thucanhho

I will do some comparison to Andaz Maui and Andaz Papagayo

Separate diamond checkin in the lounge.

Room: Executive Suite King. Large with full ocean view with balcony spanning the length of the bedroom and living room that has a table, patio loveseat, plunge pull/jacuzzi that I could not figure out how to make warm. There is a kitchenette with stovetop, cutlery, dishes, pans, etc. Nespresso. Pullout couch with chaise. Dining table with 4 chairs.

Annoyances:
1. My biggest pet peeve was the poor drainage in the shower. I did not think there is enough of a gradient to the drain in the corner. However, water pressure was excellent. After 4 people in the shower, the bathroom always flooded.

2. can not turn off lights in bedroom and leave lights in living room on. (but this may be me.)

3. automatic curtains not so easy to figure out.

4. can close double door separating LV and BR from BR but not LV

I'm usually not one to have issues with automation in hotels.

Overall: I think the room/furniture is more functional/ comfortable than Andaz Maui. You can tell that the construction/ finishing details is far inferior to Andaz Papagayo.

Club music: I was not at all bothered by it. My husband is a light sleeper and was also not bothered by it. The waves crashing made for good white noise.

Did not experience much in the way of mosquitos but was happy that toiletries included a small bottle of mosquito spray (a first for me.)

Lounge: was not too busy when I was here. Good amount of functional indoor and outdoor seating. Offerings:

1. Breakfast: very heavy on the carbs (great breads and pastries), a few cereals, but light on everything else (one hot dish, some cold cuts, a few selections of fruit). Not great for the low carb dieter

2. Evening: canape was decent with ceviche on 3/3 nights, steak sandwich, salad, grilled vegetable, pasta salad, hot dish (chicken and broccoli.) Bartender in the lounge was a first for me.


Dining: La Cocina was the only onsite place we ate at. The prices were especially good on the kids menu ($85 peso/ <$5 for adult size grilled salmon and asparagus.)

Excursion: this was a 4nt/5day trip for us so we only did one self guided excursion to Tulum and Akumal (to swim with the turtles.) Here is a summary of our cost for 2 adults, 2 kids (6 & 8):

1. taxi to Collectivo pickup spot 1 mile away: 90 pesos
2. Collectivo PDC to Tulum 40 miles south on HWY 307 (40pp): 160 pesos
3. Tulum entrance fee: 65peso pp, kids < 13 free: 130 pesos
4. Collectivo Tulum to Akumal (35 peso pp): 140 pesos
5. rented 2 lifejackets and storage locker at Akumal (we brought snorkels): $180
6. Collectivo Akumal to PDC (35 peso pp): 140 pesos
7. Taxi to Hyatt: 90 pesos

So for a family of 4 visiting 2 major sites, including transportation, I spent 930 pesos or $50 for an educational/fun-filled self paced day. There are guides at Tulum but my 6 & 8 year old are unpredictable and decide the pace of our visits. You do not need a guide at Akumal. Rent what you need and go out. It was my first time snorkeling and I found a 4 foot turtle for a guide and his group.

The Collectivo has been the best find of this trip. When was the last time you paid $2 for a 40miles trip? Use it if you are going along hwy 307. We never had to wait for one.

To rent a car or not: I would not risk issues with police corruption with car rental in Cancun if my excursions are along route 307. Save yourself the hassle and use the Collectivo.

Conclusion: people will certainly disagree here but, this trip was a heck of a lot cheaper, but more enjoyable for my family.

Pros: should be able to get cheap flight from most region of US at some time of the year to Cancun. Nonstop 3.5hr flight from Ohare for us (compared to nonstop 9hr flight to Maui on United with no inflight entertainment or food which is just asking for kids to misbehave inflight.) Cheaper accommodations. Nice beaches/pools/weather. Excursions can be done very inexpensively.

Con: sanitation/food poisoning is a concern for me with young kids. We all have hep A vaccines.


Conclusion: poor man's Andaz Maui. For how my family travels and activities we enjoy, this was a much more enjoyable trip and for much, much less money and hassle than our Maui trip.

zoomgirl

On my way here now. Did folks stomachs do well with the frozen drinks here? I'd assume the ice was good but always want to double check. Especially with my stomach. Thanks!

ILuvParis

Excellent question. I just got off the phone with my partner, who wanted me to ask the same thing, as well as if there is a cost to use the fitness center (we're lowly Platinums), as we'll be there soon too. I see that spa facilities are available for Mexican $360. - or is there a separate charge and/or any discounts for less than Diamonds?

SQNfan

We just returned from a wonderful 4 night stay. We each had a couple of margaritas in the club at nights without any issues. The water is all purified.

Sadly I cannot answer the fitness club question for certain as I am Diamond and didn't think to ask. Though I am near certain the fitness center is free to all guests.

ILuvParis

Thanks for the info. This trip will get me half way to Diamond.

zoomgirl

Fitness center is free to all. But spa is $40 usd and looks fabulous. Will probably try it out. Totally loving hotel so far. Here with friends who are not luxury travelers and they are super impressed. Plunge pool suite is amazing.

59Impala

Will be staying here in May and got a DSU confirmed. Looking forward to this.

Does anyone have experience with the hotel arranged airport transportation? on Hyatt-e-concierce it states USD 255.- round trip. This seems fairly high, even considering the hotel is about 45 minutes away from the airport.

can someone recommend any alternatives? is public taxi a good and safe option?

Thanks for any thoughts!

ILuvParis

We did a fair amount of research on this, also thinking that the Hyatt transportation was expensive. We went with USA Transfers - reasonable price, $110 for up to 3 people round trip, private transportation, A/C, payable in U.S. or Canadian dollars or Mexican pesos, operated by the Entertainment Plus people, highly rated on Trip Advisor, they track your flights, etc. I was going to add to the wiki after our trip (beginning tomorrow a.m.), assuming all goes well.

http://www.entertainment-plus.net/af...asp?affid=1082

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Peninsula.html

59Impala

Thanks very much, really appreciated!

ILuvParis

Everything went smoothly. Extremely busy outside the terminal - all kind so limo services, hucksters and what not, but we walked up to the people holding the sign USA Transfers and they had our name on the list. A gentleman walked us the short walk to the car, introduced us to the driver, who took the $ and away we went. Friendly driver and quick trip.

New to FF

We stayed here on Feb 6-10 and had a great time. Our main concerns from reading reviews were mosquitos (we booked a swim up room), noise from Coralina Day club next door, and reports that this place wasn't quite dialed in since they were somewhat new.

The first thing I will say is that the pictures on the Hyatt website do not do this place justice. It is GRAND for sure. Walking the property I was fairly impressed. This place is huge and a lot of attention to details. I am Platinum and not Diamond so I didn't experience the lounge. We mostly walked 5th Ave though at night except during the Superbowl where they had a nice party under the "bridge". I did get free buffet breakfast which was huge, free parking (we rented a car for $231 USD for 7 days), and 15% off drinks and spa services. Had a few drinks but didn't hit the spa.

The mosquitos were nill during our stay. Nothing by the swim up pool nor on the beach. The noise from the Coralina was minimal. We sat in a cabana near them on Sunday and sure there was music, but not overly loud. On Tuesday we sat on the South side and didn't hear hardly anything. As far as service, the staff was excellent. Everyone was more than friendly and went above and beyond everywhere except the beach service. They are WAY understaffed on the beach. Sometimes waited a few hours for someone to walk by so walked to the bar instead. Not like I need constant drinks, but a bottle or water or soda when it's hot would be nice.

Two things I didn't expect, it was REALLY windy in the center of the property. The way the building sits it seems to channel the wind right down the center directing it towards the infinity pools. The pool area was outstanding but we didn't sit there because of the wind. Might be good for a really hot day but it barely reached 80 when we were there.

The other annoyance (and maybe it's just me) around noon, a mature crowd of people who stay off property walk in and set up camp right in front of everyone, blocking their view of the ocean with their umbrellas and such. If kind of ticked me off that we were all paying some $ and they just walk in and set up camp in front of everyone. I'm not sure if it's a private beach or open to all? Like I said, maybe it's just me and one of my annoyances.

Overall a great experience and I would highly recommend.

New to FF

We just stayed there Feb 6-10. We rented a car from America Car rental in Cancun. It was about a 10 minute ride from the airport. $231 for a VW GOL for 8 days. Coincidentally, there is a America Car rental office right next door to the Hyatt. I suppose you could rent a car in CUN and drop it there.

If you have Platinum status or better, you get free parking at the Grand Hyatt. Also the bus service seems to great in this region. The bus terminal in Play is on 5th and walkable from the hotel, though it is a long walk. Taxi's are everywhere so you could taxi from the bus station to the hotel.

I personally wouldn't pay $255 for only round trip airport transport.

thucanhho

R/T transfer is $110
Colectivo is a great option to get around if you are going along HWY 307. Cheap and more convenient than bus. 2 USD to go 40 miles to Tulum.

TerryK

Really? No free parking for this Diamond.

Reisen

The wife asked if we could do a last minute Spring Break trip somewhere warm next month. Currently have 5 nights booked here with a DSU. We'll be traveling with our 5 y/o and 19 month old. I've read this thread and the TA reviews

A couple of questions for those that have stayed here:

- Did most Diamonds get upgraded to the Plunge Pool suite? Given we'll have kids that will go to bed at 8:30pm, that could prove some key relaxation time for my wife and me.

- How is the resort, and the entire area, with small children? I see a ton of glowing reviews, and lots of people talking about how their kids enjoyed the pool, but I'm a little worried it will be too sterile (ie. no waterslide, no swim up bar, no caves to swim into, no waterfalls to swim under, etc). Is there any shade over any of the pool? In the pictures, I don't even really see palm trees.

- The pictures of the beach look much better. Is there snorkeling within walking distance of the hotel? Sailboat rentals?

- What other activities would people recommend with small kids? Swimming with the turtles? Rent a car and see Mayan ruins? Any reason to go over to Cozumel if not diving?

- We looked at a couple of other properties. I considered Coconut Point, but was worried it wouldn't be warm enough in March. I would have loved to do Aruba, but couldn't get award availability, much less C&P with a DSU. We've already done 4S Peninsula Papagayo, and the Andaz there was sold out anyway. Ziva Rose Hall wants something astronomically stupid in points, like 55k points a night. GH Baha Mar would be perfect (and close) if they could ever get the damn thing open. We loved GH Kauai, but that's just so far to fly from the East Coast, plus you're dealing with a jetlagged Kindergartner and toddler...