Moon Palace The Grand

This is a beautiful property with much to do for people of all ages. Only a few things important to know. The place is MASSIVE and golf carts are the best way to get around, they provide them and they are done similar to a metro station. I think they screwed up in design a little when they put wired on one end of the hotel and put the snacks, ice cream, chocolate at the other end of the building...kids running up and down the full length of the hotel. Some people even let their kids play soccer inside near the conference rooms. To me the treat bar should be in the space where they have wine and tapas. I'd also like it if ONE of their pools was an adults only calm pool. The only adults only is a "day club" which is not the vibe I'd like to have. Their gym and spa are amazing!

Moon Palace The Grand Cancun – August 2026 Review apologies for the long post! Let me start by saying that this is the most expensive family holiday we have ever been on, so naturally our expectations were very high. And whilst I had some significant issues when we first arrived, I can honestly say that by the end of our stay, it is impossible not to love this place — and I genuinely don’t want to leave.

We arrived with some initial problems.

Our room wasn’t ready when it should have been, despite us arriving several hours after the expected check-in time, and we were encouraged to upgrade to another room at additional cost which we declined. We then ended up waiting around an hour for a room that should have been ready 4 hours before and after travelling for 17hours with 2 kids falling asleep on their feet we had just had enough at this point. Once in the room, we also had issues with the air conditioning and some bits falling from the wall just to name a few of the issues.

The resort was also incredibly busy during our first week. Getting a sun lounger around the pools was difficult, and one morning the buffet was so busy it felt like a cattle market — we actually had around a 30-minute wait just to get into breakfast.

To be fair to the resort, they did acknowledge the issues we experienced and offered us two complimentary massages and a game of bowling as compensation. Whilst we initially felt this was a little underwhelming considering the problems we had encountered, we did appreciate the gesture and the fact that they tried to do something to make up for our experience.

However, I must say the second week has completely changed my opinion. As the resort has become quieter, we have been able to appreciate what makes Moon Palace so special.

Food & Restaurants

Overall, we thought the food was great, although there were definitely some restaurants we preferred over others.

Habibi was my favourite restaurant by far. JC Steakhouse and Cacao were also excellent and definitely worth visiting.

The Grand Buffet was our favourite of the buffets. It has a huge range of options and, in our opinion, the quality was noticeably better than the Sunrise and Nizuc buffets.

The Grill was probably our biggest disappointment when it came to dinner. We really didn't enjoy the food there at all.

The circus restaurant was more about the experience than the food. The food was fine, but the kids absolutely loved it, so that's what mattered to us.

Agra, unfortunately, wasn't a favourite for me either. I didn't think the food was particularly impressive compared with some of the other restaurants.

The hotel itself is amazing. The grounds are immaculate, the wildlife is fantastic, and you constantly see staff working hard to keep everything clean and looking beautiful.

The golf cart system is fantastic. There are carts constantly going around the resort, making it so easy to get from one place to another. The staff are incredibly accommodating too. On several occasions when I have been travelling around on my own and the cart hasn't been busy, the drivers have actually taken me out of their way to get me where I needed to go. Little things like that make such a difference.

The pool service is excellent, and I have noticed that not many people seem to tip. Please remember to tip your servers. They work incredibly hard and don't earn huge amounts of money, so they really do rely on tips.

Los Tacos pool has been my favourite. We've had a cabana here probably every day for the last week, and the server who comes to see us in the mornings has been fantastic. I can't remember his name, unfortunately, but he deserves a special mention.

The Michael Jackson show is honestly the best Michael Jackson show I have ever seen. And I've seen quite a few! It is now my absolute favourite and genuinely one of the best shows I've watched at any resort.

The O Princess experience at the Golf Course Spa was another highlight. I took my 11-year-old daughter, and she had a facial and a hand and foot massage. It was such a special experience and something I've never experienced at another hotel. She absolutely loved it.

Kids' Facilities

The kids' facilities are brilliant. My son can be quite difficult at times, and the kids' club staff handled him incredibly well. There is so much for children to do.

The Sunrise Playroom is the biggest and, in my opinion, the best kids' club if you want to leave your children supervised. It's for ages 4–12 and is open from 9am until 10pm. The children can come and go as they please, although they obviously have to be properly checked in and out, which gives you peace of mind.

One particularly useful option is that you can choose to leave your child there for lunch while they're supervised. However, if you want to use the lunch option, you need to have them checked in by 10am, so it's worth knowing this in advance when planning your day.

The Grand Playroom at the Grand Hotel is for ages 4–7 if you're leaving children supervised, although there is also a huge arcade-style area with bumper cars, climbing and lots of other activities. You do have to stay with your children in that area, though.

There is also a smaller kids' club at Nizuc, which I'd say is more suited to younger children around 4–7. My two, at 8 and 12, found it a little too babyish.

We didn't get to experience the adults-only pool as we were travelling with the children and spent most of our time together, so I can't comment on that.

Rooms & Beach

The rooms are huge and there's loads of storage and hanging space. We never felt cramped, and overall the room itself was fantastic once we had finally got into it.

The beach is probably the one area where I would manage expectations. This is not a beach resort I'd choose if your priority is a beautiful Caribbean beach. The seaweed is pretty awful, although the staff work constantly to clear it, and obviously that's not something the resort can control. The pools and resort itself are definitely the attraction here.

Final Thoughts

Despite everything that happened during our first few days, we've actually spent our time sitting on our sun loungers and booked to go to Grand Moon Palace Punta Cana next year. I think that probably says everything.

We came here with some complaints, and I still think the issues we experienced at check-in and with the room should have been handled better. The first week was also far too busy for my liking.

But now that things have calmed down, I can finally see exactly what the attraction is.

The service, the staff, the wildlife, the food, the pools, the entertainment, the kids' facilities and the sheer amount there is to do are incredible.

It is impossible not to love this place.

I'm genuinely sitting here writing this review thinking, I don't want to go home.

Despite the rocky start, Moon Palace The Grand has completely won me over — and we'll be back. ❤️