Tips on a Great Vacation at the Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan - Mayan Riviera

I wrote this as I conclude an absolutely wonderful vacation at the Mayan Palace and Grand Mayan in the Mayan Riviera with an extended family (two seniors, four adults and three children under 10). Before we started our vacation, I did a lot of research at travel sites (i.e., Tripadvisor.com) and got some very useful information. Most of it was helpful, but a little bit of it was misleading. While I was at the Mayan Palace, I have learned many other things that will make your vacation here as wonderful as ours and have tried to set forth some of the better tips below. These tips are not for everyone, you should think of your personal preference, but these were things I thought were very helpful to us and will help us when we return to this Grupo Mayan property.

Travel Books and Maps:

There are not many very good maps of the region - the best ones, by far, are available at www.cancunmaps.com. These are maintained by a couple from the Midwest who do it as a real labor of love. They are very informative. Get the one that describes Playa del Carmen and the Mayan Riviera. They are only $8.00 and very worth it.

We also got several guide books. Both Frommer’s and Fodor’s were good. You only need to buy one of them as they are very similar.

Even if you never leave the property, these materials will give you a good sense of what surrounds you and make good reading by the pool as you plan out future days events.

Get a low-numbered building!

The resort is just HUGE. Your experience will be improveded significantly if you are in a low numbered building - either at the Mayan Palace or the grand Mayan. If you are in a higher-numbered building it is almost too far to walk to the pool and restaurant area and you will need to wait for the intermittent shuttles (you may have to wait up to 3 0 minutes for one). Beg, bribe, plead or do whatever else you can when you check in to make sure you get a low-numbered building. We were lucky - I would have actually tried to bribe the guy checking in if it hadn’t worked out - it is that important to your experience.

If you are a “guest” (rather than an owner) and you evidences some interest in the timeshare purchasing opportunity you might actually have an advantage here. The owners of the resort are not dumb - they understand it is spread out and want potential purchasers to have the best experience possible. Don’t express TOO MUCH interest though . . . .


Timeshare sales Presentation:

Remember - time shares are sold, not bought. Most of the people who have had a negative experience at this resort (per the many reviews I read on-line) have been colored by a negative experience with a time share sales presentation. I strongly suggest that you avoid it if you can. The benefits (10% off incidental charges and $50 credit) are really not worth the pain. They promise it will only be 90 minutes, but it is rare for people to escape in less than four hours. Be very firm and say NO - continually! If you actually tell them that you are not interested up front (when you check in - after you have been assigned your room - I think they will leave you alone).

The time shares are no bargain. If you like the Mayan Palace, you are better off renting an unused week from another owner. The best way to do that is through John and Linda of www.mayanrentals.com. They have the secondary market for these timeshares down to a science and they really know the Mayan Palace system.

Units:

We stayed in the Grand Mayan while people we were traveling with (owners) stayed in the Mayan Palace. The rooms in the Grand Mayan are bigger, and have slightly better finish but the Mayan Palace is still quite nice. I would equate them to a high-level (but not exclusive hotel in the U.S.). The Mayan Palace rooms do not have useable balconies. They are only about two or three feet wide (deep). The ones in the Grand Mayan are useable - and they actually have a cooling pool on them about four times the size of a bathtub. They are very refreshing (the water is significantly colder than the rest of the pools). The kitchenette is also bigger and slightly better appointed, although no more functional than the ones in the MP.

Both levels of units have significant sleeping capacity. In addition to king size beds, both units had several comfortable couches/day beds in the living room and sheets and pillows. While not exactly luxurious - these sleeping accommodations are actually pretty comfortable. Both children and adults in our group used these without complaint.

Which “level” you spring for is a personal preference and a matter of your budge. The Grand Mayan rooms rival the best “vacation condos” I have stayed in.

Transportation around the Resort:

The resort is so large and spread-out that you can consume a lot of your day traveling from your room to the pool and restaurant area - particularly if you find that you have forgotten something at your room. As I mentioned earlier, the shuttles are not particularly reliable. When we go back, I am going to seriously consider bringing my Razor scooter, a skateboard or some rollerblades. The paths between the building are all paved and don’t have significant cracks or depressions. One of those modes of transportation would be perfect for those quick shuttles between buildings.

The Pool:

The best feature of the resort is the main pool. It is really a set of three inter-connected pools with some small waterfalls in between them. It really is spectacular. Two things to keep in mind here:

(1) There are a number of free-standing palapas around the pool as well as a large number of chaise lounges. Consistent with other Mayan properties (and contrary to the “rules” of the property), these areas are informally “reserved” by guests as early as 5:00/5:30 in the morning by depositing a towel or other personal item on them. This “palapa shell game” is repeated every morning. If you are a morning person and don’t want to spring for a palapa bed, you may want to do this. By 7:30, nearly every piece of furniture around the pool is spoken for.

(2) You can “rent” a large poolside palapa bed (a large bed covered by a palapa roof around the pool for the price of 300 pesos/day. What they don’t tell you, however, is that the cost of the palapa is credited against any drinks or food you buy from their roving waiters. If you are willing to buy lunch through the poolside café, this is the way to go since you can easily spend the 300 pesos plus on guacamole and cervezas. These beds are allocated from the poolside café (Balche) at 7:15 each morning for that day and the following day. Make sure you get there early as people start waiting at least fifteen minutes before then. Usually one guest will take charge organizing the people waiting by assigning a number to each person depending on when they arrive and then when the Mayan Palace representative arrives they will get in line based on those numbers.

Also - the pool side bars offer “dos para uno” on all alcoholic drinks (including cerveza, but not sodas or water) between 11:00 and 1:00 each day. Like many other “bennies” at the Mayan Palace, this deal is not advertised.

Get off the resort!

You don’t have to leave the resort if you don’t’ want to - it is big enough and there is plenty to do. However, you may get a little claustrophobic after a while and its nice to see a little “real Mexico” while you are here. Also, you can save significant money if you are on a budget.

We rented a car, which I highly recommend (again, based on your budget). The Mexican drivers can be a little crazy, but its easy to get around the coast - from Cancun in the north to Tulum in the south. The options to get around are not as great if you don’t have a car. Taxis are not as cheap as you would expect them to be in Mexico and the local bus is not a great option from this resort.

Playa del Carmen is great for people-watching and shopping. Go to Fifth Avenue for fun shops and restaurants. Go to the beach for a tasty lunch with your feet in the sand.

Most importantly, you can get supplies of all kinds at one of three mega-stores in Playa del Carmen. We used the “Mega” which is on Constitutientes avenue - the selection is similar to a large US supermarket but the prices are MUCH lower. You will do much better buying here than using the mini-mart at the resort. For example - a 1.5 liter bottle of water at the resort is 400 pesos (around $4.00 US). You can get a 10 liter bottle of water at Mega for only 175 pesos (around $1.75 US!). We bought four for a family of five and went through them during the week. It’s hot here, so you should drink a lot of water. We simply transferred the water from the large jugs to smaller bottles and used them all week. You can also put the water in a pitcher that comes with the room to keep it cold. The Mexican pastries from MEGA are also wonderful (and very cheap). We got lots of them for short money and they were GOOD! If you are on any kind of a budget, I suggest a trip or two to Mega for food to be prepared in the room (especially for breakfast).

The MEGA is also great for watertoys. They are a lot cheaper than the ones you get in the US or at the resort store. I hear the Walmart in Playa del Carmen is comparable and maybe more familiar to US residents.

Restaurants:
We tried all of the restaurants (other than Teramonte - which looks great) and they were all really good. The food rates an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10 and the prices are comparable to reasonable restaurants in the US. You can’t go wrong in any of them although you might get sick of eating out if you eat there every night and you might end up spending much more than you thought you would on this type of vacation.

Water Activities:

There are great opportunities for water sports nearby. The beach at the Mayan Palace is pretty but completely unswimmable. There are lots of sharp rocks leading out into the water. I suggest trying one of the more public beaches in Puerto Morales (15 KM north) or Playa del Carmen. You can also walk down to the nicer beaches in front of the resorts just to the South of the Mayan Palace. They have more sand and easier entry points. The swimming on these exposed beaches is a little treacherous anyways, we learned - there is significant surf and dangerous undertows.

We ;had a terrific time at the beach in Puerto Morelos, approximately 10 - 15 kilometers north of the Mayan Palace resort. Puerto Morelos is a quaint fishing village which for us provided a nice feel for what an authentic Mexican town is like while at the same time being in a place catering to tourists just enough for us to feel comfortable traveling with small children and no proficient Spanish speakers. The sand is white and soft, and the water is clear and had gentlewaves to play in both days we visited.
We passed up the large Pelicanos restaurant on the townsquare which looked to be the most touristy place in the village and walked up the beautiful sandy beach about a quarter mile to Ojo de Agua, a very casual palapa restautant affiliated with an American-run dive shop. Four members of our party (ranging in age from 9 to 82) enjoyed a snorkeling expedition to the beautiful coral reef just offshore. Our guide was beyond helpful to ensure that each member of the group had a memorable and safe experience. The food at Ojo de Agua was simple, fresh and delicious. Staff of the restaurant seem to expect that people will come to the restaurant for the food and the shade while spending a major portion of the day at the beach in front of the restaurant. For a cost of not much more than a hundred dollars, our nine person party had a headquarters at the beach for the entire afternoon as well as multiple cervezas, sodas, quesadillas, seafood tacos, enchiladas, guacamole , empanadas (and yes hot dogs and hamburgers for our children!) For a fee of about $5 the restaurant will also install an umbrella in the sand for you. Beverage service is available on the beach.

I think you can have a great vacation at this property, if you are willing to walk a little bit, plan ahead and travel off the property. We will definitely return.