Just got Back. I traveled with my 2 kids and my sons friend. If you are beach people ( spend the majority of the day at the beach, not the pool) then I highly suggest staying at this resort only if you book the beachfront walkout. That room is the best located room of any resort we have ever stayed at...or even heard of. Its small but the convienence of being able to walk out of your room and onto a beautiful beach (one of the best since the erosion). Its also equiped with a flat Lg screen TV and awsome glassed in shower (nice hot pressure). The room also has a 10x10 back porch so you have your own shade; and a canopy bed reserved for your room.
Service is top notch as everyone greets you with a smile and quickly tries to help any need you want.
Now the parts that are not so good.
I absolutley believe the staff is ordered to minimize alcohol in the drinks. Dont get me wrong, they taste excellent, but not much alcohol in them and they are consistent about doing this. I tipped 20 pesos every time and even asked for more alcohol but normally get the same (most drinks are blended, which is a nice touch in the hot sun) I actually didnt mind this because they are prompt to make them and even bring them to you beachside but some people wouldnt like the less alcohol. So if your coming to get drunk, sorry.
Food. -----Ive had this theory already and this resort has confirmed that the only foods good in Mexico is eggs, chicken, and potatos. everything else has a certain "twang" about it that is undesirable. It still puzzles me how resorts (ive stayed at several in Cancun) can honestly call that a hamburger. It is the nastiest tasting thing( cant call it beef)
Overall, this is the best resort we have been to and I would absolutely stay here again. Again, if your not beach people, you may not like this resort. If you are beach people I highly recommend staying in their beachfront walkout.,...Its to die for!!

On a special side note: The highlight of our trip was going to the, "Jungle Place". Its a family owned Monkey sanctuary outside of Akumal. For $30, you get to interact with about 6 spyder monkeys for over an hour in their cage(supervised). Thats a once in a lifetime thing and something my kids will never forget. This place is beautiful and well kept. The owners are aswome welcoming people. They sat and talked to us for as long as we wanted before and after (friendly). IMO they are the only people not out to make money as they will take pictures of your family interacting-----with YOUR camera! They actually took over 50 with us. This is by far the best excusion you could take...its just not well known yet. They only allow two appointments per day to visit the monkeys (about 5 people in each group). They are genuine and never once tried to sell us anything.
The Jungle place is simply amazing.

First of all our travel agent Mark F. was horrible. He was rude and didn't communicate with us well. We do not recommend TravelMark in Houston, Tx. unless you're a millionaire. When we arrived at the hotel there was a problem with our room which took about 45 min to 1 hour to straighten out. When we went upstairs to our room, there was urine on the bathroom floor around the toilet and there were dirty towels on the floor, but the bed was made. We knew someone had been in there but it wasn't cleaned properly. Also they were renovating other rooms below and above ours. The noise level was extreme. We couldn't hear ourselves speaking to each other. We dealt with it the first night because the front desk told us they wouldn't be working on the rooms on Saturday. LIE. The next day we went out and came back to not being able to get into our room with our keys. We went downstairs, they fixed them,( So we thought.) went back upstairs and still couldn't get in. So in all we made three trips to the front desk to get our keys fixed. On top of that, they were still renovating. We asked to speak to the manager (Alex). I asked him to walk upstairs with me to see what was going on with the keys and noise. After it was all said and done, he moved us to another floor and room with an ocean front view. The room was great. Now as far as the food and entertainment goes, the food wasn't all that. We stayed in the restroom half of the time. The shows were good for those who don't like to dance and just like to sit around. They didn't have a disco on the property like the Sandos Carocal in Riviera Maya. Overall to have spent our anniversary there, it was nice. Although we wouldn't stay there again.

Okay, I guess perhaps I am not the all-inclusive type. If you are young (18-22) and looking for a "spring break" type destination, then this is the place for you. The food is not good. We ate at every restaurant except Maria's (you need a reservation and have to make your reservation with guest services between 8am and 1pm-after that they cannot help you). For example, the onion rings at the Sunset Grill for lunch were similar to Burger King onion rings-though not as crisp. There was no actual onion inside the breading, just onion flavoring. After 2pm around the pool, the entertainment people started the spring break like activities of contests, tequilla volleyball and really loud music. Not too relaxing. I think it was actually more relaxing at the kids pool on the other side of the resort. They have a 24 hour snack area with tortilla chips and that canned bright orange cheese, along with hot dogs and hamburgers that didn't look too appetizing. There is a business center, but you have to pay for the internet (and the business center had a funky smell). Inside the rooms you could hear everything that was happening in the hall. Unfortunately out first night there we had teenagers running around outside screaming and partying from 12am-4am. We called the front desk and they may have sent security, but it did little good. The next morning we asked to change rooms and they moved us to the tower, which I think is the older part of the hotel. The room was fine, but the shower was quite painful-like pins and needles. I like high water pressure, but this was a bit much. The next night was much more peaceful as I think more families were on this side of the hotel. Though you could still hear everyone who walked by the room. Overall-the place was fine. I wouldn't stay here again, but it was fine. If you like good food-stay away. If you want quiet and relaxing-stay away. One positive thing-the place seemed pretty clean!

My husband and I were not expecting too much, but we were hoping to be pleasantly surprised. We were not. We thought the reviews on trip advisor gave it a much better rating than it deserved.

I just returned from a short get-away to the Gran Caribe Real. I searched for a long time trying to decide which resort to stay at. In the end, I chose to pay a little more to stay here, and I am thrilled I did.
The facilities are excellent. Everything is kept very clean, from the lobby where you could sit for hours feeling the breezes coming off of the Caribbean to the rooms. The staff was cleaning non-stop.
A couple of things that set this hotel apart from others I searched:
1. free in room safe
2. free wi-fi in the lobby area, and it worked great!
3. beach was great to actually get in and enjoy
4. restaurants offered buffet or a la carte, and the food was very good.
5. So much more.
The evening shows were entertaining, the event staff worked hard to make people's stay a little more enjoyable. I personally did not participate in the events throughout the day, but many people did.
I took the advise of previous travelers to this region and took a bunch of $1's with me. It was never expected by any of the staff, but it certainly brought a smile to their faces when they were given a little something in return for the service they provided. It was sad to see the very low number of people vacationing in Cancun as a result of the economy and the influenza. At NO time did I ever feel exposed to hazardous conditions. Cancun is a wonderful place to visit, and the Gran Caribe Real is a great place to stay.
Feel free to Message me with any specific questions, and I will tell you what my memory recalls. Oh, and use sunscreen!