Guest reviews for Cancun Hotels: Occidental Grand Flamenco Xcaret

Guest Reviews: 20 comments found for this hotel: 12 :: 8

I think Xcaret Flamenco Park it is the best place I’ve been in a long time. And don’t listen to the bad comments because your there to relax not check every scratch on the walls! It is the greatest pleasure trip to go on... BEST YET!!
Joanna, e-mail withheld, 2006-01-22

My husband and I vacationed at Grand Xcaret in March of 2005. We had a wonderful time. The snorkeling in the Xcaret park's underground rivers was awesome. The food was great, the alcohol was not watered down and the staff was most pleasant and helpful. The grounds were breathtakingly beautiful. We stayed in building 19 and there was always an iguana right outside our door. Remember that tops are optional for women at the swimming pools if that sort of thing bothers you. We are returning in June this summer.
Tiffany Duden, e-mail withheld, 2006-01-20

Just returned from a very disappointing stay at the Flamenco Xcaret. My fault for relying on a travel agent and not doing enough research myself. But the picture in the Apple vacation book makes it look like there is a beach there when there is only a small cove. And we stayed in Building 21 which is a far walk to the lobby. When we asked a hotel rep about spending the day at another beach in the area, he recommended the Allegro in Playa del Carmen (another in the Occidental chain) and said he would give us a day pass for the hotel. Not until we were boarding the van the next day were we told we would first have to sit through a 90 MINUTE hard sell presentation on buying into a time share for the company before we get our day pass. We were furious but went anyway because we wanted to go to a real beach. So please beware, there is no free lunch in this world. I would definitely recommend the Allegro over Xcaret --it is a more manageable size and has a beautiful beach.
Norma Bronder, norma.bronder@verizon.net, 2005-07-15

After reading all of the reviews on the Grand Xcaret Flamenco I was quite skeptical about going there w/my husband and bringing my 3 1/2 yr old son. Let's just say my expectations were not high. However, we were blown away. The place is beautiful! We had a wonderful time. we just got back yesterday and did not want to leave. The views are great, the pools are awesome. ----- I was told that the resort was full, but there was always plenty of room in the pools, at the beach and at restaurants. We had no problems making reservations. We actually asked to make a 3rd, as you are only supposed to have 2 for a 4 night stay, and they let us make another with no problems. The food was pretty good, a wide selection. We drank the water and ate everything and never got sick. The staff is great. We had wonderful service. We tipped all bartenders, waiters, maids, bell hops, etc. Bring LOTS OF $1 bills. Not many people tip, but if you do, I believe you will receive better service, plus these people only make $190 every 2 weeks! They work very hard and deserve to be tipped. ----- We enjoyed snorkeling in the ocean at the resort, and relaxing by the pools and in the hammocks. I had read reviews saying the property was too spread out and you walked too far. Not true at all -- anyone who says that is just lazy. You could get anywhere in the resort within about 5 minutes. The landscaping was beautiful and offered much shade and wildlife (monkeys, lizards, etc), so why wouldn't you want to walk. For the lazy people they do have golf carts to tote you around. They had nightly entertainment. A little cheesy at times, but fun. There was not a lot for a 3 1/2 year old to do besides swim and play in the sand on the beach. He was too young for kids club. We did go there with him and they have a little kiddy pool and play area that he enjoyed. Also the resort is not really that safe for kids. Just remember it's in a 3rd world country and they do not have the safety standards the U.S. has. The pools would have steps, but it was not marked in the pool, so kids could kind of just drop off and be in over there head. There were not always railings where there should be. If your bringing your kids, you just need to watch them close at all times. It isn't the staff’s job, and they will not do it for you. I probably would not bring my child again until he was at least 7 yrs old. ----- They had some other fun activities going on, but we didn't do them since we had a small child. We did go to Xcaret Park, which is free w/ your stay. I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I would be. It was cool, but everyone said how great it was, maybe my expectations were too high. We did swim w/ the dolphins and that was a fun experience. We did the underground river with our son and he liked that too. It was so hot at the park, and you walked in places w/ no shade, it made it less enjoyable. We found out that if you want to swim w/ dolphins or snorkel or something, you can go w/out a pass. We wasted half our day w/ the dolphins and didn't get to see the entire park, not knowing that we could have come back. ----- All and all, it was a vacation we will never forget. Purely paradise! I would highly recommend to anyone. It would be fun to do with a group too.
Erin, e-mail withheld, 2005-04-12

We arrived at Grand Flamenco Xcaret on March 2nd, 2005 to be told that the hotel was overbooked by 40% and we were promptly sent to another hotel (the Barcelo) for a 2-night stay. I will recommend this hotel 100%. Much nicer and the management were much better. We had to go to our original hotel for the 4th of March, which meant we lost another day to pack and take a taxi to our original hotel, which our room was not ready till after noon that day. The management at the Grand Flamenco basically lacked in professionalism and courtesy. We were promised a voucher for a 7-day stay free at the hotel because of the inconvenience it caused us. Upon arrival at the hotel on the 4th we did not receive our voucher. It wasn't till the 7th of March that we demanded to see this so called voucher. Upon receipt of this voucher (after waiting 1 1/2 hours) we scrutinized it to find that there were so many black out dates that it was virtually impossible to take advantage of it. We refused this voucher and demanded monetary compensation. We were refused on the basis the only the travel agency could give us this compensation. Upon arrival back home we delivered the travel agency a letter from the resort and a short letter describing what we expected to receive as compensation. This has not to date been settled and are awaiting a response from the agency. On the positive side, the resort and it's grounds are meticulously preserved. The staff (waiters, cleaning staff, maintenance) are very good. The place is absolutely beautiful. The beach is really too small and people are lined up like sardines. But the good news is you can go to the adult section where they have a seawater pool area or you can go to the Xcaret Park next door which you get a free pass for. It is well worth your time to spend the day there. I swam with wild sea turtles and was on of the highlights of my trip. A must see in this area is Xel-ha. You won't want to leave this place if you are a snorkel fanatic as I am. All in all regardless of the way we were treated by the management it was a very nice holiday. I would go back again but I would go to the Barcelo.
Christine McCullough, mcculloughf@sympatico.ca, 2005-03-18

I went to Flamenco Xcaret with my wife and my side of the family. About 21 kids went. They treated us like we were invisible. Never offered to get us a drink like they did to other people. The service was slow. The food was disgusting. My daughter had ordered a hamburger and when she got it, it was like raw meat. Nothing for kids to do! It should just be adults-only because they treat kids like they don't matter. The staff is incredibly rude! I will never stay here again!
Jacob Donaldson, e-mail withheld, 2005-03-07

This hotel was horrible! The Grand Flamenco Xcaret is not a five star. Around the pool area it is very slippery. I had fallen because of how wet it was. The staff ignored my fall and just walked by me. I would never stay here again. What horrible service! Falling and not one staff member helping me ruined my whole trip! I do not recommend this to anyone who wants a place who cares about you!
Karey Henderson, e-mail withheld, 2005-03-07

My family stayed here. The hotel Flamenco Xcaret was very nice but the one thing that I didn't like was the beach it was just a small cove. overall it was a good experience.
Daniel Robak, e-mail withheld, 2005-02-25

My husband and I enjoyed walking from place to place, the weather was awesome and walking outside was great, nothing is too far from anything else. ----My husband and I had a fantastic time, the staff was great and the fun club staff, boy do they work hard, every night they are there happy and excited to be there, and yet every morning there they are again. ----The Grand Xcaret park was fantastic also and we spent two days there, swimming with the dolphins is a great experience and a must do. The food at the resort is great, the buffets have everything you need, we felt the sit-down restaurants needed to add more variety to their menu's but the food was good. ---- Anyway we had a great experience and we will be back.
Sarah, sbdprincess@yahoo.com, 2005-02-24

Having just spent a week at the Grand Xcaret Flamenco (8th to 15th February 2005) it was interesting to read the good and bad reports about the place. I, having lived for some years overseas in the past so look at any holiday destination as an experience, so I do not start with too many pre-conceived ideas. I try to remember that I am not in a top hotel in New York, London or Paris, and accept the people and staff as I find them, after all this is their country not mine. ----- Our stay was during the high season, so the place was full and the temperatures about perfect. We, my wife and I found the food excellent with plenty of variety and different restaurants to try. I agree the booking in for specialty restaurants was a bit of a pain, but we soon found it best to block book early in the stay and then ask them to adjust the bookings as we changed our plans, and they were quite happy with this. I can see the need for this procedure as the space was limited and if everyone descended on the steak house one evening it would be impossible. ----- We booked a couple of tours and they worked out very well, but you do need to check when the relevant people are at their desks, and the same goes for the tour representatives. They are given set corners and cannot deviate from there. ----- I agree the site was large and sprawling, but it did give a nice open feel about the place, but there is a lot of walking, and the signs were somewhat confusing. The pools and gardens, beach area and leisure sections looked wonderful, but I will comment no further as I am not a water or sport minded person, so all was a bit wasted on me. Xcaret Park next door was a must and we spent 2 days there. The first day in the Park is included as part of the package, but book the second day from the hotel, it’s half price. The big evening show is a must, but so is the horse show and Mayan demonstration during the afternoon, unfortunately both overlap a bit. Get to the fence early, it will be busy in high season if you want a good view. Camera is a must. ----- It was easy to get about and we visited the nearby town of Playa del Carmen, a short taxi ride, but ask for 5th Avenue for the main shopping area and walk from there. You need your wristband from the hotel to get back in at the hotel gate. ----- The evening shows at the hotel were not my style with much audience participation, but if you are lucky they do have some really good evenings events. Unfortunately we missed 2 good shows because of other commitments. Naturally with a place so big there are many house rules, especially for the staff and running of the place, but in all we had a great time, the room was quite close to the main areas and very comfortable, and the staff and Mexicans were warm, friendly, very courteous and extremely helpful and wanted to show off their country. 5 *****
Jonathan Leech, Jonathan@heatwaves.co.uk, 2005-02-20

Wow. After staying at the Flamenco Grand Xcaret hotel, I will probably never stay at another all-inclusive. The staff pretended like they didn't speak English, my husband and I had to work very hard to find open bars and restaurants, and the room was the farthest away from everything. Originally we were told to use the golf carts that drive everyone around, but while we were there, only 2 were in use and we were only able to use its' services once during our stay. The food was worse than fast food. The drinks were as watered down as I've ever had. The place is gorgeous and when you go to Cancun, definitely go to the Xcaret Park. Not only have I told all my friends and family about the horrible trip we had, I also referred them to: Moon Palace Resort. That place has the best service I have ever had at an all-inclusive.
Laura Stuhr, LauraStuhr2003@yahoo.com, 2004-12-29

I am disheartened by the feeling expressed in the "red reviews" on this page. Indeed, I would have avoided the Grand Xcaret had I read the review about Brent's experience before going. But I didn't. I was impressed by this resort and thoroughly enjoyed my experience. The complaints about staff inexperience have been rectified. The food was the most extraordinary experience with far more variety offered here than at other Allegro resorts I've visited, marred only by the lack of cream for one's coffee. While the front beach did not sparkle as do beaches at other resorts the variety of marine and bird life at the lagoon just off the front beach was fascinating. I spent many hours just watching. Great hiking trails and a superbly equipped gymnasium. Allegro Vacation Club members will appreciate there was a noticeable absence of sales piranhas. In fact, the Vacation Club treated us to a snorkel field trip and lunch north of Playacar. This was a great experience. One real asset here was the Spanish lessons. And for this World Service fan transmissions from the BBC Caribbean Service were strong and clear. Here, as elsewhere in the Allegro chain, transportation to and from the airport is not a part of this all-inclusive package. It should be included, for here the trip costs a pricey $40, plus tip. For my Vacation Club package I paid for front beach suites. Too often, most of the time, in fact, I have been placed in an ordinary hotel room, always nice, but not the amenity I had paid for. I don't know how Allegro markets this resort, but I was dismayed that the variety of people was almost all young couples. Too much "he-ing and she-ing" I thought. Not the sort of people one is tempted to engage in conversation, since they all seemed to have "other things," like only each other, on their minds. I see that much of what I have written seems horribly negative. I didn't hear a negative peep the whole time I was there, and, indeed did speak to several others who reported they were repeat customers.
George David Exoo, exoo@verizon.net, 2004-12-01

I disagree with most comments made in the other reviews, my husband and I had a brilliant honeymoon at the Grand Xcaret. We checked in straight away with no problem, room was lovely and spacious, maids were very attentive. The resort is well spaced out so you don’t feel stuck in the one place all holiday, yes you do have to walk a five minute walk to the beach but there are also buggies to take you there. Pools are gorgeous one has a swim up bar and another has a bar with swings. Evening entertainment could be improved, but all in all an excellent resort.
Kiara Thomas, e-mail withheld, 2004-07-29

Flamenco Grand Xcaret is an $86,000,000.00 resort with water feature after water feature build a completely unsafe salt water pool in which an innocent 8 year old was drowned in October 2003. They left an uncovered, underwater pipe in the pool --- it pulled Brent in violently from behind. Imagine all the money they put into the resort and a basic safety piece the ignored. They treated the family and Brent's body with no respect. Management has provided many with a new meaning of vial and evil.
Brent Midlock, e-mail withheld, 2004-07-27

My girlfriend and I needed a place to get away from stress and family. (We did not go to party, but to relax and rest.) We went to Grand Xcaret July 5-8, 2003 and had the best time! The food was excellent and there was a place to eat at any time of the day - with a variety. I agree the dinner reservation thing was a bit frustrating - but got a tip from someone, who said to book early and for as many nights as possible. We were able to get a different restaurant every night. We were looking for a place with landscape where we could take walks. The resort has many trails, in fact, if you are not into a lot of walking, you might want to request a room closer to the restaurants. Also, I have an excellent sense of direction, but it was difficult to find your way around. The signage leaves much to be desired, and I guess this would be my biggest complaint. By the next day, I was figuring it out. (My friend never did. And I over heard a lot of people complaining about it.) We were told upfront that the beach area was man made, so we were not disappointed. (That was not what we came for, so it that is what you are looking for, you better go some where else.) We enjoyed Xcaret park next door - you can easily spend a day or 2 there. We also took several excursions that were better for snorkeling anyway (Xel-Ha). The staff was very friendly and courteous; however I agree that they were rather untrained. They changed our room 4 times. I still do not know what the problem was. The side of the resort where the restaurants are located (south) is quieter and that was exactly what we wanted. I travel a lot so I dont get all bent out of shape when things like that happen. I look at it as another adventure or opportunity. We liked it so much we decided to make it a yearly "girl getaway" and invite more friends... and definitely stay longer. After the above being said, I highly recommend this resort!
Michelle, designsolutions@grandecom.net, 2004-02-20

Stayed at Grand Xcaret Feb 2003. Had a great time. Small beach, but great for swimming in the ocean. Good variety of food and restaurants. Nice rooms. Nice big pools.
Brad, e-mail withheld, 2004-01-07

What a terrible experience at Flamenco Grand Xcaret… We arrived at the hotel around 10 am. They gave us our all-inclusive bracelet but said check-in is at 3, come back and see us then… Once we finally got in our room, we changed and went to the beach. It appeared the beach had been artificially made. When walking in the water, you constantly step on rocks. The next day, we made reservations for a specialty restaurant. They told me that certain specialty restaurants would be closed during the week because they were not particularly busy this April 2003 week. This puzzled me since they would not allow me to go in my room a couple hours early the day before. Also, we took advantage of the free trip to Xcaret Park. We gathered our snorkel equipment from the pool area and headed over. When we returned to the hotel, the attendant asked how we liked Xcaret Park. I told them we had fun. He then said since we brought out snorkel equipment off property, he needed to charge us 10 U.S.D. At first, I thought he was joking. I then saw him filling out a receipt. After disputing the charge, the attendant eventually agreed not to charge us. They never told us we could leave the property with it. This was the straw that broke the camels back… For a small fee, we transferred to another resort.
Jerry, shandrow@comcast.net, 2003-05-24

Do not go to Grand Xcaret... not 5 star. Service 2 stars read on. We stayed early this summer. Staff was untrained. Very poor service. No help from management for resolve of any problems. The walkways were very dangerous (very slippery when wet) Electronic keys worked only some times leaving you locked out of your room. Front desk refused to cash checks. Suggested we go to Playa de Carmen. We had to provide our own transportation. Have been a regular to Cancun area. Would not go back to the Flamenco. When ask to speak to the manager he refused to meet with us ,saying he was too busy. Total waste of time and money.
John B. from FL., jwillb@cs.com, 2003-03-15

We stayed at the Flamenco Grand Xcaret from Feb 10-17, 2003. The hotel was gorgeous and the pools and pool areas were lovely - very spacious with lots of lounge chairs. The beach is beautiful with lots of chairs also. All services, including food were as stated and very good. I would have no concerns about recommending this hotel. The hotel, however was not that full when we were there and so this may have been a real positive feature -- when we left there were little children everywhere and it seemed much busier. There are long walks to everything, which we enjoyed. This is not a place for those who are not fully mobile or for those in a wheelchair. The staff is new and still learning and really seemed to try to make our stay pleasant. Things I would improve: - somewhere to go to focus on cocktail hour - add evening dancing on a dance floor (not the disco which is for the younger set) - a better page of instructions on how to get where and how to do things (lots of frustrated people walking around looking for things!) - repair whatever causes the sewage smell around the lobby and the man made river - it was quite bad on some days Air Transat flew us beautifully with great service all the way there and back. The on site Air Transat person was less than helpful but okay.
Janet, e-mail withheld, 2003-02-28

Grand Xcaret was very disappointing. 5 star in looks only. Poor service, but good food. No white stretch of beach. Small, crowded cove. Cabaret style entertainment, no beach bars with live music. Nothing for kids to do at night. Game tables and balls stop at 6 pm. Poor service, you have to help yourself to silverware, napkins, etc. Sign up for activities is at a certain time only(in the middle of the day!) then you have to come back later to participate. Gorgeous pools. But the one side of the resort smelled of sewer the entire time we were there. Nothing for preteens or teenagers.
Cindi Wessels, bugoff5@yahoo.com, 2003-01-05

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