I am shocked that so many people have given this hotel a good rating!!! I am not a person to even usually leave reviews, but I feel that this place is such a rip off that I had to write a notice. Where to begin....if you even remotely enjoy eating any food....this is not the place to stay. I would say for over $500.00 a night approx. the food should be at least somewhat edible. One could smell the seafood before it was even placed on the table and the meat was flavorless and full of fat and gristle. The scallops at the Surf & Turf restaurant were served in a clam shell with some kind of cheez whiz concoction and the scallops had sand grit on them. The bread was so hard it could not be cut by the butter knife. We order mojitos and caprahina and they made the drinks with ginger ale!!! We tried all three "gourmet" restaurants on the property and on the last day ended up eating trail mix that I had stashed in my bag from the airport. The food is disgusting and the buffets may seem colorful and full of food, but I think people need to realize it is quality and not quantity (especially at the price you pay to stay at the hotel). The last day we sat in the cafeteria and watched people try to choke down the food and a woman at the table behind us stated "this is the worst food ever". We were so desperate for a decent meal that we left the last night and went to another hotel to have some dinner we could stomach. We were at the property for a wedding or would have left even sooner (that is an entirely different horrible story). DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE!!! They do not care and it is like a wedding factory. They just want to get your ceremony done before the next one rolls along. The ceremony, food, and cake are HORRIBLE!!! The preacher stood in front of the bride and groom blocking the view from the guests. The mother of the bride asked him to move and he argued with her. The cabana butlers (who were in charge of the music??) started blaring the wedding march in middle of the ceremony and giggled about the mistake and kept playing the music!!! The photographer was snapping pictures before he even posed everybody. He would tell some people to move here and there and while everybody was trying to figure out what he wanted he would just snap the photo and then walk away. The list goes on and on and I don't even need to say anything about the cake. The bride even stated the "wedding planner" was non-existent.
The next disappointment was the service. I realize that these things can sometimes be hit or miss, but for our stay it was a consistent miss. We would order water and soda for our room and it took 3 1/2 hours. Then the butler only brought ice the first time and 1 Coke when we ordered ice and 4 waters and 4 Cokes (Cokes were usually hot and stale). It then took 3 trips after that to get our request completed (I am not even joking people, the butler could just not get that we wanted water for our room). We realized that they say things are all inclusive, but that is if you can actually get them to bring what you request. The quickest room service (2 chocolate ice creams that were melted) took an hour and a half to get to our room after promised in 30 minutes. We booked reservations at all 3 of the restaurants and none of them were recorded. We even had to request over a period of 2 days that our toilet that would not flush be fixed. The maintenance man showed up the first day it was broken and we realized he had just cleaned out the toilet paper, but did not fix the toilet. Finally on the Sunday before we left the toilet was fixed, but the maintenance man had plunged water all over the floor and walls and never cleaned it and a maid never showed to mop or clean the area. It was hit or miss if they left wash cloths and the water in the shower would turn scalding hot to freezing cold. I would say that this could be a language barrier, however the other hotel we went to offered superb service and food. I believe it is just a lack of training and stressing the importance of service to the customer.
Last, but not least, before we were leaving and our credit card was run through I noticed that the butler behind the counter wrote our credit card number down on the back of a piece of paper. I asked him what that was for since he had already run our card through and he stammered and said they needed the card number for their invoices. I advised him since the payment was already authorized that all he needed was the last 4 digits, but he kept insisting that he needed to copy the info. even though I made him produce the transaction record that proved the payment was processed and approved. I quit arguing with him since I just wanted to get out of there and immediately called Amex to advise them of the situation and they also advised there would be no reason for the hotel to need the information. Please check out other hotels before you stay at this location. The beach is beautiful and there are so many other great places to stay. We even spoke to the other hotel we went to for the last night (a way more beautiful resort and great food /excellent service) and they said since they have just opened that we could have actually stayed there for the same price!!! Disappointing!!!

Like so many others, I monitored this and other websites leading to this vacation so as to get a good idea of The Grand. I am going to attempt to not repeat what almost every other review has mentioned and only give you our opinion over our stay. We have only stayed in Mexico one other time and Jamaica three times so that is our history when it comes to traveling. I will break it down to a few topics to better organize our opinions.

Room:
We booked an Oceanfront Room (we got building 70) due to our desire to have the ocean right outside our room. We feel it was a good investment and the view was great both during the day and evening. It is true some people got upgraded for free and perhaps next time we will try that route. If you are just going to use the room for a place to sleep and the bathroom, you would probably do well with just the standard. Regardless, the room was extremely clean with no bugs or problems. The bathroom was large and we had no problems with water pressure or tempature. The room was made up everyday and turned down everynight without us ever asking. The fridge was always stocked and the guy who filled it asked us on the first day about our preferences. We ordered room service twice and it came quickly and was hot. We also got champaigne the last night and it was brought up without any problems.

Butler:
This seems to be an issue on many of the boards so here is our take. Our butler, Renee, checked us into our room and basically gave a half hour presenation on the Grand and how things work. He then told us to call him with any questions or needs and set up our pillow menu request and then made sure the guy who filled the fridge showed up. After that, he set up our internet connection and left. We would occassionly run into him during our stay but he never came back to our room. The thing is we didnt need him. You can always call your butler but room service or housekeeping already caters to your needs. The point is the butler service gets you set up but thats about it. Renee was great and every need was taken care of. Being in the Oceanfront room, you could request a golfcart to take you to the lobby. We chose not to as we thought we could use the exercise due to the amount of calories we were consuming. Only took 5 minutes anyway.

Lobby/Hotel Grounds:
Where do you begin with this without repeating everything from other reviews. The place was immaculate and absolutely beutiful. I cannot say enough about the design, cleaniness, and beuty of the halls and buildings. Every single detail is addressed and someone was always cleaning something even if it didnt need it. I really dont have words for how beutiful the surroundings are so I am going to stop. Its just that great.
The occupancy ranged from 60-75 percent while we were there but it always seemed very uncrowded. Things are so well spaced and designed that sometimes it seems you have the place to yourself. I can say that because I walked through the Lindo one day and it was like being at a crowded amusement park. I quickly returned to The Grand and came to the conclusion that there is no really valid reason to leave in the first place. (In all fairness, the Maya was very nice. We didnt get to the other two resorts.)

Food:
Food is such a subjective matter and everyone will have an differing opinion for any type of food experience. We ate at the buffets for breaffast and lunch and it was very good. There is something for everyone and they freshly make most of the items in front of you. I am a very picky eater unlike my wife and I always found something and that is saying a lot. The staff always had your water filled and brought you something to drink and our plates were always cleaned up. We also never had a wait and never saw a lack or shortage of food.
We ate at the Italian, Japanese, and the steak and seafood place. I did not particulary like the Italian as it was way over my head on the sophistication scale but admitedly that doesnt take much. In lack of better words, I didnt understand the menu or the food. However, my wife thought it was great and enjoyed it. The Japanese place on the other hand was fantastic and the food very good. It seemed to be the most popular among the guests anyway. (Make sure you get the fried banana dessert) The Surf and Turf was also very good and I highly recommend the filet as so many mentioned. I could keep going but just wanted to relay that the food was good and we had no problem getting reservations whatsoever.

Pool/Beach:
The main pool was very nice but I didnt exactly care for the saltwater content. But with the swim up bar right there, the drinks were always flowing and there were always people to talk to. We participated in a few of the games and other times just watched. It really is a place to relax and have fun. Be careful of the sun howerver, it can be quite powerful. We did not use the Tranquility pool. I can only say that it is very beutiful and almost looks too good to get in. We did use the spa pool a few times and it was great to get into after being in the sun all day. I could swear it had some healing properties. The beach was also very nice and clean. Do bring watershoes because of the rocks both seen and unseen. If not, just move down towards the Maya and Lindo and their beach seems to be rockfree but more crowded.

Entertainment:
Every night there was a show and each one was good. We really liked the Broadway Show Night. The Auditorium was very nice and had lots of room. There was also a server to bring your drinks to you. After the show, the performers would come out to the guests and speak to people at their tables. We really wanted to goto the disco but never made it. A few people we talked to said it was Star Wars themed and a little over-rated. There was also a music bar, cigar room, and lobby bar that stayed open late so there was never a reason to leave anyway.

Staff:
The Star Friends were very nice and we got to know a few of them. They were never pushy and knew English very well. Not only did they do the pool games, but they also helped and sometimes did the nightly entertainment. Before the shows, many would be by the restaurants or the lobby bar talking with the guests. I will say though, that sometimes they appeared tired. I found out they work 6 day weeks and 14 hour days. They were always great around us and other guests but I couldnt help feeling sorry for them. One day when their pool shift was over, I saw a group of them leaving the Grand and they looked so tired. I wish them all nothing but the best and hope their hard work gets rewarded someday. The bartenders, maintenance guys, and housekeepers were also excellent and top of their jobs so to speak. Although it is already included with the vacation, we tipped everyone we could and I would like to mention not one of them expected it. In fact when we got roomservice, the guy brought in our food and was already leaving before I had to stop him to give him a few bucks for his efforts. We just felt some of the staff work very hard and we strongly believe they should be rewarded for their hard work.

Summary:
I obviously could write a book on The Grand but it would just go on and on. We enjoyed staying there very much and know anyone who does go will not be disappointed. Yes it is a little more expensive but you get what you pay for. If there was a disapointment it was the commerical center as there isnt a whole lot of shops open and it seemed dirty. But since it wasnt at The Grand, it shouldnt be a concern here. There is no doubt we will return to The Grand again. I hope that they continue with their excellent service and facility not just for when we return but for everyone else that decides to go there.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.

First of all, Let me thank: Lillie,Bobby,Jen,John,,Christine,Steve,Barry,& Stephanie, for making our fist night, a night to remember. Singing in the lobby bar, without a mike. what were we thinking? The couple from Germany , hope you enjoyed our singing. See you in Germany 2009. Rodyney, Brenda thankgoodness we needed singles,$$ we never would have met such nice people. Olivia your great conversations, your so sweet .,Nicole & Cory, our love and happiness to both of you. . Our butler's could'nt have done enought. Too bad we did'nt have more time .Christine, you were a life saver, thanks for your ear drops.. Sorry we did'nt get to say goodby.

Now for the possitive: Beautiful, Beautiful. The shows where great,
Toni's Surf&Turf, The best. Large portions, Not crazy, for the Mexican Rest. over the other hotel. plenty of room by the pool. MUST DO: Wear water shoes in the beach, cut my foot on the rocks.
Need to get up EARLY to claim your spot , under shade.Constructioin going on over looking the quiet pool. Don't book a room on the 3rd floor. You can hear the construction.
We would go back. You'll have a great time. any questions feel free.

Imagine if they picked up the Bellaggio hotel in Las Vegas and plunked it on a beach in Mexico and you have the Iberostar Grand. Absolutely spotless hotel with luxurious decor. You do not feel like you are in Mexico until you leave the resort. It is the nicest resort by far in Riviera Maya. The weekend I was there, they offered free golf to all guests. Another plus is you can use the facilities at the neighboring Iberostars. Great place for adult getaway!