We went to Cancun through Ryan's work in December 2018. His entire company rented out a huge chunk of the resort, allowing us to reserve entire pools and even have a Macklemore concert on the beach. Obviously this means our experience at Moon Palace was a little different than most guests, but I still wanted to share a little about it.
The Grand at Moon Palace review
Moon Palace is a "fortress" in Ryan's words. It really is a huge resort with several different hotels. It's so big that realistically the only way to get around is on golf carts. It's all inclusive and we loved receiving a Corona as we were checking in. There's several different restaurants and even a little bakery and shopping stores. It has multiple pools and direct beach access with hammocks and lounge chairs. While we were there, I never noticed any merchants bothering beachgoers. We went right before Christmas and we did see big bulldozers clearing off buckets of seaweed every morning, so just be prepared to see those occasionally.
A pro tip I learned when I studied abroad... most hotels only require you to be out of your room by check-out time, and will allow you to enjoy the amenities until you leave! Our flight wasn't until 8pm, so even though we were out of our room by the 11am check-out, the front desk stored our luggage for us and we were allowed to eat and drink for free until we had to leave for the airport.
The rooms at The Grand at Moon Palace
We loved our room at The Grand! We stayed in a Grand Deluxe Garden View room which had a bathroom with windows that opened to the room, a full step-down living room area which had a two-person jacuzzi tub, and a huge balcony with lounge chairs. This truly was a 5-star room. The room was stocked with CHI bubble bath, body wash, lotion, and blow dryer. Each day we were given a new bottle of red wine to go with our bubble baths and I loved it. Our room also had a diffuser in the room which the staff would turn on when they were done servicing our room, so when we returned to our room in the afternoon it had a lovely vanilla smell. I know vanilla is one of the most common scents, but every time I smell it now, I think of our stay at The Grand.
Eating at The Grand at Moon Palace
What I really liked about The Grand was how easy it was to eat compared to other all-inclusive resorts we've stayed at. Almost every morning, we would set up room service on the balcony. Their room service had a great selection and the food was always great. For lunch, we typically would eat near the pool or go over to The Grand Buffet. The buffet was obviously a pretty popular place, so be warned that it can be about a 30-minute wait to get a table at peak time. But, they had a huge buffet with lots of options so the wait is definitely worth it. The best place we ate at was Tavola which had amazing Italian food and wine. We actually came back to have this as our last meal because we liked the food here so much.
What to do at The Grand at Moon Palace
Our room actually was right near the water park, and we loved going here on our last day. There's a huge slide that my little 5'2" self technically was too small to go on according to the "you must be this tall to ride this ride" sign. I went anyways and rode down with Ryan, and I definitely flew out of the tube a little and kinda agree that maybe I was too short for it. But, it was a lot of fun! We spent most of our time racing down the slides, and would relax in the lazy river when the slides wore us out. They even had a little thing in the bathroom that could quickly dry your swimsuits.
Obviously with a water park, The Grand allows children at the resort and is very family friendly. There is a huge (think Vegas-size) adults-only pool at the center of the hotel that has cabanas and swinging chairs everywhere. Ryan's company rented out the entire pool for a welcome pool party the first night and we had so much fun! We also spent a lot of time throughout our stay at one of the smaller pools that is very close to the beach. It's great because you can relax in the water with a beautiful view without having to worry about big waves knocking you over and still being close to the bar so you always have a drink in your hand.
One of Ryan's favorite parts of the lobby was that it had this amazing arcade room with this huge screen on the floor where you could play interactive games by walking on it.
As for the beach, it was absolutely beautiful. The water was a little murky when we went in December, but it was still the perfect temperature to splash around in and the beaches were so soft and there were no rocks at all. We never had a problem finding a lounger to sit on. And because the resort has multiple hotels on it, you can walk for a long stretch on the beach and still be at Moon Palace, which we loved because we love long sunrise walks on the beach, but for safety reasons we don't like leaving our resorts if we can help it.
Overall thoughts on The Grand at Moon Palace
Ryan and I have a goal to stay here again. The food, THE ROOM, the pools, the beach, everything was absolutely perfect. The only reason why we haven't returned is because all that quality comes at a price. The cheapest room is still several hundred dollars a night, and Ryan is no longer with that company, so right now that's just too much for us to spend. But, if you have the budget for it then I absolutely recommend this resort! You will definitely receive your money's worth.
