Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort and Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

13258 reviews

• 

  Very Disappointing resort.

  After the initial ooh and aah of the lobby area, we quickly saw how run down this place was. There is peeling paint everywhere and broken stuff everywhere. The resort seemed very rough around the edges. Some of the landscaping was pleasant, but the condition of the buildings was a detraction for us. We stayed in the platinum building closer to the ocean and it was disappointing. The smell around our building was pretty bad due to the seaweed piles. The food in the buffet and room service by our building was terrible and I actually think the food from room service delivery on day 1 was rotten. The food at the buffet in the front part of the resort was much better, and we also liked the food from the Hacienda restaurant. One concern I had regarding the front restaurant area was the strong smell of sour wet clothes and bacteria in the entrance area. Despite this, the service seemed good and the employees were always polite. We also liked the BBQ at the beach area, so not all the food was bad. There was also construction on one side of the resort and I thought they did a poor job of blocking it off visually. See the pics for examples. I also went to the gym most of the days, and found it acceptable, but the blinking florescent light made it seem like there was a strobe light in the room. The seaweed problem at the beach was monumental and the hotel assured me they were clearing it each day, but this was very false. We were there 8 days and only saw people clearing seaweed a couple of those days, and they would move it from one pile to another pile a bit further up the beach, and often times we saw the workers throwing the seaweed back into the ocean. The resort seemed to put minimal effort into clearing the seaweed. We also took the hotel shuttle ($5 USD per person) into Playa Del Carmen a few miles away and found the beaches there were much cleaner (over by El Taj resort). We have stayed at El Taj resort before and I wished we would have stayed there again this time instead of the Princess. My family enjoyed some of the wildlife that ran around the grounds, but they had a lot of Coatis scavenging around and in trash cans, and my wife got scratched on her leg by one at the pool area when it tried to come up behind her and take her drink. It literally tried to crawl up her leg. We have stayed at other resorts, such as Cabo Azul in San Jose Del Cabo, and the Marriot in Puerto Vallarta, and I would rate those places an A grade. By comparison I would give the Grand Riviera Princess a D grade. If you feel you have to visit Playa Del Carmen during the seaweed season, my advice is to try out El Taj in the town and avoid the Princess.

  Jun 29, 2025
• 

  Good service at bars and restaurants!! But not as good overall

  Needs updates - pools are cracking concrete, constantly dirty. Entertainment needs improvement!! Food is ok, dont get excited. Rooms small and most need maintenance/updates. Family club is really outdated and boring for any child past 6yrs!! Just the lobby feels elegant!! Too many staff trying to sell you the 4 hours talks - really annoying.

  Jun 28, 2025
• 

  Bait and switch at check in

  I am here now and should have listened to the bad reviews. This hotel is not good. Don’t come. They would not honor our trip booked via Expedia because any child over the age of 13 at this resort is considered an adult. Expedia however considers children 0-17. This led them to deny our check in. It took 2 hours to sort it out, and an additional $1,000 USD (Initially they wanted an additional $4,000 USD) to allow us to stay in the two rooms we booked. They demanded that to stay, we would have to cancel our booking, and book again. They also would not offer adjoining or nearby rooms, having our children in one building and my husband and I in another. They suggested my husband and I separate one to each room in separate buildings to make it work. I asked to speak to the manager, who would not speak with us, but did find two rooms somewhat near each other. Half of the resort is under construction and they will not tell you that. This includes the gym, spa, and half the restaurants. The beach is really bad. This resort is long and narrow so it only has a sliver at the end that I’d actually beach, and that part is overwhelmed with smelly seaweed. This is this the fault of the resort, just important to note if you are looking for the beach experience versus the pools. Not much to do unless you book excursions, but I am good for reading and lounging. But if you have teens and children like I do, it’s not thrilling. The pool staff have all been wonderfully kind and the rooms are clean. Overall, after staying at around 10 all inclusive resorts over the years, this one is by far the worst. We won’t be back. Also, they will inevitably comment thanks for the review and that they use them to get better. But in reality, they couldn’t care less.

  Jun 25, 2025
• 

  Amazing! Highly recommend

  This was our second time at this resort and I couldn’t fault it one bit. The staff were so friendly, welcoming and helpful with anything you needed. The entertainment team were fantastic, there was always something going on at the pools. Food and drink is a definite 5 star, was something for everyone at the restaurants and buffet. Room was spotless, fridge was always stocked. Although there were renovations happening they didn’t bother us and didn’t affect the running of the hotel or our experience at all. Already planning our next trip back!

  Jun 25, 2025
• 

  Anniversary getaway

  Our 4th time at Princess Riviera. Each trip has been different but always good. Mario, who checked us in and out, made life easier for us. We appreciate the upgrade and special attention. You are a gem! The buffet food and drinks were good. The reggae band at the beach, the music grupos that played in the evenings, and the Disco Areito were awesome! La Vaqueria restaurant food and attention surpassed our expectations. Simply excellent! Fernando, at La Vaqueria, made our anniversary celebration extraordinarily special. Unforgettable! Thank you, Fernando! The pools were really good. I had no chlorine rash, and we were soaked in the pool for hours. Lol! Renovation was happening on the side of the resort, but that did not affect us. We did receive the free spa as advertised on Expedia, but we definitely prefer the Hydro Spa. The sargassum... well, it was there, but that is on Mother nature. The resort worked diligently on it.

  Jun 23, 2025