Gran Melia Cancun

When we first arived at this hotel we were speechless. As soon as you walk in it is breathtaking view. It feels like you stepped in to a lovely garden rather than a hotel. The staff welcome you with moistening towels and are extremely attentive to all your needs. My fiance and I stay in cancun for 6 days. we have stayed in many hotels but this one one outbeat all the others we have ever stayed at. This is not much you can do at the hotel other than the beach and pool which is very relaxing but it is not hard to leave the property. Go across the street there is aquaworld where there is a tons of activites you can do (jetskiing, snokleing, cruises.....). There is a bus stop in walking distance take it downtown for only 60 cents and you will find plenty things to do. I know I will want to return to this hotel in the furture and trust me you will too.

We purchased our hotel package through luxury link and had a great deal. The hotel is amazingly beautiful. The staff were fluently English-efficient, courteous, and helpful. They were also really friendly and had a great memory as they remembered us. They checked in with us each day when they saw us within the hotel lobby to see how we're doing and if we needed any assistance in planning our activities, etc.

There are several restaurants at the hotel, however, one is always closed (Tempo). Not sure why and we never followed up. However, the remaining restaurants that we ate within the resort was good and the price was affordable. It was in comparable to what we would spend to eat in California when going out. Breakfast was more than just continental as it was made to serve immediately (omelettes, pancakes, waffles) and there were plenty of other choices such as yogurt, burritos, fresh fruits, cheeses, etc. We had resort credit so we used it to apply towards our bill for the restaurants and/or the bar-lounge.

Our only disappointment was in regards to the hotel credit. The staff at the restaurants/bar/lounge was not aware of this and so we had to explain to them each time when a bill was presented to us. They didn't seem to understand what "hotel/resort credit" was as they thought we wanted it to be bill towards our room but we didn't leave a credit card # under our room. Although we end up not having to pay for the bill but we did have to sign for it. Upon our check-out from the hotel we were asked to pay a balance. We were surprised as we did not have anything billed to our room. After asking the front desk reception staff to explain the bill to us we come to realized that the balance was for the food and drinks that we had asked to apply toward our hotel credit of $200.00. After 15 minutes we were finally able to check-out.

Although, this frustrated us but we enjoyed the hotel and our stay greatly. We definitely will return to this hotel in the future.

First let me say that I read all the reviews before I left so I was a bit.....I wasnt expecting the best. I thought it was going to be ok at best. However I was SOOOO WRONG!! This hotel was on of the best I've ever stayed in. I live in Chicago where weve got pretty ritzy places and I have to say that at the GRAN MELIA I recieved the BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE of my life. The bellman/ greeter was great. The people at the front desk ( although slow) great. Bartenders.. great. Yes some restaurants are closed who cares. I and almost everyone ate the room service food. I thought it was good and not that

expensive. I also recommend to order from the pool bar, food and drinks great. They also have a Mcdonalds, PaPa Johns and 7 eleven right across the street. The 7 eleven sells like this 2 gallon jug of water for about 20 pesos!!! pick that up! The room was clean except they have ants. So I would maybe bring spray. I sprayed them with the lysol I brought seemed to work a little. The beach waves get a bit rough at times, but if your from the city like me and dont get to the ocean much you wont have a problem with lounging in the beach chairs with shaded tables. Or you can hang out at the pool.

P.S the exchange rate is wayyy better when you get there dont exchange here in the states or at the cancun airport wait and take the BUS from your hotel to La Isla mall or to the party zone theres little exchange booths with better rates.

This was our first trip to Cancun and we found the staff and the hotel overall to be fantastic. The fact that several of the restaurants are closed is not thier fault but the fault of the U.S. media and the bogus swine flu scare. No businees means layoffs and closures. You will find that anywhere in Cancun. the smaller beach is a result of the terrible hurricane that hit 2 or 3 years ago and is still quite nice. Every single person we encountered at the Gran melia couldn't have been nicer. People who act nice probably get a nice response in return! Awsome resetaurants within walking distance. We are going back in the fall instead of our yearly cruise. It's a great place. The Mexicans really know how to treat people.

This was my first trip to Cancun and when I go back I would like to stay at the Gran Melia again. First of all the hotel (lobby, rooms, pools, everything) is absolutely beautiful. The style is modern, not colonial. The sushi restaurant, the bar and hotel in general is very romantic. We didn't notice a lack of entertainment because we spent most of our time at the hotel in the huge pool and at the excellent beach. We did not try the spa or the golf course.

Every experience with staff was positive, they consistently offered excellent and friendly service. They were very helpful giving directions, helping us book our tour to Chichen Itza, and all the usual things a guest needs in a hotel. The location was great, with a convenience store right across the street for cheaper snacks and booze. Hop on the bus right on the street and 75 pesos and a few minutes get you anywhere you wanted to go in the hotel zone for restaurants, night clubs, shopping, and adventure. The buses run all night and every few minutes. It was very easy to get around.

As for the food, my boyfriend and I are vegan and were able to find good things to eat for breakfast at the Café Quetzal, from Nami, the sushi restaurant, and from room service. They were very accommodating of our special requests. We didn't try to the other restaurants, because Tempo seemed too gourmet for our budget, and a few others seemed too meat/seafood centered. The Mexican one never seemed to be open. We had the most delicious vegetarian sushi, pizza without cheese, and vegetarian spaghetti. The abundant fruit and veggies were pretty good.

My only complaint would be that the prices of things in the hotel's convenience store (bottled water, snacks, booze) is almost twice that of the convenience store across the street. But price variance is pandemic in Mexico in general, so if you care about getting the best deal you have to shop around. In a shop in the mall one guy tried to sell us earrings at "60% off" for "only $75 USD," by the time we left without buying anything he came down to $5 USD.

this hotel is pure luxe just along the beach, not far from the center by bus, the hotel is beautiful and needs to be tried. Just perfect to club and get back home safe. the hotel is close to a place to rent scooter, forget insurance and safety on your machine. There's no rules....

We were having customer service issues with the hotel we originally booked in Cancun, so we packed up and moved to Gran Melia. I wish we'd had more than one day here. This hotel is absolutely beautiful with awesome rooms and a huge pool. My boyfriend and I decided that if we ever go back to Cancun, we'll book here.

After reading several reviews here, I decided to book the Gran Melia through Luxury Link and got a fantastic deal for 4 nights in Royal Service including transfer, breakfast etc. and massages as well as hydrotherapy for $700 incl. I was able to book the package for the following weekend. Everything was great the level of service was outstanding - I have nothing but compliments for the staff. We ended up being upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite which was wonderful - separate living room with a flat screen TV in each room. Location is great and with the bus service, you can get everywhere in minutes. I will be back at this hotel for sure.

I am starting to wonder if all the people writing bad reviews are actually from competing hotels... I read many of the reviews prior to leaving and was a bit worried but I had a wonderful stay at the Gran Melia.

Upon arrival our check in process was easy. After checking in people tried to get us to meet with a woman to "review the hotel grounds". We said no - knowing from previous reviews that this was just a timeshare thing. You can say NO people! We weren't bothered by them again.

Our room was gorgeous - beautiful ocean view and immaculate. Very clean - no bugs ANYWHERE like other reviewers have stated. Lovely bathroom, great decor, comfortable bed.

We did the all-inclusive thing for our seven days there and were impressed. The room service was a low point - really not that great - but the restaurants, including breakfast buffet, were great. We ate at Ku-nah (the Mexican restaurant) twice and at Tempo four times. We were very impressed with the service (they honestly couldn't do enough for you), the food and the ambience. We especially loved the waiter Bernabe at Tempo. He was all smiles and very attentive.

We spent three days by the pool and went out on excursions for the other three. On the days we stayed by the pool we got up early to reserve our palapas (as we both burn shade is a must!) and had no problems. Staff come around regularly to take your drink orders - of course tipping makes them come a little quicker! The pools were gorgeous - a little cold at first but after a while you don't notice.

The ocean was too rough to swim in all days but one. I went in on that one day (the water is so warm and inviting) and it was a little treacherous. Definitely not for an unexperienced swimmer as there is quite a strong undertow and rocks you need to climb over when going in and coming out.

The stores in the hotel are overpriced - would recommend shopping anywhere else for a better deal. Don't be lured in by the cigar shop either - cigars were much cheaper at the airport.

Hope this review helped to appease some of your concerns with this hotel - we loved it. Anybody who went there and didn't love it has issues and maybe needs to get a life! Stop complaining!

Also please note: All inclusive guests get free wifi and internet access. You need to ask for it at check in.

Our standard room, which was so spacious that it included a couch, was very beautiful. There was a pool, which we enjoyed, and a beach, to which we preferred Isla Mujeres. The hotel looked grand from the outside and on the inside. Like almost all other hotels in Cancun, Gran Melia was easily accessible by bus. Our only complaint was the long walk from the roadside to the hotel because of the gigantic garden / carpark in front. The room rates were reasonable.

We just returned from a relaxing 4 night stay at the Gran Melia for our kids Spring Break. We booked the Gran Melia through Expedia and opted for the all-inclusive meal plan and I'm glad we did.

When we arrived late in the afternoon, it only took us 10 minutes to check in and most of that was the all-inclusive explanation. As per other reviews, we were then escorted to a desk to "explain the features of the property." I think she sensed that we were tired from traveling all day so she kept it short and invited us to a breakfast the next morning for a 90 minute tour. We said no but she still took our room # and we received a few voicemails inviting us but those stopped after the 2nd day.We also were given the option to upgrade to an ocean view room and we did. My wife loved the room which had a great balcony with two chairs and a great view. Also, because of past reviews, I brought my own CAT5 cord and was able to connect to the internet with the access code they give you at check-in. As another reviewer noted, it is a great deal since they give you 24 hours of connection time so you just disconnect when you are not using it.

The food: We called our first night to get reservations at Tempo and Ku-nah and they were both completely booked for all 4 nights we would be there. We later looked at the menus for both and it appeared our kids (ages 5 & 8) would not have found much to eat (each only has 6 or 7 entres). We ate at Quetzal restaurant the first two nights and were not impressed with the options. We could have ordered off the menu but that was not included in the all-inclusive plan. The salad and desert bars were underwhelming. We decided to go out the other 2 nights. The best meal for us was definitley the breakfast buffett (also at Quetzal). It had everything we needed - omelette bar, pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs, fruit bar. We ate lunch by the pool each day. We ordered sandwiches from the waitress one day and the other days we ate hot dogs or hamburgers which they were grilling by the towel hut. By the pool, we never had trouble getting a drink or snack from the servers. They were usually very attentive and friendly. The all-inclusive plan includes 4 waters, 4 beer, and 4 sodas per day from the mini-bar which was plenty since we weren't in the room very often. The couple checking out in front of me had a problem - they were also all-inclusive and were charged for room service which was supposed to be included. They said something about only ordering from the all-inclusive in-room menu so watch for that if you order room service.

Even from past reviewers warnings, we didn't get up early enough the first morning to get chairs in the shade. The towel hut opens at 7 but I think some people keep their towels from the day before and get down their before 7. My wife and I took turns and went down with the kids around 7:30 and had no trouble getting chairs with some in the sun and some not(even though the little cabanas seemed to be taken by 7am) Pool area is nice but Kids Club isn't as organized as some of the other resorts but they do have a bounce house which is nice for kids. If you have kids who are on the go and swimming all day, this is the perfect place since the entertainment at night ends around 10 so the music won't keep the kids up.

Checkout was quick. We had a few hours before our flight so we stayed by the pool and reserved a hospitality room so we could change and take a shower before we left which was great.

I would definitely come back and recommend this hotel to others if you're looking for a relaxing vacation. The location is great and just a short bus ride from everything you need.

First - Ignore the negative reviews - families with young kids - book there confidently - you will be happy.

Check in - I was given upgrade options at checkin with keys to the rooms - upgraded to an ocean view - well worth it

Check out - took a few minutes - checked out in 2 minutes when I told the front desk I that my taxi was waiting

Room - nice size room - awesome shower - 2 double beds - 2 queens would have been better-good quality linens- no noise from the lobby - we were in the main tower

Service - excellent - asked for the comforter to be changed on day 1 and called about the bath tub draining slow on day 6 - both fixed in 5 minutes

Breakfast - awesome - the restaurant manager checked on us at the table the 5 days we ate there - 240 pesos for adults 120 pesos for kids - second one free with sol melia card - dined outside for lunch and dinner because we were always outside and wanted to try fun places for the kids - Hacienda Sisal (execellent food, music too loud for kids), Rainforest cafe (good food, fun atmosphere), Carlos and Charlies (ok food, tons of fun)

Kids activities at Gran Melia - fun place for the kids to play supervised for a few hours

Foreign exchange - convenient and decent rates in the lobby - get better rates by paying with USD at most restaurants in Hotel zone

Timeshare reps - left us alone after a firm no (with a smiling face)

Pools - very nice pools - friends staying at Dreams said that our pools were much better

The negative reviews seem to be from people who expect five star amenities/service at four star prices or the speed of McDonalds at a resort.

Gran Melia is an excellent value for under $200 USD per night in an ocean view room without the meals

Tours:

Chichen Itza - too hot for the kids - should have opted for the evening tour (lights tour)

Isla Mujares - awesome beach (Playa Norte) - kids had fun drivng the golf cart - restaurants on the beach had good food

Xelha - kids had a blast in the resort - ok food at the all inclusive restaurants

We ended up at Gran Melia with the 6 Apple Square Deal and had a GREAT time March 27 - 31. We upgraded to ocean view which was awesome.One night in La Veranda dinner was awful. Went back to room and ordered room service no big deal. Bacon wrapped shrimp at LaPerla for lunch was great. Most food overall good \ OK. Manuel made the best dirty monkeys EVER !! He was at swim up bar all but last day then he was at lobby. Name brand liquor at pool / hotel. Check in and check a breeze. A couple days we had to wait about a half hour for water to get hot in room but no big deal. Tell timeshare people you are not interested and they leave you alone. If you want shade at pool put your towel out at sunrise. Any other info just ask me. I have stayed at Riu Cancun and Dreams Cancun before. I liked Gran Melia better than Riu. Dreams is a nicer location but its pool can not compare to the Gran Melia.

Just returned from a fantastic stay at a great hotel - the Gran Melia Cancun. The trip was with my wife and daughter and two of her teenage friends for a sweet sixteen birthday travel present.

First of all the hotel is beautiful and artistic; it is a very creative design with a lush and verdant feeling inside with streams, plants, vines, waterfalls, and more. It is literally a feast for the eyes blending a traditional hotel appearance with an innovative natural "look and feel". We had booked ocean view rooms in the main part of the hotel and arrived early before standard check-in, so that no rooms were ready. To accomodate us, and as an unexpected surprise, we were upgraded to suites in the Royal Tower. The rooms were immaculate with fantastic views of the ocean, sophisticated lighting, flat screen TV, luxury bathrooms, multiple sculptures, very comfortable king and queen beds, and a fresh and aesthetic appearance.

The pool area in the Royal Tower is terrific - multiple palapas named after exotic locales with comfortable cushions and beds and nice views. Lots of palm trees, tropical sounding birds, and a sensual breeze outdoors. We spent most of our mornings by the beach - reserving one or two Palapas between 7 am and 8 am. Prime beach time is in the mornings and mid-day - after that it gets a bit cloudy and cool and the pool area is better to hang out. We ate inexpensive breakfasts buying cappucino and pastry with juice at the Market and likewise reasonably priced lunches right at the beach or pool - and very tasty too. For dinners we headed out of the hotel based on the reviews and we were well rewarded with great dinners at Thai (fantastic place, voted #1 in Cancun on TripAdvisor) and Destileria (Mexican); very good dinners at La Dolce Vita and Bogedita del Medio; and a fun dinner at Chocolate City (get the chocolate foundatin for dessert). We also had dinner at the hotel on the first night - Kun-Ha - some good dishes but a bit uneven and not as strong as dinners outside of the hotel.

The hotel is superbly located for the inexpensive bus (50 cents) and AquaWorld across the street. We took enjoyable day trips to the Island of Women (golf cart rides around the island, massage on the beach, kayaking, flea market shopping) and to Nuza Reef for snorkeling and the Sub See Explorer submarine trip where we saw a stingray and a large sea turtle.

The staff at the hotel were very friendly and helpful. A few minor mistakes and inconsistencies here and there but that is Mexico. We stayed away from the time share pitch based on the helpful input in these reviews.

The beach is still enjoyable despite the narrower profile post Hurricane. We were able to spend many hours on the beach and enjoyed it alot. The Gran Melia beach looks better than a number of nearby hotels. There are rocks here and there and a strong undertow at times. Its reassuring to have a lifeguard around and for lap swimming use the pools. The ocean is best for a quick dip and cool down in the heat plus its natural beauty. I went jogging every day for about 45 minutes up and down the beach barefoot and it was really nice.

The hotel is quiet at night but that is what we wanted - we found that dinner outside the hotel added a more lively element to staying at Gran Melia.

We were concerned by negative reviews we read at this site and it almost feels like we stayed somewhere different than the negative reviewers (maybe they need to have their heads examined...). The staff were not sullent they were friendly; the service was quite good, especially for Mexico, the rooms were clean, the views were outstanding, food was enjoyable, and the list goes on and on.

There were a few minor annoyances - it is very hot and humid when you arrive and check-in which can take awhile (dress light if you can), sometimes the glasses in our room were not cleaned, the phone did not work in the room for a day or so when calling an adjacent room, the food for dinner could be better for a five star hotel and AAA diamond award, etc. But in the broader scheme of things, these are minor issues for what is truly a great hotel and experience.

Minor note: The high speed Internet access is actually a good deal. You only pay for time based usage in a 24 hour period. Most hotels charge you for 24 hours whether you use the Internet or not. You can actually spread your usage over multiple days and so its a minimal expense.

In summary, we had a fantastic stay at a great hotel for just about one week and would recommend this hotel to most people considering a Cancun stay.

Just came from Gran Melia and it was an awesome time. What are these horrible reviewers doing, probably have no life or something? The bottom line is this:

a) hotel room and service cleaness is 5. My a/c was not working properly but service came within 10min after the call

2) Food is very good and probably better then in some other restaurants. Liquer - top shelf, and yes grey goose extra but Absolute is included and so are other tequila and other brands - 5

3) Service - it could be better. Sometimes you did need to wait or make reservations. so will give 4

4) Time Share Sell - just dont go there if you don't want to buy it. Timeshares are sold in many hotels so say no to presentation and will not be bugged

5) Entertainment - This is probably not the place for 18 year olds, but if you like to relax there is some entert at the pool. There are no shows as some other hotels have only piano music in the lobby lounge. So if you like shows this is no the place to be. If you like nice piano/lounge music and know how to relax - this is for you. To top it all off, you are in cancun so there are other venues besides hotel - will give a 4

so no worry, great place, great service - enjoy the life STOP complaining :))

We just returned from the Gran Melia in Cancun... We read the reviews and were worried about where we had booked. We are avid travelers and stayed at many all-inclusive resorts. This was excellent! The hotel is sparkling clean and tropical inside. We never had an issue with service. Check-in took 15 minutes; Check-out 15 minutes as well. No issue with timeshare sharks. The rooms are well-kept and very comfortable beds! Mini-bar filled up everyday. Room service food was very good (Flank Steak exceptional.) Pool bar great (give the bartender a $5.00 tip upon your first order and you'll get quick service every time thereafter). The only restaurant that was okay was Tempo. Nothing special. All of Cancun beaches seem to now be rocky (unlike the past). Got a massage at the Spa (Daniella); she was awesome! The only thing that I think needs improvement is the night life at the hotel. Nothing is open late!

My husband and I stayed a week at the Gran Meila Cancun for our wedding. We had 25 guests with us that all stayed at the Gran Melia. (Except two people who stayed at the Casa Magna) Everyone loved it. The beach was beautiful but you could not swim in the ocean. The water was to rough. We really enjoyed the pool! We had most of our meals away from the hotel. We had a suite with our own Jacuzzi which we LOVED! We requested an ocean front room and it was beautiful!

The only thing that I was worried about was my grandparents and the amount of steps that are at the hotel! It is a huge resort! They ended up having to take a car from the lobby of the hotel to the street because they could not walk the steps (they charged them so much money to do this!!!) Also, the lobby is not air conditioned so that got hot! Plus our ocean front room was a long walk from the lobby but we probably needed to burn some calories ha.

We ended up having a beautiful wedding and all my guests had a great time. I would probably go back to Cancun but would pick an all inclusive hotel verses eating all our meals away from the resort.

I stayed at this resort with my boyfriend 6/12/09-6/17/09. It was overall a very good experience. This was our first time in Mexico and have never stayed at a "resort" before. We had a lagoon view deluxe king room that was in the 3rd tower on the 2nd floor. This hotel is very easy on the eyes but not easy on the soles of your feet. Like stated before, there is a lot of walking required to get around. The pool area is quite nice and we were able to get a palapa bed every time we went to the pool. The hotel was not fully occupied though. There werent very many people there and thus it got really dead after the sun starts to set. The good news is that it isnt hard to get to some action just difficult to make up your mind. During our stay 2-3 of the restaurants were closed which forced us to have to find dinner or lunch elsewhere every meal. The bus does stop right in front of the hotel entrance but it is a five minute walk from the front door to the bus stop and up or down about 60 stairs. El Shrimp Bucket across the street was good food and the BBQ Bacon shrimp was AWESOME. The Store Manager Luis was extremely hospitable and the keg of beer at your table is good for the beer lovers. I do want to warn people about the so called "Concierge" desk. As soon as you check in there will be someone waiting behind you that snuck up while you weren't looking that will try to usher you over to the two concierge desks that sit smack in the middle of the walkway forcing you to walk past one of them to get to your room. Don't get suckered into the free welcome breakfast offer, there trying to sell you something. What you probably will need is the "Hospitality" desk. If you arranged round trip transportation through Bestday (which I highly reccommend) you will need to get to this desk sometime after check-in to arrange your transfer back to the airport. This desk is located halfway down the hall to the right of the concierge desk that you probably want to avoid. Past the Expedia office. The Breakfast buffet is really great even for $25 per person. My boyfriend did find a huge Cockroach climbing the wall near our tv the first night which gave me the heebee jeebees for a few days. I also suggest checking your sheets everyday if you don't place the card "do not change sheets today" on your pillow. We went the first 3 days with the card on the pillow but after all the activities and sand that was in our hair we needed the sheets changed and it never happened. FYI I could not find a bagel in Mexico anywhere and I even took the bus to a supermarket in Centro Cancun. If you have specific questions about this hotel please feel free to email me doc_esha@yahoo.com

We went to the Gran Melia for a week the end of March 2009. The service is wonderful be careful they will try to sell you a time share for the first day just be firm and remember you are there to relax and have fun. They stop pressing you after the first day. If you want to go on tours do not sign up in the resort there is a hut in front of the resort that really has the cheapest prices in town. No really I tried everywhere and cash talks.

Once you check in ask to be in the main building (Building #3) we were in room 3822 it is a corner suite with two huge balconies. Ask for that room you get more room for your buck.

The breakfast was wonderful and across the street there is a place called the Shrimp Bucket................OMG.......outstanding.

The only downfall was there is no beach at all......a Stormed named ....-who cares- destroyed it.

Overall, we enjoyed our vacation at the Melia and the grounds, lobby, pool area are beautiful, well maintained. But if you are looking for a nice sandy beach you would be disappointed. There is very little beach to sit on, in some cases the water comes all the way up to a retaining wall. Where there is some sand left, the surf is rocky. Also during our stay the water was very rough with pretty big waves, so it was dangerous to swim, unless when the water was calmer and if you were experienced swimmer. If you prefer the pool over the beach, then probably this would not matter. Also there is a Beach Bar, that was damaged in the hurricane I assume (3 yrs ago) and never repaired. The website pics are misleading if you look at photos of the beach.

(Note: the on-site Tour "Tropical Incentives") said a nice beach to go to was at the "Presidente Hotel InterContinental" - ck out their website "says widest beach in Cancun" (but did not mention the fee to visit the hotel beach) ...after taking cab to have possibly have lunch and check out the beach, was told at Concierge needed a day pass of 550 pesos per person. We left and were told of a public beach at Tortuga. We decided to be adventurous, but the local beach bar servers, have waiters pushing you to take a chair and umbrella for "just 200 pesos" and believe we were told could have drinks and food included - were then given a bill for about $95 for a light lunch and some beers). That was a waste of time and money.

We stayed in both Royal Service and Vacation Club since we are a Vacation Club member. The Royal Service room was very small without a dresser and little area to store clothes. The Vacation club room was much nicer as we own a 1 bedroom master suite, and were given an ocean view room. We preferred the Vacation Club room over the Royal Service Room.

Royal Service didn't really seem to be worth it overall. The RS pool was nicer, and reserved cabanas, pool bar service was good, but was told I could not have a can of Corona light, b/c All Incl. guests, can only have it in a cup, not the can. Also as far as AI, at Kunah restaurant we were not told by the waiter, (or Royal Service concierge) of the "extra charge" on some of the menu items in restaurants, even if you are All Inclus., and we were given an extra bill for those charges. When we ate at Tempo the "fine dining" restaurant, when I ordered the waiter at least verbally told me prior to the order of the additional charge (though at Tempo alot of the items were "extra charge". The food was pretty good for AI, we preferred Kunah over Tempo. Also Tempo you need to have long pants for men and boys due to dress code.

The hotel lacked activities. As a Melia V.C. member, other Melia's have games going on at the Pool, entertainment, water aerobics, yoga on the beach, and offered activities for older kids, like a rock climb wall, and zip line. The Gran Melia didnt seem to have many activities. We had 12-14 y/o who were bored since there was only pool, and not much of a beach. They did offer ceramics by the pool.

Best day trip was a visit to Playa Del Carmen. Also visited Garrafon, on Isle Mujeres, which was somewhat disappointing, as we had been there before when it was a State Park, but now is run by Dolphin Discovery, the water for snorkelling was very rough, some things that they use to offer, no longer do, and the food was not so great but was all inclusive. We didn't stay the whole day, left half way thru. The scenery is beautiful and we enjoyed the boat ride to the Island.

We recently stayed in a Royal Service Suite at the Gran Melia and can't say enough about the staff (especially Ana and Roberto) who couldn't have done more to make sure that we had a great time. Everything was arranged for us (including a pick up from the airport) and the extras (breakfast, snacks, drinks) were far more than we had expected. The hotel was very clean, the staff friendly and we could not find a single fault with our time there. The only shortcoming was the lack of a beach, but that is not the fault of the hotel since the hurricane a few years ago is responsible. We rarely return to the same hotel, but will do so without hesitation in the future.

We just returned from a six night stay at the Gran Melia Cancun. This was our first trip to Cancun and we weren't certain what to expect. We purchased the vacation via the LuxuryLink.com auction website--which I highly recommend for high-end vacation packages around the world--so got a great deal. I was a bit perplexed by the mixed reviews I found for this hotel on TripAdvisor--but now I understand: it all depends on where you stay in the hotel!!

We stayed in the Gran Melia's "Servicio Royal" (Royal Service) section--a high-end, "hotel within a hotel" that offered separate check-in, private pool/bar, separate breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening cocktails, etc. From what I could see, our experience was very different from that in the rest of the property--and it made all the difference for us.

Timing

We arrived, almost by accident, just AFTER the end of the Spring Break period in Cancun. Our Northwest flight was so empty going down, they couldn't even find enough people to upgrade to first class (only 6 of 20 seats filled). The Royal Service section (a separate "pyramid" on the property) of the hotel couldn't have been more than 30% full for most of our stay. This added to feeling of space and privacy clearly unusual in Cancun's packed Hotel Zone. According to staff, the last two weeks after Spring Break are unusually quiet there.

Location/Structure

The Gran Melia is a gorgeous building architecturally--particularly its five massive pyramidal atriums filled with draping vines. The property is large and set back from the main thoroughfare in the southern section of the Hotel Zone only 15 minutes from the Airport. This part of the strip is quieter with few shops and restaurants (though there are a few across the strip). All are easily accessible by the busses that run past every few minutes. The area felt very, VERY safe. Sadly, recent hurricanes have stripped the Gran Melia (and most other ocean-side hotels) of almost all of their beach. Massive waves ponded directly against the seawalls protecting the pool areas. There was just enough room to wade into the surf before you hit the exposed limestone rocks that make up the bedrock of the Yucatan. If you need sand between your toes--this isn't the place for you. It didn't matter a wit to us!

Facilities

This is where the Royal Service section really stands out.

--While I'm not certain that the Royal Service Rooms are really that different from the regular rooms, they are VERY nice. Ours was just beginning to show its age (evident repairs, an airconditioner that just barely kept up), the room was very stylish--all dark woods, modern lines, and acres of polished limestone--and immaculately clean. An Ocean-view is the way to go, though solid concrete railings block much of the view particularly when you are seated on the terrace.

--The public atrium, where complimentary breakfast, snacks, and cocktails are served. Thai platforms float above pools of koi amid a jungle of plans and vines, gorgeously lit with lanterns and candles at night. A smooth jazz soundtrack plays gently in the background everywhere (and contrasts with the loud, harsh "pool party" rock music and party games on the regular side of the hotel.

--The private pool area--complete with 30 Thai-style palaps and our own pool concierge was a definite highlight. Compared to deck chairs packed side-by-side else where we had plenty of room, never had to rush to get a palapa and were free from the harsh music and games elsewhere in the hotel. Four palapas are perched on the edge of the seawall, directly overlooking the crashing waves. The rest are arranged around the pool and are within reach of the private, Caribe pool bar and grille. Sadly, meal drink service only begins around noon and the pool "closes" (staff disappear) around 5 p.m.

--We spent days enjoying these spaces and didn't miss the beach a bit.

--The Gran Melia doesn't do much to air condition indoor spaces, this made many areas (restaurants, spa rooms, hallways) much warmer and more humid than I found comfortable. This makes "dressing for dinner" less fund than it might otherwise be.

Food--After visiting, I can understand the disappointment--particulary of all-inclusive plan participants--in the food quality. We weren't on the plan and this gave us choice to eat elsewhere, which iI think is good. Buffets were beautifully presented and the food tasty, but generally set up 30 minutes before they opened. This had the obvious impact on food temperature that others have reported. We found that "warm" was a hot as things got, uniformly accross the hotel. The high-end Ku-Nah restaurant was tasty, but service was far from the AAA 4-diamond ranking they just received. Tempo--as others have shared--has the best food and a very stylish decor--service was good and the cost matches the long-held 4-diamond rating.

Service--We did not run into any of the surly staff others have reported. Everyone smiled and greeted us whenever we passed them. The staff in Royal Service were very helpful and accomodating. We are grateful in particular to Anna (our Royal Service concierge) and Marcello (our pool Concierge) for making our stay a true delight. They answered numerous questions and made excellent recommendations. We did get caught by the Sol Melia vacation rental "pushers" in the main lobby, but were able to decline after a few minutes and weren't bothered again. (Though I did find it interesting that there could be 5 people staffing the vacation rental pitch desks while 1 or 2 people waited on a long line at the registration desk.)

One MAJOR CAUTION!

This is an issue both for the airport authorities and the hoel. Prepare for your arrival experience. A beautiful new terminal has been built to receive most US flights. Unfortunately, immediately upon exiting customs your dumped into an experience that I can only call government sanctioned mugging. You immediately enter a hall filled with nicely uniformed people (dozens of them) "assisting" people to get to their hotels. Staff in the center grab travelers and direct them to "mini-desks" on the side acting as if they are "in terminal" desks for the major hotel. Before even beginning to discuss transportation, they begin to push excursions or vacation rental presentations. These people and not with the hotels and are not your friends! ! The more confused you look the worse it is. The airport authority, Mexican government and delightful peole of Cancun should be ashamed of this set-up, it starts your vacation on a sour note. If you make it through this space, you'll face an outdoorspace filled with other similar but more chaotic hucksters--and legit hotel transfer staff--all vying for your attention.

--Solution: Give attention to arrival/hotel transfer details BEFORE you leave. This service was included in our package, but I received no instructions from the hotel by e-mail. I finally called and was assured someone would be "there" with my name on a sign--it didn't happen. My suggestion: Call, don't e-mail, and get CLEAR instructions on who will meet you, where, and what sign they will be carrying. (We did finally find our driver, carrying a "Vacation Club" sign that I wouldn't have trusted until he approached us with our names.)

All-in-all, we had a wonderful time and found it a great place for what we were looking for: a quiet, easy place to kick back and do only what we wanted.

My husband and I just got back from a two week stay at the Gran Melia as hotel guests - room only (not all-inclusive, not members), at the end of March 2009. VERY beautiful hotel, inside and out, beautiful pool, lobby, beach (although some rocks in the water to watch out for); great maid service and perhaps best of all was the two person jacuzzi on our balcony outside with two nice lounge chairs. We used the jacuzzi a few times every day. (It will now be hard to stay in Cancun again without our own jacuzzi). We asked for a quiet room and we were put in the most southern of the five pyramid buildings, which was great. We were given a first floor room, we went to look at it and decided to ask for a higher one to avoid any possible noise from the road traffic (the road is a good distance from the buildings - hotel and road are separated by a green lush golf course so I think it would have been ok and quiet, but I did not want to take the chance of repacking and moving to a different room). It was nicer to be a little higher up just in case. We had a lagoon view room but the lagoon is so large that it is also a very beautiful view and fun to watch larger boats and small jungle tour boats coming and going from Aqua World in the distance. The balconies on the lagoon view side of the hotel had full morning shade (nice for a cool shady jacuzzi or lounging in the chairs to relax, read, coffee in the mornings); and the balcony had full afternoon sun; and at night you can see the lights of the town in the distance past the lagoon. It was very nice, it was ideal. Some of the larger higher hotels seem to have all gloomy shade at their pool most of the day due to their large boxy buildings blocking the sun.

If leaving and entering the hotel on foot (not in taxi or car), the steep stairs outside that go up to the main large pyramid lobby building were fun to walk up and down a few times but we were happy to be in the southern pyramid so we walked to the side of those stairs on a inclined sidewalk to our building from the main road, avoiding the stairs, which was much easier than the stairs leading to the main lobby building. The southernmost pyramid seemed to be a really good spot to stay if you are coming and going on foot often to/from the main road, and if one likes a quiet section. We enjoyed entering our building through the smaller breezeway leading to our building.

The thick cotton sheets on the bed were so comfortable. We just bought 400 thread count all cotton sheets for our bed at home and the sheets at the Gran Melia must have been double or triple that thread count, they were very comfortable. A high thread count sheet really is ALOT more comfortable.

The professional photographers near the pool at Foto France were a nice touch. Very professional photo session, the one hour photo shoot session is free, no obligation to buy and lots of fun! You come back and buy them or not. We did it, and bought alot of them, they were so good. She took pics of us in casual clothes, then down to the beach in swimsuits. It was very fun, very professional, and great to have so close at your hotel to do it.

The poolside activities were fun. The pool was so big and divided into different sections you could avoid them completely or sit near it, nice to have many choices of where to sit poolside.

Gran Melia, like many hotels, has a one hour time limit to leave your personal belongings while away from the large palapa beds or chairs poolside, which is nice. Many guests would leave their towels, books, bags, food, etc. overnight or before dawn to save “their” chairs while reserving chairs is not allowed at the hotel. After we waited almost two weeks for a poolside palapa bed or poolside chairs to become available, you can simply ask a worker and he will happily remove their personal belongings for you. Guests no longer need to wait to use the many vacant chairs or palapas that look occupied but never seem to be, just ask a worker and he will help you, they know how long personal items have been sitting there. A very good rule so all can enjoy the poolside especially when no one is using the chairs or beds.

Using the computers in the southern pyramid building lobby was a pleasure, nice surroundings in that pyramid's lobby, nice and quiet. The strong smell of citronella chemicals or some type of candles to fight the lobby mosquitoes was quite overwhelming. Computers were good and plentiful. If you do not have all inclusive, Internet is $16 US for 24 hours cumulative time – just don’t forget to logout. You can also use the computers to download pictures and burn CDs for free.

The staff was very nice, helpful, efficient and knowledgeable.

The hotel was in excellent shape, clean, well kept up, newer furniture, modern and nice.

The two worst things were:

We got very sick from eating at the lunch buffet at La Veranda, VERY sick for more than a week, happening immediately after eating there (it was NOT Montezumas, but something else much worse and much longer lasting). We almost never get sick in Mexico and we eat everywhere, so this took us by surprise. We were very happy we did not pay for the all inclusive with food and drinks. The most common complaint we heard at the hotel, (very often and from many guests), was connected to the food/service/quality/value from those with the all inclusive. We had no problem taking the bus to Walmart or to closer stores, to get all the inexpensive bottled water, juices, and our favorite snacks, etc. for our whole trip for the room, and then eating out in some really great and different restaurants within walking distance from the hotel and via the very inexpensive bus.

The raw sewer gas fumes/very bad smells from our sink, tub and floor drains in the bathroom, (which seems to be a problem in alot or most Cancun hotels), were especially strong and offensive in our bathroom every day and many days it filled our whole room. I always wonder why that cannot be addressed - never happens in US or in other international hotels. Best to keep the sink drain closed and cover the shower drain and floor drains with something tight fitting. For a 4-5 star hotel it was surprising how bad the smell was. It was the worst in the mornings for a few hours, very offensive.

Other minor things were:

The indoor air in all the beautiful buildings and in our room, seemed to have a higher level of mold than what we normally expect to find in hotels in Cancun...probably due to the wet soil for all the many plants, the koi ponds, water fountains, decorative waterways, which are in all the common areas. No apparent visible mold at all, it’s all very clean, just the extra heavy smell of mold in the air. It's all very beautiful though.

Our a/c was not working for two days, our water turned brown for a few days while they cleaned the system, we lost hot water for a day or so. Not that big a deal, but it prevented us from showering and taking our jacuzzi a few times.

Elevator was not working for a day or so. I came in exhausted one afternoon and a worker let us use the service elevator, that was nice. I first jokingly asked the worker to carry me up the few flights of stairs and I guess my humor did not come across in my Spanish and he quickly showed me the entrance to the service elevator, I think he thought I was serious.

No microwave in our room which we would have liked. No kitchen area at all, I think they were remodeling and planning to do this (as many other rooms had a nice kitchenette), but our room was not fitted for it yet. But for a 4-5 star hotel, a tiny kitchenette, a microwave at the very least, would have been nice. There was not much room to put our water, juice and food in the minibar since it was filled with their items for sale. We were careful not to crush or move their food items around too much as we used it to keep our things cold too.

We did the timeshare presentation at the Gran Melia - the one timeshare guy was very nice in the lobby and helpful with other things. We decided not to buy, but it wasn’t too bad to sit through. The gift was ok, but not as generous as other timeshare presentation's gifts. We did not appreciate the timeshare people calling our room. Most every hotel and resort in Cancun will have timeshare people in them asking you to participate. It’s easy to politely say no and walk away.

Do not put too much emphasis on the cons listed here, we just mentioned them so new travellers would be in the know ahead of time. Younger inexperienced travellers not familiar with Mexico might benefit from knowing what it’s like beforehand and not let the smaller things upset them when they get there, whether at this hotel or any other. The pros definitely outweighed the cons at this hotel BY FAR. Staying at the Gran Melia Cancun is an experience well worth doing at least once in a lifetime. It is a very beautiful hotel. The Gran Melia reminded me of the stunningly beautiful architecture of the older hotel at the point - Dreams, both hotels - dramatic and beautiful. Something about staying in a pyramid shaped building is really wonderful.

It seems the Mexicans in the service industry pay attention to and appreciate feedback, comments and guest reviews, constantly making improvements. One day in our room our maid’s supervisor asked me to participate in a short survey and answer a few questions about our stay and I did, gladly. That is a good sign of a business that seeks to improve and is a good way to keep the quality consistent and high.

We are very pleased the Mexican government put into place no smoking laws earlier this year which prohibits all smoking in indoor public places. Our stay this time was made even more wonderful by this new law, both inside our hotel’s public spaces and in the many wonderful restaurants downtown and in the hotel zone area. We patiently waited a very long time for the law to change in Mexico.

We would stay at the Gran Melia again for sure. It was the best hotel we stayed at so far over the many years going to Cancun and Cozumel. When we came home and showed our photos of the hotel to all our friends, they could not believe it.

Just got back yesterday from a 4 night stay at the Gran Melia Cancun. The Hotel is beautiful, modern and clean. Had a suite with living/dining room combo and separate bedroom with king bed. 2 lounge chairs, table and hot tub on the outside terrace. Food was good to very good, with a la carte choices at both lunch and dinner. Service, food, and atmosphere at Tempo restaurant are all top notch. Lunch poolside at La Perla was awesome - ask for Manuel, great service and personality. Ignore the bad reviews you may read on this site about this resort, we travel frequently and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Gran Melia Cancun. Yes they push the time share talk, but just politely say no and they will leave you alone.

I went on vacation to relax and get away from the cold canadian winter. I did not know what to expect since the comments I had read about the hotel were either very good or very bad.

The truth is the Gran Melia is a very nice hotel. Not perfect but very nice. The complex itself is beautiful and very well maintained. There is always somebody cleanning. I had an oceanview room which was great. The room was fairly big and the balcony very private. The gym is very well equiped and the spa is very nice.

As for the service, which a lot of people complained about, I do not have one thing to say about it. Everybody was very nice, friendly and ready to help. There was a lot of personnel. We asked for a blanket and got it a few minutes latter and we had a little problem with the toilet, called reception and 5 minutes latter the plumber was in the room fixing it even though it was midnight.

The problem at this resort is food. Breakfast is great. However went it comes to lunch and dinner it is very ordinary. We had the all incluse plan so we pretty much tasted everything on the menus. The buffet is generaly not very good and so are the items on the menu. The Sushi restaurant will disapoint any sushi lover. Mind you, you will not get poisonned or anything, it is just that if you enjoy food and it is part of how successful your vacation is don't take the meal plan or go to another hotel. The mexican restaurant was closed during our stay so I cannot comment on it. Tempo was opened and we went twice. The service and the food were good. Make as many reservation as you can if you are on the meal plan.

The last negative comment that I have is the beach which is not particular to this hotel but to every hotel in Cancun. The hotels are still showing you picture from the beach 10 years ago which does not reflex today's situation. Overall though, the beach in front of the hotel is one of the best we have seen walking back and forth.

I would recommend this hotel for someone who wants to relax and be in a nice surrounding. There is not much animation but you are only 2 minutes away from 2 nice shopping centers (isla and luxury avenue) and 10 minutes freom the bar area.

As long as you know what to expect you will have a great vacation!

My wife and I just returned from our vacation at the Gran Melia. I have to say that after booking the trip and then reading some of the reviews I was somewhat apprehensive. Overall our experience was very good. The hotel lobby and atrium is beautiful. The ocean view room was very nice and clean. We did the All-Inclusive, which for the most part was good but in the room we were allowed only four water, four sodas, and four beers from the refrigerator a day. There was a charge for everything else including coffee made in the room. The meals were good but nothing exceptional. The staff was friendly and helpful. Check in and check out was smooth and relatively quick. After checking in you are ushered to a reception desk and offered a variety of services in exchange for 90 minutes to sell a membership to thier Vacation Club. They are very persistant but after a strong not interested they leave you alone. We would not hesitate to stay here again.

This was our second trip to the Gran Melia. Again we were pleased with their all-inclusive package and the hotel. The breakfasts are awesome at Quetzal. So much fruit and awesome food! Buffet dinners are not as good as the buffet breakfast. Buffet style food for dinner isn't kept as warm as it should be for American tastes. However, dinner at the Ku-Nah and Tempo are awesome (these are "sit-down" places - not buffet style). Tempo is especially fancy and the food is awesome there! We also enjoyed La Veranda. Great steaks and shrimp. The beach isn't quite as nice there, since much (about 1/2) of the beach was damaged by the hurricane, however, we walked the beach daily and still believe that the Gran Melia beach is the best in the hotel zone. The staff was very kind and were quick to greet you with a "Hola!" or "Buenos dias." While laying on the beach, we were served food and drinks from 10 am to 5 pm every day. Our room was ready upon arrival and our checkout was a snap. Again, the only "negatives" were the buffet dinners. So many people have written negative things about the Gran Melia on TripAdvisor, so we were a little apprehensive about our stay this time, but we found most of the things totally incorrect. No place on earth with over 700 rooms is going to be flawless and if you're looking for that, stay home! We will go back next year!!

Thankfully stopped reading reviews a week or so before my trip - the negative things were making me crazy. Beautiful resort and if I could sum up in one phrase.... very zen like - the grounds, the furniture, the rooms and yes even the staff. I would agree that not like a typical all inclusive, staff are not overly agressive or over the top friendly - but for the most part do a very good job. Antonio and Leonardo were awesome at the pool bar.

A few seemed like they really didn't like their day but it is my experience that you always run into some of those, management job always to try and work with them or move them along.

Breakfast buffet - fabulous, lunch by the pool - very good (esp club sandwich) , dinners - so so except Tempo was really nice.

Pool area - beautiful, and the jr suite upgrade - incredible - thanks Mario at the front desk - we loved it.

Overall a great experience and while probably won't go back to Cancun for some time, if I do would not hesitate to return to this hotel.

My wife and I have traditionally stayed at exclusive, smaller (50 rooms or so) resorts in the Caribbean. This resort, with 700 rooms, was a bit different on a number of counts but is still a very good value and made for a very pleasant vacation. The hotel is spacious and nicely decorated -- clearly a lot of money went into the common areas. Our room was fine -- good quality bedding, air conditioning that worked well, and it was clean. The beach is, as others have remarked, narrow and rocky, so forget long walks on the beach. The view of the ocean from the pool area is gorgeous. While we've seen nicer beaches, I don't think we've seen bluer water before. Pool lounges chairs, especially the few thatched umbrella covered ones, go early. People are out before 6:00 a.m. to claim them. Service was quick at the beach bar and indoor lounge; poolside cocktail service was a bit slow so just go up to the bar. The breakfast buffet is great. We were all inclusive guests and we felt that the hotel staff conspired to steer us to the lower cost food options (meaning buffets) at lunch and dinner which were poor. For lunch, order off the menu. For dinners, we suggest you call and make reservations before arriving. If you are closed out on reservations, seek out the restaurant that evening that has menu service but doesn't require reservations. We dined at upscale Tempo which was very nice. The flagship Mexican restaurant was closed when we were there -- very disappointing. The fitness center was very well appointed and clean. No pressure for timeshares and no delay on check in or check out that other people mentioned. Yes, pay attention to the daily max on soft drinks/type of water from the minibar. We didn’t care about night life so were happy that the hotel was relatively quiet. We didn’t go off premises at all during our three night stay. In sum, the package deal with air, hotel, food, beverage, and transfers was extremely reasonable and we had a beautiful stay.

The Hotel has a lot of luxury in the lobby. Even more than Fiesta Americana or Dreams Hotel.

I stayed at the Gran Melia with my wife and my two kids. In general it was fine but they do have a problem with the Restaurants as they have too few people working. It takes very long to get attention. They said that this was temporary but who knows ??

The food is not great but ok. They also desperately want to sell you some vacation club time share, but I gues that this is noral in tis sort of places.

Aside form the shortage of personel, its ok.

I have just returned from 8 night stay and lets set the record straight for all the newbies who have not stayed here, from the outside the hotel has the most appealing look,, a waterfall at the front of the hotel greets you as you saunter by the par 3 golf course

once inside there are 3-4 front desk to help you check in, no problem here, as you walk to your elevator there is a huge open courtyard based on a japanese theme, hundreds of plants hanging down from the hotel, very nice furniture in the courtyard, in the rooms there are plasma tv's and marble all aournd the room, very impressive, the bathroom has the latest fixures and decorated very nice, lots of towels

, the 3 swimming pools are large and every one seems content to sit around the pool and not use the pools, a little cold at first but nice once you get in, there is a breakfast buffet at a cost of 240 pesos, very reasonable for a hotel of this quality

on the negative side, the gran melia is located at km 16, all the hotels from the westin kn 21 to the party zone km 9 will be on the beach with giant boulders caused by the hurricane in 2005, you cant swim along this area, all swimming is found on the north part of this strip, anywhere from km 3 to km 9

overall the hotel is great, there are no time share people hounding you, and the timeshare office is downstairs anyways far way from the front desk

a word of caution for people reading these reviews, keep in mind alot of these reviews may come from hotel rivals who only want business for their hotels and therfore write a nasty review about the gran melia, folks the hotel is great....

the bus system is the best in the world, 50 cents and come every 2 minutes 24 hours a day

Like the other travelers that stayed there late May, we found the hotel at about 30% capacity. The hotel had closed a few of the restaurants and some of the pools. To add insult to injury, they gave us a lagoon view room with two full size beds when they could easily have given us a single king size bedroom with an ocean view, which is what we requested when making the reservation. The hotel was not full, and surely they had those rooms available.

The timeshare salespeople were also a bit annoying and actually chased us down the hallway, trying to get us to go to their presentation. We received similar "service" from the bellmen that did not want to take "no" for an answer and insisted that we allow them to help us with our bags.

The grounds were well-maintained and the pool area was beautiful. The water is a bit rough, but very fun once you get past the break.

We stayed at this hotel from May 28th – June 1st.

Hotel was only at 30% capacity and that right there is where the problem started. We asked to be upgraded from our King-bed room (lagoon view) to another king-bed room with an ocean view. Told there was NOT any with a king-bed. Had to get two separate Full-Size beds. Once I found out there was hardly anyone at the hotel...I was ticked about this happening. I imagine the hotel only wanted to use a certain section of the hotel for cleaning purposes, but still...I wasn't happy.

There were a lot of things closed at the hotel. There was only (1) bar open outside at the pools (should be two or three of them).

Only two of the three pools were operational. The beach bar was closed. There was only (1) restaurant open.

The room was ok…I have no major complaints, but I do have a few.

The air-conditioner went down to 65 degrees but I am confident that room was no where near 65 degrees. It was a little to warm for my preference, but it was tolerable. The remote control for the TV didn’t work worth a darn and that bothered me too. Also, this hotel has A LOT of stairs! There is an elevator to get to your room, but the hotel sits on a hill. Going to the pool requires going down stairs, catching a cab or the bus requires using stairs…on & on.

We went to the restaurant one morning to check out the breakfast buffet. Since we did not go all-inclusive, we asked how much it cost per person. The cost was about $25 per person. A little much for me when it comes to breakfast.

Location:

Cancun’s hotels are situated in a “7” position. Those at the top of the 7 get smooth water with waves that rarely get above knee height. The hotels in this area are going to have much better beaches! Hotels include RIU Caribe, Fiesta Americana Villas, Intercontinental Presidente Cancun, etc… I will be sure to stay at Intercontinental on our next visit.

The Gran Melia is located in about the middle of the / on the 7. The water is rough! There isn’t a lot of beach but there is plenty to walk along or sit in a lounge chair and enjoy the sea. However, walking into the water can be dangerous because of all the rocks. The moss on the rocks is awful slick!

Hotel is across the street from a McDonalds, couple of convenient stores, and a place to rent jet skis, parasail, etc...(we didn’t go there so no opinion can be offered). We walked to the McDonalds almost every morning for breakfast. I love the scrambled eggs with ham mixed in!!!

As for downtown, the cab ride was anywhere from $8.00-$10.00. By downtown I mean where Hard Rock & Chili’s are located.

Other Info:

If you don’t go with the hotels all-inclusive option, you can charge everything to your room and pay at the end of your stay. This has always worked out best for us. Since we don’t eat every meal at the hotel and we don’t drink all our drinks at the hotel. Our tab upon checking out was under $200.00. This included our snacks from the little store inside (red bull, Mt Dew, etc..) all our pool drinks, and those we bought for others.

It kinda bothered me that the little pools/streams of water in the lobby for the fish was so nasty. This hotel has a beautiful atrium with a water feature, vines all over, and fish. The fish water was yucky in some areas and other areas had no water.

Overall….would I stay there again? Nope. Then again, I wasn’t that impressed with Cancun. I think my husband and I will try Playa del Carmen next time.

This was me second stay at the hotel, the first was a nightmare; shower/tub overflow water was all over room. That was 10/08. This second trip 05/09 was a complimentary of my horrible experience the first time around. Still having nightmares from this second one. We were offer VIP we got SST (Sucky Sucky Treatment). The two best restaurants were closed, leaving only the lousy outside dinning, the service was slow because of the HINI virus, and many staff members were laid off. At check out I paid cash but by credit card used at check-in was still charged which I am still in the process of dealing with. I will not stay at the Gran Melia again even if it was FREE!

i was at the resort for a conference in april. really beautiful building and the staff and rooms were terrific. the big problem was the food. it was by far the worst food i've had at a resort. being with a group, we were served everything buffet style, maybe the a la carte restaurants are better. just make sure you cut open any meat before you eat it. the outside of the fried chicken/hamburger might look cooked, but there's a good chance it's raw.

if it weren't for the food, i'd definately recommend this place. the food is a big part of the vacation to me though, and i'll never go back to this hotel.

I would probably never go back here again the food was horrible except at the pool but that is only til 5 pm the breakfast was great but who could mess that up. There really was nothing to do at night but stay in your room. Boring for teens I would not recommend this place if you have children not to much to do except the pool in the day. nothing at all for the teens to do. The beach bar was great but the beach area was real small, and the ocean was so waving and tides were high the whole time we didn;t get to enjoy it.

The hotel itself is very nice, the spa is amazing, the view is to die for, but overall I would not stay here again. First of all when we arrived we thought that we would be signing up for Royal Service we spoke to some one on the phone and asked all the details and explained we were Vacation Club and 4 adults. We would be staying in the Vacation Club Tower but get all the Royal Service benefits. Then we arrived and were told that Royal Service was for 2 adults and we would be charged double after explaining the entire phone conversation the woman we were dealing with proceeded to call the woman on the phone and call us stupid (in Spanish- -thinking we could not understand). So we did not get Royal Service...first let down.

Then we got to the room which was supposed to be a "1 bedroom suite," well I did research and I think the regular hotel suites were probably bigger. You go to a timeshare place you expect a "townhouse feel" this was a hotel room with a sliding door and then they called it a suite. The website says that regular hotel rooms have 2 balconies but the Vacation Club doesn't? The room was kept clean and housekeeping was very attentive, however there was a coffee spill (ON THE STAIRS!) for 2 days and a dead roach in the hallway for a day...it was not what was expected to say the least.

If you go to the fitness area you have to try the green chlorophyll water...it is SO good!

First let me start out by saying I am the type of person who reads reviews on things before I do them (movies, vacations, destinations, etc). All the reviews I read about Gran Melia had a common theme: nice pool, nice 'looking hotel' with good service but very poor food, poor all inclusive plan, and very very poor entertaininment/nightlife. On with the review:

Decor: When you first walk in everything looks great. The Decor of all the restuarants are nice, the grounds are well kept, the golf course is nice, everything looks nice and new. DECOR RATING 5 STAR

Rooms: The rooms are just okay. There is nothing that made me say "Wow that was innovative." You get all of our your typical ammenities though the mini bar is a joke for 5 star. Later in this review I will review the "All inclusive options" which highlights the poor minibar. The plus side is the rooms are clean, have a safe, flat screen TV with american speaking TV programs, balcony. The nicer rooms have microwaves, ocean view, pull out couch, etc. ROOM RATING 3 1/2 STAR

Service: The service overall was good. I never really ran into any one rude. The positives are that the staff does try to do as much as they can for you but with a hotel so big they can only do so much. Multiple times our old room service would sit outside our room waiting to be picked up for 24 hours - one time 48. Not 5 STAR service there. The turn down service, bar service, etc was good. SERVICE 4 STAR

Pools: The pools were awsome. No issues POOLS 5 STAR

Beach: All teh beaches in Cancun are demolished, small, rocky, terible. Nothing Gran Melia can do. Cancun needs to do a re-vamp of their entire coast line which we heard rumors that they are starting that this year for all of the coast line but it will take two years to move the rocks out and bring in more sand. BEACH SAME ALL OVER - BAD

Restaurants: For breakfast there is one option which is the buffet which is good if you get the fresh made omlette as it is the only thing hot. The rest of the food under the warmers is always luke warm even at 630am when they first open. Desptie the food bieng cold some of it was good (like the mexican food) but others were terrible (eggs, sausage). Lunch is good if you get room service or order from the restaurant outside which can be done from anywhere by the pool, swim up bar or going into the restaurant itself. The dinner is terrible unless you happen to have a reservation at one of the two restaurants. Those two restaurants were good but there were particuluar items that you had to pay more for even if you were all inclusive - what a joke. Pay extra $15 for lobster? I'll go down the road a nd get huuuge one for $30. Also, stay away from the theme buffet nights. We went to the BBQ buffet and it was (no joke) noticably worse than Old country buffet. I love BBq and the food quality was not only cold but it was bad - just plain bad. There is no way they have eecutive cooks working and if someone taste tested it I would be surpirsed - it was that bad.I heard from 5 people who said the first attempt they made to make reservations they were told they were full that dau and the next - same story we were told. Coincidence? Get this - 700+ rooms but only two 'nice' restuarants. The mexican one had maybe 12 tables, maybe. The medieteranean had about 20. For 700+ rooms that is nothing, plus they were never and I mean never 1/2 full. If you went and asked for one of the many open tables and did not have reservations - you got nothing. So it seemed like an obvious ploy - keep those out of the nice restuarants makes them more money. I must admit the sea bass and everythign else we ate at the two reservation restauratns was awesome. RESTAURANTS 3 1/2 STAR (because of the nonsense involved)

Drinks / Bars: The drinks are good. Might be a little water-down not sure but all in all the drinks were good, You could get Absolute, stolii, crown. j.walker, etc. Can not complain one bit about the drinks. The only downside is that they only keep one bar open at a time - for a new resort and one of that size - A JOKE!

All inclusive option: It is certainly worth it but there some huge missteps they took. First of all when you get there you recieve a room service AI menu which is small. If you want to order off the room service menu in the room you have to pay. The minibar is a fridge not a minibar. There are no alchol dispensers - I have been to lesser rated hotels that had this so that was a joke. Then they charge you if you use it, for example, if you put left overs in and they see it they charge you. Also, you can only consume 4 water, 4 sodas and 4 beers a day - particular brands too. You pay more for extra beer drinking, evian water, or any of the 12 deserts (candy, chips cookies), and cigarettes. So you pretty much get screwed on the mini bar unless you like spending $4 on a small thing of pringles. The buffet restuaratns were included on the AI but at the reservation restaurants there were things you had to pay more for like lobster. Again, what a joke.

Nightlife / activites: There were none. Unless you count between 830pm and 930pm when someone will come sing or play an instrument. Or the one hour of volleyball that only happens in the pool if you ask. Oh wait, lets not forget about ....nothing.

All in all we had a good time but there are way too many things that do not make this a 5 Star resort. Shame in Apple Vacations for promiting it the way they did.

Things started off poorly when we arrived at the Cancun airport and our luggage did not make it. It happens. We then get on the super long customs line and get out and we are immediately set upon by time share hawkers that look like airport personnel. Very annoying. Once you make it past them, we went out looking for our pick up. They are supposed to get there with a sign, but they weren't. You also have a bunch of folks there trying to give you rides. They all just keep asking if you have a voucher. I had the name of the company that was supposed to provide transportation, which was arranged through the hotel, so I asked one of the person there who had signs for someone else and wasnt trying to sell us a cab ride. They pointed us in the right direction. We found our ride and they looked perplexed and said they thought we were already at the hotel. Not a good sign. We got to the hotel and it looked very nice. We walked into a gorgeous lobby and see a welcoming us. There were lots of other folks also checking in at the same time. We booked a "servicico real" package which was supposed to provide us with special check in service. But we had to stand on line to find out that we had to walk down through two other buildings to get to the SR tower where we got our special check in. Very dumb to have a special check in service but then make it difficult to find where it is. Kinda negates the service since we had to wait on line to find it. Our check in concierge, Ana, was very nice and helped us get checked in and then helped us make calls to check on when our luggage would be arriving. Then Luis takes us to our room. It's a nice room, but it's on the lowest level and the view from our half submerge terrace was pretty lousy. We also find out that there is no beach any more. Not that it really would have made much difference as the water looked pretty rough the entire time we were here. The pool looked very nice, but the shallowest section was 5'7", so it was not good for my young son. We then tried to shower, but that was not that simple. There shower controls are non-standard and they actually got stuck. We had to get someone in to unstick it and show us how to use it. After this, we were able to use the shower and tub, but it was more complicated that it needed to be. That same night the hair dryer just died on us. The temps here get pretty hot and humid, so a good AC system is important. Ours was a bit flakey until we figured out that the high fan speed was not working and leaving it on med kept our room comfy. Not a really big deal, but not acceptable for what is supposed to be a 5 star hotel. Next morning we get a call letting us know that we have a welcome gift from the hotel. It sounded like it was the hotel staff since they asked if our room was ok, but it's really the vacation club sellers. Pretty annoying, but apparently all the hotels in Cancun do this. We've done a fair amount of travelling around the world and this is the only place where our hotel did this. They hounded us a lot and we had some time, so we gave in. It was a waste of time. The price is very high for what you get. If you put the money in a bank the interest you earn will buy you more, and better, vacations. This experience soured us even more on this chain. The SR package includes a buffet breakfast. Nice perk, but the first morning when we got there all of the beverage containers were empty. It took them a while to refill them. Some of the food platters were also empty. On the plus side, they also provided an evening snack time. They provide beer and self service drinks. The liquor was of good quality, but that didn't make much difference to us as we don't drink much. One day we came back to our room to find that person who cleaned the room pulled out the garbage bag from the can, but they left it sitting on top of the desk. They also provided sporadic turn down service. We were supposed to get wireless internet service and in room service. I mistakenly thought that meant wireless in the room. Wrong. To get internet in your room you need to either bring, or buy, a cable. Other hotels I have stayed at will lend you a cable for free. One good thing about our room with a lousy view was that it was near close enough to the attrium lounge so I got a weak wireless signal in our room. If we stayed near the door we could get wireless service. The only annoying thing was that you had to get a card with an id and code to use the service. I'm not sure whey they do this as the signal strength means you have to be in the hotel to get the service. One day after I took a shower I was drying myself and the towel felt funny. I flipped the towel to find that it had some large stains on it. There is no excuse for that. The stains were quite large and could be felt. It's towel they never should have put into a guests room. Overall I would say the staff is friendly and the service is ok, but not up to the standards of a 5 star hotel. After this experience I would probably not stay at another hotel run by this chain. Not when there are others in the same price range that provide better service, and value, for your money.

My viewpoint is that I travel a lot for business and I have stayed in a variety of hotels ranging from the Waldorff Astoria in NYC, W Hotels in Times Square to moderate business hotels like Hilton, Omni, and Westin.

What you get from Gran Melia is a good value. The hotel is clean and you get the standard expectations such as big towels, a nice patio with chairs (lagoon and ocean view standards) and a pool overlooking the beach. There are some nice adds such as a market that has a computer center and some good snacks (for purchase). I also like the fact the hotel is in front of a bus stop (one way fare is 75 cents) and you are within a few minutes of the locations you want to find night life.

Some bothersome issues is that if you need anything from the front desk be prepared to wait and wait...and wait. I have to say that throughout my travels of Mexico this is the most ineffecient check-in team I've encounterd. They are constantly on the phone or typing something into their computer but not moving people, which can be taxing after waiting through Cancun's airport customs.

You will also note there is some, who write about the vacation time share people. I believe these people operate under the guise as the "Vacation Concierge" located by the stairs. I typically noticed ladies working the area as if they were working with hotels about the people checking in and want you to go over to their desk to talk about vacations. We said no that we wanted to check into our room and as we were walking by the lady said, "Do you know how to get to your room?" I think this was an effort to get our room number and we just said, "No, we know how to get there. Thanks." We didn't see any more of this or get bothered. I think it was because we were watching them.

Beware that everytime you leave the hotel, you must again climb 60 steps to get back up. After walking so much the distance in these stairs can be the evil in your day. I'm in my 30s and old--so if you're in better shape this may not be a distraction.

We did not eat at the hotel nor did we participate in the all-inclusive, however we heard several complaints about both. I toured the buffet a couple of times and can say there was nothing appetizing I would have purchased and was happy I did not go all-inclusive. I also heard several of the all-inclusive participants complain about the way liquor was handled. Apparently, all-inclusive doesn't mean so.

We would recommend the El Shimp Bucket across the street. The price point is about that of Joe's Crab Shack, has a nice view and I highly recommend the fish tacos if that is your thing. If you don't like shrimp, this may be something to pass.

Buy all the beer you want across at the convenience store OXXO and families will be happy that the McDonalds and Pappa John's Pizza is also across the street. Downtown, the Taco Factory (behind the clubs Daddy O's and XX Club) is good. Average taco is about $2. Skip Carlos and Charlie's. The food and service is horrible. The ice cream shop next door had better service.

For a nice dinner, I highly recommend Lorenzillo's Steak and Crab. No liquor, the bill for two was about $100. I think the wine prices shocked most as I watched a couple of people surprised. The Fiji water is about $7, so figure out what wine would cost if that's the price for water. A bottle of Berringer's White Zin (retail at the grocery store under $10) was $64. The service was fantastic, the view was wonderful, and the ambiance and food was wonderful.

Gran Melia's pool is obviously chilled. If you don't like cold water this is going to be troublesome. The pool drinks are also quite expensive so I recommend that you find you drink at OXXO. No one gave us a hassle because we were not trying to be obvious about it (Spring Breakers might not be so lucky).

Given the situation with the pool, we worked our way into the Aqua Hotel where they have several different pools with various temps. If you can be confident about it, you can probably get into a different hotel. If you are bringing money to spend, I find the fact you can't use their facilities somewhat surprising.

I highly recommend the YHI Spa. It was fantastic!

In summary, I would think Embassy Suites on a larger scale when you think of this hotel. It is a solid value, a clean room, and a good location. I recommend bidding $99 on Priceline.com. In comparrison to other hotels this makes some of the issues easy to overlook.

Family and I stayed at the Gran Melia. It's more of a romantic getaway for couples and not so much a family place. It's very beatiful and has a breathtaking view from higher rooms especially. There were alot of Europeans and we kind of felt like minorities there. It's also very expensive to eat or do all inclusive, however Mcdonalds is across the stree as well as the shrimp bucket. Other resteraunts are both south and north from the hotel. We also found that we could pay for a day pass at other resorts vs. paying $ 108.00 per person for all inclusive at this hotel, you may be able to pay $ 50.00 / day at other hotels for a day pass. This is an awesome place if you have alot of loose change. The service was very good in regards to the maids keeping the rooms clean and updated. One anoying thing is that we got a knock at 9:30 pm. two nights in a row which is 11:30 our time. Feel free to ask me for pics since we have plenty, but I don't have time to download all of them. Also, make sure you take a day to go to the isle majerus. it was a blast and is beautiful. Take the bus or taxi to the furthest south ferry location to pay only $ 7.00 / person, otherwise you will pay double that or more at other locations.

This was our first time to Cancun. The hotel is nice, lobby is gorgeous...the water blue as can be, the beach rocky in parts but there were ample places to swim. The pools were beautiful and clean. The food was less than desirable and if we were to go again we would not buy the all inclusive package. Breakfasts were the best...but often the fruit seemed not quite ripe and the pastries were tasteless...but there were lots of choices...lunch poolside (burgers and hot dogs) were fine..but not every day. Dinners were not that good......we ended up going out a couple nights. I have to say here though that we never did get a reservation so cannot judge the two restaraunts that required that...we heard they were better. The one night we could get one it was just too late to eat. There were the normal communication issues that you have to expect in a foreign country but overall the service was fine..and people were very polite...only once did we have a waitor that was not attentive. It was a very quiet place...would not appeal to the college crowd.....they said it was full but there was no sign of that....lots of empty chairs all day long at the pools and beach! The rooms were pretty clean but not spotless! But no major complaints. The ads say every room has a view of the ocean or lagoon. Not true. It took multiple complaints and two days to the front desk to get our room changed. It is a large hotel so you do have some walking to do!! Also note that the "card" you get for internet use is only good for 24 hours of use and you need to log off the internet..not just shut it down or you continue to acrue minutes. You also have to bring your own cable to access the internet in your room (only lobby is wireless) and if you don't have a cable you have to buy theirs for $10! No one told us that either! Overall it was a nice week..weather was great...people that go there are nice...and other than the food...it was perfect!

Having returned from an 8 night trip we booked on hotwire and my wife being bitten by what the manager called ants. She had 15 welts on both legs.

I decided to Google "Cancun Ants" to see if that is what they were.

To my surprise and disappointment, the first link takes you to a review of this hotel!!!

Yes, the place was full of bugs. And they, as their doctor said, "Like Gringos"...

I never saw such little wayward moving critters cause such BIG marks.

When we found them in our bed, and on our pillows, we notified the day Manager to take care of the issue.

Spray or move us.

We left for dowmtown for the day and told them they could fumigate the place.

Upon our return at 10pm, nothing was done.

We called the front desk and asked to be moved.

After an hour of waiting and packing our things, we moved to the adjacent room.

They said this was a larger room with a balcony.

I asked, how can you be sure the critters aren't in this room as well?

They let me inspect and then we moved.

The following morning, after our shower, we found the bathroom to be infested with the little things.

I called the manager and told him to come to our room immediately so he could see the bugs we were complaining about. I wanted to know what they were. Besides the allergic reaction my wife had, maybe these things were toxic?

He said they were only ants. Since the hotel has plants on every balcony outside the hotel, and on every hallway inside the hotel, the bugs have a field day at this place....

He assured us that he would again move us to another room.

We packed our things yet again and waited for the next option.

We waited, And We WAITED, and we waited....

We called again and after some delays were promised that a bellman was on the way up to move us.

Again we waited....

So I decided to walk down...

This is not an easy hotel to get around in.

There are five pyramid shaped buildings. The large 8 story in the middle, flanked by two, 6 story buildings on each side.

The front desk is the middle unit, Building 3, ours was building 1, on the bug side.

So it is a series of slow elevators, serpentine shaped hallways, hidden ramps..(.be careful not to fall here as a girl we met at the pool had and broke her ankle)...

Back to walking down to get ourselves moved to our third room....

The manager could not understand why we were still waiting and said a bellman would assist us right away..

I wanted to inspect this room first and finally found it to be ant free.

He did give us a very nice room on the ocean side and it had a private hot tub.

I prayed that we would not see any more bugs so my wife could relax and begin to heal.

And also so we did not have to move again and lose this prime room.

(I did not say anything to her when I saw the roach run across the bedspread one night. This is why the top bedspread is the first thing we take off any hotel room we stay in. Beside the fact that this gets used over & over again...I saw an expose on the different stains found on these covers)...

We did get some steroid medication from their in-house doctor. And by the end of our stay the marks were beginning to go away.

We got a laugh by the restaurant across the street that has a very large sign that says, "BITE ME" I had my wife pose in front of the hotel with their slogan perched over her head...They need to switch signs.....

Things to do.....

The buses are an easy way to get around. Six Pesos on most lines, some were 6.5.

With our 13.7 exchange rate....that was only 44 american cents!

Take the bus to downtown, shop or eat at MARKET 28.

They have a walmart......Beers also averaged 44 cents each here and their deli department was amazing! 10 cents sandwich rolls baked fresh on site.

A must see is taking the bus to Puerto Juarez for the cheaper ferry ride to the island

Isla Mujeres. (The Island Of Women)

Rent the golf carts for 37 american for all day to take in this tiny little laid-back get away.

The best viewing beach is Playa Norte. Walking distance from the ferry drop point.

Plenty of partially clad females along the shore here that gave the island it's name.

thanks to the all for detailed reviews. First the ticket signing is the worst, you must sign for EVERYTHING, we saw servers chasing folks down who forgot to sign. Rumour is they must foot the bill if it is not signed, maye the reason for the bad atitiudes. The breakfast was ok, but lunch ask for the menu at the veranda, its not freely offered abd you dont want to eat the buffet as its cold and no selection. Also seperate the items in the mini bar you have to pay for, if not sure about what to pay for ..ask..we did..alot. Yes the beach is rocky but that is Cancun. Cancun has a beach problem. The pool bar and the lobby bar are not open at the same time..strange, one bar at a time, no beach bar although its there. We booked a 6 a six square deal thru apple and this is where you will most likely end up. Dont upgrade, the lagoon side was just as nice. Any questions i will gladly respond to. We are frequent travelers to Cancun and have stayed at a lot of different resorts, we wont go back here until they improve overall food and service.

This resort is very beautiful and the food is good. On the down side, we didn't like the new agey music that's pumped through the whole place all day long. It's also quite dull and lifeless after about 6:00 pm. The service was pretty good, the beach is awesome, rooms are clean, modern and really nice, but we weren't happy with the way we were treated by the manager at the front desk. On our last night we had no power in our hotel room. It took over an hour for anyone to come and look into it. We sat there in the dark with my son's little flashlight. When they finally came they said they couldn't fix it so we had to pack up and move to another room in the middle of the night. After getting everyone back to sleep we then got woken up at 2:00 am by security pounding on our door. They said their panel was showing an electrical problem in our new room. They came in to check it out and it turned out there was a fan in the bathroom that would not turn off and this is what was indicating a problem in the room. Then we were told we would have to change rooms yet again. We packed up AGAIN and moved to yet another room. After finally getting everyone back to sleep we get a phonecall from the frontdesk waking us all up AGAIN (the night before a big flight home) asking us if there was a problem (communication breakdown with maintenance/secutity people). When we checked out we apparently owed $3.00 for a bottle of water and $5.00 for a movie. We felt that after the night we'd just had there the least they could do was not charge us for the $8.00. I asked for the manager and just like another reviewer on here said when they complained about something, this manager denied that any of this had happened. He said he had not heard of the room changes, power problem, fan problem, being woken up by them calling etc...... He seemed to be calling us liars, as he indicated that he did not believe us. It was the principle of the thing, not the $8.00 - given how expensive this hotel is we didn't expect such shabby treatment. Also, I've never heard of a front desk manager who handles complaints simply by denying that there was a problem. Our family will not go back.

As a member of the Sol Melia Vacation Club I expected to be treated as I was when I signed up. Little did I know once the ink was dry that the service would dry up as well. The meal plan was very expensive and it did not include things like room service or certain meals and drinks. They were constantly telling my family "no" to requests for drinks or food. There are much much better values for your money than the Gran Melia. I will not be going back to this hotel.

Like anyone who dreams of a vacation...we hoped for beautiful beaches, nice hotel service and relaxing days. Which could have been the case during our stay at Gran Melia...if the timeshare sharks would have left the guests alone! What I highly suggest is after the check in...you are routed to a welcome desk with smiling folks in white outfits ...say "hello and no thanks". They tell you "listen to a 90 minute promo" and that's it...go along with your day. Not the case at all. 90 minutes turns out to be much longer and then they "reel you in, smiling at first, then when you show the first sign of disinterest...the razor sharp teeth start showing...and if you're lucky amongst the staged champagne openings...you may get the pleasure of meeting a guido/middle aged crisis "miami vice" manager who will sweeten the deal....but if you don't sign...believe me the guido and his lackies will chew you up and spit you out...to finally say "remember this is a vacation, so I hope I haven't spoiled it for you". My god, what the hell? What hotel marketing strategy would treat guests like spoiled sardines on day one/two of their stay? We obviously didn't want to spend a penny more at Gran Melia....the neighboring resorts saw our money. So my advice is if you choose to stay at Gran Melia...it's a decent hotel other than the timeshare sharks. The general staff, waiters and bartenders are friendly. The room is clean, and includes a nightly mint on your pillow. It's safe. Little for entertainment.....but you're just a short bus ride to the nightlife. I would have recommended this hotel if I didn't have the time share experience....but after that very terrible episode I wouldn't put a penny towards a hotel that would employ such tacky timeshare employees. When they learn manners...perhaps I would suggest staying here. But you can't teach an old dog new tricks. So stay at one of the other megaresorts...maybe they will actually mean "have a nice vacation and we are happy to have you at our hotel". fyi: our trip to cancun ended up being a great time, but we felt it was our obligation to share this review....

I'll start by saying please go down the street to the Aqua Cancun to enjoy a better location, hotel, and beach. It's worth the extra $40.

The service is TERRIBLE. I arrived at this hotel and was put into a room that was moldy and far from everything. I complained and asked to be switched to another room and was moved to an even crappier room with a dirty jacuzzi and rusty furniture which was a 10 minute walk to the lobby. I was so fed up they refused to refund my money and said they had to charge me for one night so they upgraded me to a jr. suite which was better than the rest of the rooms, but still didn't excite me. For the price you would pay for a jr. suite at the Gran Melia you can pay the same price for a standard room at the Aqua and enjoy a much better hotel.

I travel quite a bit and was so disgusted with the Gran Melia. I read the reviews and against my better judgment proceeded to book a room. Don't make the mistake I did. Find another hotel.

The beach was terrible with rocks and little sand area to lay by the beach and the pool area was ok. The front of the hotel is breathtaking, but that only gets you so far.

Also, you have to travel to get anything. Only a few restaurants are in walking distance and they are not worth it. Just do me a favor and DONT book a room here. You'll be disappointed.

If you're interested in learning more about The Aqua Cancun please read my review for there.

My boyfriend and I are currently staying here at this moment. We are extremely unsatisfied with a majority of everything. The service is extremely poor and very very slow. No one wants to work, they make you feel like your asking a huge favor for a menu, soda or even a table. We've been having this horrible sewage and fish smell in our room. We called the front desk mulitple times and everytime they have pretty much ignored us. Finally today they poured perfume down our drain. The room we are very pleased with other than the smell, the cleaning service is phenominal. Our bed is made 3 times a day and we get most attention from the housekeeping service. We spent one full day back and forth at the lobby desk due to failure in internet connection as well as room key malfunctioning. There is alot of walking back and forth to and from your room. We suggest staying in tower 3 or 4 considering it is in the middle of the hotel and most accessible. The buffets are not good at all. Definetely make reservations asap for tempo and kunah upon your arrival even if it is every day just so its avaliable to you, you can always cancel. Kunah which is a mex restaurant was open the fifth day in our stay, and we were told it was open. There is a lobby bar that closes at 12am but they start cleaning at 1030 and it becomes very difficult to get a drink. You need alot of people there or else it is dead silent, unless you enjoy that. We asked for 3 beers so we had them once they closed and we asked 10 times and the guy continued to sweep at 11:15. Overall, we would not come back to this resort until these things are modified. Quick notice on the nightlife downtwon, very crowded but if you go with the hotel it is cheaper.

Positive:

On the good side, the hotel has a very nice presentation in the lobby. They gave us warm hand towels upon check in, but we now see that was just a cover up for their negative aspects. . The beach is rocky in sections, but the water is gorgeous. If we can suggest one thing, it is to do this professional photoshoot thats near the pool, the shoot is free but the pics are $10 each, they are magnificent and will never have these kind of pictures anywhere else, especially because they place you on the beach and so many other areas.

Hopefully you will never experience the troubles we've gone through this week. And we also have check out to look forward to.

I stayed at the Gran Melia Cancun for 2 nights . I had to cancel the 8 day reservation. Service was horrible from the minute we set foot in the hotel. If you need anything there is nobody available to assist you . They point fingers and never take responsibility. The managers are RUDE and have no intention in making you feel comfortable or exceeding your needs.A month later i receive my bank statement with charges that are not valid i called the phone number that i made my reservation at witch is a toll free number . I was told that i needed to call the hotel directly in Mexico to dispute any charges.Its been over 3 months and still nothing has been resolved. The reservation manager Ana Laura Carrillo Olivares has promised phone calls but have not received one phone call from her. I have waited to write this review in hopes that something would be resolved by now. I hope you don't stay here . I ended up having to transfer hotels and moved to the Ritz Carlton witch only cost me $40.00 more a night. It was sooooo worth it. Service is amazing.