My husband and I just got back from the Oasis Playa and we loved it. There were some minor issues but when we called the front desk they took care of the problem as well as gave us a better room. The food was ok not the best but hey this is Mexico. Don't believe all the bad reviews. I did and was expecting the worst but was pleasently surprised. I think people just love to complain and feel a need to make things worse then they really are. Entertainment wise we did get an opportunity to see a couple of shows at the hotel and we had a great time. The Beach was beautiful although it was very windy at times and it was rough but that is not the hotels fault. We did get annoyed alot by the people who were selling time shares but than again we would just ignore them and end up leaving to go on tours and do some shopping. For our fist time ever in Cancun we had the BEST time and are looking forward to going back again.

We purchased the 5 Apple Square Deal and were placed at the Grand Oasis Playa from May 26 to June 2nd. (We have stayed at the Grand Oasis for the last 4 trips to Cancun, this was our first time to the Playa) We arrived before 11:00 a.m. and were immediately given a lagoon view room. We asked the front desk rep, Benjamin for an upgrade. He advised that it would cost around $36.00 per day. My husband offered him $100 for the week and he gladly accepted. The room we occupied for the first 2 days was #681. The ocean view from the room was astonishing. Our room was VERY clean and there were NO BUGS !!! There was absolutely NO air conditioning. Benjamin sent up a fan when I complained! After 2 days and still no air, we moved to room #753 ( still Very cleann and still NO BUGS). The view was just as perfect as the first room and had fair air conditioning. The rooms are average, only 2 drawers for your clothes, a large closet, our balcony was large and had 2 loungers and 2 chairs and a round bath tub (no jets) on it. We had fresh sheets on the bed every day and towel art on the bed and bath tub. Had some trouble getting the mini bar stocked. They only allow 3 sodas, 2 waters and 2 beers per day. Room service was fast and the steak, spaghetti and cheesecake were very satisfying. It seemed as every bartender, every housekeeper, every front desk person, every bellhop, etc., that we came across; went out of their way to help us with whatever we needed. We attened the Hotel Managers Cocktail Party one evening at the lobby bar and won the Grand Prize!!!! We received a couples 60 minute massage, sauna for 2, jacuzzi for 2 and champagne. What a wonderful way to spend the next morning (especially since it was raining). The spa and the personnel working in the spa were absolutely wonderful and very personable. To get to the buffet restaurant, you need to go down approx 30 steps. Not too bad down, but a real pain after eating a large meal. We had no problems with any of the food in any of the restaurants. Remember if you are there for 4 or more days, you can get one $20 dine out certificate per person for one of 4 excellent restaurants. We chose La Dolce Vita, and had a wonderful meal. The concierge will make the reservation for you. This property is much smaller that the Grand Oasis, but I think we enjoyed it even more. Mostly because it was much smaller and earier to get around. The pools are beautiful and the beach is perfect. You will find beds on the beach which were quite nice and free of charge to use. There was not much for nightly entertainment. They hosted a few dancing shows for about 30 minutes each on a couple evenings. The disco was not very entertaining. We went 2 times and there were only people there each time. We like to leave the hotel to shop and eat out once in a while and this trip we went to Hard Rock, Margarittaville ,La Dolce Vita and My Place. We had such a great time, we're heading back to Cancun over the July 4th Holiday !!! I'm not why so many mixed reviews. My only thought is that some are first timers to Cancun and do not know what to expect. Relax..........and enjoy your trip !!!

To see where we are coming from, you can look at our Nov 26, 2006 post for the Gran Caribe Real in Cancun. We rated it 5 stars all across the board. This particular trip was booked thru a travel agent, flying from Ft. Lauderdale and staying 3 nights for $523.00 per person. It was my wife and I in one room, and my 60yr old parents in the other. We had Olympus Tours pick us up from the airport and take us back and they were fantastic. They were on time and had brand new buses. When we arrived at the Grand Oasis Playa and were immediately given welcome drinks, frozen strawberry drinks. We were told what our all inclusive package included and then given the keys to our room. The rooms were OK, average for a hotel in Cancun. The maids were very thorough in their cleaning of the rooms. The beach was the best of any I saw in Cancun, the sand was all there, which is not what I can say about 95% of all the other hotels on the strip. The pool area was unbelievable, the pools look out over the ocean and are amazing. There are 5 bars around the pool and beach that are very nice......when they are open. There was only 1 open at a time, which was very disappointing. The alcohol selection was below average, no name brands,,,,,,but, you get privelidges to go over to the Grand Oasis (1.5 miles up the beach), and in their lobby bar they have all mid shelf alcohol (stoli, Jim Beam, Bacardi, etc.). In fact, They have a very nice selection of good restarants (better than at the Playa) and nice quiet areas to hang out. The restaurants at The Playa are below average, and the buffet frequently served room temp food that was supposed to be hot. Our mini fridge was never stocked, ever, and I spoke to 13 people trying to get some bottled water and was unable to get anywhere. I was lied to constantly. It was very frustrating. My parents did not believe me and they treid themselves, to no avail. They were lied to (we can not unlock the cabinet the water is in, etc....)Funny thing is, when we went to the Grand Oasis we asked the waiter for water and he brought us two big bottles, without any problems. So, I do not know why it is a problem to get water at one property but not another. We made an appointment at the Playa for the Brazilian Steakhouse at The Grand Oasis property, we even had a written confirmation for a party of 4 to eat at 8pm. Funny thing is, when we took the bus over to the other property we found out that the Brazilian steakhouse has been closed for over a week. Another lie. One day, the hotel passed out 360 fliers, one in everyones room advertising drinks, deserts, and entertainment at Cafe Flambe at 8pm that night. Guess what we saw at 8pm that night in the lobby.......nothing. I asked the manager why Cafe Flambe has not been open once, he said because it was windy out, I asked why couldn't the coffee and deserts be served inside, I got no answer. I also asked why they would pass out 360 fliers for an event they never put on, I got no answer. So, as I close my review, I suggest you really look at what you want in an all inclusive resort. Is it food (pretty bad at the Playa), beach (excellent) service (not too good) because it is all relative. Maybe if we spent $800 per person and went to the Cancun Palace we would have gotten better service ( I would assume), better food( I sure hope so ) and a better beach (DEFINATELY NOT, THEIR BEACH WAS TOTALLY ERRODED AND WAS FULL OF HUGE ROCKS)

My Previous Cancun vacations:
-twice at Cancun Palace
-twice at Melia Turquesa
-once at Marriott Casa Magna
-once at Rio Caribe (north side)

The good:
-great view from the ocean front rooms
-great water – no rocks, good sand
-beautiful terraces (although some of the sidewalks are chipped, so don’t walk barefood)
-plenty of vegetation creates tropical atmosphere (unlike some other renovated hotels that no longer planted any palm trees)
-umbrellas on the beach… also beds and couches (but they don’t look very clean)
-cascading pools (very nice to look at, but dirty… see below)

The bad (HOTEL):
-old, musty, moldy smell permeates the hallways, cafeteria and lobbies
-pool is NOT chlorinated, allowing the seagulls and other birds to freely drink the water – my boyfriend an I both got swimmers itch from this… I never went back in the pool after that
-the food is, at best, unappetizing – I could list countless examples, so here is a small sampling [salmon sushi at the sushi bar was gray (did not eat it), burgers at Las Palmas restaurant were unedible]
-the restaurants take about 30 minutes to serve food – the buffet is still the fastest
- the entertainment team is unorganized and the only c onsistent activity for them was water aerobics

The bad (ROOM)
-ant problem – ants in the room, bed, walls – very slow service to come spray… had to call many times over the course of a few days
-cockroach problem – one morning my boyfriend put on his swim trunks and felt something crawling back there… he immediately removed them and out fell a 3-inch orange/black cockroach – had to call several times to have the room sprayed, but we never found the cockroach, which hid under our bed
-leaking ceiling created puddle of water in the bathroom
-bathtub was EXTREMELY dirty – do NOT shower without shoes
-water was dirty (see pictures), probably from rusty boilers
-the safe requires a key and operates by inserting/removing metal rod on the top (where you can’t see, because it’s placed too high) – it also cost us $50 for the week to use it
-the entire room smells bad
-the sheets were dirty when we got there and again a few days later – we took some Kleenex to clean the brown/red spots, and they came off easily, indicating that the sheets had not been properly washed
-the towels were dirty