My Wife and I statyed at the GCPS from 2/9/05 to2/16/05. We are in our mid 30's and this is our fourth AI stay, 2 at Moon Palace and 1 at Grand Flamenco Xcaret. We arrived at the hotel at 3:00 P.M. and were promptly given an oceanview room on the third floor. I had read enough reviews to almost expect a Lagoon view room but we experienced no problems. The room was the most basic hotel room we have stayed in, but it suited our needs as we do not spend much time in the room. We tipped the maid each day and the room was always cleaned by 10:00 A.M. each day. We loved the beach and waves but the front row of beach palapas had towels put on them by 7:00 A.M. and we were next to two loungers that stayed empty until 11:00 A.M. That was just rude. as about 30-40 people have had to pull loungers into the sand in front of the palapas while they remained empty. We lounged by the pool three days and enjoyed that also. I did not notice cloudy pool water. We brought insulated mugs but it was never a long walk to a bar. We had no problem with the service at the bars though the waiters always were stretched a little thin. We tipped when deserved. We liked the food at the Breeze snack bar, and the Buffet. My wife loved the Guacomole. We ate at the Red Barn 3 times and enjoyed the food, Grilled Chicken, Shrimp Skewers, Ribeye, Filet and BBQ Ribs. We went to Peir 12 once and enjoyed the food except the calamarie appetizer but the service was slow at the peir. The food was just a notch below the other AI's we have stayed at. We had room service one night at 3:20 A.M. and the food arrived quickly. We did not particpate in any activities except the spanish lesson and we enjoyed it. We went to Coco Bongo with the hotel one night and went back a couple of nights later and had a great time both nights. Warning it is loud and crowded but fun. We also enjoyed the shows a couple of nights, hokey entertainment. We enjoyed the Tiki Bar a couple of nights and Jose was a great bartender. He was a show by himself. The only negative thing during the trip was the main snack type store which had the only two rude employees we ran into at the resort which would not be so bad except they were rude every time and I refused to return to that store after the third visit.

Peaceful relaxing resort with nightlife a short bus ride away which gives you the best of both worlds in Cancun.

My husband and I travel and cruise very often so I have lots to compare this vacation to (even a previous stay in Cancun) and this was by far an excellent vacation.
The food was GREAT! We tried all the diffent rest. and even the ones at the sister hotel. We liked the variety.
The Room: We were given a lagoon view room the first night and told to come to the front desk in the morning. We were switched to a ocean view room as promised. Both rooms were exactly alike. Very clean and bright (decorated in red and yellows). Bed was hard...but not so bad that you couldn't sleep.
The pools: We liked that there were 2 different pools. One for activiteis and one just for swimming. There were several topless in the pool, around the pool and at the beach.
Overall we liked that this hotel was smaller and not overly crowded. You could always find a drink, a spot by the pool or at the bar. We would highly recommend this place if you are looking for an adults only relaxing, romantic vacation.

The GCPS has a lot of great things going for it but I also experienced quite a few downfalls. I will break my review down into categories:

The rooms: As everyone reports, you almost NEVER get an ocean-view room when you first check in. We checked in on a Wednesday and were told there were no ocean-view rooms available nor were there any rooms with a king-sized bed available and that we should check back on Friday morning. We spent two nights in a room with a view of the road and buildings in front of the resort and the lagoon in the distance. More importantly, we spent two nights sleeping uncomfortably in one of the double beds that was a bit small for two people. On Friday morning, we went down to the front desk and were promptly given the ocean-view room with the king-sized bed as promised. The room was great and the view was great. Yes, the beds are as hard as reported but I enjoy a firm mattress so that was not a problem.

The restaurants: We visited all of the restaurants at least two times and our experience was that on some occasions the food was “okay” and on some occasions it was “excellent”.
Paradise: This is the buffet that served breakfast & lunch. The food here was always good. I would not call it excellent by any standard but the concept of cooking your morning eggs or your fajita lunch to order was very nice. The juice was very watered down. The desert bar was disappointing as they only seemed to have pudding, Jell-O and ice cream. The table service was very good.
Old Barn: The food here was very good. The steaks were tender and if you asked to have them cooked a little rarer than you like they usually turned out perfect The service was excellent here. The waiters went out of their way to make you feel special.
Pier 12: The food here was good on some days and not so good on others. I enjoyed excellent Coconut Shrimp on one occasion and on another I received a Blue Crab that had not been cleaned and had absolutely no edible portions that I could see. The service was excellent.
Shangra-La: Again, I experienced an absolutely exceptional meal here on one evening. Everything from the appetizer to the desert would rival any gourmet restaurant. Then, 3 nights later, each course was barely edible. It amazed me that the quality of the dishes could vary that much. The service was beyond excellent.
The Breeze: This is the snack bar open during the day by the pool. My experience here was absolutely horrible. The person running this grill was unfriendly to the point of being rude. This I experienced on 3 occasions. The food was just okay.
Room Service: Each time we ordered room service the food was brought promptly and the food was good. It was by no means excellent but we enjoyed it.

The Bars: These were all great. Each bar from the sports bar to the lobby bar to the tiki bar had friendly bartenders who went “above and beyond” to make sure you had a good time. The two bartenders that really stood out are Jose and Alfonso (Fonzie) from the Tiki Bar.

The Front Desk: Here they were courteous and helpful. Not “overly” friendly but they did their job well.

The Pool: I enjoyed the pool. It was nice and clear every day although I did wish it were a bit deeper. It may have been 4 feet deep, if that.

The Beach: Now here is where the GCPS excels! The beach is absolutely gorgeous!!! Beautiful white sand and a nice sized beach.

The Entertainment: Here, I was a bit disappointed. The entertainment staff was basically non-existent compared to other resorts I’ve visited. There was hardly ever anything going on around the pool. The nightly entertainment was a bit cheesy and very amateurish but it was funny.

The worst part of the trip was that both of us were attacked by “Montezuma’s Revenge” about half-way through our stay and it continued throughout the rest of the trip.

Our experience at GCPS had some good and some bad but, overall, I don’t feel that it was good enough for us to consider returning to this resort.

My first time to Mexico, and we ended up at the Golden Crown Paradise. Now a few weeks away from college spring break, I didn't expect to see a lot of "younger" people...but I sure didn't expect to find a senior's retreat! This place is VERY quiet. The food is average, the pools are cold - hot tub is nowhere near hot, and despite personally hearing complaints for 3 days from various guests to hotel staff, it never got warmer. As the other reviews mention, yes the entertainment staff is less than entertaining, yes the beds are hard as rocks, yes the drinks are small, and yes the drinks have hardly any booze in them. Having said all that...the beach is terrific, and the front desk staff I had to deal with were helpful when I needed them. I wouldn't stay here again simply because there wasn't enough good about it to earn my money twice.