The Hotel and Staff are fabulous, but it is the Pacific and the beach which are the are the stars of this resort. The sand is perfect, without a pebble or shell visible. The beach is 200 yards wide, and the slope of the sand sloping into the water allows you to wade another 200 yards into the water.The water in February, must have been above 75 degrees F, and somehow the surf was perfect for whatever you wanted to do. Wade, swim, body surf, or surf board, Some of the best water I have ever been in. If your interest goes towards, horses,and atv's they are also available.There is no need to leave the hotel premises however if you choose to do so, The Grand Mayan is about 22 Kilometers South of Acapulco, which requires hiring a cab.We were fortunate to get a cab driver, who grew up in the Acapulco area, and was therefore also a more than competent guide, that could take you through the city of Acapulco, and its history.
There has been a great deal of negative press, regarding Mexico, and particularly some of the larger cities as well as the border towns. I don't know about the border towns, but the Cities of Mazatlan, Playa Del Carmen, and Acapulco, which I visited during the last 12 months, never gave me reason for concern for myself or my family. Like any city in the world, common sense and good advice or being in the company of a local professional, such as a guide, virtually, eliminates risk. Our cab driver guide, Ricardo Alvarez Avila, who speaks perfect English, can be reached at his email: alvarez1178@hotmail.com. He or another cab driver is almost essential,beginning at the airport, returning to the airport and any needs in between..

On our trip to Acapulco our tour Guide was Angel Flores he was very friendly and knowledgeable of the city and speaks english fluently . He picked us up at the airport and the following days took us on a city tour of of old acapulco,cliff divers and other fun places including Great restaurants in a very Nice and Clean Honda Odyssy Van we felt very safe and secure. he was also always ready to go,anytime we needed to go anywhere, he is very Profesional and reliable and i recomend his services. next time we visit acapulco i will get in touch with him again! Thank You Angel my Family and i appreciate your attention!

Just returned (Feb 4, 2012) from out tenth annual visit to The Grand Mayan in Acapulco and the trip was enjoyable as ever. We are owners and prefer Acapulco to the other Mayan locations due to the great beach and tennis courts.

The grounds continue to be impeccable with numerous workers constantly cleaning and sprucing up. The Water Park and lazy river were very refreshing, especially at the end of the day. Staff is always friendly and helpful. Also on the beach, they have added more papyalas for shade and if you want to be a bit closer to the water, have one of the ‘beach boys’ set up umbrellas, chaise lounges and tables for your group. A small tip (20-50P) would be appropriate. While on the beach, vendors will approach you for a variety of items, but a ‘no gracias’ is sufficient for them to move on. We did purchase bowls and plates from Tino who will also sign and date them as well as bubble wrap for transport.

As for safety, we continue to feel very comfortable and visited our favorite restaurants as well as Wal-Mart, Mega and Costco. We even rode the local bus (6 pesos) from the front gate to a couple of restaurants.

Speaking of restaurants, some of our favorites are Casa de la Pasta- great pasta dishes, and an out of sight Portabella Mushrroom appetizer. Other favorites include Taco Tumbras, Cabritos, and The Crazy Crab- all are located on the main drag within a couple of miles of the Mayan front gate.

We continue to use the best driver in Acapulco- Roberto Alarcon- robertoalrey@yahoo.com.mx. Roberto meets us at the airport, arranges dinner reservations, and helps us get our provisions at Wal-Mart/Mega. He is also available for city tours and a one day trip to Taxco-‘Silver City’.

One bummer is the lack of direct flights into Acapulco from the US; it is not unreasonable to have to make two stops to get to Acapulco. However, we think the grandeur and comfort of The Grand Mayan outweighs the long travel days.

The view of the beach and pools and landscaping is simply breathtaking. Everything is so clean and well-maintained. The rooms are spotless and the housekeeping staff is very friendly and hard-working. They not only clean at midday, but they also come again around 10:00PM to turn down the beds,(leaving mints on the pillows) and to leave fresh towels or take out the trash.....whatever is needed. There were 6 of us in a 2-bedroom suite and we were using the kitchen quite a bit so it was not an EASY thing for them to keep our room so clean.
There are 3 restuarants "on-site" (February, 2012). We ate at the 'Mexican' one and were quite happy with the the whole experience: the food, drinks and ambiance. Friendly staff, strolling musicians.....very nice.
We loved floating down the Lazy River in a tube. We had no children with us but you could see that the youngsters were loving the mini water park and the Lazy River, too.
We took a very quick tour of the health club and spa area downstairs - we prefer to be out in the sun and ocean but I have to say it was probably the most attractive spa area I have ever seen. If we had been there more than just a week, we would have been very tempted to use their facilities.
We took a city tour of Aca. and a day trip to Taxco with Roberto Alarcon. (He also picked us up from the airport and, later, took us to Walmart for groceries and drinks). I can't say enough about his professionalism, his humor, and his ability to put us all at ease. We just mentioned it would be nice to have a guitar so we could entertain ourselves in the evenings and he immediately knew a place where we couild Rent a guitar for a VERY reasonable price for the whole week. I would recommend his services to my mother or my daughter. (robertoalrey@yahoo.com.mx )
All in all, we would go back in a heartbeat.
Oh yes, Roberto also recommeded a restaurant, Su Casa, that turned out to be our FAVEorite eating experience of the whole trip! Great View, great food and Memorable Margaritas and waitstaff!