LOOKS BETTER ON PAPER> that sums up Golden Shores & Crown Paradise ClubThere WERE some nice things about it but all and all I would say we were disappointed and would NOT recommend it NOR would we return. My #1 complaint was the ridiculous "RESERVATION POLICY FOR DINNER" They never mentioned it when we checked in. Quite by accident at the pool the next day another guest asked "where we were eating dinner that night' ....ONLY then did we find out about the nightmare that would be dinner. Reservations were almost impossible to come by. You had to call starting at 8 am and even then could not get reservations until after 9pm. They were always "booked' yet when you WENT to the restaurants they were never more than 1/2 full. Rumor had it that the management made it very difficult to get reservations so people would just "go to the Buffet' We were also told we could only have 2 reservations at a time. This apparently however was not the rule for everybody?? Then to add insult to injury one night we finally had reservations only to show up at 8pm all dressed for dinner to find they had lost not only OUR reservations but also the reservations for the people in front of us. Neither of us were very happy and the management was unable to find even ONE RESTAURANT we could eat at---- even though as mentioned there were many many empty tables at every restaurant we went to look at. It was VERY upsetting and frustrating!!! THE BUFFET was a LOT like a college or any very cheap family style restaurant. Service was minimal and the food fair. We really wanted to SIT DOWN as a family @ ' at one of the resorts six restaurants'. When we complained over and over again we finally did get reservations for the last 3 days. It's not my idea of a great time having to spend hours talking to the mangers trying to get what we already paid for. POSITIVE THING> there was a SUSHI BAR open like 12-5pm > that was fresh and very good. There were sometimes very long lines but I would just watch and go when the lines were less. It was VERY good! The kids thought the hamburgers ROCKED!! There was also a snack bar opened every night from 10pm-6am. There was also room service- it was very slow but it was available. There was food available and plentiful. It just wasn't always that great but if you don't care about that, you'd be happy with the quantity. We stayed in the 'condos. The rooms were fine> they were big and had nice little decks with ocean view. The furniture was cheesy and plastic but it was FINE. THE BEDS WERE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. We almost laughed the first night when we finally got to bed. Again it's not the Westin so were not that concerned. It's vacation and we usually just go with the flow. The rooms were very CLEAN! THE RESORT IS BIG> there is a lot to do but it seemed like so much of it was like I said "looks good on paper' The kids "play area' was very big and nice. Seemed like a lot of guests used it for daycare. You had the choice to check your kids in to stay or let them come and go. You would see the daycare kids at the Buffet fro lunch and dinner and again @ the show each night- there were usually about 50 of them. If you want a vacation where your kids are well entertained WITHOUT you, this could be for you. They had many activities through out the day for the kids. BUT when I asked about 'craft time" they were quick to point out that it was very popular and always filled... in other words - your kids can't do it. That was fine- my kids went a couple of times with us and had fun but they didn't spend the week in daycare. There was a "TEEN POOL AREA" - it is hidden around the back and out of the way. There are 2 water slides that my young girls REALLY liked. There is a little soccer field there that could have been popular if it weren't so out of the way. There is the most pathetic SAND VOLLEYBALL COURT> it COULD be very cool but it is a few inches of sand ON TOP OF CEMENT!! My son totally cut up his knee not knowing that it wasn't a REAL sand volley ball court. There was no beach to speak of so this was really there only option for sand volley ball- I don't know why they didn't have MORE SAND. Also in the Teen Area... There was a rock wall- it is open for one hour a day- there was always a long line- you could maybe do it once/day if you got in line.There was a cool ZIP LINE-- again ONCE a day-- long line. Most kids in the 'teen area' were 12 and under. There was silly Putt Putt and another basketball/soccer area the kids used a bit.There was an indoor kid area. It was circa 1970 but my kids liked hanging in there at night while we WAITED for our sometimes reservations for dinner. There was a movie area that occasionally had movies playing. There is an ADULT ONLY pool. My husband and I did check it out once. It was nice. It's a nice option but it did close at 5pm and it overlooked the parking lot. It was a nice pool and the only hot tubs. My kids were disappointed there were no other Hot Tubs. The other 2 outside pools were fine also. One is salt and the other fresh. There were LOTS of chairs but like so many resorts they had a HUGE problem with the 'saving of chairs' Mostly we just didn't worry about it and usually we would find a chair or 2 by mid day. The TOWEL situation was a JOKE! you get these towel cards. IF YOU LOSE YOUR TOWEL it cost $35. Whatever. Towels walked away constantly. I was sitting in a chair one day and an adult man picked up my daughters towel right next to me... Hello that is my towel- Sorry he says, somebody just took mine. So people just ran around taking towels... by 8am EVERY CHAIR was 'saved' with these precious towels... even though the towel station didn't open until 9am. It was just mostly annoying. There was an 'indoor pool' . My kids said it was not clean. The blue blue water of Cancun is just BEAUTIFUL!! ! The beach @ the resort is very small and the water was VERY rough the entire time we were there. It was NOT SAFE to be out in for swimming and everyday we witnessed the lifeguards "doing a save." Red Flags were out all the time. There was "FREE SNORKELING and non motorized equipment." Well you have to go off site to Aqua World and it is mostly just to up-sell you on trip. There is no snorkeling but the Kayak was fine. The kids had fun with it. It's a pain to get back and forth to but it was a fun adventure. There is a nice tennis court. It's out of the way out in front. It never seemed to be busy. RING YOUR OWN racquet's and balls. They had 6 in the whole resort and the balls were wet and OLD and cost $2/piece if you lost them. They have some bikes but you can't actually use them. They are for adults ONLY and then only at 9am for a group ride that from what I could tell the couple times I went down to the desk- never happened. There was a smallish wrokout area. There was Internet but it was for fee. I asked for an activities list but there wasn't really one and the concierge was not very helpful.
HALF OF THE STAFF was very nice... the other 1/2 NOT! and why they had to be doing so much construction during what I can only imagine is part of their busiest season??! It was CONSTANT!! It was loud and annoying. There was PLENTY of drinking and if you are going for the booze you will not be disappointed. They were plenty generous and the bartenders mostly seemed very nice. I've seen a few reviews complain about the slow service- it was fine. I wasn't in a huge hurry - I was on vacation. You could find someplace to go without long lines. BIG THING> if you choose to go here~ BRING YOUR OWN LARGER CUP! Many many people had heard this or bought cups in the gift shop. Otherwise your drinks come in Dixie cups. SO that is my very honest opinion. I do have to say > my kids had FUN! They met some nice kids. There were less younger kids for my 9 & 12 yr old-- maybe a lot of them stayed in the daycare. It was not a "Spring Break" place but there was plenty of drinking- so if that's your thing, you'll like it.