Grand Palladium Riviera Resort & Spa

Amenities at the Grand Palladium Riviera Resort & Spa

Resort Amenities Business center Concierge Disco/Night club Dry cleaning Fitness center Currency exchange Shopping Health club and/or spa Laundry facilities Massage Outdoor pool Restaurant Salon Sauna Tennis courts Live entertainment Internet services Bar Hot Tub/Jacuzzi

In-Room Amenities Air conditioning Coffee/Tea maker Hair dryer Minibar Safe Television Ceiling fan

Honeymoon Reviews

09/25/2006   I loved the place. Didn't have to have cash every time I turned around. Only needed to remember to take care of the staff htat were beyond helpful

07/26/2006   We had a wonderful stay at the Grand Palladium, Colonial side. We were in building 6 with a spacious second floor room looking out into the property's plant reserve. We found the room in lovely walking distance from the main lobby and restaurants, main pool, adult pool and beach. We traveled to this hotel between Feb 19-24, 2006 for our honeymoon. We admittedly had our reservations, particularly about the food and service, after doing our own homework (a travel agent suggested and booked our trip). BUT, we were extremely surprised to find that the food was wonderful, the bar served premium, and the service and the other guests were extremely nice. In fact, we got to know our servers throughout the stay pretty well. We usually ate our meals at the same time each day and in the same dining hall, unless we were eating at one of the speciality restaurants. We usually got seated in the same sections and had the same beverage servers all week. Oddly enough, one of our servers ended up being our waiter at the El Dorado Steakhouse speciality...but it was great becuase we all already knew each other! We enjoyed the El Dorado steakhouse, but our favorite was the Japanese restaurant Sumptori. The sushi was some of the best I've ever had! We had reserved a private table out on the patio amongst the fountains and so it was a very romantic evening. People watching on the beach is great - especially becuase of that 5 feet of coral exposed just under the water where you tread out! It's worth braving though. The sand is like silk once you get past that entrance, and the water was perfect for just hanging out in. Lastly - definitely take a tour off the property. Any tour! This was our first visit to Mexico and we were amazed by the small bit of ecological diversity we saw. These are the tours we took. We booked through Apple and we were VERY PLEASED with how well the staff took care of us and how knowleageable they were: (oh and please excuse my spelling) CHIKEN HA: This is an activity intensive tour. For half a day, you take a rough jeep ride down to a natural set of cenotes. These are gigantic sink holes in the limestone of this area that have filled up with natural water. They are amazingly beautiful and host to a variety of wildlife. After the jeep ride, you hike down to the cenotes to snorkel and watch the cave divers go down. Then you hike up to a shallower cenote and float around lazily on an inner tube. Then, and I think the major highlight of the trip...you learn how to zip line over the cenotes. There are 3 zip lines and the last one will test the courage of even experienced climbers. After the activities, everyone gets together for a true down-home cooked Mexican/Mayan style lunch. The final part of the excursion (and my LEAST favorite part) was having to bike back up to the main road. But all in all the trip was fun. Try to take the tour with the 'tallest Mayan'...Jans the German! He's a hoot! CHITZEN ITZA: This was a full day excursion and was our favorite. We knew about the pyramid, but had no idea Chitzen Itza was an entire city! There are about 40 ruins to explore on this huge expanse of property. (We were told it takes 3 days to explore the whole thing properly.) The place and its history are just amazing, and this is still a working archeological site! You can't climb the pyramid anymore, but you can still climb up to the first base of the observatory and can still go in and out of some of the other buildings. On the way back, we stopped at another cenotes and park for lunch at a wonderful restaurant and then a swim...then it was back to the hotel. Anyway, sorry to gush. We just wanted to let others know not to get too worked up over all the negative reviews and take a chance on this hotel. We hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as we were!

07/25/2006   We stayed at the Grand Paladium for our honeymoon in March 2006. It was fabulous. We had a cabana suite and it was furnished wonderfully. The only thing I would have changed was the location due to our outdoor shower. There was a tall building near our cabana that really did not allow us to use the outdoor shower (didn't want to give anybody a show). We were in the adults only section of the resort, and we had our own pool. This was very nice because it was always quiet. The Grand Paladium is a huge resort, it is like 4 hotels in one, and there is a lot of walking. There is a train that runs the course of the resort in case you are not up for walking. Funjet and Apple both have agents on the property to book excursions outside the property. We had traveled thru Funjet, and we booked our excursions with great ease. This is an all-inclusive resort, and there was food everywhere at any time. In addition to the room service and the stocked refrigerater (sodas, water and beer) there were 2 huge buffet restaurants, and many snack bars. There were at least 12 restaurants that you could make reservations at for dinner. It is a good idea to do this when you first arrive, they book fast. The Japanese, Brazilian and the Greek were awesome. A few of the restaurants have private dining in a cabana on reflecting pools, be sure to ask about this. There is also a full service spa that you should visit. I'd make the reservations when you get there, again they book fast. It is a beautiful property and the staff was great. We had a wonderful experience and I would definately suggest this to everyone. We will definately go back.

07/22/2006   Grand Palladium essentially is one HUGE resort with 2 sections which are also divided into 2 sections. The Colonial and the Katenah are the older part while the White Sands and the Riviera (with Royal Suites) are the newer addition that opened in December 2005. Both sides have the same stores, same amount of restaurants (one buffet, one poolside restaurant, 4 al a cartes), and fabulous lobbies. The older side has flamingos, crocodiles, and iguanas. The newer side has a pontoon boat ride, bungaloes on the river, and a salt water pool feeding from the sea. The older side seemed more active later and has a better beach. The newer side has bridges to allow for the pontoon boat, 20 steps up in the air, which are a pain if you are physically restrained. The newer side is quieter, the buffet is nicer, has the only night club (the DJ is great), and there is a really nice activities center at the fabulous pool. Guests from both sides of the resort may enjoy restaurants and activities on either side. Various bands play everynight near the pools. Street vendors come onto the courtyard 3 times a week. If you don't feel like leaving the resort, don't feel guilty! Food was excellent in the a la carte restaurants (i.e. Brazilian, mediterranean, mexican). Always carry a big appetite to these restaurants. There is food around somewhere almost all day. The buffets have a good variety of food and they are open at varied times. Dairy products taste different. Eggs aren't fully cooked on buffet lines. Desserts are much better in a la carte's. MEN remember to bring a pair of long pants to wear in al a carte restaurants. Drinks do not come in big enough glasses, but it's all-inclusive so who cares. Tip the bartenders and you might get more alcohol in that Pina Colada. My husband and I went with the Riviera section because it was newer and saw the beautiful pictures on websites. We knew there were jacuzzi tubs in the rooms as well. The bathrooms are plenty large for us two. Maid service was persistant, but nice and we were taken care. Rooms well air conditioned and are sensored to keep air flowing at a low pace while no one is there. Beds were firm but not hard as a rock. We didn't use the balcony, but there is a table and chairs there. TV stations include about 5 english speaking channels and hopefully the satellite transmission works. There are inputs in case one brings a portable DVD player. Minibar stocked about everyother day. Iron, ironing board, hairdryer included, but no clocks or alarms. Love the pool for White Sands/Riviera. It's 4ft deep. There are lounge seats made from the tile in the pool so you can really tan pool-side. Some say it's cold... We said it was perfect for a 90F day. There is always music playing from the activities center. The activities center promotes games, exercise, spanish lessons, and dance lessons. I love the walk-up pool bar with the seats in the water. There is also an adult only pool for 18 and older near the main WS/Riv pool. There is also a pool fed salt water by the Caribbean with a sand bottom, a little coral, and a few fish called 'Las Rocas' within the rocky beachline of the Riviera side. It's a nice secluded change of pace. The one thing that we had a problem with was the train system. Grand Palladium has mapped out routes for two small trams that look like trains to drive on the roadways that meander through the complex past the room buildings and main lobbies. Unfortunately they arrive at inconsistant times - sometimes every 15 minutes, sometimes every 30 minutes. GP may have only one train for the entire complex, or one is broke, or the train take a route alittle more different than what is usual for a drop-off. If you are in a hurry in the resort, then it may be best to walk for reliability. If you just want to take a tour, or want to feel a really great breeze while to your destination, then take that train. This is an all-inclusive resort, but feel free to tip. One american dollar goes a long way in Mexico as 1USD = about 10 pesos. My husband and I brought alot of 1's and 5's. Try to learn a few key phrases in spanish before arriving. The staff is friendly and try to speak and understand english as much as possible.

07/18/2006   We couldn't have asked for a better time in Mexico. Our resort had so much to offer, we were never lacking for something to do. Everything from the room, food, beach lounging, bars and entertainment was top of the line. We didn't want to be on the go every day but yet when we were ready to head out we wanted to know that there was always something offered to do. The pool was very clean and the entire wait staff was very friendly. For the price we paid it was a steal! We both felt like we were in heaven and can't wait to go back!

Hotel Staff: To enhance your hotel listing, including adding descriptions, photos, URL links and updating information, please review our listing services >