Grand Park Royal Cancun Caribe Hotel
Cancun, Mexico

Miss B Owen, Blackwood

I came here because it seemed to have a high Tripadvisor score, how wrong can you be.
On arrival, I waited 45 minutes to check in, there are two desks next to each other, you had to assume both were for checking in, there was staff milling around but appeared to be talking to their friends. The hotel is very much geared up towards Mexican and American tourists, if you are from anywhere else in the world, you become almost invisible. On taking my own suitcase and finding my room on entering the room, it did not smell nice, it was a mixture of dirty mop v stale water, however, the room did look clean on the surface, on closer inspection, you could see dirt on furnishings and fixtures and hair on the side of the bath, but don't get me started on the ahem bathroom (banos) whilst the old fashioned sink area accompanied by a very dirty shaving mirror is quite spacious, the shared toilet and 3/4 bath area is something else, very small, old and mucky, you don't see any pictures on here showing these bathrooms, you only see the 'Royal Tower or Villa' bathroom furniture on here, the shower curtain makes my stomach curdle, but more about that later.

The furniture in the room is very dated, dirty looking teak wood, which has been cheaply 'dressed' up with some marble coverings, outside furniture is ok. The bedding on several occasions whilst has clearly been laundered has marks on it that seem to be ingrained and bobbles and bitty sheets which literally go through me. The third floor view was ok. Your 4 choice of drinks from your 'minibar' was stocked regularly, 2x beer, sprite, coke, water. One lift was broken for a whole week, with just one lift serving the whole of the hotel, on a plus, it's now fixed. I've asked several staff to speak to the Manager but they claim to not know who he is, otherwise I would take this up with them first, however, I have time on my hands seen as I am confined to my room having been ill for 5 days, I've only eaten hotel food and do not drink, I've never experienced stomach cramps like it, I've heard a lot of other people I'll as well and I mean physically heard them.

I can't pin it down to the stinking swimming pool or the food, I have had to ask for the pool to be cleaned three times as it was like swimming through a swamp with physical scum and all sorts floating on the top. Ewch! The 'paved' area around the pool is a health and safety hazard, the craters need to be sorted and not just swept out every day, the pool paving needs to be completely renewed, the amount of money the hotel charges to stay in a 5 star hotel with a 3 star experience.

The food in the buffet restaurant is awful, the manager there, runs around like a headless chicken but doesn't actually 'manage' anything, his staff seem too afraid to bother him as he is constantly playing catch up, it is not a place you can feel relaxed in having a nice peaceful holiday breakfast! When I asked the staff to see if they had any breakfast tea, as they had been out of it for 5 days, when they asked the manager, he totally dismissed them, as the question obviously bothered him and felt like it had interrupted his morning, so I stopped him, literally in his tracks, his reply was that they don't get many English people here, very charming and I can see why, shame I'm not English, the following morning he took to English tea out of his pocket and gave them to me 'lovely' but there is still none there for the rest of the two weeks.

Loungers were all towelled up by 9am, with people not actually using them until gone midday.
On checkout, 3 bell boys watched me drag my suitcase down the dozen or so steps leading down from the lobby. The manager did not attempt to come and see me to discuss despite an open invitation.