Royal Mayan or Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta?

[bccash63]

I have never been to any part of Mexico and both of these resorts are available in a 2 br. Any recommendations. Even though the Royal Mayan has an overall higher rating here on TUG--the more recent reviews seem to favor the GMNuevo. It will be me, DH, my sister and brother-in-law. Thanx, Dawn

 

[JEFF H]

You know These two resorts are not even located in the same city?
The Royal Mayan resort is owned by the Royal Resorts and is located in Cancun,MX

 

[easyrider]

The Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta is a huge mega resort.

 

[aliikai2]

Hi Dawn

We have never been to any of the Royals, but we have been the the greater Cancun area staying at the Grand Mayan in 2008. We much prefer Puerto Vallarta to the " Built for the Tourist area of Cancun/ Playa Del Carmin". The GM Nuevo is not a mega resort, it is only 4 buildings on about 5 acres, 4 of which are the water park and pools. The MP is located just south on an adjacent property, allowing you easy access to their pools and restaurants. We enjoy the GM's and the MP's.
jmho,

Greg

I have never been to any part of Mexico and both of these resorts are available in a 2 br. Any recommendations. Even though the Royal Mayan has an overall higher rating here on TUG--the more recent reviews seem to favor the GMNuevo. It will be me, DH, my sister and brother-in-law. Thanx, Dawn

 

[bccash63]

You know These two resorts are not even located in the same city?
The Royal Mayan resort is owned by the Royal Resorts and is located in Cancun,MX

Jeff, I am aware that these two resorts are on opposite coasts--I have never been to any part of Mexico and was looking for input as to what type of vacation experience they offer as well as info on the resorts themselves--thanx, dawn

 

[mamadot]

Interesting answers. I think everyone has a different view of Mexico. GM in Nuevo Vallarta is suppose to be a wonderful resort. Puerto Vallarta has a very small town feel to it, a very Mexican experience. The people at the resorts are very nice. Lots of timeshare sales people everywhere you go, from the airport, streets and beaches. They will follow you down the streets, on the beach and out of the airport!! You can not escape them! This was a turn off for me because when I am on the beach relaxing I do not want someone coming up to me every 4 mins selling something. Please leave me alone!! The beaches on the west coast of Mexico are not as nice as the Cancun area. That was the tie breaker for us.
We love the white sandy beaches of Cancun and no venders on the beaches!! The Royals are wonderful resorts with great employees.

You can probably not go wrong in which ever area you decide. It will be a learning experience for you.

 

[mikenk]

I would agree with Greg. For a first experience with Mexico, I think the Puerto Vallarta area would be a better choice. The Cancun / Playa area is very commercialized - not a real taste of the rich Mexican culture. Not to mention that the GM at Nuevo is a great resort.

I never have a problem escaping the sales guys; they are around but never really bothered us.

With those preferences stated, both areas are fun.

Mike

 

[pgrrider]

I have never been to any part of Mexico and both of these resorts are available in a 2 br. Any recommendations. Even though the Royal Mayan has an overall higher rating here on TUG--the more recent reviews seem to favor the GMNuevo. It will be me, DH, my sister and brother-in-law. Thanx, Dawn

Hi Dawn,

Well, it sounds like you have made up your mind, BUT....Cancun, where the Royal Mayan is located is a great area to explore with Myan ruins to tour and many exciting theme parks to visit, as well.

Cancun is like it is because the Mexican govt. about 30 years ago with the use of a computer - designed a tourist destination for Americans and Canadians (not to say that people from other countries do not travel there!)
and it turned out to be the biggest success in Mexico (besides the drug trade! :hysterical: )

On the 7 mile long island connected to the mainland at both ends, is the HOTEL ZONE, where almost 90% of the major hotels and resorts are located.

The Royal Myan is adjacent to 2 other Royal Resorts....so you have the use of all three. And...public buses run on the main st about every 5 minutes and are cheap to use. There is actually a lot to see even in the city of Cancun and many fine restaurants, too.

The Riviera Maya (as the coast from Cancun to just south of Playa del Carmen) is getting built up as well....with mega complexes! BUT they are isolated and no public transportation...!!

Playa (as Playa del Carmen is called) is a delightful, lively town typical of a larger community with tons of restaurants, shops, etc... and a great place to walk around (on avenida cinco) 5th avenue......!!!!

The final choice is yours....

Ken

 

[John Cummings]

We have stayed at the Royal Mayan in Cancun, Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya, and Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta. We stayed once at the Royal Mayan and Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta. We stayed 4 times at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya. We far prefer the Grand Mayan Resorts over the Royal Mayan for both service and elegance. Obviously we prefer the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya as we have been there 4 times. All of our stays were for 2 weeks at a time. We have had 2 BR units at the Royal Mayan and the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya. We are not owners at any of these resorts having exchanged through SFX into all of them. We have also stayed at other timeshares in Puerto Vallarta. So much for background info.

As I said, we far prefer the Grand Mayans, either one, to the Royal Mayan. We also do not care for Cancun and prefer the Riviera Maya. Puerto Vallarta is definitely a much nicer and more interesting city than Cancun though it has become pretty Americanized compared to a few years ago. Playa del Carmen close to the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya is a nice city. The following is from a post I made in another thread.

Each one has its plus and minuses so you have to decide what is more important to you. Obviously we far prefer Riviera Maya evidenced by the number of times we have stayed there. It is much easier for us to get to Nuevo Vallarta. The Grand Mayan units are identical at each resort. Below are the differences as we see them.

1. GM-RM is much larger and spread out than NV. There are several ( 13 ) 3 story Grand Mayan buildings at RM vs 3 or 4 much higher Grand Mayan buildings at NV. There is a free shuttle service to get you around the RM resort. Because RM is more spread out, it is more relaxing as there aren't people everywhere.
2. GM-RM wins hand down on the pools. They are awesome. The NV does have the lazy river but does not match the great RM pools.
3. The GM-NV wins hand down on the beach. They have a good beach that is swimmable. The beach at the RM is not swimmable.
4. Restaurants is a wash. They both have many restaurants. We do not prepare any meals and generally eat at the resort's restaurants and room service.
5. GM-RM wins hands down for area attractions. NV has nothing to compare with Xcaret, Xel-Ha, Mayan Pyramids and ruins, etc.
6. We had an ocean front view on the upper floor at NV that overlooked the pools, etc. and the beach so it was far better as there are not any real ocean view units at RM. I took some awesome photos from our balcony at the NV.