Grand Park Royal Cancun - Cancun, QR, Mexico
After the COVID pandemic kept me from going anywhere further than driving distance for over a year, Audrey and I knew that our first foray back into traveling would have to go big.
Once we decided on going to Cancun, we had an absurd amount of options when it came to places to stay and after a bit of research and comparison shopping, we felt that the Grand Park Royal Cancun offered us the best combination of price, type of room, view, and amenities just to name a few.
I originally found this resort while browsing on the Booking.com app in order to compare between the wide selection of places to stay in Cancun.
Be on the look out for a banner that looks like this on the Booking.com app
The Booking.com app is privy to various “mobile-only” prices where you can find even greater discounts than you can find on their website. Additionally, if you own a Samsung phone and have your Samsung Pay account set up, you can activate special cash-back deals when booking hotels on certain apps including Booking.com. I was able to activate a 4.5% cash back offer when I was reserving my stay but these offers fluctuate and I have seen them be higher and lower than that based on demand.
The Grand Park Royal did not require prepayment through the app and instead you just paid at the resort itself. This works great to my advantage as not only could I wait to pay off my car until after my trip, but my United Explorer Card offers 2x miles per dollar spent when you pay directly at your hotel.
The Grand Park Royal has a wide ranging selection of rooms for various budgets as well as the option to add on an all-inclusive package that includes all meals and most alcoholic beverages.
As things slowly began reopening after the pandemic, it was a great time to find vacation deals as hotels and resorts enticed people to go on vacation with amazing rates on rooms. I found a great deal for an all-inclusive 4-night stay in the Family Suite for $1332 ($333/night) which included all applicable resort fees.
That same room is now practically twice as much as what I originally paid for it now that things are returning to “normal.”
The resort is one of countless hotels and resorts along what is known in Cancun as la Zona Hotelera (aka “the Hotel Zone”), a long, narrow strip of land off the coast of the mainland resembling a sandbar out in the Pacific Ocean.
Located close to the “tip” of the Hotel Zone, the Grand Park Royal is about a 20-30 minute drive from Cancun International, making it one of the furthest resorts from the airport but this does mean you are further out into the sea than most of the other resorts.
If you read my travel journal about my trip to Cancun, you’d know that thanks to a pilot shortage, my American Airlines’ flight out of Dallas was painfully delayed and I didn’t actually land in Cancun until about 2:30 AM, almost three full hours after my originally scheduled arrival.
Our arrival in the wee hours of the morning did have the benefit of ensuring we were the only flight coming in at the time so customs was a breeze and I was quickly able to get my bags and was able to get out of the airport in no time.
Immediately outside of the airport is a slew of representatives for various local taxi companies to take tourists to their pricey resorts.
N.B. When looking for a taxi, do not immediately go for the first company that approaches you. Look around and compare prices. By making the taxis compete amongst one another for your business you’ll be able to get a better price, otherwise they’ll see you as just another tourist to sucker out of their money with an overpriced trip to their hotel.
Despite our late arrival, we were still greeted by a bellhop who helped us with our luggage. The lobby itself was very warm and it honestly made me feel bad for the friendly woman behind the reception desk who was checking us in for our stay. I could see air vents in the ceiling and I felt A/C in the building in subsequent visits to the lobby so I just assume they must shut it off at times where guest traffic in the area is guaranteed to be virtually non-existent…like at 3:00 AM.
While being checked in, the receptionist gave us a rundown of all the restaurants on site and even informed us that we were given a complimentary upgrade to a beachfront Villa Master Suite, their top-tiered room at the resort. We were also each given a pair of green snap-on bracelets which would indicate that we had purchased the all-inclusive package. Also at check in, I was instructed that I could download the Park Royal Hotel & Resorts app from which one can order room service, request your room to be tidied up, and look up the hours for the various eateries around the resort complex among other things.
Once we were fully checked in, the bellhop helped take our bags to our villa which was located towards one of the far ends of the resort.
So, things get a little complicated here if you want to stay in the same room I did. Like I said, I originally booked the Family Suite which you can find on sites like Booking.com by searching for the Grand Park Royal Cancun, however, since our stay, the people at Park Royal have split the listings for their more expensive villas and you instead have to search for The Villas Cancun by Grand Park Royal if you want to book the Villa Master Suite.
Needless to say, we weren’t able to fully appreciate the room due to the late nature of our arrival but when we finally woke up the next morning we were truly able to take in not just the room, but the unbelievable view outside the sliding glass doors.
The almost 900 square foot suite includes a king sized bed, large sectional sofa that turns into a bed in a separate living room, and mini-fridge that is restocked daily by room service with soft drinks and spirits (all included with your all-inclusive package). The suite also includes two flat screen TVs in the living room and bedroom respectively.
Outside, the semi-private terrace includes two chaises and a shallow plunge pool from which to enjoy a spectacular view of the beach and ocean just a short stone’s throw away.
There’s definitely a wide selection of food at the Grand Park Royal resort. Scattered throughout the complex are five sit down restaurants, four bars serving spirits and cocktails, and four snack bars.
Room service is also available 24 hours a day and if you opted into the all-inclusive package you are allowed one complimentary order delivered to your room every day although there doesn’t seem to be any kind of limit to the actual size of your order so you could theoretically order more than one entrée for each person.
The restaurants on-site all have various “themes” in order to give people options and to satisfy different palates:
La Concha - Specializing in serving a variety of a la carte Mexican infused seafood dishes, this restaurant sits on a small hill at the center of the complex, offering spectacular views of the ocean while you dine.
Dress code at dinner is semi-formal; no shorts/swimwear and men are required to wear full length pants.El Oriental - As the name implies, this restaurant offers a variety of different a la carte Asian inspired dishes and it even has a few hibachi stations for up to six people.
Dress code at dinner is semi-formal; no shorts/swimwear and men are required to wear full length pants.Cocay - Located just downstairs from the main lobby, Cocay offers buffet style dining with different themes inspired by various international cuisines.
Dress code is casual at all times as long as you are not dripping wet from the pool/ocean.El Mirador - This restaurant specializing in Italian fare overlooks the Nichupte Lagoon. Not much to say about it as Italian food is all pretty straight forward. I will say this is definitely an Americanized Italian restaurant.
Dress code at dinner is semi-formal; no shorts/swimwear and men are required to wear full length pants.Grand Prime Rib House - The only restaurant NOT included with an all-inclusive package, Grand Prime Rib offers a high end steak house experience for an additional $35 including wine pairings. You can even add lobster to your meal for $10. Not a bad deal.
Dress code at dinner is semi-formal; no shorts/swimwear and men are required to wear full length pants.
