The Mayan Palace Cancun

The Mayan Palace

Riviera Maya

Please scroll down for updated photos and descriptions.

The Mayan Palace Riviera Maya is a member of the Mayan Palace-Vidafel chain of Mexican resorts. Currently they have resorts located in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Mazatlan and a the brand new one in Puerto Penasco, near the Arizona border. You can view their web site at http://www.mayanpalace.com/

While in Cancun in November (2001), we stopped by the new resort which was still under construction at that time. The grand opening is scheduled for January 1, 2002. The resort is being built on a huge tract of many acres of land. It is not directly in Cancun but is located in what is called the Mayan Riviera, approximately 50 minutes south of Cancun on highway 307. The site is about 10 minutes south of Puerto Morelos and 10 minutes before you get to Playa del Carmen.

Reception is being temporarily housed in the northern most building. A restaurant is operating in the building by the beach that formerly housed the sales office. The sales office has moved to a portion of the main lobby building that has been semi-finished. The rest of that building is still under construction. Be warned that there will be continuous ongoing construction activity here for some time. Also, most of the future amenities are not completed. The golf course is not ready and will not be in the near future. The navigable canals are not ready and the beach is still unimproved. The swimming pools are fully operational and are simply spectacular. If you wish to stay here in the near future, please take into consideration the remote location and the transportation issues getting to the resort and into town.

Here are some photos we took while visiting this resort during November (2001)

Click on the thumbnail photo to see the full size version

UPDATED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS!

We again visited the Mayan Palace during February of 2002. Here are some photos that show details of the progress made during the 3 months time. Work is proceeding on the center Lobby building. Some additional work has been performed on the canals. Be warned that you will NOT be allowed to tour the resort without being subjected to a high pressure sales spiel. We tried and were not able to escape it even after turning down all manner of gifts and bribes. Even though we were initially promised maps and written descriptions of the resort, no such literature was given to us. We were later told "they did not exist". So, the only map of the resort layout I could obtain were the poor photos of the model taken through a Plexiglas cover. You can get some idea of the concept by viewing these.

Click on the thumbnail photo to see the full size version

READ ABOUT OUR VISIT TO THE MAYAN PALACE!

Resort Review: Mayan Palace, Mayan Riviera

Date of stay: June 26-30, 2002

We have recently returned from a four night stay at the Mayan Palace Mayan Riviera. Before leaving I'll have to admit being a little apprehensive concerning our stay at this resort. Heck, we had visited there twice before and had a pretty good idea of what to expect. But actually living there for a few days gives you way more of the true experience. And if you read the chat boards and bulletin boards, you know that Mayan Palace has taken some heat concerning their sales practices. We even had our own little run in with these vultures last February. Plus there's been all the comments on how remote the place is, how it's so isolated and it's hard to get anywhere. Then there's the lousy beach. Not to forget the fact that there is still much ongoing construction and many amenities are unfinished or not even started yet. So we came prepared to find much fault, but still curiosity got the better of us.

I only scheduled us to be there for four days. In fact we could bug out after three days if we really hated it, as our Royal Caribbean Cancun week started on Saturday. We checked in on a Wednesday for an RCI exchange week that actually started on Sunday. Even though I called MP on Sunday and informed them that we would not be there until Wednesday, the desk clerks were totally surprised at our appearance. We were already written off as no-shows and not even in their computer anymore. After a bit of lip biting, they did assign us our room, and of course it was the absolute worst room in the whole joint. Our room was 3098, third floor, as close to the lobby as you could get, which also meant as far away from the restaurants and swimming pools as you could be. So was this going to be the predicted disaster?

Heck NO! I have to admit that we really enjoyed our stay there. Even my wife, who absolutely was convinced she would hate the place was converted. I would say my one and only complaint would be the room location. But the room itself was very nice. Everything was in excellent condition, spacious and comfortable. Nice and well equipped bathrooms, good strong showers, a mini-kitchen with microwave, coffee maker and mini-fridge. There were ceiling fans in every room and the air conditioning worked well. There is a small outside terrace but not big enough to sit out on and we never used it. There really is nothing to see from the terrace anyway as none of the rooms are ocean view. To get to the swimming pools from our room, it is a long walk as the buildings are aligned perpendicular to the beach. It was a shorter walk to the lobby where you could have a golf cart ride you down to the restaurants or pools.

The swimming pools are spectacular. They are comprised of three terraced tiers with cascades flowing from one level down to the next. Each level seemed about a block long and were situated parallel to the ocean. I believe there is room in this pool for the entire Mexican army. You never felt crowded. I will have to rate this swimming pool as the number one pool I have ever encountered anywhere. It appeared to us that the pool water was heated, something not really needed on a late June day with temps in the 90’s. However, on a cooler January day with little solar heating, this might be a very comfy pool indeed. There are 2 pool bars, one on each end and waiter service. Also, rest rooms located on each end, a nice touch as it’s a long walk from one side to the other. Plenty of lounges and palapas for shade

What about the isolation of the resort? Well we rented a car so that we could come and go as we pleased. Guess what? After we parked the first day the car never moved for the next four until we left. There simply was no need to go anywhere. Mayan Palace has excellent restaurants and great food. Our needs are simple. Sleep late, catch breakfast buffet, swim for hours, have a few drinks by the pool, shower and change, catch the dinner buffet, go back to the room and watch a movie on TV. Breakfast buffet was great and cost about $12. It was served every morning in the open air poolside restaurant. We appreciated that breakfast was served until 12:00 Noon. The dinner buffets started at 6:30 and were truly excellent. These meals were the best we had in the entire 10 days in Cancun. They have a German born chef whom we spoke with and complimented his skills. One night was Italian buffet ($18), the next night was Tex-Mex ($15), the third was Asian buffet which featured huge barbecued prawns and crispy Peking duck ($18), the last night was Surf and Turf ($34), all you could eat Caribbean lobster tails and melt in your mouth Prime rib cooked just perfect. We really enjoyed the food. Every meal featured a great trio of Mariachi singers which IMO were very good. We added up our entire cost for food and drinks for the 4 days and it was about $480, which is about $120 per day. This compares very favorably with the close by all-inclusive resorts. There were three of us, 2 adults and one child. We ate as much and drank as much as we cared to yet the total cost still worked out to about the same as a cheaper all-inclusive, and much less than the costlier ones such as the Palace Resorts. However, the important point is that I would rate the quality of the food much better than any all-inclusive I have ever ate at. I have never seen all you could eat lobster, prime rib, Peking duck, huge shrimp, etc. at any all-inclusive.

The construction continues. They have started building a new section of condo buildings which will parallel and face the existing ones. Construction noise was never a problem during our stay. Work continues on the large center building which faces the pools and will house the permanent lobby. It appears there will be a huge 3 story glass windowed atrium in the middle of this building. It is going to be very impressive when completed, with a view over the three levels of pools and out to the beach and Caribbean. Unfortunately there have been no improvements to the beach. I walked the entire length looking for an entry point that wasn’t covered in sharp rocks and never found one. It may be all right for snorkeling and I did see some brave souls out there. Of course, still no golf course, tennis courts or any of the other planned amenities. These will come with time.

I have absolutely no fear of staying here again and in fact look forward to our next visit.

Here are some photos we took in June 2002

Click on the thumbnail photo to see the full size version

What has changed at the Mayan Palace in 2003?

A short visit there during April of 2003 showed that much progress is being made to the resort. The main lobby building shown under construction in the photos above has been almost completed. (However, they are still accepting guests for the time being in the temporary lobby.) It looks spectacular. The second level of this building features a large sitting/lounge area with plush seating and a very high ceiling. It is fully air conditioned and looking through the huge floor to ceiling glass windows reveals a magnificent Caribbean Sea view out over the huge three level swimming pool. You can step outside to a large terrace through glass doors. On one side of the lobby is a cigar bar and on the other side is a fancy white table cloth Italian Steak House restaurant. We had dinner while there and the food was decent although a bit high priced. I do have to register my disappointment in the fact that Mayan Palace no longer features the nightly themed buffets described in the previous descriptions, which were unbelievably excellent. Oh well. Meals are now only offered ala carte in 2 restaurants. We were told that in the future they will be offering special buffet dinners in their new restaurant located on the lagoon which will also have a stage and feature live shows.

The first series of condo buildings has been completed. They are now working on the next phase of even more luxurious condos that will be branded as Mayan Palace "GRAND".

So far there has not been much to report on the actual condition of the beach. However, Mayan Palace has a plan to improve the beach through "natural" means. They have been constructing a series of 675 "reef balls", which when placed on the sea bottom in front of the Mayan Palace beach will create an artificial reef system that will alter the natural wave motions, creating a more calm water condition by the shore and trap sand at the beach. Hopefully, this will "naturally" create a sandy bottom and excellent swimming conditions sometime in the future. You can see photos of the reef balls here. Click: REEF BALLS

What has changed at the Mayan Palace in 2004?

We have observed that the main lobby building is now completed. Inside you will find a huge air conditioned lounge area with comfortable seating, floor to roof glass walls that looks out over the pools and onto the beautiful Caribbean Sea. The ceiling is very high and this is really quite stunning. There is also outside seating. They have opened a white tablecloth restaurant inside featuring Italian dishes. There is also a bar. Downstairs will be shops and internet access. Check-in and out is still being accommodated at the far north end of the timeshare buildings.

Construction is well under way at the new GRAND MAYAN section, with a couple of buildings already open and accommodating guests. The Grand Mayan section is located just west of the existing buildings and constructed in a circle around a lagoon.

The Jack Nicklaus designed golf course is now ready for play. Most construction has been completed. Golf lovers will find an excellent opportunity to practice on an 18-hole par-54 Jack Nicklaus-design golf course. You can now spend the day playing golf on this spectacular 18 hole course with Sea views.

See details on this web site: http://www.mayanresortsgolf.com/en/riviera/overview.cfm