Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Resort & Spa — Hotel in Quintana Roo

Had a pretty good time at this resort! Only issue was the shuttles didn't run as often and sometimes I was left waiting for 20 minutes or so to get a ride from my room to other parts of the hotel.

A couple things to keep in mind about this place. They are doing a bunch of renovations. Make sure your restaurant has a bathroom in it. I was stuck in the middle of a dinner and was told they did not have a restroom in the actual restaurant and that I needed to walk a couple of minutes to get to the bathroom. I thought this was crazy.

Another thing about the food and the restaurants is that you MUST Make reservations or you are not going to be able to get into any of the restaurants. I would highly recommend getting with the concierge as soon as you check in or as soon as you get to the hotel to try to get your reservations made because they fill up very quickly.

I was not impressed with the food at the open buffet at all. I thought the food would be much better. Everything looked appealing but the taste was not there. I love food and and very willing to pay for dining experiences and I was not happy when I found out I was stuck with the buffet food or nothing since you can't go into a restaurant without a reservation. You are able to order room service with the all-inclusive package but it is a very limited menu and again the food is not very good.

The room was nice and the bed was comfortable. The shower was a little bit dirty as was the bathroom which was a bit off putting. The lights are really weird because you have to put your key card for the door in this little pocket in order for the lights to work. When I checked in there was a huge issue and I basically had to sit in the room for 3 hours while the maintenance man tried to fix my lights.

As you are basically in the jungle also keep in mind there are wild animals everywhere. I absolutely love this as I'm an animal person. But, I stupidly went to one of the pools and left a couple pretzels out on the table. I walked away to go do something and came back and my bag was not there. A woman was shouting and pointing behind me and I turned around and my bag was thrown about the jungle with all the contents taken out. The monkeys one of the pretzels and they got them. I thought this was absolutely hilarious but I'm sure other people would not. So just make sure you are aware of the wildlife and don't leave food and things like that out to attract them.

They have a dolphin encounter on the property over by the spa. I did a spa treatment and I also got a dolphin package.

The spa treatment was not worth it to me at all. I had another spa treatment in the Dominican Republic for a couple hundred dollars more and it blew this experience out of the water. I was told I would have access to the free Hydra pools and instead was made to sit on a lounge chair for an hour and a half to wait for my service. When I initially signed up for it I picked a specific time and the woman who I set the service with told me to go there an hour early so I can take advantage of the pools as I wasn't Expedia member. When I got there they did not honor that which is how I ended up sitting on a lounge chair for a really long time. I could have spent that time laying on the beach or lounging in the pool outside so that was frustrating for me since I thought I paid for that experience and that was not included.

Now onto the dolphins which was the highlight of my trip and maybe my life. I would highly recommend getting the best package where you can swim and interact with two dolphins. That's what I did and when I tell you it will never forget this, I will never forget this. I cried as soon as I saw the dolphins and I was only with one family at that point in time. They had their own dolphin and I had my dolphins. And we all interacted with them and had a great time. I thought the picture package was pricey but once I received my pictures at the end and was able to download them on my phone as well as get a printed out picture it was worth every penny since the experience...

Please be warned: if you are NOT a VIP member OR booked directly through the hotel, you will not be taken seriously.

I came here for a bachelorette party, and this has been a very tiring experience.

Issues: Our group didn’t bring slippers because their website said it is provided…except apparently if you book through third parties, like WestJet. Concierge didn’t believe me so I had to show a screenshot of THEIR OWN WEBSITE and how there is no restrictions on the slippers. They were apologetic and would send slippers right away…except they didn’t. Five times.

Some rooms lack functional ACs, had broken faucets, mould growing on the shower heads, broken door locks. We have requested to move rooms twice and the new rooms still suffer from one of the above issues. I’ve complained to the staff but again, no recourse.

I really wanted to love the beach because it is a highlight of Mexico. Unfortunately, most of this beach was filled with seaweed, so it was not swimmable and the sand was pretty rocky. If you want to go to the nice part of the beach, it is locked and gatekept by ULC members only.

We struggled to get anything into themed restaurants. We got 1 night for oishii but that’s it. Every single night, we saw there were so many empty seats and they stayed empty when we would return to see for cancellations. Buffet is good, but it gets old. Staff are not the nicest even when it is literally the last entry and clearly no one has shown up for their reservation, they still say “no it’s full”. Thank you for wasting my time and letting me stand outside for 15 minute increments to wait for no shows only to be turned away after 1.5 hours of waiting, and tables were empty the entire time.

Scuba diving and snorkelling. Very clear waters and beautiful marine life. Unfortunately the bus to take us to the area was 45 minutes late in the morning, and then 2 hours late to pick us up.

Activities on site: half of them are locked to ULC members only. If we wanted to do archery, we would have to wait till every other day because it would be locked to ULC only. Certain shows and parties are locked to ULC only. They really try to sell you on it.

ULC members. It is only $8,000USD! We went to the spiel for free hydrotherapy and the “VIP lunch” but holy cow, the lunch was so disgusting and salty, we didn’t finish our food. We were supposed to have “more premium drinks and not the cheap stuff” as the staff said, but it was about the same as the mixology bar. It is a waste of 4 hours for a promise of guaranteed reservation to a themed restaurant and couples massage. Now they backtracked and said they didn’t record it on our file so we don’t get it. PLUS, it shows that we didn’t go to the presentation so we aren’t eligible even though WE SAT THROUGH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION. What sort of gaslighting is this?

Spa. I think their staff needs to get on the same page because we have one person telling us hydrotherapy isn’t included in our massage treatments, and another who say it is, so we should save our coupon for one day and then do the treatments another for double the hydrotherapy. They all offer 10% discount if you fight for it, or else you get 20% if you are a member.

Honestly, I think this resort would be better for different demographics (like seniors who can still walk because the resort is very spread out and the shuttles take 15-20 minutes to pick you up), but not necessarily young, fun vibes. Everything closes so early (like the pool is closed at 7pm, snacks and smoothies close at 5-5:45pm), and there really lacks a night life. Everything is dead after 9pm, so no midnight snacks.

Pros? The buffet is amazing variety and good. Foam fest and the lazy River are very fun. I enjoyed the shows every night. The concierge in the 14th building is so kind and friendly. Not helpful, but very nice and it was pleasant saying hi to him. Bars are hit or miss.

Overall, I really can’t recommend this place. Our party feels like this was an insane let down and we really should’ve heeded the more...

This is the worst hotel I've ever stayed at. Every step of our stay was a marathon of inconveniences and frustration. We arrived at 4 PM and our room wasn’t ready until 5:30 PM—which we accepted while we went out for drinks. When the rooms were finally ready, we were driven over on a cart, but the keys to one room didn’t work. I was told I had to walk back to reception—a 30-minute round trip. I did so, but then those keys still didn’t work, and on my second trip back the desk clerk dismissed my asking him to give me keys that worked, saying he was busy with another guest.

The room itself was large but very tired. The sliding doors don’t slide, soft furnishings are stained to the point of looking quite gross, basin plugs close but won’t open, and shampoo dispensers are broken—there’s only shampoo and no conditioner. There’s supposed to be “gel” but that was also shampoo in one of our rooms. Although tea and coffee bags are provided, there is no kettle, which is baffling. The mini bar—essential for bottled water—was rarely restocked, leaving us without water for hours. One day, after four phone calls over 8 hours, and a heated conversation with a concierge at 1 AM, a bottle was finally delivered (to the wrong room), forcing yet another 30-minute trip back to reception. This desk clerk was rude and argumentative, and more concerned that I understood that it wasn’t his fault than in helping me get water.

Dining was the most frustrating aspect of our stay. Restaurant reservations can only be made after arrival (apparently requiring a room number). When I tried to book at 4 PM on the first day, I was told every night of our stay was fully booked. We eventually received a 9:15 PM table on the second night (with kids), only to be hurried out as they prepared to close. I spent an additional 2–3 hours over our stay bouncing from one concierge to another trying to secure tables—the only alternative being the same greasy, uninspiring food in a chaotic buffet. I worked harder than I would at home and one night, when I had a kid who felt ill, I learned that their room service isn’t really an option and they only offer mini croissants. We could walk over to the 24-hour sports bar, but they don’t have any way to carry food to the room. You should know that if you go to this resort, you will likely be at the noisy, bland buffet every night.

While the ground, cleaning, and restaurant staff are genuinely lovely, the higher-ups are consistently unhelpful. The resort has a pervasive “not my problem” culture, often more interested in pushing a membership pitch than actually solving guest issues. We’re fit and don’t mind walking but the long walk from our room to reception—adding roughly 16,000 extra steps a day—took a lot of time during our days and became irritating when I had to keep going back to reception or the concierge to try to solve problems they were unwilling to solve for me.

Without oversharing, I was staying at the hotel with my four teenagers including two kids, who were marking the one-year anniversary of their parent's death. I informed the staff—including a concierge supervisor—that this was a difficult and sensitive time for them, but it made no difference. In particular, I only learned on day four that many of the activities listed on the guest activities page were only available to club members. So on one of the worst days for these kids, I had to tell them they couldn’t participate in the chocolate tasting. This situation was entirely avoidable, but the check-in staff and concierges never explained how it worked. Once again, making everything about this place more challenging. As compensation, we were offered a club membership breakfast sales pitch. I’m not kidding. These people are relentless.

In short, I’m exhausted after 5 nights at Grand Serenis. The resort promises a relaxing stay but delivers endless hassles and disappointments. Save yourself the trouble and choose a place that values its guests and isn’t trying to upsell you to...