This was my first time staying at Grand Solmar, though I have stayed at Playa Grande several times (Grand Solmar's sister property). In my opinion there is no comparison between the two hotels. Grand Solmar is very luxurious and its rooms are truly ocean front, whereas Playa Grande is in a horseshoe shape so only a few rooms are (in my opinion) ocean front. Grand Solmar has amazing inifiniti pools that overlook the ocean, multiple swim-up bars, and FABULOUS rooms. I have stayed in several 5 star hotels, and I can honestly say that our room (a two bedroom penthouse suite) was by far the most luxurious and comfortable room I have ever stayed in. It was gorgeous in every way. Our room was in the building located next to the "adults only pool" and if I'd jumped off the deck (which spanned the entire length of the building and too high to jump from), then I would have landed in sand.
Now for the things that could have been better...
1) While the hotel staff were friendly and helpful when approached, they were not proactive in providing service. The bartenders at the pool bars rarely made the rounds to ask guests if they wanted to order drinks/food (instead, if you wanted something you had to swim up to the bar). After reading one of the hotel magazines I learned that I could request robes and slippers (as opposed to the hotel placing them in my room for my convenience). I also read that I would be eligible for free WiFi service. Again, not a service/benefit that I had been made aware of. It left me wondering if there were other services/benefits that were available that I wasn't made aware of, which was frustrating. I did ask the front desk if there was a list of services, etc, but there is not. He just said that he'd be happy to answer any question that I had, which would be fine if I knew what to ask for/about.
2) The timeshare ladies (guest services?). Yes, Cabo is into the timeshare business - big time. My husband and I had agreed to sign-up for a timeshare presentation at another property. We'd been warned that Grand Solmar would (aggressivley) try to stop us from going on the presentation and to not tell them where we were going. That was an understatement. While walking through the lobby to leave the property, the Grand Solmar representative began yelling to us and waving her arms frantically. She interrogated us about where we were going and wanted to know whether we were on our way to visit another property. After saying that we were just walking into town, she gave us several reasons why we didn't want to go on to a timeshare presentation...none of the reasons being all that compelling, Quite frankly, it is none of her (or the hotel's) business as to what we planned to do. After beginning the 10 minute walk to leave the property we are approached again by two hotel representatives to prevent us from going on a timeshare presentation (at a different property). And, they were sneaky about it! Grand Solmar's approach/antics really ticked me off. Again - I am a paying adult - I can do what I want with my time. And, I am annoyed that I felt the need to lie about my plans. Should I agree to a future timeshare presentation (at another location), I will be honest about my intentions/plans with Grand Solmar (again, it is none of their business), but if I am given a hard time about it then I will flip out on someone (and write all about in on Tripadvisor). All right....time to move on...
3) On one occassion I had to have my room key reset. When I went to the front desk, I handed the representative my card and told her my room number. I was not asked to provide my name, any identification or to prove who I am in any way. Additionally, we had arrived before our check-in time and asked the hotel to hold our baggage for us. We were given a claim ticket and went on our way. When we claimed our bags later that afternoon, we only had to point to them. We were not asked for the claim ticket. I had shared security these concerns with the front desk manager, Juan, and I was told that they've never had a problem at the hotel and that guests have been nice and trustworthy. I think the hotel needs to rethink this approach to their guest's protection.
