Every now and than you book a hotel where everything is just perfect. This one undoubtedly is one of these rare ones!! Words can hardly describe the uniqueness of this amazing resort.
The rooms, staff, food, the restaurants, the spa, drinks, thoughtfullness, attention. Perfection is what this resort thrives for and they deliver. There is really not a lot more to say about it. One thing is worth mentioning. The hotel claims they take all inclusive to the next level. This was only my second experience with all inclusive. The first one was just awfull. The second one, this one is just unbelievable. There are seven different restaurants and they are all excellent. My recommendation? Try Piaf. French cuisine, amazing service, food, drinks, service. A perfect (romantic) night out.
Since most guests are from the USA be aware of fast service. On request they slow it down as long as you like. Otherwise it is six courses in one hour.
The only minus was a group on a recognition trip who made other guests life difficult by being very noisy and causing lots of irritations. Staff felt horrible about it but were not able to deal with it.
Outside this, I would say DO IT. Perfection guaranted.

I had the pleasure of doing a site visit at Grand Velas recently in preparation for a large global sales meeting being held at the resort in 2013. Since the site visit is a precursor to the meeting itself, i already know that my event will be a 5-Star Success! The resort is truly an all-inclusive resort but at a level not many travellers are able to experience. The resort, is immaculate and well groomed for the highest level of guest, the rooms are almost too good to be true--large, luxurious and fully stocked with quality bath products and amenities. I did not want to leave my room! The various restaurants on property were a joy to experience from the greeting at the door by the lovely staff member to the sincere "thank you for dining with us" at the end of the meal. The food, wine and service were magical and a treat for every appetite. I look forward to my event next year!

I stayed at this resort for a business meeting...I just wish I had been on vacations!! The resort has three different hotel areas, two of them in front of the beach and the other one in the middle of the jungle. The meeting venues are really good, as also is the food. The rooms are huge, with a well-stocked minibar and a big balcony. If you are traveling to the Mayan Riviera this is a great hotel to stay at. Hope to be there again soon, this time on vacations!

My family and I (kids: 10 & 7) had the pleasure of staying at Grand Velas and we could not be any happier! Just as the other reviewers have pointed out, this is a place that must be on your to visit list. If you're thinking "there's no way a resort can get that many top reviews", you are sadly mistaken; it is truly a beautiful place! We have traveled with the kids extensively and have done many of the islands. All were beautiful and charming but Grand Velas had charm, beauty, great cutover service and 5 star quality food. Being from NY, we are exposed to many different authentic cuisines and have the luxury of patronizing top quality restaurants with high quality food. Grand Velas' restaurants were on par if not above some of the NYC restaurants which is a tough thing to accomplish. Another reviewer mentioned that All-Inclusives tend to have mediocre food; not this one! Unbelieveable!!!

The rooms were big (we stayed in the Ambassador section with Ocean view & plunge pool) and the kids really enjoyed those days that it was a bit hot and just wanted to relax in the room; the plunge pool was fine with them. Every morning my wife and I would sit out on the deck and have coffee & Espresso; not just any coffee/espresso but NESPRESSO COFFEE! If you are not familiar with Nespresso Coffees, it is the best you can get via pods. I thought that this was just a weird looking coffee machine and that it was probably just like any other resort machine; bland coffee; Boy was I wrong! It was so good that I bought a Nespresso machine once I arrived back in NY. And no I do not work for Nespresso.

The other amenities in the room are beers, top shelf liquor, brand name chips and candy bars. We thought that this was an extra cost but it is not! All included! We are social drinkers so having a name brand or brands was a nice addition. Even the Tequila was Don Julio, not a lower end tequila. If you prefer Patron, fine, but this is just as good and if you want the Patron, just go to any of the bars.

As for entertainment, we hung around the pool a lot and I even went cavern diving at one of the Cenotes. I also went zip-lining (off property at Selvatica) with my 10 year for the first time and it was a great experience. If I had to add a suggestion, it would be to have a few more activities, perhaps at the pool, for kids. Teens may have a hard time unless they come with a friend or friends. There was a Arts & Craft room for the younger kids but for my kids it was a bit too childish for them. We did however entertain ourselves every night by going to the Karaoke bar and sing every night. My son is a bit shy at times so it was funny to see him look forward to going there every night after dinner. Most nights we were the only one's there since the majority of the larger families there were dining late so being in a bar/lounge with them was not an issue and the bar staff were at our beck and call even when we didn't them them.

There is an adult section that wasn't far and even some of the single couples or adults were coming over to the family side since it was not rowdy at all.

Again, the food was amazing and top notch! Every morning I had Chilequiles that were delicious and the other restaurant stand-outs were Frida's, Lucca's (?) an Italian restaurant and Hemingways.

This may be a long review but there is so much to say about Grand Velas. Our last trip was to Beaches in Turks & Caicos, which by the way was MORE EXPENSIVE than Grand Velas and nowhere near as pampering! I try not to frequent the same places but this is one place that I can. As the saying goes "If it Aint broke don't fix it!" Can't wait to go again!

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