ACAPULCO Mayan Palace

[Zinjanthropus]

Hi we're traveling to Acapulco and staying at the Vidanta Mayan Palace in March. Just a quick getaway for the wife and me. The Acapulco resort map on their website is poor as compared to the RM and NV maps, plus it's in Spanish only and there's no legend on the side.

Looking at the Vidanta Acapulco map and also google maps;

1) Is that the Mayan Palace that's off and to the left, behind the resort?

D) Is the building situated 90deg to the ocean and to the left the new pool still under construction? What is it?

14) Are there Mayan Palace buildings with ocean views? What's your opinion on where to stay? Should I try to get an upgrade to GM? It doesn't have to be Luxxo-deluxo, super-duper-buxo. It's just us two, so we just want good rooms, kitchen with ocean view.

9) What are those small buildings which run straight parallel the ocean and behind the GM building in between the oceanfront part of the resort and the rear left part?? looks like some sort of residence.

C)We heard there were massive renovations two years ago. What were they and on which buildings? Why aren't there many pictures of any of this stuff?

6) If we stay at MP, how strict are they with the GM pools and other GM areas?

R) Beach Club?? Is that a beach club on the property like in RM? I see it in a picture, but not anywhere on their website map or in descriptions.

8) Ocean swimming, is it ok to swim there?.. every picture I see of the Vidanta Acapella beach looks overcast and cold. Or should we go to the Bay area where all the crowds seem to be?

F) Are there Bliss units? Or perhaps something else? I read where ...I think it was Pittle... who said something about a Mayan Palace Regency??? What are the different types of rooms and buildings.
138) Which building on the map is the Sea Garden?
A) high tech number system...you won't understand.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[Eric B]

Haven’t been there yet, but there’s a halfway decent map in English on trip advisor in the photos of the amenities. Looks like it’s just Mayan Palace by the beach or by the golf course, which are probably the ones you see behind and to the left. There’s a Grand Mayan and I thought there was a sea garden there as well, but it doesn’t show up on the map. There isn’t a Bliss there.

 

[jlp879]

There are three Vidanta tier choices in Acapulco: Sea Garden, Mayan Palace and Grand Mayan.

I also can't access the link you embedded, but in Acapulco there are three Mayan Palace towers: Golf, Pool and Playa. Pool and Playa are just west of the Grand Mayan on the beach of course, and Golf is behind Playa, somewhat inland.

Do you know which tower you're staying in? Mayan Palace guests have access to the Grand Mayan pool and beach areas.

Here is a photo that shows where the buildings are. Of the two towers on the beach, I'm not sure which one is Pool and which is Playa. Both have potential for nice views.

 

[Zinjanthropus]

Thanks for the picture. From Google maps the left, shorter Mayan Palace Playa on the left was still under construction. I don't know which building we will be in. Hopefully we will have an ocean view. Will check.

 

[Zinjanthropus]

This is the latest satellite image I could find via Zoom Earth. It's from 2017 and it looks like that other Mayan Palace Playa building, the one I mentioned, is still unfinished. I guess we will find out for sure when we arrive.
I guess they usually take long a time for construction projects. The Massive Puerto Penasco building seems like it's been unfinished for years, then there's the Buildings at RM which are now the Grand Luxxe Jungle buildings, and now this.

Looking forward to going there based on the reviews and comments I've been reading on Trip advisor. It seems that everyone is using cab drivers as their guides. I see many excellent reviews of different drivers acting as guides. Do they charge on a per hour basis, per trip, or something else?

 

[Eric B]

Just remembered that Vidanta has an app at least for iPhone. I downloaded it last year when it only had Nuevo Vallarta; it now covers Riviera Maya, Acapulco and Puerto Penasco. The app has a map that you can use w/gps if needed, as well as a listing of events. I was able to get a couple of dining discounts I didn’t know about otherwise from it on my last trip. Easy to find by doing a search for Vidanta resort app in safari if you’re on a Mac. Not sure if there’s an Android app. Have a great trip!

 

[Zinjanthropus]

DOH!! I forgot about the app. Thanks for the reminder. We used it all the time at RM. In Nov, there was only the NV and RM resorts. Now, as I look at the Acapulco map, the building I mentioned is just a brown rectangle.
As I type this my wife is scrolling through the various "nights" and happy hour times. She did the same thing in NOV... every day leading up to the trip she has another "we gotta do this".
I love it when she's excited!

 

[pittle]

You should have an awesome trip. This is a great resort.


1) Is that the Mayan Palace that's off and to the left, behind the resort? Those are condos and businesses.

D) Is the building situated 90deg to the ocean and to the left the new pool still under construction? What is it? According a picture someone posted, it is another MP. That space used to be 2 MP buildings with just 1 bedroom units. They tore it down in 2011 to build something else - once I was told that space would be a Grand Bliss and the space where the water park was would be Grand Luxxe. Since then, they created a new Lazy River and took a bunch of the space so, no space for GL in my opinion.

14) Are there Mayan Palace buildings with ocean views? What's your opinion on where to stay? Should I try to get an upgrade to GM? It doesn't have to be Luxxo-deluxo, super-duper-buxo. It's just us two, so we just want good rooms, kitchen with ocean view. Half of the ones in the tower will have ocean views. The others will have golf course & road views.

9) What are those small buildings which run straight parallel the ocean and behind the GM building in between the oceanfront part of the resort and the rear left part?? looks like some sort of residence. Those are golf course condos.

C)We heard there were massive renovations two years ago. What were they and on which buildings? Why aren't there many pictures of any of this stuff? Actually, the Grand Mayan Buildings are the oldest in this location. It took several years to tear out the old MP buildings and pool and rebuild the tower and pool. These opened 2 years ago and the Mayan Palace on the golf course opened in 2010. When you check Google Earth, you can scroll the timeline up and back at the top between 2002 and 2017 and see all the changes at this resort.)

6) If we stay at MP, how strict are they with the GM pools and other GM areas? In 2011, everyone could use the pools anywhere. I did see on the website that it mentions exclusive Grand Mayan Lazy River. All levels can use the beach and Palapas. The Palapas on the beach are nice. Be sure to have shoes if you walk out to the ocean - the sand gets hot and it is a long walk at low tide!

R) Beach Club?? Is that a beach club on the property like in RM? I see it in a picture, but not anywhere on their website map or in descriptions. I think the Beach Club is down by the Sun Market mostly for Sea Garden. There was a Beach Club sign near there several years ago.

8) Ocean swimming, is it ok to swim there?.. every picture I see of the Vidanta Acapella beach looks overcast and cold. Or should we go to the Bay area where all the crowds seem to be? The beach goes forever! The waves are sometime rough and the red flags will be out. They have numerous life guards. No crowds because it is a private area with not many locals.

F) Are there Bliss units? Or perhaps something else? I read where ...I think it was Pittle... who said something about a Mayan Palace Regency??? What are the different types of rooms and buildings. See the picture below. These are regular MP units and there is a nice pool and lazy river there. Shuttles every 10-15 minutes to the beach.

138) Which building on the map is the Sea Garden? The Sea Garden is further down the road on the opposite side from the Beach. They do have a designated Beach area behind the Sun Market. There is a trolley to take you there.

A) high tech number system...you won't understand.


This is a map of the MP GOlf in relation to the MP/GM area.

 

[Zinjanthropus]

Thanks for the answers Pittle!

The Mayan Palace Regency is what I was asking about being to the left and behind the main resort with its own lazy river and. It's off by itself and looked odd in the non labeled Vidanta map.
Nice tip about Google Earth. I always do google maps and forgot about the standalone application. Glad to know that the mayan Palace buildings are both relatively new. My wife and I were scheduled here on Thanksgiving week 2001... obviously we cancelled right after 911.
Are the Golf Course condos independent, or part of the Vidaverse?

The Beach Club is right on their website for Acapulco. ;https://www.vidanta.com/web/acapulco/pools

We're both looking forward to this trip for various reasons but the main reason is... My coworker who is the best travel advisor ever...just inverse.
He said "Carnival is the best cruise line and it's the only one you should travel on. You're spending all that extra money for nothing."
He said, "Don't ever purchase a timeshare from an individual, you can only trust the resorts themselves."
He said "When in Cancun at RM, whatever you do, don't venture out of the resort, so forget going to Cozumel, Playa Del Carman, Cancun hotel zone...

He said "Acapulco is a horrible place to vacation".

Can't wait!!

 

[jwalk03]

Thanks for the answers Pittle!

We're both looking forward to this trip for various reasons but the main reason is... My coworker who is the best travel advisor ever...just inverse.
He said "Carnival is the best cruise line and it's the only one you should travel on. You're spending all that extra money for nothing."
He said, "Don't ever purchase a timeshare from an individual, you can only trust the resorts themselves."
He said "When in Cancun at RM, whatever you do, don't venture out of the resort, so forget going to Cozumel, Playa Del Carman, Cancun hotel zone...

He said "Acapulco is a horrible place to vacation".

Can't wait!!

Sounds like a real know it all! HA!

 

[pittle]

I saw that Beach Club in the Mayan Palace group - that is new to me. But, I have not been there in a while and want to go back. Acapulco was our first Mayan World experience back in 1999 and we fell in love with it. We have been there many times over the years and taken extended family and friends there. We always went 2-3 weeks at a time, but went 4 weeks the year I retired! We like MP just as well as GM there - same beach & Palapas (that is what we go for).

Do not be afraid to order from the locals who come to the Palapas selling food to order. The prices and the food are good. They deliver it on 4-wheelers! My friend & I would order a meal to share and I would go to the GM to get ice for our Bubba Kegs (that we drank water in during the mornings) and she would run to the OXXO and get 6 cans of beer for the price of 2 if we ordered from the waiters. She would carry them in a beach bag. I had never done that before, but she is the most frugal (aka cheap) person I know! It worked and we had fun! I tend to order the Happy Hour special.

The Sun Market prices are fairly reasonable and the OXXO a couple of blocks to the north of the MP Tower is even more so.

The golf condos are full-ownership condos. So are 3 or 4 of the condos south of the Grand Mayan. They are part of Mayan Island - full ownership condos sold by "Mayan World". Mayan world is my term for all the Vidanta properties - from Sea Garden to Grand Luxxe and Mayan Island - they are set up to sell to various levels of ownership!

 

[Zinjanthropus]

Thanks for the tips. Your friend sounds like my wife!
Full ownership condos? cool. I guess that's what my purchase would have equity in...as part of the sales pitch, they said my equity could be applied to a purchase in real estate from them through Mayan Island RE.
Do you -or any of you all- have a favorite off resort restaurant? I heard the seafood is a must.

 

[pittle]

Linda Vista is our favorite it is next door to Sr. Frogs and is on a bluff overlooking the ocean -great seafood.. There is also a really neat place up high with phenomenal views of the city! I think it is Su Casa

There are lots of good Taxi Drivers that the bellmen can recommend if you tell them where you want to go and need reservations and pick-up both way.

Edel Genchi Palma was our Taxi driver. He mad reservations and took us to the restaurants and picked us up and brought us back. He took our family of 12 on a city tour one day and pointed out places for my grown kids places not to go. edel_genchi@hotmail.com 74-4588-2591

The nicer Mayan Island Condos are beachfront ones - there are about 4 buildings just south of the Grand Mayan. The train used to drive through their grounds and turn around there.

 

[JohnnyO]

Hi. Thanks for all the great information above which I found via search. We are going to a conference in Acapulco in Feb 2019. The Conference is at Princess Mundo Imperial. Only RCI rentals available there and not exchanges. We are trying to finally use up some of our RCI exchange weeks points since we keep extending them. The closest nice timeshares near there via RCI exchange are the Grand Mayan at Vidanta since we want a Beach location and hopefully an ocean view. Is there a difference between 82 and 83? Is there any strategy for getting a high floor ocean view as an RCI exchanger? Any other tips?

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer. John

The Grand Mayan at Vidanta Acapulco #6982 and #6983
Acapulco, Guerrero Mexico

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

There is no appreciable difference between the RCI codes .
Sometimes ne may have been used for developer deposits and the other for owner deposits .
Occasionally - one has weeks or room sizes ( 2 bedrooms) that are not in the other for a particular date - not sure why ; so it is best to look in both .

Most ( all?) Vidanta properties do have 2 RCI codes.

There is a resort fee charge - Vidanta Acapulco is $10 per person/ per day and 25 % of it is credited against restaurant etc. charges .
So 2 people will pay $ 140 at check in and $ 35 will be applied against charges when you check out .

I would take the room assigned at check in . If you really do not like it when you are "upstairs " - you will likely have to agree to a sales presentation to get a superior floor or view .

High floor / ocean views are probably held by the presentation booking person who gives out the room key bracelet . BUT - 3rd floor ocean view or non ocean view can be random - based on who checked out of what room that morning and what room was cleaned first etc .

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi. Thanks for all the great information above which I found via search. We are going to a conference in Acapulco in Feb 2019. The Conference is at Princess Mundo Imperial.
Acapulco, Guerrero Mexico

You are right about the great information in this thread .I thought that too , when I read it in January / makes me want to visit Acapulco .

 

[pittle]

Since you will be in a conference, I am sure you would prefer the ocean views at night when you will be there, but these will be hard to get in February. 50% of the rooms have ocean views, and 50% do not. With an exchange that time of year, you probably will not get the ocean view. But, there are some of us who like looking out at the golf course in the late afternoon because it is shady on the deck. Even though we can choose ocean side, we generally do not - I know that we are the minority. All of the units are nice and the beach and Palapas are awesome - that is where we spend our days when in Acapulco, so are ready for no more sun by 4:00.

It is a good choice or resorts. I have not been there since they opened the Mayan Palace Playa, but have heard good things about it. It has an awesome pool. The last time I was there, a friend and I stayed at the MP Golf and it was nice. We had to ride the shuttle to the beach each day, but it was fine. It was a "girls" trip to celebrate a birthday and we just wanted to go to Vidanta in Acapulco. we had a blast and no ocean view.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks for the perspective and information. That is what I needed was a reality check on my expectations and it will help prepare my wife as well. The conference doesn't start till Wednesday so we will have a few days to play before hand.

Is there a set of units that are best for the sunset? Sunsets are super important to us in honor of our daughter. Also I was reading the reviews and there was only one recent from 2017 so I will have to do one when I return. I also noticed a really bad review talking about major mold issues from 2015. Most of the other reviews were favorable and didn't mention anything about mold. Should we be concerned?

Thanks for much T-Dot-Traveller and Phyllis.

John

 

[pittle]

Thanks for the perspective and information. That is what I needed was a reality check on my expectations and it will help prepare my wife as well. The conference doesn't start till Wednesday so we will have a few days to play before hand.

Is there a set of units that are best for the sunset? Sunsets are super important to us in honor of our daughter. Also I was reading the reviews and there was only one recent from 2017 so I will have to do one when I return. I also noticed a really bad review talking about major mold issues from 2015. Most of the other reviews were favorable and didn't mention anything about mold. Should we be concerned?

Thanks for much T-Dot-Traveller and Phyllis.

John

Here is a picture from December 2017

The MP is to the left in this picture (the new large pool) and the GM is to the right - two large buildings. If you do not get ocean side, you can always go down to the pool or beach and watch sunsets.