Went there end of November, early December 2008. Great resort and very big so you don't feel crowded. If walking is an issue, you need to know it's about 1 km from the lobby to the beach but there are golf carts of sorts to take you there. Food was great, buffets had extremely large variety so you could eat something different every day. Restaurants were good, not the best for a five star.

Short staff at check in times (and we arrived around 10pm) with one person there. Short staff at restaurant reservations. Long line ups and you can only book two days in advance and cannot always get what you want. Makes me wonder what the busy season would look like.

Some pools are salt water pools (a plus in my view). Bar staff was excellent! Entertainment was pretty good with a nice variety. Nice place for a family.
Caution: We only used credit card once to rent a vehicle from a business at this resort and it was fraudulently compromised within a week. Plus the cops are quick to pull you over for any perceived infraction and they are quick to over-charge you for the so-call ticket they don't seem to want to write. I would suggest you taxi it or bus it to any tours you may want to do.

Murphy
Vancouver, BC

Stayed at the Grand Sunset Pricess from Dec 9 - 16. I have travelled quite a lot and have stayed in many all inclusive resorts in Mexico, Jamaica & Cuba. This is my honest, no drama queen opinion of our week and have organized this in a way to address some of the concerns I read about the hotel before we left. I always go with an open mind and a possitive attitude and I think it serves me well.

Lets keep in mind that we stayed in Platinum in an ocean view room so my experience may be different than those who dont upgrade.
FLIGHT: Sunwing from Toronto, On time and great service. Served a hot meal, champagne and wine all included.

CURRENCY: You can use US$ or Canadian anywhere in the Mayan Riviera....but you will likely get your change in Pesos so bring a mix of bills.

TRANSFER TO HOTEL Organized but chaotic. Two flights came in at the same time so a bit of a wait through imigration. Bought our overpriced $6, coronas and boarded the AC bus. GSP & GRP are the first stop. 40 minute ride. No restrooms on bus.

GSP vs GRP: They are the same hotel just have different lobbies. You use the same a la cartes, same spa, same gym, same pools and same beach. The only advantage people say is that the riviera swim up rooms have warmer water temperatures but we talked to a wedding couple who did a swim test and felt there wasnt that much difference. Riviera platinum rooms are more convenient to the beach - just due to the geography of where the walkway is to the beach.

CHECK IN: Private check in for platinum, no waiting and champagne served. Off to our room in less than 5 minutes and the luggage arrived 5 minutes later.

RESORT GEOGRAPHY: I absolutely agree this resort is huge! It took us 12 - 15 minutes to get from the lobby to our room. We quite enjoyed all the walking but there is a shuttle to take you close to your room if you dont want to do the walking. The resort is georgeous. Clean, manicure gardens and flowers, nice paths and walkways, great little seating areas tucked in all over the place. Most of the a la cartes are on the same level and between the 2 lobbies. They overlook a beautiful courtyard where the pre show takes place every night around 8:30. Always a live band and a mix of half hour entertainment, drums, acrobats etc. This is where all of the wedding couples have their first dance and is the gathering place in the evenings for conversation and for the resorts famous specialty coffees. Very popular and they make them in the courtyard with quite the presentation (and line up)

The one thing that I didnt like was that none of the restaurants have an ocean view or are on the beach. There are two other restaurants near the beach that are open for lunch and one is the fondue a la carte.

SLIPPERY FLOORS: When they are wet yes..but otherwise we didnt find them that way at all and never saw anyone fall.

THAI BEACH CLUB: Is not a part of the all inclusive experience and everything there will cost you. It has a lovely setting right on the beach but even using their beach chairs or their lovely beach beds sets you back $35. per day. Our room could see the restaurant and we never saw anyone in there the whole week.. They have the menu in the Platinum lounge and the entrees range from about $18. and up.

THE POOLS: Yes people do play the towel game but honestly there are so many pools to choose from you can always find a chair somewhere. The pools appeared clean and the temperature was cool. A high amount of clorination is going on as my eyes can attest to. Swim up bars were never that busy due to the cooler water temps. All pool bars are busy with friendly service.

THE ROOMS: Are beautiful and clean. Our shower didnt leak all over the bathroom floor as previously mentioned. We couldnt believe how many towels were constantly left for us in our room. Our attempts to hang them and recycle didnt workk. Any towel that even remotely looked like it had been moved was changed every day. Platinum guests can change their beach towels as often as they wish. Bathroom ammenities included shampoo, sewing kit, bath salts, bath gel, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, mosquito wipes, shoe shine kit, vanity kit - with make up remover pads, loofa hbath scrubber, kleenex. Jacuzzi tub, separate shower, lighted make up mirror, separate toliet stall, blowdryer. In the room no dresser drawers but cubby holes in the closet. Lots of hangers, irons and ironing board. A room safe that fits a laptop computer. There was also a flat screen tv, coffee maker, radio/cd player, DVD player, couch, table, chairs and 2 double beds. Balcony has a nice wicker table and chairs and a jacuzzi tub. Balconies in Platinum are private. Beds were firm and pillows were uncomfortable. Tried to change the pillow with no results.Rooms were immaculatly clean. Housekeeping was excellent and our room was made up every day before lunch.

THEFT: Didnt hear of any while we were there. Noticed that there was always a security guard on duty in the Platinum building. We kept passports, money, jewelery, computer locked in the safe at all times.
FOOD: If you cant find something here to eat you are picky. There is a ton of variety for all tastes. Yes sometimes the food was not as hot as we would have liked but it didnt stop us from eating it nor did it ruin our experience.The main buffet had a ton of variety. A la Cartes....We ate at the Japanese - tempanyaki table, the Italian, The Grill and the International. We liked the Italian the best and the food was hot and very tasty. Japanese was fun.

DRESS CODE: Men must wear long pants and closed shoesfor a la carte dinners but it can be jeans. Ladies can wear pretty much anything and there is a mix of those dressed to the nines and jeans.

WINE: I am a wine lover. The red was nothing short of undrinkable and the white was drinkable but not that great. If you like a nice bottle of wine you'd better bring it but they cant put it on your table during dinner. They hide it in the corner and fill up your glass when needed. A la Carte wine list was small and 4-5x the price of the wine.

SERVICE: We thought the workers were working hard to please at all times. We didnt tip until the end of the week and we pleasently surprised some great people with an envelope with some money and a note. We had the best server in the Italian restaurant - Pablo who so impressed us we went to the manager to let him know how great we thought he was. Never had an issue getting drinks and never felt like we were being ignored. Friendliness and conversation go a long way in getting the service you enjoy.

LANGUAGE: We do speak some spanish but found pretty much everyone has some english skills.

ROOM SERVICE: ordered breakfast once and ordered it the night before.
It came on time and was hot and perfectly cooked over easy eggs.

BEACH: Probably one of the nicest stretches of beach in that area but definately not in my list of top beaches I've been on. That being said we still enjoyed our experience. The hotel has a huge piece of waterfront real estate which gets very crowded after 10am. We used the platinum section that is reserved on the beach and never had an issue getting chairs. People do play the towel game on the beach. There is tons of beach chairs and never saw anyone who couldnt eventually find one. Never saw the brown water that has been described. The only brown is the sand being stirred up from the bottom. Walk over to Sandos Caracol and you will see brown water.

ROCKS IN THE WATER: This is absolutely true. We tried getting in the first day with no water shoes and we did get in but with a lot of trouble and pain. DO NOT go here without water shoes. Once we had them on we had no problems at all and enjoyed the ocean and the constant waves. There are rocks everywhere in front of the hotel. Go to the area in the middle where most of the people are and its a little less there.

CLIMATE: We had 3 days of cloudy sunshine and temps around 85 with warm humid nights and no sweater required. We also had 3 days of 70 - 75 degree temps, totally cloudy gray/black sky with sweaters and sweatshirts required - no one - not even kids were in the pools these days. We didnt mind the break from the sun. No rain other than a 5 minute sprinkle one night.

PLATINUM WORTH IT?: Absolutely! The lounge is great, internet in our room, a la cartes whenever you would like to go, great room overlooking the ocean, special beach area..all well worth the little extra we paid.

EXCURSIONS: We did Xelha, Tulum, PLaya Del Carmen, and Sunset Lobster Dinner Cruise from Cancun. Anyone who wants specifics on these just send me a PM and I'll fill you in on your questions. Really enjoyed Xelha!!!

FREE SHUTTLE TO PDC: Yes and book the day before in the riviera lobby. It goes at 10, 11 and 12. We never came back on it we took a cab for $14. to return. Large coach bus..some did get on the day they booked but better to reserve.

WEDDINGS: Didnt attend one but watched a few (there are two - 4 every day) Talked to a couple of brides and both were very happy with the whole experience. The location is lovely in a two tiered gazebo on the beach.

SHOWS/DISCO: didnt go to either so cant comment. Large theatre with stage that seats 2000 located on the upper level over the courtyard.
SPORTS BAR: Loud , as expected and poorly furnished. Had a ham and cheese and fries. Sandwich not so good, fries good. Pool tables, airhockey, lots of tv's with games on, hot dogs always on a serve yourself grill. Kids are supposed to be supervised - not so sure :-)

WOULD WE RETURN: Yes - for a good price. We are beach people first and foremost and we would have to say that the beaches in Negril and Varadero are much nicer but that being said we had a great time, thought the service was good, the food was better than average, the rooms were better than average.

Spent Thanksgiving week there with another couple. Everything was fantastic. I loved how large the resort was.The help went out of there way to please you. The basic room was huge. The party pool was great. Animation did a great job of entertaining everyone. Wear rubber soled shoes and you won't have any trouble with slippery tiles. We are looking forward to going back.By the way ,I am 71 and still love to party.

In a minute. Been to many places in the area. For the price we paid, we got a real bargain. The grounds were beautifu, the room were very clean, food was just as good as any other all-inclusive. Read so many negative reviews, glad I didn't pay much attention. As far as the leaky shower, if you just move the bath mat a little it catches the water. Can't believe people would actually give a resort a bad review because of a little water on the floor. The staff really tried hard to make you comfortable and keep you happy. If you booked the GSP, go and enjoy. It was great!