We stayed at this hotel from May 28th – June 1st.
Hotel was only at 30% capacity and that right there is where the problem started. We asked to be upgraded from our King-bed room (lagoon view) to another king-bed room with an ocean view. Told there was NOT any with a king-bed. Had to get two separate Full-Size beds. Once I found out there was hardly anyone at the hotel...I was ticked about this happening. I imagine the hotel only wanted to use a certain section of the hotel for cleaning purposes, but still...I wasn't happy.
There were a lot of things closed at the hotel. There was only (1) bar open outside at the pools (should be two or three of them).
Only two of the three pools were operational. The beach bar was closed. There was only (1) restaurant open.
The room was ok…I have no major complaints, but I do have a few.
The air-conditioner went down to 65 degrees but I am confident that room was no where near 65 degrees. It was a little to warm for my preference, but it was tolerable. The remote control for the TV didn’t work worth a darn and that bothered me too. Also, this hotel has A LOT of stairs! There is an elevator to get to your room, but the hotel sits on a hill. Going to the pool requires going down stairs, catching a cab or the bus requires using stairs…on & on.
We went to the restaurant one morning to check out the breakfast buffet. Since we did not go all-inclusive, we asked how much it cost per person. The cost was about $25 per person. A little much for me when it comes to breakfast.
Location:
Cancun’s hotels are situated in a “7” position. Those at the top of the 7 get smooth water with waves that rarely get above knee height. The hotels in this area are going to have much better beaches! Hotels include RIU Caribe, Fiesta Americana Villas, Intercontinental Presidente Cancun, etc… I will be sure to stay at Intercontinental on our next visit.
The Gran Melia is located in about the middle of the / on the 7. The water is rough! There isn’t a lot of beach but there is plenty to walk along or sit in a lounge chair and enjoy the sea. However, walking into the water can be dangerous because of all the rocks. The moss on the rocks is awful slick!
Hotel is across the street from a McDonalds, couple of convenient stores, and a place to rent jet skis, parasail, etc...(we didn’t go there so no opinion can be offered). We walked to the McDonalds almost every morning for breakfast. I love the scrambled eggs with ham mixed in!!!
As for downtown, the cab ride was anywhere from $8.00-$10.00. By downtown I mean where Hard Rock & Chili’s are located.
Other Info:
If you don’t go with the hotels all-inclusive option, you can charge everything to your room and pay at the end of your stay. This has always worked out best for us. Since we don’t eat every meal at the hotel and we don’t drink all our drinks at the hotel. Our tab upon checking out was under $200.00. This included our snacks from the little store inside (red bull, Mt Dew, etc..) all our pool drinks, and those we bought for others.
It kinda bothered me that the little pools/streams of water in the lobby for the fish was so nasty. This hotel has a beautiful atrium with a water feature, vines all over, and fish. The fish water was yucky in some areas and other areas had no water.
Overall….would I stay there again? Nope. Then again, I wasn’t that impressed with Cancun. I think my husband and I will try Playa del Carmen next time.
