Grand Velas Riviera Maya - Stay Here. You will thank me.

I spent the day doing a site inspection at this resort I had never sold before and never been to - Grand Velas. I'm very sorry about both of those things. I should have been recommending it all this time and I will now make it a point to stay here as soon as I can!

From the moment you pull in from the main road just north of Playa del Carmen you will be impressed. It is lined with perfectly manicured gardens and foliage. It felt a little like Alice in Wonderland.

There are 3 sections to this property, Zen, Ambassador and Grand Class. The first 2 are family friendly while Grand Class is reserved for adults only

ZEN

This section sits in the mangroves and is very calming. They feature rooms on the ground floor overlooking a koi pond with a small plunge pool. This section has the new sports bar called KOI. It opened in April 2014. Think upscale with a huge TV. They stay open until 3am and they are not within ear shot of the rooms so is perfect for late nights.

To travel between the sections they have 1st class vans that travel back and forth. They seemed to arrive every couple minutes. Normally a resort does a golf cart type system but this was air conditioned and when it started raining we didn't get wet!
They do not allow walking from Zen to Ambassador due to safety with the vans running back and forth and there's only 1 stretch of road. If you are a jogger they have an employee follow you on an ATV with water and cold towels - at no extra cost. Sounds like being part of the Presidential family!

AMBASSADOR
This is the family friendly section with an ocean view.
This section features many restaurants as well as a piano bar and karaoke bar for nighttime entertainment.
For an additional $150 per night, Grand Velas will guarantee adjoining rooms for your family. One room being a King and the other with 2 Queens. A maximum of 4 people (or 4 plus infant) per room with 3 of them being adults.
Traveling with an infant? Grand Velas takes it to the next level and does not only provide cribs in the room but also baby food, strollers, high chairs, bottles, teething rings all at no additional cost.

GRAND CLASS
This is the adults only section that runs along the ocean. They are the most luxurious accommodations with the large patios and some with plunge pools. There are 90 suites that are 1300+ square feet.

All the rooms come with luxury amenities including L'occitane bath products and interior Jacuzzi tubs. The bed linens are all top notch. Picky about thread count? Don't worry. You will love their beds.
They stock your in room bar with soda, juice, wine and chocolate milk for the kids. They also have a wide variety of snacks they replenish daily for you.
I loved the little details like a thatch beach bag to use during your stay and mosquito spray. This is something you don't find everywhere else.

Grand Class at Grand Velas Riviera Maya

THE FOOD
I could make an entire blog post about the food at Grand Velas. It's just wow. I am somewhat of a Foodie. I'm not sitting at home eating Duck Confeit but I like good food.
This is a restaurant where everything is fresh. Even at the buffet, they make everything fresh for that meal. You are not going to find last nights pork chops turned into a casserole for breakfast like at many of the all inclusive properties. At the buffet restaurant they also have the option of ordering off a menu so you never have to eat off a buffet if that is not your thing.
To me here's a reason to stay here: Grand Velas is the only all inclusive in the world to have a AAA 5 Diamond restaurant. This should say something about the level of food this property has. It is a Spanish with Mexican flair. You don't receive a menu. The waiter comes out and tells you about your 8 course experience. This is not for everyone but it is something everyone should try and why not? You're on vacation.
Reservations are required and I can do them for you in advance so it isn't something you have to worry about on vacation.

SPA
The Spa is huge and impressive. It was awarded Best Spa in the World in 2010 by Virtuoso. They have a wide variety of services and even have the fish feet service. I stuck my hand in the water with the fish and they came right over to me. I don't think I would enjoy this but some people might want to try it. They package it with a chair massage.

The spa also features a bridal suite which comes at no additional cost to the bride. She just pays for the cost of the services she choses.

I could go on and on about this property. They had a very fun teen club with XBOX Kinect and several game nooks. The kids camp was smaller but seemed to have some fun things.
The grounds were immaculate and the staff was friendly and helpful. The waiters are spot on and are there offering coffee after your meal and bringing chips and salsas to the table.

Please go here. You will thank me! Call me at 405-418-4180 or contact me via my website at www.VincentVacations.com

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Posted in: adults only resort , all inclusive , beach , Mexico , weddings

Hard Rock Riviera Maya - the Good and the Bad!

I am actually typing this blog post sitting in my room at Hard Rock Riviera Maya. It's raining today so my blog might turn slightly jaded.

The resort has 2 sides. Hacienda is the family friendly side and Heaven which is adults only. You can walk from one lobby to the other using the pathways along the rooms or down by the beach. The only difference to know when you go from one building to the next is the color of the building changes. They also put up a sign that says "hey you are rocking too close to the adults side" to playfully remind kids and visa versa.


The Bad
-The food here is very middle of the line for the price you are paying to stay here. They seem to put their money in the entertainment and activities instead of in the quality of the food. It's not horrible but not one of the better food ones in the area from my experience. At breakfast and lunch you only have the option of buffet which is disappointing. I wish they had 1 or 2 options during the day ala carte. They do have cooking stations at the buffet restaurants and I did have really good fresh corn tortillas made into street tacos but I would say that was the only buffet meal I enjoyed. If I was here for 7 nights I would be getting irritated. The restaurants at night are hit and miss like most all inclusives. If they could just master steak (even at Golden Corral level) I would be happier.
-Everything is severely overpriced. When you stay at this resort you get a resort credit. They allow you to use your resort credit for gift shop items, spa, golf, tours and that sort of thing. The prices are jacked up. You still have "free" money (that you pay 20% tax on) but it's not as good of a deal (it never is though, right?) as it makes it seem. The spa prices are more inflated than other equal level properties so when you run out of resort credit the prices are a bit out there.

The Good
-The staff here is top notch. They seem to be hustling for your drinks or food and all very personable and friendly.
-There are tons of activities. There's an obstacle course and a rock climbing wall on land. They hand out snorkel equipment and kayaks for the water. There's good music by the pool.
-There's actual nightlife! Most all inclusives shut down at 9:30pm or so or they have a lame fire dancer while everyone sits around and forces themselves to watch or go to bed. Hard Rock has a full blown high end night club that opens every night at 11pm. It's huge and one section has a pool in the middle. It's very Vegas.
-The beach. I think I could put this on Good and Bad but I am choosing Good. There is a huge rock wall that blocks off the waves from coming in. It has created a calm peaceful and really pretty (in my opinion) beach. There are fish and I floated the day away on my little raft. This beach is not idea for someone who likes to play in the waves or is a beach runner (I am neither) so I thought their beach was great.

Fish swimming in the clear water at Hard Rock Riviera Maya

Adults only swim up pool bar at Hard Rockbet Riviera Maya Heaven

It is a nice resort. It's clean and fun but it's just for the right group. Give me a call and I would love to talk to you about the Hard Rock All Inclusive Resorts. I have now been to all of them.
405-418-4180 or check out my website www.VincentVacations.com

-Weddings here are gorgeous! They have palapas over looking the water and also a Catholic chapel. It is perfect for any size group. They have Collin Cowie designed wedding collections or you can choose custom. I was very impressed with the wedding locations. This is an ideal Destination Wedding location for large groups. There is something for everyone and your guests won't be bored in the evenings. Your childless friends and couples can stay on the adults side and the ones with kids on the Hacienda family side. Perfect!



Wedding palapa at Hard Rock Riviera Maya


 

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Posted in: adults only resort , all inclusive , beach , Hard Rock , Mexico