Family trip to GP Costa Mujeres

[Anne]

Thank you to Juan Mullin for sharing this report

Before starting I want to emphasize that I am a Fan of the Grand Palladium Hotels. We have gone 9 times to Riviera Maya, once to Imbassaí, once to Punta Cana and now twice to Costa Mujeres. Riviera Maya has always been our favorite for what it offers and its staff has no equal.

In November we had visited TRS Coral grand opening. We liked it very much so we decided to return with our two children (3YO) and (7YO). We chose Familiy Selection for the location and amenities they promised.

We arrived on April 17, we checked in and they immediately gave us the room. We were lucky to get the Loft Suite 12230. From 12225 to 12230 are Loft Suites located exactly in front of the sea. The room is spectacular, in the lower floor has a sofa bed, Smart TV, mini bar, bathroom with shower and large closets as well as a large terrace. In the upper floor it has a full bathroom with shower and tub, Smart TV, another mini bar and King bed. The terrace also has another bathtub with hydromassage overlooking the sea.
Family Selection: The building is number 12. It is located next to Poseidon and has a restaurant/buffet in the same building (The Nest) that opens for breakfast and dinner. It has a Mini Club for children from 8am to 11pm. This is a great relief and its staff is very professional and dedicated. On our arrival there was nothing of the promoted like children’s bathrobes and slippers, or backpacks, hats, or suntan lotion. The next day we did not have them either so we had to claim them so that night they brought us the amenities for the little ones. We also claimed the bottles of liquor, to which they replied that we could only choose one (Johnnie Black, Ron Habana, Absolute Vodka, Don Julio Tequila). The breakfast at The Nest is buffet and also has a la carte option but the food offer is more limited than the main buffet (Isla Blanca). We had an inconvenience in one of our breakfasts (does not matter what) so I had to complain to the Head Chef. He He took care of it and after that issue, we did not have any more problems with our breakfasts. I especially value Don Gregori Pool and our waiter Diego for their dedication and professionalism. I also want to express my gratitude to Víctor, Assistant Manager of Family Selection who personally took care of solving the (few) problems that happened.
Family Selection has an exclusive pool for its guests called Es Nui, which although it is a little small, is very comfortable because of its proximity.
Beach: It is the best of all the Gran Palladium Resorts visited. Wide, clean of sargassum, deep and crystalline. We dedicate all our mornings to go to the beach. Many umbrellas, comfortable lounge beach chairs and very good staff attention. We had some windy days but that didn´t deprive us of enjoying it.

Main Pool: It is wide, but we had trouble finding free places. When arriving around noon, there were many reserved lounge chairs without anyone to occupy them. Unfortunately, it is a habit of many people to reserve chairs with towels and not to occupy them for hours, even never. Our children enjoyed visiting the Kids Club located next to the children’s pool. On more than one occasion in the hours of strong sun, the Kid’s Club staff took care of them while my wife and me escaped to enjoy the Spa.

Spa: It’s excellent. It has a hydrotherapy circuit (free if you stay in Family Selection) which consists of dry sauna, wet sauna, Himalayan salt sauna, ice sauna, hot and cold water chamber, relaxing waterjet of different intensity, very complete. There is also an excellent staff of massage therapists and a pool on the top floor with amazing ocean view. It´s a must visiting it.

Isla Blanca Buffet: It is the largest and opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It has several food stations although we did not find variety of food. We usually had lunch at this buffet. In the fish station they only have one variety, in the meat station sometimes they do not have red meat, although they do have chicken and pork chops. Good pasta station and pancakes / waffles. The first days there were no french fries, when going with children is the first choice, but then they were available the rest of the days.

Poseidon: This is the beach buffet and opens for lunch. We only had lunch once because the food offering seemed limited.

A la Carte Restaurants (the ones we visited this time):
Chang Thai: We went with little expectation and we got a pleasant surprise. The food is fabulous and our server was great, attentive and expeditious.
Boghali: We did not have luck. The service was very slow and the food was not good, although I understand that this is subjective depending on personal tastes.
El Dorado: We went with great expectation as it is one of our favorites at other resorts, and unlike Chang Thai, we were a bit disappointed. The food was correct, but not as good as in the others visited in RM and PC.
La Adelita: We did not get to the main course. I think there was some problem in the kitchen since the service was slow throughout the room. Luckily, the children’s menu was fast so we ate nuggets and french fries with our children
The Gaucho: Clap clap clap. The best of the best. This restaurant is located in TRS so after giving dinner to the little ones at The Nest (FS), we left them with the FS Mini Club staff and we were able to enjoy the best dinner of our stay. Both the food and the service was the best.
The Nest: At dinner it is another good choice of a la Carte Restaurant. We dined three times and enjoyed it very much. Highly recommended octopus and lobster on the grill. The service always excellent.
Sumptuori: We enjoyed the teppanyaki food show and was great. Amazing dinner.

CHIC CABARET: Family Selection guests have access for two adults to this fabulous show. It must be booked in advance and has high demand. The dinner is good but not abundant although I can assure that enjoying the show nobody pays attention to the food. The artists are first class, combining song and dance, with excellent choice of musical themes during almost 3 hours of show without pause. They should not miss it.

Theater Shows: They are not amazing but our kids loved them. The Village is a nice place to walk and enjoy the evening.
Sports Bar is great to spent some time.

Beyond some issues in the service, which were resolved thanks to the excellent attitude of the staff, we enjoyed 13 fabulous days in this spectacular hotel, with great potential as these small details can be improved.

Was it perfect? No, but it was almost perfect. We have had perfect holidays in the past at RM but it is very difficult that “everything” goes as expected.
Would we go back? Of course

 

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