Grand Mayan Acapulco

This hotel is AMAZING and it was still under construction when we went for our honeymoon in August 2015. We had such a wonderful time. The people were so friendly but we especially have to give a shout out to our private tour guide for the week CARLOS ALEGRIA! If you need to get around he speaks perfect English, always on time, a history buff, he was great. If you see him in Acapulco, please tell him Jennifer and Luis from Orlando say hello!

Okay so only a couple concerns. 1. The rooms are beautiful. The resort is gorgeous but the mattresses are terrible. I’ve never slept on anything so uncomfortable! It’s like you have a Ferrari and put Arco has in it. Or you buy a $ 4 suit yet wear a Rolex knockoff. 2. On several occasions (been here a week) my food orders were incorrect as in they forgot how to make their own food or they simply omitted several ingredients. I’d call and ask for the forgotten items and 15 mins later they arrive. So now my main course is cold. Also the salads never (ordered 5) arrive with dressing. They don’t even ask when the order is placed. Whoever manages food services needs to have a better quality assurance process. 3. Onsite café was sweltering. So hot. Sweating while eating is not a preference of mine. And this was at night, inside. 4. If you go to the beach be prepared to be overwhelmed with people hocking stuff. I need a shirt that says no soliciting in Spanish! 5. Lastly, be careful as cab driving a and other folks may take advantage of the dollar to pesos ratio. Know your exchange rate.
Otherwise, the staff is friendly, kind and helpful. The resort is beautiful and clean. It is a 5 star resort, which from the aesthetic perspective is accurate but there are some things (MATTRESSES) that MUST change.

Excelente hotel!!! Será muy difícil no extrañar tanto sus instalaciones como el excelente personal que tiene. Los acapulqueños son lo máximo y aparte de una hermosa experiencia, me llevo grandes amigos.
Las instalaciones son de primera, todas las amenidades muy buenas, el servicio mejor que en ningún otro lugar. El restaurante samba delicioso, en la barra de la alberca busquen a Javier que sin duda alguna los dejará muy felices por el experto que es. En realidad tengo un millón de cosas padrísimas que decir de este hotel pero nunca acabaría, así que les recomiendo muchísimo en su próxima visita por Acapulco sin duda hospedarse en el Gran Mayan Palace. Por lo pronto por mi parte nos vemos el próximo año!!yupiii :D

We just stayed in the Mayan Palace, which was the hotel behind the Grand Mayan, where the rooms were spacious, the housekeeping staff was immaculate and the garden views were spectacular. It was quiet and pristine. The staff was extremely helpful, friendly and professional, among the best staff I’ve ever experienced at a resort. The food in the restaurants was bountiful and reasonably priced. I will warn you, the wifi is awful, so don’t expect to get any real connection while you’re there. The beach is directly in front of the Grand Mayan and a quick, 2 mind. shuttle ride away from the Mayan palace and it is wonderful. The straw huts are really a perk for being on the beach all day and you can get food/​drink service on the beach. We had a spectacular time and I would definitely visit again.
With all the press about Acapulco, we were a bit apprehensive to go outside the gates of the resort on our own, so we took a tour with a taxi driver that was one of the drivers working within the gated resort. His name is «Adam Bello of City Tours Taxco». Telephone 744 217−69−21. This driver was the icing on the cake for our vacation! He took us to a local restaurant, and when I say «took us», he called ahead to make reservations and then walked us inside to introduce us to the owner and then waited for us. We asked him for a tour after dinner and so he drove us around Acapulco explaining the history and local sites. Even getting out on several occasions and walking with us. We ended the evening with the cliff divers, which we wanted to see. Adam is professional, friendly and gives you the picture of Acapulco that you are looking for. He also looks out for the best deals for you. Connect with him and you will experience the local Acapulco in all of it’s beauty, without any worries about safety.

So good that when I went with friends for my 50^th birthday in 2012, I’m going back in 2015.
The Grand Mayan Acapulco was my choice as the location at Rivera Maya was booked due to Sophia Vegara from Modern Family’s 40^th birthday party was at the Riviera Maya location. I went with 4 other adults and we had an absolute BALL in November (right before Thanksgiving).
The hospitality of the resort was 6-​star and it was soothing and relaxing.
The happy hour on the beach is amazing; some of the best tequila sunrises I’ve ever had.
Paulina, one of the masseurs on the beach was AMAZING and saved me from having to go to the Brio Spa but I believe I will be headed to the Brio this time around, to spoil and pamper myself a bit.
Don’t miss going if you have the opportunity. I know prior reviews were not up to par but we had a ball.
Our tour guide was Sebastian — Acapulo4All and he was professional, courteous and has everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING). At our beck and call, he arranged restaurant reservations, a personal shopping trip (they closed the store off for us and served us margaritas while we shopped).
An experience that was unforgettable.
SEBASTIAN HERNANDEZ RICARDO.

Absolutely BREATHTAKING, AMAZING resort! I visited in March 2015 (the week before Holy week in that area which is, apparently, insanely busy). I was given a complimentary upgrade to a massive suite that had its own private infinity pool on the large, spacious porch. The restaurants at this resort are so incredibly delicious; there are numerous, numerous pools of all different types with gorgeous designs/​fountains/​a swim-​up bar, etc. AND THE GREATEST FEATURE? The awesome lazy river!!! The rooms are massive and spacious, and the various resort areas are gorgeous; the architecture and attention to detail of the entire resort are beautiful. And to top it all off, the resort staff– ALL of them– are incredibly kind, accommodating, and lovely people to encounter. I give the Grand Mayan a 5-​star rating of the resort itself; the only reason for the overall 4-​star rating is due to the nature of the beach. It is FULL of people trying to sell you something– donkey ride, ATV ride, massage from a random person, jewelry, sarongs, etc– CONSTANTLY. I realize that these are people who are simply trying to make a living off of the tourists, and I purchased a few things just to help people out, but it really does get annoying/​tiresome having people come up to you 10x an hour to bug you about giving them money for something.

Un resort que no te fallará. El servicio en temporadas altas es algo torpe. Sin embargo el ambiente es bastante bueno.
Ls instalaciones están de 10, las suites cuentan con cocineta, jacuzzi y alberca en la terraza de la habitación, con una capacidad para 6 personas.
La casa del lago ofrece un desayuno buffet muy variado por un precio de 295 pesos por persona. Recomiendo que compren en Concierge un block de cupones llamado experiencia Gourmet con el cual todo sale más barato!
El gym esta muy bien y tener acceso a las canchas de tennis de arcilla fue lo mejor.
El SI Snack Bar nos decepciono bastante pues tiene poca variedad de alimentos por precios bastante elevados.
El lazy river ha sido un buen sustituto del Kayak. Para los pequeños y no tan pequeños hay un pequeño Arcade en la parte de abajo. Y cuentan con un sushi bar y música en vivo en lobby ciertos días de la semana. Una buena experiencia. Un punto negativo que les daría es que no es pet friendly.

nice hotel but about 7 miles from the real affordable fun. New Acapulco (which is where this hotel is located) is a playground for the rich and famous. If you don’t mind a vacation with american prices then this hotel is perfect for you. You will be hounded about upgrading your room and in return you will invest about 4 hours of your time being hard sold on timeshares. Next time I go, I’ll be staying in old Acapulco which is where i spent most of my time anyways.

This was the best vacation we’ve had yet and the Grand Mayan played a huge part in that! The grounds and rooms are incredible. The pool and beach area are truly paradise. What more can I say? The staff was amazing and everything was honestly perfection. We will be returning! :)

Staying in the Grand Mayan was an experience in itself. While the rooms were lovely, the musty smell laced heavily throughout our rooms. When I looked up the Grand Mayan the description said it had laundry facilities. It doesn’t. So pack accordingly. There’s no dishwasher, but you’re expected to wash your own dishes every single day. Otherwise, you will be charged. My suggestion is that you stop at the grocery store before you reach the hotel and buy whatever supplies you’re going to need for your stay. And bottled water is a must! If you are going to drink alcoholic beverages, get those at the store as well. Much cheaper then if you go to the store that the hotel has on their property. The swimming pool area is lovely. The lazy pool is very relaxing. You float along on a tube and just enjoy being out in the sun. It’s not very big but it will continue until you want to get off. The hotel is currently under construction. But that should not affect your stay.
Now onto the fun part of the trip.
We had arranged to have a tour guide by the name of Roberto Alarcon pick us up and return us to the airport. He is extremely professional and courteous. He was waiting for us as we walked into the area where people are picked up. He had our name on a digital board so we knew exactly who he was. With his help and suggestion, we stopped at the grocery store and also did our currency exchange. He did not charge us any additional fee for these services. His warmth and courtesy quickly gained my trust. Plus he had water and tequila in the car waiting if you’re so inclined. :-) His phone number is 115 217 441 077. If you prefer to contact him by email which I suggest, his email is
. This gentleman is one of the warmest and most genuine people I have met in a very long time. After meeting him we decided to add a few tours to our trip. It was much cheaper than what the hotel offers and the quality was top notch. Added to tha Roberto was so flexible with quick stops for pictures or anything else you wanted that I felt like I was a family member and not a «client». Our first trip was a whirlwind of stopping off at a silver shop that offered high-​quality items. And the best margarita I ever had in my life. From there he drop me off at the cliff diving restaurant and made certain that I had the best view in the house. He then drop my friend off to visit with her Tia (aunt). After the show was complete and my lunch was done, Roberto was there to pick me up and we checked to see if my friend was ready for her pick up. She still wanted to visit so Roberto took me downtown to a marketplace that he knew would be safe. He sat back while I was able to wander through and shop to my hearts content. From there Roberto took me to see the artwork of Diego Rivera. We then picked up my friend and drove to the Pink Flamingo, home of the late Johnny Weissmuller. Or better know as the original Tarzan. After that stop, we went to a beautiful church that sits high atop a hill. During this entire trip Roberto is sharing and explaining the history and culture behind each area we visited. The next night Roberto picked us up and took us to La Finca for more authentic Mexican food. Yummy! Our final tour with Roberto was to visit the Tehuacalco Ruins. We had another guest with us, by the name of Ryo. And so Roberto took all three of us to a marketplace along the way to the ruins. This was where all the locals meet up and buy their produce and every day items. We had amazing tacos, sopas, quesadillas and, tamales. Roberto knew which people to go to to get these delicacies. So there we were, sitting on upside down buckets and eating the most amazing Mexican food I’ve ever had. Shout out to Oscar and Maria, their tacos were heavenly. Once we ate our fill, we got to walk the marketplace. Once we Were done with that, we got back in the car and drove To the ruins. Roberto himself did the actual tour. His knowledge of the history of the ruins is amazing. If you are making a decision to visit Acapulco, no matter where you stay, I do highly highly recommend Roberto. He will make you feel safe and comfortable and that is to me very important when I travel in another country. Enjoy your trip. Hope my review helps. :-)
Stayed May 2015

We had a bad experience here. We’re Grand Mayan owners but was told that the Grand Mayan was fully booked and therefore got bumped into the Mayan Palace. When we arrived, they told us that the Grand Mayan only had 92% occupancy. They gave us the Mayan Palace wristbands which denied us from accessing the Grand Mayan facilities which as owners, we are entitled to. We were also told that bumping Grand Mayan owners out of the Grand Mayan is normal here in Acapulco if there are private residence club members. That probably also means that if you are a Mayan Palace owner, don’t even try to get in here because the Grand Mayan owners get first dibs and might bump you. We also attended a owner’s update meeting promising to be 30 min and no sales which turned out to be a 3 hr sales presentation after breakfast. We were also demanded by Gina, the salesperson to pay the tip for the entire meal (including hers) as well. This is a no cash resort which meant we didn’t have cash on us and Gina insisted we must pay anyway. So we walked a good 20 minutes back to our room to get the tip, which we were told we also couldn’t put on the room tab. Having been to over many sales presentations, no resorts (including the Mayan Palace in Riviera Maya) have asked us to pay cash during a sales presentation.
Service was awful. The AC didn’t work properly and took 4 men and 2 days to fix. It was freezing in the room (21 degree Celsius at night) max). The room has a capacity for 6 – 8 people but only gave us one bar of soap. When we called to ask for more, they said they would send someone right away and an hour later, nobody has stopped by.
Bottom line, don’t choose this Mayan Palace if you have other locations. This resort also has no shuttle from airport.

We just returned from a relaxing week at the Grand Mayan Acapulco. The grounds of the resort were immaculate and the rooms themselves were stunning; however, what really made the trip exceptional was Roberto. After reading some of the reviews on TripAdvisor, we decided to book our initial transportation from the airport to the hotel through Roberto. Roberto and his brother Benjamin were waiting for us as we left baggage claim and greeted us as if we were old family friends with a cold beer and his «Mexican Medicine» (i.e. tequila). Right out of the gate it’s evident that Robert wants you to relax and enjoy your vacation. He even re-​arranged his schedule and went back to the airport to pick up my in-​laws who had missed their connection and ended up taking a later flight. Customer Service thy name is Roberto.
Roberto works primary with customers who stay at the Grand Mayan and picked us up there several times throughout the week. We went on the City Tour one evening which consisted of a driving tour of Acapulco with stops interspersed throughout the way to include the Chapel of Peace, a locally owned silver shop, an outdoor market and a special stop to see a mural by the famous Diego Riveria. Our tour concluded with the cliff divers show. Roberto insured we had the best seats in the house and took us to a semiprivate outlook where we paid $ 4 USD per person to watch the show. Everything Roberto does can be tailored to your interests so if there is anything you want to do or see in Acapulco or the surrounding towns, all you have to do is ask.
Roberto seems to know everyone and everything in Acapulco. His restaurant recommendations were spot on and were all locally owned establishments ranging from a small outdoor café to a steak and seafood restaurant with a spectacular view of the sunset over the bay. We were oftentimes the only Americans in the restaurants; however, each place had menus in English and/​or waiters who spoke English. It was great to be able to try the local cuisine without having to worry about choosing a restaurant. Every time Robert took us to a restaurant he would call ahead to make sure there was not only a table waiting for us but that our table would be the best in the house.
Roberto was always very quick to respond via phone and email. On our final night in Acapulco we decided at the last minute that we wanted to go to dinner at a place where we could watch the sunset. We sent Roberto an email at 5pm and by 5:30pm he was picking us up for a 6pm reservation he made at a fantastic spot.
Robert definitely made our trip to Acapulco memorable. He has perfected the balance between professionalism and charisma and is one of the best, if not the best, tour guide we’ve ever had. He offers a variety of services and all are reasonably priced. Transportation to and from the airport was approximately $ 40 each way for the four of us and $ 30 round-​trip each time he picked us up from the hotel to go to dinner.
If you’re planning a trip to Acapulco, definitely contact Roberto. He can be reached by phone from the US at 011−521−774−421−9608 or via email at
Now for the actual resort — The Grand Mayan is actually made up of several properties across the resort grounds. The Mayan Palace is set back away from the beach but has a fabulous pool complete with a waterpark, lazy river and swim up bar. The Grand Mayan is beach front and has a smaller pool and snack bar to eat at during the day. They are adding onto the resort so there is quite a bit of construction going on throughout the day. While the noise didn’t bother us, the construction resulted in several of the restaurants and the main lobby bar being closed. There are daily activities both at the pool and each of the properties but there does not seem to be a centralized location that lists all activities so you have to keep your eyes open for the advertisements that they change daily in the elevators and on the grounds. Some events that occurred while we were there were a tequila tasting, mixology class and yoga on the beach.
The main restaurant had a daily breakfast buffet which was pricey. While the restaurants on the property were very good, if you desire variety, I would recommend calling Roberto. Even accounting for the cost of driving to and from the resort, the meal cost offsite is about the same.
It’s worth noting that although I have given this review a 5 stars this is based solely on our experience with Roberto. If I were reviewing the Grand Mayan separately it would more likely be 3.5−4 stars.