GP Colonial trip report

[Anne]

Posting with permission from Susan McGrady Mullen who just returned from GP Colonial

We just returned and I thought I would post our review, and hopefully, some tips for those of you traveling there soon. First of all, let me preface this by saying this was our first experience with an all-inclusive. The only thing we could compare it to was a cruise. And, in my opinion, the only thing cruises do better is the food. Everything else with this resort is far better than a cruise.
My husband and I traveled with our 17 year old son and had such an amazing time. I have another post about some of my favorite things but here are the positive reviews we have:

1. Even though the resort had a lot of guests, we never once felt it was too crowded. While the Colonial pool had more people, once I found the White Sands pool and the adults only pool, I was more than happy there with the peace and quiet.

2. My son is very independent so he was off every day playing lots and lots of basketball on the courts, soccer, pool in the Junior Club and enjoying all the buffets. . Because he couldn’t use the gym on his own, he enjoyed working out with my husband several times during the week.

3. It was so easy to walk around the resort — definitely got 12-15K steps in every day just walking from place to place. If you dont’t want to walk as much, there are always carts that can pick you up and drive you wherever you need to go.

4. The gym was very good and their equipment is well maintained. I was able to get 4 great work outs in during the week. They also provide bottles of water which was so convenient.

5. Easy to stay hydrated. I left a tip every day for the beverage service in the room and he kept us supplied with at least 5 liters of water every day, and enough soda, peanuts and snickers bars. . We don’t drink alcohol so they replaced the beer with more soda as per our request.

6. The spa was amazing and I think well worth the extra cost. I’m from NY and the prices were very reasonable in my opinion.

7. The staff—-they were just awesome. Service was top-notch. They were friendly, helpful and very attentive. Definitely worth tipping them if you are so inclined. I went down with lots of $1 and $5 bills.

8. The activities…so much fun and so many to choose from. We liked the pool bike class, yoga, shuffleboard under the lights, and so much more. With the app, it’s easy to sign up and set reminders for yourself. We signed up for archery but cancelled that morning because we chose to hang at the pool instead.

9. We found the Wi-Fi pretty decent everywhere. There were a few spots like the beach where it was difficult to get service but I was pretty impressed how strong it was.

There were only a few things we didn’t like but nothing here took away from the overall positive experience we had.
1. The sliding glass doors have no mechanism to open from the outside. The only way you can sit on the balcony and enjoy the peace and quiet is to leave the door ajar. But that shuts down the AC, and I wasn’t willing to have that go off because the room could get a little stuffy. I only went on the balcony when either my husband or son were inside and could let me back in.
2. Be careful of the monkeys when you’re eating outside. One of them got pretty aggressive at the table next to us at lunch one day and then came for the the fruit on my plate. I left pretty quickly and never went back to that outdoor buffet at the colonial.
3. The food is wonderful for breakfast but sometimes the lunch and dinner buffets could be hit or miss. I appreciated all the choices because I didn’t have to plan it, shop for it or cook it. . So I was fairly easy to please. But my husband who is gluten free felt like the choices were a little limited for those meals. Definitely try out the restaurants. The Brazilian was our favorite HANDS DOWN. El Dorado was great one night but terrible the next. Not really sure why. We didn’t try the sushi one that some rave about.
4. When you’re walking around, just be cautious of the carts driving by. They’re electric (which is great) but sometimes, it makes it hart to hear them. When you can, use the shaded walkways especially if you have little kids.
5. There are not a lot of outlets in the rooms, so pack a power strip. That was one of the best tips I found on this page.
Overall, I would definitely head back. I really unplugged and relaxed more than I have in a very long time. I’m not ready to go back to work tomorrow.

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