Great place to go and unwind. It is a family resort and the pool staff does everything to make you happy. Have a friendly attitude and you will make friends with people all over the world. Walk along the beach in the mourning and look for baby Turtles making their way to the ocean. The more friendly you are the better your trip will be.

Spent a week at the GM in Jan in a 1 bedroom. Our friend is an owner so we had a beautiful room on the top floor facing the pools/ocean. It was perfect b/c when our kids slept we could enjoy the sun on the balcony. The plunge pool is lovely but scary if you have small children. I turned my back for one second and my 2 yr old either jumped or fell in - luckily he was fine. They drain it every night and I assume it can be drained at your request during the day if you don't want it filled. We just stopped letting the kids on the balcony. Not sure why they drain it every night but am guessing they don't want drunk people at all hours of the night in their pools on a balcony?? The cribs the hotel provides are pretty small and not terribly sturdy looking. We squeezed our toddlers in them but they are probably better for smaller babies. They had wheels so we would move them between rooms for naps. The pools and grounds were lovely. We did find that chairs at the pool we enjoyed the most were all staked out pretty early in the morning which is always annoying. But the pool temperatures were PERFECT. During the day they'd be nice and cool but if we went swimming after naps in the late afternoon the water was heated. It was fabulous. The kids play pool was super fun also. The beach didn't knock my socks off but we are more pool people. I thought the ocean was green-ish and not beautiful blue. We had great experiences with the doormen, towel folks, housekeeping, etc. We had a wonderful breakfast one morning at Studio Cafe which is right by the Vallarta Adventures. Awesome french toast. Talk to other guests at the pool that's where you'll get a lot of recommendations on places to go off the resort. My kids enjoyed driving around in the golf carts between buildings and those drivers were always super friendly. The food at the resort was fine - on the expensive side but on par with hotel prices everywhere. We thought most of the dining in the area was more expensive than we expected. We would definitely return.

I just returned from a 7 day trip to the Grand Mayan. This was my first trip to Puerto Vallarta, and I would love to return. The weather was perfect, and the resort was equally enjoyable. The pools and the beach are beautiful. The friend I was with is a time share owner, and somehow we managed to get an ocean view which was amazing. The health club was good as were the restaurants. While there was construction going on, it never bothered us at the pool or beach. The drinks were average at best, and somewhat expensive. Considering we were in Mexico, we were expecting great margaritas, but were all disappointed with the ones we had at this resort. Stick to the beer, it's a better deal and a sure thing.

Our suite overlooked the marina, which is okay, but it was right near a grid to hold the water back when it rains, and the grid makes a loud click whenever a vehicle goes over it, which is all day and all night.

The rooms themselves were great. The pools were very crowded with people reserving chairs with towels before 8 a.m. I was never able to find a decent chair except at the kiddie pool, which is very nice for children up to about 2 or 3 years of age. The lazy river was very lazy, which was fine with me.

The food in the restaurants is expensive.

We did the timeshare presentation, and we found it not to be very long or pressured. For it, we got $100 off our bill and 10% off other things.

When we arrived by taxi, no bellboys helped us with our luggage. When we came back with groceries, no one offered to help. I found this strange.

All in all, I prefer the Mayan Palace over the Grand Mayan. Mayan Palace is supposedly a step below the Grand Mayan, but it has much better pools and a better view. And it is closer to things on the resort.