Mayan Palace Riviera Maya

Not ready for business Mayan Palace

by TripAdvisor Member debopets

We just returned from the Mayan Palace in June. We were expecting the resort to be completed. We had purchased the previous year and were very excited to spend our week in luxury. We arrived to a resort that isn't even half way finished and still needing a lot more work. The part of the resort that is completed is great, but you can only swim and eat right now. The food is good, expense though. The pools are beautiful! I think this is the most promising thing that credits this resort! We also enjoyed the evening performances. The dancers did a good job, even though I thought some of the costumes were on the risque side. Overall we were highly disappointed in the cost of getting to and from any focal point. They even charge you 15.00 per person to and from the airport when you arrive and leave! I think since the resort isn't completed, they should offer free shuttle service. We feel that members should be provided transportation to and from at no charge. The staff is friendly and the rooms are just fine. Everything was clean and neat.
Be prepared to spend extra money being able to get anywhere. You will run out of things to do at the resort, unless you want to swim all day.
Forget the beach.........there is nothing but rock and debris along the beach........no swimming here. This is Cancun, we came for some beach!
As far as overall stay, I would say put this resort off for at least 2 more years.......then it will be worthwhile.

Mayan Palace or My Own Palace

by A TripAdvisor Member

We had a wonderful time at the Mayan Palace. We even nickenamed it My Own Palace. At check-in, simply say no when they ask if you want to sit in on the time share presentation... They do take NO for an answer. We Americans are always wanting something for nothing. The place is under construction, and I'm sure they need $$$ to finish it which explains the high pressured sales pitch.

The resort is beautiful. Spacious units. Housekeeping will make terry cloth animals everyday. Very nice touch.

Beach isn't finished, however we did see people with scuba shoes to protect their feet from the rocks going into the water. A pool attendant took a group of us down the beach {to the right facing the water} (less than a 10 minute walk just north of the Iberostar) for swimming in the ocean. We went there on our own the rest of the week.
The pool is incredible, but maybe a little too warm for hot summer days!

The resort is 12 minutes from Playa del Carmen. We rented a car and had no trouble whatsoever, except for the time that the policeman smacked our car because of conflicting directions from two different officers.
We rented from National at the airport, approx. $200.00 USD for the week (car was a 4 door SEAT/Beza with A/C). We went to the beach at Playa del Carmen for 3 days. To get to PDC, South on 307, turn left on Juarez off of Hwy 307 and follow it straight until the police makes you turn left. Go one block and you'll see a parking lot that is extremely reasonable ($2.00 to $5.00 bucks for the day) on the right. I don't recommend driving at night. It's a little scary. The best place to buy groceries is Chedraui (like a super Wal-Mart) in Playa del Carmen.

We decided to forego Chichen Itza but we did go Tulum for the day. It was very hot, but worth the trip.

Again, the resort is under construction, and they are working on it. It isn't bothersome, and it is comforting seeing some of the construction take place. Some of you must be buying. The more you buy the sooner the place will be finished.

The resort that we stayed at...

by guybert

The resort that we stayed at was the Mayan Palace. I would recommend going to the there in about a year or two because at the time that we went (Feb.of 02) the resort was just partly finished. The hotel units on one side were done & the pool area was also finished, but they were still working on the grounds & other buildings that will also end up being part of the complex. Right now, there is not a whole lot to do there unless you want to sit by the pool & relax.

Can't wait to go back.

by TripAdvisor Member IMSHANNI

We just returned from the Mayan Palace, Cancun. We stayed 5/31/03 to 6/07/93. We had a fabulous time. I was worried, because I'd read the earlier reviews and thought maybe we'd made a mistake by going there. That couldn't be further from the truth. The resort was absolutely beautiful. The pool is so large it never appeared crowded. It is true thatthe beach isn't swimable, but the pool more than makes up for it. Besides, Playa del Carmen is a short trip down the road and has a great beach. Wedidn't rent a car and had no trouble getting around. The resort has people that take you to the front entrance where you can catch the bus for 10pesos.($1) to Playa. I think it's $2 to go to Cancun. We took the resortshuttle for $10 round trip into Cancun. The buses in Cancun run everyminute. The fare is .60, better have exact change though. We only had onedriver that bothered to make change. The others took what you gave anddidn't offer to make change. They prefer to deal in pesos not USD. Go intotown to exchange though, the hotel's exchange rate is lower. We booked our excusions through the resorts travel agency. Very easy. Everyone is supernice and the room was immaculant. If you want to be near the pool ask for a room numbered between 1000- 3047. The laundry room is $7 a load which includes wash, dry, soap and fabric softner. For $3 the lady does it for you, including folding and packaging for you to pick up. Money well spent. Done in two hours, we took a nap. We went to the sales presentation. Takes about 3 hours. We didn't buy, and we weren't pressured like the others warned about. The one thing we didn't like was in Playa and Cancun and first thing at the airport, you feel attacked by the people trying to get you to come to their timeshare presentation. If you work it just right though, you could go to a presentation every other day and take the free excursion every other day. You have to be really good at saying no though. Anyway, if you have the chance to go to the Mayan Palace Cancun, by allmeans, GO!

A wonderful vacation

by A TripAdvisor Member

We just returned from a wonderful 2 weeks in Mexico (June 1, 2003 to June 15, 2003). We stayed at the Mayan Palace about 30 minutes south of Cancun and 10 minutes north of Playa Del Carmen on the Riviera Maya. We actually were a little nervous about staying at this resort based on some of the negative information some people had left in this news letter. The Mayan Palace is still under constrution but that did not bother us at all. They have an amazing pool ( it's huge) very nice for strolling around under the moon light, relaxing by or cooling off in, we could not keep the four kids out of it. The beach still needs work, but you could tell they are working hard at rebuilding it after the hurricane last fall totally wiped it out. The italian restuarant (above the store) served some of the best food we have ever eaten in our lives( Give the Filet Mingon a try you will love it!!) The pool bar tenders made wonderful drinks alcohol and non-alcohol an insured lots of laughs. The hamburgers at the pool restuarant were great too. The rooms were large and comfortable (beds a little hard but we got used to them ) the maid service was excellent they were very attentive to our needs. Laundry was done for us 2 times during our stay for about $20 for all 4 loads folded. We never had any trouble catching a ride on a bus, taxi or in a van and the prices were between $2 to $5 a person. We were a little worried having a large group of 8 but everyone was friendly and helpful. The Mayan sharks we had heard so much about approached us a few times but were not as bad as we had heard (They do understand a straight no, I'm not interested.) The golf course was the only disappointment as we were told it would be open for play June 1 and came prepared to play. The time share manager was rude and unconcerned about the misinformation that had been given out. However, Steve in customer service made up for the arrogant time share manager.
We can't wait to return.

Beware - Sales Pitch Hell!!!!!!

by A TripAdvisor Member

My wife and I were in Playa Del Carmen on Thursday, June 12, 2003, and allowed ourselves to be pressured into a tour by one of the numerous VIP (Vacation Investment Program) salespersons (Aaron). He offered numerous incentives for us to tour the Mayan Palace and attend their 90 minute presentation. In exchange for their giving us $150 USD, a t-shirt, beach bag, Mexican blanket, and taxi ride back to our hotel (Cameleon Marival - A Great Place), we agreed to attend the ordeal. An ordeal it was.....the 90 minutes turned into over 3 hours. Our initial presenter Roberto was very nice and smooth talking. He took us on the tour and to lunch. As we were getting ready to leave the lunch table, Roberto asked me to tip the servers since he was taking care of the meal. I was so taken aback at being asked to do this all I could do was just lay the tip on the table. For someone trying to sell something, I have never see this before. Once we go to the torture chamber....I mean salesroom....Roberto went on and on drawing circles and boxes selling us on how great their VIP program is. When we finally said "not interested," Adrianna (Roberto's supervisor) stepped over and began to interrogate us as to why we weren't interested. She would not take "No" for an answer. The only thing missing was a spotlight in the face or maybe a rubber hose! My wife finally had to tell Adrianna to "Just Stop!!!!!" Adrianna was visibly upset and told Roberto to take us out and to come back and see her. We still wonder if Roberto has a job since he couldn't sell us. Roberto handed us off to the gift man. He was a well dressed, polished saleman as well. He continued to try to sell us the VIP program. By the time it was said and done with, the cost had went from $69,900 to $1700. We still said "No." Again, he could not take no for an answer. We nearly had to get up and walk out. This alleged 90 minutes (over 3 hour presentation) basically ruined our day. The hotel is under construction and appearsnd this hotel based upon the sleazy, pushy, antagonistic sales staff. What a rip off for people. I can now understand why they offer people the incentives to subject themselves to this presentation.....torture. I am not sure $150 was worth the hassle. Beware of this bunch.

Loved The Palace not Yukatek

by A TripAdvisor Member

My family and friends and I just got back from the palace and had a wonderful time. We traded in a Timeshare in the US for the Mayan Palce timeshare so we didn't have to listen to any sales pitch. We give the resort five stars. The pool is unbelievable. But please, under no circumstances dive through Yucatek (the poolside dive charter at the palace.) Their prices changed several times throughout the week and the owners do not seem to care that they were lying and scamming us all week. Our price went up over a hundred dollars depending on who we taklked to. Some days they were late picking us up in the morning, and transportation is included in your price but what they don't tell you is that they make you wait 2-4 hours outsied on the hot sidewalk until one of their drivers happens to wander by. One time we had to wait 1.5 hours while the driver went 2 doors down to get drunk and eat. They are the dive charter from hell (and I've done a lot of diving) Yucasuk (which is what we named them. Gave us ferry tickets and told us to go to Cozumel to dive and their people would pick us up over there--It was a total scam--no one was waiting for us and we walked around for an hour. It turns out that they donh't even have an operation on the Cozumel. Yet they still charged my room for the dives in Cozumel, and the owner called and screamed at me on the phone that she needed the money and not once did she apologize for abandoning us. (The charge was promptly taken care of by the Conceirge.) So we found Coasta Mayan Charters run by an American named Rolley who has a huge boat and was extremely kind to us and we had a wonderful last day of diving.(Yucatek has tiny boats and they only gave us an average of 30min. bottom time when everyone still had plenty of air left. Please pick another dive charter.

90 minute Tour...Try 4 hours from hell

by A TripAdvisor Member

Do not go on the sales tour - in hindsight you could not pay me a 1000 dollars to endure their crap - it was like listening to someone drag their nails on a chalkboard for 4 hours. 90 minute presentation - yeah right. By about our 20th "not interested" we got some nice rude comments from the manager (some smarmy lady named Tracy) and left, only to find another saleperson at the exit. The hotel is in the middle of no where. Save yourself some energy and bang your head into the wall of your hotel room for a more exciting way of spending the day.

Mayan Palace!

by guybert

"Mayan Palace location!"

On the map, the Mayan Palace would be located half an hour south of Cancun & 15 minutes north of Playa del Carmen. The area is called the Mayan Riviera.

"The Mayan Palace!"

The Mayan Palace is a timeshare resort that has sister resorts in Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Acapulco & a new one that just opened up south of Cancun in the Mayan Riviera.

"One bedroom suite!"

the rooms are large & very comfortible.

"Bedroom!"

Bedrooms are also very large with a king size bed & an attatched bathroom.

"Grounds!"

Unfortunately for us, there was no grounds. They had finished the hotel units & the pool area but had just started on the landscaping. We really had no view at all except if you wanted to watch the workers every morning.

"Main entrance!"

The main entrance was also still under construction. It's going to be massive when they do finish it.

"Pool area!"

the pool is all finished & is extremely large. It has 5 or 6 pools that are all joined together.

"Aquasize!"

Every morning, the staff tries to get you to do exercizes in the pool. Some days they have a lot of people participating & some other days they have a hard time getting any. Those must be the (hang-over days).

"Poolside!"

Nothing like sitting by the pool getting some rays. After all, that is what we are there for.

"Pool Bar!"

In most pools in Mexico, you don't have to look to far to find the pool bar. It's a good spot to sit & meet people while you are having a drink.

"Happy Hour!"

When happy hour comes around, the pool bar all of a sudden gets a lot busier. That's Jimmy sticking up 2 fingers to order 2 for 1's or as the Mexicans put it 1 for 2's? I still don't get that!

"Night swimming!"

Lynda & the girls went for a swim after supper. With the pool lights on, it made for a great picture.