Grand Palladium White Sand Resort And Spa

While the staff was amazing (courteous, helpful & friendly), our hotel was under construction our entire stay. Our ac stopped working for 2 days & my son's bungalow had a major leak in the roof that flooded their bathroom. Their room service is AWFUL. You can't even get a coffee in the morning unless you pay a $17 delivery fee. And on top of all that, I was charged an exorbitant fee of $468 to change a name on their hotel registry as my husband was not able to join us, so my friend took his place. When I confronted the manager on this fee she pretty much just snarled at me and said that's their policy, too bad. Disgusting behavior. The pools were beautiful, the beach was nice & the drinks were strong. But no night club and the main gathering area is empty by 10pm most nights. While I do not want to insult any of the performers (as they worked hard to put on the nightly shows), the shows were boring for the most part. After day 4 we found ourselves bored and looking for things to do, so we booked 2 excursions and a night out at CocoBongo to get some dancing and night life in. Another unfortunate aspect is the 1 hr and 20 min. drive from airport to their location. Excursions are 20 to 30 min away... not horrible. Their buffets were just 'ok". Reservation restaurants were delicious, however. Again, can't say enough about the staff... but not a 4 star hotel. [Details]

Overall great stay. Connecting suite was huge, awesome for our family with teens. Pool area was relaxing and never felt crowded. Food was overall pretty good, restaurants were great, buffet hit and miss. Staff work hard here! Beach is very minimal and rocky, not what we were expecting. [Details]

The staff were amazing and helpful, the food was wonderful although we did prefer to use the a la carte restaurants during our stay and the buffet for breakfast. The resort is quite vast, but we were able to see a fair amount of wildlife and to us that is always a bonus (make use of supplied transportation). The pools were clean and quite refreshing and tranquil. We swam in the ocean every day and always got a spot on the beach to sit and put our stuff, yes there was a fair amount of seaweed, but we grew up on the ocean and for us it wasn't a deal breaker. They were trying to remove it, but the wind was quite strong during the time we were there. We did get caught by the travel club and lost about two hours of our vacation listening to the sales pitch but if you simply say no thankyou and are firm, they respect that (we simply didn't know). I think we may have overpaid slightly but we did book fairly last minute and I think that would be the same anywhere. [Details]

Very nice resort met all our expectations with the exception being the beach which we found quite rocky ( good with swimming slippers ) food and staff were great will definitely book again. [Details]

Hotel was great overall. Excellent staff. English language tended to be quite weak. [Details]

This place is paradise, beautiful resort, staff went above and beyond, food was amazing! We will definitely be coming back! [Details]

Nothing to complain about this resort. Never heard any one person complain about anything during our stay. Amazing beach; pools are big and not crowded; food is superb cleanliness is off the charts. Staff is exceptional. Upon arrival it seemed they were expecting us by name and upgraded us to the TRS Resorts which is out of this world. We also spent time at The palladium white sands which was also top notch.

Would go back again anytime A [Details]

Excellent service, staff, room, shuttle service, VERY helpful/friendly staff, entertainment and food. Sad to leave. Anyone with back/walking problems may have some challenges walking to pools, towel huts, etc. Got a wheelchair and moved to main floor of hotel. Would highly recommend as service was fantastic. Good internal communication. Great 50th Anniversary get-away. Gracias. Ron and Judy Babiuk, Edmonton, Alberta Canada [Details]

Do you like walking? This is the resort for you. Walking up and down 2 bridges, 30 steps up and down to the pool and restaurants. Otherwise, take a golf cart to the lobby and walk about 6 minutes. [Details]

This is a large all-inclusive which has inherent strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: lots of pools, night time entertainment, restaurant choice, space to explore, large beach to explore.
Weaknesses: On-site snorkeling was not good (poor water clarity, very little coral and what was there was not healthy), if you don't like to walk you won't appreciate this resort. [Details]

We are in our late fifties and went for rest and relaxation. Absolutely stunning grounds and the covered walkways are nice especially for shade and rain. Loved all the beautiful vegetation, birds, fish, animals etc. Environmental practices are widely used at this resort and informative nature signs are everywhere.

This was our second stay at a Palladium and we like the no reservation system for dining. We found the food selection at the White Sand buffet very good and ate most of our meals there as my husband found the a la carte restaurants had very little nonwheat dishes to choose from. If you have a diet restriction you get cards when you check in and show them to your server who will get someone to go over the menu with as to what you can or can't have. You can also make requests for the buffet restaurants as well.

We found most of the staff friendly and many understood basic english. If they didn't they always found a coworker who did. We stayed in building 57 which is central and perfect for us. There are lots of complaints about the size of the resort but we enjoyed the walking and nothing was more than a 10 minute walk away for us. The Rivieria rooms are the furthest away and if you have young children or limited physical mobility the Kantenah and Colonial would be more user friendly. The kids water park looks amazing and wished they had slides for the adults as well.

Our room was very large and with all the walking we did on the resort we were glad to be on the first level. The first level rooms all have a walled patio to give you privacy.

Pools were clean, very large and there were lots of palapas and chairs at all water areas. Beach is nice to walk on and long- only real negative is there is only a very small area where the water area is all sand by the Kantenah and Colonial. Most areas you need water shoes to go very far into the water but more to see when snorkeling.

We would definitely return to this resort as we had no problems and enjoyed everything about the place. There was lots to do if you wanted but we went for relaxation and loved every minute of it. [Details]

Great large resort, everything better than expected. Nice and big room and bathroom with Jacuzzi, very clean nice location.
Thy bars stocked premium liquor and give you everything you like.
Very nice bar and restaurant on the beach.
Huge choice of food in main buffet, 8 a la cart restaurants. [Details]

We had booked a room at White Sand, but were placed in Riviera when we arrived. However, this was not cause for disappointment as they upgraded us to a beautiful suite (we had booked a junior suite). It had 2 balconies and a separate bedroom, as well as a jacuzzi tub & large shower. We found all of the staff to be super helpful and friendly. Not a negative word or attitude during our 7-day stay. Christina at check-in was great. And other staff was also very helpful with issues connecting to wifi. I'm sure they have to do this many times in a day, so their patience was appreciated.

One big plus for this resort is that it is close to the highway. So you are not obligated to take the expensive tours, as so many attractions are right along the main highway (307). It is very easy to get to the bus stop and wait for the little white Collectivo vans, they come along frequently, you will not be waiting long. Only $3 U.S. for the fare.

If you stay in the Riviera, the quickest & easiest way to the pool or to the beach bars (Punta Emilia or Las Rocas) is by taking the path toward the beach and walking along the beach to your destination. Good coffee, pastries, and beautiful sunrises await you at Punta Emilia!

Even though the resort is large, the train or the carts will take you from one lobby to another (or to your villa) easily enough, if you tire of walking.

Look for the sign indicating crocodile feeding time (I believe it is only once a week - I think it was Tuesdays at noon or 1:00). We missed it, but quite sure it would be interesting!

This resort is in a good location. Not too far to Xcaret, Tulum, Playa del Carmen. A little far from Cancun Airport, but not a big deal once you're at the resort!

Do not hesitate to stay at Grand Palladium Riviera Maya! [Details]

The hotel was great clean. Staff was very friendly and helpful. [Details]

This resort is big! Lots of trails through the jungle to the beach. Nice party boat ride through the Whitesands and Riveria. Typical resort food...a couple of bad service and food issues with the Eldorado. Not recommend. Ribs and more much better. I tip a 20 pesos for everything and they rarely had 20s for exchange and I'm sorry, won't tip 50 for a drink...their loss. Beautiful beaches until you step in, large, sharp rocks await you almost everywhere you go into the ocean. We were here last year for a wedding and decided to come back with a different group. The bad stuff was more evident this time and will be our last visit. [Details]

My experience was pretty good. I would say the food was a 3.5 out of 5. Service was good from staff. This is a large resort, so be ready to walk. [Details]

Fantastic resort but unfortunately for us there was far too much distance between pools beach and places to grab a bite. Being diabetics we have to eat small meals frequently and this place requires that you walk long distances to either beach snack bar or to hotel buffet . and this time we had a plethora of mosquitoes [Details]

it was very beautiful and peaceful [Details]

The Grand Palladium is enormous. We had good meals where ever we went. The buffets were awesome as well. We stayed in villa 53, central to everything. Huge resort, so never felt crowded. Rooms are cleaned late in the day, some days a way toooo late, hit and miss if they replenished your fridge/coffee. Very easy to find a lounge chair and umbrella. [Details]

Hotel had lots of vegetation & wildlife, variety of food choices, very clean property. Staff courteous. Eco friendly property. Beach nice but not huge, water was rough most days we were there (red flag most days). Food was very good. [Details]

This was our 7th time at this resort, and as usual, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The grounds are well kept, the staff are all friendly, the facilities are well maintained except for a few items (our hide-a-bed in our first room was terrible, it was too short pulled out for an adult and the base was torn, this item really need replacement). Because we brought our adult daughter with us, we requested a different room with 2 double beds and a better pull-out bed, we were moved the next day, much better situation for us. The beach has to be the best along this coast, nice sand and stretching for miles. We ate in 5 a-la-cart restaurants, all were very good. A couple of waiters actually remembered us because we have been there so often. We split our time between the beach and the adult pool. Carlos, our favorite bartender welcomed us, we had become to know him well, we met him when he first started at the resort in 2002. He makes the best drinks. The only real negative that I see was the sign-in procedure. We were taken to the middle area of the reception area, arriving late in the afternoon, we could not see the writing on the sign-in forms, it was way too dark - change it back to how it was, at the front desk with some light. It was a pleasant week away and will be back. [Details]

Very clean, great food, nice beach, good service. Overall very happy. The facilities are a bit tired looking, but other than that, no complaints. [Details]

This trip in my opinion should have cost $1500 at the most. Food was good, lots to drink, and weather was perfect. The negatives are that it was difficult to communicate with the servers, maids, and some of the bar tenders do to their very limited English. Secondly the beach was a bit rocky and had coral growth, so if the beach is what you are going there for, you will be disappointed. This is a very large resort and there is lots of walking. Over all it is nice and clean, the grounds are well maintained. If asked, yes I would recommend this resort but not at the $1978 price that I payed. [Details]

We were really frustrated by the a la carte restaurants. Long line ups and waits, bad service in one, being turned down because it was "adult only" night when we had paid full adult price for our teenage children, and trying to book the Japanese a la carte are the source of our frustration. We waited in line for more than 45 minutes at 7 in the morning. The concierge was late by 15 minutes. So, even though we were second in line, there was no availability left due to her being late. When we complained about this, the response was "we are over-booked, you must be patient". But, that is not my problem as a customer. Who wants to wake up at 7am on a holiday to stand in line and then not get a reservation? Especially after spending close to $12000 on a family vacation. The whole a la carte thing left us with a bad taste in our mouth, and for that, we will not return to this resort. It's too bad because we loved the pool area. We also found that the bridges that go over waterways all over the resort are in bad condition and sometimes shaky and scary to walk over. [Details]

Lovely resort. Can't wait to go back. [Details]

We have traveled a lot in our lives and would say this was one of the best resorts we have been to.The service and food was great . We upgraded to Royal suites and would never go any other way, beds, cleanliness,upgraded liquor,can't do enough for you.Service and food awesome.Cant wait to go back.Thank you Royal for a great vacation.See you next year. [Details]

Second visit here. Big resort. Lots of options [Details]

The hotel front desk service wasn't very good. They put part of our party in a whole different hotel called Riviera, so we weren't impressed. Also the bus schedule didn't have our names on it even though they had our friends on it. We had to spend timing clearing that up also because they had us going to the Bahia Principe. Felt like we spent a lot of money and didn't receive an equally rewarding vacation. Too much time spent on fixing their problems. [Details]

Generally good. some issues with room service [Details]

My wife and I went to this resort for two weeks to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary. The resort provided us with time to relax, read and enjoy the beach, pool and ala cartes. Sadly, we would not recommend this resort to seniors due to the hard beds and the large footbridges. Although the resort is very large, we did enjoy our walks throughout the resort looking for the many varieties of birds and butterflies. We met many fine people from Alberta, British Columbia and England and that is all part of the all-inclusive experience. [Details]