We arrived at the hotel at about 2pm on March 16th. There were 3 couples ahead of us, so we had to wait. Waiting with a tired 2 year old isnt fun either. You would think they would have more than one person at the check in with a line of people/couples/families 10 deep, but whatev! Anyway, the 3 couples ahead of us were all told that they were getting sent to the Golden Parnassus. They all basically said fine and I got to the counter about 45 minutes later. I checked in wondering what they were going to do with us since we had our daughter with us. We got a room right away. Yep, if you have kids, you automatically stay here, otherwise you get "bumped". Come to find out from our travel rep onsite, they aren't overbooked. They just want to fill up the Golden Parnassus with couples so they take them down there. If they complain enough, they get sent back to the Great. So my first and foremost advice is that if you are going to Mexico without kids, book a different hotel group. You will save yourself a lot of hassle. We got to our room and it was on the "even numbered" side of the hotel. I should have asked right there for a different room since I knew about the Hilton side being noisy, but the baby was tired and hungry as was my husband and myself. So we just kept the room. The one thing that I did ask for was a crib, even emailed about it and had the travel rep put it in the computer before we got there. They told me they didn't have any! WTF???? It's on the website!! Anyway, later on that eveing, I had my husband call down and ask about them. 10 minutes later they were at our door with the pack-n-play! So if you need one, call about it, don't ask the front desk. The room itself smelled musty at first. I'm not sure if we just got used to it over the next few days or what, but it didn't smell after the first day. The room was clean, balcony was very nice for a view, but the air conditioners for the Hilton were super noisy, so we never stayed out there long. We had a king bed and a futon. I think all rooms had the futons too. The bathroom was nice as well, all very clean. I like the fact that the toilet is in a water closet. Housekeeping didn't come through until late afternoon. Make sure to push the Clean my room button anytime you are out of the room in the case they come by and see it sooner! They did a good job, left extra towels and water each time. We also left $2 or $3 tips everyday. Housekeeping works very hard there. Actually, anyone in a cleaning mode there works very hard. Housekeeping, bus boys, etc. always seemed to be doing something. They really tried to please you! The food at the buffet was good, not gourmet, but good for our family. There is a lot of kid-friendly food (fresh fruits, chicken strips, fish strips, pasta bar, omlette bar in the mornings, fruit smoothies, quesadillas, tacos, etc. All very fresh!) The mexican food was our favorite. The tortillas are wonderful! My husband and I loved the fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas and empanadas. The fish was really good too at the seafood bar. I saw a lot of people at the sushi bar. We don't like sushi, but it must have been good since everyone was eating it! We always ate at the buffet. I was just easier with a child. We tried eating at the Manhattan Deli restaurant, but we waited for about 10 minutes for someone to acknowledge us and no one ever did. And this was after being seated by the host! So we just left and never went back. I had read the reviews that the restaurants weren't good anyway and to go off the resort if you wanted something different. BUT.........one of my family's favorite part of this hotel was La Creperie, it was a dessert station near the lobby of the hotel. They were open from 4-11pm and served ice cream in cones, waffle bowls, cups and these fabulous waffle boats! The waffle boats were freshly made waffles with your choice of ice cream. You could get anything with any topping, and they probably had 15 toppings to choose from. They also had crepes. My husband had the crepes, and he said they were ok. The waffle boats were better. We made our nightly routine of eating dinner and then taking our daughter to the kids disco to let her run around and dance. It was empty most nights except for one when they had a kids disco activity there which was really fun for our daughter. Anyway, after dancing, we went to the "ice cream store" and then sat in the lobby to eat it. It was really nice with the breeze coming through there. Speaking of breezes, the walkways to the pools/beach were the worst wind-tunnels I have ever experienced! It was like walking in a hurricane without the rain! The pools were nice though. The pool-area was crowded, but not the pools themselves. We always got a chair though, without problems. The beach was ok. It washed away the second day we were there. The boulders also washed up that day. The water was very rough, no one could go very far into the water. Both my husband and I got our butts kicked by a wave and we decided that was enough. This hotel also has a very very nice kids area. It is at the other end of the hotel which is a long walk from the pool/beach. But the staff at the baby club/kids club were tremendous. If they were in the states, I would have no problem with them being my child care providers. Everything is super clean and organized. Also very secure. You had to sign in and sign the kids up with their passports as ID. There was a window there to talk to them through, but to get in they had to unlatch the door from the other side. It always seemed like the kids were having a great time. The baby club was great. We didn't really leave our daughter there since we wanted to spend family time together on vacation, but we took her down there to play. They have a nice mat area with big mats they can climb over and slide down, plus a ball pit. They have a nap area set up with pack-n-plays for naptime, plus a tv for movies, books, stereo for music, etc. Part was air conditioned and part wasn't. It was really nice down there though, even the unairconditioned areas. I think thats all. All-in-all, we would definately return to this resort. We had a great time and they are wonderful with the kids! If you want a family resort, this is a really nice one. If you want to go on a quiet vacation in a fancy room with fancy food, this isn't the place for you! Spend the money and go to Dreams or Sandals or the like. If there is anything you would like to know, feel free to ask!
