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So many Vidanta RM questions (exchanger)

whitewater

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Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach (1Br, 2Br)
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach - Monte Cristo Estates
I'm so glad to hear your stay is going well! I just booked flights for our family of twelve, with a little trepidation. This will be our first stay at Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya, and I'm hoping it will be as nice as my last trip to GL-NV with my sisters - which was fantastic! The rules and amenities seem very different at the Grand Luxxe in the Riviera Maya. We have six children under six, so we're going to need lots of things to do to keep them busy - so they sleep soundly through the night!
we too have young kids. They have the "Joy Squad" at the infinity pool that over looks the lake/pond. From 10am to 5pm there are diff. activities that our kids took advantage of. bracelet, cupcake decorating, bingo, water aerobics, etc... they loved them all.

we are going a total of 3x this year. I think you will enjoy it. Do not overthink it and have fun.
 

whitewater

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Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach - Monte Cristo Estates
Getting closer to the trip, still wondering if anyone can confirm if the coffee machine is indeed Nespresso. Also, what kind of credit cards can be used in Mexico? I assume MC / visa are fine, what about Amex or Discover?

On another note, I plan on making the best of it and seeing what they tell me about access when I get there. I wouldn’t think June is the high season, so maybe they will suspend their no access rule to the pool / beach club for low season? A girl can dream.
visa, MC, or amex all work. check to see which ones have the lowest foreign transaction fees.

cannot comment on GL coffee. Grand mayan is normal 4 cup machine.
 

Flasher42

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I know GL buildings are 3 floors, are the first floor balconies bigger than 2nd or 3rd floor?
I see a 3 bedroom trading with Interval, has anyone stayed in one?
 

alexadeparis

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The pools are all lovely and the kids will have plenty of activities. They have a nice deli and a little grocery area, and room service is also reasonable. We had a little too much fun at happy hour and got sunburnt. I can definitely see the appeal of the resort and look forward to my exchange next year into GL NV.
 

alexadeparis

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I know GL buildings are 3 floors, are the first floor balconies bigger than 2nd or 3rd floor?
I see a 3 bedroom trading with Interval, has anyone stayed in one?

The balconies don’t seem to be any bigger here on the ground floor.
 

alexadeparis

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Final thoughts as we get ready to leave tomorrow morning. Overall, I had a nice time, but sad to say, we will probably not return to this particular location, although we are still eager to see GL NV. The landscaping is very lush, and at first glance, everything looks upscale. But if you really scrutinize it, you see it only has the appearance of being upscale. For example, our room, if you really look closely is made out of plywood in a lot of places, the doors, some of the cabinets and side tables, etc. I felt similarly with the decorative pillows, and really all the soft goods, couches, etc. even the beach club. From 10-20 feet away everything looks great. If you looked really closely, there’s a lot of things that are done cheaply and not with the finishing you would expect. For example, my bathing suit caught on a nail in the pool area where some of the wooden clapboard wall decoration was. At a true 5 diamond AAA property, that a) would never happen in the first place, and b) the workmanship would be perfect, and for example, would be drilled-in screws with countersunk holes for smoothness, NOT nailed in haphazardly with no uniform pattern. And it would have been teak, not oak or pine. Same with the pool loungers, homemade, and so-so, at that. Once I started to see the corners that were being cut, I saw it everywhere, and it really was a huge let down. Also, we could very rarely get from place to place in the resort by shuttle in less than a half hour. 3 shuttles to Grand Mayan for every Grand Luxxe shuttle. Really not up to par for service levels, as one would expect at a property rated 5 stars. Food at Azur and Tramonto good, but not great, and the rest of the food was average at best. Water never got truly hot in the shower all week, towels all scratchy, Nespresso didn’t work properly, and I could go on here, but why? Point being, Maybe a 3.5 or at best a 4 diamond, but NOT a 5.
 

Flasher42

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Do you have recommendations of a true 5 diamond resort? We have October reservations at
GL RM, and have time to retrade? I have to say the $30/pp/pd fee is hard to swallow!
 

whitewater

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Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach (1Br, 2Br)
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach - Monte Cristo Estates
Do you have recommendations of a true 5 diamond resort? We have October reservations at
GL RM, and have time to retrade? I have to say the $30/pp/pd fee is hard to swallow!
pueblo bonito sunset beach
 

hurnik

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Final thoughts as we get ready to leave tomorrow morning. Overall, I had a nice time, but sad to say, we will probably not return to this particular location, although we are still eager to see GL NV. The landscaping is very lush, and at first glance, everything looks upscale. But if you really scrutinize it, you see it only has the appearance of being upscale. For example, our room, if you really look closely is made out of plywood in a lot of places, the doors, some of the cabinets and side tables, etc. I felt similarly with the decorative pillows, and really all the soft goods, couches, etc. even the beach club. From 10-20 feet away everything looks great. If you looked really closely, there’s a lot of things that are done cheaply and not with the finishing you would expect. For example, my bathing suit caught on a nail in the pool area where some of the wooden clapboard wall decoration was. At a true 5 diamond AAA property, that a) would never happen in the first place, and b) the workmanship would be perfect, and for example, would be drilled-in screws with countersunk holes for smoothness, NOT nailed in haphazardly with no uniform pattern. And it would have been teak, not oak or pine. Same with the pool loungers, homemade, and so-so, at that. Once I started to see the corners that were being cut, I saw it everywhere, and it really was a huge let down. Also, we could very rarely get from place to place in the resort by shuttle in less than a half hour. 3 shuttles to Grand Mayan for every Grand Luxxe shuttle. Really not up to par for service levels, as one would expect at a property rated 5 stars. Food at Azur and Tramonto good, but not great, and the rest of the food was average at best. Water never got truly hot in the shower all week, towels all scratchy, Nespresso didn’t work properly, and I could go on here, but why? Point being, Maybe a 3.5 or at best a 4 diamond, but NOT a 5.

Which building did you stay in, if you don't mind my asking.

Last time we were at GL (I have to dig up) I think we were in Bldg. 1
Almost never had hot water (lukewarm at best). Neither did my sister's room.
 

alexadeparis

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Which building did you stay in, if you don't mind my asking.

Last time we were at GL (I have to dig up) I think we were in Bldg. 1
Almost never had hot water (lukewarm at best). Neither did my sister's room.

It was Bldg 1
 

alexadeparis

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taffy19

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I don't know about the Grand Velas today but it was when we used to own a timeshare there in Nuevo Vallarta many years ago. We bought it before it was built and I loved the idea of not having to cook at all while on vacation. It was a new concept to us. :cool:

I would love to stay there again. They do have specials sometimes when you call the resort direct but never during high season but you can make reservations at their restaurants. They also have the Casa Velas that has the classic Mexican architecture. Really charming.

They are all inclusive resorts. If you are a "foodie" you may prefer to try different restaurants in town so not stay in an all-inclusive resort. Restaurant week was even extended this year but is finished now.
 
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