Trip Advisor
Excellent Trip, great facility, warm and hard working staff…
RESORT: Check in went very smoothly… not a long enough line that it bothered anybody… our rooms were actually ready at 10 a.m. which was great!! The grounds are absolutely phenomenal… gorgeous trees, flowers and shrubs, lovely green areas, and interesting Mayan statuary… the architecture looked great and the lay out of the resort worked very well… it is a large property but the walking from one end to the other won’t hurt you if you are healthy and wear good shoes… this was not as much of an issue as people made it out to be… However, we would suggest asking if it would be possible to be placed in the middle of the resort as it was most convenient.
Yes there are some minor cosmetic issues… they likely have nothing to do with the newness of the resort… any resort regardless of whether it is 3 months, 3 years or 3 decades old is going to need repairs constantly… what I can tell you is that when things were broken, such as the tiles around the swim up bar, they were fixed very quickly, in this case, overnight… Yes you do need to put towels down around the shower… not a big deal… the rooms are nice and big and very modern feeling with decent sized bathrooms and porches… the safes work well as long as you remember to lock them correctly (hold them closed until the LEDs say “CLOSED”)… If you want more, or different beverages, be sure to leave a note and a tip EVERY DAY for the person that refills your fridge… we made the mistake of assuming we would be remembered which maybe wasn’t fair.
POOLS: The pools are incredible… they form the centerpiece of the resort… they wind on and on with lots of places to hang out… there are party areas, quiet areas and very quiet areas, whatever you like…. …. Our perception of the “towel game” is a follows:… yes people want to try and get the seats that work best for them, whether it is somewhere that gets blazing all day sun by the pool, in the shade of a palm tree down at the beach, or under the comfy cabanas … you need to try to pick your place out early, i.e. before breakfast, as the “good” spots go quickly… also, I would suggest not using a towel to mark your place as all the towels look the exact same and people seem very willing to move these impersonal items to improve their place or state that “there was no towel here when I got here!”… instead, we found that is was a good idea to mark the seats that you wanted with t-shirts, shoes/ sandals, or old magazines that you finished on the plane ride down… these markers for us didn’t “walk off” and seemed to work well..
FOOD: The food is incredible… the buffets offered lots of great variety, always very fresh. The ala cartes were also very good and were a nice way to break up the dining options of the stay... The previous reviews about this were correct: get there early to book your ala cartes… We did ours at 9 am the day after we arrived and heard from other people that when they went at 11 am the restaurants were all booked. The bar service was always very good. One thing I noticed is that the same people that grumbled about the speed of the service were the same ones that never seemed to tip… I don’t think it has to do with “buying service” but rather shows that you understand that they are doing their job the best that they can and that you recognize that they are hard working regular people like you.
STAFF: All excellent… always with a smile and willing to do what they could for you… They did their best to remember you and your drink preferences. The wait staff was also great, whether they were at the buffet facilities or the ala cartes. They did great at getting you coffee and pop and clearing plates as soon as you were done. Gladys in the dining facility that has the Fondue and the Seafood at night and Filipe in the back part of Mama Mia particularly stood out.
THE BEACH: A really nice beach… no you don’t need water shoes but you do need to be aware that are uneven, rounded rocky parts mixed in with the lovely sandy parts… you just have to pay attention to where you are walking and you’ll be fine…
EXCURSIONS: We did the Tulum/ Xelha daytrip… It was good… Tulum was very hot and we didn’t learn as much about the Mayan culture as we would have liked but the scenery was incredible (we got some great pictures) and the beach was really nice… Xelha was really great… all inclusive (but bring a $20 per person deposit for snorkel gear)… the snorkeling was incredible, especially out by the bridge and near the shore… the bikes were fun… a word of caution, the “lazy river” is a lot longer than you might imagine… it starts off fun but goes on and on, which is fine if you’re prepared for it, as well as prepared that there isn’t really any logical finishing points for that particular adventure… also, you will need to have biodegradable suntan lotion as the park is an nature reserve... Playa del Carmen’s 5th Avenue was a great trip… lots of interesting things to see, lots of shops, fun café’s and bars…very European feeling… we ate at the Blue Lobster, which had great food and fun specialty coffee’s and then had some drinks on the beach at the Blue Parrot… remember that not all vendors will be willing, or able, to haggle on prices, and that seeming inconsistency can be offputting…
Overall a really great resort, worth every penny… If you remember to relax, which is what vacations are for, and are a little bit flexible and little bit understanding you will have an absolutely great time!!!

4/25-5/2 Just returned from our wonderful vacation at the Grand Sunset Princess! Our room was a pool side suite with stairs directly into the pool. For privacy in your room, just pull the sheers and you'll be fine. Enjoyed the location of the suite; near the beach end, close to buffet for breakfast and lunch, not too close to the bigger pool with music and activities, but close enough to swim to for action or a drink at the swim up bar. Originally we wanted the Platinum rooms, but they couldn't guarentee the ocean view so opted next for the pool side which was excellent. Maid service was excellent and refill in the refrigerator was consistent everyday. A little confused at the routine of the restaurants and choosing them all up front. Wish there was a brochure they handed you at the front desk to clear that one up. A detailed menu of each restaurant would have been great. Once booked for dinners and excursions, the stress was off and we learned the routine quickly. Upon leaving to head home we left our luggage in the room for pick up service and went to the lobby, wrong! I guess you stay with the bags until pick up time or bring them to the front lobby yourselves. The long hallways were beautiful with the fountains at first, but after the repetitious walk around each one many times, it grew old. Be extremely careful walking on the marble floors or stairs. Some areas are wet from people walking with wet feet. We opted to walk outdoors on the walkway back and forth to the lobby, even with the sun. In the evening, it was pretty with the soft glowing lights on the statues. We did bring lots of ones/fives for tipping purposes, but used them up quickly. To make change from a fifty was impossible at the hotel for U.S. currency, you get pesos back, they sent us to a bell boy, which he didn't have enough change. You have to get U.S. currency changed at the bank in Playa Del Carmen. If I had been wiser, I would have broken the larger bills right up front and received pesos and used them all week and saved my U.S. currency at the end of vacation. Remember, you can't use mexican money in the U.S.. I also packed bug spray packets which we didn't even use, saw very little bugs. Previous reviews said to bring bug spray, maybe we were just lucky or bug season was past.
After reading trip adivisor we didn't know what to expect, but it was better than expected and service was great and people friendly. We defiitely would go back there again, loved it, even with the small problems.

I consult TripAdvisor each time I travel and felt compelled to write a review of the GSP hotel seeing that it is so new.

My husband and I have been to several all-inclusives in the Yucatan Peninsula area and this one stands out...for good reasons and for a couple bad.

Yes, this place is huge! I have never seen a hotel so big. We had a "basic" room on the Sunset (#1101) side and loved it! The room was well organized and so clean. I highly recommend this building for a couple of reasons. 1. It is close to everything, including the gym (great for morning workouts), the lobby bar (so many nice people to talk to and great drinks - yummy cappucinos, too), the buffets and restaurants, and the night-time entertainment. 2. It is quiet...sure it is a trek to the pools and the beach...but, that's the point...we would pack a bag, head to the beach, then dip in the pool, then return to our room, clean up and enjoy a lovely (quiet) siesta. The pool area was always loud (with music and rowdy people).

The service was excellent...no pushy time-share people here...buffet had lots of variety...drinks were great.

Just a couple of not-so-great things...I love swimming in the ocean and playing in the waves...and this was not the ideal beach to do so. It's a bit painful getting into the ocean (little spiky rocks) and then large rocks come out of nowhere as you make your way into the ocean. Only one day were there great waves (you could see a storm in the distance), but every other day, it was so calm, I felt like I was in a seaweedy, warm pool. But, kids loved it and parents felt safe, I imagine.

One other thing, don't get your hopes up about the a-la-carte restaurants. We visited the concierge the first day we got there and booked each dinner at that time. The Mexican was awful, the Italian food was okay, the service was terrible....but, Le Fleur was great - amazing service and equally tasty food. The grill was also disappointing.

Overall, this hotel was beautiful and well thought out. We would return again, but knowing us, we'll end up trying the next new hotel that offers a screaming deal :)

My group of 4 young adults travelled to the GSP Apr 26-May4th. I felt compelled to write a review of my experiance at the GSP becausee it was completely contrary to the many negative reviews I had read before leaving.

Overall the resort was FANTASTIC!

Flight - Travelled with Sunwing - by far the most pleasant flight I've been on in a long time. Great service and food.

Check-in - quick and easy. I had emailed the resort a few days in advance and requested King beds, early check in (6am) and rooms close together - all requests were met AND we were upgraded to Junior Deluxe rooms.

Rooms - beautiful and very very clean. Our maid service was excellent - with and without tips, and completed daily by 4pm or so. The room was big and beautiful - facing the Jungle which was nice and private. No need to get dressed if you don't want to! The fridge was stocked daily with 4 pop, 2 beer and 4 bottles of water. All toiletries were replenished daily.

Pools - nice and clean. Yes there were a few tiles missing at the pool bar, but this did not affect the quality of drinks one bit. The salt water was very nice to float around in. We did not have any problem finding chairs whenever and wherever we wanted. There is even poolside drink service if you're too lazy to get out of your chair.

Beach - beautiful, smooth sand and plenty of chairs. If you want a palapa you may need to be up a little earlier than the average person, but we loved the sun. The ocean is a bit rocky, but if you walk up the beach a bit you can find smooth spots to walk and swim.

Resort Grounds - Yes, the GSP is big. However, unless you are somehow crippled or disabled you should be able to walk everywhere you need to. For those unable to get around easily there is a train and several carts to help you get around.

Food - Also fantastic. We especially enjoyed the Japanese and Italian A la Cart restaurants, but all food was great. The buffets had so much food that one of us would come back with a plate of something that another of us had not even seen at the buffet. I especially enjoyed the soups at lunch (and the Ice cream!).

For Scuba Divers - We highly recommend Dragonz Divers in Playa del Carmen. They are on 16B Street just off 5th ave. Gonzola took great care of us!

I hope you enjoy your stay at the GSP as much as we did!