Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya or Nuevo Vallarta?

[Lingber]

If anyone has visited both GL Nuevo Vallarta and Riviera Maya, do any of you have an opinion on which property you like better? I have a ressie for GL at RM for xmas and an opportunity to switch to GL at NV. We have been to RM but never NV. We live on the east coast so NV requires more travel time (2 flights vs 1) and probably a little heftier airfare. Thoughts? 4 adults and two teens traveling. Thanks!

 

[Sv1plat52]

I went to the one in NV and it was one of the best resorts I have ever stayed at. The food was great, the service excellent, the rooms pristine. We are going to the RM next I am not able to give you a the full answer.

The beach (water) at PV is not as nice as the one in the cancun area, but you could take a trip to Punta Mita (about 30 minutes north) and the water is excellent.

The GL building isn PV has more stories. We stayed on the 7th floor. On the highest floors you will have some ocean view. ( From my research, it does not look like the RM rooms have any ocean view)

 

[Passepartout]

Generic Mayan question...

I happen to be at a Mayan resort now- it doesn't matter which. Nice place. Truly deluxe. Friendly staff, good eats, clean, activities, etc. etc. But.... They seem to have forgotten that they are an OCEAN resort. The beach is a 15 minute walk through buildings, grounds, pool areas, past guards. It's like they want guests to stay in Mayan's protective arms instead of participating in the very thing that attracts guests in the first place.

I know that it's kind of a rhetorical question, but why? Because they can, I suppose.

It's a nice place, near a very familiar city, and we will enjoy our stay here, but it's doubtful we will return. We happen to be in a 6th floor unit with an inland view of a highway and local subdivision. But even the ocean view rooms on the other side of the building are 1/4 mile from the beach. You're not going to sleep with the relaxing sound of surf.

Now to don my TUG 'I paid more for this T-shirt than my timeshare' T-shirt and attend the requisite breakfast and thumbscrew session. Oughtta be fun and get the week off to a good start.

Jim

 

[Lingber]

Now to don my TUG 'I paid more for this T-shirt than my timeshare' T-shirt and attend the requisite breakfast and thumbscrew session. Oughtta be fun and get the week off to a good start.

Jim

We stayed away from the presentation when we were GL RM last summer even though the incentive for a percentage off our bill was fairly attractive. I have read they make grown men cry at those presentations! Lots of horror stories about holding people "hostage" while they make you wait to talk to just one more manager. Would love to hear if you thought it lived up to the reputation.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Bring us some additional insight - read the tea leaves

I happen to be at a Mayan resort now- it doesn't matter which. Nice place. Truly deluxe. Friendly staff, good eats, clean, activities, etc. etc. But.... They seem to have forgotten that they are an OCEAN resort.

Now to don my TUG 'I paid more for this T-shirt than my timeshare' T-shirt and attend the requisite breakfast and thumbscrew session. Oughtta be fun and get the week off to a good start.

Jim

Dear Jim,
If you wish - please post some insight into Mayan World direction(s) after the "update".
I think they are doing a good job trying to better align TS sales and reservations
occupancy . Per TUG posts - new product includes " The Collection " and The Cascades" which are low mid price without the tie to a specific brand unit . ie you might be in a Grand Mayan in ACA but a MP in RM and happy . This fills buildings and prevents the scenario of unhappy GL owners because sales had outsold construction and owners were placed in GM instead of GL .
How Vida dollars / " bonus weeks usable on SFX or similar all work and are part of new TS sales still confuses / interests me personally .
Let us know -- and go enjoy the beach .

 

[Passepartout]

Done.

Well, right off the bat, they decided my t-shirt was 'disrespectful', and they'd end the presentation before it started unless I changed it. So I did. If only to save the benefits, shallow as they were.

Our salesweasel was new, so I spent as much time educating him about resale and TS in general as he spent drawing boxes and circles and arrows.

There were a few small lies designed to hold us, but overall we had our way with them.

They wanted us to buy the 'Collection' with Vida Weeks and no MF unless used, and reservation charge refunded in Vida $. For $96,000. Hah!

All in all, 1.5 hours turned into 3, and we left.

Jim

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Well

Our salesweasel was new, so I spent as much time educating him about resale and TS in general as he spent drawing boxes and circles and arrows

They wanted us to buy the 'Collection' with Vida Weeks and no MF unless used, and reservation charge refunded in Vida $. For $96,000. Hah!



Jim

That 96 K nets to 12-16 K(or better)based on a couple of TUG threads started in Fall 2015 .
there are no longer many Mayan's showing up for resale on E Bay . I only found 4 listed as sold between Oct and Dec 2015 They are out there -but not like 5 years ago . Lots of PB's these days .

If the salesman was not drawing (good) upside down boxes and numbers I personally would not buy ***
________
*** those who went to Mayan sales presentations years ago
will get this (joke).
Casey Owens trained them "well" in those days

 

[hurnik]

If anyone has visited both GL Nuevo Vallarta and Riviera Maya, do any of you have an opinion on which property you like better? I have a ressie for GL at RM for xmas and an opportunity to switch to GL at NV. We have been to RM but never NV. We live on the east coast so NV requires more travel time (2 flights vs 1) and probably a little heftier airfare. Thoughts? 4 adults and two teens traveling. Thanks!

Both have their pros/cons, IMO:

We stayed at GL Nuevo in Jan of 2015 and just returned from GL in RM. (we had done GL in RM in 2012 as well).

Nuevo Pros:
Lazy River
Beach that you can walk into the ocean
Bigger/larger kids club
Maybe more restaurants?

Nuevo Cons:
Depending upon when you go the ocean isn't as warm or as clear as RM.
Poor service compared to RM (lots of people were having issues when we went as well like having to call multiple times for the same thing, luggage not showing up, etc.)
Long wait times for dinner/food. Party of 10 took on average 45 min. before meal was served after ordering.
"Far" from town. I'm trying to remember how much it cost us to get taxi into downtown Puerto Vallarta (by Malecon area). Wanna say like $600 pesos for 6 people?

Nuevo Neutral
Large (can be pro/con)
"Ocean" view (I say that because if you look at the GL units only the small sides of the units are actually " ocean". The front faces the complex, and the rear faces the river/construction area).



RM Pro
Excellent Service (speed of things, getting instructions correct, consistency of service)

RM Cons
Ocean is not as easy to walk into from beach (you may have to use the docks due to rocks).
We don't care, but I know a lot of people complain about lack of ocean views due to building requirements being only 3 stories tall.
"Far" from town. I think it cost us 360 pesos for 4 people to get taxi into downtown Playa.

RM Neutral:
Smaller (we find this a good thing as "too large" apparently means inconsistent/poor service).
Jungle feel (we personally like walking on the paths/walkways surrounded by jungle type vegetation).

But I say try both.

For me, flights are cheaper into CUN vs. PVR. I like the Caribbean side of the water temps and snorkeling is good in Jan. In NV/PVR, snorkeling in Jan is not as clear (comparatively) and the water temps are colder (73 or so vs. 78 Farenheit)

 

[hellolani]

I would also add availability to that great list - I consistently see more and larger units at Nuevo, if that matters to you.

 

[John Cummings]

Nobody has said anything about the areas where the resorts are located. We have spent several weeks at both resorts. We far prefer the Riviera Maya because of the attractions in the area compared to Nuevo Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta is a lot more interesting than Cancun as it is a traditional Mexican city whereas Cancun is not. That is all there is near NV.

There is nothing near Nuevo Vallarta that compares to Xcaret, Chichen Itza, Tulum, Xel-Ha, Cozumel, etc. There is good snorkeling at Cozumel. Snorkeling is basically non-existent anywhere near Nuevo Vallarta.

http://www.xcaret.com/

http://www.chichenitza.com/

http://www.tulum.com/

http://www.xelha.com/

http://www.cozumel.travel/