We exchanged one-week via RCI to stay at Mayan Palace. The Grand Maya Palace is more exclusive. This is our 3rd stop in our 2-week Cancun/
Isla Mujeres/Riviera Maya visit. We rented a car to drive around and you needed one to stay at this place.

Mayan Resort is huge, so much so it is a little overwhelming when we first arrived. We stayed at Building #21 (upon our request, the one closest to the parking lot). From our building to the lobby and the swim pool, however, you will need to take a tram. I actually like the tram. The wait can be a little long and crowded at times but it is fun. If you don't have car, you should definitely ask for buildings closer to the lobby. Without the tram, you can also walk inside the building corridor so it is not hot.

With a property this big, the parking lot should be improved. The lot is not paved and small. The road is bumpy to the lot and good luck finding space when you arrive late. Be careful when backing out your car in the morning.

Unlike other reviews, I found the room clean with a nice marble floor, granite countertop. We had a suite so it had a bedroom, kitchen, living room (2 sinks but only 1 bathroom). The sheets did have stains when we first checked in so we pulled it off for exchange the next day.

You can fuse washer/dryer for $8/per load (include the detergent). It is a little pricey. With additional $3, you can have the maid to do the laundry and fold your clothing for you. That's a great deal.

The store/market (Jade) has good selections. The sandwich/wrap/panini are reasonable price, $7 so as the breakfast pastry. Since we have car, we didn't eat at the property other than getting sandwiches. Lunch menu seems reasonable prices at the snack bar but dinner is a bit expensive.

The ground is very well kept. There are always crews working. We had a tennis session there for $10 per session (not per hour). They can provide the balls and racket (sub-par quality though but didn't expect much).

We attended a timeshare sales talk there. What a mistake it was, I had attended a few presentations but never had one this horrible. It was so bad I found it slightly amusing. The guy didn't talk to us at all during breakfast and briefly walked out from us. He lost his temper! I hope he changes profession for his own sake. What a dis-service to the property. I complained to the sales manager and property representitive.

Oh, the swimming pool is not just big but huge. I have never seen a swimming pool this big, nice shape, a bit shallow but good. The staff led many activities. The kid's club is also around the pool. You can also play foosball and ping pong there.

It is easy to go to tourist attractions from Riviera Maya. Tulum, Xelha, Xcaret, Playa del Carman, Puerto Moreles (north) are all on Rt 307 but you need a rental car. Watch out for the bumps in the highway (at least 5 to Playa del Carman for a 20-minute drive) and also beware of scams at gas station.

Make sure the meter is reset to 0.00 and count your money. I got scam at PeMex #8120 (the first gas station on Rt 307 South from Mayan Palace). They told me I paid them 220 peso (but in fact I paid them 400 peso). I think I got scammed for not resetting the pump and pay them 200 extra peso. What a dishonest gas station. That is a rather unfortunate impression of my Mexico experience.

Xelha is nice (the whole family likes it a lot). Xcaret is a little over rated. If you want to go to Tulum, go early in the morning (to avoid crowd and not as hot). BTW, it is free on Sunday. Get a copy of Frommer's Cancun day by day, I find it very useful.

For grocery shopping, you can go to Mega or Walmart in Playa Del Carmen (Av 30). Ave 5 at Carman was very nice, many many restaurants and gift shops. Plaza La Fiesta has great selection but a little pricey.

On our last day, on the way to the airport, we got pulled over by a police officer, who asked for money to make it "cheaper". I bargained with him to pay $20 from the $50 that he asked. A little scary but lucky we got off for so little money.

Overall, we enjoyed the time in Riviera Maya and Mayan Palace despite the scam and corrupt polce. Sometimes, you simply can't buy experience especially when you don't get hurt. ;-D

We spent our honeymoon at the Mayan Palace resort from June 22-June 29 of this year. If you are taking the arranged shuttle at the Cancun airport, be sure you know whether your staying at a Mayan Palace or Grand Mayan building, as they have separate check-in lobbies. We stayed at the Grand Mayan, building 3 (next to a crocodile pit), which was a 5 minute to the pool, restaurants, beach, etc.. It was a suite, no kitchen or fridge, so daily trips to an ice machine down the hall were necessary. The room was gorgeous, all ceramic tile, bedroom and bathroom were separated by a jacuzzi. Some suites were actually equipped with mini-pools on the balconies.

Upon checking in, your given a bracelet to wear all week, and they also request a credit card to take care of your daily expenses. For example, if you order a drink at the pool, they ask for your room number, you sign a receipt, that's it. If you eat at a restaurant, they ask your room number, you sign a receipt, that's it. Tips are also included on any food or drink purchase, so don't feel the need. We did tip the room service staff just for the excellent job they do, our living area table was turned into a five-star restaurant table right in front of our very eyes! At the end of the week, concierge will print out a total of your charges, and the amount of your bill. Save all receipts just in case of a discrepency!

The restaurants and food was excellent! We ate at Tromonto, an Italian/Steak restaurant, be not afraid of the bread basket!! Havana Moon is a restaurant along the beach, great food, live music, Habanero Grill is a BBQ buffet on the beach, also good other than the flying pests, we ate at Del Lago for breakfast everyday, everything and anything you could ever want is there! The staff at all the restaurants are unreal, working tirelessly, keeping drinks refilled, tables clean, etc.. The menus are not intimidating at all, each restaurant had steak, chicken, pizza, mexican, seafood, salads, something for everybody.

Went to Playa del Carmen one night, ate at Senor Frogs, walked 5th avenue, shopped at Wal-Mart. You'll experience everything from the local aggressive sales pitches, mariachi bands, pet monkeys, and endless souvenir spots. The cab ride was 20 bucks each way.

I probably don't need to say anything about the pool or beach, it seems that everyone has the same opinion, pool is huge (open 24 hours), beach is nice, ocean is rocky. The pool and ocean are the same water temperature, probably about 88 degrees. If your not used to the sun or humidity, being out in the heat could be brutal at first. We learned to rotate with the sun, get in and out of the pool often. While at the pool, the guys wearing orange shirts will take drink/food orders, so don't be shy.

Other things we learned during the week:

1. Local lizards are roaming the grounds, so watch your step while walking the paths.
2. The black birds are basically a local pigeon, you'll hear their unique whistles and songs.
3. Del Lago does a nightly show and theme, Thursdays are Mexican party night, free sombrero, t-shirt, drink. Reserve tickets early in the week, as this sells out quickly!!!!
4. If your a golfer, the par 3 golf course is awesome, they supply decent clubs to rent, driving range, do buy some balls though, a lot of water holes on the course, including an island green.
5. The resort tap water is fine, no illness to report, they do however supply bottled water if you fear.
6. Walking around the resort isn't a big deal, I read reviews on this page prior to going to Mayan Palace, those who complain are either lazy or spoiled. A day walking around Riviera Maya beats any day at work in Pittsburgh.
7. The dreaded timeshare presentation: At check-in, they will ask you to sign up for a presentation sometime later in the week, we signed up for the 10% discount they offer. The presentation ended up being 90 minutes, including free breakfast. If I could do it over again, I would've declined the presentation.

That's about it, overall it was a great week, great honeymoon, would love to return sometime in the future.

Just returned from a week trip at the mayan palace.
Lots of activites at the pool area every day ,from making braclets to pirate nights ,kareoke,treasure hunts ,making pinatas,chess,darts the list is endless.Yours kids will be busy the whole day. The activity staff dont stop at 5pm they go on till 10pm with movies for childen .

The restaurants were fabulous ,we ate at the havana restaurant several times during our stay and there was live music and dancing in the evening too.
The Tramato was amazing we ate there only the last day, Dressy affair, excellent service.

Groceries- we went to walmart in playa del carmen, but later ventured into the on site shop which was a mini supermarket/deli/pharmacy this would have been better for us as we spent 40 dollars on taxis and the prices in the store although a bit more expensive than walmart would have worked out about the same when we took into account the extra taxi fare cost.
There was fresh bread cereals deli sandwiches, water icecream coke etc everything you would need for your stay could have been purchased on site.

The room beautiful, spacious ,well equiped kitchen ,
we stayed in building 12 directly opposite the lobby. This meant a short trip on the golf cart /train to the pool and around the resort. We did not find this inconveinient as the golf trains were really frequent .
Staff very freindly ,most spoke english . Timeshare talk I declined and was not pestured during our stay at all ( I am already an owner but had not been to this location before.)
Beach - sand cleaned ,lots of cabanas and seating available ,rocky though so bring some watershoes if you want to go in the water.
Pools well maintained and heated (great for night swimming 24 hour pools) lots of comfortable seating poolside.
We rented the palapas for 2 days ( you can rent 1 day in advance , 30 dollars per day , you have to use them and be there by 11 am or they get reassigned. Great to relax ,clean linen on the bed and the pillows . If you eat in the pool side restaurant or order food by the pool side then you get the 3o dollars deducted.from your bill,Make sure you eat on the days you rent the palapa, then the credit can be applied. Check you bill to make sure the charges are deducted on check out.
The delago restauant has a great buffet and we went to the ancient mayan show,-spectacular.

Cheaper to do taxi to airport than use the resort shuttle

The resort has some major construction going on a water park as well as additonal building being added. Very little noise to disturb the holiday at all.

Would definately return to this Mayan Palace .Amazing freindlly staff ,great maid service ,animation team kept both adults and children busy.

Luxury -yet affordable

hope this helps

Our party of eight stayed at the Mayan Palace June 28 - July 5. This was our 6th stay at this Mayan Palace and it was as wonderful as always. My husband and I are timeshare owners at this resort. We took some friends (their 3rd trip with us) and our daughter and a friend. I will summarize the experience and will provide some property updates for those of you who are like me and are interested in the progress/changes made since your last trip.

1. We arrived Saturday afternoon. We rented a minivan in Cancun, but there was not enough room for all 8 of us, so we arranged in advance with the concierge for the Mayan Palace shuttle to meet my daughter and her friend at the airport. The shuttle was waiting at the airport upon our arrival. No trouble finding it in the mess of people outside the airport. The shuttle fee is free from the airport and $15 per person to return to the airport.
2. Check in was fine. Since we always take so many people with us, there are a lot of us crowded around the desk signing and getting our armbands, but it goes smoothly and there was only one other person in line in front of us.
3. We were in building 6. My daughter was in building 5 - just down the hall from us. The room was very clean and well stocked. Of course it is Mexico in July, so hello humidity. Not unusual and certainly nothing to complain about since we all know to expect it.
4. We stayed at the resort most of the time this trip--we were all tired and needed the relaxation. We used the car to go out most evenings for dinner and for a day trip to the Tulum beaches one day and to Akumal one evening for dinner. We always like the convenience of a car and usually explore more, but decided next time we may not even get one as we have explored a lot of the area over the years and the resort now has so many dining choices, we would certainly be happy eating there. Speaking of....
5. We ate the the pool snack bar most days and found the food to be very good. The cheeseburger is wonderful and big enough for two. The Habanero Grill is located on the beach just beside the Havana Moon Restaurant. They have a buffet each night that consists of grilled barbeque ribs, chicken, steak, burgers, hotdogs, and wonderful, wonderful grouper. Also there is a salad bar, vegetables, rolls, and a large selection of desserts. The chairs are in the sand and it is very relaxing. The cost is $21 per person - all you can eat. The Havana Moon is a really pretty restaurant. We did not eat there for dinner but did eat breakfast several mornings. Most breakfast items were $6.50 and slightly higher and were delicious. For the first time ever, we had dinner at Tramonto one night. I had read mixed reviews and was always a little hesitant to pay higher prices for something that might disappoint - well, it did NOT disappoint. It was great. Between all of us we had the parmesan crusted grouper, ribeye, filet, bacon wrapped shrimp and the chicken parmesan. We all were very pleased. The prices ranges in the $20s for the entree. The steaks were the most expensive - around $26 to $28. Each entree is served with 2 side items. We will definitely eat there again.
6. Pool beds are now rented. We rented two on Sunday morning for Sunday and Monday. You can only rent for two days at a time. You must spend at least $30 at the pool restaurant and/or bar to get the beds free. The cost is deducted from your bill at checkout. This was done without difficulty.
7. I heard no construction noise during the week. I'm certain there was construction, but it sure didn't bother us. The area in front of the main building is where the construction efforts seem to be. I have included a photo of the progress.
8. Timeshare pitches: never bothered.
9. Maid service great, workers all smiles and polite, pool was fantastic.

If questions, just send me an email.