The weather we had was good, rained 2 days, we had been to Iberostar last September and was wowed by the place!, palladium beaches were better, but the quality of service, and food were much better at iberostar. you felt like a king and queen at iberostar. bartenders remembered your names and you were always greeted with a smile and an hola !! from any worker. the service at the palladium was pretty bad, one guy who was driving the trolley that takes you around the hotels actually told us to HURRY BECAUSE WE ARE BUSY!!!, there was us and one other couple going to the same place!!! then he drove like a mad man. the bartenders are not friendly either they actually made you feel as though you were bothering them, and yes we did tip! The maid which we left 10 dollars on the first day, and then 2 dollars every other day did not clean well!!, I had to ask her to clean the tub which had dirty footprints from the last visitors!! she made one towel animal. she also used my wifes perfume!! and lots of it!! I will sum it up like this, when we were at the palladium we were wishing we at the Iberostar!! live and learn.

The place was full of drunken loud americans who seemed to be on a holiday paid for by their employers. so large groups & if you got stuck behind one of these groups in the buffet queue then you needed to be patient. buffets were very well presented with a large choice of food but eating it felt like you were in a school canteen with all the noise. the speciality restaurents were a waste of time. all food tasted the same. both the japonese & chinese food was cooked in undiluted sesame oil giving a burnt taste & smell to everything. the grounds & wildlife were spectacular but the complex is in the middle of nowhere, so no nice little shops to peruse in the evening unless you paid 200 pesos to go by taxi 30 mins to playa del carmen. lots of activities in the daytime but many tacky games. evening entertainment was poor & very amateur.
BEWARE OF THE SUN - although its cloudy the sun still burns & through your clothes too. the first time i've burnt in 5 years & i live in spain, so used to the sun.
the roads were full of military & road blocks which made you wonder just how safe the country is. the security at the resort was strict. cancun airport seemed to have many shops but well spread out. once you've gone through security & visited the shops then go to the gate as there are more shops there.
i would travel to mexico again but this time to a resort nearer a town & also would take a case full of kids clothes to hand out to the poor.

Just got back (2/6/08) The Colonial was awesome!
We 're originally booked for the Kantenah, but got upgraded to the Colonial.
We stayed in room 2112. Very clean, out room attendant was great. She kept it immaculate. (we tried not to be too slobby)
The only problem I could say about the room was it was just to close to the main highway. Traffic noise was a little loud. (earplugs helped alot). Next time we'll get something in building 5 or 6.
The Beach was big and clean, some rocks, bring water shoes.
The food was better than we expected. Something for everyone.
We ate at only 2 of the speciality restaurants, The Japanese and the Steak joint. They were ok, nothing spectacular.
Drinks are very good, especially at the Secret Bar. (adults only)
I'm trying to keep this short so............ Yes this place is huge, very huge. We didn't get to explore all of it in one week. Take the trains if walking ain't your thing, and enjoy yourselves!!

A group of 6 of us stayed at the Grand Palladium Colonial from January 26th 2008 to Feb 9th 2008. Grounds are beautifully landscaped and well maintained. Staff were friendly and very accommodating. Pools well maintained and the beach beautiful. It is advisable to take water shoes though as it is rocky in parts in the water. Buffets were just "okay". They use a lot of grease and the food is never very hot. Rooms were spacious and well maintained. Lots of walking at this resort so for people with mobility problems they may want to reconsider staying here. There was a terrible "sewer" smell in the hallway outside of the lobby washrooms. A-la-cartes were very good but felt that we should get more a-la-cartes as the restaurants were only 1/2 full most times and they wouldn't let us book extra a-la-cartes. It seems odd to get 3 if you stay one week but only 4 total if you stay 2 weeks. Carlos at the adult pool is awesome. Cocktail waitresses at the Colonial Lobby Bar, Maria & Vanessa....just wonderful. Would be nice to have room service available as if you aren't feeling well it's a long walk to the buffets.