What makes this place so special is the people, so let me name a few. On the Family Selection side, Javier Luis leads by example and clearly pours everything he has into the job and it shows in the team he's built. Our butlers were Adrian, who was constantly one step ahead of us and put up beautiful decorations for my birthday, and Rocio, who is genuinely one of the kindest and most capable people we've dealt with anywhere. She truly cared about our wellbeing and it showed in every interaction we had with her, the hotel is very lucky to have her!
The Travel Club team was excellent as always. Jose checked us in and made it seamless (he taught himself French and speaks it beautifully). It was great to come back and see Carlos and Jesus at the Travel Club pool, plus Carlos the pool waiter, who were on their feet all day in scorching heat and never let it show with their great attitude and good mood. And the golf cart drivers are always there for us but our most memorable conversations on the resort throughout the years have always been with driver Arturo – it is like catching-up with a great friend every time we see him!
All of the food was delicious as always and a few places really stood out. El Dorado is a great steakhouse with a number of great cuts and they've even added fantastic crab cakes to the appetizer list, which we appreciated enough to order three at a time. Chef Deepak's recipes at Bhogali taste like actual Indian cooking, not a resort's idea of it. We were thrilled to see Angel, our server, once again this year and his knowledge of the menu and his eye for detail turned every visit there into an event. At Sumptori, we thoroughly enjoyed both the hibachi experience with Chef Jackie Chan who was funny and very talented as he cooked us a delicious meal as well as Sushi Chefs Antonio and Alfredo (who is also an awesome hibachi chef!) who prepared fresh and tasty sushi rolls for us. The Nest, the Family Selection restaurant, has the best staff on the property, morning and night. Dagoberto makes the best coffee at the resort and would bring it over the moment he spotted us. Rubi always had a smile waiting. Miguel, also in the daytime, was always happy to see us and took great care of our orders. Angelia runs a tight ship as morning captain, and Chef Elias is the mind behind most of what we ate, both at The Nest in the morning and at Poseidon for lunch. There are also two Lizbeths here and both deserve a mention: the daytime Lizbeth is quick and kind in equal measure, and the evening Lizbeth has an attitude that lifts the whole room. Nights at The Nest belong to Armando, a hard-working, attentive captain with a great team around him, including Miguel at the bar, who is the best mixologist in Cancun and makes drinks that are complex, delicious and original. Over at the Nest kids club, Nicole and the rest of the team made sure our daughter had the time of her life. We ended our days at Piacere for a nighttime coffee and tea where the bubbly Mayte memorized our order and would serve it with a smile and a giggle.
We returned to Chic again this year and they slightly modified the format which works well for us – a little bit shorter but even more exciting musical and dance numbers and the quality of the food has increased too! Having been to the premiere of Bravo in 2025, we were excited to return and the show did not let us down – it has actually gotten even better!
Our room was spotless early every day, so thank you to Karen, our housekeeper on the ground floor of building 11. We also booked a photoshoot while we were there and the results far exceeded our expectations, so thanks to Jessica behind the camera, who was professional, courteous and made the photoshoot lots of fun, and to Alexia the manager at the photo store, who took great care of us.
Another wonderful vacation. Grand Palladium really does feel like coming home to family and friends every time. Until next time, my friends.
Karren C2026-08-25
