Very negative experience at the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta

[CatLovers]

We just spent a lovely holiday in Puerto Vallarta, but unfortunately also had the worst timeshare week ever at the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta. Not because of the facility itself (it's beautiful) but because of a whole bunch of other things, not the least of which was the timeshare salespeople from hell!

In the past, I recall many fans of the Mayan Resorts on TUG, and the Grand Mayan has excellent review ratings here on TUG as well, so this negative experience caught us by surprise. However, I really want others (particularly RCI exchangers and others who are not members of the Grand Mayan) to be aware of this, so I am posting my (very lengthy) review below.

I will mention also that during our week there, I discovered that there are two separate camps when it comes to the Grand Mayan - those who LOVE it, and those who HATE it. There wasn't any "in-between". And those who love it, REALLY do. We met a couple of ladies by the pool (on different occasions) who loved the Grand Mayan with a fervor that occasionally crossed over into the "I drank the Kool-Aid" variety. They were simply flabbergasted that we disliked the resort and would never return! I mean it's admirable that a company can elicit that sort of a loyalty from its customers, but it certainly was in direct contrast to our negative experience.

Anyway, here it is - another data point to balance against those who wax poetic about this resort.

 

[CatLovers]

Part 1 of our review

This is the worst timeshare experience we’ve ever had at any resort, and we’ve been fortunate to stay at over thirty resorts in the past ten years. Let me start by saying that the resort itself is beautiful and the units are luxurious and well-appointed. However, it was everything else that made this the most disappointing timeshare stay we’ve ever had. In a nutshell, constant nickel-and-diming, hugely-overpriced amenities, and of course, lest I forget, the spectacularly- orchestrated and well-oiled timeshare sales machine (also known as timeshare salespeople from hell!).

Now before you shed too many tears for us , we know enough about Mexico and timeshares that we were able to eventually extricate ourselves from this cesspool of slime and we actually had a fabulous week in Puerto Vallarta. Fortunately we had our own car, and we know enough about the area that we were not tied to what the resort offered. But I felt sorry for the people we met who weren’t as Mexico-savvy and believed the dropped hints (by the Welcome desk staff) about how it is dangerous to drive a car in Mexico or leave the resort on your own.

I suspect from other positive postings here that if you are a Grand Mayan member and you have already forked over several (hundreds of) thousands of dollars, you must somehow escape the constant money-grab of this cash generation machine. But we unfortunately had exchanged in through RCI and were just fresh bait for the sharks, and they were circling from the moment we walked in the front door. When we checked in, we were advised that we needed to stop by the “Welcome Desk” to get our wrist bracelets which would give us access to everything that the resort had to offer. I laughingly asked the check-in clerk if that was code for “timeshare sales” and I was only a little surprised when he mumbled assent and refused to make eye contact. Since all three of our bags had unfortunately been lost by the airline, we chose instead to go first to the concierge desk to make arrangements for the (hopefully) later delivery of our luggage. Kristina from the “Welcome desk” actually chased us down the lobby insisting that we see her first as she could help us with whatever we needed. Going back with her to the Welcome Desk area was our first mistake. The pitch started. For 30 minutes she tried to convince us to sign up for the “90-minute” presentation. She also told us renting a car for a week was a waste of money, the resort had everything we needed, they had tours that could show us the highlights of PV, why go to town on your own and be subjected to unhygienic food, vendors trying to sell you substandard goods, and the unethical timeshare sharks from the other resorts (oh what irony!) ... and on and on. Finally just to get away from her, which was mistake #2, we agreed to attend the presentation, but only after confirming several times that it would only be 90 minutes (yeah, I know, mistake #3 was that we believed her, but it had been a tough travel day and we were exhausted and clearly in a weak moment!). In return for attending, we received a room credit for 2000 pesos that turned out to be equivalent to three 50-minute massages for the three people in our party, and three city tours. We finally freed ourselves from her clutches and went to our room, with our welcome packet in hand (more about this later).

On to our room – a two-bedroom, with king beds and marble kitchen and bathrooms. Beautiful! Our view was of the parking lot, but we expected that since we were coming in on an RCI exchange. Then the nickel-and-diming began. If we wanted to use the safes in the rooms, the cost was 300 pesos each for the week. Seriously, there’s a charge to use the safes?! The Jacuzzi tub had bath salts and bath oils amenities in 25 mL/g sizes. If you used more than one, the cost would be 25 pesos for each! All the hotels and resorts that we have stayed at in Mexico give you at least one or two complimentary bottles of water to start you off; not this one – 40 pesos for each bottle in the room. Internet access – we expected to pay something – but 950 pesos for the week was a little over the top, especially when you could walk down the street to Eddie’s Bar (across from Sea Garden) and get it for free with the purchase of a beverage!

We settled in and opened up our welcome packet. It contained a neon yellow sheet exhorting us to BE AWARE of the “unethical tactics used by other resorts in the area to persuade our members and guests to attend a timeshare presentation” and to contact the Grand Mayan’s sales office if you had signed up for a presentation at another resort so that they could “honor your reservation” at this resort. Oh, the irony continues!

The welcome packet also contained a very lengthy list of rules – some a little ludicrous and some which made sense. The most absurd rule – coolers, thermal containers and cans are not permitted at the pool and beach areas (glassware I understand but not permitting coolers was just another way to force you to use their overpriced services). The most sensible rule – palapas and long chairs cannot be reserved and any unattended objects or towels that are placed to reserve chairs will be removed. Turned out that it didn’t really matter how stupid or sensible the rules were, because they were NEVER enforced. Palapas and chairs were reserved unabashedly – you couldn’t find an empty one at 8 AM in the morning, and most of them stayed without people till at least 11 AM or noon. Even worse, people were reserving duplicates – chairs at the beach AND at the pool and then moving back and forth between them all day. No one was following the “no coolers” rule either and so starting on Day 2, we brought down our small collapsible cooler with us every morning, filled with the supplies we needed for the day. That way, we weren’t dependent on shelling out cash for the overpriced drinks and food that the resort was peddling.

Speaking of drinks and food, the resort has lots and lots of restaurants and bars, different cuisines and different themes. Unfortunately, every single one was overpriced by Mexican standards. The prices ranged from what you might find at mid- to upscale restaurants in the US and Canada. Certainly not super-expensive if you are in the US or Canada, but definitely overpriced for Mexico. We only ate at one on our first night – Havana Moon – and our calamari was fine, but the shrimp was overcooked and rubbery.

 

[CatLovers]

Part 2 of our review

This review would not be complete without a report on the timeshare sales experience. As someone who is familiar with sales techniques, I must say I was bemused with how well-orchestrated their sales process is. They use all the classic persuasion techniques – I’ll probably get into trouble for giving you this, good cop vs. bad cop, you’d be stupid not to take this deal, this is all about making your life easier – and we went through a total of ten people before we were finally released from timeshare hell. It started with a wake-up call that morning in our room at 7:30 AM.
“Hello, this is ___ calling to remind you about your breakfast reservation at 8:15 AM. Don’t forget to bring the invitation that Kristina gave you, and also a major credit card for ID.”
“I’ll bring my passport,” says I.
“Oh no, we need a major credit card.”
“Why?”
“The receptionist needs to make sure that you opened a line of credit at the front desk when you checked in. We don’t have access to the hotel’s check-in system so we need to see your credit card.”
What?????

Whatever. Anyway, check-in was in a huge lobby which had over twenty agents registering all the timeshare victims ... er, I mean breakfast invitees. We found out later that they get over 150 couples/families through there every weekday. We were asked to sign a document saying that we understood that the presentation would last 90 minutes including time for breakfast. I circled the 90 minutes when I signed, naively thinking that it would help ensure timeliness, but as I later discovered, 90 minutes in Grand Mayan time equals almost four hours, and that’s only because we got very firm and assertive. Other victims we met were held hostage for 5-6 hours. Because we were Canadian, we were then assigned to an International Sales Rep who was also (surprise, surprise) Canadian. Mexican nationals are assigned to National Sales Reps, not sure what the difference is, but I suspect it is probably different pricing levels.

Ed was our sales rep, very pleasant (at least to start) and clearly a rookie. Sat us down for 15 minutes to complete a survey. When I told him that we bought our timeshare weeks/points that equal roughly five weeks of holiday time for less than $15,000 in total, his jaw dropped and he admitted, “Well I don’t know how we are going to beat that.” Said that he had to do his job and tell us about everything but we’d have a nice breakfast. Breakfast was great, then we went into the sales hall where Ed went through his sales spiel on his yellow pad. By the way, Grand Mayan issues regulation yellow pads and black felt-tipped pens to all its salespeople (so for future reference, you can spot them a mile away ). He quickly realized that he had nothing that would interest us so he used the “I’m probably going to get into trouble for this” line and called over his supervisor Monica to get us out of there quickly. Monica came over and asked us to keep an open mind, and then insisted that Ed go through the entire product offering. So that’s what Ed did, and all the while, got more and more frustrated because it was clear that we were not interested. He finally called Monica back. Monica agreed that it was time to let us go, but of course that was just a teaser because Lynda arrived next. Her job was to prove to us how stupid we were because we couldn’t see the GREAT value that a timeshare purchase at the Grand Mayan was. It took her at least 2 sheets of yellow paper to get absolutely nowhere so she actually got quite rude and pretty much called us stupid (no problem, we knew she was the bad cop in the well-oiled machine). We thought we were on our way to a good cop next, but person #5 was actually Larry who stopped by to tell us that he couldn’t believe that we were going to pass up such a good deal.

No sale, so we are now ushered to the next room. Here we meet person #6, Eric. Who makes it a point to let us know that he represents the owner of the company and he is completely separate from the people in the previous room who are from an outsourced marketing company. His job is to go through a satisfaction survey with us to make sure that we leave happy and that we’ve been treated well by the marketing folks in the last room. Right! So after about five questions that are cleverly designed to only get positive responses from us, he finally gets to the real purpose of our visit. Now he tries to sell us a watered-down version of a timeshare “deal”. Keep in mind that Ed started us off with $277K for four weeks in a 2-bedroom at the Grand Luxxe, and Eric now works his way down to his final offer – four weeks in a studio for $3,115. Who knows at which resort, but frankly at this point we couldn’t care less. Remember, it’s now been over three hours in timeshare hell! Finally, one of our party says “I wouldn’t pay one dollar for what you’re offering” at which point Eric says “well, I’ll just get my supervisor to sign you out and approve your gifts.” So now arrives person #7, I think her name was Cindy, but who remembers? She tries to make a connection with us by telling us how she’s originally from Calgary (which is where we live) and spends another 10 minutes trying to convince us that Eric’s deal is the best thing since sliced bread. Okay, now she has to leave for another ten minutes to find out how to approve our gifts. Finally we get up to leave, person #8 walks us out of the room talking alternately to Cindy and us about how he can’t believe that we’re turning down their incredible offer!

Next room is where we finally are supposed to get our gifts, and interestingly, this is the first time we’ve seen Mexican nationals through this entire process. They’ve clearly been beaten over the head by disgruntled people just like us so the person at the desk (person #9) quickly jumps up to let us know that he is the “good guy” who is going to give us what we were promised. Well, that is until he says that according to his records we are entitled to only ONE massage and ONE city tour, instead of the three we were expecting. Yes, you guessed right, person #10 is the supervisor who has to be called in the room and then has to leave for an in-depth consultation with someone else. Finally, over 3-1/2 hours later, we stumble out into the sunlight, clutching our free gift certificates. It’s now almost noon and we feel like we’ve been through the wringer; the only thing we want to do is collapse by the pool.

 

[CatLovers]

Part 3 of our review

We were there during a holiday week and the resort was VERY crowded. I understand that there is a pool that is usually reserved for “Adults only”, but that was not in effect the week we were there. Lots of large families with screaming children everywhere, but we found that they tended to congregate around the wave pool and the lazy river, so it was a little more quieter on the beach.

One other thing we noticed is the game they play with exchange rates at this resort. The three “free” massages that we had received for attending the timeshare presentation were actually discounted to USD 55 each, and then offset against a 2000 peso room credit. Even though the massages are priced in USD, they are actually charged to your room in pesos. The marketing department that gave these to us uses a conversion rate of 12.5 which is considerably higher than market, but so be it. Then I discover that the rest of the hotel uses a rate of 12.32. When I questioned the discrepancy, I was informed that the marketing department is different and separate from the rest of the hotel so it can charge whatever rate it wants. Now this only translated to a USD 3 difference over the price of our massages so no big deal. Then I get a receipt from the spa showing me that the amount they actually received from the hotel was equivalent to using a rate of 11.18. So that’s another USD 19 over three massages. Again, $22 isn’t that much in the large scheme of things. But then my financial mind started doing the math. Let’s say 50 people a week take them up on this offer – that’s a cozy extra $800 the resort makes each week, or an extra USD 42K a year, just on foreign exchange differences. Very lucrative extra income stream – so is it smart business or is it swindling their customers? Certainly they’re not doing anything illegal, but given all the nickel-and-diming and other stuff happening here, it sure left us with a bad taste in our mouths.

Few other observations:

• The 2-bedroom unit had very few pots and pans. No storage bowls and only one cutting knife which was blunt. I had to call down for a replacement which was delivered promptly.
• There was a clear separation between the folks in timeshare (sales) and the front desk. In fact, one of the front desk managers said to me (I think I caught her after a particularly difficult conversation with some other disgruntled timeshare victims) – “our focus here is on satisfying the customer but the sales department has a different philosophy.” When I questioned further I think she realized she’d said too much and she clammed up.
• The city tour that we took wasn’t bad, but the two longest stops were opportunities designed to give a kickback to the tour guide – 25 minutes at a silver/jewellery shop and 40 minutes at a tequila factory. We quite enjoyed the tequila factory tour (and purchased a bottle), but the jewellery shop did nothing for us.
• There is no self-parking available at the resort, only valet parking. It costs 320 pesos for the week for RCI exchangers, less for members.
• If you have a vehicle, there is a Walmart Superstore about 10 minutes north, right on the highway. Another 5 minutes further north will get you to a Mega, another large grocery/department store.
• Maid service is daily for a quick clean and towel exchange.
• They have a spa and well-equipped gym which also offers spinning, Pilates and stretching classes. There is a fee for use, and the classes cost about 300 pesos for 1 hour.
• The resort offers lots of activities for adults and kids, at least on the schedule they give you in the welcome packet. However, we only tried to attend one – a yoga class scheduled for 9:30 AM one morning. We arrived at 9 AM, got sent to three different locations, ended up waiting on the beach, and then finally gave up at about 9:45 AM.

Bottom-line. If you like vacationing on the giant cruise ships that service over 3,000 passengers and offer all the comforts and amenities of a high-end resort (for a price), then you will probably enjoy the Grand Mayan experience. Much like a cruise ship, this resort is designed to keep you happy in one place right on the property using their facilities and their amenities; and quite honestly everything you need is right there and you really have no reason to leave. In fact, if you didn’t know that you were in another country, you could be at any upscale resort in Miami. But this experience was definitely not for us! When we go to Mexico, we love living and enjoying the real Mexico, and this resort was just too big, too contrived and very overpriced. The timeshare experience from hell just served to accentuate why we will never stay at this resort again.

 

[Karen G]

Thanks for that interesting and in-depth review. It really confirms to me that I NEVER want to go through a timeshare presentation at any Grupo Mayan resort.

Please copy and paste your review to the review form for the TUG Mexico review section. If you haven't already done so, click on "TUG Resort Databases" in the red bar at the top of the page and complete the form for your review.

It will be very helpful for others to have this information when they search the review section.

 

[CatLovers]

Please copy and paste your review to the review form for the TUG Mexico review section.

Karen, I did already. Because we were so disappointed with this experience, I posted it here also because I wanted to make sure that no one (not just TUGgers) would have to (at least unknowingly) go through what we did.

 

[Pat H]

I have been thru 2 owner updates at the GM Riviera Maya and GM Nuevo in the past year. I actually enjoy trying to see how low I can get them to go in pricing. I've owned at the MP since 1995 and have an old contract with the vacation fair week and low m/f's. They would love to get me into a more expensive one. I do it for the breakfast, 10% off and the entertainment. Guess I must be a glutton for punishment. I love the resorts. In NV especially, you can walk or take a bus to several restaurants so you are not as captive as in Acapulco. We are headed back in March. Sure hope Julio, the pool boy is back again!

Frankly why you would call it an experience from hell is beyond me. Just because the sales presentation was a nightmare, you were still at a nice resort. I've been to a few places where the units and facilities were disgusting and the staff was not nice at all. You can walk to several restaurants so you are not captive. We ate at the Havana Moon twice and the food was excellent. Sorry you feel you had such a bad experience.

 

[siesta]

I think the cruise ship analogy was spot on. I always felt that these resorts were a bit out of the way, and they want it that way, to keep you there. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised they don't have casino's on property. thanks for the review.

 

[pjrose]

Wow. Interesting analysis. All the extra charges and the financial wizardry re exchange rates and massages are amazing.

For a TS presentation or anything along those lines that is to last only XX minutes, I think I'd make a show of setting a watch or phone to beep an alarm 3 minutes before that time, then blare one at the end of the time, and then get up and leave. After all, the 90 minutes was in writing. I realize they hold people hostage for the gifts, but there comes a point when the gifts aren't worth the cost.

 

[Conan]

Sorry, I think you're off the mark.

All you had to do, really, is not sign up for the timeshare presentation, not take any packaged tours, rent a car (or be willing to pay cabfare), and enjoy your week.

As to the charges for internet and the safe, add them together, divide by seven, and consider it part of the cost of the vacation. If you bought your exchange property resale, your year's maintenance plus exchange fee plus these little extras comes to about $140 a night for what could have been, should have been, a wonderful week.

 

[capjak]

Love the resort over Xmas last 2 years.

The sales presentation was fine, we just got up after 2 hours and walked to the desk with the gifts and they gave them to us. We did not wait for guy 4,5,6 etc. The lady left and we got up than a man came and saw us and we just said we have done our time and want our certs...and that was that.

I agree with the nickel and diming though:

My dislikes have to do with the cooler rule....I can not believe you can pay thousands of dollars for a timeshare here with kitchen equipped with refrig etc.. but you are not allowed to bring your own food from the room to the pool or beach come on....

and the wait staff will get pissed if you are there with your cooler but not buying stuff...we would buy a bucket or two of beer and keep the waiter happy so he would not go get security to tell us no coolers.....

After 1 week we stayed downtown PV at the sheraton...guess what internet is free there......imagine that...

 

[rickandcindy23]

Our daughter's in-laws went to a timeshare presentation at Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta and had the same experience you had. They couldn't get away from the constant salespeople.

Rick's friend at the firehouse also went on a tour. Sounded like a nightmare.

We have been duly warned.

I am done with timeshare presentations, and if I could go to one, it would be Wyndham, and I am on their "do not invite these people" list. :rofl: They hate us. We rent some of their precious Wyndham points that we own and are supposed to be allowed to rent.

 

[CatLovers]

Yikes! Easy, easy ... don't shoot the messenger!

Yikes! Remember I said that I had observed two clear camps while at the resort - those who LOVE Grupo Mayan and those who DON'T. Clearly, I have roused some of the former out of the woodwork! Not my intention!

I have no fight with those of you who love these resorts. Good for you and I am glad you enjoy them and I wish you nothing but the best of vacations. But these resorts are clearly not for everyone. And I want to make sure that others (who are like us) don't spend time at this resort when there are so many other great resorts in the Puerto Vallarta area that are a better fit.

Just to respond generally to some of the "chastising" comments that have followed my original post. If you read my posts fully (yes I know they were long ) , you'd realize that it wasn't just the timeshare sales presentation that turned us off this place, even though it was a major factor. We found the constant nickel-and-diming, the immense size, the huge crowds, the stupid rules (or lack thereof), the lack of ownership for simple issues, and the overpriced services and amenities to be a huge turnoff. And quite honestly, the customer service we experienced wasn't all that either. Most of the Mexican staff there were well-intentioned, but almost every question we asked (non-timeshare related) got passed around from person to person, and sometimes we still didn't get an answer. It also bothered us immensely that so many Mexico-newbies were lied to so that they wouldn't think about leaving the resort - it's dangerous to drive a car, food outside the resort may not be hygienic, vendors outside the resort will try to cheat you, and of course my all-time favorite about how the timeshare sharks outside the resort are unethical. The Mexico we know is not like that at all (well except for the timeshare sharks being unethical ), and I hate it when these myths get perpetuated.

We are huge Mexico fans - we visit at least four times a year - but our love for Mexico lies in what makes the country ... well, Mexico. For us, this resort isn't Mexico - it is a high-end American resort that just happens to be on a piece of land in Mexico. And once again, I said it in paragraph #2 of Post #2 but I'll say it once more - we had a fabulous week in Puerto Vallarta. The negative resort experience was just a small speed bump in the road and it didn't change our course. We had our car, I speak Spanish, and we're very Mexico-savvy, so we were not tied to what the resort offered. In fact my husband jokes that I usually need only five minutes to find the best taquerias, restaurants, shops and beaches frequented by the locals. We were just so disgusted with the overall experience that if my detailed review can help even one person choose another resort over this one, I'll feel like my short novel was worth it!

 

[Holly]

I got a chuckle. I am off to Nuevo in March...we loved Riviera Maya, but you just have to know what you are getting. I have a six year-old and she loves all the kid stuff and I know that she's relatively safe there.

Very good review!

 

[sally13]

I am a catlover as well!!

but I do think that is where we part..first let me thank you on that great report.Being on the other side (The group that loves grupo mayan)I have to tell you that your expierience is unfortunate and makes me ask why??why did you agree to take the tour?? was it the lure of free massages? nothing in life is free..you have to work a little bit to get something..no means no,you could have said NO ..I do not want to attend!! that would have been good enough to stop all offers of a sales spiel.Also,you can not blame the sales people for doing thier scripted jobs that YOU signed up for..To rant about things not being free for an exchanger is moot.How would you like it if YOU did not get any perks for being a major contributer to the constuction of said (very nice resort).when you exchange you can not expect the same deal as a retail owner !you could have paid $1. for an ebay trading week to trade into grupo Mayan,and you want the red carpet treatment??for being savy??sorry, these great resorts do not get built for free.As far as the food safety warnings at the front desk..they are REAL,and should be followed.We have vacationed in mexico many years at the grupo mayan resorts and have NEVER been sick..the whole family!! our first trip ..we stayed at some all inclusive and ate at the (FINER) in town eaterys..we both became ill the third day and I was sick for almost 2 years ..5 doctors could not cure me!!since then we have ate almost ALL MEALS at the on site offerings and have NEVER regretted any meal.YOU go to town and gamble with 2 years of your health ..not me..driving in P.Vallata??are you kidding?you better take max insurance and hope to survive the crazy taxis and blind spot street crossings. you are lucky to survive just walking around down there (no speed limits for taxis)We ALWAYS rent a car in R.Maya but NEVER in P.vallata..this was sage advice,also you have a corrupt police force at work not to mention the federallies that can throw you into a gullag for looking at them the wrong way..do not get me wrong..we love mexico,with all its short comings but there are prudent measures to take to insure safety!!you sound smart as a whip and have been lucky on all your trips,but to dis the front desk for attempting to make your trip safe??what is the cost of being sick for almost 2 years of your life??DO NOT TRY TO TELL NEWCOMERS THAT P.VALLARTA IS SAFE TO DRIVE IN..IT IS NOT!!.....The Mayan palace is a HUGE resort with no crowding(like a cruise ship)you wait in no lines(like a cruise ship)There are huge pools(unlike a cruise ship)the units are MAMMOTH(unlike a cruise ship)..in all fairness you are a seasoned mexico vacationer that has read loads of info on the sales spiel,yet you went for the freeby and..now you rant??and dis the resort?//pleaseee...also vendors not being all the way honest and other dealings with $$$ in mexico ARE risky..(a good friend once paid 7 bucks for a single bannana!!)

 

[easyrider]

When we stayed at the GM we rented an owners unit on an upper flloor with a really nice view.
Some one at the pool told me they traded in and couldnt anything better than a parking garage view.
The GM in Nuevo Vallarta is jusy too big a resort for us.

We eat out in Bucerias or PV with out any problems.

We drive all over with out any problems. The only wrecks we saw were taxis with tourists.

We did the TS presentation at the GM Nuevo and it was a bit longer than 90 minutes. We told them we would not buy a GM TS off the get go and had to hear all the reasons why we should. It might be better to not reveal anything other than a desire to leave.

The GM is a really nice resort with a great view of the sunset but it is really spread out.imo

 

[KarenLK]

I am not an owner, but spent two weeks last winter at NV with a friend.

I am not a fan, but...

I really like being in the city, at the end near the airport. If I need anything, a large mall is a short walking distance. Twice I went to Sheraton Buganvilias and Villa del Mar by local bus...it was an all day event coming and going.

When we got to the pools, we walked forever trying to find a lounge or a chair. I was exhausted by the time we sat down.

LOONG walks to any of the restaurants ... but I guess the exercise was good.

I don't mind eating in, by my girlfriend wanted to eat at the restaurants. They are not encouraging guests to eat in the units. There are very few serving plates...only one bowl as I recall.

I do not remember about soaps and shampoos...could be.

I would go back, but only to the Marina. Nuevo is just too far away for me.

 

[aliikai2]

Catlover

Thanks for your post. Sorry you didn't care for one of our favorite resorts in the world.

Any true 5* resort like the GM nuevo isn't for everyone.

Some prefer resorts like the Shell resorts.

The costs in a 5* destination resort like the GM( or Marriott/Westin) are a little higher than in a local restaurant in any location whether in Mexico or Kapaa, so to try to compare the prices is like apples and mangos.


Are the sales staff doing their jobs, of course they are and they are some of the best in the world.

Is it fun or pleasurable to endure their presentation, of course not, if it where why would the bribe you with 2000 pesos to attend and give you a free breakfast?

When we stayed at the Sheraton Buganvilas last March, they had no wifi, you need to buy a prepaid card to use their onsite computers.

There was no free water, no shampoo, and don't even get me started about the suite layout:annoyed:

Your last line

We were just so disgusted with the overall experience that if my detailed review can help even one person choose another resort over this one, I'll feel like my short novel was worth it!

leads me to believe that you have some taken it upon yourself to keep people away from this resort, and it seems a little petty, just because you didn't like it doesn't mean that other won't.

and

Bottom-line. If you like vacationing on the giant cruise ships that service over 3,000 passengers and offer all the comforts and amenities of a high-end resort (for a price), then you will probably enjoy the Grand Mayan experience. Much like a cruise ship, this resort is designed to keep you happy in one place right on the property using their facilities and their amenities; and quite honestly everything you need is right there and you really have no reason to leave. In fact, if you didn’t know that you were in another country, you could be at any upscale resort in Miami. But this experience was definitely not for us! When we go to Mexico, we love living and enjoying the real Mexico, and this resort was just too big, too contrived and very overpriced. The timeshare experience from hell just served to accentuate why we will never stay at this resort again.

I am pretty sure that after this diatribe that everyone all ready knew this??

jmho,

Greg

 

[John Cummings]

This is nothing but a rant from somebody that was foolish enough to go to a sales presentation.

We have spent 10 weeks at the Grand Mayans in Nuevo Vallarta and Riviera Maya, NO, we are not owners. All of our weeks were on exchanges through SFX so we don't have any vested interest.

In all our 23 years of timesharing, having stayed at many top resorts including Royals, Marriott, HGVC, etc., the Grand Mayans are our favorites by far. The service is superb and the accommodations and amenities top notch. Their restaurant prices are certainly not expensive for a resort. You can't compare the prices at a luxury resort with local restaurants. If the OP thought their prices were high then they need to see what they are at their Canadian resorts. We have stayed at Canadian resorts where the prices were 3 times as high than at the Grand Mayans.

We have never had to pay for using the safe or any other other charges the OP complained about.

Now lets get down to the real core of the problem. That is the sales presentations. We are not so foolish enough to go on sales presentations. We know that they are definitely not pleasant and the Grupo Mayan ones have a bad reputation. If the OP wanted to avoid doing the sales presentation, all they had to do is say NO. When we go through the check-in procedure, we just tell them upfront that we do NOT do sales presentations. That is all there is to it and they never bother us again. Don't ignore them, just tell them no. So I have little sympathy for people wanting the gifts and then complaining how unpleasant it was.

 

[John Cummings]

When we stayed at the GM we rented an owners unit on an upper flloor with a really nice view.
Some one at the pool told me they traded in and couldnt anything better than a parking garage view.

We exchanged into the GM - NV through SFX for 2 weeks during their busiest time ( Easter). We had an ocean view unit on the top floor in the middle GM building. The view was awesome overlooking the resort and the ocean. I literally took hundreds of pictures right from our balcony of the sunsets, the resort, pelicans flying overhead, etc.

 

[Karen G]

It has all been said

I think it's probably a good time to close this thread. It is apparent, as the OP stated in her review, that there are two camps: Those who love Grupo Mayan resorts and those who don't.

The warning against attending timeshare presentations there has been given. The chastisement for attending such presentations has been given. I see nothing to be gained by continuing the discussion.