Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Resort and Spa

Amazing food with José and chef Hilario at the Grand Serenis, so friendly, warm, kind and welcoming, drinks flowed, the food was unreal! So much flavour! Above and beyond service! Can’t wait to go back!

Overall, we’d give Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya a 6/10. There is a lot to like about the resort, particularly the food variety, beautiful jungle setting, wildlife and excellent air conditioning. However, there were some significant drawbacks. The beach was our biggest disappointment, closely followed by the entertainment – or lack of it. The restaurant booking system and the concierge/Ultimate Club sales approach also let the experience down. Resort & Grounds Pros: The resort itself is absolutely beautiful and is set amongst the jungle and beach, so you really do feel surrounded by nature. One of our favourite things was the wildlife. We saw monkeys, raccoons, iguanas and lots of other animals around the resort, which was a lovely part of the experience. Another big positive was the air conditioning throughout the resort. Having visited Mexico several times and stayed in other resorts, we found the air conditioning here noticeably better, which makes a huge difference in the heat. There are also little electric buggies travelling around the resort which can take guests between different areas. Cons: The resort is large, so the buggies would be really useful, but we found that many seemed to be primarily available for Ultimate guests. This was disappointing when getting around such a large resort. Food & Restaurants Pros: The food variety is excellent. There are two buffet restaurants and six à la carte restaurants, so there is plenty of choice and you definitely won’t go hungry. There is an ice cream parlour (scoops) open until 5pm and a coffee shop open until late which are nice touches too. Both buffets have show-cooking stations, which we really liked, as lots of the food is prepared freshly in front of you. There genuinely seemed to be something for everyone. We also discovered that approaching the à la carte restaurants directly and asking whether they had availability often worked well for us. Cons: Unfortunately, the à la carte booking system was one of our biggest frustrations. Each accommodation block has a concierge who can help make restaurant reservations, but whenever we asked, the only available times seemed to be 5:45pm or 9pm. For a family of four, neither was particularly suitable. The one restaurant our concierge did manage to book for us turned out to have been booked for just one person rather than our family of four. We therefore ended up having more success simply going to the restaurants ourselves and asking if they could accommodate us. There is also an app which allows you to make restaurant reservations, but unfortunately this didn’t always work reliably. For a resort advertising six à la carte restaurants as part of the experience, we felt guests should have a much easier way of actually accessing them. Concierge & Ultimate Club Pros: Initially, we found our concierge really friendly and helpful. He checked in with us regularly, asked whether we needed extra towels and even asked what drinks we preferred in our minibar. We requested Fanta instead of Coke and some additional towels, and at first we were impressed by this level of personal service. Cons: Unfortunately, there is also a considerable attempt to encourage guests to attend a 90-minute sales presentation for the Ultimate Club, which is essentially a timeshare-style membership. We have visited Mexico five times, as well as travelling to many other destinations, so we are quite familiar with these presentations and politely declined. After declining, however, we felt there was a noticeable change in how friendly and attentive our concierge was towards us. Of course, we can only comment on our own experience, but it left us feeling that some of the initial attentiveness may have been connected to getting us to attend the presentation. The extra towels and the requested Fanta instead of coke that we’d been asked about never actually appeared either. We would personally prefer the concierge service to concentrate on helping guests enjoy their holiday rather than putting so much emphasis on selling an additional membership. Rooms Pros: Our room was modern, clean and comfortable and generally of a good standard. The air conditioning in the room is also very effective and cools the room quickly. The shower has complimentary shampoo and shower gel, which is useful. Cons: There were a few small details that surprised us considering the price of the hotel. The shampoo and shower gel dispensers are fixed to the wall inside the shower, meaning you can’t use them if you choose to have a bath. We felt toiletries beside the bath would have been a reasonable addition at this price point. There was also no hand wash by the sink (they did provide bar soap) and no hair conditioner. These aren’t huge issues individually, but we’ve stayed in less expensive hotels that provide these as standard. Another frustration was the air conditioning. Every time we left the room it would reset itself to 23°C, and strangely, we also found it occasionally did this during the night. The air conditioning itself is excellent, but continually having to reset it became annoying. Entertainment & Atmosphere – A Major Disappointment Pros: There were a couple of enjoyable evenings. The Michael Jackson show was good and clearly more polished than much of the other entertainment, although this was provided by an outside company rather than the hotel’s own entertainment team. The silent disco was also entertaining and something a little different. Cons: After the beach, the entertainment – or lack of it – was probably our second biggest disappointment. Every day the main pool had water aerobics at around 11am, and unfortunately this seemed to be the only scheduled daytime activity that reliably happened every day. Water volleyball, water polo and bingo were all advertised on the entertainment schedule, but in our experience they rarely actually took place. On several occasions we had to remind staff that an activity was supposed to be happening. We were even told that they would organise and play if we provided the ball ourselves – despite the hotel selling balls for around $20. For us, this was particularly disappointing because we have visited Mexico several times and one of the things we’ve always loved is the fun, energetic Mexican atmosphere around the pool. That was really missing here. There was very little interaction or engagement from the entertainment team. If it wasn’t for posters advertising the evening programme, we genuinely wouldn’t have known what entertainment was happening or when. The evening shows were also disappointing overall. They generally started late and were held in one of the few areas of the resort that didn’t benefit from air conditioning, making it uncomfortable in the Mexican heat. Most of the shows also felt very low-budget compared with entertainment we’ve experienced at other Caribbean and Mexican resorts. The Michael Jackson show was enjoyable, but having seen probably close to 20 Michael Jackson tribute shows across Caribbean resorts over the years, we wouldn’t personally rank this amongst the best we’ve seen. The UV party was particularly disappointing for a family resort. It essentially consisted of women dancing in the dark with glow sticks attached to their very revealing outfits/bodies. They handed out single Poundland style glow sticks to guests until they ran out (about 30) We didn’t find this particularly family-friendly or entertaining. The silent disco had potential and was entertaining, but again it lacked the energy and atmosphere that an enthusiastic entertainment team could easily have created. This wasn’t about expecting constant organised activities or needing to be entertained every minute of the day. It was the overall lack of atmosphere, interaction and energy. At times, the resort was so quiet and lacking in that familiar Mexican holiday vibe that we genuinely forgot we were in Mexico. For us, that’s a real shame because the warmth, music, energy and fun atmosphere have always been such a memorable part of our previous holidays to Mexico. Beach & Sargassum – The Biggest Disappointment Pros: The resort has a fantastic location on the Caribbean coast, and you can see that without the sargassum the beach and surroundings would be beautiful. Staff were clearly making efforts to remove the seaweed, and there was a small section that had been cleared. The Ultimate guests’ beach also appeared to be cleaned more thoroughly. Cons: Unfortunately, the beach was by far the biggest disappointment of our stay and something we feel potential guests should be aware of when booking. There was a huge amount of sargassum, which produced an extremely unpleasant rotten-egg smell. Depending on the direction of the breeze, the smell wasn’t limited to the beach either – it could travel through other parts of the resort. Although a tiny section of beach had been cleared, there were two huge shipping containers filled with the collected sargassum left on the beach. This meant that even the section that had been cleaned was still dominated by the smell. More concerningly, on the days when we actually braved the smell and attempted to use the beach, hotel staff told us it was unsafe to be there because tractors were operating throughout the area clearing the sargassum. So not only was the smell difficult to tolerate, there were occasions when we were effectively unable to use the beach anyway because of the cleaning operation. We completely appreciate that sargassum is a natural phenomenon and the hotel cannot control when or how much arrives. However, guests are paying for a resort that is marketed heavily around its beachfront Caribbean location. If the beach regularly cannot be safely or comfortably used, we feel there needs to be a better solution. In our view, the resort should either invest considerably more in the clean-up and removal process like neighbouring hotels, be much clearer about the potential limitations of the beach when marketing the hotel, or reflect the loss of such a major facility in the price guests are paying. The Ultimate beach was noticeably better maintained, but even there, there was no escaping the smell. Overall – 6/10 Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya has a lot going for it. The beautiful jungle setting, amazing wildlife, varied food, show cooking, modern rooms and excellent air conditioning were all real positives. However, for the price and standard the resort is aiming for, we expected considerably more in certain areas. The beach was our biggest disappointment, closely followed by the lack of entertainment and atmosphere. Add to this the difficulty accessing the à la carte restaurants, unreliable booking system, Ultimate Club sales approach, limited buggy availability for non-Ultimate guests and smaller room amenity issues, and there were simply too many things stopping this from feeling like the premium Mexican resort experience we expected. Most significantly, anyone booking primarily for a Caribbean beach holiday should be aware of the sargassum situation. We understand completely that the hotel can’t control nature, but when the smell affects the wider resort and guests who do attempt to use the beach are then told it is unsafe because of the tractors clearing it, it becomes more than simply an aesthetic issue. Likewise, if you enjoy the lively, energetic atmosphere that Mexican resorts are so well known for, this was noticeably lacking during our stay. We’ve visited Mexico five times and travelled extensively elsewhere, so we’re comparing this with our own previous holiday experiences rather than expecting perfection. There are genuinely lovely aspects to Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya but considering the price we paid and the experience we expected from a beachfront Mexican resort, 6/10 feels fair.

Carnal is such a fun experience! Thank you to Tania our server. The food is amazing, especially the beef filet. Dancers, music and fun surprise at the end! Muchas gracias 🇲🇽💃🏻

We switched our hotels twice before finally choosing the Grnad Sirenis and I’m So glad I did, service was great very helpful and dedicated staff in all areas, the rooms And facilities were spotless although some rooms could be due a makeover, minibar stocked everyday, room cleaned daily and air con works fine. Buffets restaurants I thought had a good all round selection but after 11 nights I did feel it was getting a bit samey but it’s a buffet and I was expecting it and the food was delicious. Ice cream and coffee shops were a hit with our family. Plenty of pools and beds although we did resort to early towel dropping if you want to get an umbrella spot. Nightly entertainment was of good standard Michael Jackson / lion king/ rock nights in main auditorium with white parties and silent discos on the roof terrace bar were good. Bit of a trek from our room in the 28 block to breakfast but not a hindrance. And yes there is a seaweed problem but didn’t bother us as we not beach orientated there is a clear beach and there is one covered with seaweed but most places in riviera maya will have this problem it’s not the hotels fault. Concierges very helpful and just everything was a smooth and peaceful process. We have stayed in Moonpalace/ grand riviera princess/ royaltons hotels and I would say this is one of my faves - Overall this is a very good hotel I would definitely recommend and come back again

I would give this 7/10, good but not great. I always try to be fair and from a positive perspective the following were good. Food - Both buffet and the à la carte were excellent. Particularly the Teppanyaki and the Mexican, the Butchers was disappointing but that could have just been my meal choice. Also they were amazing with my son who is Gluten Free, every meal was cooked à la carte, even in the buffet. Wildlife - Amazing wildlife all over the resort, monkeys, raccoons, iguanas, turtles, fish, snakes, birds etc Weather - August is supposed to be wet but we had 1 hour of rain in 10 days. Room - A good size and pretty decent, could do with a refresh, it’s looking a bit dated and 1 day we had no hot water. Things that should be better were as follows. Bars - It took ages to get drinks at the main pools, they don’t have enough staff on and unless you tipped you often got ignored. The kids were regularly ignored resulting in one of the adults having to get in and sort it. Same all over, if you tipped then they serve you quick, but I don’t see why that should be the case. Insect bites - Everyone in our party got bitten pretty much every day, you are surrounded by jungle, you will get bitten! Brits Abroad vibe - To many chavvy Brits around the main pools for me, hitting the all inclusive bar as soon as it opens, we saw one bloke being carried out by his family and it had only just gone lunch time. The quiet pool was far nicer but lots more for the kids to do at the mains pools so we were a bit stuck. Overall it’s decent but I would not go back, it’s more a village than a hotel it’s a massive resort with lots to keep you busy. I was expecting it to be a bit classier than it was, doesn’t compare well to the big Middle East 5 star hotels, which are far more chilled and luxurious. I find the American tipping culture very annoying, they seem to expect it.