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The Grand Sirenis Resort REVIEW by - tnvolgirl
We just got back from the Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya 7/1. It was awesome! Anyone that goes to this wonderful resort and has a bad time must be very hard to please. The staff work very hard to accomodate. I always saw staff members cleaning and picking things up.
The Activity Staff works very hard, as well. We did not like every bit of every show but were still entertained. Loved Jorge, Jesse, Pepe and Carla. We saw them the most during volleyball and out at night at the shows and disco. The rest of the Activity Staff was great we just did not get to see as much of them. I think Sebastion gets a bad rap. He is usually the MC for events and one of the main guys. He is very quick witted and if you give him an opening he will take it. I feel bad that anyone could get offended so easy. We found him to be funny and entertaining. By the way we did tip and felt that everyone deserved it. For the most part, everyone spoke English fairly well. However, you are going to Mexico and it wouldn't hurt to learn some Spanish. They appreciate it. I think it is ridiculous to travel to Mexico and complain that the people don't speak English. Learn some Spanish before you go! Sorry I just had to say that.
Now for a break down:
Dining: Breakfast and Dinner Buffet were very good! Went to lunch buffet once and it was okay. We loved the steakhouse, Japanese and brazillian restaurants. Itallian was ok but very small portions. My husband got his, looked at it, looked at me and asked if that was it. It was. Lobster Gala Buffet was very good. I was bummed at first because we had to go to it or dine off the resort because that is all that is open. However, it was at the buffet. Lobster was good even at 8pm. There was shrimp and all kinds of stuff to eat. The desserts were great!!!!! Try the little chocolate balls and dip them in the white chocolate fondue fountain. Yum! Snack Bar by the beach was very good. We ordered room service the day we got there. We were so tired from traveling. They said 30 minutes and it was there in 25. I had wings which were tasty and mu husband had pizza. The pizza was just ok. I have yet to have good pizza in Mexico. Drinks were pretty good and we brought larger insulated cups. We never used them! Gained a few lbs on this trip even with all of the activity we got in!!!! If you are a picky eater, stop at a store on the way. But they have great variety.
Rooms: We had requested a room with a view but did not get it. We were in bldg 12 and had a view of the jungle. At first I was bummed but we weren't in the room very much at all. When we were it was for sleep or getting ready to go do something. The room set up is romatic for couples. The hole in the bathroom did not bother us at all. Of course, we have been together for 9 years so we should be past that stage!!! With children, I would request a room without the hole or bring something from home to cover it up. Room was cleaned well everyday. It was cold!!!! I had to put the ac up a few degrees to get it warmer. We tend to run hot so that is saying something. We did have to get a new safe door. Once we did, it was fine. Never heard neighbors. Awesome room. Floors can get slippery.
Beach: Loved it. I felt the beach was divided into 2 parts. To the right of the Mayan Lighthouse, there was the rough, not so soft sand and rocier entrance to the water. To the left of the lighthouse the sand got softer and the entrance the water was softer. I thought the beach was huge and underutilized. You could keep walking to the left down the rocky peninsula to the other side of that and continue to explore. The snorkeling was great. We saw lots of fish and coral. There were cool rock formations, shells and we even saw hermit crabs fighting! Plenty of chairs and palapas for shade. My husband played beach volleyball 2X a day! That is how we met so many cool people from all over. I never wore the water shoes that I brought but my husband did to play volleyball. Unfortunately, it is on the rough sand. We brought our own snorkeling equipment and glad we did. We snorkeled for hours.
Nightlife: After the shows, there is either a beach party at the beach bar or disco in the Mayan Beach Lobby. Like I said before, we got involved with the activites especially volleyball and met a lot of people. We went to both beach party and disco and had a great time. We thought about doing the bar leaping tour (That is what it was called). It was $63 and included entrance fees to 3 different bars and open bar in Playa Del Carmen. We figured that we already had open bar and all of our new friends to hang out with at Sirenis. However, we have done this tour before. If you know people that are going, it is fun. We had a blast on it. Playa Del Carmen is awesome. Love that place! The nightlife at the resort is what you make of it. Get involved with activities and meet people. Do this and you will have fun if nightlife is what you are looking for. Howdy to Zsolt, Sharon, Jessica, Oscar, Howie, Greg, Casey, both Scott's, Alfredo, Carla, Jorge and Pepe! Great times!
Fitness Room: 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, stair steppers, and 4 bikes. They have Nautilas type machines and free weights. My husband uses heavy weights and they had plenty for him. It can get busy. We went 3 times and it was not too bad.
Misc.: Did not get to do a lot of different activities but there are a lot. Check out what the Dive Shop has to offer. We did the snorkeling with turtles tour. It was amazing. It was $35 per person and worth it. You will get splashed in the face on the way to the spot while you are in the boat. Sunglasses helped. We did the Tulum Extreme which included cave snorkeling, water zipline, jungle zipline and Tulum. Cave water was cold! And the happy strap on the life vest was not comfortable for boys or girls. This place was awesome. My only complaints are due to the fact that my husband and I get hot easy. I love the open air places but sometimes the air did not circulate at all. An example is down on the floor or second row from floor at the theater. It would get hot and stuffy. Also, I wish there was a time limit on the Internet. Something like 20 minutes would be great. The only reason I say this is because young kids would be in there playing games for hours. We were keeping in touch with people looking after our house and dogs. I hate to see these kids so bored that they are playing computer games when there is so much to do. So, be prepared to wait. If you do have a birthday, they will accomodate you with a cake. Just make a request one day prior and let them know which al a carte restaurant. It is a $15US charge. The cake is good and decorated for the birthday person. I have uploaded some pics and have included a link to my picture gallery below. If it does not work for you or if you have any questions, let me know @ tennesseegirl@comcast.net. Sorry to be longwinded and if any words aren't spelled correctly but it was great fun. I could go on! Hope this helps.
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