Our family just returned from a wonderful week (April 19-26th) at the Mayan Palace using our RCI exchange. Our daughter from NYC and our son from Virginia Beach joined us for a fun filled, relaxing week at this beautiful resort. We read many reviews of the resort on TripAdvisor which truly gave us valuable information about what was ahead for our week in Acapulco. Because I had read other reviews on TripAdvisor regarding Angel Flores, I contacted Angel by e-mail about 4 weeks prior to our arrival date. After meeting Angel, I feel quite confident that had I contacted him just days before our arrival he would have still taken the time to help us in any way that he could have. He returned my initial e-mail within hours of my first contact letting us know that he would be available to help us once we arrived. Throughout the time prior to our arrival I did contact him regarding specific information that I thought we would need to help our week go smoothly. He always answered my questions in a timely manner-always very courteous and with the information that we requested. He provided us with a list of prices for trips that we wanted to take so we knew ahead of time what to expect. We asked about how we would find him at the airport and the charge for the trip to Wal-Mart and the Mayan Palace, his price for the City Tour (excellent tour and very reasonably priced for the four of us) dinner at several restaurants particularly Su Casa (so hightly recommended and now we know why!) and how we would contact him if our flights should be delayed. He gave us his cell phone number which I forwarded to our son and daughter so they could contact him directly if they could not reach us by phone. Our flight arrived on time and Angel was there waiting for us. I was so very glad that we had Angel waiting for us and did not have to depend on someone we had not had prior contact with. We felt like we had established a bond with Angel even before arriving and had someone that we could trust and depend on and that was invaluable. We did the upgrade for the week from the Mayan Palace to the Grand Mayan upon check -in for agreeing to take the "tour" which also allowed us to receive10% off our room charge purchases. The grounds and the resort are spectacular and our family agreed that it was a beautiful place to spend the week together. Angel and his wife have a new baby boy, born the Monday before we arrived on Saturday so we arrived with a baby gift for their new son. Angel was always available for us throughout the week and also introduced us to Ismael Silva who helped us if Angel had a prior commitment. They were both excellent and we left on Saturday so glad that we had an opportunity to meet both of them during our week at the Grand Mayan. We agreed as we left that we would always remember our week with good memories of our resort experience and particularly Angel Flores and Ismael Silva, our new friends. Please contact us if you would like to have the e-mail address or cell phone # for Angel Flores.

My husband and I have just returned from a fantastic week at the Grand Mayan. It started off a little shaky with the first room we were assigned to at the Mayan Palace. When we walked in, the smell of smoke was disgusting. Housekeeping came and sprayed, but it didn't help. The front desk then reassigned us to the Grand Mayan on the 5th floor. The room was spectacular! We are golfers and had scheduled to play three times during our stay. The first was at the Mayan Palace course, which was nice and very woman friendly, although not very dificult. The second was the Acapulco Princess. This course was definitely a notch above not only in beauty but in difficulty. The third was the Pierre Marquis, and was by far the most difficult, but still fun.
The resort was way beyond our expectations. We are members of RCI and have found that many of our trades have been disappointing; but, this one made up for all of the rest. We spent a great deal of time at the resort because of the great restaurants with ocean front seating, lovely pools, friendly help, and of course the beach.
We were lucky enough to hire a wonderful cab driver from the Mayan. His name was BALDO GOMEZ. His English was near perfect, he was always a gentleman, and extremely punctual.
He took us on a tour of the city, and had the history down pat. We felt he was fair in his prices and was concerned about our comfort and needs. If anyone is interested, his cell phone # is
[--- --- --- ----], or just ask the valet to call cab #3279. Please tell him that Sandy & Bill from Pennsylvania said "HI".

If you are looking for beautiful sunshine and a variety of things to do, Acapulco has all that. We stayed at the Mayan Palace April 12 - 19th. We were upgraded to the Grand Mayan building. We loved the kilometer pool that meanders along the coastline. If you like to challenge yourself, the surf is UP! The Pacific has big waves and strong currents. The life guards don't let you venture out too far. The best way to get around is by taxi. I recommend you contact Angel Flores. He was kind, polite, easy to reach and very knowlegeable about the area. His English is great and he has access to email. He has a website too! We felt welcome, safe and very comfortable in his presence. He has a large, clean, comfortable a/c car. He will provide his fares to you up front. Even though our flight was an hour delayed, Angel was still waiting for us. On the way to the hotel, Angel took us to Walmart and helped us shop! Even when Angel had a scheduling conflict, he worked with his friends like Silverio and Kino to ensure that we got the same level of service. Angel can recommend restuarants and is available to take you on your own personal tours. Two of our favorite restaurants that Angel recommended were Su Casa (high on the mountain) and Mirdar (spelling?) del Mar (right on the beach). He even makes the reservations for you! If you want to try traditional mexican cuisine and want to experience local fare (especially the seafood) you will enjoy them.

We stayed at the Mayan Palace for 2 weeks and had a great time. We were lucky to get a room on the 7th floor with an ocean view and no construction noise. Make sure you ask for a room with the number 6 or 746 - 58 because those are the semi-ocean view rooms.
Some people hired drivers, but we just walked downhill into the street and bargained with the cab drivers, eg. 15 $ to old town, 3 $ to Walmart. We found other couples to share a taxi with and one time took the yellow airconditioned bus for 55 Pesos=0.55 cents from the zocalo(old town) to the other Walmart close to the convention center. From there we took a cab for 10 $ home.
We had a wonderful dinner at the Olvida restaurant above the beach (pricey) and enjoyed the nice view at Linda Vista . The seafood in simple setting in Puerto Marques and Barra Vieja is good and inexpensive. Avoid the salad - no problem getting sick!
When we were at the Zocalo in old town a so-called city guide in white clothes with a name tag around his neck (probably bought!) lured us away from the stores and restaurants there and walked us to the so called "flea market" (artisian market), where the food was terrible and everybody wanted to sell us something. When we said good bye to the "guide" called Issis he still followed us. The merchants told us that prices would be cheaper if we were without a guide. So figure : no city emplyee but working for comission meaning higher prices for us! Don't fall for that. The good thing was that on the way to the flea market you will find some nice stores, especially shoe stores that have good clothes etc. at local prices. By the way, the people working at the Mayan palace make 5 - 8 $ a day!!! And those people can read and write and speak English!
The beach and pools were just wonderful and the service very good. We enjoyed the buttet at Bakal, but were disappointed by the Cuban and Mexican show with open bar for 50 $ a person. The mojito was bad, but wine pretty good. Instead of show girls from Havana some Mexican girls tried to look Cuban - it is just not the same.
I was disappointed that at this Mayan Palace they did not let me use my air matress in the pool. Some people were upset that coolers are not allowed. We have a small one that we hide in our back pack - no problem!!!!If you order drinks all day ..... too expensive.