Grand Palladium Riviera Resort and Spa - Reviews - Cancun

I stayed at the GP for 4 nights and I wish we had been able to stay longer. I LOVED this resort.. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful there. I'd never been to an all inclusive type resort so I was a bit skeptical about how it all worked but everything went great. The food was above average considering most of the meals are at their main buffet. Not a huge fan of buffets to begin with but I was always able to find something to eat and the food was all of good quality. I did not get sick at all from the food, but then again I avoided fruits that you couldn't peel and didn't eat any lettuce or salads where the possibility of contracting something from existed. Another great thing that they offer is their a-la-carte dinner. We got two since we were staying there 5 days and we chose to eat at a Brazilian style restaurant and the Italian one. The Italian one was not very good, but then again, who goes to Mexico to eat Italian? We should have eaten at the Mexican restaurant. Leave the pasta to the Italians. The Brazilian restaurant was excellent and the waiter looked just like Mario Lopez.. Yummy.
The resort was so huge (4 resorts within the whole large one) that they offer a trolley-type shuttle. My only complaint would be that they are sort of spotty on how often they would come and often we would get tired of waiting for one and just hoof it to save time. Not easy when you're 6 months pregnant, let me tell you!
Our room was AMAZING! We had an oceanfront view and the beach was a mere 5 minute walk from the building we were staying in. It made for spectacular views in the morning and we found ourselves waking up early just to go out and walk barefoot on the beach for sunrises (see one of my pictures for proof!). The sand is like sugar.. so soft and warm. And the water was at least 80 degrees! Heaven.
We went at the end of February just before the Spring Break crowd hit and it was perfect. We had the resort to ourselves and never had to wait for anything. I wish I had been able to do more though. They have a whole sports center where you can play any sport you can think of and even had tournaments for guests to compete in. Since I was pregnant and it was just me and my husband, we didn't really participate in any of this. I would have liked to go to their discotec for dancing or to just see the night life, but by the time that rolled around, we were usually so exhausted from the day's activities, we ended up just hanging out on the beach or in our room enjoying the sound of the ocean.
Another thing we loved about this resort was the beach front area. They had a bar right on the beach that was open 24 hours a day so if you wanted a pina colada, beer or a pizza, you just walk up and tell them. No cost, just ask and ye shall receive. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. We got tired of having buffet meals one night so we went there for a nice warm evening on the beach. We had Hawaiian style pizza, pina coladas (mine virgin, dammit!) and watched as raccoons came and rifled through the trash. Then we swayed on the hammocks as the warm gulf breeze passed us.. Ahhh I wish I was back. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone thinking of going to Cancun.