Grand Palladium White Sand Resort & Spa

My husband & went to spend a week to decompress & celebrate his birthday. We were given double beds, dinner issues with reservations, When you spend thousands & thousands of dollars, then treated like we needed to spend even more money to be treated better & got scammed into listening to a sell pick & when we said no, the team kept pushing & pushing. It was like dealing with car salesman. Anyway, I hope they really hear our concerns.

We had visited 5 or so years ago with two other couples. We decided to go back because we didn't get the full experience of the resort. So glad we did. So much to do.. or not to do - our choice. The beach was beyond our memory!

We arrived at White Sands March 9th and were checked in and shown to our room immediately - after a nice welcome drink! The room was exactly as the pictures were shown on line although I wish the room was a little cooler (the fridge as well) but no big deal. We were in building 58 which is steps from the beach but there is no beach view. We were there with two teenagers and had the pullout couch - which is apparently comfortable. My husband and I shared the double bed which I was really worried about since we have normally have a Queen and I thought this would be much too small but it wasn’t bad at all. We found we were closer to the Colonial buffet so we went there for breakfast buffet. The White Sands pool was perfect - not too deep, crowded or cold. The beach was a little rocky when entering so I recommend water shoes. The snorkeling wasn’t the best but it was fun to see the few fish and sting rays we did see. We ended up taking a 10 minute taxi to Akumal to snorkel with Turtles. The transport throughout the resort was helpful and necessary as it’s a big area to cover by foot. The photographers around the resort were nice but they put you in cheesy poses so most of the photos weren’t ones you wanted to buy. Saying that, photos were expensive. $20 USD per photo or you could buy a package. The staff was always great. Never had a problem waiting for a drink, room service was a reasonable wait and the wait staff cleared the tables quickly. There was a large variety of food, I couldn’t even try all of the a la carts. They really cater to all kinds of peoples food needs i.e.. Food allergies, kids meals/selection etc. Be firm with the time share people. They can be a little pushy but if you are firm and a little less polite then usual they get the idea. If you go 1. Check out the hidden Cenote 2. To snorkel go to Akumal Bay 3. Wear watershoes at the beach There are things that we wanted to do but never did: 1. Mini golf 2. Archery and Airsoft Guns We visited the teen club which was really nice, the Xbox set up was really nice but it was empty and my kids had no interest in going. The WiFi was excellent throughout the entire resort. This was an absolutely amazing trip and the resort was nothing short of perfect! Saying that, comparing it to our last trip to the Sandos Eco Resort it was much more laid back. The Eco had more activities. We were always doing something at the Eco whereas at White Sands we were usually relaxing.

This resort is huge! So we were happy that the shuttle service was easily available. The food was amazing and the choices incredible. We were a little put off with the mildew smell in our room, but I think that is standard being in such a lush damp environment. The service was top notch! We would definitely return.

We would've made a good choice in this resort at a different time in the world. I wish that we would have been honestly informed that the resort was going to shut down mid stay during our week. It was leaked out by an employee, on our second day there, that the resort would be starting to shut down. We knew something was up, since a lot of stuff was closed at the resort already. We paid full price for access to about 1/3 of what should of been open. I understand that the Covid Virus is a sad and tough deal for everyone (especially the workers), but I feel a little ripped off in the end, because we specifically asked. When we checked 2 days before arriving, we were told that the resort was fully open and at 85 percent capacity. That was a flat out lie. The place was dead the day we checked in. The resort is beautiful, and would’ve been great if things were open and the staff wasn’t being fired. The staff a little off, but was more friendly than I would’ve been knowing I’d be out of work soon. I really felt for them, and wasn’t upset about that, but we were deceived on our vacation, and wish we could’ve just cancelled.