Kind of disappointing – Royal Mayan

[Ryan]

This site seems to have some incorrect information..

We are here now in a Yucatan suit in the Royal section. And the available TV channels is about a third of what the TV guide here says you get.

The site says no smoking in the rooms…  Our room smells of smoke.
They DO have rewards for returning guests.  I was told it’s free room upgrades and a discounted rate.  In fact, to get a “welcome gift” they sit you down and tell you about the returning guests info and sign you up for a tour to try and getyou to come back again.
Wedding stuff…  The wedding planners here are great.  But that’s about the only thing so far.  I’ve heard and read that many Resorts offer free stuff to the bridal couple and honeymooners. If they do here, I’ve yet to see anything.  Even when you book a wedding package with them, it says you get a free room upgrade…  Nobody here knows about it
Here and the front desk say the mini bar is refilled daily.  I’ve even filled out the paper saying what we’d like to have in it.  Day two and we’ll see if they restock it today since they didn’t yesterday.

We where told that we can call a shuttle to and from any of the Resorts.  Yesterday it started great.  But by the end of the day, the service was horrible.  We where even told to wait for the train to go to the white Sands then catch a shuttle to where we wanted to go.  But at the white Sands we where told to wait for another train even though it doesn’t go to where we wanted to go. I went to the reception desk and they called a shuttle. While taking care of the wedding stuff (meetings with photographer company and the wedding planner),  we where suggested to just walk. Meanwhile, there other guests  ( not in royal suits) that seems to get shuttle service even right up to the door of their building with out having to wait. Nice shuttle service, too bad the royal guests don’t get it. :/

I had the royal lobster (that only royal guest can order from any restaurant) for dinner the first night.  And I’m glad the waiter said to get a steak with it…  The lobster isn’t that good and is tiny.
They have an app you can use to call room service, but one of the couple of things the checkin counter forgot to give us was the log in code to the app.
Last night, I didn’t get much sleep as there was a critter running around inside the roof sounding like he’s trying to get in.

Our parents are staying in the white Sands and so far, the only advantage of staying in the Royal suits is the 18+ pool..  That’s one expensive pool.
We do like the resort and are thinking of coming back next year.  But unless the service picks up, we won’t.

[Anne]

I am sorry that you’re disappointed.  Often times there are blips.I always go with the attitude of not letting the small stuff bother me.

This site is the result of many years of work and contributions by many people. All of the information is accurate. As the resort makes changes often  if we are not certain of something we double check with management.

To address some of your issues:

They try to reward repeat guests but there are no guarantees. Any room upgrade for any guest is based on availability.

You should talk to your wedding planner about any perks for the bride & groom.(Congratulations!)

There is shuttle service for Royal guests. If they are not waiting at the lobby door just wait or ask someone to call them for you if you are elsewhere.

If your App is not working go to the front desk and ask them to help you.

Also report the smoke smell to front desk. They may be able to move you.

I hope your experience improves.

[Blueskies]

I agree with all that Anne has said above. I think, if I am understanding correctly that you have confused the Traval Club sales department with what you think is for return guests. Any perks offered by the resort are not with strings attached.( it may be a fruit basket or a bottle of champagne and if you are lucky an uprgrade) The TC sales dept. will leave a note on the door saying to come get your free gift. Once you do they will try get you to attend a meeting. This is your choice and not part of what may or may not be offered to repeat guests.

As to the smoking issue, the fine for those caught smoking is $250.00. If your room smells ask if you can be moved and tell them why.  The resort may be unaware there is a smelly room. Availability will play a role, if the resort id booked you may not be able to move to another room.

I hope things get better. Let us know how you make out.

PS. Congratulations on your wedding !

[Ryan]

@Anne, I usually dont even comment on small things, but there had been LOTS of small things. (and bunch more since my post)

The smoke smell went away… I think someone a few doors down was smoking like a chimney the one morning.

Anyways, here’s an update…

The paper you fill out to speficy the time for housekeeping, turndown service and what youd like in the mini bar means absolutely nothing. They filled the mini bar twice this week (so much for daily) and messed up both times. The turndown service seems to come when we are here… Even if we are away all do and come back at 9pm (and that after their suggested time frame of 12-8)… And for a couple just about to get married… A visit at 9:30pm for turndown means an interruption of some adult times (yes, his knocking interrupted sex).

We have critters living in our roof since tuesday night. That night it sounded like they where trying to go through the roof right above our heads, The.lobby said they would but a trap up to catch them and move them to somewhere else… That never happened and they are still living above us.

Two rooms in the top floor of the.villa can see right into our washroom and if you stand up to get out of the bathtub… Well, they get a good view of the waiste-up. The lobby said they would get maintenance to put up a screen like they did to other rooms…. That never happened. (instead, the fiance has to be bending over to get out of the tub and she feels really uncomfortable with the thought of someone seeing her).

The lobby told me they are going to talk to the man

[Anne]

Sorry for all the little things which do add up.  I think they should have offered to move you. If it’s not too late maybe that’s an option.

[Ryan]

@Anne, i usually dont sweat the small things either.. But there have LOTS of small things (many I did not mention) . Since the first post, there have been LOTS more and a few big ones too. I dont have time  this time to mention any at this time ad im just getting ready for the wedding (i half it typed, but the page reloaded and i lost it)… Thank god last nights storm didnt carry as long as the weather man said it would or our “on the beach” wedding would be indoors.. Having a cermoney on the beach was the one thing she wanted 🙂

Sorry for any spelling issues… For some reason this site doesnt bring up the spell corrections when tryping.

And yes, even with the many small issues and few big ones (ill tell later after all wedding stuff is done), i do really like this resort…. Just disapointed at many things.

[Anne]

Congratulations on your wedding. I hope all goes smoothly.

[FlyingCrowes]

 

FWIW, you drew the short straw and ended up in one of few Mayan suites that most people would not like, for some of the reasons you mentioned.

Ironically, the rooms (#’s 713x) that could “peeping-tom” you, are probably the most private in the section. We were over in 7036 and had minor concerns about the neighbours in Villa 71 seeing us tanning or tubbing in the afternoon. (We could of cared less btw…it would have been their problem)

The room service gaffs are un-excusable, seeing as we had stellar daily service from Ignacio and the unknown person(s) who did our turn-down each night. We did request the earliest time as we knew we’d be still out for dinner. Such concerns should have been voiced to your Butler or even with manager Roxana in the reception area.

(I think I may qualify to be a lawyer now, for so many times being “called to the bar”)

And those door tags are only for “decoration” and collecting up for the house-keeper to return to the TC rep.

In the end, as you seem to have booked the “best suite” in the “best section” right from the get-go, there was nowhere to upgrade you to. I have a feeling that the better room perq is for those that book another section (ie: White Sands) and not their Mayan Suite (or equivalent) which gives the resort some wiggle room to provide the upgrade.

The log-in “code” for the mobile app is your name, room # and check-out date. It needs some tweaking, but it did get us 2 dinner rez no problem.

I find the shuttle issue odd, as if not parked nearby, we had only to ask (at any section, then maybe a short wait) and even “exclusive Travel Club” carts would give us a lift when they saw the Royal wrist-bands. (I sort-of regret not ever taking a train ride)

All this being said, I do throw you a bone of consideration for the fact that it wasn’t just your honeymoon, but the full-on wedding, (and congrats for that!) which I’m sure led to so many extra moments of anxiety and concerns as I’m quite sure you so wanted the entire event to be flawless. But life happens.

If it’s any consolation, my last wedding also endured a number of mis-cues, (bride almost not showing up, rain as we left the church, didn’t find 90% of our HUGE reception hotel overnight suite until the next morning, a whack of pre-flight snow covering the airport, almost killed by an errant champers bottle cork popping unexpectedly in Bermuda…you get the idea) BUT, I can speak knowledgably about the GPRM as is was the locale for our 25th. anniversary.  

So despite the rocky start, you will look back one day and chuckle about how your 25th. (or longer) anniversary was a path of growing together despite the  odds and the obstacles in the beginning.

I encourage you to think about returning (to this or another GP location) in the future, but only after checking the Palladium fan-sites like this one as well as TripAdvisor et al, so you go in with as much “insider” knowledge as you can muster. Then there is a much better chance your next review will be a lot more glowing, much like your happy bride will be.

Still checking off Bucket List travel destinations!

[Author]

Posts