgingly, we agreed to the timeshare pitch (promised to take only an hour) just to get things moving. Unfortunately, that presentation took a grueling four hours--far longer than we were told. The promised discounts for attending were also difficult to redeem, making the whole process feel like a waste of time. When we finally reached our room, it reeked of cigarette smoke. We immediately informed the front desk, but they assured us it was a non-smoking room. While we were eager to swim and escape the unpleasant smell, we had to wait an additional hour for our luggage to arrive. By then, everyone--us and the kids--was cranky, and the vacation was off to a rocky start. To make matters worse, we discovered that this Vidanta location doesn't have the Santuario experience like the Vallarta property. This meant no nightly shows, which was a huge letdown. Instead, the entertainment offered was extra-cost activities that we hadn't anticipated. We grabbed dinner, and I ordered an Aperol Spritz, only to be served a flat Prosecco cocktail with barely any Aperol in it. When I pointed this out, they shrugged it off, claiming it was a new bottle. I also ordered the crispy cheese appetizer, which the menu clearly stated would come with tortillas. When it arrived without them, I was told that of the four items listed as "served with tortillas," this was the only one that didn't. I was baffled. Back in the room, the smell persisted. I called the front desk, and their solution was to douse the room with an overwhelming amount of air freshener. The stench was so strong, it made my eyes burn and left a chemical taste in my mouth. When they checked in later to ask if the smell had improved, I told them it had only gotten worse. Please, no more air freshener. The next day, they sprayed again. By the fourth day of our trip, they finally moved us to a room that didn't smell like smoke. But by then, the damage was done. Additionally, my husband ended up getting food poisoning from the salsa at the water park, which was the only thing he ate that the kids and I didn't. I immediately called the medical office, where I was told to get Pepto-Bismol. I also called the front desk for help, and they gave me the same advice. At check out he told them of this experience and they said "we have no record of this" and that we should have filled out an incident report. My husband told them that I called and was not helped or offered an incident report to fill out. When we went to buy Cirque du Soleil tickets, we were told to go to the concierge. After waiting for 20 minutes while the woman clicked away on her computer, I took the kids back to the room and left my husband to finish the purchase. Almost an hour later, we started to get worried, so I called the lobby to check if my husband was still there. Tomas went to check, and apparently, he found it amusing enough to laugh at my concern. He came back to tell me my husband was still down there. I was incredibly frustrated and wanted to know why everything at the hotel seemed to take so long. Tomas then hung up on me. This was the final straw--no customer service skills, and such a lack of hospitality. The show was wonderful, however the show time was 7pm and when we arrived they said "oh sorry if you were mis informed but it starts at 8". This I imagine is a ploy to get you to spend money at the bar while you wait an hour. Staff around the facility are very friendly and the grounds are beautiful and tropical. I liked the amount of walking you have to do to get around but my kids were at times not happy about it. I also think for elderly and disabled this would be a big downside. Overall, this was not the vacation we had hoped for. From poor service and subpar amenities to the room issues and unexpected costs, Vidanta Riviera Maya left us feeling more frustrated than relaxed. We will not be returning and would not recommend it to anyone looking for a pleasant family getaway. read more

The Grand Mayan - Resorts Near Me - Riviera Maya, ROO

Spacious room one bedroom with living room. It was well equipped and large pools. Beach is rocky. The property is isolated so restaurants are on site. The resort price gouges you on food and drink. One shot of tequila cost $17 USA! Bottled water costs $6 and a hamburger $25. I think the prices were 40% higher than New York City! What happened to the affordable Mexican vacation. read more

This trip has been a cluster since the first day. When we booked in October we requested adjoining rooms and the studio room to have 2 queen beds. The studio has only 1 king and the 1 bedroom suite is in a different building. Asking for help and receiving it is a joke. the food is ok but over priced. The staff needs to be trained better. Their travel agency that you book tours through misleads you. We requested a cenote and turtle trip and were very clear in it. Salesperson Luis booked us on something different but we didn't know there was a difference until we were on the excursion. When we asked for them to make it right they blamed us instead of taking ownership. Overall this trip has been very disappointing Doubtful we will return. read more

Vidanta Hotel is a beautiful property with staff that made our stay memorable. The food at restaurant "El Lago" is fantastic. The breakfast buffet was fabulous every single day. The quality and variety of the food made of breakfast our favorite meal and our server Andrew made us feel at home. The property is designed for outdoor activities mainly; so when we faced unexpected weather conditions (non-stop rain in December), our experience changed dramatically as all guests ended up staying in their hotel rooms for most of the time. TIP: Download your streaming content as a plan B! The TV in room has very poor signal and you can barely watch a few channels. There is no option to watch your our own streaming account in the room, either. In a good day, Vidanta and its people will make of your vacation a fabulous one. read more

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Terrible service, barely hot water for shower, had to pay extra for water/coffee, room adjoins another and that family was very loud asked for another room they let us know 2days later another room was available the following day. Restaurants open weird hours we didn't even get to try some of the "better" restaurants. The property layout is confusing, everyone is wandering around lost half the time. Over priced food and drinks. They charge an arm and leg to get off property, and will sell sell sell sell you everything is an up-charge. We had money stolen from our room, and the security and concierge didn't even apologize for the experience and made it seem that we were lieing. The food/beverage staff was good as you'd expect, everyone else was not welcoming or helpful, it's like we were a burden. No help in navigating the property or suggesting for us to book our dinners before showing up. One of the most confusing layouts and no help. I will never go back, you can F N etch that in granite. We "won" the trip in a charity auction, turns out it was really a hoax/loss for us. Everything was a lie and a facade. The "1 hour" sales presentation took 3hours, they lied lied lied and lied some more. Started at $20K for studio then dropped that down to like $5K, after we had said for the previous hours we are not interested and will not be buying anything. The pier you see in all the pictures? Can't even walk on it... Smallest "beach" ive been on. Supposed to be a relaxing vacation for us, walked 50miles up and down up and down, lost, lost again, wandering, "relaxing" trip.... Suppose they might of even treated us worse had we not done the presentation. read more

Worst resort I have been to in Mexico yet! Let's start off with how confusing the place is. Almost everything is named similar and the staff lacks the ability to assist. Transportation takes long periods of time and wastes most of your vacation. If you bring a car it takes 20-40 minutes to get the car even though the parking lot is super close they are kept in. They charge you to keep a car at the resort $6 a night and the staff begs for tips the entire time when it comes to getting in the vehicle or leaving it (but they claim to be a cashless resort). Walking in they spend hours at check in asking for credit cards, identification cards and passports over and over again. They require a $1500usdm deposit to even check in. They want all your information so they can force you into time shares and deal pitches. We tried to be nice and just go so they would stop harassing us. They claim it takes 1hr..... that was extremely embellished, we never got our free meal for going. They told us we were scheduled for Friday morning we showed up left us sitting in the lobby for an hour asking for passports and credit cards again. Only to tell us they were over booked we came back the same day to do it all over again. They single people out try to separate people in the group to manipulate them alone. Still never got the free breakfast as promised. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! The beach, resort, and pool are breath taking. The ocean front property to this resort is full of very very scarp rocks and you can't swim in it (there are tons of dangerous eels). Food is decent on the resort but way over priced. This is your typical trap the tourist at the resort and cashless property that tries to get you to spend on your room number. With no access even on their app to how much you spent onsite or being charged. Leave the resort and get the real experience. This place is far from worth a 2nd chance. read more

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My honest review for Vidanta Riviera Maya. My bf and I had a tripped planned to visit Vidanta Riviera Maya for 6 days 5 nights. Our first 2 days were spent switching rooms. We first ended up in Maya Palace in a room with two double beds when we had asked for king. They then moved us after we complained to a king room in a building that was completely under construction and unmanned. Half the building didn't event have doors on the rooms or even windows!!!! We were the only people in the whole building. We tracked around drywall dust that ended up all over our clothes and shoes. For $980/ night plus a $100/ resort daily fee you get the absolute bare minimum. This room should be $90/night MAX, they are out of their minds for charging such high rates. We are from Santa Barbara, California where we are used to high prices but this was completely unacceptable. Our second room with the king felt dingy and dirty. It looks like a 5 year old painted the walls with drips of paint everywhere. I'm not sure they have ever done a deep clean on this room. The shower handle didn't work, the "balcony" was about a foot wide and slanted, there was no fitted sheet on the bed, the lights in the room were fluorescent blue (I felt like I was in an old hospital room.) I'm not a bougie person, I've done a lot of dispersed camping in my life (no bathrooms or running water just nature) so I can handle roughing it out but when you're paying such high prices these conditions are UNACCEPTABLE. If you're staying at the Mayan Palace you practically get access to slim to none. If you want access to the nicer pools and restaurants get ready to pay $1,400-$3,500/ night plus your daily resort fee. A majority of the staff is just as lost as guests staying at the resort. EVERY conversation we had with other guests was consistent of how lost (physically) everyone was and how frustrated they were by the lack of communication. We had no idea the resort had an app until a staff member told us 3 days into our stay. We were never given a map of the grounds upon check in. You spend half your time there getting from point A to point B. Salum was the most promising place to get food and drinks, even then the quality of both food and drinks were not up to par with the prices. We spent more money in 4 days on basic low quality meals than we do in a month of grocery shopping at high quality grocery stores here in Santa Barbara. After a few days of complaining and switching rooms we finally got "upgraded" to Grand Maya which was nicer and bigger than Mayan Palace but not worth $1,500/ night. The walls are paper thin so get ready to hear your noisy neighbors. Unfortunately our neighbors had a toddler that would scream at the top of their lungs every morning around 6:30am and a woman who would scream at her husband. The ONE positive experience we had was with a staff member named Rodolpho, he was constantly helping us out and always a pleasure to see. If I could give this resort zero stars I would. read more

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I am shocked at the bad reviews this place is amazing! What I love most: The property is huge you could explore for a week and still have stuff to see The staff is so nice and attentive The food at all the restaurants is amazing The market prices were very reasonable The room and bed were so comfortable and we had 2 turn down services a day The pools were gorgeous The beach was like a post card What I love less: They hold 1500 at the beginning of the trip for you to charge stuff to the room. That surprised me Sometimes the wait for the shuttle was long but the walks were beautiful The beach is rocky and the piers were closed so we couldn't snorkel at the hotel They didn't fully explain activities so we did miss a few thing Things to note: you are in the jungle, there are bugs , that's just how it is that's not their fault The trip would not have worked without the app, it has the map and restaurant hours We will be going back it was the best!!! read more

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Hotel and amenities are ok. But their presentation which they claim will only takes an hour actually takes 5-6. And we got a shortcut because we had our kids with us. The girl that attended us through the presentation was great, I believe her name was Victoria. But from the begging her colleague Jesus was arrogant and condescending we said no multiple times and each time he would ask but why not and made us feel dumb for not accepting we saw value in the product but said multiple times that the timing was not it for us that we would consider in a he near future. He went to far as to say that if we want to gift him 100000 more what it would be if we waited that we would be the first customers to do so and that Vida Vacation would place a statue of us in that case since we like to through our money away. I was nearly in tears by the end. After we said no to him they sent other sales person and he was softer but only sold us lies. We ended buying they're lowest tear because he said that they would honor the deal we would be getting only find out at the end when we were signing our contract that the hotel does not legally have to respect any promises that sales rep make. We were about to get our refund but of course cue they sent in the sales rep again and just ended up accepting because we felt kidnapped with our kids for 5-6 hours and we are not rude people. So it was so much harder to just say no. We feared that the cancellation and refund would take away more time. We were there from 9 am to 4:30 pm. The whole process what overwhelming. And now current members told us that they give this presentation even when you are already member. They still terrorize you into buying more product once you are member. horrible experience don't recommend. read more

I am so surprised people had negative things to say about this place. The staff was the sweetest and totally on top of everything! They all remembered me and gave me the best hospitality I've ever received and I love that they put their hand over their heart. It felt genuine every single time. The beach, the pools, the spa, the decor and ambiance, the restaurants all 5 stars. The place is so big you have to take a tram and sometimes the gas smells strong but that's the only somewhat negative thing I have to mention. read more

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We stayed for week 21-28 of April. Got to resort was nice good so far got to where they take your luggage and take it to the room for you all great . Made it to check in all went well (we thought) we had to do a 1000 hold on credit card while there that would be sent back . After check in we went to our room to realize they gave us a one bed room when we had gotten a 2 bed room. Went down they gave us a new room. Yet again went to the new room that was "correct" only to realize that room had guest already staying and occupying that room with all their belonging . They were not in thier room or im sure they would be as upset knowing the hotel let complete strangers into their room . Here we go again back to lobby to get ANOTHER room which finally ended up being our room . Then we got stopped by a gentleman offering "Free breakfast " we respectfully declined, then my mom agreed to attended just so that they would leave us alone they are stubborn to the answer no thank you . Afterwards , Went to purchase tickets in the same lobby the lady that helped us was amazing such a sweet and nice person . After all that she called back to let me know she charged my card double and to come back to lobby to cancel and re book . Went to the "breakfast" which ended up being their time share. From the begging we declined it and they said okay you guys can go there is no pressure . They ended up having another worker follow us to breakfast then ended up showing us the hotel HUGE hotel very nice . The main time share man that we declined the time share was extremely rude , he belittled you and basically in his words when we declined and i answered that we don't need this its a waste of money for us now since we don't travel as much yet . For him to get angry make smirky comment and told me " im not talking to you , you aren't the one paying " when in reality i was the one that was gonna put the money down if my mom liked it . My mother hated his attitude and she said no we are done here . His words not mines " your really not gonna get a time share with all the time we spent with you, then why did you agree to come " knowing we declined it from the start when he approached us at the begging and said no pressure if it isn't wanted . Even his companion was shocked on how disrespectful his co worker was and apologized on his behalf . So save your time and the head ache don't go with these people or give them the time of day enjoy your trip you can walk around the hotel and see everything by your self download the app it was the only nice thing navigates you around the hotel if you want to walk around your self without having someone down your neck trying to get you to buy there time shares. The worst part of the whole trip was when i already checked out MAKE SURE TO CHECK YOUR STATEMENT they be adding additional charges like donation charges when you didn't even know they asked for donations got charged this 2 times and also removed those . I get a call while I'm at the airport ready to come home , then following an email stating that somehow instead of charging me 600$ for what i spent at the hotel for food and what not dinners my Amex got charged 9,049.00 dollars not pesos dollars then "he fixed it " to charge me another 8,049.00 dollars again . Called in the first gal amazing so sweet she even said oh I'm sorry ya we really messed up let me get someone to help you more . I talking to "the head management of there accounting and billing " Such a rude lady , she did not care that i was asking why my card got charged 2 tomes in Dollars and not pesos she was so sure that they were in pesos and not dollars . Told her Amex ( i was live chatting with a representative while on the phone ) said the charges are in dollars not pesos for both transactions for her to say " I'm not helping you anymore" Worst customer service , such rude people . Definitely should work on being friendly to your customer and especially when you mess up and charge double for large amounts . Hotel was amazing the show Joya was a 10/10 , but there workers are RUDE and disrespect. Always check your transactions, being out 14 k and just for them to mess it up now i have to wait up to 3 weeks they said to get things back to how they were . read more

1. Check-in Nightmare: It took almost two hours just to check in. Total chaos, zero organization. 2. Second-Class Guests: If you're not a timeshare owner, you're treated like a second-class citizen. They give you a different color wristband so staff can treat you differently--and they absolutely do. 3. Impossible to Navigate: The resort is massive and poorly laid out. We spent 3 hours a day just trying to figure out where to go. Who wants to waste that kind of time on vacation? 4. No One Answers the Phone: Need something? Good luck. No one ever answers the phones. Even when I tried calling the emergency line, no one picked up. Absolutely unacceptable. 5. Awful Food: The food was bad and the menu was severely limited. Most restaurants had only one or two edible options--everything else was bland or inedible. 6. Disgusting Beach: The beach was covered in algae and completely neglected. There was just one poor guy trying to clean it up by himself. No proper beach cleaning equipment, just one person trying to manage a huge problem. 7. Entertainment Fail: Entertainment was mediocre at best. At the main pool, the activities were done only in Spanish. Not ideal for international guests who don't speak the language. This place is a logistical nightmare with bad service, bad food, and an unusable beach. Spend your money somewhere else--you'll thank yourself later. read more

This is my 9th trip to this resort, which has changed significantly. This used to be a beautiful place. Now they have increased their resort fees from $450 a week to $1890 a week, with nothing to show. We were not informed on the fee increase when we checked in, I tried through four people to resolve it and they did nothing. They are nice until it comes time for customer service. Also, the water park was shut down and half their restaurants were closed during the stay and we were not informed before we arrived. I also found out that some people were paying zero resort fees, some $450 and I am paying $1890. I even showed them proof in writing on how the resort fees state $450 and they did nothing. Not going back again. read more

The staff is friendly and the grounds are beautiful but beyond that it's an absolute disaster to get around or arrange anything. If you're in a group more than four, forget it. I actually feel bad for anyone to be a member. Sure majority have major buyers remorse. read more

I went with the assumption this was a "beach resort" you get a small patch of beach that is terrible unless you're wearing hiking boots in the water. Since we didn't want to purchase a time share they basically treated us like crap the rest of the days there. I refused the "presentation", it is extremely far from everything and felt trapped in the resort. Don't ever stay here. read more

Worst experience ever - Review of Vidanta Riviera Maya Cancun, Mexico 1st review ever written for a vacation spot. We are both in our mid-sixties, just married in June and selected the Grand Mayan as a Honeymoon destination. The area was gorgeous and the people at the facilities were very friendly, though few spoke good English. We arrived late Friday. Spent Saturday walking around to get to know the areas (several resorts together) and returned to she room to change for dinner. We had a plunge pool on our balcony and my wife used it to cool off. Upon re-entering the room (around 6:45 pm - we had 8:00 reservations) she slipped on the ramped slick tile floor, falling backward, landing on her tailbone and slammed her head against an end table. (See photos) She was seen by a resort Dr. ($122), sent to a private hospital ($16,000) later she thankfully was released around 4:00 AM with a head wound closed with 2 internal and 4 external stitches, an extremely sore neck, a severely bruised tailbone, three completed CT Scans and stitches closing a 1" circular wound on her leg. Being a private hospital, they would do nothing for her until they got their money. Neither they nor I were able to reach Humana, so charges had to be put on credit cards. The resort offered nothing for compensation except wanting to charge us for the wheelchair she now had to use. The balance of the trip was mainly spent in the room. Two excursions which were paid for were forfeited. Go to another resort, if looking to go to Cancun, there are plenty that are "all inclusive" and take out some travel insurance if your coverage will not take care of you out of the country. read more

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Avoid this resort at all costs. This place is absolute trash. We checked in to the grand Mayan, got to our room which was two bedrooms. My kids have been sleeping in their room for 2 nights, and all of their clothes, electronics, toiletries and medicines were in there. Today, as they went back to the room to shower for dinner the door to their room was locked. We spent two hours at the front desk and on the phones trying to get someone to open their room. Why on earth would you lock their room up with all of their things inside? They sent up someone who spoke zero English with a plunger and he refused to open the door and only asked about "bano". Now we have missed our dinner reservation and they have not even offered to get a new reservation, let alone comp the meal. This experience was the final straw but we have had a bad taste from the beginning- no welcome drink, no info about shuttles or transportation- just expect you to figure out how to navigate this monstrosity of a resort on your own. The rooms are extremely old and dated, the food is disgusting, and the employees are useless when asking for any info or help. My children do not feel safe here and want to leave. read more

Beautiful looking place but so hard to get around to find out what's happening. No printed maps and no lists of restaurants or hours available unless you download the app. App says one thing that is not necessarily correct. They still publish several places that no longer exist. Honestly, we've had better service at an all inclusive than we had here paying high dollar for their services. They also automatically add a charity fee to your bill and if you don't say something about it or your concierge doesn't tell you about it you'll pay for it. Food is good at Havana and Cafe del Lago. Jesus was amazing with us as was the waiter at Havana. We also enjoyed the music there during dinner. Jesus gave us pointers and extra special attention. He is the one that informed us of happenings around the resort. We missed Fiesta Mexicana because nobody mentioned that you had to purchase tickets days in advance. We went to the cirque but that wasn't worth $250 per person for VIP seats. They stop serving drinks during the show so really, how much can you consume? Also, they don't tell you that you can keep ordering bottles of champagne that are included in the price before the show begins and take them with you at the end. Many guests left their bottles on the tables because they weren't told. I personally would not return to this resort but it was ok just to try it out. Beach area doesn't really have a sandy beach area there are so many rocks all the way inside the water and some are slippery to step on since they grow stuff on them. We had issues with a server at the pool one day. Happy hour is from 12-2 pm but it takes over 45 minutes just to order and receive the drinks. The server tried to screw us over giving us the wrong beer and not bringing what we ordered. Staff said we would get a comp but that didn't happen either. On our 6th day we had a wonderful server that brought us more than one twofer at a time so we had plenty of drinks before happy hour ended and we tipped he very well. Food at Salum always came out cold. The only thing we received hot were the chicken wings only because we requested them extra crispy but everything else was cold. Again, nice place if you go just to relax. read more

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As soon as we arrived we left without even staying 24 hours. We made the decision to transfer resorts to enjoy our vacation. I would never recommend this resort! It is not all inclusive. You have to pay for every water bottle, coffee in your room, and all food. There was a kitchenette in our room but no pots or pans. The check in process took 2 hours. We had to go through metal detectors and have all our bags x-rayed. This was quite unsettling with small children. There was a high pressure sales scam for timeshare meeting that we kept saying no but they wouldn't take no for an answer and called over two other representatives to put on more pressure. The resort is not walkable with small children. You have to take a tram to get anywhere. We had to wait for several trams as they are all full at peak hours. We waited for 15-20 min anytime we needed to go to a restaurant to eat. None of the buildings are labeled. The direction signs are very confusing. I could not navigate myself anywhere around the facilities and staff was not helpful with directions. I did not sleep well because the halls and other rooms around us were so noisy. You can hear the tram all night too. Our AC in our room did not work well and it was still hot in our room. It was not the relaxing vacation I was expecting. read more

Stayed here with my husband in October and had a great time! The only thing I did not like is that it's not all inclusive and the beach was not enjoyable. It's a membership resort. But my husband was gifted with a trip there by Dream Travel Experience. The resort is really nice and relaxing. The restaurants were great! Good and drinks were really good! The pools were very clean and enjoyable! Pablo the person that transported us to our room and he took great care of us while we were there! Jorge and another gentle took great care of us I will insert his make when I remember! We appreciate that they had a shuttle that took us to playa del Carmen and Walmart. Very convenient! Oh And the entertainment was awesome! Just know when you have to get around you have to walk or get a transfer or take a golf cart because the resort is huge. read more

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SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!! This place is upsell city. From the second you get in they sell you for time shares and all that fun stuff. Nothing is included and you get taxed for everything. The property is way too huge and sometimes will leave you waiting for 20 min from a tram in pouring rain! Only thing that is decent is the food but that also is outrageous expensive read more

My DH and I had Disney points we were looking to trade through RCI and decided on The Grand Mayan in Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya Mexico. The first thing to note about this place is it is HUGE! It is a beautiful piece of property. The grounds are like a jungle, huge pools and well kept grounds. Walkways are constructed wrapping around the property with signs to direct where to go. When we arrived we meant our friends and immediately went to dinner as it was quite late figuring we could get our luggage after. Finally got to room and called for luggage and they brought the wrong bags! It took them an hour to find them. It was a very late night for us! Very high ceilings, our room was a little musty but cleared out after running the air condition but very clean. Many restaurants to choose from, wifi worked well and the app had a GPS function which was useful as the place was so large. We rented a car when we arrived and the resort had a central lobby where all cars were parked. You had to call for it, take a shuttle and pick up the car each and every time you wanted to drive it. Which was kind of an inconvenience as we had to wait to get it, you couldn't just get in your car and drive. Most people don't venture away from the property, they spend their whole vacation at the resort. It is a timeshare property so the first thing they do is hit you with a promotion and we did it as they gave us some good perks and DH wanted to do it for that reason only. The promoters were fine until we told them we didn't want to purchase and the last guy was rude to us. The friendliness of the Mexican people was the best thing about this resort! Probably never go here again as it was just to enormous for me. read more

The Grand Mayan - View from the infinity pool! - Resorts Near Me - Riviera Maya, ROO

We have been members of this resort for nearly 11 years, we were told AND have used discover multiple times. Well now they don't? And it's a cashless resort so they don't take cash but won't take discover? I used a different card but then they decided to early charge my account and max out my credit card! We did the obligatory member meeting and decided to not upgrade because we WERE content with our contact and plan. Well they decided to also deactivate our wristbands so we couldn't get into our room! These "5" diamonds by AAA must have been because they payed them off. Because the service you received does not reflect the services and property you get. Find another resort. They're a plenty others to enjoy that's not here. read more

I really enjoyed my here, first I'll start with the positives. After arriving in Mexico, I speak some Spanish so I didn't really get ripped off or anything, but it would have been possible otherwise. Got to my room early. Check-in was at 4pm they said so I gave them my luggage and I went on the resort grounds. I stayed at the grand Mayan, and at their lobby yu can get to most things by a short walk. So I went to a pool that was most closest. Met new people, they go me beyond wasted. Once 4 hit, they helped me to the lobby and the staff took over from there. I have no idea how I got on a cart, but I remember the cart pulling up to my room and they helping me open the door. And that's it, I remember nothing else. The staff was super helpful, but many only spoke Spanish. They will do their best though. My room was huge, I had a jacuzzi in my bathroom, and the jacuzzi opened up and faced yur room so yu can enter from yur bed. It was amazing. Yu can order food from the store on the resort to be delivered to yur room because getting around this place is like waiting for the subway in NYC. The food here was expensive but amazing, avoid the breakfast buffet at De Lagon though, in my opinion it was a waste of $25, and was not good. The bars are plenty and make amazing drinks. Like I said, the staff and bartenders were amazing and super fun. But everything is expensive to be prepared. Also be warned, alcohol hits yu differently when in the water vs out of the water. Overall, I had a great time, I loved this resort, and I was on the lower end spending around $450 for a week that I stayed. That's what I spent while at the resort. Also, yu will be eaten alive, mosquitoes and sand flies will destroy yur ankles and feet. read more

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I wanted to leave a review as before our vacation, reading other reviews, I was worried about our upcoming vacation. All I have to say is - wow! I am now leaving our week long trip with a huge smile on my face. This has by far been my most favorite family vacation and most of that was due to Vadanta! The grounds are absolutely breathtaking! I did not even explore the whole property or eat at every restaurant- you could be here for weeks and still come up with unexplored places. The property is immaculate and so luxurious. I was constantly blown away with the beauty of it all. Our initial room was not the best, a bit far from the main grounds and very cold (ac was on overload or heat didn't work) but we requested a room change and after waiting a day we were able to move. Our new room was perfect for our needs, close to the pools and restaurants and we were very pleased. The pools are amazing, we spent most of our time as a family of 4 (kids - 8 & 13) at the main pool. They had fun activities and my boys liked tossing a football around in the water. All the food was amazing but we loved the restaurant Salum the best. Such a cool spot! We were happy to not have an all inclusive as the drinks we got at Vidanta were stiff and delicious- no watered down punch like you get at all inclusive. We had room service often and it was quick to come to our room and delicious. The staff at Vidanta Grand Mayan and all over the property was top notch! Everyone was super nice and helpful. We also explored Jungala water park one day and had a blast! Also, the trams that take you all over the property were great and come often. Overall I highly recommend Vidanta Grand Mayan to anyone looking for an excellent, relaxing vacation. read more

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Eject, eject! If you can, cancel now. Don't go. The check in process is long and arduous. Follow that with an immediate assault by the "membership" sales person before even getting to the room. Didn't think it would get worse. And then it did. While the property is large and beautiful, getting around is difficult. You can choose either the Byzantine shuttle system, sometimes with shuttle changes to get to your desired location (e.g. pool, restaurant, or beach) or a web of walking paths that are not marked well with everyone joking how often they get lost. But wait, there is more. Noisiest room EVER. Next door neighbors sound like there are in your room. Noise from the marble covered hallways. Noise from loud shuttles passing by. Argh. The food is hit and miss; mostly miss. It's very difficult to leave the resort, so you feel trapped and end up paying for expensive, but mediocre food. On the positive side, the staff are very friendly and try to do what they can with the hand that they are dealt. Never done this before, but actually checked with the airline to see if I could change my flight to leave from my vacation early. All to say, not good. read more

Do not go! I have never been on a vacation and couldn't wait for it to be over just so I could get away from a resort, until now! The staff all gives different information, I asked for help and was directed to spot A, went to spot A and was then told it was not there to go to spot B, went to spot B and then told nope go elsewhere. It was frustrating to get anywhere and everyone we spoke to had the same complaint. The organization of their tram system is a complete joke! The rooms are all conjoined, which is pretty normal, but usually you don't hear your neighbors conversation... unfortunately our neighbors decided to stay up all night and we got to hear every word all night long. The walls are paper thin and there is no sound proofing on the doors connecting the rooms. The food quality was ok but the selections were very poor. It is a shame that with Mexico having such amazing food none of it is offered at this resort - we had to make a 20 minute trip to Playa del Carmen to get good tacos. The wristbands/room keys are put on way too tight and the plastic cuts into your wrist. All pool bars close at 5pm - at a resort in Mexico how do you close a bar at 5pm?? No information about activities is given out, you have to go on their app to search, yet the search is not helpful - we found out about a foam party days after yet it never appeared on our app. Their app is their only source for a map of the property or menus to the restaurants yet their wifi is a total fail, if you depend on wifi you will be in tons of trouble. If you don't get kicked off every 5 minutes you get no signal. The stairways are covered with bees every morning - be careful. Beware - at checkout they try to add on several random fees including a donation!! If you do stay there be sure to double/triple check your bill and ask questions of each line item. read more

I will never visit any of the Vidanta resorts anywhere ever again! I have never been on a vacation and couldn't wait for it to be over just so I could get away from a resort, until now! The staff all gives different information, we asked for help and was directed to spot A, went to spot A and was then told it was not there to go to spot B, went to spot B and then told nope go elsewhere. It was frustrating to get anywhere as you had to take multiple trams just to get to the place you want to go to. Everyone we spoke to had the same complaint. The organization of their tram system is a complete joke! If you decide to walk, it may take you anywhere between 15-30 minutes. The rooms are all conjoined, which is pretty normal, but usually you don't hear your neighbors conversation... unfortunately our neighbors decided to stay up all night and we got to hear every word all night long. The walls are paper thin and there is no sound proofing on the doors connecting the rooms. You also hear everyone walking/running through the hallways and slamming doors. The food quality was not that good and the selections were very poor. We only had 3 meals that were decent during the whole week we were there. It is a shame that with Mexico having such amazing food none of it is offered at this resort - we had to make a 20 minute trip to Playa del Carmen to get good tacos. The wristbands/room keys are put on way too tight and the plastic cuts into your wrist. All pool bars close at 5pm - at a resort in Mexico how do you close a bar at 5pm?? No information about activities is given out, you have to go on their app to search, yet the search is not helpful - we found out about a foam party days after yet it never appeared on our app. Their app is their only source for a map of the property or menus to the restaurants yet their wifi is a total fail, if you depend on wifi you will be in tons of trouble as you keep getting kicked off every 5 minutes. The stairways are covered with bees every morning - be careful. Beware - at checkout they try to add on several random fees including a donation!! I handed them my credit card and asked them to charge my bill on it so that I would get my full $1000 deposit back. They told me the card was already on file and they will charge it so I can receive my full deposit back. They even confirmed it back to me that they would charge my card. My card was not charged and when we went to double check why they said we told them to take it off the deposit, which I never said. If you do stay there be sure to double/triple check your bill and ask questions of each line item. read more

Completely fell in love with this resort, my husband and I went for our 15 year anniversary and he couldn't have been any happier to have chosen to stay at the grand Mayan Riviera Maya resort. The property is in enormous, you have to take the trolley to get to different spots of the resorts. The staff was amazing!! They treated us so well, made us feel at home. Anything that we needed or had questions bout you can easily approach anyone of their staff and they would direct you in the right direction. Our room was huge! They placed us in a Junior suite, which felt more like an apartment then anything else. The food at the resort was so on point. You can't go wrong where you go, everything was delicious and flavorful. Personally one of my favorites was the ceviche restaurant. OMG you would not regret it. They have recently finished their new waterpark that is located by the Jungle buildings. We did not get to see is it completed but according to another staff by now they should already have it up and running. It looks like so much fun and I think I will be booking our next stay with my family at this resort. The only thing that you do you have to keep in mind is that being that this resort is so big the trolleys can only keep up so much. They say that the trolley stop at their designated locations every 15 minutes however that wasn't always the case for us. So if you have a reservation to any of their restaurants or to see the famous Cirque du Soleil (which is a must) show I highly recommend that you give yourself more than enough time to wait out for your trolley to arrive. No need to get all flustered and lose your cool, remember you are on vacation and getting stressed is not on the agenda :) read more

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I'm at the hotel now. 3rd day never again. I'm a travel agent. You will get lost. You will have no clue where you are. Rooms ok. Staff horrible. Not responding to our needs. Asked for 1st floor. Checking in...said yes. Actually 3rd floor. Pools. Make sure you know what pools are for your hotel. They don't tell you and if you have an issue. Too bad. "Not my hotel". You were a the main pool. That's not ours. Oh! Where does it state this. NOT ON THE MAP....NOT ON THE APP? No answer. Hallway smells like someone has been sick for 3 days!!! Restaurant...don't go too late! Make reservations if you are able. Pool staff ignorant to guest. read more

Boring as fuck. Trapped in a resort. If you like heat and shallow hot pools this is your place. Carmen nearby tourist trap. No authenticity. Expensive food at resort. read more

I am going to start off with how they require a $1500 usd or $500 usd deposit hold. You do not receive your deposit back until 2 days after checkout and they keep/charge $52 usd for tax for a week staying there. Check in is not until 5:00PM however you are able to relax and wait in the very large lounge areas with many seating available until check in time. They still need to change the time because day is gone after 5:00. My experience at check in is not good. I had to use the bathroom very badly and the bracelets they give you as keys to the room didn't work and the man in the building couldn't fix it and there are no bathrooms in the buildings you stay in so I almost had an accident. The grounds are beautiful, pools are nice, the chairs do fill up during Christmas time so make sure to get to a chair before 10:00AM. There is a walkway in nature and that was beautiful. You have access to the beach and beach is pretty. They have Happy hour 2 for 1 daily 12-2pm. Staff are very friendly. There are flamingos you can see until 5:00pm. There is a boutique that has really nice stuff as well as a grocery area. Things are limited with grocery and of course everything is high up in price. We stayed at the Grand Mayan and they have bracelet making, and bingo my kids enjoyed, make sure to download the app for the schedule. The "free" movies there isn't free they require you pay 65 pesos pp when a can of soda in the Jade boutique is only 30 pesos. The rooms are very spacious and maids came and cleaned. Two days in a row they did not come to clean the rooms and I had to call and complain because one I even asked in the hallway for more water and she never bought it to me. We spent every day by the pool. Other guests are rude in that they will just run onto the shuttle regardless of families that have already been waiting and during busy times you may be left stuck having to wait on the next cart to come. So he sure to stand up and wait near the entrance to get on. Another thing that you need to be aware of is they third party contract with taxi drivers and there are set prices to go to the different areas and if you do not make the taxi drivers know you are aware and show them the brochure (Be sure to get from concierge the taxi price list), THEY WILL TRY AND SCAM YOU BY CHARGING YOU MORE. There is a shuttle that takes you to the Playa Del Carmen downtown area It's cash only for the shuttle, it's 110 pesos or $8 usd per person one way. The shuttle starts at 8am and runs every 2 hours leaving the resort, and is scheduled to return every 2 hours. Information is on the taxi and shuttle brochure. No Ubers are allowed anywhere in Mexico but Cancun. Uber will drop you off to the resort though. Ubers are not allowed at the airport in Cancun however. The best rate hotel shuttle I found is Happy Shuttle. Follow my YouTube channel for more tips and info on travel Jennifer Mariee The Money Saver. read more

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The service is great and the hotel staff is very friendly and helpful but all the good things end there. Once you check in you're with standard Timeshare offer for a 90 minute presentation and free breakfast. DO NOT DO THIS! This ended up being a 7 hour bait and switch that wasted our entire day. When we complained about that they said "oh no so sorry" and pretend they didn't know what went wrong. The cost also doesn't make sense because you have to buy a unit starting at 26k and up from there, then to use it you pay a usage fee. We are RCI owners and it's more expensive to book the same accommodation using their PVC (private vacation club) than it is to book the resort fee through RCI. They are always doing construction and adding new things but they neglect the older buildings. Nails popping out of ceilings, vents that haven't been dusted in years. We stayed in the Grand Mayan 15 years ago and on this trip. Honestly it didn't look like it's been touched since the hurricane in 04. The resort is about 30 minutes from Playa so they do a great job of keeping you on the resort to spend money. This is vacation so really not a big deal to me. Food & drinks are expensive (dinner is easily 200/night for family of 4 with 1 alcoholic drink). Breakfast is buffet style at 2 main restaurants and that's $100 for some waffles and eggs. You are better off going to Walmart and cooking in the room if you have the ability. I've been traveling to Mexico since the late 90s. This place is beautiful but it's no different than any other high-end resort that you find in the states. If you're looking to get away to a pool or beach then there are way better options. Especially the beach because the one here isn't usable. I enjoyed the trip because it was vacation but I would not consider coming back to Vidanta **This is an edit after the flippant response from management on Google reviews** First off this is my 4th time staying with Grand Mayan although the first as Vidanta resorts. The presentation is billed as a 90 minute sale including breakfast. We were at the meeting place at 8:15 as scheduled to be done by 945 and specifically told by the staff so we would be done to enjoy the water park that opens at 10. We were half way done with breakfast at the 90 minute mark. We had set a timer to walk away but we stayed to give the salesman an opportunity figuring maybe another hour and we can still make the park. They said no pressure, if you say no we shake hands and walk away as friends. We said no, then came the manager. We said no again then came big Manager. We were told that if we wanted to sell they could help put us in touch with someone local to assist. We specifically asked about this because we didn't want to try and sell a property being in the U.S should travel get shut down in the future. Once told this we decided to buy. When we went to the legal department the lady so no they don't do that so we blew up the contract. My kids lost an entire day and I simply asked to be compensated by giving my kids entry to the water park for free. This would have cost them $100. I was told "no we don't do that." I asked for a dinner, no they would only do a breakfast. As mentioned in my first post the breakfast is bland and over priced so we weren't interested in eating there anymore. We had gone into town and bought groceries to make our own. They say in their own words "we want to be like Disney, or Gucci & be known for luxury & customer service." I have taken Disney cruises and these guys fail hard in that regard. Disney or those high end retailers would never let a guest walk away angry. Notice my comments about the condition of the place were completely ignored in the response from management. I can only presume that's because they can't refute what I posted. Stay away if you are RCI, these guys don't care about you unless you want to sell that membership and buy from them. The reason is because they have a 1 in 5 rule meaning you can only stay with them through RCI once every 5 years. So why would they do anything to help? They don't care, they have your money & you won't be back for 5 years so the attitude is screw you. read more

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My family and I enjoyed our time. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. I truly enjoyed the nightlife at Salum (live music or dancers) on different nights and restaurants. My favorites were the Nutella stuff churros and the horchata stand. The pools are incredible plus offer 2 for 1 alcohol drinks (piña coladas, margaritas and more) from 12-2pm. The food is great. Not an all-inclusive resort and prices are comparable to the United state. The resort is large and they offer a trolley system which passes by all areas every 10 minutes. Easy to use and there's constantly staff directing you. You also have the opportunity to walk to destinations with plenty of to inform you which direction to go which my husband and I use fairly often. They're flamingos alligators, there's a ton of iguanas on property. If you were easily bitten by mosquitoes bug spray. We brought our four month-old baby and had a mosquito net for her stroller and she did fine. However, my husband is prone to get in by mosquitoes and he definitely did. Overall, great vacation. Peaceful and enjoyable. read more

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