July 8-15, 2008, travelling with 3 kids (14,13,10)

HOTEL GROUNDS 5/5 well maintained, clean

POOL 3/5 very nice size, but not cleaned properly

OCEAN-FRONT ROOMS 2/5 old, plain but comfortable enough; had a couple of damaged lights that were fixed after a couple of calls (although there was continuous dripping from around one fixture -electrocution waiting to happen); kids' room had no water one day - called down and within 1 hour was running again. We were literally 80 feet from the shore; great view

FOOD 4/5 good quality, lots of variety (salads, fruits, juices)

SERVICE-BARTENDERS 4/5 unfortunately, lumped you in with the drunk crowd(at times, enforcing 2 drink limit for non-alcoholic drinks)

SERVICE-RESTAURANTS 4/5 remove dirty plates, etc in a timely fashion; overall, drinks brought in a timely manner.

SERVICE-FRONT DESK 1/5 confusion with room availability(took 30 minutes to check-in); no one could provide you with change for dollars(had to be exchanged for pesos at 9.80 rate); paid bill night before only to find out at check-out that they had posted the payment to the wrong room(took 25 minutes to check-out)

OTHER GUESTS 1/5 lots of loud, abnoxious kids (18-25) who thought that Mexico means unlimited drunkeness. The entertainment staff encouraged it to a point by having 'shake your bootie' contests, etc. During one of these, the crowd got so carried away, that the staff simply walked away (not that anyone noticed because the 'dancers' kept shaking their stuff, to the delight of the mostly male crowd yelling at them to remove their tops (although when a couple did, security moved in quickly)

GOOD
- decent price for internet - $15 for 24 hours usage (which can be spread out over the week)
- bus ride 6.50 pesos/person is within 10 minutes of shopping,clubs, resturants (buses constantly go by; just flag it down like a taxi)
- we used USA Travel for airport transfers - just like they said, on-time, quick, efficient and professional at a reasonable cost ($65 return)

BAD
- Management quietly endorses having the young crowd(makes financial sense) to the detriment of the rest - Grand Oasis doesn't allow kids under 25, however the Oasis (which shares the same buildings) does and forces 18-24 year-olds to pay $25US in advance for "damage costs"
- Morning is calm (the drunks are still sleeping); around noon the swim-up bars start crowding; by 2pm you're fighting a crowd of people to get up to the swim-up bars
- nickel & dimed you by charging $2/night for usage of safe
- ATM in lobby that dispenses US$, uses a rate of exchange that increases the cost 20%!!!!
- mini-bar fridges barely worked and kept free water and pop just below room-tempterature
- drinks are put in 12oz cups; make sure you bring a larger cup with a lid that will keep the drinks cold

On a lighter note, we had a good laugh during one of the 'shake your stuff' contests. A female was really teasing the guys until her parents showed up and saw what was happening. It was at that point that we realized she only had a white bracelet (given to those under 18) and was only about 16 or 17. Right in front of everyone, her parents put her in her place. She walked away totally embarrased and with her head bowed down. After that, when we saw her, her parents were attached to her hip.

This is not a place to go if you have kids, are 'mature' or are celebrating a very special occasion. If you are into loud partying (or at least don't mind it going on around you) it's good for you.

Hope it all helps.

My family and I were there, the week of July 5-12 2008. Let me say that I have been to Cancun a few times and this has been the worst hotel I have been to yet!! I read some reviews, and I paid for the all-inclusive, which was not cheap at $3,350. My son which is 8 yrs. old loved their pool, very big by the way, but the ocean is very bad in this section, it had a red flag the whole time we were here. Our hotel room was ocean front and it was dirty. If you order room service, expect to wait 1 to 1-1/2hour for coffee. For food you have many choices, but the food is bad, drinks are very cheap in quality. I feel that when you go to a place like Cancun, where people from all over the world visit, where a hotel as big as the Grand Oasis Cancun is making tons of money, and you pay $2-$3 or $4,000 it should be up to standards. They should have good towels, updated rooms, faster service for such a big hotel. One last thing, the lady that cleaned our room, said she gets paid $7.00 dollars a week , yes a week. Can you live on $7.00 a week?????????

After reading reviews of this resort we were very worried about this trip, but went with an open mind. I have worked for a major airline for over 20 years and have traveled all over the world. The bad reviews about this resort are right on the money.

CHECK IN.. We arrived well after the 3 o'clock check in time. We were told that one of our two rooms was ready and to check back in an hour, that the other was being cleaned. After checking back every hour for 4 hours i was escorted by the desk clerk to the room and maids were still working on the room.

ROOMS .... We had an ocean view room, as soon as we entered the room we noticed a puddle of standing water in front of the sliding glass doors. The room had a slight smell of sewage and was very small. The toliet never flushed and after several calls to have it fixed someone came with a plunger. The bath tub needed to be replaced and never drained. The second room was full of some kind of small flies, on the second day they did come and fill the room with bug spray. The toliet in this room leaked onto the floor.

FOOD: The food was decent, the best was the Las Palmas. A Brazilian style steak house, and Dos Lunas. The buffets were just average and during breakfast i noticed ants crawling around the buffet table. Lines are long for all the restraunts.

Drinks: Unless you specify that you want alcohol in your daiquiri don't expect any. I tipped on a regular basis and got plenty of alcohol in our mixed drinks and extra shots in daiquiris. Many times at the swim up bar i was given 2 drinks when they saw me coming. Bring a large drink mug and they will fill it up.

POOL: The pools was nice, it was missing many tiles and by the end of the night had lots of trash floating in it. We had several items stolen while in the pool. The first day we had our sun screen stolen, the second 2 pairs of goggles and a t-shirt.

Maps: The property is huge, you are given a small map when you check in. There is no explaination as to what what events and things are open and what color arm band is required for each restraunt. We had black arm bands and found that we had access to all areas, however some with other colors were turned away after waiting in line.

BEACH: We did not expect much of the beach and saw many people smashed into the rocks by the large waves.

I took my wife to the Grand Oasis from June 18 - 23rd for our 10th anniversary. The Hotel is beautiful. They keep the grounds, pool and hotel in excellent shape. The staff was very warm and friendly. We were originally supposed to get an Oceanfront room in one of the smaller buildings but were talked into a room in the Pyramid. Great choice! The smaller front buildings seem to house more 16 - 25 year olds. Our room was problem free and very comfortable. The restaurants were busy during the peak hours so go early. Drank Bottled water only, and had no problems with ice in drinks. We did use bottled water to brush teeth, though.

Only drawbacks were:
1. The Beaches were in bad shape. All photo's on the internet are from before hurricane Wilma in 2005, where they show white sandy beaches and a width of 80 to 100 yards. In actuality the beach is about 20 yards and dredged up granular sand. Where the waves break on shore is nothing but rocks. Saw a few people with bandages on their legs from scrapes, so be careful. Some rocks even had rebar sticking out.
2. The occasional roving bands of obnoxious 16 - 25 year old drunks. I guess anytime of year is "Spring Break".

Did the tour to TULUM which was fantastic and only took 3/4 of a day. Highly recommend eating at "Careyes" restaurant. GREAT meal. "Tunkul" was our second best dinner. "Ibiza" was great for breakfast.

Though this is an "All Inclusive" resort, we tipped wherever we went. The staff work their butts off for us tourists, and leaving a few dollars here and there provided not only a smile but an extra step when we needed something.

Tip:
If you want to go into town, take the bus. Much cheaper than a taxi. We went to Walmart to get shirts then took it to "Isla Mall" to shop.
If you are at Grand Oasis, pull your bottled water from the fridge every morning and take them with you or stash them. They will restock them for free.