Grand Riviera Princess

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.

I will write this review in order of what I think is 5* 4* 3* etc. Starting with 5* The rooms definitely warrant 5***** for being modern, spacious and the light switches are smart switches with the one at the door having a button to request maid service, brilliant. The bed comfortable enough although not as firm as I am used to. Note: We were on the ground floor and had coati invasions daily but we loved them xx Pools also are 5***** with numerous to choose from. We tried them all and our 3yr old preferred the pool next to the snack bar rather than the kids water park pool which was a suprise to us. Plenty sunbeds to choose from and all with shade if needed. Grounds are also 5***** the wildlife and plants just added to your holiday. Mosquito heaven in places but its Mexico so its kinda expected. Spa (Massages) well above 5***** if there is such a thing as 6 or 7 stars lol. Noami my masseuse (not sure spelling is correct) was simply fantastic to the point i ended up have 3 massages in total with her. She is a credit to the hotel and should be recognised accordingly please. Evening entertainment in the theatre was top notch with "Neon Humans" fantastic and better than Britain's got Talent performances IMHO. Didn't do the plaza entertainment much as just too humid for us to sit outside but looked great. Sports Bar is awesome albeit it is all American sports and channels can't be changed, missed 2 Scotland matches because the TVs couldn't change Channel so a bit dissapointed with that but overall was a great spot early morning or late evening. Buffet warrants 4*** as it was a bit of the same each day with the exception of a different meat or fish each lunch & dinner. Didn't feel like buffet seating though as it was well spaced out and did give you that restaurant feel so that's a winner. The Restaurants are given 4*** for they all were spectacular inside and great service but the steaks in the Italian were not fillet i am used to. Duo Wok was by far my best meal. Beach gets just 3** as its not what you expect of a Caribbean beach, not even close to Cancun or Playacar's beach. It is really narrow and dips sharply at the waters edge b4 levelling out so not suitable to take younger ones for a dip. Sargassum was kept under control but that's not the Hotels fault as its widespread in the Caribbean and seems to get worse each year. The chill zone at the end of the beach towards PDC was never open and should have been, not impressed but we stayed away from the beach anyway. On site shops are given just 1* as they are simply massively expensive and charging 4x more for something you can buy in PDC. That's unacceptable to con guests into paying through the nose because there in nowhere to walk to to buy anything of resort. $40 for suncream is just daylight robbery. Overall a fantastic stay and would 100% return purely for the room standard, wildlife & pools so you are likely to see us agsin

Simply stunning trip, hotel was fantastic. Staff in all locations were amazing and very helpful. Room was immaculate and so comfortable. Everything about this hotel screams luxury. Quality of all restaurants were superb with great variety. Entertainment every night to suit all tastes. This hotel is a must if visiting area.

We had such a great stay at Grand Riviera Princess. This trip was extra special because our son Adam and Naima got married there, so we were travelling with a big family group — me and my husband, Grammie, Adam and Naima, Josh and Lauryn, and Naima’s parents. The resort is huge, but we actually liked that. The carts running around the property were especially handy for Grammie and made getting from one end of the resort to the other much easier. The grounds are beautiful, the food was great, and we really enjoyed the entertainment. One of our favourite places was the lounge bar in the lobby — such a nice spot to sit, have a drink and relax at the end of the day. The beach on the VIP side was quite rocky, so we usually went over to the other side where it was much better for swimming. One evening my sister and I stayed in the water jumping the waves while the sun was setting, and it ended up being one of those simple vacation moments you remember forever. And then there were the coatis 😂 They are adorable, but do not trust them around food or anything interesting. One stole Josh’s hot dog right off his plate when he wasn’t looking. He went and got another one… and then a seagull swooped in and took that one right out of his hand. At that point I think the wildlife had officially decided he was their personal buffet. Between the wedding, the beach, the pools, the food, the entertainment, the wildlife and just having everyone together, it was such a memorable trip. We would absolutely go back. It’s a big resort, so be prepared to do some walking, but the carts make a huge difference if mobility is an issue or you just don’t feel like trekking across the whole property every time.

This resort is amazing!! Came back from a 14 night stay in August. Before I went I read some of the reviews on here and I didn’t know what to expect. Here is the honest truth as I see it: Rooms We had a garden view room that had been recently refurbished. Everything was so clean. Beds really comfortable. Rooms cleaned every day and fridge restocked most days. If there is anything that you need message concierge on the app and they send somebody up to sort it we did that when our fridge wasn’t restocked and the came straight away. Safe in room gave piece of mind. Pools There are so many pools at this hotel, honestly something for everyone. We preferred the one in front of the store at the back with a short walk to the beach. Swim up bar was amazing and we were asked many times a day by the loungers what drinks we would like and they delivered them to our beds. Staff really friendly and really couldn’t do enough for us. Wildlife Loved seeing the different types roaming round. Obviously don’t leave food and drinks lying around as they will only do what animals do. There was deer, iguana, cats, coatis, raccoons and monkeys. The other nice touch was a guy flying his hawk about the pools and photo opportunities with the parrots. My son loved all that but we all did. Food As we were there in off season not all restaurants were open at once. This was fine though always managed a booking via the app! Personal faves were the steak house, international, Mexican and Italian. We are not big fans of tapenyaki so we didn’t go to that one but I believe it was amazing. The biggest surprise was the buffets. Honestly I read a few posts saying it was samey. I do not agree there was so much on offer at breakfast lunch and dinner. The choice was vast and all delicious. The Beach So there is a huge sargassum problem but this is an issue across the Yucatan peninsular in general. From what I saw at the princess hotel they were trying to keep on top of it but it is a big job and there is no magic wand. The bar was great and you could sit looking at the ocean. I would suggest if beaches being perfect is a must then maybe try a different part of Mexico such as Cozumel where the issue isn’t there. Personally I enjoyed having the option to go see the ocean even though I didn’t go in the water. Other amenities such as sports bar, coffee shop and ice cream parlour are great if you have kids. The bell boys were amazing and we’re on hand to book taxis when I wanted to go to playa del carman or there was the mini bus that goes from sunset side various times per day and back. Being able to book trips in the downstairs lobby was really handy as-well. There was nighttime entertainment on each night and all sorts of activities going on throughout the day. There were posts about safety - I didn’t see anything remotely untoward on the hotel property throughout the whole stay. Honestly this hotel is an amazing find!! My family and I absolutely loved it and had a ball and made some amazing memories. I can’t recommend it enough.