My family of four (children ages 10 and 12) stayed at the Grand Mayan during the last week of July and had one of the best vacations ever!

Overall, the Grand Mayan was nice. The hotel service and hospitality was well above average. The rooms were clean and the evening service was especially nice. We especially loved the waiter by the beach and pool, Oscar, whose service was impeccable. The children loved the waterpark, the pool, and Mondo, where we had a lot of fun playing cards and eating fondue!

I don't belive we would've enjoyed ourselves as much as we did if we had not had Roberto Alarcon as our trip consultant, driver and guide! We contacted him a few days before we left town and he was right there waiting for us at the airport with a sign bearing our family name! It was obvious to us that Roberto is well known and respected in Acapulco. He always arranged our lunch and dinner reservations and was an outstanding tour guide who knew how to integrate food, fun, shopping and entertainment! He took great pictures of us whenever we were together and even brought his family along with us on one of our outings. One of the great things about his services is his flexibility in planning our tours instead of force fitting our fun into pre planned time slots of typical tour guide services. I simply cannot say enough about him and recommend that anyone going to Acapulco be sure to connect with him before leaving. His contact info is all over this site!

As for my dislikes with the Grand Mayan: I understand the need to maintain security by wearing a wristband if you stay on the property; however, I did not appreciate their approach to distinguishing owners from those who were not by wristband color. Couldn't that have been taken care of electronically?? It made me wonder whether something else was behind the wristband requirement. The fact that you could smoke in Mondo kept us out of there a couple times when we wanted to be there. I was really disappointed to find that a place like the Grand Mayan would require its guests to wash dishes on vacation!! I thought that was just despicable!! Also, the vendors on the beach were very irritating to me while I was trying to relax.

Overall, very relaxing and family oriented vacation.

Our stay at the Grand Mayan was very enjoyable, the room was a bit below our expectations, but we came to enjoy it. It would be great for a family, and worked for our honeymoon. The weather was great even though everything said that it would be terrible. If you go CONTACT ROBERTO ALARCON; his prices were phenomenal, his English perfect, and his demeanor wonderful. He treated us like we were old friends.
his contact information:
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just got home last night! August and September are suppose to be wet months... but we didn't see a drop of rain until the last night... and it POURED!
the resort is BEAUTIFUL! the rooms are amazing... just a note... only owners/members get ocean view rooms and there is a sewer smell off the balconies facing the street/golf course.
I have to say that Roberto Alarcon made our stay in Acapulco the best! We got his email off of other reveiws and are very glad that we did that. we were on a tight budget and he respected that! But he wasn't going to cut us short on anything! He made sure we got to see and do whatever we hoped to be able to do! His english is perfect, he lives close to the airport so it is a convenient shuttel for him. He knows Acapulco and I think everyone in Acapulco knows him, and respects him! He definately became more than a tour guide or driver... he is a FRIEND!!!! email him ahead of time and he will answer your emails promptly (caries his blackberry so he is ALWAYS in touch!) Roberto Alarcon
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ok as for other things we did.... horse rides on the beach... CARLOS has awesome horses! I ran my horse and I could tell the horse was happy and loved it! I even took my horse out in to the waves!
Didn't do the atv's because we have those here at home...
the vendors are pretty cool... I even got a massage on the beach (bargain for a price... I said $10 and she gave me about a 30 minute massage on her table, very good massage).
We got to watch them release 1500 baby sea turtles one night (ask the activity staff when they will be doing that... you don't want to miss it!).

the tour presntation was worth taking for the extra room credit (we talked them in to 800 pesos) and 10% discount... an interesting presentation and concept. Feel free to say 'no' and leave.

all the silly charges are rediculous for such a nice place. THey make it real obvious that the owners/members are favored. The arm bands are different colors and they can go to the water park for free, gym for free, get ocean view rooms, etc.....

Security is TIGHT... they definately are everywhere!!!

anyway... we had a great time. probably won't stay there if we go back again... but are glad we got to do it this time!

Before I talk about Roberto Alarcon, El Hombre (that's The Man for all you radical folk) I have to tell you this . . . if you plan on going to Acapulco, you must stay at the GRAND MAYAN. It is simply breathtaking. The staff is excellent, the rooms are excellent, everyone and I mean everyone is friendly. From the beach to the pool, from the restaurants to the Mondo Lounge, from room service to doing it yourself, from check in to check out, they treat you like a king.

Now, if you need transfers or want to schedule excursions, there is only one person you need to talk to . . . ROBERTO ALARCON. Let me say it again . . . ROBERTO ALARCON. This man treats you like family, he arrives on time and bends over backward to make sure your stay in Acapulco will be one of the best vacations you have ever enjoyed. His transfer price and excursion prices are on par or even cheaper than the competition. And the plus is . . . you get hands on service whereever he takes you . . . Quality restaurants and marketplaces . . . wherever you go throughout beautiful Acapulco. If you need to hear it first hand, email me or contact Mr. Alarcon yourself at robertoalrey@yahoo.com.mx

Lastly, just a piece about what you can do at the hotel. The beach has Pacific Ocean waves, so break out the boogie or surf boards and catch a wave. The waves weren't too huge near the beach line that you couldn't enjoy a swim. They also had ATVs and horses along the beach for riding. The pool on the premise extends from the Grand Mayan to the Mayan Palace which is right next door and is great for swimming with a bar on the Mayan Palace side for all you tequilla runners. The arcade is small but big enough for kids to enjoy some gaming and the Mondo Lounge is a nice spot to chill, dance or mingle. There are plenty of places to go in Gold area of Acapulco and Roberto Alarcon can show you the way.

Wow . . . I guess I've said a mouthful, but remember Acapulco is beautiful and so are its people.