Mayan Palace Resorts

[rwptucson]

Mayan Palace Resort Info For posting of any information related to the eight Mayan Locations

 

[Parkplace]

Parkplace

Just trying out our new system. It will take some time to adjust I think. I miss the section that took me directly to the topics of the day. I hope that will appear at some point.

We are going to Mazatlan Sea Gardens starting Nov. 11th. Is anyone else going to be there at that time?

 

[wise one]

We are headed for a week at Mayan Palace Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, 6/12. Then we are at Rancho Bandaras for a week and will be back late on 6/26. Will make a report when we return.

 

[Sandy]

Great

I see a new section just for Mayan resorts. I will take my first trip next March to the one in Cancun, Mayan Palace.

I only have a hotel unit, but that was all that was offered. I understand that if I sign up for a tour they might upgrade me to a one bedroom for no charge. Is this true?

Also, I have been curious about the pricing for these units. I see some on ebay occassionally, but the prices are all over the place. For example, there was a hotel unit for $99 buy it now, and other, larger units have gone for much higher.

Anyone have an opinon on a $99 hotel unit (with significant closing costs amounting to about $900 total, if I recall) So a hotel unit at the Mayan in Cancun for unde $1000. Is it worth it?

Or should I wait and see the place, maybe even like the larger units instead.

I guess I just have itchy timeshare fingers, always looking for that good deal.

Thanks
Sandy

 

[moeh]

Hotel unit (or lockout)

I saw one go on ebay the other day for $1.00!

However, I spent a little more than that - bought one on ebay for $500, to use in conjunction with my one-bedroom unit to convert it to a two-bedroom. Worked fine for that, but in itself it is strictly a hotel unit - two double beds and a nice bathroom, but no kitchen.

 

[Monica]

Where is the section?

I see a new section just for Mayan resorts.

I can't find the section. Where is it?

 

[Sandy]

My mistake on "new section"

Oops, I thought this was an entire new section. I see now that it is only a thread under Mexico. I am not used to this new TUG board, it will take some time!

Sandy

 

[DorotaG]

Just came back from Riviera Maya!

We just came back last Sunday and I tell you, it was one of the best vacations ever! My kids (11 and almost 5) are begging me to buy a timeshare there. We had a car and I recommend it unless you are not planning to leave the resort. The resort is beautiful, swimming pool out of this world, service outstanding (we never had anybody ask us for a tour after we said "no" at the check-in). Not everybody speaks English, but they all try their best.
We were staying in Grand Mayan in 1 bdrm. sleeps 5, but I think you could sleep about 8 there easily...
By the way we went to visit friends in Royal Caribbean and I was not impressed, I think I expected to be a class above a Palace resorts and found it a little less impresive. I would choose Mayan Palace hands down, unless I was in party mood. There is more walking in Mayan, but it was not a problem for us at all.
I will be watching e-bay closely...

 

[Parkplace]

Wish I knew how to navigate ebay

We are MP owners. Bought it the 'school of hard knocks' way. When I read you buying units for $99 or $1.00 it makes my tummy tickle!

Wishing I knew how to use ebay.

One good thing about buying an expensive timeshare is that we are vacationing like never before!

I hope that this new section on MP owners only will be valuable sharing section.

 

[Parkplace]

Oop! Misread it - its not just for MP owners



Sorry - I mis-read the section. Its regarding MP - not just for MP owners.
Nevertheless, thanks for this segment.

 

[cycart]

Mayan Palace vs Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta

Hi Everyone-I have a confirmed week with RCI for a hotel unit at Mayan Palace NV in July (traded w/a 1 BR at Kingsgate). I have heard that guests are being automatically upgraded to Grand Mayan. Do I need to attend a timeshare presentation to get the upgrade? From reviews I have read, it sounds like I WANT the upgrade but don't want to attend the presentation. It would be nice to have a kitchen and the lazy river sounds heavenly. My husband and I are going without our 3 kids and are just looking to RELAX. He had gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago and has minimal appetite so having the kitchen would be a big help. Do you think I could upgrade to a unit w/a kitchen if I only have a hotel unit? Is it true that GM guests can use facilities at MP and Sea Garden but not vice versa? Thanks in advance to all your replies!

 

[Sandy]

We just came back last Sunday and I tell you, it was one of the best vacations ever! My kids (11 and almost 5) are begging me to buy a timeshare there. We had a car and I recommend it unless you are not planning to leave the resort. The resort is beautiful, swimming pool out of this world, service outstanding (we never had anybody ask us for a tour after we said "no" at the check-in). Not everybody speaks English, but they all try their best.
We were staying in Grand Mayan in 1 bdrm. sleeps 5, but I think you could sleep about 8 there easily...
By the way we went to visit friends in Royal Caribbean and I was not impressed, I think I expected to be a class above a Palace resorts and found it a little less impresive. I would choose Mayan Palace hands down, unless I was in party mood. There is more walking in Mayan, but it was not a problem for us at all.
I will be watching e-bay closely...

Good to hear that positive report. I am also interested in the comparison between the Mayan and the Royals. We stayed at a Royal in Cancun about 8 years ago and it was great. But now we have a hotel unit at the Mayan Palace next March.

Were they offering an upgrade to a larger room if you took a tour?
Thanks!

 

[Sandy]

I saw the MP units for low pricing on ebay. A good friend just bought an every-other-year unit, but I am not sure what size.
The one on ebay I saw was a hotel unit and I am not sure whether it would be worth pursuing. I will probably just wait until I see the resort to determine whether it is a good purchase. Since they are going to have hundreds of units there, resales should be brisk.

 

[BarCol]

Mayan Palace Resort Info For posting of any information related to the seven Mayan Locations

Where is this section - I must be both blind and dumb as a post???????

 

[Karen G]

Mayan Palace thread

Barb, you are actually in the Mayan Palace section right now! It is this thread. This is actually a nice idea because we won't have to prune the bbs as often as we did on the old board. People can post Mayan Palace info right here and it will all be in this one place. Later, if we have to prune the board, this long thread could be moved to the Archives.

One nice feature of this new board is the ability to easily search on each forum. If you look at the opening page for the Mexico forum, on the blue bar over to the right is a box you can click to 'Search This Forum.' When you click it, a box drops down and you can type in what you are looking for.

Should this Mayan Palace thread sink further down as new, unrelated posts are added to the forum, one could search for Mayan Palace and find it easily.

 

[BarCol]

DUH..than thanks Karen..like I said blind and dumb....

 

[pittle]

Sandy - whatever you do, do NOT buy from the Mayan Palace when you are there. Continue watching eBay. We did buy from the MP in 1999, and bought the exact same thing last year for less than 20% of what we paid for the one at the MP. (At least the price for 2 weeks with VF weeks is reasonable now.)

Anyway, also watch for ones that were originally purchased before August 2001. Those are not subject to the 10% of the original purchase price transfer fee. The transfer fees for those is the current year's maintenance fee. (That is why some have $455 for transfer fees and others have $1500-2500 for transfer fees.) FYI - VF (Vacation Fair) is an option that most MP units have - you can have a 2nd week each year for the price of an extra maintenance fee.

You will love staying at a Mayan Palace. We have been to the ones in Acapulco, PV, and Nuevo. For Thanksgiving this year, we have 3 two bedroom units reserved for our family. We are looking forward to a wonderful family vacation.

Cycart - take your own tube to use in the lazy rivier. They do not provide them at the Grand Mayan in NV. When we were there in February, the regular MP guests were allowed to use the lazy river. I do not know if that is still the case. It looked like regular MP guests would be able to use the new zero entrance pool by the beach walk too. It did not have an entrance and place to pay like the water park at the MP in ACA.

 

[JEFF H]

Mayan Palace is very easy for me to exchange into using low cost weeks I have on deposit with RCI. The 1 in 4 rule prevents doing that each year unless your a MP owner.
I would Buy a cheap Mayan Palace week and then I can exchange in with my lower maintenance fee weeks.

Im not really a huge fan of Mayan Palace resorts for a few reasons.
They tend to pick isolated locations where they can purchase land cheaper.
The units at the Resorts I have been lack a oceanview and/or have a small balcony.
Tiny almost useless kitchens is another disadvantage.
I like to prepare and eat meals on a oceanview balcony.
The pools and public areas are awesum however so I have a love hate relationship with MP.

 

[VacationLover]

I am very glad to see this section. Actually, my friend is the owner, but she is not a member of TUG.

Our first experience to a Mayan Palace was back in October 2002 at the one in Puerto Vallarta. I had a Bonus certificate with RCI and took her with me. It was a great week; loved the resort; and loved being close to the Marina and downtown. Well, to say the least, she bought in, but got a studio resale after quite a bit of bargaining.

Our next trip was after Thanksgiving in 2003. We went to the Riviera Maya. Wow, what a difference from PV. The resort was huge! It was a small inconvenience not having kitchen facilities, but the food at the resort was wonderful, plus we did room service a couple of times. During our stay we went to a presentation and she upgraded to a studio at the Grand Mayan. We also were upgraded to a 1 bedroom for the rest of our stay. Except for the fact you are far away from a lot of things, I really, really enjoyed this location.

Last year (2004) she upgraded our stay at Nuevo Vallrata to a GM 1 one bedroom for the week as she invited her sister also. Yes, the GM is top of the line and we did enjoy our unit, but everything at the resort just seemed to far away. I guess it would not have seemed so bad if there were more sidewalks or paths that went from the GM to the Mayan. Also, I found the food more expensive and I personally did not like it as well. Again, we went to a presentation, but this time she exchanged her GM studio to a 1 bedroom Mayan. She felt the Mayan is very nice and did not feel that the extra maint. fees for a GM studio was worth it.

Well, now into this year.....she invited several of our friends and we will be staying at the Sea Garden in Mazatlan the end of November. Really looking forward to it.

I do not know what she paid or what her fees are, but all I can say is I have enjoyed my trips to the Mayan Palace thanks to her.

Norma in California

 

[mlbyron]

this would make a good sticky subject.

 

[Karen G]

this would make a good sticky subject.

Yes, I think it's worth adding a link to this thread to the sticky post above, and I have done so. People can continue to post to this thread about Mayan Palace resorts.

 

[Deer Path]

Which Mayan Palace would any of you recommend?? Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta or Mayan Palace in Cancun?
Judy

 

[mexsnowbird]

Caution - Mayan Palace Owners

We own and have enjoyed Mayan Palace resorts since 1999 but we have run into a real problem when trying to book for next year. Every year we have booked our VF weeks on July 1st for weeks beginning in January. This year, after speed dialing for 40 minutes when their office opened on July 1st, I was told that the 3 weeks I was trying to book were not available. When I asked what weeks were avaliable, they told me they were all booked for the month. After talking to the supervisor, I was able to get 2 of the weeks. Later in the day at about 3:00 p.m., my brother who owns 6 weeks, booked 5 weeks from 1/1/06 to 1/29/06. When I found this out I called Mayan Palace reservation and after talking to a couple of supervisors I found out that anyone who owns $50,000 or more with Mayan Palace or who is a Grand Mayan Palace owner has "priority". Now I don't know about anyone else, but I was told when I purchased that reservations were on a first come, first serve basis and nothing was said about "priority" people.

When I asked to talk to an officer in the company I was told there was no one else I could talk to. I would like to ask ANY Mayan Palace owner to call Mayan Palace (1-800-292-9446) and question them on this policy. William was one of the supervisors I talked to and you can tell him that Emile (Bert) Lambert was the one who made you aware of this. You can also e-mail me at Gobrowns15@aol.com if you have any questions.

I believe what they are doing is a breech of contract, even thou you may not find anything in writing about "priority" reservations and would constitute grounds for a class action suit. If you have other friends or relatives who own timeshare with Mayan Palace, please make them aware of what is happening. This incident happened at MP in Puerto Vallarta, but, they can use this "priority" thing at any of the other 6 Mayan Palace locations.

 

[4dabirds]

Also, I have been curious about the pricing for these units. I see some on ebay occassionally, but the prices are all over the place. For example, there was a hotel unit for $99 buy it now, and other, larger units have gone for much higher.

Anyone have an opinon on a $99 hotel unit (with significant closing costs amounting to about $900 total, if I recall) So a hotel unit at the Mayan in Cancun for unde $1000. Is it worth it?

Or should I wait and see the place, maybe even like the larger units instead.

My mil purchased MP a couple of years ago, and after looking over what she has, I have a hard time justifying the purchase of a MP property for the following reasons:

1. You pay maint fees each year which are reasonable for the type of property, but possibly higher than other timeshare options

2. Every 5th year you are assessed an additional 5 maint fees - it will be about $2600 for her 2bdrm

3. You can exchange in easily via RCI, SFX, or DAE

4. You can often purchase bonus vacations from RCI / SFX at rates = to or less than the yearly maint fee

5. There are resorts with lower costs that trade better - imho

6. It is RTU with an expiration date

Of these reasons, the biggest deterant to me seeing MP as a viable purchase option is the cost of basically repurchasing it again every 5th year... to me this assessment just seems to be too high, but there are certainly a lot of owners out there who seemingly would disagree with me!

Kim

 

[LynnW]

mexsnowbird

I just called customer service and was told this was not their policy but when I asked her to check with the 2 names you mentioned above she did agree to check. I was informed that this policy is for PV only because the resort is so small compared to the other locations. We have gone to PV 3 times and have never had a problem booking. I am going to be trying on Aug 1 for Cancun and she assured me there would not be a problem. Will let everyone know how I make out. Will probably try online the night before and if that doesn't work I'll call.

Lynn