My husband & I just returned from a stay at the Gran Costa Real. I would have to agree with the others that the service there is great. Everyone was so helpful & friendly. However, the room was very average. No carpet, only lineoleum (sp?). We asked for a King, but got 2 fulls. Tried to move as soon as we checked in, but were told nothing available until the next morning. By then we were settled & decided not to try to move. The food was ok. My husband preferred to eat at other places. Maria's was awesome. Great food & great service! You MUST make reservations early or you will eat dinner at 10:00. The buffet was ok. The other 2 restaurants were ok for breakfast, but other meals were just ok.

For the money, I would stay at the Gran Caribe. The beach is so much nicer. When we wanted to go to the beach, we went to Gran Caribe. Gran Costa's beach was very small, no waves, & rocky.

All in all, it was ok. We spent very little time in our rooms, so it was ok. The pool is nice, but again, Gran Caribe has THREE pools to chose from.

I recently visited the Gran Costa Real with 3 girlfriends. We had a blast. Our hotel was beautiful, as we got in the newer rooms. When we first arrived, we didnt have safes in our rooms, so they moved us to an older style room. The old room was awful, and you had to have your key in the slot just to have power. So after changing rooms 5 times and no help with our luggage and not great help from the staff, we finally got a safe installed in our room. (not until the next day) We finally had to ask our Air Canada Rep to help us, and then we got results.
Other than than, the food was great, the waiters were great, the entertainment staff was wonderful (almost too in your face sometimes though) Don't go to this hotel to lye by the pool and relax! The really got you involved in nighty entertainment. The beach is small, but clean and nice. The water isnt the best at this part, but simply take a bus to the sister hotel Gran Caribe and enjoy their beautiful beach. The Gran Costa Real was the better choice of hotels between the two, except for the beach. If I was returning to Mexico (with friends, not on a romantic getaway) I would absolutly like to stay there again.

My family and I just returned from a lovely 5 day stay at the Costa Real.We had a quick check in, and a most clean and comfortable room. Our in room bar was always well stocked and service all around the resort was always fantastic. We were pleasant to people and they were to us.Though the beach was disappointing for the Caribbean the food at all of the restaurants and the buffet certainly compensated for this. We were extremely pleased with all our meals and the staff at Maria's especially the Head Waiter,made our last night so special with that farewell cheesecake! The stuff that dreams are made of! We were constantly offered drinks anywhere we sat in the hotel even for a brief while. We think the Gran Costa is truly 5 star and we have stayed at other all inclusives in the Caribbean.Go without reservations!

We stayed for 2 weeks all inclusive in this hotel and had a fantastic time. Originally we were to stay in the Gran Caribe but the rooms were flooded so we were transferred to the Costa as soon as we arrived in Cancun.

Our room was gorgeous, it overlooked the beach, was so clean, had a lovely big shower and fantastic air conditioning. The maid came everyday like clockwork, as did the guy who filled the mini bar in the room. The all inclusive package was great-we felt that we more than ate and drank the equivalent of the money we spent on the holiday!

The staff were mostly very helpful and genuinely friendly. Nacho (what a guy!) who works in the lobby bar and beach bar, was lovely and always made sure we had plenty of cocktails and beer.

The food in the buffet did get boring after a while, but room service (also included in the price) made a nice change, and there were also the 3 other restaurants, plus the 24 hour all-inclusive bar, for snacks or dinner. You could go to the Caribe for food, entertainment etc but we couldn't be bothered, it was too comfy lying on the beach at the Costa!!

As for the beach, there was always space to put your lounger, and there was a hotel worker there all day every day helping people with their loungers and constantly cleaning the beach, so I am surprised at reviews which say that the beach was dirty or littered. There's a great bar on the beach and waiters are always on hand to bring you another drink while you relax on your sun lounger.

We weren't too keen on the day time entertainment. The entertainment team were very very irritating. I love clubbing and loud music etc, but the music which belted out of the speakers was dreadful and was played constantly from about 10am til 5pm.

Good day trips include Chichen Itza (long journey but worth it), the full day tour with Dolphin Discovery, and the pirate ships (a great laugh, and they leave from right outside the hotel!).

We were in the hotel during Hurricane Emily and the staff could not have been more professional or reassuring. They made sure everyone had dinner and then advised us to stay in our rooms while they walked about outside in the build up to the hurricane, making sure all the guests were safe and securing everything. Reception also manned the phones all night and even phoned each room a couple of times to make sure everyone was ok.

Even though the hotel was a bit flooded etc the next day, by late afternoon you could not tell there had been a hurricane as the staff worked so hard to get everything back to normal.

This hotel is classed as a 5 star hotel, because of this some people expect too much. If you're looking for a 5 star hotel which is not pompous or pretentious then this is for you!!

Overall, we had an amazing holiday, met lots of lovely people and would love to go back to the Gran Costa Real.