I am currently staying at the Mayan Palace, Puerto Penasco, and wanted to take the time to write this review while I am still here.

The check in area where you park your car to go in, is lovely with a beautiful water feature and Sonoran Desert plants. The entrance smells a little of murky water that cascades down the cylinder waterfall. Check-in was fairly quick and pleasant. They give everyone a wristband that depends on if you are an owner with a special package, someone who traded in, like myself, we all got neon orange. I personally do not like wristbands when I am trying to enjoy getting a tan, but that is the policy. The lobby has worn out chairs that you can lounge in and get a drink. Warning, this is where they will start to hassle you to go to a timeshare presentation.

The rooms are ok at best. Ours smells musty, we have to leave the doors open to get fresh air. The couch is like a very uncomfortable futon. The kitchen microwave did not work. The fridge took 12 hours to cool down on the coldest setting. The bathroom has a very low ceiling that my husband hit his head on. The matress is hard and on a wood slab. We found out several days later you can order a peice of foam for it, but it does not help that much. My whole family has sore backs, it feels like we have been camping on the ground. There is not a closest in the 2nd the bedroom.

Recently there have been wind storms in Puerto Penasco. These storms are to blame for the pool being filthy. It is pretty gross and smells bad.

The resort is about 20 minutes from town, which makes you a very captive audiance. You have to rely on the resort for everything from food, to only one evening bar, there is very little to do at night. There is only one dinner restaurant which is quite pricey for what it is, like over $200 US for 5 adults for a so so dinner buffet. They automatically add an extra 15% for service. We have not been given a clear answer on if the server gets this, so we also tack on at least an extra 5%. One server told us the Mayan Palace keeps all of it anyway.

We did agree to do a timeshare presentation for 10% of our final bill, $60 round of golf, and $45 1 hr massage. Instead of taking 90 minutes, it took FOUR AND A HALF HOURS! If you want to buy, they give you two. Yeah right. You essentially have to buy 2 for the price of two. They quoted us $49k US for a 2 bedroom, and because the developer is so awesome he gives us an extra week. From all of the reviews I have read, the extra week is almost impossible to use. We told them we were not interested because the product did not match the price. It is uncomfortable and not that nice. And the funny thing is ALL four of the timeshare sells people we talked to agreed this place "sucked". Their words, not mine.

On top of it, they offered to buy a week we had in Vail for $22k. While this sounded like a decent deal, we did not fall for it. I am glad we didn't because I read afterwards about how they tell you $22k, but don't actually guarentee it, and then usually sell it for a lot less and they make you take the loss. We told them no, then the manager had to come talk to us and make us an offer for 2 studios, and 2 2 bedrooms in Mazatlan for $10,900. Sounds great! NO. That too is a scam. You are never given the title, and the weeks are impossible to use. We too said no, and asked to leave. We were told we had to speak to just one more person who worked for the developer and was doing a survey. He again pressured us to buy in to their vacation club saying we could all this money on cruises... we called and they were $3k more than a cruise we already had booked. Again, we asked to leave. His manager then came over and told us how stupid we were for not seeing the deal in this. I asked for our things and to leave right now. They told us, ah that it is ok, the Mayan Palace does not want you anyways. Good. Most owners who pay the almost $50k seem happy. But this is just NOT A GOOD DEAL FOR THE PRODUCT. Look at how many resales are out there for less than $15k. Don't buy from them. Read, [-] it is all about the Mayan Group.

I have been to MANY timeshare presentations in my life. In fact we own four weeks, love them, and find Puerto Penasco to be up and coming and a great drive from Phoenix. But this was the worst presentation for the worst timeshare I have ever been to. It was the highest pressure sells pitch I have ever had. I am so happy we walked away. After spending a couple of hours last night reading the same thing over and over again, I actually warned people going into the presentations this morning.

The resort is ok, nothing amazing. The beach is probably the best part. Wonderful for shells. But the beach is public property in Mexico.

I wish you all good-luck that go to visit. Don't waste any of your vacation on a timeshare sales pitch. If you are interested in a timeshare, buy one on the after market and save yourself about $30k.

I just got back from a week at this resort a couple of weeks ago. I can best sum it up as a resort that is a great for those on a budget who don't expect high class luxury. The Mayan Palace a is middle of the road, affordable, family friendly, vacation spot. Here are some of my observations from our trip that might help with your expectations:

Beach: Very Beautiful but not sandy and easy to relax on. It is a long walk to the water from the lounge chairs and hotel. They were on high alert for Sting Rays, so we didn't go in the water much. It was pretty to look at, but not easy to enjoy or play in (especially if you are use to California beaches). So if you like the enjoy the scenery of the beach - it's a great location!

Pool: Lots of chairs, we never had a problem getting 7 good ones in a row for our group. The lounging covered cabanas were hard to get. We never got one the whole week except after a thunderstorm around 4:30 pm. The pool isn't deep anywhere - so it stays very warm. After several days of warm weather, the pool was so warm that it wasn't refreshing and was like a hot bath. I like to feel cold in the water - so it wasn't enjoyable for me. Out of our 7 days the pool was too warm for 2 of them. It's a beautiful spot to lay out and read. I enjoyed spending every afternoon at the pool relaxing even if I didn't swim.

Room: Our room was very nice, kept clean, and lots of space. We had a two room suite with a kitchen (small dorm fridge, and two burner stove top, no oven). We requested a ocean view on a lower floor. We got non-view on the 8th floor. The kept telling us to come back the next day to see if anything opened up. Don't try that - it doesn't works. They were friendly but the kept saying the same thing every day. Every morning for 4 days we checked and there was a line of 5-6 other people trying the same thing. I never saw anyone actual get their room changed. Don't expect to get what you request or to be moved after a few days. They just tell you that to keep you from getting frustrated and give you hope.

Hotel: Lobby was very nice and fun to relax in. The staff were very friendly and helpful with our luggage, suggesting restaurants, and helping us when we had questions. The whole area leading up to the hotel is under construction and is like a big desert with nothing. Then you arrive and from the hotel to the beach is beautiful. It's like an oasis in the middle of gross nothingness. You should know it's about 35 min outside of Rocky Point, so if you are planning on driving in - it takes a while!

Construction: They are adding a ton to the hotel. We were in the newly opened tower. It's far from the Lobby, far from the pool, far from the spa, far from the work out area. There is nothing else around it except the golf stuff (and we don't golf). There were no plants, pictures, or decorations in our section except in the rooms. It almost looks like you are going in a staff back entrance because it's so new. Our view was construction - but we were never bothered by the noise. It was really a bummer to be so far from everything. Try for the 3 level rooms around the lobby, they looked much nicer.

Food: We took our own food for breakfast and lunch. It was a tight squeeze in the little fridge but we made it work. Our plan was to go to Rocky Point for dinners but with it being so far we only did that once. The first night we went to the Buffet (or you can order individually in the same restaurant) but it was pretty expensive. $25-$30 each. So we found that the snack bar by the pool which was open till 6:30 had the same food at reasonable prices and it was much more family friendly. We ate all most all our dinners there. Food was great - we never got something we didn't like. Try the Shrimp Fajitas - they were amazing! I did wish it had other options because eating at the same place for 7 nights was a bit much. They only have those two places to eat at on site.

Those are my thoughts - hope it's helpful!

We have been going here since they opened approximately 6 years ago. We go every year in June, weather is perfect, pool is warm, but not heated if you are going in Winter. They do have an indoor pool also. We save alot of $$ by bringing our own food, we meal plan to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in our rooms and sometimes order room service and split salads, desserts, etc. Service by the pool is slow, bring your own drinks, be discreet - no glass. Buy you alcohol in America or go to the shop and purchase your own. In the Suites you only have 2 electric burners and a microwave, no oven. This year we are going to try and bring our own Habachi grill. Activities are fun and you can win a lot of free coupons if your not mental. Service is expected for that part of Mexico. We have never had a complaint about service, except the pool guys are really busy around happy hour when drinks are 2 for 1. Mango daquari's are great! You have to pay for the fitness room, but the walk to the beach is a lot of exercise for most people and they have beach vollyball and soccer. Bring your own laptop, you can get free wi-fi in many spots. Rooms are always clean and comfortable. There was construction on the 2nd pool last summer, probably not completed yet, typical Mexico. Food is pretty good at the restaurants, not overpriced by the pool. We have never gotten sick from food or water. Did get sick at the Friendly Dolphin in town which is about 25 minutes away. There is fresh fish and shrimp in town along the main drag. Grocery stores are few and far between, havn't found a huge grocery store yet. We always have a great time, vacation is what you make it. Only complaint is not much to do after 10-11pm. You feel like your at summer camp and have a curfew. We have 3 now 4 kids ages 0-13. They have great memories of this resort.

I recently returned from the Mayan Resort near Puerto Penasco. First of all the staff is great. They really have put together a wonderful bunch of people to make their guests feel welcomed. The maids in particular went out of their way to make us happy. They made many great towel sculptures, and even showed us how it was done on one occasion. The grounds are beautiful, the pool was clean and the beach was huge and uncrowded.
The Mayan is and nice place but not without its problems. It is a long way from town. No bus or shuttle ran between them and a cab ride was $45. The meal plan was helpful but saved only about $5.00 person on a buffet. I have a difficult time finding $25 to $30 buffets a great value. Each buffet was of a different theme. Steak night was a good value, Mexican night was not. There is no good alternative to the expensive buffets unless you cook in your room. The coupons they sell you for the meal plan are not refundable so it is nearly impossible to use them all, which means you loose them when you leave. I gave mine to another guest when I was checking out. I believe the Mayan kind of dropped the ball on this one by not refunding the value of the coupons, it really isn’t in the interest of their guests and shows a greedy side.
Also at check in the front desk people say do not drink the water in the resort. I asked them the next day to make sure. Then they provide no bottled water for there guests. You have to buy water from them at the store. I travel quite a bit and nearly all resorts that recommend not drinking the tap water, provide free water for their guests. This once again seems a little greedy and not in the best interest of the guests.
The beach is not great for swimming. It is very flat and can be a long walk to get into waist deep water at low tide. There are many small “Sting Rays” in the sand, which are fun to see but you must be careful not to step on them. I did not hear of anyone getting stung while I was there. There are a great variety of shells to see and walking on the beach is very nice. We found a nice place to swim down the beach with many shells and more fish to see. Take water, it can be a very dry walk if your not prepared.
Overall the Mayan is as most of the Mayans are, very nice, great staff, overpriced!