Hola!!!
Thanks to all the previous reviews, we were ready to not get our hopes up and knew what to expect. We had a marvelous time making the most of every moment we had. As long as you dont let the minor things get to you, you will have a great time. No real big compliments. beware of the free gift, there is a catch.

At arrival there was no problem checking in at all, there are 2 separate check in sections one for the "grand" section and the other for the rest of the conjoined hotel. I would give this hotel a 3 star at most. There is in fact a foul smell that lingers from the lobby to the elevators and near the pool areas. At first we didnt mind so much but smelling this everytime we went downstairs.. pee- eww! I have no idea what it is but i dont see how people can lounge around in the lobby bar with this stinch up their noses. We tried to avoid the stinky areas. The construction of the hotel looks poorly done from our room, looked like it was done in a hurry, which it probably was. The room was roomy , had a plasma t.v, a nice view from our window of the breath taking beach. But the sheets didnt seem to have been changed but just made up to look neat and clean. There were yellow stains on one pillow and what looked to be a small blood stains on the other. We just covered these with our own cloths and slept on it.

As for the service for the "All Inclusive", we were given black rest bands which pretty much entitled us to use both pools and go to any restaurant both on the "grand" side and reg side. The Buffet was just ok for dinner the breakfast and lunch there is better. As for the rest of the restaurants we tried them all and we were never really satisfied with the quality of the food. Most of the time the food was cold. Dont even bother with making a reservations to the Mexiacan rest. Was not good and food was cold. Finally on our last 2nd to last day of the trip we found "DOS LUNAS" outside by the outdoor bar and steps from the sand, this restaurant is the best one there, dont waste your time going the others unless u like your food cold. The sushi rest. is ok too which is also outdoor, but took way too long for the food to arrive. Over all we were there for the beach and to explore cancun. I'll rate this a 2 1/2 - 3 star hotel and just dont expect too much luxury. waiters were attentive and nice. Pool was heated. Beach was a good location, beware of some rocks.
Next door was the Riu Palace with an absolutely amazing pool infinity, beautiful building and their side of the beach is bigger and nicer with more fishes. i heard form other travelers if u trespass on their property they will call policia. so be careful and just admire from afar. Oh yes and i Totally recommend the " Xel- Ha" tour. Jet skiing was awesome too, you can rent one off the beach. Ill be back to cancun one day but i dont think i would stay at the "grand" again, mainly because i didnt like the food and because of the stinky lobby and the tinyest elevator i have ever seem probably willl fit 4 skinny people or 2 heavy people.

We stayed at the Grand Oasis Viva Beach, and were pleasantly surprised. This was our first trip back to Cancun in 15 years, and really didn’t know what we were getting into. We have kids 10, 15, and 18… and this turned out to be a great place – peaceful enough for us, and with (just) enough bar activity for our 18 year old son to feel he was on a watered-down spring break. We saw a few other hotels on the ocean side where the music was blaring on all-concrete decks and pools… and felt grateful for our situation.

The hotel… we stayed in the new part, which is deemed the “Grand Oasis”… not to be confused with the “Oasis” … which was just the west renovated half of the hotel. By our “grand” title, we were given the prestigious black wristbands which gave us access to both halves of our hotel, as well as the others on the strip although we didn’t go to those. The black wristband was nice in that it gave us access to the “upscale” bar (larger drinks in real glass glasses) and the nicer “meat” restaurant (various very well prepared meats are brought to the table). Elevators were somewhat of an issue – especially on our side which had only one very tiny European-style machine. The location was pretty nice – easy walking distance to the downtown hub which we did several times.

The room… Our rooms were very nice – and seemed much nicer than the older side. We didn’t have a balcony which was kind of a bummer.

The All Inclusive… some good things, and some just OK things. Food was excellent and easy to find. The main restaurant with the buffet had decent food, and never had to wait for a table. The nicer restaurants were typically empty, and felt the food was pretty good. Staff and waiters were very friendly, which was somewhat surprising given the all-inclusive factor. If there was a downside, the drinks were all fairly small – and for a lover of cold beer, not much cold beer – all served out of a big bottle stuffed in the ice chest (other hotels had an actual tap). Carbonation in the soft drinks was non-existent (or perhaps the Mexican way).

The Beach… Very peaceful with a small forest of palm trees which was a very unique and nice twist. Hammocks between the trees were a treat. Chairs were somewhat easy to find. The ocean there on the north side was waveless… and very shallow a long ways out that reduced the stress of wondering where our 10-year-old was. Quite a bit of beach compared with the ocean side where the beach had been taken by Wilma. MUCH preferred having this beach to anything I saw along the ocean side. Those hotels tried to cram some chairs between the water and the hotel sea walls – not too receptive to siestas like on our side.

The Amenities… We jumped on some jet skis and did some parasailing. Prices were reasonable and they got us on those things the second we asked. Kayaks were free and always available which our 10-year-old used several times. Everyone who helped us was very friendly. One thing that was disappointing was that they didn’t have a health club area. The web site said they did, but what they meant was that it was located in the other hotel down the strip. We would have had to take a bus down the strip to use it. When we checked in, we were given very little instruction on where the restaurants were, maps, etc. I brought my laptop and asked the desk if they had wireless internet, and he said no. I found out, though, that you could buy hours (given a username and password) and that a wireless connection indeed existed which was a bonus for the second half of our stay.

Epilogue – We had a very nice stay. You’ll find more glitzy hotels along the other side, but – after seeing those – much preferred the value, Mexican authenticity, beach, and location of this hotel.

This hotel is set in a location away from the club distrist and noise. So if you are looking to have a quiet vacation; this is the hotel for you. I didn't mind the hotel, it's clean and Contemporary looking. I went with a group of my friends girls & guys. I wouldn't say this hotel is good for young people who like to be in the scene. It's perfect for families or a retreat.
Hospitality wise, if you treat the staff well they will treat you twice as well. Meaning smiling, treating them as indviduals, and showing your appreciation by tipping. (they make less than minimal wage) They work long hours with little pay.
I found the staff to be friendly, no complaints. The beach is generally clean, I did find alot of seaweed but they were trying their best to keep it clean. Pool side activities were alittle corny, but the host for it is super fun.
Food...I don't have anything great to say about it, I ate when I was hungry. But if you like sushi, hit the Sushi bar. If you do go to this hotel there is one wait staff that I was super good to us: Nicolas! And remember tip! Tip your wait staff, tip the maid, tip the bartender. Muy importante!

First of all, the hallways and elevators are not air conditioned. The Grand Oasis Viva Beach and Oasis Viva Beach are the same hotel. Just two buildings and two front desks. The food was O.K. There wasn' t 24 hr room service and the restaurants were only open certain hours. The drinks also O.K. The staff wasn't too friendly. Only spoke when spoken to. I traveled with my husband and 2 kids. The first night I went to all the restaurants looking for milk no one had any. I called room service for milk for the baby and I was hung up on. I had to get a taxi and go to a store to get milk at 11:30 p.m. They would run out of towels. The guys at the towel cabana filled up my kids floaties twice with a pump. The next day I went to have them filled and they sent me to concierge. Concierge went to the towel cabana, argued with the towel guys and found the pump in one of the drawers. The pools are kind of small. They look beautiful in the pictures. The beach had a lot of seaweed and was a little rocky. The Riu hotel is next to it and we walked through it. It was spectacular. I'd stay there on the next trip.