We stayed at the GRP from Nov 5 to12th and we loved it! We booked Platinum and wouldn't do any different. The Platinum gives you access to a lounge with a bar, seating area, free internet, towels (no cards for the towels), private pool, private area on the beach, free 30 min massage (which was awesome!), bottles of alcohol in our room, jacuzzi with jets on our balcony, free room service...

The resort is big but it only took us about 5-6 min from the front lobby to our room which was the last before the beach (building 5). There is a shuttle that goes from the lobby to the platinum which we used a few times.

The food was delicious. Many buffets to satisfy our hunger and one was even opened until 23hrs at night. The sports bar was open 24hrs and we could get food there as well.

There are many pools and we thought they were well maintained. 3 swim up bars which were not all opened during our stay but the bar behind it was so we could easily get a drink. Service was good except at the buffets. Many times we had to grab our drinks ourselves but really not a big deal as we have to grab our food anyway.

The beach is pretty rocky. I would definitely bring shoes on my next trip. The sand is soft but as you get in the ocean the rocks are pretty painful.
Lots of chairs available any time during the day.

A must see: 5th ave in Playa del Carmen. There is a free shuttle that leaves at 12 noon and bring you back around 6pm. You have to reserve 1 day in advance but well worth the trip. We took a cab and went in the evening. The cab ride was 13 usd to go adn 14 usd to get back. We felt really safe.

Bring lots of insect repellent because when the sun goes down the mosquitos come out and there was a lot during our stay.

We would definitely go back to that resort. Do not believe the bad reviews!!!

The Riviera princess is a lovely resort, well set out, picturesque and very comfortable. There is a fair walk from the reception to the beach but if you, like us, are lucky enough to have a room in the middle of the resort you are not far away from both. When designing the resort the builders obviously took into account the distance to the beach and tried to make the walk as pleasing to the eye as possible.
The rooms were comfortable and clean upon our arrival but they did not stay this way. The maid service is frankly appalling, we stayed for 12 nights and the room didn’t receive a proper clean the entire time we were there. We complained to reception that the bathroom hadn’t been cleaned at all, when the maid came she just laughed at the state of the place and gave everything a quick wipe over, which is such a shame as the common areas are kept immaculately clean.
Half way through the week our toilet over flowed due to a faulty ball-cock, and flooded our bathroom. We rang reception but it was over an hour before anyone arrived, by which time we had fixed the toilet and used the towels to soak up the water before it could spread into the bedroom. When the maid arrived she give the bathroom a quick mop but left the soaking wet towels in the bath and despite us asking for the towels to be changed at reception we didn’t get nay clean ones until the next day so we were left 24 hours without so much as a hand towel.
We also had constant problems with trying to get the fridge restocked and more coffee. We asked at reception everyday for coffee as we hadn’t received any since the first day and for the fridge to be refilled and were assured that these things should be done daily but it took us a week before we got anything put in the fridge and we are still waiting for the coffee.
The times of the room cleaning are completely unfathomable also, one day we had the maid waiting for us to leave at 9am, the next we were waiting for our room to be cleaned at 5.30pm (not very good when you are booked in a restaurant for 6pm.)
The a la cart restaurants served excellent food and on the whole the service was friendly and fast. don’t make the same mistake we did and order beef Carpaccio in the Italian, its strips of raw beef. We booked into the a la carts as many nights as possible because the buffet was awful. We stayed in a resort not far from the Princess in April, which was supposed to be a lower standard but they beat the Princess’s buffet hands down. The selection was extremely poor and the standard wasn’t anything to write home about. We stopped eating in there after one of our part bit into a burger that wasn’t just undercooked, it was still stone cold in the middle.
The majority of the staff are friendly and welcoming, Annabell is a dream, she really went out of her way to make our holiday as enjoyable as possible but a few of the waiters and barmen are only interested in looking after the people who give them a tip with every drink. I agree with tipping but if you are going to be expected to give $2 with every drink you order you might as well go self catering.
The excursions’ are definitely worth going on. We went snorkelling in underground and open cenotes, cliff diving and snorkelling in Acumel Lagoon to see the turtles and tropical fish which was an experience of a life time. You need to be a strong swimmer for the lagoon though.
All in all I wouldn’t tell anyone to cancel if they had booked the Princess but make sure you get the desk early to book a restaurant every night and probably pack some cleaning stuff and you will be fine.

Warning, this is very long!
We arrived on Sunday, Nov 1st at about 2:00 PM. We had requested a king bed and to be close to our friends who traveled with us. We easily got both. We were in swim up rooms 6044 and 6045, right next to each other and they were ready!

Our luggage was taken down to the room for us and we decided to walk down but had been offered a ride in the trolley. Well, it was quite a walk in our airplane clothes, but once we got to the room it was fine.
It was clean and quite large. The refrigerator had 2 beers, 2 seven ups, one orange soda, one "light" pepsi, one regular Pepsi, one Club soda and 3 large bottles of water.

There were 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels, 2 bath mats, (one by tub and one by shower)-but no wash cloths. Toiletries included 2 small bottles of shampoo/body wash combo, a bar of soap, 2 mosquito wipes, a comb, shoe polisher, small pack of tissues, and a body puff. They refilled all of these on a daily basis. The mosquito wipe was practically worthless, though. It was only big enough to wipe one leg and foot!

For the most part, the room was kept clean. One day we only got 2 bath towels, one day we didnt get any mats, one day just 2 hand towels. So although it wasnt a big deal, that service was pretty spotty.

There are 3 buffet areas here. 2 main ones, very close to each other near the main lobby's. One for Sunset, one for Riviera. The Sunset sid of the hotel was closed while we were there, except for the Platinum suites. One night the Sunset buffet was open and one night the Riviera buffet was open. One of these 2 were both open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A third buffet was located down near the beach, but was not open for dinner, just breakfast and lunch. This area was turned into 2 ala carte restaurants at night. One was La Fleur which they billed as a Swiss. It was fondue and for the most part was pretty good, although, service was a little spotty.

The other restaurants we ate in were Mamma Mia, which was excellent and La Hacienda, which I thought was also excellent. Reservations do have to be made in the lobby. They open at 7 AM and one day we got there about 10 AM and couldnt get any! So we had to have the buffet again that night. The buffets are the only places open for lunch. There is a sports bar where you can get a hot dog, hamburger or Nachos, but we never used it. We went there in the evening to watch some of the World Series and it was quite dead. (however the resort itself was quite empty until Thursday).

There is an internet room next door to the sports bar, but the cost was $20 (US) for 30 minutes access. The other internet was located near the lobby, but when we tried it there, the whole room was dark and the front desk didnt seem to have any answers as to why or when it would be fixed.

The bars---there was an outdoor bar downstairs from the lobby which had entertainment. Service was slow, and the mosquitos were out. There was a bar in the lobby-same deal. Sometimes slow service and pretty much outdoor at night, the mosquitos got to you.

Each pool area had a bar. However, the bar at the main pool was closed on Wednesday, after it rained. Even though there were people sitting out and in the water-I couldnt figure out why they kept it closed....and down on the beach, there wasnt a soul there, but the beach bar was open! Go figure. This was after a major rain storm and the entire beach was empty-but the water was warm and my friend and I just floated in peace and quiet. NO sun, but pleasant warm water.

So, all in all, the food was fine. (I liked the beach buffet better for breakfast) The bars were ok, but service could be quite slow if they were busy.

This resort is quite long.distance wise. It is a lengthy walk from the beach area to the lobby-not necessarily too long, but at night, when the mosquitos were out in full force, it was uncomfortable. So we usually took the trolly up to the lobby. We usually didnt have to wait too long, but sometimes not all 4 of us could fit, so someone would have to wait, or walk. Thats because the first stop coming back was from the Platinum rooms and it would sometimes get full there. There was only one trolley running until Thursday night. It seemed like there were quite a few check ins on Thursday, so another trolley was added. this helped speed things a long a little bit.

The resort does need to work on its people skills. I know that it is in a foreign country, but the communication leaves a lot to be desired. The front desk clerks spoke English, but sometimes it seemed as if they didnt want to understand you if you had a complaint, so that they didnt have to address the issue. The maids, custodial staff, and most bus boys just looked at you with a smile if you tried to ask for something.

So, for the most part our stay here was quite fine. It really is a nice, pretty, well maintained resort. Most of the other complaints that I have read about here are true. Mainly, mosquitos at night were bad, floors were horrible! The most dangerous, slippery, marble floors in a resort that caters to water activities and alcohol drinks. Add in a few raindrops, and people were sliding all over.

Granted, none of these things ruined our vacation. We actually had a great time, and you will too, if you dont stress the small stuff. If you are booked here already, you will certainly enjoy it.

Just returned from a week of fun & sun at the GRP. What a great trip. We arrived early (around noon) so the room was not ready (as expected) check in is not until 3pm. We went to the buffet for lunch & after we finished, our room was ready. Did the upgrade to the Junior deluxe suite, "Pool Room" . Really loved being able to walk right from the room into the pool! Awsome! Had the cabana right across from the room & drink service!
The maid service was a bit underwhelming. Just could not figure out the schedule (sometimes early, sometimes later). This was annoying only because we liked to go back to the room for a nap after lunch. But a quick phone call to the front desk & problem solved. The room was always clean & neat, no complaints there. The mini bar was stocked 7 if you wanted more of something, all you have to do is ask.
We made dinner reservations every nite. We found the food & service at the resturaunts to be excellent. Only did the buffet for dinner twice, & found it to be a bit challenging. (maybe it was us, or maybe it was the selection, I don't know which). the breakfast buffet was great. mimosa everyday & great selection & quality of food.
The hotel was well under capacity so there was a very intimate feel here. Yes the resort is large but navigating our way around was easy. We did not mind the walking, it gave you the feeling of "going somwhere" without having to leave the resort.
The beach was always clean & neat. Any seaweed ect that washed up overnight, was removed early the following morning. Finding a lounger was never a problem. Didn't find the beach to be rocky like other reported. But what do you expect to find on the bottom of the ocean?
Hotel staff was friendly & attentive throughout our stay. Organized activies were planned daily & the staff was not to pushy about getting people to participate. The music played at the pool was very good. not repetitive & annoying like other places we have been.
Evenings were enjoyable. We would go to the main plaza for after dinner drinks, there was always something happening here. The shows in the evening were good, not broadway, but good none the less.
We had a very enjoyable time here & will return for another visit.