Just finished a week at the Grand Palladium Colonial with our 2 kids, aged 15 and 17. Overall, we had a great vacation – we made the most of great weather and a resort packed with things to do. It’s always great to get away and we tend to adapt to what’s thrown at us – but when you are spending thousands of dollars on a getaway, you do want to get the most you can out of your trip – so here’s a much more detailed look (with a few TIPS hidden throughout):

What we loved:

Resort Property: This place is HUGE and while that presents some problems with figuring out how to get from one place to another, it is the natural layout that is so appealing. Twisting paths, raised wooden walkways through mangrove stands, covered paths, lots of wildlife and birds – the properties’ natural beauty has been left to explore and enjoy. It never seems crowded and it is a joy to walk around the property and explore different bars and neighbourhoods, places to eat, an orchideria, etc., etc. And if you don’t feel like walking, there’s probably a tram nearby.

The Beach: The Palladium has a great piece of beach that includes areas to snorkel not far off the beach (TIP - you can borrow snorkelling gear from the watersports team just by leaving your room key), and beautiful soft, powder beach to walk for probably 30 mins or so to the North before you reach the Eldorado Resort (and are politely asked to turn around :( ). It isn’t all Palladium property, and therefore some of the beachfront is a little ‘rougher’ than others (garbage, seaweed, rocky, shells, etc) but it’s still a great walk. TIP: Before you start your walk, stop at the cafe at the South end of the beach near the wedding gazebo – you can grab an early morning individually brewed cup of coffee, cappuccino, or espresso along with fresh baked pastries/cookies/etc for the walk – it became an early morning ritual for our walk – and a decadent start to the day.

Sports Area: We made it to the sports area at least once a day to enjoy a game of tennis, Paddle (kind of like tennis but smaller court w backwall, smaller paddles with waffle-holes in them), mini-golf – and had a great time working off some of the food and drink we were consuming. The mini-golf is a bit worn down and quite difficult (along with prone to mosquitoes and biting ants – so a little bug spray is a good idea here), but the courts, and soccer pitches were really well done.

The Sea Water Pool: Don’t picture a concrete and tiled blue salt-water pool here – this is a true sea-water pool, on the edge of the ocean where the water trickles in over the rocks and fills the pool. There is a sand bottom with rocks, etc – different kinds of fish – nestled into a naturally gorgeous area where the waves are constantly breaking near you, chairs, beds, palapas, music – and a bar serving all your favourite drinks. This was the place to relax, read, get some sun if you wanted, catch a snooze – this was our favourite place to hang out.

The Big Pools: For more loud interactions and traditional swim-up bars, etc – there are 2 massive pools. One off the White Sands area and one off the Colonial. They are somewhat similar looking and playing louder, more popular music. The White Sands pool is about 4 feet deep throughout and therefore used for water volleyball, water polo and just ‘standing around’. The Colonial pool is deeper throughout – over 6 feet for sure – this was more of a true ‘swimming’ pool. It was nice to visit both – and we never had any real trouble in finding chairs anywhere in the resort – there seem to be lots of choices.

What was ‘OK’:

The Restaurants: Granted there is a LOT of choice here, so it is certainly possible that we chose some weaker ala carte restaurants, but on the whole we would have to rate the food quality as ‘average’. The buffet is a first-come, first-served deal – and we never had to wait for a table. The ala carte restaurants are also first-come first served with a couple of notable exceptions. First of all, it is important to note that Royal Suite guests have the right to make specific dinner reservations at any restaurant in the resort. Therefore it is possible that even if you arrive as the restaurant is opening that there are no tables available. They will put your name on a list and give you an approximate time to wait. Some restaurants use the flashing pagers and some do not – we never quite figured out which and when – but they consistently over-stated the wait times during our stay. One hour became 10 mins in one case, another night an hour was 40 mins, etc. I guess it’s better to over-state and then beat your time than the other way around. TIP: One important point to be aware of – if you are interested in the Japanese restaurant (Beni-hana style), you can make a reservation there for a ‘show-table’ on the day of your dinner as of 5 pm. The doors will open @ 5pm and you can request a reservation for later that evening.

Here were our specific experiences:

Buffet – Great for breakfast – everything you need and more. TONS of fresh juices, homemade churros a couple times a week, eggs to order, etc. Loved breakfast!

Radizio – This is the resorts Brazilian restaurant – 8 different meats coming out on skewers – delicious! This was one of the stronger ala carte experiences for us for sure. Highly recommended.

Portofino – Italian restaurant. A bit hit and miss for us. Nice appetizers, but pasta pretty mushy and sauces weak – especially cream-based. Desserts good. Worth a try.

Bamboo – Chinese restaurant. Food was OK, but very light on meat and the service here was by far the weakest. Try something else.

Sumptouro – Japanese experience. Our show chef was excellent – probably the best we have ever seen. Food was also excellent – you don’t get a lot, but what you get is well seasoned and a family favourite. Highly recommended.

Eldorado – Steakhouse. The food sounded great, but didn’t live up to its billing. Very average steak and sides were weak as well. Wouldn’t bother.

The Rooms: No complaint over the style, size or amenities really (though our basic room did list robes as included, but apparently not). The resort did mess up our room assignments on check-in and put our 2 kids in a room with one king-sized bed, and as a result they were moved to a 3rd floor room while we were on the 1st. Not catastrophic – but not what was requested. We also had some trouble with some routine maintenance items. Our room had a broken toilet seat for example – we put a provided sign on our door for repairs and it was quickly addressed – only to break the next time it was used. Despite 3 such repairs, it was broken when we left. Our kids had only 1 TV channel in their room and they requested repairs similarly through the door hanger, but no one ever came to address it. After a couple of nights of only one channel, my son went to work and fixed the problem himself. TIP: Free wifi in the lobbies of the resorts.


What we didn’t love:

Reception Staff: One could argue that the most important exchange of your vacation might be the first – at check-in – where it sets the mood for your stay and starts everything off. After being up since 3 am and arriving to check-in approx 10 hours later, you are hopeful that the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the staff meets your own. That didn’t happen for us. Check-in was reasonably efficient, though perhaps too much so – we ended up leaving the area without a lot of the information you require for your stay – how to book space at a restaurant, internet wi-fi access, how to book spa, etc. We even tried once back in our rooms to figure it all out from the various media in our rooms, but it too was lacking some basic info. Logically, we also tried Guest Services, but we had difficulty in getting anyone to answer the phone – and in visiting the area physically, we had the same experience. Despite posted hours, there was no one to be found – after 15 mins, we simply left – with others also waiting. Not coincidentally, the “Club Palladium” desk (a vacation club you can join including all Palladium hotels) had a desk nearby that had 3 people waiting to help guests – but only if you belonged. Not sure why I would want to join a vacation club that doesn’t recognize you until you pay an additional commitment fee....

The Spa: The Spa is a beautiful area of the resort where the workout facilities are located, additional pools, showers, hot tubs and treatment rooms. My wife enjoyed using the gym and showers and thought it would be a nice treat for her and our 17 year old daughter to enjoy a massage towards the end of our week there. The resort has a strict “adults only” policy for use of the spa – UNLESS you are willing to pay for additional services. In other words, my daughter was not allowed to use the gym or pool/showers, etc – but she was allowed to pay for a massage and have that treatment. I understand you don’t want kids in a spa, but a 17 year old with her mother? – not sure that makes sense....regardless, that wasn’t the real offense – that came when my wife/daughter went to the spa to have a shower and put their things in a locker before the massage and my daughter was refused entry. She could have the massage (for $80) but she could not so much as even change in the spa. This was obviously a disappointment and my wife cancelled the treatments on the spot. She attempted to speak to a representative of the hotel through Guest Services where we were informed that “the Spa really isn’t part of the hotel”. Nothing worse than your resort hiding behind some outsourcing contract when you’re looking to register a complaint or understand a policy impacting your holiday enjoyment.

So overall a great time – lots of life-long memories we created as a family. I won’t be signing up to the Palladium Club however – having traveled a fair bit throughout the Caribbean, there are better values and experiences out there. Final TIP: If looking for a great day snorkelling, check out Edventure Tours – I’ve posted our experience in a Trip Advisor review there.

We stayed at the Collonial side of this hotel from 27th December to 10th January. I emailled the hotel prior to our visit for a couple of requests, due to our 16 year old being blind and my 71 year old mother having slight mobility problems. They came back and said they could not guarantee theses but would do their best. They did, and our rooms were perfect for our family needs. The animation staff were excellent, very friendly without bothering you. Kids club was great, the kiddies shows are amazing considering they only have 2 hours to rehearse. Second week our 6 year old was Gabriella in High School Musical. What an amazing show(and that's not because our daughter was a the star), the kids club staff really do look after your children.
The food was good in the buffet restaurants although would not recommend buffet in Riviera. Not a lot there and what was there was cold and old! All others were good and made a nice change each morning and evening. A la Carte's were great, although get there early if you would like to eat at a decent time. No booking system, just turn up and queue. This is a much better system (because it works) than many other places we have visited. All restaurants have their own bars at which you can wait.
Do not pay for the priciest hotel in this 4 hotel resort. You have access to almost everything in all four hotels which are all much of a muchness. This would be my only criticism about this resort. 4 hotels, 4 lobby's, 2 theatres, numerous restaurants, 2 huge pools ...... All the same. After about 8 days we had serious cabin fever. A little bit of variety between the 4 hotels would have made for a more interesting holiday. If you like a bit of music and entertainment round the pool then Colonial/Kantennah side is for you. (we really like this during the day) having 3 children, if you like a little bit of peace and quiet go to Riviera/White Sands. BUT do not pay extra to do this, there are trains, golf buggies and very pleasant walks, either along the beach or via the hotel grounds which are impeccably clean. Go to the Colonial bar and be served by the beautiful Maria and Rosa, always smiling and very courteous, after working such long hours. Well worth a tip. The rooms are a good size, and nicely decorated, although cleaning and refilling of coffee making equipment could be a bit hit and miss. A call to reception and this was rectified immediately. Lots and lots of sun beds available at decent times of the day (no European/mediterranean scrum at 6am). All in all a great holiday (weather could have been a little better), if you are happy to stay on the resort for the whole holiday then this could be the place for you. Round trip to playa del carmen was roughly 1,100 pesos in a taxi for 6 (£55). although I have to say it was worth it. Have no hesitation in recommending this hotel, although I would not go back, purely because I have been there and done that. The worlds a big place. If you have any hesitation about visiting Mexico, please let me reassure you, this was our third visit and we've loved it every time. Mexican people are so friendly and helpful, they put some of us to shame. If you do go here I'm sure you will enjoy it, as we did, and be sure to have a go on the hotel Catamaran, it's a beautiful way to spend and afternoon.
Just one other tip, if you have limited mobility like our daughter (cannot see at all at night) request rooms near the lobby. You will have quite a walk wherever you stay, just way up if you would like this in the day or after a couple of beers at night!!! (as mentioned before there are golf buggies and trains available at regular intervals).

What an excellent week we had at this resort! Beautiful grounds, very clean, room was great, and the staff are friendly and helpful. The food at the buffets and a la carte restaurants was pretty good except for a few things, (never order the pasta alfredo at the italian restaurant, yech). We made great use of the wonderful spa, (sauna, steamroom, jacuzzi etc), and the adult only pools. We will definitely go back next february, for 2 weeks this time!

We spend Christmas in this hotel and it was amazing. It was our 2nd visit to the Mayan Riviera in one year. This hotel, their people, great pool and the food was better than I thought it would be. Give credit to the good reviews, they are true.
If I had to find a BUT it would have to be the beach, because is very rocky, but still have a small area that is quite nice. On the other hand just 7 min by taxi (about 3€) you can go to Akumal Bay, a beautiful place were you can bring your snorkling kit and swim with turttles for free!!! Please go!
The Kids Club: is AMAZING, my kids cried on our last day and they just wanted to spend as much time as possible there.
A la carte restaurants: we never had a problem booking. Our favourites, The Japanese (far better than others alike), and the Meat one.
One day they invited us to talk about the Travel Club; from the beggining they said it was a sales meeting and we did not fill any pressure to become members, altought they are good sellers. We decided to do it because we like the all inclusive experience and love to travel. Is just a personal opinion.