I will be visiting the resort over Christmas for a family vacation. We are really excited about visiting the resort.

I would appreciate answers to a couple of questions. I have two daughters; 16 and 19. What is the night life like at the hotel for teenagers. Being a (over) protective Dad, safety is a big concern for me. Are there many teenagers at the resort (or are there other families with older children planning to be there over Christmas)?

I would appreciate hearing from people who have been to this resort or will be at the resort over Christmas. You can e-mail me at tcain610@hotmail.com.

Thanks in advance for your help.

This was the most wonderful honeymoon spot! We couldn't have asked for better service, nicer people, more beautiful scenery or a more eclectic group of travelers staying there!

The A La Carte restaurants were wonderful, Japanese being my favorite..good sushi, Italian being fantastic...great lobster ravioli and Mexican being actually the lowest quality of food...however still great.

Buffets had a large selection of food and the beach bar had great appetizers to tide you over if you camped out on the beach all day.

The cleaning staff did a great job on the rooms, mopping every day and even picking up any stray clothes and shoes we had lying around. HOWEVER, the staff seemed to not understand the meaning of the do not disturb sign on 2 occasions where they knocked and came right in. Needless to say, my husband was not the only person to see me in the nude on our honeymoon!

A relaxing atmosphere where it was very easy to choose to meet people or seclude ourselves at any time.

I sincerely recommend traveling to this location.

Thank You also to Jessica & Kurt from St. Louis, Mary Kay & Chris from Canada, Arman & Hasse from St. Louis and Heidi and Matt from Canada. You guys all made this the most amazing vacation ever!

-Amy & Patrick Antos - Cleveland, Ohio

We really enjoyed our trip to the Grand Sirenis and had a great time!

It started out kind of rocky because the charter flight hired by Apple, Champion Air, did not have us sitting next to each other! I couldn’t believe it and when we tried to correct it, they gave us a big run around. There were many other couples in the same boat. We were one of the first to notice and after a lot of patience we were able to take the seats of someone that didn’t show up. There is a new Apple Rep at the GS and he was very helpful. He called before we left to come home and reserved us seats. So Apple customers, have your agent reserve seats, or make sure and check your boarding passes before you leave the counter.

The resort was very nice overall and beautiful despite the very modern décor. They have done a really good job of integrating it into the natural landscape and have preserved two centotes and a lot of other natural elements. The facilities were very nice and I used the business center several times, including at 6:00 am our last morning. The outside doors were locked most of the time, but the inside doors seemed to be open all the time.

Transportation-We booked non-stop transfers through Apple for $40 each. It was well worth it and hassle free because they made all of the arrangements. We were in a van on the way down with 3 other couples and it took exactly 1 hour. That was in the middle of the day. On our transfer back to the airport, they had a car for us. It was there 15 minutes early, but that was fine with us. We were the only ones in the car and it was 8:00 am, rush hour through Playa de Carmen and raining. It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Rooms-The rooms were nice and roomy. We didn’t have any problems with our safe or the cleanliness. The beds were more comfortable than most hotel beds down there. The bathroom was very nice and I loved the shower! I only used the tub once and could not get the jets to work but was not going to get some one up to fix it right then. The water pressure to the tub was really weak and it took forever to fill. There is the privacy problem that they really need to do something about. There is no way you could share a room with children older than toddlers. The absence of a fan can be a problem as well. I was able to free up counter space on the sink with a hanging cosmetic bag that I hung on the swing arm make-up mirror. It worked out really well.

Food-We enjoyed all of the food. We ate at the Brazilian, Japanese, Mediterranean, and the Steak House. We were unable to go to the Italian. We liked them all, but the Brazilian was our favorite, We were signed up for the group seating at the Japanese, but not enough had signed up for our time and rather than wait, we sat at an individual table. They did mix up my husband’s order, but the food was really good. We found the buffet about the same as other Als They had a lot of variety and we were able to find plenty of things that we liked. There were 2 nights where the alacarte restaurants were not open; Friday night for the Lobster gala which wasn’t bad and Monday night was Mexican night, not our favorite, but OK. We liked how the beach bar had snacks most anytime of the day.

The service was excellent. They are still pretty empty and so you get a lot of personal attention. We didn’t have much trouble at all with bug bites. A few, but not bad and I am usually very susceptible

Beach- we really liked the beach! It is our favorite of all the places we have stayed in the Riviera Maya. There are a lot of rocky areas, but they just add to the atmosphere and give it a lot of visual interest. It is part of an old coral reef and so it is very interesting with fossils and fossilized brain coral everywhere.. There is plenty of white sand, as well and there was plenty of shade and space to spread out. We prefer to be out on the outer fringe and didn’t have any trouble getting where we wanted. The snorkeling was really pretty good right there by the resort. The pools were beautiful, but we didn’t use them because we like to be out by the ocean.

We would go back to the GS again, but it will probably be really crowded as time goes on, so that would be a negative for us.

I have tried to post pictures that are different than others you may have seen.

Well my wife and I can say that we have seen this place go from rebar and steel poles to beautiful buildings and palm trees. We got a tour back in July when they were still building the pool and most of the building. It’s amazing what the Mexican people did with this place and all of Cancun after Wilma last year. We need to let more of them come and help with New Orleans. We decided last week after a great trip down to GS the week of Oct 10th to have another wedding(vowel renewal ) for our family and friends in June07 at Grand Sirenis. The rooms are great the food at the restaurants are wonderful and the pools came out just like we thought they wood. I love Oceans I can tell you that the Italian restaurant is the place to do the reception. Ask for a 6pm wedding and then take the 8:30 dinner. They should give you the place for the rest of the night as long as you tip the staff to stay. Transfers I will say that take nonstop transfers or rent a car is the best way to go. I think everyone has covered everything about the hotel. It should be fabulous in a few more months when the other hotel opens.