As others have pointed out, deciding which "Grand Sirenis" is the right one to review is tricky - the "Hotel and Spa" is set a bit back from the ocean, and the "Resort and Spa" is more to the front, but, for all practical purposes, it is one big resort. They have independent reception areas, but, beyond that, the facilities are used jointly.

This was our 5th trip to the area, always at a different AI. I'm accustomed to seeing a range of positive and negative reviews for a resort, but I was more than a bit concerned at what seemed a vast disparity between reviews - some loving the resort and some lothing it. No AI is a perfect experience, this resort being no exception, but for those who hated it, I have to wonder if we were at the same place.

Facilities - the grounds were attractive and very well maintained. As others have noted, the walkways can be very slippy when wet, but we've seen that elsewhere. The room was large and very clean. The mini fridge always well stocked. (leaving a couple of dollars for the room attendant never hurts). We were provided plenty of towels. Our room had a frosted glass panel in the opening between the bedroom and bathroom. This may be a change made later, and I understand not all rooms have them. For those rooms, it would be a privacy issue. The bathtub was very, very slow to fill and the drain did not seal well (a washcloth helped). The shower, on the other hand, had good water pressure and an endless supply of hot water. The architecture of the buildings is a bit modernistic (or Mayan-influenced, if you prefer) - and it can be a bit loud in the room when people are talking in the central atrium, but one night when some late-returning guests were being loud, they were agressively "shushed" by security.

Beach - we spend as much time as we can on the beach, so it is a big deal for us. Here, the beach was something of a mixed bag. The good: well sheltered, so that even with big swell breaking out at the reef, relatively little surf hit the beach. Lots of fish - throw in some banana or bread, and you have instant company. Plenty of close-in coral for snorkeling. A good supply of palapas, so not much of the towel game going on. Families with kids seemed to congregate in one area, and those wanting a bit more quiet could go further down the beach. Great service from the beach staff. Say hello to Saret for us. The not-as-good: The beach is more of a cove, with formidable coral shores on both sides, so there is no opportunity to stroll down the beach away from the resort. The cove aspect also tends to concentrate people on the same stretch and in the water, so it feels rather crowded, no matter how many people are there. The sand has a variety of character - fine in some places and chunky in others - a pair of pool shoes is a good investment if you want to go out in the water. When the surf is too rough to rent the jetskis, as was the case a couple of days, they leave them parked on beach, obstructing the view and taking up some prime real estate.

Food - if you are looking for a foodie experience, you shouldn't go to an all-inclusive. The buffet was like every other buffet - cooking to the lowest common international denominator. It was okay. I didn't see any sanitary practices that bothered me. Out of six of us, one person got a moderate tummy issue. Travel with Cipro, Immodium and a nausea medication - if you are not prepared to deal with the possibility, you shouldn't complain about not feeling well. None of the specialty restaurants were either terrible or great. The Japanese restaurant was fine - if you've seen one hibachi restaurant, you've seen them all. The steak house was also fine - thin cuts of beef of less than the best grade, but this isnt' Ruth's Chris. The Italian restaurant had, hands down, the best prosciutto I've ever had. The grilled fish was good. The canneloni could have been Chef-boy-ar-dee. Bottom line - you won't rave over the food, but you won't go hungry, either.

Bars - for beer, it is Corona on tap and a bottled Corona product in the mini-fridge. The house white and red wines were drinkable, but not something you'd buy in the store. Mixed drinks were generally good. No two bartenders are alike, but if you ask for a bit more liquor they were happy to oblige. As with pretty much everywhere, you will get the house liquor unless you ask for a brand by name. The selection was limited, but they had at least one name-brand for most styles. Overall, I'd rate the bars as good.

Staff - if you are polite and friendly to folks, they are also friendly in return. We had great service from everyone we met. Absolutely no complaints in this department. They encourage the entertainment staff to mingle with the visitors and several times we had one ask if he or she could join us at lunch. We had some very interesting conversations with these people about their jobs and lives. Victoria, one of the show dancers, from Australia, was a charmer.

Bottom line - we enjoyed our stay and felt we got good value for our money.

We vacationed at the Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Jan 28th - Feb 4th with two other couples.
Package was booked though Apple Vacations with a discounted early booking rate. We had our concerns since the price was so low; however, we quickly found the resort to be much better then some of the marginal and poor reviews on TA. Our rooms were in located in Building 18 "Muuyal". All rooms were very clean and well kept by the housekeeping staff.

Overall, the resort is very clean and well maintained. Workers daily on the grounds, beach and at the pools keeping them clean. Although the resort appears to be very large when you arrive, once you learn your way around and find the short cuts it is easy to get around.
Very friendly staff that loved to interact with guest. Several times members of anamaction team and performers joined us at our table for breakfast and lunch to get to know us. Check in was swift and efficient. Since we were traveling as a group we emailed room/building and À la Carte request to the Guest Services Manager Mr. Sanchez a week ahead of our arrival. Although he did not reply to our email, when we arrived we were very surprised to find he had made all of our arrangements as requested.

Food selection at the breakfast and lunch buffets were very good. Even if you are a picky eater, there were many choices. No one seemed to go away hungry. We were fortunate to dine at six of À la Cartes. Most notable was the La Gira Rodizio (Brazilian). It's a meat fest!! The Ikebana (Japanese) was fun and the the meal and show were very enjoyable. The lobby bars had top shelf liquors on request. Corona on tap throughout the resort. Barrilito bottles in the room fridge. BTW... Barrilito needs several limes to make it drinkable!

Beach bars and service staff were incredible. Very fast and eager to serve. Small tips ($1-2) are not expected, but go a long way and are very appreciated. If you are on the left side of the beach area, look for Saret in the pink hat for beach drink service . Make friends with her, tip her well and she will take very good care of you all week.

Be prepared if you plan to swim at the beach. Although there are sandy areas to swim, beach shoes are must if you plan to snorkel without fins. Bring your own snorkel gear if you can. Campmor.com has great deals on equipment with fast shipping.

The shows in the theater were some of the best we have ever seen at a resort. Very well done productions with very talented staff.

If anyone was having a bad time at this resort, we never noticed. Lots of smiling faces and happy people having a great time. The lobby bars were always full before dinners and there were always some form of entertainment and specialty drinks being served. Great place to meet and people and enjoy the evenings.

Feel free to message me on TripAdvisor if you have specific questions.

My husband and I traveled to the Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya on January 28 to Feb 5. We're in our early to mid-thirties. The reason why we chose this resort was the reviews on snorkeling. We were not disappointed.

Snorkeling (5 stars): This was definitely what we were expecting and beyond. We weren't able to go every day because the water was choppy in close to the beach and out on the far reef, But when we did go, we were always awed at what we saw. We saw a sea turtle, sting rays, octopus, squid, barracudas and lot's of tropical fish. You don't need to swim far to see any of this. It was amazing!

Beach (5 stars): The main beach is nice but rocky. Bring water shoes. When facing the water, the beach to the left is a lot nicer for swimming and quieter because children's activities are held there. Sand is soft and the water not as rough. The only thing is that it's away from beach food bar, but there are servers there. The water is not dirty. I don't know where some reviewers got this idea. It's murky because the waves bring up sediment and corral sand. I'm sure they didn't go in past their knees.

Pools (5 stars): We went to the Riviera Maya pool a few times. Lot's of activities and drinks. It can get loud, so there's another large quiet pool in the middle of the resort. Anywhere you go on this resort, chairs are not abundant so get there early for a good seat. The pool on the Mayan Beach side is nice as well.

Grounds (5 stars): Another thing we loved about this resort is the abundance of wildlife you will see. Saw some wild raccoons, lot's of birds, some kind of rodent that kinda looked like a cat/rabbit (cute), iguanas and little geckos. So cute. The vegetation is nicely maintained, but it doesn't look too manicured. You could imagine yourself in the jungle when walking through some of the areas at the hotel, which is after all where the hotel is.

Food (4 stars): The food at this resort is abundant. You'll never go hungry. My husband and I preferred the breakfast and lunch buffets at the pool side because they were quieter. There was less selection, but it was much more appetizing. We reserved three a-la-cartes. We ate at the Steakhouse, the Brazilian and the Japanese. The Steakhouse was decent. Nothing really stood out. The Brazilian was awesome. This was our favourite. However, the Japanese was not that good in our opinion but others we talked to liked it so you will have to see for yourself. We weren't feeling the greatest after eating at the Japanese and this was the only time so might have skewed our opinion. Generally, the food here was not fresh at all. The ice cream bar is really nice and so is the coffee bar. Great for kids and adults.

Rooms and buildings (4 stars): Our room was nice, but it looked a little tired. Scuffed paint, faded furniture and bedding. However, the staff clean it well everyday. Went to visit people on the Mayan Beach side, which was noticeably less run down. Apparently it is a couple of years newer on that side. Our opinion is that this hotel in general was built too quickly and sloppy workmanship is everywhere, explaining most of the problems people talk about. With all of that said, Cleaning and Maintenance staff are everywhere.

Service (5 stars): The staff here are great. They work really hard and take pride in what they do. They were always warm and making sure our needs were met. Let's all face it, a little tipping goes a long way if you want a drink put in your hand every time you finish a drink or the little extras that make your room seem specially decorated. Seems like the most demanding people have the hardest time parting with a dollar bill.

Entertainment/disco (4 stars): The entertainment was good. The shows were good and you can tell that the staff take their craft seriously and are having genuine fun. This is our 2nd all inclusive experience and the entertainment at this resort was more than acceptable and the theater was at capacity every night.The Cabaret it's not. The disco was fun when there were people there. The beach parties were a lot of fun as well. I saw people of all ages make their way out there for a good time.

Some things that can be improved: There were no hand sanitizing stations anywhere. Make sure to bring some. Also, the coffee they had in the room was no good. Very weak if you need that first cup.

To sum up, do book this hotel if you want a fair value for your money, good snorkeling, decent food, friendly staff and guests, and lot's of things to do for all ages including children. Do not book this hotel if you are expecting the grandest buildings and rooms, gourmet fine-dining, don't like walking around too much, or want to rub shoulders with the Aristocracy. You will be disappointed.

I will start off by saying my husband and I just got back from our honeymoon on January 31st after a week at the Grand Sirenis and we LOVED IT! I am an avid Trip Advisor reader so I have read all reviews from the last year on this resort so I was prepared for everything and we honestly did not have ANY of the issues that were mentioned. And despite what a few have said I am not from the Hotel trying to pad the reviews. We actually LOVED it and are from Canada and NOT paid. Also… sorry for being long winded but I had a lot to say because I feel that most of the people who review are the ones that had a bad time – which is valid as everyone’s experience is different but I think it is good to give a good one when you had an awesome time as well.

I will say the lots of people complained about Time Shares being pushed on them but we weren’t asked about Time Shares (other than the note slipped under our door which we ignored and we were fine). So I think if you just ignore the note and if asked then just firmly say no then you will be fine.

The literal ONLY issue we had that I would like to mention is that in order to turn on your lights and air conditioning you need to put one of your room keys in the slot on the wall just pass the door. They do this because they are trying to conserve energy – Mexico is VERY eco conscious which we really liked. Anyway, we left our room key in the slot while we were out at an excursion and the maid had taken it and given it to the reception desk. We would have preferred she just left it in the room but none the less we went to reception in the morning and it was all cleared up.

We had no issues with bedding, cleanliness of the room, bed bugs or harassment as has been stated before. Clearly, everyone is different and all experiences are different so my suggestion is to go with an open mind and you will probably have an amazing time. We were even placed on the main floor directly across from the main desk and had no issues with noise etc as others have complained about. Again that might be preference but we found it was always quite quiet when we were in our rooms. We tipped our maid every day and we came back to our room to fun animal creations every day and loved it! We also put $1 in the mini fridge every day and we were given SO MUCH to drink we couldn’t fit it all in the fridge.

The food I liked a lot but my husband had some issues with the toughness of the meat but like I said at least you know it is cooked! Breakfast was amazing every day and we loved the two a la cartes we made it to (Japanese Tapan Yaki was AWESOME! And I really enjoyed my steak at the Steakhouse but my husband didn’t love his ribs). Oh and check out the ice cream shack as the Coconut Ice Cream was AMAZING and great on a hot afternoon.

The literal ONLY issue we had that I would like to mention is that in order to turn on your lights and air conditioning you need to put one of your room keys in the slot on the wall just pass the door. They do this because they are trying to conserve energy – Mexico is VERY eco conscious which we really liked. Anyway, we left our room key in the slot while we were out at an excursion and the maid had taken it and given it to the reception desk. We would have preferred she just left it in the room but none the less we went to reception in the morning and it was all cleared up.

We had no issues with bedding, cleanliness of the room, bed bugs or harassment as has been stated before. Clearly, everyone is different and all experiences are different so my suggestion is to go with an open mind and you will probably have an amazing time. We were even placed on the main floor directly across from the main desk and had no issues with noise etc as others have complained about. Again that might be preference but we found it was always quite quiet when we were in our rooms.

We also didn’t have an issue with the frosted glass going into the bathroom from the main area as we are married and that sort of thing isn’t an issue for us but it might be for some. If that is a deal breaker for you then maybe this isn’t the resort for you. Check out the pictures and you can see what I mean. We didn’t find it a problem as the toilet is its own separate room but some may have an issue with it.

Everyone at the resort works SO hard and seemingly every day of the week so we were blown away but the people. We loved Mario at the reception desk, Omar at the Sports Shack and the sports and entertainment team who worked in the pool all day and then did the show at night and went to the disco after.

The nightly shows were good. Some were cheesy but that is why we liked it. The Lion King was terrible but in that funny sort of way so we talked about it for most of the week. All in all you aren’t getting Broadway but that isn’t what I expected so we went every night but one and had a great time!

Now to address the main issue everyone seems to have about the size of the resort I will tell you that it isn’t that bad AT ALL. Maybe if you have issues walking it might be an issue but we found it took us no longer than 10 minutes to get to anywhere we wanted to go (with the exception of the Disco which is quite far BUT there are trollys that will take you). The resort is split as such that the people staying at the beach have exactly the same as the people staying at the jungle so really you don’t need to go to the other side (which is where the walking comes in) unless you want something specific. We were on the jungle side and QUICKLY found short cuts to everywhere we wanted to go. There are little paths that look like they go through a jungle type area that we often took and it was beautiful. It was lit well at night and they worked hard on the plants and the bridges so it is well worth the short cut. We found we LOVED walking around because you got to see so many animals (TONS of iguanas, raccoons at night, and lots of birds) and we loved every minute. Let’s remember you are on vacation after all – what’s the hurry!

We were even given little gifts since it was our honeymoon and we loved it (and this was even though we were over the 2 month requirement for a honeymoon that they say).

As far as off the resort we went to Xcaret and Chichen Itza and LOVED both SO much. People complain about the travel time to Chichen Itza but it was great because the tour guide gives you tons of information and you get to drive through towns and see how the Mexican people live (which you lack when driving down the resort highway). We found we were often dropped off first which was great after a long day as well. We were blown away by Chichen Itza and truly could see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Xcaret was AMAZING and we wanted to go back a second day because it is so big we didn’t see everything. The underground river is amazing and the show at night is SPECTACULAR and a MUST SEE. I was crying, laughing and in awe of the performances.

I must also mention that the snorkeling is AMAZING at the resort. Go to the far left of the beach past the little ruin they have and there is coral after coral with tons of fish (my husband saw a Sting Ray and others saw Manta Rays and turtles). We spent a good chunk of our time in the water and loved it. Yes getting into the ocean is a little rocky BUT wear water shoes or your flippers and you are fine. They try to clean the beach but it is from the coral and if you didn’t have it you wouldn’t have the amazing sea life so close to the beach. There is beautiful soft sand about 5 feet into the water so it isn’t all rocky. My suggestion is to take a banana (or two) or bread down to snorkel and you will get tons of fish! We had about 30 circling us and they were amazing. They even ate the banana right out of our hands.

All in all it was a PERFECT vacation and I would recommend The Grand Sirenis to anyone!