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Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya Info wanted please!

Lingber

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Just exchanged into the Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya and am having trouble finding updated info on the resort. The website is really light on pictures and I can't find a site plan:(

We exchanged through Interval and the confirmations says a 2 bedroom "MSuite". Does anyone know which floorplan this is? There seem to be 2 different two bedroom units on the website.

Also, I read that they opened a spa tower? Is this different than the previous units or could we be placed there?

Finally, what is the current pool arrangement? I read that there was a pool near the beach, is the rest of the area between the buildings and the pool just a large area of "jungle" or has another pool area been built there? I am having a hard time finding an up to date site plan.

Thanks in advance for the help with my questions and for any suggestions or info you care to share.
 

hurnik

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Just exchanged into the Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya and am having trouble finding updated info on the resort. The website is really light on pictures and I can't find a site plan:(

We exchanged through Interval and the confirmations says a 2 bedroom "MSuite". Does anyone know which floorplan this is? There seem to be 2 different two bedroom units on the website.

Also, I read that they opened a spa tower? Is this different than the previous units or could we be placed there?

Finally, what is the current pool arrangement? I read that there was a pool near the beach, is the rest of the area between the buildings and the pool just a large area of "jungle" or has another pool area been built there? I am having a hard time finding an up to date site plan.

Thanks in advance for the help with my questions and for any suggestions or info you care to share.

OK, keep in mind i was last there in Jan. of 2013.

Here's a link to the various floorplans.
http://www.grandluxxeresidence.com/floor-plans/

Note that in the Riviera Maya, the "suite" (the studio/smaller unit) does NOT have a deck/balcony you can walk out onto. The unit we were in was similar to the Master Villa, minus the walkout deck for the studio.

If you're in the GL, you have your own pool that only you can use (meaning only Grand Luxxe can use). It's right by the beach. They have a newer Grand Bliss pool (which you can use) also by the beach.

Note: The GL pool used to be heated, I don't know if that's the case. Vida took over from Grupo Mayan and I'm not sure if they made changes.

Spa towers are not in any exchange company that I've seen. Unless you get directly from an owner, you'll not be in there. And if you do get from an owner they're big bucks. Like $3500 + for the week.

There's a satellite map (maybe not from Google but Bing) that's a little more updated.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...C9DDBCF6771B8FDD5AD47A3F004E7&selectedIndex=0

Personally we just came back from NV Grand Luxxe and I much rather prefer the RM location. I'm not sure if it's NV vs. RM or the fact that Vida took over, but:
a) the NV pools were not heated
b) Nothing special about being in GL. You were treated like everyone else and there was no "pool" enforcement.
c) Service was very inconsistent and bad.

When we were at the RM, you had GL only access to certain restaurants/pools. The staff would see your GL wrist band and jump right away to get you a cart/shuttle anywhere, and service was much better.

Hopefully that's still the same.

The rooms will be very very nice for you. Don't worry about the view. I don't know many people that just sit in their balcony all day for a view (that seemed to be the biggest complaint about RM when I spoke to owners at the NV location is that they wanted the view--forget the fact that the views in NV are either the river or the inside of the resort, so go figure).

I would request building 1, facing towards the mayan palace. The reason being? When we were there, we were facing the opposite direction and there's another resort that plays VERY loud techno music until about 2:00 a.m. and you can hear it quite easily. Even worse if you're on the 2nd or 3rd floor. IMO. Some people can hear it and others can't.

Not sure which was worse: NV where the Santuario blasted music until about midnight (one night until 2:00 a.m.) or the RM where the other resort blasted every night until 2:00 a.m.

But then again I can hear ice melting in the bucket, so that's me.


--Kevin
 

Sandy VDH

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I was just in GL in April 2014.

If it says 2BR is will have the plunge pool and nice large balcony.

I found this website was more reflective of the unit we had, the 2 BR Luxxe Master Suite.

http://www.grandluxxe.com/en/riviera-maya/accommodations

You likely will NOT get a Villa or Spa type unit, my guess is the 2 BR M classification is for Master.

Noise didn't both our group, but them again perhaps we were making noise ourselves.

Don't worry so much about where they put you, as there are NO real views from the GL units. As an inbound trade I am not sure you will even have a say in the matter. Most are views of the jungle, I don't even think the 3rd floor units have any views. The shuttle service is so great for GL that walking a long distance is never an issue until you decide you want to walk. Shuttles for GL can be arranged to any part of the resort.

Just go with the flow the GL is a awesome choice. Only caveat, there is NO oven, just a cooktop and a micro wave.

The fish tacos at the GL pool are the best!!!
 
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pittle

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Could you please tell me which buildings are the grand bliss?
 

Lingber

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Thank you so much for the replies! You are all wonderful to take so much time to help answer my questions!

I see the 2bedroom master suite floor plan on the link. It looks beautiful! I am not concerned with view as much as the one rendering I had viewed showed what looked like acres of jungle in between the bldgs and the beach. It was kind of intimidating! However, the ariel from pittle looks like there has actually been some development in that area? Does anyone know what is between the beach and the buildings?

Also are all of the buildings are actually complete? All four? And does anyone know which building is the new lobby?
 

spears2008

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II Confirmation says "3S" Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I was hoping the friendly TUGGERS here could also help me interpret my II confirmation.

I am booked at Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta for a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, sleeps 8 private, 10 max, with unit "3S" on the II confirmation.

Does the 3S mean we will be in the Spa tower?

I am trying to figure out if we will have a dedicated 3 bedroom as I have seen in the spa tower layouts or a 1 bedroom adjoining a 2 bedroom as is shown on the accomodations page for GL. I've heard that each building is slightly different... are we more likely to get a dedicated 3 bedroom or a 1 & 2 bed lockoff? We are traveling with friends and would prefer the extra space of the lockoff though the units do seem to be very spacious across the board.

Also, I just noticed in the new II deposit, they have LK and K (limited kitchen and full Kitchen) options for booking. Is the difference between LK and K whether or not you get an oven in your unit? With a 3 bedroom unit are we likely to have an oven? I booked our exchange in November and can't remember whether it said LK or K at time of booking... I didn't notice the different options until yesterday for the new II deposit.

Finally, not a question, but a comment. Direct airfare from Houston has been running 1080 per person. This morning at 3 am I saw that it had dropped to $560 per person. I waited until a reasonable hour to discuss flight times with my husband and then tried to book 2 tickets. As I was in the process of checking out, the system froze, then said "tickets no longer available". When I refreshed, the tickets went back to 1080 again! so bummed. At least I have until June to find airfare, but I'm very disappointed.

Any tips for a first time to Nuevo Vallarta?

Thanks!
 

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Grand Luxxe & Grand Luxxe Spa

Room assignments are made before your arrival. Seldom are requests promised. There is a pecking order of who gets what, so as an exchange, you may or may not get what you ask for. If you buy, you may get moved to "something nicer" if there is anything better than your unit.

The Grand Luxxe in RM is in the jungle. If you are on floor one you may have a visitor on your deck. People have fed the animals and they do come for treats.
Only from the third floor can you see anything other than trees. The noise from the nearby resort is only a problem if you leave doors open--refer to previously mentioned unwanted visitors.

G.Luxxe NV. is very fussy about who uses their pools. If you do not have the maroon or black(spa) bracelet you will be escorted away. The only exception is if someone is at a restaurant in that resort. Only spa units have ovens and washer/dryers in units.

I would doubt someone traded a spa unit, but it could be a company week. The maintenance fees are steep but come golf.

Enjoy any G.Luxxe you go to. They are all about making you have a flawless vacation. :cheer::cheer::cheer:
 
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ilene13

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Thank you so much for the replies! You are all wonderful to take so much time to help answer my questions!

I see the 2bedroom master suite floor plan on the link. It looks beautiful! I am not concerned with view as much as the one rendering I had viewed showed what looked like acres of jungle in between the bldgs and the beach. It was kind of intimidating! However, the ariel from pittle looks like there has actually been some development in that area? Does anyone know what is between the beach and the buildings?

Also are all of the buildings are actually complete? All four? And does anyone know which building is the new lobby?

We were there in November. The new lobby opened the day we left, it is in bldg 4.
 

pittle

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Sorry to hijack your thread, but I was hoping the friendly TUGGERS here could also help me interpret my II confirmation.

I am booked at Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta for a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, sleeps 8 private, 10 max, with unit "3S" on the II confirmation.

Does the 3S mean we will be in the Spa tower?

I am trying to figure out if we will have a dedicated 3 bedroom as I have seen in the spa tower layouts or a 1 bedroom adjoining a 2 bedroom as is shown on the accomodations page for GL. I've heard that each building is slightly different... are we more likely to get a dedicated 3 bedroom or a 1 & 2 bed lockoff? We are traveling with friends and would prefer the extra space of the lockoff though the units do seem to be very spacious across the board.

Also, I just noticed in the new II deposit, they have LK and K (limited kitchen and full Kitchen) options for booking. Is the difference between LK and K whether or not you get an oven in your unit? With a 3 bedroom unit are we likely to have an oven? I booked our exchange in November and can't remember whether it said LK or K at time of booking... I didn't notice the different options until yesterday for the new II deposit.

Finally, not a question, but a comment. Direct airfare from Houston has been running 1080 per person. This morning at 3 am I saw that it had dropped to $560 per person. I waited until a reasonable hour to discuss flight times with my husband and then tried to book 2 tickets. As I was in the process of checking out, the system froze, then said "tickets no longer available". When I refreshed, the tickets went back to 1080 again! so bummed. At least I have until June to find airfare, but I'm very disappointed.

Any tips for a first time to Nuevo Vallarta?

Thanks!

We saw the 3 bedroom Loft in the Spa Tower in November. It had an oven and also a washer & dryer unit. They tried to upgrade us to a 3 bedroom Spa Tower building and that unit did not have the W/D, but did have an oven. Regular GL and GL Villas do not have ovens - just 4 burner cooktops, microwaves and nice refrigerator.

We stayed at GL for our first time this past November. It was awesome!! :cheer: Pass on the tour - regardless of what they offer. It will waste an entire day. Take a taxi to Bucerias and have lunch under a palapa. Vendors will come by and try to sell their wares, good food and cheap beer at most all the restaurants. We like El Chivero and Dugards the best.

I know what you mean about tickets! I bought our tickets for PV a couple of weeks ago for late November & early December because they were $150 each less than what we paid last year. Because we fly to PV every November and stay through the first week of December, we know which non-stop flight we prefer. We love getting to PV at 3:00PM and leaving at 2:00PM. We could find less expensive flights if we are willing to make a full day of it, but from PHX, it is 2 hours and 15 minutes non-stop.
 

Lingber

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Does anyone know the charge for a round of golf at Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya? Also any info on how far out to book golf and dining would be appreciated?

Anyone have a favorite restaurant?
 

tschwa2

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Owners at Luxxe get golf for free as it is a normal addendum to their contract. Exchangers do not. There is an owner on the Redweek board who has complained that this year, he couldn't get reservations for any golf times requesting the earliest possible which is 60 days in advance. He never had that problem in the last several years.

Located between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, El Manglar Golf Course is a par 54 Nicklaus Design masterpiece. The extraordinary natural landscape, featuring lakes and native jungle vegetation along most of the 18 holes, presents a great obstacle to play. The greens were constructed in a 1950's style that make them more complex. Our signature hole—known as the Donna green—is characterized by three traps, one on each side of the green, and one right in the middle, making it uniquely challenging to make par. After a successful round, head to the 19th hole—Green Break restaurant—for refreshment under the shade of a palapa.
The first tee time is 7:30 AM. To arrange tee times prior to arrival, email golfrivieramaya@grupovidanta.com. Guests may arrange and confirm their tee times at the Pro Shop or Concierge Desk. Singles are accepted and may be paired upon request.
 

pittle

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Not all owners get free golf. They changed that in 2013, we got a very discounted rate, but not free. It does not matter to us because we do not play golf.
 

ilene13

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Does anyone know the charge for a round of golf at Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya? Also any info on how far out to book golf and dining would be appreciated?

Anyone have a favorite restaurant?

We were there 11/7-11/14. I think a round of golf including clubs was about $59. My husband and our friend booked the tee times when we got there. My favorite restaurant is John Gray's in Puerto Morales about 20 minutes away.
 

hurnik

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Room assignments are made before your arrival. Seldom are requests promised. There is a pecking order of who gets what, so as an exchange, you may or may not get what you ask for. If you buy, you may get moved to "something nicer" if there is anything better than your unit.

The Grand Luxxe in RM is in the jungle. If you are on floor one you may have a visitor on your deck. People have fed the animals and they do come for treats.
Only from the third floor can you see anything other than trees. The noise from the nearby resort is only a problem if you leave doors open--refer to previously mentioned unwanted visitors.

G.Luxxe NV. is very fussy about who uses their pools. If you do not have the maroon or black(spa) bracelet you will be escorted away. The only exception is if someone is at a restaurant in that resort. Only spa units have ovens and washer/dryers in units.

I would doubt someone traded a spa unit, but it could be a company week. The maintenance fees are steep but come golf.

Enjoy any G.Luxxe you go to. They are all about making you have a flawless vacation. :cheer::cheer::cheer:

Wow, your experience is almost 100% opposite of ours. GM NV had no pool enforcement at all. People from GM/GB freely visited our pool. 70% of the time there was nobody even there to do any enforcement unless you stopped at the towel place. RM location on the other hand....

As for the noise in the RM, the backside of our windows faced the resort, and we heard many complaints from other people on our "wing" as well as to the loudness of the resort, and the concierge admitted that it was a problem.

I'll be posting my review on TP shortly, but the NV location had much worse quality of service for us vs. RM (but again, 2 years can make a difference). We don't know if it's due to the NV location being so much larger, or due to Vidanta taking over from Grupo Mayan. I know I talked to a lot of owners at NV and there were a LOT of complaints as well about service quality, etc.

The furnishings at both resorts are awesome, and we didn't have a bad time, just that when there was such a stark difference (and you heard similar complaints during the week) you have to wonder what caused the change.
 

pittle

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I'll be posting my review on TP shortly, but the NV location had much worse quality of service for us vs. RM (but again, 2 years can make a difference). We don't know if it's due to the NV location being so much larger, or due to Vidanta taking over from Grupo Mayan.

Vidanta did not take over Grupo Mayan, it was just another name change a few years ago. Since we have been owners, the name has been Vidafel, then Mayan Resorts, then Grupo Mayan, and now it is Vidanta. I just call it Mayan World. Our GL contact liked that name and I told him that maybe I would patent it and they could pay me to use it. :)
 

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Map of Grand Luxxe RM

Emailed the concierge and received this updated site plan of the Riviera Maya property. Thought I would share (if the upload works ;)). Looks like there is a pretty dense jungle in front of Grand Luxxe. Does it feel that way in person?
 

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transferred to New Thread
 
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irishween

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Does anyone know how many of the Grand Bliss buildings are open? Also, the map shows what looks like a lazy river by The Bliss building. Is that actually there?
 

Sandy VDH

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Emailed the concierge and received this updated site plan of the Riviera Maya property. Thought I would share (if the upload works ;)). Looks like there is a pretty dense jungle in front of Grand Luxxe. Does it feel that way in person?

The jungle is pretty dense. There is a cart path, which you can also walk down, that runs behind the Mayan Palace section. This is the path the cart takes to bring you to the GL Pool or the beach.

I would not walk through the jungle. There is no real path that I noticed.
 

pittle

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Does anyone know how many of the Grand Bliss buildings are open? Also, the map shows what looks like a lazy river by The Bliss building. Is that actually there?

There is just 1 Grand Bliss Building #5 - the other building nearby is the building that houses offices, and laundry. There is at least 1 and maybe 3 Bliss Buildings see #9. The lazy river that you see behind the Bliss and between the MP and the uncompleted (greyed out) MP buildings has not opened that I know of. It has been in the works for about 8 years now. I saw it back in February 2007 and it looked almost ready to go then.
 

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There is just 1 Grand Bliss Building #5 - the other building nearby is the building that houses offices, and laundry. There is at least 1 and maybe 3 Bliss Buildings see #9. The lazy river that you see behind the Bliss and between the MP and the uncompleted (greyed out) MP buildings has not opened that I know of. It has been in the works for about 8 years now. I saw it back in February 2007 and it looked almost ready to go then.

For what its worth, I was there June 2014 and took pictures of the "lazy river". This is an abandoned project. The brown water and over grown vegetation is a sign that they (Vida) needs to take a bulldozer to the area. There is temporary wood fence hiding the area. I crawled back there and its awful.

Since Vida is doing so much renovations in Acapulco and RM, why not do something with the lazy river area? I guess Joya is probably taking all of their attention.
 

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The jungle is pretty dense. There is a cart path, which you can also walk down, that runs behind the Mayan Palace section. This is the path the cart takes to bring you to the GL Pool or the beach.

I would not walk through the jungle. There is no real path that I noticed.

While we were there in November they were building walkways like at the NV property. The day before we left you could walk on the pathway from GL 2 to the GL pool. We are going back in March and I am looking forward to walking.

Has anyone eaten at the new French restauant and at Nektar near the Circque de Soliel show?
 

Lingber

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While we were there in November they were building walkways like at the NV property. The day before we left you could walk on the pathway from GL 2 to the GL pool. We are going back in March and I am looking forward to walking.

Has anyone eaten at the new French restauant and at Nektar near the Circque de Soliel show?

Hi ilene13,

I look forward to hearing about your trip! If you have a chance please inquire about the completion date of the new GL gym. Thanks so much! :clap:
 

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Relax, you have made a great choice with the msuite at RM.

The best way to describe it is a one bedroom attached to
a massive one bedroom. Seemingly endless balcony with
a dipping pool.

Maid service twice a day and a great shuttle service.

If you drive, see coba, tulum and its an easy 2 hour drive
to chitanita (sp).

Your gonna love it there, I think its a total of about
2700 square feet of luxury.
 
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