Occidental Grand Xcaret Reviews
Carretera Federal Chetumal - Puerto Juarez Km. 282, #307, Solidaridad,

74%
families recommend
982 family reviews



Trip of a lifetime.Loved it! You Gotta go here!
briflack - Feb 15th, 2012
This was the best vacation experience our family has ever had. The food was great. The drinks kept coming. I loved the variety of people from all over. There are Mayan Ruins all over the resort! The beach was so wonderful with snorkeling. I loved more +the main open air restaurant overlooking the beach. It was great going there for breakfast. Cozumel was very close, but we never made it there. The theme park was so awesome. There was a show about the history of Mexico that you have to see. I want to go there again. We've been to Porto Vallerta and Cabo. The Riviera is very cool. Go!

Date of Stay: 04/17/2010
Children in Party: 2


Tweens (10-12)
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Dream Vacation
PGHZORRO - Nov 30th, 2011
The Occidental Grand Xcaret is the kind of place that you always dreamed about. The rooms were gorgeous, the restaurants and food were fantastic and the pools were great, including a swim-up pool bar and built-in tile lounge chairs in the pool. It more +was a great place for families due to the fact that you did not have to make reservations or wait for a table in the main buffet restaurant and admission to the Xcaret Nature Park, which was next door to the resort, was included. When we stayed there a few years ago, admission to the park cost $85 per person, but was free since we were staying at the Occidental Grand Xcaret. Not only was it a ahort walk from the resort to the park without leaving the resort complex, but you could go back to the hotel for lunch and then return to the park, thereby avoiding buying food at the park.

The park itself was an incredible experience. My daughter got to swim with the dolphins (for a reaasonable extra charge), there were ruins to explore, snorkeling in a harbor, a sea turtle park, natural lazy rivers that wound through the jungle and caves that you could float through and they had a phenomenal nighttime Aztec show.

There were dances and other activities for the kids and we felt comfortable letting our young teens explore the resort on their own. We were a little concerned when we read that the beach was man-made, but it is protected from the ocean, looks like a natural beach and the exotic fish while snorkeling was incredible. The only downside was that there was no indoor pool for the kids if it rained. Otherwise, everything was perfect and we would definitely stay there again if we ever go back to Mexico.

Date of Stay: 07/27/2008
Children in Party: 2


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X is for Excellent
Smiles - Apr 29th, 2011
The all-inclusive Occidental Grand Xcaret was a GRAND resort set within the natural heritage of the area(vegetation and Mayan ruins)and directly connected to the Xcaret park. Protected beach and amazing snorkeling on-site! Great night shows. more +Shopping on-site. Great a-la-carte and buffet restaurants (lots of choices), fabulous staff (especially daytime programming for children and adults). Each pool area has its own ambiance. Choose your activity level-Fun Club or relax. Something to suit all. Always lots to do on and off the resort. The resort itself is just the right size for the amount of amenities it offers (and that is many!) One week is really not enough! The Mayan Riviera in Mexico is a fabulous vacation area for all.

Date of Stay: 03/12/2011
Children in Party: 1


Tweens (13+)
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Fantastic Fun at XCARET
bplienert - Apr 29th, 2011
We enjoyed are stay and the staff was fantastic. There was a river running through the main lobby and wildlife was everywhere. The kids enjoyed all of the animals in and around the hotel. The pool design was great but the water was actually a more +little too warm. There were many activities and we were able to relax in our room when it was too hot.

The only drawback was all of the timeshare sales people. They were polite tbut they were everywhere.

Date of Stay: 08/20/2010
Children in Party: 2


Kids (7-9)
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Royal Club Upgrade is worth the money
gszenacm - May 27th, 2010
I booked a 7 night trip to the All Inclusive Occidental Grand Xcaret for a family of 4 (children ages 5 & 2) through an auction website. Airfare from MIA was included in the $3400 package. The resort is near Playa del Carmen, South of Cancun. more +I booked our airport transfer separately through Cancun transfers. Roundtrip in a large SUV with carseats (even a movie on the way to airport) was $140 - more than others were charging, but saw good reviews online and it was worth the $. It was a 45 minute or so ride.

The property is well maintained. There are iguanas and lizards throughout as well as deer and some other local animals and birds. The staff was very friendly - our family happens to be bilingual so we didn't have any language problems. The first night we stayed in room 12209, bldg closest to the lobby and at the same level as the check in desk. The room was a nice size (2 double beds), the TV could have been larger, but we weren't there to watch tv. The bathroom was nice - just a shower, but it had a removable shower head so bathing toddlers was easy.

There are many choices for dining. Buffet is always an option and we found the food choices to be good. There are a la carte restaurants you can also book and children are welcome at all of them. I was able to book for all 4 of my allotted reservations the very first morning I was there. The desk is right across from check in. The Oriental a la carte restaurant had a nice ambiance, the sushi was good...but that is all that we liked. Sonoma Grill steakhouse had a nice porterhouse steak. The seafood restaurant was my personal favorite because of the view.

Employees do ask about the timeshare opportunity, but if you are not interested you can simply say no. We wanted to find out more, so we did. The presentation went well and we did opt to go for it so we were upgraded to the Royal Club section as part of the deal (requested by us). The service at the Royal Club is amazing...and children are welcome there. We stayed in a one bedroom in bldg 30 near the RC pool/restaurant and it was a great - a separate dining/living room area, master bath with Jacuzzi tub and separate shower and master room. LOTS of closet space, even a hammock on the patio. Even if you don't book the RC, ask for a quote once you arrive. One of the other guests got it for just $100 per night extra - and it was worth it for them!

The RC restaurant and service there was SUPERB. They prepared almost anything we asked and even though their menu didn't vary as much as the buffet, all the dishes offered were excellent. The view from the restaurant was spectacular. The RC beach area is for view only. They have large beds with canopies along the edge to lounge, great for adults, but not so great for kids since there's no water access and not enough sand to play. The RC pool was almost always empty and they offered butler service for RC guests.

If you want a long stretch of beach, this is NOT the resort for you. The beach area is SMALL, but just perfect for toddlers. It is a man made lagoon with fresh salt water . Fish swim freely and the kids loved feeding them. Shallow enough for non swimmers to be comfortable. During our stay it was not crowded so it was a perfect time to go. We never had issues finding a chair on the beach and most days did not make it down until 11am. A bar is just steps away and the beach club is open for lunch in the same area. That same restaurant transforms into a great seafood a la carte restaurant on some nights for dinner. There is an adult only beach section below the beach club, but the beach access is very rocky and wavy. They do have salt water pools in that area too for adults only.

The pools in the rest of the resort were great...one was the fun pool with the loud noise and music and fun activities and the other was the quiet pool. Children were welcome at all pools.
The kids kamp is for children 4+ so we were only able to use the kamp a few times with one of our children. One day we did stay there for a good 4 hours while the kids played in their little (very shallow 1.5 ft) pool and we were able to just lay out and keep an eye on them. The kamp does not close for lunch which is nice. They feed them there and show a movie afterwards. They also have crafts, but they could use some more coloring pages (so if you go have some printed and take them with you to give to them). There is a playground outside the kids kamp that can be used anytime.

One of the biggest attractions to the hotel is the Xcaret park next door. It is just steps away from the hotel. They have a small boat you can take to the park, but we found out the hard way it doesn't run on Sundays. If you have little ones an umbrella stroller might help, but some of the terrain is rough, so it's up to you. At the park they have a butterfly garden, horses, turtles, jaguars, shows, a river you can snorkel through (includes caves) - our children were too little for this. We did the boat ride. It was hot and we didn't really see that much in the 15 minute ride, but it was peaceful since they asked everyone to be quiet. There's also a beach where you can swim/snorkel. Park fees are approx $50 per adult and $25 and you can buy 2nd day passes for half price once you go the first...you just have to use them within 7 days. We missed the show in the evening since the girls were just too tired to go back to the park. I would suggest going as soon as it opens, coming back to the hotel property to eat and rest and then going back for the show. We didn't get to the park until almost noon and that didn't give us enough time.

They have a tram to take you around the property, but you can pretty much walk where you need to...even with little ones, though they do complain less while on the tram.

I would strongly encourage the use of mosquito repellant from dusk to dawn. Carry it with you if you can to reapply and avoid bites. I saw many people with very bad bites all over their body.


Date of Stay: 05/19/2010
Children in Party: 2


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