Well, just came back from my first trip to Cancun. Was there betwenn May 14th and May 20th. Stayed at the Grand Aqua. Saw all the reviews before and was worried about visiting. I was pleasantly surprised. Everything went pretty well. We did not get upgraded but did request a terraced room with oceanfront views (we paid for a deluxe oceanfront view room but wanted a terrace) and got it. They were also very helpful when we found out that the first room we got was directly on top of the bar area and at night was noisy. They immeidately changed our rooms when I complained and even brought me to see the room before I moved over. (Thanks to the front desk person, Cindy. I basically dealt with her all my trip. Very helpful.) Things went without much of a glitch. The Siete was fine but I do agree the food was kind of overpriced. We also went to the MB Restaurant. Food was also so-so, not bad for the price though as it was biled as a high class Restaurant anyway. The staff was very helpful and we got excellent service throughout. The concierge was also VERY helpful. They helped us with arrangements for travel and also for reservations and recommendations for restaurants and things. I really liked the location sicne it is really close (walking distance) to the La Isla Mall. Went there for dinner most nights instead of the hotel. Had no problems with getting the $250 credit and also did not have any problem with the payments for the beds and chairs in the pool and beach area. I specifically asked at the concierge whether the beds cost anything and the chairs also. They immeidately pulled out a price list for me and was very clear about what should cost what. The beds are kind of expensive, though.
Now for the "not-so-good" parts... Indeed the water and plumbing was not really that good. the toilets has weak flush and most of the time, did not move very well. One night, the toilets didn't even flush at all but they seemed to have fixed it before morning came. Water from taps and bath were also yellow several of the days we were there. We never had the turndown service and we didn't get the pillow menu. but someone did ask us about aromatherapy in the room which we declined (allergies.) now on the other hand, we almost always had the Do not disturb sign on our doors most evenings so I am not sure if that made a difference. The rooms however were made up exactly on time every morning after we came back from lunch.
Overall, our stay was above what I expected, although I may have expected less due to the previous reviews. tehre are still things to work out for them but I will rate this hotel at least a 4-4.5 stars. I did have a really good time in Cancun in general.

My husband and I stayed at the FAGA May 9-15th. We we also very nervous to stay b/c of the countless negative reviews. I am glad that I read the negative reviews b/c it gave us a heads up on some of the problems that the hotel is still trying to iron out. When we checked in, we were greeted with cold tea and scented towels for our face...very refreshing. We too were approached regarding a time share and declined without any further problem. We did recieve 2 more calls to our room to pick up a "welcome package" from the concierge, but that was the last we were bothered. We never experienced problems at the pool. We did have brown toilet water about half way through the stay, it was fixed in about a day. The room service was slow. We only had nightly turn down service 3 times and never recieved a pillow menu. These were not major concerns to us, therefore we did not fuss about them. They did remember my husband's b-day and brought a delicious chocolate dessert to the room. We we asked our room number everytime we walked in the hotel, whether it was from the pool or coming in from dinner. It is very difficult to acces the hotel at night. They would not open the doors near the restaurant or conference center. They made us walk up the ramp and around the hotel. We were surprised by the amount of people that did not speak English at the hotel, both employees and guests. We ran into very few Americans at the hotel. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay. I would stay here again. The hotel is beautiful and the staff does try to accomadate. Pay attention to your bill when you check out, we had movies and international calls on it that were not ours. I also agree that the prices for everything are very inflated. Go to the store across the street and stock up bottled water ($1.50 vs. $9.00). We did us the spa...it was great! Read the reviews...they are right on!

I spent six nights at the FAGA and loved it. Every morning I found the view from my room breathtaking and at night the grounds were lit so beautifully! My traveling buddy took so many pictures from our balcony that her husband wondered if we saw anything else. The weather was not great so one morning we went to the Spa and had the most relaxing treatment, the staff at the spa were very kind, professional and saw to our every need. We enjoyed personal attention from Larius at Azure, breakfast at Siete and never found the security to be intrusive. If you need to hear negatives to believe I stayed there I would warn you against using travelers checks or credit cards. In all of Mexico I found that terminals "go down" frequently and travelers checks are not widely accepted. So on my next visit to FAGA I plan on packing pesos.
On another note about traveling in and around Cancun, our trip was made more enjoyable by Brant Boston and his staff at Entertainment-plus. We arranged for them to meet us at the airport and from then on his advice was right on target. The restaurants he suggested , the service his drivers provided(including a side trip so I could buy a guitar)all were indeed a PLUS. If you are planning your first trip to Cancun, you must check in with Brant at OK Maguey on Monday night. The food is good, the staff is fun and please tell Carlos Kathy says Hola!

Read the review "Ignore the negative reviews - dont miss this one" .

I had the exact same experience to the T. Some things to note:

1. It seemed that later in the day, tons of kids were running around. I had a feeling that the workers were bringing their families, and it really ticked me off. The adults only section should also contain a jacuzzi, since the kids take it over at night. FYI, they do charge for the beds outside and it's not worth it. The regular lounge chairs are just fine.

2. The airconditioning and lights are on timers. The clock does reset, but big deal. It is, however, annoying when your air shuts off at night because there is no movement. Also, I had the lights turn out once when I was in the shower. There was no movement since my boyfriend was out golfing.

3. Also- NEVER keep your front door open and open the balcony door at the same time. As the butler was explaining this to us, both doors were open and the front door slammed shut breaking it. Not our fault or theirs(due to wind from the ocean) but just something to note.

4. I had to pull teeth from the slime ball at check in for the free upgrade to the club room. He quickly tried to book me into an oceanview room with double beds and when I asked for the upgrade, he quickly said none available and said we could have oceanfront for 75$/day extra. Well I pressed hard enough and I finally got my request. I was appauled because not only did they have one available, they had at least TWO because they had to change our room once the door broke.

5. On a good note-MB is EXCELLENT! Whoever keeps saying that it is not up to par for the price does not know good food at all! Get the filet...breathtaking! Breakfast buffet at Siete should be tried at least once, but is too pricey to do all week. Especially if you can't eat a ton at one time like me. Food at Azur was good, I thought. It really sticks, however, to pay 4$ for a corona in Mexico!!!

I will definitely return to this hotel. I recommend staying on the 5th floor in the grand club for sure. Vinnie, Jessica, and Maurice are great and made sure we had everything we needed. Also- get picked up from the airport in the Hummer by Paco, he is awesome and greets you with cool lemon hand towls and water. It's worth the money to go straight to the hotel!