Gran Palladium Riv/Gran Bahia Principe C/Barcelo maya Palace/Grand Riveria Princess

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yeah, I understand tourism is big business in Mexico, but isn't there something weird about eating your face off at a gigantic 200-item buffet, while a few hundred feet away people are mired in poverty? I'm no pious saint by any means, but that would make a little uncomfortable.

I hear ya. Never been to an AI, but I've often thought the exact same thing. I did quite a bit of reading about AI's last winter, and was close to booking one in Dominican Republic. I started to read quite a bit about the place. EXTREME poverty in the country, yet inside the 5 star palatial properties people are gorging themselves. It's not that the tourists don't deserve some r and r in the sun, and everything that goes along with it. It's just a little ironic that this exists in some of the poorest places in the world.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

It's not that the tourists don't deserve some r and r in the sun, and everything that goes along with it. It's just a little ironic that this exists in some of the poorest places in the world.

Yeah, maybe it's because my family originated from the wrong side of the iron curtain, but it's notion of two such extremes existing so close by that makes me a little uncomfortable. I guess if it was in Florida, I'd be fine with it, ha?

Again, sorry, I dont want to sound preachy, people deserve their vacations and have them where they wish. Dismissing my thought with a moronic "poverty is world wide so whatever" statement sure feels inappropriate though.

I was about to apologize for misunderstanding your posts when Buzzard clarified your thoughts for you.

But nm... I'm just a moron and it wouldn't matter to you anyways.

[FireInTheHole]

We've stayed at Bahia Principe Coba and Akumal before. We went to Coba last April - although we were booked for Akumal. We had stayed at Akumal back in 2002 for our honeymoon when Coba didn't exist yet. When we arrived they "upgraded" us to Coba - likely because they overbooked Akumal. While the Coba complex is newer and nicer, it is quite a bit further from the beach than Akumal.

Comparing Bahia Principe Coba/Akumal/Tulum vs. Grand Paladium? That's a tough call as both resorts are quite similar in a lot of ways. BP is a much larger resort, which has it's disadvantages as you may need to shuttle around a fair bit. More selection of pools at BP, and more resteraunts as well. If price was of no concern, I think we would go back to BP Akumal over GP.

For what it's worth, we just got back from Barcelo Maya Colonial in December. There are 5 resorts within the complex. We were booked for the Beach resort, but they started rennovating it and moved us to the Colonial, which was fairly new. We really enjoyed Barcelo, and liked the layout much better than BP as you can walk from place to place quicker. Great beach at Barcelo - the beach on the "Beach Resort" side is apparently one of the best on the Riviera Maya.

As for attractions, the ones we like the best were (forgive my spelling):
1) Chichen Itza - then Coba - then Tulum in that order
2) ATV / zip-line / swim with sea turtles tour (pick that up from BP)
3) Xel-ha

As for getting around - I wouldn't bother renting a car. Walk to the highway and catch a "collectivo", which is a white van that will take you from place to place. Very inexpensive and efficient way to get around. I think it's 20 pesos to get from most resorts to Playa Del Carmen. You can also go to Tulum, Akumal and Xel-ha on the Collectivo as well.

Hope this helps a bit - let me know if you have any questions.

[Slava]

My wife is at the Bahia Principe Coba as we speak...she says its amazing and gets back later this week.

[ScreamingEagle44]

Bump

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Is this one of those places where you wine and dine your way to gluttonous excess inside of an impeccable all-inclusive fenced-in resort, while outside, mexican children wander around begging for change and table scraps?

I'm no Sally Struthers, but there always seemed something wrong about those resorts. Then again, if i was in corrupt Mexico, I'd probably want to be shielded away from the crime and reality a bit as well.

no offence, and I am not wanting to start a pissing match, but are you doing anything to help these people. If you will not vacation there to help their economy, are you doing other things?

[ScreamingEagle44]

Originally Posted by fotze

No paradisus this time?

No we loved it but just want to try something different.

[Sainters7]

Awesome thread to start, I'm heading there with my ladyfriend once the semester's over. Being a student, I don't have the means that some may have going to these places. I've already looked on Expedia and found some good places, but I'd love to hear first-hand from some people on here. Has anyone stayed at some decent all-inclusive resorts in Playa Del Carmen that they could recommend, preferably a place for someone on a college student's budget? Thanks.

[ScreamingEagle44]

Bump added some new resorts.

[jam26]

I honeymooned at the Princess in June. It's a beautiful resort - but it was so new that they were still working out problems. We upgraded to 'Platinum' and it was well worthwhile, as you have access to a private pool and lounge with Internet and snacks.

While in the lounge, we saw many guests complain about having things stolen from their rooms. We later found out there's a huge theft problem at this resort - likely because it's so new and they hadn't yet rooted out the culprits. The resort did nothing to assist the guests, except to tell them to go on in to town and talk to the police.

On tripadvisor, you can read some of these accounts that we witnessed first-hand. Nothing was stolen from our room, as we used the safe. I think the victims were leaving cash lying around.

The food at this resort is decent, but you may not get the reservations you want at the a la cartes. You'll have better luck as a Platinum guest, but there are still no guarantees, you have to be flexible. The grounds are huge, so be prepared to walk. A shuttle comes by sporadically.

The beach is nice. The main pool is busy, busy, busy - another reason the upgrade to Platinum and its private pool was worthwhile. Lots of kids at this resort. As far as things to do, there's usually a band or other performers in the evening and there's a 24-hr sports bar. There are many day trips you can arrange, including tours of the ruins. We did a 1/2-day trip to Tulum which was cool. A trip into Playa Del Carmen (?) provides a lot of entertainment options - tons of shops, restaurants and bars.

I guess that's about it. If my tone seemed really negative, I didn't intend it that way. We knew going in that it was a new resort and was still ironing out some customer service issues. Overall, we were pleased with our stay - the lousy customer service became kinda comical to us and we shrugged it off. If you're a discriminating traveller that wants to be pampered, this is not the place to go.

[Saint Troy]

Went to the Barcelo Maya for my brothers wedding and it was fantastic, beautiful beach and no shortage of great food. Loved the Xelha and Tulum day trips, though skip the deep sea fishing at Playa if you get seasick easily.