I visited Cancun the last week of April--right when the Swine Flu nonsense was just starting the the media was out of control. But, that did nothing to hamper our trip.
We arrived at the hotel at 3:00 pm--what we were told was check-in time. Well, the hotel employee who was checking us in was not outright rude, but certainly wasn't warm or welcoming. We were told our room wouldn't be ready for at least 90 minutes. Had we known that, we would have grabbed our swimsuits and left our carry-ons as well. But, we had given our bags to the bellman and kept our carry ons thinking we'd go straight to a room. So, we had nothing to do but wander around.
The property itself is very nice. The main pool was beautiful and nicely maintained. There were a lot of spring breakers there that we thought we would have missed because of timing, but they stayed together at the ends of the pool. Unfortunately, that left us in the middle which was like kid central! There were young kids all over. It was the first place I've ever been that was both a party hotel and a family hotel. Not much for those of us in the middle (3 single girls in our 30s and on in her 50s). But, we made do.
We finally got to our room and it was nice. It was a garden view (we had hoped for ocean). The biggest downside was there was only 1 king bed and 1 rollaway. We were supposed to have a room with two double beds and a rollaway. When we asked for that room, we were told that it was at the hotel's discretion and the only way we could move to a different room was to pay $60 more a night. No way! The rollaway was horrible (slanted at about a 20 degree angle). We also had trouble getting enough towels. We were 3 adults, and we had to ask for a third set of towels every single day, as well as more bottled water. We even left notes (in Spanish) and they were ignored.
The biggest disappointment was the beach. We were all well traveled, and had all been to Cancun, and think it's one of the prettiest places on Earth. But, the beach at the hotel was decimated in 2005 by the hurricane. It wasn't so much that there isn't sand and a place to lay out--that was okay. But, there is no entry to the water except for one small stretch at the far end of the property. And when I mean no entry, I mean giant rocks and boulders that you aren't even allowed to be on because it's too dangerous. So if you want to get in the water, this is not the best place to go.
We did an all-inclusive plan and got what we expected--food was good not great. Drinks were a bit weak, but again, that's what we expected having done all inclusive other places. For the price we paid we were not complaining and we did just fine.
One note I'd like to caution you on is the outdoor massage tables. We found ourselves sitting near these cabanas many of the days. We noticed that the staff used the same towels over and over from guest to guest--disgusting. They would shake them out, then refold them and use them again. We convinced ourselves we were wrong so we all watched carefully and saw none of the 4 people giving massages use different towels for the people to lay on or to cover with on the table. So, you've been warned!
Overall, the Grand Oasis is a nice place if you're looking for affordability and a nice pool area with decent food. We only ate at one of the reservation restaurants (the Brazilian steakhouse) and it was good. But most meals we ate at the same buffet restaurant (can't remember the name but by the water between the two pools with a bar attached). Would I stay there again, probably not. But I'm a big ocean lover and not being able to walk into the water except for from one sliver of beach was a huge disappointment. We all also enjoy walking on the beach, and where this property is located (pretty far south on the hotel zone) there isn't too far to go before you can't walk further because of beach erosion and rocks.
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