# best rci mexico resort for young children



## Chowmainia (Feb 21, 2013)

Hi I am trying to plan a vacation for jan or feb 2014. My party will consist of myself, my wife, a 4 year old and 1 year old.
I will be doing an exchange using rci and so i was wondering which rci mexico resorts are the best for young children (i.e. lots of appropriate activities, kid friendly pools, tame beaches with minimal waves, and importantly kid friendly restaurants and food)

thanks


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## Carol C (Feb 21, 2013)

Royal Mayan in Cancun exchanges via RCI as well as II...but might be hard to get in winter. I  think kids seem to enjoy Grand Mayan or Mayan Palace in the Riviera Maya south of Cancun...the beach there is a bit scrappy, but the pools are nice and there are lots of activities there too. Plus the latter resorts are pretty plentiful in RCI for fairly low TPUs...these resorts bulkspacebank so large numbers of weeks tend to show up at once (so, look online often...and make sure to enter an ongoing search for a 2 br for your timeframe, by resort code).


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## PigsDad (Feb 21, 2013)

Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta.  The pool area is a child's dream.  The pool area itself includes several pools all connected, two pool bars, fountains, waterfalls, bridges, and an underwater tunnel; and then the larger water park includes a huge lazy river with a wave machine, two wave pools with zero-entry and sand beaches, a waterslide, and a good-sized kiddie play area w/ lots of water spouts, etc.

We've been there twice with our daughter and she would have been perfectly content to stay onsite every day.

Kurt


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## Chowmainia (Feb 21, 2013)

Carol C said:


> Royal Mayan in Cancun exchanges via RCI as well as II...but might be hard to get in winter. I  think kids seem to enjoy Grand Mayan or Mayan Palace in the Riviera Maya south of Cancun...the beach there is a bit scrappy, but the pools are nice and there are lots of activities there too. Plus the latter resorts are pretty plentiful in RCI for fairly low TPUs...these resorts bulkspacebank so large numbers of weeks tend to show up at once (so, look online often...and make sure to enter an ongoing search for a 2 br for your timeframe, by resort code).



thanks for the reply, I did just a general rci search (without any date restrictions) for royal mayan and it didn't come up with anything. I managed to find an rci resort id number 2694 via google and did a search on the rci website but was still unable to find results. Is the Royal Mayan no longer part of rci?

some quick reviews after a google search also mentioned that the royal mayan treated rci people as second class citizens and place them in buildings with parking lot views. would you know if there is any truth to this?

thanks


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## Chowmainia (Feb 21, 2013)

PigsDad said:


> Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta.  The pool area is a child's dream.  The pool area itself includes several pools all connected, two pool bars, fountains, waterfalls, bridges, and an underwater tunnel; and then the larger water park includes a huge lazy river with a wave machine, two wave pools with zero-entry and sand beaches, a waterslide, and a good-sized kiddie play area w/ lots of water spouts, etc.
> 
> We've been there twice with our daughter and she would have been perfectly content to stay onsite every day.
> 
> Kurt



thanks for the response, do you know how the mayan riviera location compares with the nuevo vallarta?

thanks


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## pjrose (Feb 21, 2013)

The Royal Mayan's RTU is scheduled to end January '14.  It's possible there may be somewhat of an extension depending on whether a buyer is found, whether the deal is going to include its sister resort(s) which expire later, etc.....

But it's likely you won't find The Royal Mayan on RTI for Jan '14 at this time.

The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander, sister resorts of The Royal Mayan, are great for families and kids.  It doesn't really matter which one you trade for, as they are attached and you'll use both.  The Royal Cancun, another Royal Resort, has a very shallow and quiet beach, excellent for very young kids. It is not attached to any of the other Royals.  However, these resorts have just announced an affiliation with RCI, so it'll be awhile before people start depositing with RCI.


The Royal Sands and The Royal Haciendas are also great for kids; as with the other Royals, the RCI affiliation is new so you likely won't see much on RCI for awhile.  The Royal Sands and The Royal Haciendas differ from the others in that they are mandatory All Inclusive for non-owner exchangers.  The others might go AI, but it hasn't been announced yet.


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## PigsDad (Feb 22, 2013)

Chowmainia said:


> thanks for the response, do you know how the mayan riviera location compares with the nuevo vallarta?
> 
> thanks


We've been there as well, and while the Riviera Maya resort is very nice, it does not have a water park anywhere comparable to GM-NV.  With that said, the Riviera Maya pool areas are very nice and we had a great time; the only negative was that the ocean is not very kid-friendly as it is very rocky (but the beach itself was fine for playing, building sand castles, etc.).

Kurt


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## pittle (Feb 22, 2013)

Grand Mayan (or Grand Bliss) in Nuevo is awesome for families with pre-school kids.  While you may be assigned a room facing the golf course and parking lot, but it will be shady in the afternoon and with small kids on the large deck, that would be a blessing!  There is also a dipping pool on the deck that makes for a perfect kids pool - it is about 20 inches deep but does have one large step/bench that is great for sitting on with the 1 year-old.  We took a 10 month old a few years ago with our family and he loved sitting on the edge of the wave pool  and also on that bench at the dipping pool with Nana.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Feb 22, 2013)

Chowmainia said:


> Hi I am trying to plan a vacation for jan or feb 2014. My party will consist of myself, my wife, a 4 year old and 1 year old.
> I will be doing an exchange using rci and so i was wondering which rci mexico resorts are the best for young children (i.e. lots of appropriate activities, kid friendly pools, tame beaches with minimal waves, and importantly kid friendly restaurants and food)
> 
> thanks



I doubt if there are any tame beaches in Mexico for 4 year old and 1 year old. 
You may want to consider a resort with stellar kids club also, which can give you some real vacation time for few hours each day. 

Consider: Crown paradise Club in Cancun and Club Casa Dorada (Dreams) in Cabo. Both have wonderful kids clubs and both have reasonable all inclusive.


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## pjrose (Feb 22, 2013)

sjuhawk_jd said:


> *I doubt if there are any tame beaches in Mexico for 4 year old and 1 year old. *
> You may want to consider a resort with stellar kids club also, which can give you some real vacation time for few hours each day.



The beach at The Royal Cancun is very shallow and completely flat.  

All of the Royals have kid menus with a good set of options.  Kids under 6 eat free at most of the restaurant theme nights, e.g. Mexican Night. There are also lots of activities for the 4 year old.  The kiddie pool at The Royal Caribbean always has parents and babies sitting on the wide steps.


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## Passepartout (Feb 22, 2013)

No one in the world loves kids any more than Mexicans. They take their kids everywhere with them. Mention 'babysitter' and they look at you questioningly. Any of the aforementioned resorts are going to work with the kiddos. I'm sure there are others, Many along the Golden Zone in Mazatlan have delightful pools- many with zero entry areas and broad sandy beach, though like anywhere else, small kids have no place on a beach without supervision.

Taking them to Mexico- and not sequestering yourselves in the resort- will broaden their horizons too.

Happy travels.


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## Chowmainia (Feb 23, 2013)

Thank you all for the info,
I think i am leaning towards a 2 bedroom at the grand mayan at nuevo vallarta , however, i can't help but be a little disapointed that there will be little possibility of getting a nice ocean view as an rci exchanger. Are there any options open to rci exchangers to upgrade to an ocean view via cash?
also, i noticed that grand mayan is not all-inclusive and some online reviews have complained that the resort nickle and dime their guests to death (i.e. charges for locker use, wifi, extra bath salts and bath oils etc...) and overprice their food (what resort doesn't). anyways, i was just wondering whether or not a non-AI at grand mayan is still more cost-effective when compared to an AI resort of similar quality.

thanks


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## pittle (Feb 24, 2013)

At an A/I, your kids would eat free, but the daily cost for Mom & Dad is pretty pricey.

At GM, they do not accept tips/bribes for an ocean view room.  Your chances of getting one would be better in January than February, because Feb is high season.  Even some owners do not get ocean view rooms then and they get pretty miffed if an exchanger gets one and they do not. We have the status that guarantees us an ocean view unit but often ask for the other side.  After a day in the sun, I am ready for shade.    The ocean view side decks are really hot and sunny in the afternoons.  I like the shady cooler side for reading once we come in.  When we take our family, I request a unit on each side of the building.

Room service is a bargain at the GM.  We use it quite a bit.  They often have a food coupon booklet that you can purchase that has better prices.  Ask at the Concierge Desk.

The kids pool area and wave pool are totally awesome for kids under 4.  You can get up early and snag a palapa bed in either area too.  It is just a great place for families with small kids - even if you are assigned a non-ocean view unit.


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## Chowmainia (Feb 24, 2013)

pittle said:


> At an A/I, your kids would eat free, but the daily cost for Mom & Dad is pretty pricey.
> 
> At GM, they do not accept tips/bribes for an ocean view room.  Your chances of getting one would be better in January than February, because Feb is high season.  Even some owners do not get ocean view rooms then and they get pretty miffed if an exchanger gets one and they do not. We have the status that guarantees us an ocean view unit but often ask for the other side.  After a day in the sun, I am ready for shade.    The ocean view side decks are really hot and sunny in the afternoons.  I like the shady cooler side for reading once we come in.  When we take our family, I request a unit on each side of the building.
> 
> ...




thanks for the advice, i really do appreciate it. it's good to know that food won't be a complete gouge.  i didn't mean to suggest that i would tip/bribe for an upgrade, i was just wondering if there was the option to pay the difference between a standard and ocean view for the upgrade. we have decided to change our travel date to the spring (possibly sometime march and april, but not easter) to avoid the crowds. I assume these months are low season or would one still need to wake up at the crack of dawn for a palapa bed?

thanks


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## PigsDad (Feb 24, 2013)

Chowmainia said:


> thanks for the advice, i really do appreciate it. it's good to know that food won't be a complete gouge.  i didn't mean to suggest that i would tip/bribe for an upgrade, i was just wondering if there was the option to pay the difference between a standard and ocean view for the upgrade. we have decided to change our travel date to the spring (possibly sometime march and april, but not easter) to avoid the crowds. I assume these months are low season or would one still need to wake up at the crack of dawn for a palapa bed?
> 
> thanks


March and April are prime spring break times, so lots of families have a week off and head to Mexico.  The two times we have been at GM-NV were a mid-March week and Thanksgiving week.  Thanksgiving was MUCH less crowded.  If we wanted a prime spot around the pool in March, we had to get up early, but at Thanksgiving, we could stroll down to the pool at 10 or so and still have a great selection.

As for the price of the food, we didn't find it that terribly expensive, but we made a trip to a grocery store the first day and stocked up on breakfast and lunch items.  We ate most dinners, a couple lunches, and various snacks / pool drinks at the resort, and the resort bill for the three of us was about $600 for the week -- and that included one of their special beach dinner/show nights, which were fairly expensive.

We never had an ocean view, but honestly I don't think we missed much.  We just didn't spend that much time in our room, so the view wasn't that important to us.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet -- take my advice: don't do the timeshare tour.  They will tempt you with some trinkets, but by all accounts that is one of the most high-pressure TS tours around.  Many people report having to spend 3-5 hours on the tour before getting their incentives.  To me, no trinket is worth that much wasted vacation time.

Kurt


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## mikenk (Feb 24, 2013)

At Nuevo GM, I really never have felt being nickled and dimed. There is a charge for wifi but other than that not so much. You can even take your own wine to restaurants. As Pittle said, the room service is quite reasonable.

There is a wave pool that has a sandy beach with light waves; it seems always quite a hit with young families. 

Mike


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## pittle (Feb 25, 2013)

Ocean View rooms do not cost more, but are generally assigned to owners with the most cash invested in the resort.  We own a total of 6 Grupo Mayan weeks and have a special designation that automatically assigns us the best units (higher, ocean view, etc.)  We can ask for units on specific floors or near or far from the elevator and those requests are honored.  

That is why RCI exchangers tend to get the non-ocean view units.  Sometimes, depending on how many owners are there, owners with 1 ownership week may not have an ocean view, or RCI exchangers do get ocean views.

We will be staying at the Grand Bliss this June using RCI and will see what we get. Since it is a RCI exchange, they will not know we are owners.   My guess is golf course, but that is fine with us.  June is not as busy as January - April, so we could get ocean view.  

They generally have the room assignments made before you arrive.


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