TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The service is OUTSTANDING the food is OUTSTANDING. Alexa our personal concierge was OUTSTANDING. I can't imagine going anywhere else in Mexico... honestly. Our favorite place. Especially for families, highly recommend this palace!!

Wow! We just returned from 4 nights at Grand Velas, and it was amazing. The property is stunning, and everything is high end. Staff was incredibly helpful - special thanks to Yuli - our concierge, pool waiters Jesus Perez, Humberto and Jose. We enjoyed a Jewish seder on site at a property that really made us feel welcome. Special thanks to Amy Negrete for making sure every aspect of the seder was perfect. Victor at the concierge desk arranged all of our dinner reservations. We stayed in the Ambassador building, which overlooks the pool and beach - it's perfect for families.

Amazing service, top of class amazing food, amazing personnel, great hotel with spectacular views . I WILL COME BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN special thanks to Aaron Ruiz our concierge, our bar tenders from the gran class pool Lisset, Marco's, and Victor Thank you

This resort is pristine. They keep it in perfect condition and the staff is so accommodating and friendly. I will never be able to stay at any other all inclusive again after being spoiled. The food and drinks are amazing as well. You feel like you're staying in a quiet jungle, but you are also right next to the beach. They have shuttles in between the different buildings and you never once waited for the shuttle as they were always there waiting for you. I would love to come back anytime!

Going into this trip, I read a ton of reviews here on TripAdvisor and comments on Reddit so went into the vaca with both excitement and some worries the resort would disappoint. Unfortunately, I have to say I left disappointed. The service at the restaurants and our concierge Alexis was spectacular - attentive, caring, and just generally wonderful. If it weren’t for that, I think our experience would’ve been worse. My general take is that the resort costs 35% more than what it should be charging especially compared to other five star all inclusive in the area. If it is going to charge Four Seasons style prices, it should be a Four Seasons experience - but it’s far from it and here’s why. PROS: - There are some real star restaurants - Lucca, Cocina de Autor and Piaf were all delightful (although other comments are below) - The service generally is attentive and memorable - The grounds are lovely CONS: - The dining was inconsistent - we had several times where our entrees were served cold and overcooked - you could tell they’d either been sitting for a while or had generally been hammered. - The only lunch dining options are buffet or poolside - I was actually very surprised that a five star all inclusive has no a la carte sit down options for lunch. It meant breakfast and lunch got very repetitive very fast. I’ve had much better breakfast and lunch buffets at both Sensira and Paradisus Playa Del Carmen. - We stayed in Zen which ended up being fine but the rooms are very dark. Also, one of our rooms had a mildew issue - we flagged and they brought a dehumidifier but I suspect there was an issue in the vents as the AC wasn’t working properly. All my luggage from that room smells like mildew still. - BE WARNED: if you go during “low season” which apparently starts in April, they get rid of a lot of their programming. They had no more evening shows, no foam parties, no big activities for the kids. We ended up being extremely bored. I was stunned at the lack of activities given how much you pay. - Kids clubs: my kids weren’t fans. There was a lot of movie watching and it’s really geared towards kids under 6. - Activities: the rec staff are all great. But the resort clearly hasn’t empowered them to do their best. It’s the small things like their sports equipment is falling apart. They had no golf balls at mini golf. We asked a staff member and they called it in but after 45 minutes, still no golf balls. No one played mini golf the whole time we were there because they couldn’t find any golf balls. The water sports - they offer things like sailing and snorkeling but the water they are on doesn’t lend itself to it. The water is shallow and rocky. They played flag football on a field that had rough metal grates and holes and although several parents flagged it wasn’t safe, the staff said it wasn’t within their control and up to management. Parents ended up pulling their kids from playing. I’d say this is a resort that clearly has built up a great reputation and is now charging inflated prices but has let its standards slip. I think Paradisus Playa del Carmen has better overall dining, activities, service, rooms, kids clubs experiences, and consistency. At a fraction of the price. I think more disappointing is that we shared this feedback, both good and bad, and our concierge said we should meet with the management to share as it’s helpful. But the manager was too busy and ended up not wanting to meet (even though he was standing right there) and they said they would reach out to us via email. It’s been weeks and we haven’t been contacted. We got the sense from staff that this feedback is not surprising and that the management have priorities elsewhere. They’re riding their reputation and stars. As a family that travels several times a year, we’ve stayed at our fair share of all inclusive and I have to say I was pretty disappointed. We would not return.