Advisor Insider: Grand Moon Palace, Cancun

September 29, 2021 ctn_admin

In our new Canadian Travel News series, travel experts share their reviews of the destinations they’ve visited as we emerge from COVID. Follow for the latest resort updates, best beaches and a first-hand look in the destinations you want to visit.

Here is Theodor Mihail at Unravel World Travel’s experience at Cancun’s Grand Moon Palace, which he visited the week of September 20, 2021. You can reach him at [email protected], 647-223-7530.

I just returned from a wonderful trip to The Grand at Moon Palace in sunny Cancun, Mexico.  It was a FAM (familiarization trip) for travel agents to discover the resorts. I experienced true all-inclusive luxury, surrounded with world-class service and amenities, some of which I’ve never experienced before. This resort is perfect for families with kids, as well as couples or groups, and has something for everyone. I loved every moment, and would definitely recommend, this resort.  

The Moon Palace complex contains 2 resorts: Moon Palace Cancun, and The Grand at Moon Palace. Guests staying at the Grand have full access to the entire resort, as well as all Palace Resorts in the area. The Grand is the perfect place for families, and contains a huge waterpark with a lazy river. This must have been the biggest waterpark I’ve seen in the Caribbean other than CocoCay, Bahamas (exclusive to cruise ships). The Grand is a fairly new property, and has nicer facilities, more food options and better-quality alcohol.

Beach

The resort has a very beautiful and spacious beach, which stretches across both properties. There is never a moment when one cannot find space to sit on the beach. The water is very calm and clean, and this comes from the resort investing USD 2,000,000 to build a barrier that blocks seaweed from reaching the shore. Beach lovers who have had a bad experience with seaweed on beaches can book this resort with confidence. Early birds can head to the beach for a breathtaking sunrise. Every morning, my alarm rang at 05:30 so I could see the sunrise.

Food and Beverage

The Grand has the following options: a buffet, Italian, 3 Mexican restaurants (one of them specializing in tacos from across the country), Lebanese, French, Peruvian, Caribbean, Asian, and many snack bars. Guests can also head to the Moon Palace for more Italian and Mexican options, and also a Japanese and Indian restaurant. The food in all restaurants was fantastic. Both sections have a nightclub plus a bar that is open late, and each bar/club has its own unique drink!

Excursions

The Riviera Maya has excursions for everyone, and I’ve done almost all of them. History lovers can experience the Mayan archeological sites of Chichen Iza, Tulum, Coba or the hidden ruins at Sian Ka’an.  Adventure lovers can book a one of many tours that takes you on zip lines and ATVs in the jungle. And all travelers must experience one of the Yucatan’s over 6000 unique cenotes. A cenote is a natural sinkhole that, in history, used to be the only source of drinking water for the Mayans. Click here to read my article on cenotes. My recommendation for adventurous travelers: some cenotes, called “open cenotes”, look like a pond. In those cenotes, one can dive in from about 20 feet. It’s terrifying at first, but once you do it, you will want to keep daring to dive!

Travel with Confidence

In 3 words: travel is back! Upon arrival, staff were waiting to welcome arriving guests. Hand sanitizer was provided, and guests must put their feet on a floor mat which has some kind of sanitizer, to sanitize their shoes. All restaurants were open, including the buffet, and it was fully functional as in pre-pandemic times. Before walking in, staff give sanitizer for guests to sanitize their hands. In the buffet, this is also done while walking around. I would sanitize my hands up to 6 times during breakfast. In the room, an antiviral kit was provided and included 2 masks, a hand sanitizer for anyone who may not have brought one or ran out of it, and moist wipes which eliminate 99% of germs. COVID-19 testing can be done on-site, and PCR tests done before noon will receive the result on the same day.

Do you want to have this same luxury experience I did? I can also book you the excursions mentioned.

You can reach Teodor at [email protected], 647-223-7530.

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