We were told that the resort sits on 50,000 acres. The access road is 10 KM long. If you want to get away and do nothing -- this is the place. We had a beautiful 1 bedroom suite with a kitchen & living room that was immaculate. We don't golf -- which would be one reason to go there. We walked about 2 or 3 miles on the beach and could have kept walking -- but we saw less than a handful of people on any of our walks. January temps were in the low 60s with a sea breeze. We wore jackets and sweaters most of the time we were there. The beach is gorgeous and I heard that views from the golf course were great.
I had brought my laptop, but new wireless has been installed and rates are $7/hr, $15/day, and $80/week. As time on my laptop was continuous and an hour on the hotel internet room could be broken up, I used my flash drive to compose email on my computer and send it on theirs. They had a really nice gym -- which was $10/day and $40/week. These are services that I usually get for nothing or at least more reasonably priced and, on principle, did not want to pay for them. I also thought that they should have a shuttle to run guests into town a couple of times a day for $5 or $10 round trip -- cab fare was $45 round trip and $35 one way. We had planned to spend 7 or 8 hours in town, but after 2 -- which included a stop for early afternoon Margaritas -- we had seen all there was to see at least twice. We had an early dinner at the Point. The food was excellent and prices were reasonable -- much cheaper than the Mayan Palace and there was a great sunset.
We had booked a shuttle ride from Phoenix on Mercedes Shuttle (also known as Kona). He had the best rates and we had a good experience arriving -- but on our second day, he called to say he could not bring us back as scheduled and told us we could wait after check-out for 7 hours in the lobby for his late afternoon pick-up instead of our scheduled 8 AM pick-up. We ended up leaving a day early, losing our last night at Mayan Palace, and paying for a hotel in Phoenix for the night. Other people had recommended Head Out to Rocky Point.
The front desk staff spoke excellent English and they were all very helpful. Our maid took really good care of our room. She comes in every day -- not always the same person -- but usually it was.

We stayed at the Mayan Palace from the 31st of December until the 7th of January and really enjoyed the property & peace and quiet. I would recommend doing your research before booking this resort.

It is in fact in the middle nowhere - so if you are looking for nightlife, lots of restaurants, tours, shopping - this is not the place. If you are looking for wonderful grounds, beach, happy hour drinks, and great service then this is a good choice.

The resort has two restaurants - a Pool Bar/Grill and a buffett. We found both restaurants to have good food, selection, and portions. Multiple bars are available along with pool side service and room service. Make sure you ask the waiters what the special drink of the day is - each day they have a half priced drink avaiable. They also have multiple happy hours at each bar/restaurant. They have a small market with some groceries, but the selection is limited so you might want to plan ahead. We actually signed up for the meal plan - the King Mayan Meal Play - you receive 6 breakfast coupons for the buffet (at door it is $14.99) and 12 lunch/deal tickets. If you order off the menu either at the buffet restaurant or pool grill - one ticket is value for a starter, a main course and dessert. Frankly, its so much food we found that we could easily share dinner and use just one ticket. It was $4799.00 Peso for the entire package.

All charges are preferred to be posted to your room and typically be shown in both dollars and in Pesos. They will add on the 10% tip automatically - so you just need to sign - no cash necessary.

For entertainment they have activites by the pool throughout the day including two movies each day. In the evening they also had music in the lobby. The lobby also has pool tables and air hockey.

They have a gym facility that is nicely outfitted and I got a great massage for only $49 USD -- a promotion deal - and wonderful!

We flew to Phoenix and took the Kona Shuttle round trip for $240 for both of us. I understand that rate might be a promo. The service was good, fast and professional. The driver picked us up at the airport at 1 pm and we arrived at the resort before 5 pm. The return pick up was at 8 am and we were at the airport just after noon. A nice, worry free way to travel.

I advise taking a look at weather as well -- in January it was a little cold days and might catch you by suprise if not prepared. The beach is always great and has great shells to be found.

The service was great and everyone spoke English. The housekeeping staff was efficent and always left a towel swan or creature to brighten the room.

The rooms are well equipped and come in different size -- hotel - two queen beds without kitchen facilites, 1 bed or 2 bed. The 1 bedroom has a king bed and seperate kitchen/living room/dining area. The kitchen is smaller -- no oven - but does have fridge, toaster, coffee pot, blender, microwave along with dishes.

We had a great nice - it was quiet, wonderful beach walking and will we return.

We arrived day after Christmas, during their slow season. Overall very nice experience. The food was excellent, we loved the restaurant (buffet was top notch!) and waiters very friendly. Pool cafe also good. Our suite in Building 2 (newer tower) was very spacious, clean and nicely decorated although furniture was showing some wear. Kitchenette basic but good, had microwave, toaster, blender and other basics. Do note: tile floors throughout means all sound carries to your room from the hallway and floors above. I am a light sleeper and would have appreciated something to dampen the sound, as well as dual paned-glass so I didn't hear every service cart that rolled by the window (we were on the third floor.) I will also confirm the king bed in our room was ultra hard, and I like a firm bed... but this was probably hardest bed I'd ever slept on. The beach is awesome, stretches on for miles and you feel like you have it to yourself. Pool was very nice too, enjoyed the poolside beds for lounging and reading when it was warm enough. Seemed like they had some fun activities for kids, although ours weren't with us so I was only observing from a distance.

By far, the biggest problem I had with this resort was the front desk staff -- awful. No sense of customer service, everything was "no", or they would just ignore your request. Check in felt shady: we asked if upgrade to ocean view was possible and the clerk said he would check. Manager was called over, he never looked us in the eye, just stared down at computer screen for two minutes (while he picked our room assignment) and then left. Clerk took over computer again, after about five minutes handed us our room assignment without addressing our request to see if an upgrade was possible. I had to clarify if we were getting an oceanview, and he said no, it was not available. Seemed very insincere and unconcerned. Then we were immediately told to go sit on a sofa in the lobby and wait to meet the concierge, who of course is part of the timeshare sales team and is there to pin you down to an appointment time for their presentation. We were not at all interested and had no intention of spending a morning with their sales team, and still had to spend 20 minutes with this woman. Finally I told her to just call us later in the week to check if we had changed our minds (we didn't). Three times I had to call or approach the front desk staff multiple times to address simple issues: our safe malfuctioned, etc. They would tell you someone was on the way, then when you called back to follow up 40 mins later, there would be an excuse for the delay and they would assure you that NOW someone was really on their way. Not significant but annoying. Check out I felt same attitude from clerk, like he was too cool to care about us. No warmth or sense of customer service, we had to clarify everything and they will do what they want if you don't look things over carefully. We asked to charge everything to our card in pesos because we trust our credit card's conversion more than the hotel. Seemed like their math was always slightly off. Management needs to take a look at customer service training for their front desk team. This place charges too much to make you feel like dirt when they are supposed to be welcoming you or saying farewell.

Other feedback I would validate: they do try to nickle & dime you over everything, and prices are not cheap. Web access, fitness center, cleaning your kitchen upon departure, etc. are all extra fees. The buffet was top notch but was also $28 US for dinner and $18 for breakfast -- in low season. New Year's Eve party was $100 per person for dinner. Much better meal deals available in town, but that is a 25 minute drive so not practical every day. Best advice: bring in your own breakfast and a couple easy meal alternatives. We would do the buffet once a day and did all the other meals in our room or in town. That worked great, and helped me not gain too much weight! Tip: bring your own roll of paper towels or napkins, none are provided in kitchen.

Although I'm pointing out the problems we had to forwarn others, OVERALL I really liked the Mayan Palace and would go back, especially with our kids since it is drivable distance for us.

GPS Coordinates for mapping: 31.24525, 113.26384

Pros
Beautiful weather and Gorgeous ocean views
Nice large rooms
Staff is courteous and nice and speak enough english

Cons
Check in took too long
Walking distance from room to pool, lobby and restaurants was too far
Free high speed internet only in lobby
Firm beds

If you read the other reviews already posted then you will be just fine. We knew what to expect ahead of time and planned accordingly. For example, we knew there was only a hot plate. Since we planned to cook a lot we brought an electric griddle to supplement those 2 hot plates and we were just fine. We knew ahead of time that the beds may be a litte bit firmer than our liking (typical of Rocky Point area beds in our experience). We knew to say no the the "Special Presentation" aka Timeshare Sales up front. We knew this was an out of the way resort, BUT it had a 24 hour medical facility that we did end up using for a stingray puncture with an allergic reaction. The cost was pricey ($250), but for an emergency visit I'd say a steal.

We stayed in 2 Two Bedroom Master Suites right next to each other with ocean views. The rooms were are large with a living room area, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Toilet area is separate from sink area. Extremely large for our group of 6 since maximum occupancy would have been for 8 per room so 16 total. This was our Timeshare Exchange through RCI. We experienced no problems. Again we had done our homework. We brought our own drink cooler, a Wii, some games, a laptop and of course our sunscreen! The pool area was lively during the day, music playing and games, but low-key. Daily activities vary. Hair braiding available for a fee. The beach is WONDERFUL. We think this is the best beach area we have experienced in all our travels. There are plenty of beach palapas and lounge chairs out on the beach. There is also a nice indoor pool too. No beach vendors. There is a small gift shop but pricey so bring your own whatever or shop in town, a 30 min drive. The poolside restaurant is great but a little pricey but hey you're on vacation, splurge! Maid Service was excellant. They came 2, sometimes 3 times per day. They do not however do dishes, bummer. There is no dishwasher. There is A/C in the rooms and a small balcony. There is NO DVD player.