Grand Riviera Princess

Everything about this experience was simply magical. The Grand Riviera Princess was my first all-inclusive experience and I suspect I will be returning in the future, as their customer service, restaurants, pools, and amenities were simply perfection and I suspect unmatched. Our swim out room made us feel particularly spoiled. Bernie and Yolanda made our stay particularly memorable. Their dedication to customer comfort and experience, as well as their friendly demeanors made us feel like we had a home away from home. We appreciate them immensely. 10/10 experience, absolutely no complaints. I would recommend this resort to anyone wanting a relaxing, luxury stay just a short drive from downtown Playa del Carmen.

Absolutely AMAZING resort and people! The staff were extremely tentative, kind, and engaging. Our room was spectacular and the cleanliness of both the room and the entire resort was top tier. Food was amazing, entertainment was amazing, and the views and vibe of the resort was beyond stellar. Do not hesitate to come here!

The hotel staff were great! However, the villas are too large for the AC to keep up, so if you like it cool skip them! - There is no beach available at this resort right now since they weren’t proactive with the seaweed! The smell is horrible. Shame on resort management!! Vacation disaster so we spent $3,500 Usd to relocate to Cancun.

My husband and I visited the Grand Sunset Princess Mayan Riviera all inclusive resort from May 19 - 29, 2026 (11 days and 10 nights) and I want to review the following categories: room, grounds, facilities, pool, beach, food (buffet), food (a la carte), entertainment, and overall scores.   ------ Room – 5/5 stars POSITIVES: We stayed in the most basic room, a garden view Jr. Deluxe. Nothing fancy. One of the most beautiful rooms I have ever been in. Recently renovated, clean, tasteful décor. We loved how each building had a little courtyard with trees and a fountain. NEGATIVES: We were on the 3rd floor and the elevators were really far away so we had to keep using the stairs. We are able bodied, so not a problem, just kind of annoying some nights when the food and drinks had been flowing, lol. The mattress was really firm. Personally, I like a firm mattress, but my husband does not. He still slept fine, but this could be considered a bad thing to some people. The truest negative was that the toilet was squeaky/loose, and I kept envisioning that I would fall off it and there would be gushing toilet water everywhere, lol.   ------ Grounds – 3/5 stars POSITIVES: Absolutely beautiful landscaping and a lot of wildlife. We saw monkeys, deer, coati, and iguana’s every day. There are mature palm tree’s lining the path, and also some really pretty and interesting statues. NEGATIVES: I did not love how far away everything seemed to be. The main buffet, theatre, most of the a la carte, and the ice cream shop, other shops, etc. were all at the front near the lobby and we were in a room way at the end near the party pool. It is quite a hike to do all day back and forth. They do have carts that drive back and forth all day, however sometimes you need to wait a long while and unfortunately they drive on a more ‘ugly’ path. We would often mosey along down and hope to catch a cart on the way. Half the time we ended up walking the whole way, and that’s fine, but I always felt like if the cart didn’t come then I was taking the ugly path for nothing, you know what I mean?  The BIGGEST NEGATIVE of this whole resort is the absolute CONSTANT interruptions from people trying to sell you stuff. Look, all resorts have some people, typically in the lobby, trying to sell you their platinum or whatever it’s called time share thing. They had this too. Every single time we went to the lobby – which remember, everything is near the lobby – you are being harassed by people. I mean, I get it. That is standard. It would be one thing if this was isolated to the lobby, but it isn’t. Along the paths there are 2 or 3 (maybe more) little booths of people who are trying to sell you day trips and excursions. We were always being stopped to see if we wanted to go to an island, swimming with turtles, cenotes, yadda, yadda, yadda. Great. They have a job, I get it, but there was more than 1 stand and impossible to not walk by them because you need to go past them to get towels, or to go to the bathroom. My husband is a very friendly guy, he loves to smile and make eye contact with people and he’s such a kind guy he end’s up engaging. It makes him feel uncomfortable to ignore people, but he had to get to that point or else we would have spent the entire trip talking to people selling us crap! On Thursday’s they have a market, which is cool, but you cannot go to dinner or the theater without walking past 12 or more of them trying to sell you things. We just felt constantly harassed, every single day, far worse than any other resort we have been to.      ------ Facilities – 4.5/5 POSITIVES: everything is clean and renovated – bathrooms, paths, restaurants, etc. I like how bathrooms are single stalls with doors that go all the way down. NEGATIVES: the bathroom doors open the wrong way. You have to essentially stand on the toilet to get in and out of the stalls. This is not true for every location, but the small ones near the pools for sure are this way. I am not a thin person, but I am not overly large either… If you are large there is no way you could even use the stalls that are not the larger one at the end. We also had the roof leaking at one of the a la cartes, and another one we were put into a room that didn’t look finished and had a very loud HVAC, but other than that I did think the décor was beautiful and kept clean.   ------ Pool – 4.8/5 POSITIVES: These are huge pools! I love how the swim up rooms on the one side connect into the party pool. We were able to have a quiet area and then just swim over to the busy party side without having to get out, which was amazing. There is a whole kid water park and bigger slides for everyone as well. Given the time of year, they were super warm like a bath, which I personally loved but my husband did not. They are not temp controlled, so it will depend on the weather. There was deeper areas and shallow areas, sun and shade in all pools, depending on the time of day.   NEGATIVES: They are not all connected, though it looks like it on the map. A few bridges are not one’s that you can swim under. Basically, there are 3 big ones and then 2 by the beach, then the family area and the platinum area, which we didn’t go to. The one’s by the beach smelt horrible (see below). The one water slide was not working (which looked like it would have been the most fun one). Some of the bubble area’s did not work at all. There are missing tiles – the pools are old and probably will need to be renoed soon-ish, which will be a massive undertaking since they’re massive. Since they are so large, I felt like they were not as clean as other resort pools are. They always had someone cleaning them, and checking the water levels, but they need more people doing it. There were always leaves and sand in the pool, but only a little and I don’t fault the staff for this. ------ Beach – 0/5 *unable to rate* POSITIVES – well, it looked like it had possible potential with volleyball nets and had a good stretch of coast with a lot of chairs. NEGATIVES – It was end of May in Mexico, so the beach is unusable. The sargassum is really, really, really bad. They do not even try to clean it up. I do not blame them, because there is probably no point trying (and potential health hazards). It stinks. On some days, you could smell it around the resort. We could not be in the pool nearest the beach. If you care about the beach, do not go to Mexico on this coast from April – October. You can go to Cozumel, other countries, or visit here November – March. The beach is just simply not usable and this is not the resorts fault, it is not the countries fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the human race in general. ------ Entertainment – 3.5/5 POSITIVES – its free entertainment every single night, and they do their best. Every night is different if you are there for a week. Since we had 10 nights, we did have a couple repeat nights. Some of the shows would blow your mind like the neon humans or fire show (the ones that they outsource/ that tour all the resorts in the area). NEGATIVES – I can’t really say it’s a negative, as these people are far more talented than I could ever dream to be, however, I have been to other resorts where they just were a bit better in-house. The main pool had the exact same water Zumba dance and songs and routine every day, and only had a couple different games. Always bingo, always ping pong, always kicking the ball through a floaty, the same thing daily. It was good, but not stellar. More variety, newer/different music, and more energy would go a long way. ------ Food (buffet) – 3/5 POSTIVES – it’s a buffet! I love buffets! The food is normal, it’s meh. Typical Mexico buffet food. You will not starve, even if you are really picky. They have the basics for every meal. Breakfast has eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, French toast, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and then extras. Lunch and dinner have your basics like steak, sushi, fruit, pasta, etc. and then themed nights to keep things interesting. NEGATIVES – I have a hard time complaining about buffets, honestly. This isn’t upscale or anything, but it’s good enough that you will not starve. You will find food for your kids. Some of the food surprized me how good it was and others disappointed me. I have had buffets with way more variety, which I guess is the only negative I can say. ------ Food (a la carte)- 4/5 POSTIVES – They have a lot of variety, I believe 8 options. There is no cap on how many you can book as we went to 6 of them. You book online 3 days in advance. NEGATIVES – I do wish you could just book them all at once instead of having to check daily for the next day to open up. I don’t really want to have a ‘to do’ task while I am on vacation, I just want to plan it all out at the start and then follow my plan. Brazilian – great, you can’t go wrong! You get an appetizer buffet and then servers just keep bringing you chunks of meat until you tell them to stop, and then they give you a delicious grilled pineapple! Teppanyaki – WOW. YES. We have done these before but this was good food AND show. Usually it’s just a good show and overly salty food, but this chef was amazing. I believe his name was Direyl? Japanese/Peruvian – Amazing food. Basically the teppanyaki food without the show. Our server here was named Ricardo and he was perfect. We were sat in an area with a super loud HVAC and the décor was weird, and didn’t go with the rest of the restaurant. It felt like we were in a dive diner with the atmosphere, but the food and service was soooo good. Steakhouse – don’t do it. Gross. Not worth it. The knives are so dull from the slate plates, you cannot even cut your steak, and if you manage to hack a chunk of meat off it was the worst steak I ever had. We maybe just had a fluke? I am not sure. Both our steaks were awful though. The steak at the buffet was better by far! French – I was not thinking I would even like this, but it was amazing. The plates were beautiful and the food was delicious. Our server was Riquer, and he brought us many drinks and gave us a lot of attention. He was awesome and we ended up having him a few times actually. The only negative experience here was this is the restaurant that the roof was leaking, but meh. Italian – It was aright. You can get pizza and pasta at the buffet, but the atmosphere here is nice. The food was good, but not overly memorable. ********** OVERALL – We would recommend and we would return. It is not the best resort in Mexico that I have ever been to, and it is not the worst either.

When we visit resorts, the brand name is often one of the first things that catches our attention. However, what matters even more are the people who make your day-to-day experience enjoyable and memorable. I visited this resort a few months ago and stayed on the Sunset side, but this time I wanted to enjoy the afternoon sun exposure on the Riviera side. There is still a transition period while the final renovations are being completed on the Riviera side. When I arrived, Ricardo at reception was extremely helpful and efficient in assisting me with obtaining one of the Riviera Swim-Up Suites. I appreciated the extra effort, although the first suite I received was the last one beside the roadway where the trolleys and housekeeping carts pass by numerous times throughout the day. Since I spend a lot of time relaxing in front of my suite in the water, I felt a little like I was under a microscope. I spoke with Ricardo the following day, and he kindly offered to move me a few doors further north. It turned out to be the perfect location — peaceful, quiet, and much more private. The occasional wildlife visitors in front of my suite only added to the experience and made the stay even more enjoyable. The resort has an app that you can download which allows you to reserve your dinners at the à la carte restaurants. I took full advantage of this and tried a different restaurant almost every night. One thing that really stood out to me was the à la carte restaurants. They feel like true standalone restaurants with their own atmosphere and identity, not just a small section of another building labeled as a restaurant like you sometimes see at some resorts. La Hacienda, the Mexican restaurant, was one of my first visits. My waiter Juan was very attentive throughout the evening, and I really enjoyed both the variety on the menu and the opportunity to sample several desserts after dinner. This was one of the restaurants I visited twice, and the second time I was taken care of by Rodolfo and Manuel, and it was just as enjoyable as the first. At La Vaquería, I again appreciated the range of choices available on the menu and finished the evening with a very tasty steak. Gerardo took very good care of me and made for another enjoyable dining experience. By this point in my stay, Jahaziel at the restaurant reception had started recognizing me each evening, which added to the welcoming atmosphere throughout the resort. Next was Galerie, where Raziel walked me through the menu from start to finish. Interestingly, when the follow-up survey arrived the next day asking about my meal, it referred to the restaurant as “La Fleur,” which I assume may have been the restaurant’s previous name. I noticed on a few occasions during my stay that some of the restaurants seemed to go by more than one name, likely related to the ongoing transition and renovations taking place around the resort. Sumauma is the Brazilian restaurant where the servers slice the meats directly from the skewers at your table. Freddy and Christopher were both wonderful throughout the evening, arriving with the next selection just as I was finishing the previous course and keeping a very smooth flow to the meal, which I imagine takes quite a bit of coordination in such a busy environment. All of the different meats were very tasty, and although each serving portion was relatively small, by the end of the meal I appreciated that I was completely full without ever feeling rushed or overwhelmed. It was one of those meals where everything gradually adds up in the best possible way. To close out the evening, they served roasted pineapple from the spit, coated in cinnamon, which left a very memorable final impression and was the perfect finish to the meal. Just a small note that this restaurant is not in the main lobby buildings but on the south side of the swim up pool on the Sunset side closer to the beach. I had initially left the Italian restaurant, La Volta, for later in my stay because I assumed pasta would probably not stand out compared to some of the other specialty restaurants. It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. As a solo traveler, I enjoy taking the opportunity to have small conversations with the staff whenever possible — always respectfully, knowing they are working hard throughout the evening and not keeping them tied up. I am comfortable conversing in Spanish and enjoy practicing it, but I also appreciate when staff speak English well and are open to a little conversation while still remaining attentive to their responsibilities. Ruben was my waiter that evening and did an excellent job walking me through the menu. For my main course, I chose the shrimp pasta, which turned out to be exceptionally flavorful, rich, and satisfying — honestly one of the most enjoyable pasta dishes I have had in quite some time. By the end of the meal, I found myself wishing I had tried La Volta earlier during my stay so I could have returned for a second visit. While I was enjoying dinner, Raziel recognized me from across the restaurant and came over to greet me by name. Considering the number of guests these restaurants serve each evening, and how busy the dining room was, it was genuinely a very pleasant surprise to be recognized and greeted with such warmth and enthusiasm several days after meeting him. Ruben also stood out because of his friendly personality and conversation, and it was a pleasure spending a few minutes speaking with him during the evening. During my previous visit, the main buffet was located in the Sunset lobby building, so this time I was pleasantly surprised to discover the smaller but fully functional Food Market Maya buffet located on the south side of the Riviera Swim-Up Suites, just before the Platinum buildings. Because of the name, some guests may not immediately realize that it serves as a breakfast and lunch buffet. Since it was located almost directly outside my room, it became my regular stop most mornings and afternoons. While the variety is somewhat smaller than the main buffet, I actually found that to be a positive because it helped me with portion control and avoiding the temptation to overeat. I always left feeling satisfied. One of the highlights each morning was being greeted by Karen, who became a real bright spot to start the day. To help each other practice, we alternated between speaking English one day so she could practice, and Spanish the next day so I could practice mine, which added a personal and enjoyable touch to the experience. Fatima also became my regular waitress during many of my breakfasts and lunches, and we continued the same English-and-Spanish routine. These small daily interactions may seem minor, but they genuinely added warmth and personality to the stay and made each morning feel welcoming and familiar. One additional moment that stood out during my stay involved something small, but important. After switching rooms, I accidentally left behind some sleep medication in my previous suite and did not realize it until the following night when I was trying to get settled to sleep. I mentioned the situation to Karen at the Food Market Maya buffet, and she immediately contacted Miguel at reception, who then contacted Magdalena the concierge. From there the request quickly spread through the team, and by the time I made my way up to reception myself, it seemed like everyone was already aware of the situation and someone was already on the way with my medication in hand. Also one evening when the app wasn't working and I couldn't book my restaurant for my last night, Magdalena helped me out so that I wouldn't be scrambling last minute trying to find somewhere to eat for my last dinner. It was a great example of how well the staff communicate with one another and how quickly they work together to help guests when something unexpected comes up. To close things out, I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere and layout of the property. The swim-up suites are wonderful, with plenty of seating areas throughout, lots of lush greenery, and mature trees that give the resort a very relaxing and natural feel. One of the highlights for many guests — myself included — is the abundant wildlife that freely roams the property. During my stay, I saw large groups of coatis, several deer, and even a mother deer with her young fawn, which added a very peaceful and unique touch to the experience. Seeing the animals moving naturally throughout the resort grounds helped create an atmosphere that felt much more connected to nature than many typical resort properties. Overall, it was another very enjoyable stay, made even better by the many staff members who took the time to make guests feel welcome throughout the day. I am already booking my next stay here.