Grand Riviera Princess

The staff, the food, the rooms were great. The only thing I hated was the Mexican raccoons that would swarm the pool areas and drink peoples drinks and food. The staff didn’t shoo them away. It was a lot. Just be cautious if you don’t like small animals avoid.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay. The eco vibe and wildlife were some of our favourite parts. We loved seeing all the coatis and deer. The resort is beautiful, well maintained, and clean. The food in the buffet was good. Large variety. The taco station was a highlight. The sports bar makes a great cappuccino. We loved the 9th ave coffee bar - huge coffee selection and delicious baked goods. I think the main plaza area could be utilized so much better. It's a beautiful area but sits empty 90% of the time. The beach is technically useable but I wouldn't recommend it. We only went once because there's still so much seaweed which smells and makes the water very dirty. This isn't the fault of the resort, but just a heads up for anyone wondering. The service was pretty good. People were nice but I didn't find them overly friendly. Sales people were too pushy, you couldn't walk past a desk without someone trying to rope you into something. My one big complaint for this resort is that the smoking policy is not enforced well enough. I witnessed someone walking through the main building smoking a cigarette and there was a group of women who were constantly smoking at the pool. I asked them to stop once and staff asked them to stop at least 3 times in one day - I feel like at that point they should have been asked to leave. As someone who is pregnant and generally dislikes cigarette smoke very much, I found this really affected my enjoyment of them area.

I visited Grand Riviera solo in October for a short break, as always I checked reviews before booking where to stay. I was a little apprehensive reading some of the reviews about this place, but I’m pleased to say on the whole many of my worries were unnecessary. Being solo I opted to stay on a resort as I felt safer, Grand Riviera is indeed large. However a walk from one end of the complex to the other I would say takes 10-15 minutes depending on your pace. The golf caddy type shuttles are great for when you have your luggage but not needed if you don’t mind a little walking. Speaking of my room, I booked a garden suite but upgraded at check in for a swim up room instead. Looking back I think overall the upgrade wasn’t necessary but my room was beautiful and I can’t fault that. It was clean, spacious, comfortable, decorated well. Perks included a complimentary mini bar that was restocked daily, a huge tub and a handy electronic control panel at the door where you could notify the housekeepers when you were out and they could come in to clean. Downsides were the old towels (they are clean but have lost their fluffiness) and the animal droppings/mess I found on my balcony a couple of the mornings. I realise there is nothing the hotel can do about this, housekeeping cleaned the mess when they came but it’s just something to be aware of. Noise wise my room was located in the central part of the resort, near to where they host daily exercises and music. Bear in mind when this is going on it’s unlikely you’ll manage to get a siesta but it didn’t affect me too much. In the evenings I didn’t have an issue with noise being I was a good distance from the main lobby area where the restaurants are located. Food wise I read in some reviews that the food is “samey” and that is true if you always eat at the buffet. I only went there for breakfast/lunch and while the selection is large it is the same dishes most of the time. But as I said, huge selection so there’s plenty of options. For dinner I dined at a different al a carte restaurant every time. I visited the Italian, Brazilian, Mexican, Grill and Teppenyaki. The Brazilian and Teppenyaki were definitely highlights for me but I ate well at all of them. Any staff I encountered were friendly, professional and respectful. Especially the servers as I was dining alone they were very kind. Tipping is not mandatory but the staff do work really hard and appreciate the extra, so I made sure to leave something for the housekeepers and my servers on an evening. Overall I really enjoyed my short break, I would stay again but I also think I’d try the adults only resort. The overall atmosphere I feel is more catered to families and couples. In terms of value for money the place could definitely do with some TLC, and some new fluffy towels!

This was our third time staying here, but our first visit since the renovations had been completed. The Renovations The modernisation of the rooms has been very well done. We did have a couple of small concerns about the transparent glazing between the main room and the bathroom, particularly as there is no bathroom door. This was slightly awkward for us as a father and his “adult” daughter! As long as you’re mindful of the lighting and aren’t a perv, it’s manageable! 😂 The revamped restaurants, plaza, theatre and main building areas have all been done really well. The main buffet and breakfast areas are also a huge improvement, with elegant styling and better segregation of the seating areas. The Pools & Water Park Next up, I’d say the pools could do with a little TLC. While the teams are clearly out there cleaning and replacing tiles, I think the pools themselves could benefit from some proper downtime and renovation. The new on-site water park seemed very popular with the younger guests (although, OK… we had a few goes ourselves too! Weeeee! 😂). The Staff – What Really Makes This Place! For us, the staff are what really make this place special. To be fair, we tend to spend more time chatting and engaging with them than we do with other guests! A few quick shout-outs to those who made our stay extra special: Restaurant Bars: Otoneil Christo Abraham Great conversation and highly skilled at what they do! Waiters: Raziel Reuben Roberto Francesco (Chiquito!) Marcicella Front of House: Magda Maria Head Chef: Enrique Enrique treated us to a number of impromptu, off-menu specials, which we really appreciated. We thoroughly enjoyed the restaurants this year, and there seemed to be far more choices on the menus. A number of the staff remembered us from last year, which was lovely. We also took the opportunity to bring over a couple of UK-specific treats for them, which were very well received. Food & Drink The quality of the food and drink was excellent throughout our stay. Once again, we’d recommend taking a thermos-style drinking cup for use around the pool. It keeps your drinks cold for longer and offers a little protection from any inquisitive wildlife! The Wildlife It was great to see the monkeys back this year. Perhaps the renovation noise last year had put them off! There has been a reduction in the number of coatis, which was probably needed. Hopefully, the introduction of the new snack food area won’t cause too many issues with guests taking food away and leaving rubbish around the pools. Time will tell! Entertainment Sadly, the main evening theatre entertainment is exactly the same as it has been for the past few years. It also runs on a seven-day cycle, meaning that if you’re staying for two weeks (as many long-haul travellers do), you’ll see the same shows repeated. The entertainment is good, and some of the shows are definitely worth watching again. However, introducing a few new acts wouldn’t go amiss! There’s live music on most days around the activity pools, and generally, there’s always something going on somewhere. The Overall Atmosphere Essentially, this is one of those places where you can do as much or as little as you like. There are busier, louder and more activity-focused areas, as well as quieter spots where you can simply relax. We tend to visit towards the end of August, when the US holiday period is coming to an end, so the resort is generally much quieter. This time, occupancy seemed to be around 30%. Awesome!! 😎 The Beach & Sargassum Sadly, the beach has eroded a little, so there’s less depth to the beach area than before. On the plus side, though, it’s not such a long walk to the water! It was a bad year for sargassum, but the staff were working VERY hard to keep on top of it. Watching the ladies walking back and forth with wheelbarrows full of seaweed honestly made us feel quite guilty sitting there sipping cocktails while they worked so hard. Huge credit to them! Final Thoughts Overall, another really enjoyable stay, with excellent food and drink, fantastic staff and plenty of options for whatever sort of holiday you want. There are a few areas that could still be improved, particularly the pools and evening entertainment, but these certainly didn’t spoil our experience. The staff remain the biggest asset of this resort, and it was lovely to see familiar faces again and be remembered from our previous visit. Would we return? Absolutely! 😊 ¡Muchísimas gracias y hasta la próxima! Alicia and Mark

This is literally the first review I have ever written in my life, which says a lot about just how horrible the service has been. Today alone, I spent over 3.5 HOURS on the phone with Royal Holiday, being transferred from one department to another, and after all that time, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING was resolved. I ended the day in exactly the same situation I was in before making the first call. During one call, after more than 1.5 hours, the representative actually told me she had spent too much time on the phone with me and needed to hang up. We have also been promised multiple callbacks on specific dates — nobody calls back. We purchased six all-inclusive weeks to use over three years and were told we had a USD $1,710 credit that we discussed using toward a hotel in Hawaii. When we tried to book Hawaii, nobody followed up, so we ended up paying for the hotel ourselves. Later, when I tried to use that credit for a hotel in Europe, I was told it could only be used for flights or all-inclusive packages — completely different from what had been explained to us when we signed. Most recently, we tried to use one of our all-inclusive weeks for Punta Cana approximately six weeks in advance. We were told there was NO availability until the end of December — neither at the hotels we requested in Punta Cana nor in Cozumel. The customer service experience has been unacceptable: endless transfers, disconnected calls, conflicting information, promised callbacks that never happen, and nobody taking responsibility for our file. At one point, I was even told I needed to call a local Mexican number despite living in Canada. How are customers supposed to use benefits they paid for when there is constantly “no availability” and, after spending 3.5 hours on the phone in a single day, NOTHING gets resolved? The service while selling us the membership was excellent. Unfortunately, the service after they received our signature and money has been a completely different experience. Be very careful. They initially invite you to what seems like a simple breakfast, but then you are pressured to sign the contract on the spot. You are not given the opportunity to take the time to do your own research, properly inform yourself, or think the decision through. We were told that the offer was only available at that moment and that we had to sign immediately in order to get it. Based on our experience, I absolutely DO NOT recommend Royal Holiday.