Grand Palladium Colonial Resort and Spa

Resort was beautiful and service was amazing. Miguel and Maurizio were the best bartenders at the Colonial.

Miguel and Mauricio were exceptional at the bar. The best service. Any personlized drinks. Anything was made as asked. Great service and made us feel like home

There are good and bad points for this hotel. We had an ok stay but overall this is not a 5 star hotel - it is 4 star. Whilst there are amenities which can make it a 5 star, these are all at an additional (and not insignificant cost). The 'all inclusive' offered by UK tour operators is in reality the 4 star level only. We had the opportunity to upgrade at check in but for an extra $120 US per night (£90). For a 14 night holiday this is an additional £1250, which given the price already paid (£2000 pp) felt excessive.

Whilst there are 4 hotels forming part of the resort, and historically residents could use facilities and pools at all hotels, this is no longer the case unless you stay at the White Sands which gives access to all.

Location - Our transfer was approximately 1.5 hours from Cancun airport. The hotel (as with many in Mexico) is on a isolated plot, therefore there is no local town or shops to visit. The nearest town is Playa del Carman which is approximately 30-40 minutes taxi ride away.

Staff - The staff are extremely polite and helpful and cannot be faulted. They are a real asset to the hotel.

Beach - This was inaccessible due to the sargassum seaweed. The hotel does not clear or remove from beach (unlike the neighbouring hotel), so it continually builds up creating a rotten egg stench is very very strong. The sargassum affects all of the resorts, so is not the fault of the hotel. Sadly the images of the turquoise sea and white sand are not accurate and appears to be the case from March to October each year.

Pool - There is one pool (unless you upgrade) and an adults only pool which sadly we were unable to use as we travelled with children. The pool is VERY deep, there is one small shallow area so something to be aware of especially with children.

Food - There is one main buffet restaurant and 4 a la carte restaurants (Argentinian, Steak Grill, Mexican and Japanese). The buffet has a very wide choice and generally is good quality, however unlike other all inclusive hotels we have stayed at there is no rotation of menu or choice. The same food is offered every day which after 14 days becomes very repetitive.

Shop - There are several shops in both the Kantenah and Colonial hotel, the prices are expensive, as are the market stall holders who visit twice a week. However they do appear to be consistent with prices in play del carman

Overall we were disappointed with our stay.