GRAND MAYAN ACAPULCO - 1st TIMER WITH ??

[dreamin]

Feb. 10th - first time to a Grand Mayan, and first time to Acapulco. Some questions: Will a 1 bedroom comfortably sleep 5 adults? How far is the Walmart? Are there other restaurants nearby? Any recommendations? (We love walking, but max 4 km one-way.) What does the optional meal plan cost? What do shows at the Cultural Centre cost? Is there an extra fee for the Aqua Park? (We're trying to estimate a budget for the trip!) Are buses available to take us to a shopping area or do we use taxis? Is there a dress code for the restaurants at the Mayan? If we never get the opportunity to go back to Acapulco, what must we see on this trip? Cliff divers and the Cultural Centre shows look interesting. Any helpful suggestions would be most appreciated. For me, planning and researching the trip is half the fun and results in a more relaxing holiday! I have found TUG readers are so knowledgeable and helpful, and you don't have to worry that they are being paid to write a good review!

 

[pittle]

They only have an optional "meal plan" for breakfast. You purchase 7 coupons for about $12 each. It costs $18 if you just walk in. We bought 1 packet for four of us last year to eat the breakfast buffet twice - had to pay full price for one breakfast. I think they said you could apply it towards a regular buffet meal and pay the difference.

If you are at the Grand, there is no charge for the water park.

In my opinion, 5 adults in a 1-bedroom is "tight". The bathroom is huge and there are separate vanity areas and the toilet is in an enclosed space, so there is some privacy there. There are two couches in the LR that can be used for sleeping and one smaller one in the bedroom. Actually, I think the LR ones have more of a trundle so 3 could sleep in the LR. The sofa cusions were thicker than the trundle mattress at the regular MP.

Room service is more reasonably priced if you are on a budget. It is fairly limited, but we used it several times. We would order a sandwich (with fries) or fajitas with a side of guacamole with fresh salsa and extra chips. It was plenty for the 2 of us and the cost was about $15 including tip. The cheeseburgers were really good. You get a lot of guacamole, fresh salsa & chips for $5. Since that is my favorite snack in Mexico, we always added it and asked for extra chips. (We usually had a bag in the room just in case we needed more.)

Beer is cheaper at the OXXO store than at the Sea Market. We kept it in the frig and had a small collapsible cooler that we took down to a palapa on the beach. You can ride the trolley to the Sea Market and walk to the OXXO store. My husband did that, so I'm not sure how far the walk was. We also took a rolling cooler & he took it with him when he went so that he could stock up on beer & Coke Light. We only buy drinks at happy hour.

You will need to take a taxi most places. With 5 adults, it will most likely be 2 taxis. To take a city tour or cliff diver tour, you can ask at the front enrty. The bellmen can tell you who does a good job and what the prices should be. Many of the drivers who do this also have suburbans, so all of you can ride together. There is a driver namied Ismael who is pretty good. He has taxi #689 - he has a Suburban. Another one we used is name Pepe his taxi # was 881. pepemafia@yahoo.com.mx He spoke English very well. I don't know if he has a Suburban or not.

There used to be one restaurant that had a dress code, but it is not there anymore. We generally do not dress up. Capri pants for gals is about as dressy as we get. Shorts and shirts work fine for most any restaurants.

Be sure to go to dinner at Loma Linda one night.

 

[MLMarek]

Please double check about the Aqua Park being gratis.
We were just at the Grand Mayan 12/31- 1/7 and there WAS a charge for the Aqua Park. I questioned this at the gate, since I had seen here it was included with GM, but could not get in without paying.
Only my younger daughter and husband went in as a result
this time.
The WP is really only appropriate for very small kids. It's not much of a water park, any local park district near me at home has one just as nice, if not much better. This time there were very few tubes for the lazy river,everyone was swimming in the lazy river.

 

[OCsun]

Pittle,

Thanks for the detailed information both to this post and for replying to the question I posted earlier. My first trip to Acapulco is this Saturday. Pam