My husband and I frequently travel around Christmas/New Year's and our typical vacation choice is to go to an Adults Only All-Inclusive resort. However, this year, since we've acquired a timeshare, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity to use our points and book through RCI. I read many reviews prior to our arrival and they were very accurate so I will just add to what most people have already mentioned.

First- the resort is huge. The Grand Mayan is just one of four resorts in the entire Vidanta complex. It is not a cozy resort in that everything is very spread out. Yes, you must be prepared to walk and it does take a little bit to figure out the layout of the resort. But the grounds of the resort are beautiful and meticulously maintained. We honestly didn't mind the walking but if you like convenience, this is not the place for you. We were in building #7 and actually liked our location. We were a close walk to the Del Lago Buffet restaurant and it wasn't that far of a walk to the main pool which is where we were everyday. Now if you do get stuck in buildings 8-12 you are far from everything except the golf course. We were in a 1 bedroom suite which was more than spacious enough for just two of us. The rooms were clean and had daily maid service. Our only complaint about the room was a funky smell that came from the shower and the mattress on the bed was pretty hard and not too comfortable.

We found the main pool to be our favorite part of the resort, however, being that it was such a crowded week, we had to fight for lounge chairs each day which was very annoying. One day when we went to the pool at 9am there weren't any free chairs and they had to be carried up from the beach. People literally began claiming chairs as early as 6am from what I was told. I'm not sure if it's always that way but this was one of the busiest weeks of the year. Our pool waitress, Selene, was absolutely awesome! She was very attentive and she made our pool experience very enjoyable. We needed the drinks to balance out the loud, screaming kids (many of whose parents paid no attention to them). There were 2 happy hours a day where you got 2 for 1 drinks- 11:00am and 3:00pm. Selene was always there to make sure we knew it was Happy Hour. As for the beach, we didn't sit on the beach at all. They have all the chairs packed in a small section and it just wasn't all that inviting to us.

Major complaint of the resort- it lacked places to go and have a drink during the night time. Drinks were plentiful during the day by the pool, but at night the options were extremely limited. There was a bar in the Havana Moon restaurant which was convenient if you went to that restaurant and there was a Wine Bar centrally located near the Asian and Italian restaurants, but here was the problem- on New Year's eve, after we had dinner, we went to the Wine Bar for drinks and it was CLOSED on New Year's eve!! So unless you went to the extremely overpriced buffet options for the evening, there was no place to go in the resort to get you through to midnight (except the beach party that didn't start until 11pm). We found that very disappointing for New Year's eve. We expected something better.

We enjoyed the Havana Moon restaurant. It had live entertainment and we had an excellent waiter, Humberto. We had him for all 3 nights we went there. All the staff was really welcoming and friendly. We also enjoyed our dinner at the Asian restaurant. The sushi was excellent.

If you golf, it is nice that there is a course on the property. It is a par 3 but there are some very challenging holes and the scenery was nice. The Green Break restaurant at the golf course was a good option for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Tacos at dinner time were excellent and easy!

Overall, it is a beautiful resort, but not necessarily for us. I don't recommend it for couples. Again, it was a timeshare option available between Christmas and New Year's so we went for it. I read the reviews and knew what we were in for but I would much rather prefer a smaller resort and one that isn't mobbed with kids, although I understand why so many were there. It does seem to be great for families.

Just returned from the Grand Mayan (1st non AI) stay in Playa and we loved it. The resort is well maintained, the pools and grounds are top notch, the service and staff are attentive and we thoroughly enjoyed the stay. It takes a couple of days to figure out the resort as its also connected to the Mayan Palace, the Bliss, and Grand Luxxe properties.

You are typically here because you own a timeshare or exchanged one to get in here. That being said, they will ask you for 1 hour presentation soon after you check-in to get a 10% discount on whole stay and a free buffet breakfast. That is not a bad deal, provided you are willing to spend 3-4 hours as they pass you through different people to find out why you don't want to invest in their timeshare. Do your research and make sure you can get into the resorts you want - during the times you want to before you sign up for anything!

The Rooms - we booked a 2 bedroom and it was very spacious and tastefully decorated. The bedrooms had a King in each, besides a sofa. The living room had 2 sofas. The outdoor patio was large and had a small water feature (baby pool). The master also had a jacuzzi tub in the room, and robes were included. Room service was provided twice a day and we were pleasantly surprised! The kitchen had most utensils you would need though the electric stove was slow to heat up. The resort recommends using bottled water though they say its safe to drink tap water.

The Beach - The beach right by the hotel is not a good area for swimming. If you walk about 10-15 minutes north or left as you face the beach - there is a cordoned off area by the Valentin Beach resort which is perfect for swimming and surfing.

Food - plenty of restaurants to pick from. Loved the new Spanish restaurant - Chiringuito, the Oriental - Gong, Italian - Tramonto, and Cuban-Havana Moon. These 4 are the fancier restaurants and both food and service was great. They will run around $15 and up for an entree for dinner but the setting and food makes it worthwhile. The buffet breakfast/brunch place - Del Lago charges you $22 - good option if you plan to skip lunch and the choices are good. The Deli/store - Jade offers a great alternative for sandwiches, coffee, pastries and groceries. The Jade boutique was also quite popular with the ladies! The room service Pizza was a great option on tired days. There is a daily shuttle that takes you to the Playa Walmart (cost $8 ea way). If you plan to eat most of the meals in the room - this maybe a good option, did not make sense for us.

The Pools - plenty of pools in the resort and they are not crowded like the AI resorts which was great. Several shaded huts around the resort for your use, The ones by the lobby are free and the ones by the main swimming pools can be reserved a day in advance only for $30. The $30 credit goes towards any food/beverage purchase - so its a no brainer to do this!

Activities - daily ones include water aerobics, salsa, pool and beach volleyball, soccer, etc. There are also paid activities that can be arranged. Did not try golf - though they have a course on the resort El Manglar (did see some good discounted rates) during the week/twilight times.

Tours - recommend taking trips through the resort as they do not let tour buses into the lobby. You would have to walk a very long way to get into the main entry gate by the highway. I did check some prices, and did not feel the difference was worth the hassle. Took the Chichenitza and the Xcaret trips and they were great. Be aware they both require a day each.

The new Cirque De Soleil show "Joya" is quite popular and sells out fast. This is on the property and a golf cart takes you to the venue. Though its only a 1 hour show - the small auditorium and the setting is very intimate and beautiful. Highly recommend it. There is a restaurant and lounge called Nektar which looked very nice but did not try it.

Overall - an outstanding resort that I would visit again !

This was my third time to this resort and it was amazing yet again. The attention to detail is unbelievable. I read several reviews about the size of the property, but everything is so beautiful and the staff is so friendly that I didn't mind walking. In fact, my husband and I enjoyed exploring the property and since we've stayed here before it was cool seeing all the new things. Plus as an added bonus I actually lost two lbs even though I had a few extra cocktails and ate out all week.

The very best thing about our entire trip was Jeremy our shuttle driver. We were in building 12 so each morning we would take the shuttle and Jeremy was always so nice and fun. He even entertained my attempt to speak Spanish. Plus since we were there during my birthday, he actually had everyone on the shuttle sing to me.

We enjoy going to Playa in the evenings for dinner so the shuttle into town was very convenient. We only ate dinner once at the resort and it was one of the best meals we had all week. We ate at the Taco Break and really enjoyed our meal and the service of course.

On our first trip six years ago we did get caught on a timeshare tour, but we learned our lesson and made sure not to do that again. Since we have no interest in buying anything and we don't do tours or buy much at the resort saving 10% was not worth it to us. The feedback I got from other guests was that the presentation is way longer than the 90 minute and its a very high pressue sale.

The pool is huge although my husband and I prefer the beach. We always were able to get chairs without waking up at the crack of dawn. We usually got to the beach around 9AM so the huts were all taken, but there is a lot of shaded areas available so it was never a big deal. I've been to other resorts were you would have to be at the beach by 6AM even to get a seat. Since the beach isn't that great for swimming I think that made it easier to get a nice place to sit. We don't swim in the ocean so for me the beach was beautiful and there was always a nice breeze.

My husband and I really enjoyed our vacation and wouldn't hesitate to return to this property.