GR Solaris Caribe — Hotel in Cancún

I just returned from a 4 night solo vaca at this resort. It was my first time staying here, and overall I did enjoy my stay. I will try to give an extensive honest review for the folks who are trying to decide if this resort is the right choice for them.

ROOM: I am a Premier VIP Member & stayed in the Ocean Front unit with 1 King bed on the bottom floor. The room was nice & the bed was very comfortable. I did notice a bit of plumbing issues with the sink & shower not draining properly; however, it seemed maybe housekeeping fixed the sink issue midway through my stay. I think it is important to note the walls are very THIN. My room was located on the corner, & midway through my stay a couple checked in on the other side. I received a knock on the interior door from them saying, "It's very loud." This was very confusing to me because I was simply laying in my bed watching a video on my phone at a mid-low volume level. But apparently they could hear everything. And they were correct as you could hear someone coughing or the beeping of an alarm clock on the other side. I also opened the windows in my room to hear the ocean waves & enjoy the breeze (since a balcony suite was not “available”). The windows are covered with exterior bars for security. I didn’t think opening the windows during my stay would be an issue, but on the third day a worker passed by & told me to close them due to security. If the resort doesn’t want people to open the windows, then put a sign or make it to where they can't be opened. This request did slightly annoy me, but since my trip was almost over, I conceded & kept them closed. The room was filled with cold drinks/soda, beer, & bottled water during the stay.

BEACH: The beach was beautiful, but the waters were rough. I enjoyed lounging on the beach chairs.

FOOD: So...I am pescatarian. I never thought it would be this difficult to get a shrimp/fish taco in Mexico. Seafood options were kind of limited, in my opinion. I was a little annoyed & disappointed by how hard it was to find SHRIMP on the menu or at a buffet. I had it only once during my stay. And considering I am a Premier VIP member, I thought maybe those options would be readily available, but they were not.

RESTAURANT OPTIONS: Restaurant Bogavante was hands down the best restaurant I experienced at the resort. I never had a bad meal there. Cafe Solaris was great for breakfast. Restaurant Rosmarinus (Adjoining Solaris property) was a bit disappointing. There were times where I could not find anything I could eat, so I left. Restaurant Las Fuentes (Adjoining Solaris property) was also very good, but some staff seemed irritable at times or lacked motivation. Restaurant Marco Polo (Adjoining Solaris property) was pretty good depending on what you ordered. I didn’t get to experience the Italian restaurant Veneto. There were times where I craved ice cream, but it was not readily available which I thought odd. The only time you could get ice cream was from a desert menu. Considering the amount of families visiting with children, it would be a great idea to have a soft serve ice cream machine option in a dining area.

Premier VIP Member Services: Everyone was very nice, but I also felt like no one went out of their way to assist you. When I arrived I inquired if the room had a balcony. I was told no, it did not. I asked if one was available, and the response was pretty dismissive. There was no effort made to look into an upgraded room and I was basically told the resort was busy & many members were already booked. So I was pretty annoyed when I turned on the faucet in my room & the sink was not draining properly. Because what's the point in being a Premier VIP member when you can't get the room you want, the room you get has plumbing issues, the walls are paper thin, & you're told to close your windows.

THEATER: The shows were excellent entertainment! The dancers & singers were really wonderful. I enjoyed them very much!

SPA: I had THE BEST massage I think I ever had in my life from Ms. Aura. The massage at the spa was worth...

I read the reviews before going, so my expectations were not very high. However, they were so much better than I expected! Pros: beautiful beach walking distance to playa delfines(20 min) smaller, quieter hotel, family-like, chill atmosphere aesthetically pleasing design not crowded you can always use solaris' side for anything more noisy or active

Separate note about food, because I have read some ridiculous criticism from Karens who apparently have taste buds issues. The food in this hotel is perfect, especially at the restaurants, and there was a lot of it, all day long. Enough vegeterian and pescatarian(fish) options to never stay hungry. Registering at restaurants was easy as soon as you have your roon number, and you can do it 3 days in advance! I was surprised people had any difficulty with it. The only mistake i made was registering for Bogavante for 4 days in a row - that is way too much of Bogavante. The food at Bogavante is okay, but obviously, the main point of this restaurant is the view. I recommend it for around sunset, no more than 2 times. Service depends on who is serving you and how is their mood. We ate pretty much same dishes all 4 times(dietary restrictions), and they were served differently and tasted different, too. Only 1 time out of 4 the server was excellent. Unfortunately, I did not read his name. But he was a rounder-shaped guy. 2 times it was alright but with problems, and the last time it was so terrible that by leaving a tip I would insult myself. He was throwing, not serving, had an attitude, and the final touch - left us with soup spoons for dessert, which basically killed the whole dessert experience. He also didnt bring the nice light globes after sunset like other servers did all other nights. Food was ok though. Their receptionist wasn't super friendly either. Generally, male staff in this hotel are way more friendly and genuine than female for some reason. Marco Polo was another restaurant we went to, and it was absolutely exceptional. Exceptional service, great food, and atmosphere. We went there twice, and both times, the service was consistently top notch.

cleaning was sometimes excellent, sometimes bad. It was also.annohing to have a VERY broad timeframe given for when they clean, while in reality it was always after 3.30 at our floor. One time we were late for our trip because of delayed cleaning(although we asked 3 times to do it early), and the results of the cleaning were underwhelming, heaps of sand left in the corners and nothing felt cleaned. Other times it felt like a brand new room. Lost a golden earring and a ring stone in the room, no one mentioned anything.

Cons: beach is non-swimmable, heavy waves, not enough shallow area, permanent red flags. Beautiful but not for swimming. Perfect for catching pretty seashells though. You may have more luck in the water at playa Delfines: same waves, but more shallow space.

rooms, at least some of them, may be smelly on and off. The issue, it seems to me, is with air traps not working properly in water drain systems, as the smell gets particularly strong after shower is used. Tolerable for families but not ideal for romantic getaways or honeymoons - the smells are not always romantic. no place to dry your clothes, rashguards, or indeed anything, unless you have a balcony. We did not. Nothing ever dried.

If you order laundry service, beware: the prices are per piece, and you will be filling a form listing every item. I put EVERYTHING in the laundry bag and had to go through an embarrassing inventarisation and paid $60 for the service.

tip: the two elevators are connected. One of them does not go to 4th and 5th floor. Send the right elevator to travel so that you could use the left one .

I can't believe people were complaining about construction noises. They were very minor and rather cosy. Never heard neighbours.

Overall, we had great experience. It was like a family: there may be some minor issues and happenings, but they don't outshadow the overall...

One of the worst vacations I have ever paid for.

I booked my trip a month in advance...

The transportation by the resort didn’t pick us up as planned from the airport.

Then when I arrived at GR Solaris they didn’t even have room for me. They offered me a downgrade at the same price at Royal Solaris which is their older more out of date location. This took about an hour to finally resolve

I was moved to GR caribe which seems nice. The resort is nice but the lack of information and the fact I willingly wanted to support this place and they took my money but did not deliver even close to what I asked is the most upsetting.

When I finally arrived to a room, I was impressed with the looks but not the fact that o requested a balcony, there was none in this room. I said I will just deal with it, however I did let the staff know this was pretty upsetting that I moved locations and this was their way of accommodating me. They finally moved me rooms the next day, which was good because We couldn’t sleep due to the light flickering on and off I’m room 2319.

When they did move us their was confusion on where our bags went, that took 30 mins to clear up.

I asked about activities and said I wanted to take a trip to an island that’s local. Of course the resort was happy to “take care of me,” only to not listen what I was really asking.

I went to what I knew was going to be somewhere they try to sell us in being members I was ready for it. What I was not ready for was the 4.5 hours that it took out of our stay after I tried to say no several times and say we are done. This presentation was supposed to be 1.5 hours. By the time we were done it was afternoon and we missed our whole morning

Then it gets better. The trip I waited for 4.5 hours through a presentation didn’t tell me I could only schedule it at certain times which didn’t make sense to me... I just wanted a ride across the ocean to an island which I was very very specific about.

So we had to wait till the next day which we were ready for.... the trip their took 1 hour which didn’t make sense because I asked about a bus. Then they dropped us off... no direction no anything. Luckily I’m smart enough to use common sense and found the way..... only to wait there for 2.5 hours. We were supposed to leave at 11 we didn’t leave till 130 and they kept saying 5 mins when we asked.

Finally we get to the island, again dropped off no direction no meet up time...so I inquire. They told me I just missed my boat? What they just dropped us off? All said and done after tracking down 4 people and finding out what was wrong we got 45 mins on the island. Good thing this wasn’t supposed to be a special moment .... like I don’t know maybe a proposal?

The other trips which we also sat through the presentation were cancelled.

They are trying to charge us for a covid testing when it supposed to be free since we be been here over 5 nights.

And let’s add this I ordered room service an hour ago and it was supposed to be here in 20 mins. They brought me 2 Pepsi and I only needed one.... I guess the other Pepsi is supposed to the the club sandwich I ordered.

Hats off to you Solaris for a memorable experience. I was so excited to return to your resort after visiting in 2006, and Adam and I were looking forward to being members after talking about it and deciding on a package that for our lifestyle, however I am beyond relieved we did not sign.... I couldn’t imagine giving more money to people who could care less about making this what you asked for... what you paid for. What you were hoping would be a memorable experience.

The worst part is I’ve tried just letting it go as things have progressed, but at what point does a resort company you are no longer just unsatisfied but devastated ?

To sum it up: Thank you Solaris for taking something important that meant something to me, a memory you can’t replace, and completely wasting it!

Sincerely 2366 who has only 1 day left of their...