Mayan Palace Wyndham Riviera Maya Resort Playa del Carmen

We stayed at the Mayan Palace Riviera Maya in September of 2004. We truly enjoyed the place. The grounds were beautiful and the pool was huge. This is not a place for people looking to party. It was great for us to spend time together laying by the pool without being bothered by others. The staff was awesome. The food was very good, but I wish that there was more of a variety and a cafetieria open 24 hours. The rooms were gorgeous and spacious. There was a Fiesta on Thursay night, which I would recommend for eveyone to attend.

The rooms at the Mayan Palace are large and well-appointed. We stayed in a 1 bedroom unit. The units are spread out from the beachfront to the end of the golf course, as Mexican laws governing the Riviera forbid buildings over three stories outside of Cancun. It could be a bit of a walk to the beach and pool, but it's a pleasant one. There are shuttles that run continuously from the lobby, so you can cut the walk in half if you wish. We asked for a room near the pool and were given one very near the pool. The walk from the lobby to our room was a long one though.

The rooms are equipped with a kitchenette (no oven, but they do have cooktops, small fridge, microwave, blender, utensils, pots pans and plates, cups and glasses.) The bathroom is large, with private commode, double sinks, large shower/tub, and another sink for makeup outside the bathroom. The bedroom is large with walk-out viewing balcony, TV, large closet and dresser. The bed is king-sized. The living room has two sofas that double as single beds. The TV is flat screen plasma. No DVD player, but there are numerous cable channels.

There were 3 restaurants and a snack bar. The food was reasonably priced. There was also a convenience store. These items were quite expensive, but the staff warned us of this and therefore we took a taxi to a Grocery in Playa Del Carmen and bought items for the week. Balanche is great for less extravagant dining - mostly sandwiches, wraps, and salads. El Lago is a large buffet with several stations for freshly prepared pasta or Mexican fare - depending on the night's theme. This is where the fiesta show is located. Tumtah is on the beach and was our favorite restaurant. We sat outside just off the beach each time.

The pool is is big enough that you can relax with your frozen Pina Colada and not worry about whether the kids are bored. For kids, the pool and beach are the place to be, with tons of activities - water aerobics, games, dance lessons, yoga, crafts, and just goofing around with new friends. The staff held some fun activities while we were there. There were many shady and sunny spots to relax.

The beach is divided into a rocky section and a sandy section. The sandy part is huge, but a little further down. There is a dive shop.

Now for the bad, we were pressured to attend a time share sales presentation, even though we were not interested in buying a timeshare. They have a whole building dedicated to this. During the discussion we were heavily pressured to purchase a time share, the price started off at $11,000 on sale and ended up at around $2,000. By the end we were so upset, that we had absolutly no interest. We were also bugged many times while in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen by people trying to get us to another sales presentastion.

Overall a great experience, but beware do not go to the sales presentation unless you need something for free or you are interested in buying a timeshare.

Service at the Mayan Palace was impeccable - twice daily maid service, front desk staff, concierge, etc. were all helpful and efficient.

We also took numerous trips to Playa Del Carmen for dinner, shopping, etc.