Has anyone stayed at the GR Solaris Cancun All Inclusive?

[Brenda33]

Hi all....

 

I just stumbled across this area and realized people were asking questions about all inclusives and not just cruising, so I figured I'd give it a shot. My husband and I are going to the GR Solaris Cancun All Inclusive Resort in Janaury for a week. Has anyone been to this resort and can share any information? Thanks so much!:)

[jmdive]

Our family stayed at the GR Solaris in February 2009. We found the GR Solaris to be a good place to stay. The hotel and the grounds were kept clean. The food was a bit above average and you can pretty well order what you wish to drink. The room was a good size and I found that the room attendant did a great job making everything pleasant for our stay. The hotel has a good size pool and a quiet area if you wish to relax. There is always some activities going on around the pool and it is entertaining as well. The beach is somewhat narrow and there are large waves and currents throughout the area, so it is important that you take some caution when entering the water. They provide a kids club that my son enjoyed and went to everyday. He loved Gabriella and Myrna the child care workers. There is a bus stop directly in front and it is very easy to go into town quickly ( every 10 minutes there is a bus) and more economical than cabbing it. I hope that I gave you a sense of what the hotel is about and if you have any further questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

[Brenda33]

:)Hi there! Thanks so much for the reply. I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get any replies!! Can you tell me about the reservation system to Marco Polo? Can you make reservations for every day on the first day you arrive or do you have to make a reservation each day? Where do you make the reservations? Is it a problem to get a reservation? I ask all this because I am not crazy about buffets, so I would love to go to Marco Polo at dinner time. Also, what exactly is the dress code for Marco Polo? I have read different things so I am wondered exactly what is worn there, especially by the men. I don't believe so, but is there anywhere else that is not buffet? How was the weather in February. I am going in January and I am hoping for hot weather. This is a last minute vacation for myself and my husband and I had to pick something fairly inexpensive, so I was just hoping I made the right choice. Also, we are in our mid 40's and was wondering what the age group is at the resort. I know I am asking a lot of questions....but I am so excited to have found someone who has actually been to this resort! Thank you in advance for all your help.:)

[jmdive]

I cannot believe that I did not mention the Marco Polo restaurant. I guess I wasn't hungry when I replied the first time. The Marco Polo restaurant has much better cuisine than the buffets. You have a choice of entree and the service is in general good, although there was one evening where I questioned whether the waiter was even alive or was in a coma (slow and sluggish behaviour). I did not see him for the rest of my vacation. The food is excellent and it has a more romantic and formal ambience. You must make reservations each day for dining for that evening. You will find a posted menu of that evenings theme ( Italian, Mexican, French etc.) at the enterance to the restaurant and the hostess will take your reservation and give you a confirmation slip that you must present upon arrival. The dress code is nice slacks, ( no jeans, shorts, or sandals) clean shirt and fun attitude. I would advise you to book your reservation early in the morning around 9am as it sometimes fills quickly. There is also some evenings where they plan shows in the main ballroom and they serve food buffet style there as well in keeping with the nightly theme. The shows are quite good and they surprised me as I did not expect such talent. The bar has entertainment of a couple who sang songs and later it became karoake.

The weather when we were in Cancun in February was not extremely hot and at times it felt cool because the wind was constantly blowing even though the temperature was 70-80 each day. I was told that it is normally much warmer and the winds are not quite as strong. Make sure that you apply sunscreen on even if it is cloudy as you will burn quickly without sunscreen. I came back very tanned.

The age group at the resort varys from 30 - 60 as it is more of an established mentality and not your college spring break crowd. You will not have any trouble finding people to talk to if you wish or even having quiet time if that is your desire. I am in my mid 40's and my wife is late 30's and we had a great time at this resort. It had exactly what we wanted, fun times and games, interesting people, good food and the ability to have a quiet time alone if we wished. Remember, you are on vacation and you control want you want of your vacation.

If you need any further information just ask and I'll be happy to help you out.

[Brenda33]

I cannot believe that I did not mention the Marco Polo restaurant. I guess I wasn't hungry when I replied the first time. The Marco Polo restaurant has much better cuisine than the buffets. You have a choice of entree and the service is in general good, although there was one evening where I questioned whether the waiter was even alive or was in a coma (slow and sluggish behaviour). I did not see him for the rest of my vacation. The food is excellent and it has a more romantic and formal ambience. You must make reservations each day for dining for that evening. You will find a posted menu of that evenings theme ( Italian, Mexican, French etc.) at the enterance to the restaurant and the hostess will take your reservation and give you a confirmation slip that you must present upon arrival. The dress code is nice slacks, ( no jeans, shorts, or sandals) clean shirt and fun attitude. I would advise you to book your reservation early in the morning around 9am as it sometimes fills quickly. There is also some evenings where they plan shows in the main ballroom and they serve food buffet style there as well in keeping with the nightly theme. The shows are quite good and they surprised me as I did not expect such talent. The bar has entertainment of a couple who sang songs and later it became karoake.

The weather when we were in Cancun in February was not extremely hot and at times it felt cool because the wind was constantly blowing even though the temperature was 70-80 each day. I was told that it is normally much warmer and the winds are not quite as strong. Make sure that you apply sunscreen on even if it is cloudy as you will burn quickly without sunscreen. I came back very tanned.

The age group at the resort varys from 30 - 60 as it is more of an established mentality and not your college spring break crowd. You will not have any trouble finding people to talk to if you wish or even having quiet time if that is your desire. I am in my mid 40's and my wife is late 30's and we had a great time at this resort. It had exactly what we wanted, fun times and games, interesting people, good food and the ability to have a quiet time alone if we wished. Remember, you are on vacation and you control want you want of your vacation.

If you need any further information just ask and I'll be happy to help you out.

 

Thank you, once again, for all this information. Is 9:00 a.m. the earliest that I can make a reservation for Marco Polo? If I do arrive this early, is it possible that I will not get one? So basically hubby needs to wear docker type pants (I am assuming no jeans?....is that correct?) and a nice shirt. Does the shirt need a collar? I had read in a review that someone wore a collared shirt, but I thought if it had to have a collar, maybe they should mention that before we actually arrive in Cancun...lol. We like to cruise and many nights hubby will wear dockers with a nice shirt, however, that shirt may not have a collar. For women, is it basically sun dresses? Can women wear capris?

 

Now I am worried I am going to be cold....hmmmmmm......All I want to do is soak up the sun and float in the pool!!! Speaking of pool, are towels provided? Is it ever a problem getting a pool towel? And, what about getting a chair next to the pool? Is that like on a cruise ship......with the chair hogs and not being able to get a seat?

 

I have been to Cancun back in 2001. At the time a bus ride anywhere was 50 cents (US money). I have read conflicting reports that it is now 60 cents or even 75 cents. Do you know which it is, as I want to plan to have correct change with me.

 

Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much! It is great having a real person to talk to about this. Reading reviews are just not the same.

[jmdive]

Ok, this is my second attempt for this reply as my son likes to play on my computer and wiped out the first response.

 

The earliest I booked for the Marco Polo was at 9am. I was able to receive the times I requested and there were no evenings that I was not able to reserve. If you are booking at this time there should not be any problems. Your husband should wear docker type pants and a collared shirt. They will not give him any problems with this attire as this is what I was wearing. No jeans or sandals are allowed. I noticed that you have been on a few cruises. Just dress as you would if you were dining in the MDR on a cruise ship. This will prevent any problems or situations. Women are allowed to wear sundresses and capri pants at Marco Polo. I believe that they have this dress policy in place to add some respectability to the restaurant.

 

You do not have to worry about being cold. The only reason that I mentioned being cool from the wind was that I was scuba diving and as my wife reminded me, that was why I felt cold at times. Chair Hogs were encountered for the first few days we were at the resort. They were up at 7am and did not use their chairs till 11am. The staff put an end to this as they began to tag chairs with time slips. They allowed an adequate amount of time ( approx 1 1/2 hrs) to return to your chair or your possesions were taken off. There are lots of chairs around the 2 levels of the pool so it is not imperative that you be there first thing in the morning unless you want a specific spot by the bar or entertainment activities. There are towels by the pool. It works by you turning in your card ( found in your room) for a towel and you will receive your card back when you turn in your towel.

 

I do not recall what the fare was for riding the bus. If you ask at the front desk, they will be able to tell you and provide the proper change for this. When entering the bus, sit down quickly or hold on to the handrails as the bus drivers tend to move the bus quickly. I have seen many people get caught off guard by this.

 

I wish I was back in Cancun, but I only have 116 days to wait for my B2B cruises so it is not that bad. You and your husband will have a good time . Ask away if you have any other questions and I will try to answer them.

[jmdive]

Here are some pictures from our stay at the GR Solaris in Cancun. I hope that this helps you out and that I did this right.

[Brenda33]

Thank you so much for all your help. I feel much better now that I have communicated with a real human about the resort. I was concerned after reading a few reviews that the food was terrible and I would be miserable for the 7 days I am there. We went to an all inclusive in the Dominican Republic and the food was the worst you could imagine. The only thing edible for the entire time were soggy french fries! They had pizza, but the pizza had TUNA on it!!! I am kind of a foodie, so I enjoy good food....but I can adapt. I guess I am a bit bummed that DH has to have a collared shirt. He always wears dockers on a cruise, but many of the shirts he has do not have a collar, although are very nice shirts. I don't know how many collar shirts he has???...LOL Me, I always like to dress up, so that really isn't a problem. As a matter of fact, I checked the clearance rack of Marshalls today and found myself a cute dress to take along!!

 

Were you bothered by the time share people? I read alot about this too. I really don't want to be tricked into a couple hours of my time either. On my honeymoon to Cancun I was tricked.....an employee was out on a boat ride with us and said that he would love to take my husband and I to lunch as a Wedding gift....and I felt it would be rude to say no so we went....yeah right!....He wanted to sell us a darn time share. I was so irritated by the end.

 

This trip we will be traveling without the kids and I am looking forward to it. We have a trip planned in August on the Carnival Dream, which will be a family cruise. Enjoy your B2B. I've never done that. Where are you going? Are you taking kids with you?

 

Thank you for the pics......they are tiny though!! LOL.....That's funny, because that was how mine turned out when I tried to post one. LOL Have a great rest of the day.

[jmdive]

Don't fret about the shirts for your husband. I wore golf shirts that had a collar and also some silk t-shirts and no one made any comments. The food is fine and I find that people tend to complain if it is not exactly what they are use too. You are in a foreign country and as such, you have to expect things to be different and somewhat out of your comfort zone. There will be many choices in the buffets and also at Marco Polo. I am sorry to hear about the food problem at the resort in Dominican Republic.

 

The time share people will always be there, but I found that they will leave you alone if you politely tell them that you are not interested and that you do not want to waste their time. You will be approached during check-in. They left me alone after I pleasantly declined.

 

The cruise we are going on is in March 2010 and the stops are Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Grand Cayman and during week 2 Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. My wife is excited because she loves cruising ever since we were on Celebrity Horizon. She loves the food and that the crew makes her feel important. We have been on 3 different cruises but this will be the first one aboard a Carnival ship. We will be taking our special little man ( only child that we have) who will turn 6 right before the cruise begins. He wants to swim with the dolphins and the stingrays. Sean wants to scuba dive also like his dad but I have convinced him that he is not ready yet.

 

Sorry about the pictures being so small. That was my very first attempt at scanning and making an attachment. I should have called the neighbor who is computer savy. This is not my forte.

 

If you have been to any of the ports that I will visit, could you please recommend some excursions that you feel my family would enjoy? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Brenda33]

Your trip sounds fabulous!!!!! I really LOVE cruising. I was originally going to cruise in January aboard the Carnival Pride for one week leaving from Baltimore. I changed my mind and went with an all inclusive because I was afraid that since it was January and we would be leaving from a cold port that the weather would be cold for about half the trip. I love the sunshine and want to bask in the sun with a frozen drink.

 

I have been to Nassau. We took the #10 Jitney (bus) for $1.00 per person (it may be $1.25) now to the Wyndham/Sheraton. You can purchase a day pass at the Wyndham for $40 per person and have use of beach, pools, towels, etc. for the day. They also give you coupons for the indoor lunch buffet included with this price. The buffet was pretty good. I was surprised at how nice it was. One of the pools also has a slide. You can also use the Sheraton amenties as well. At the time I went the Sheraton was $99 for a day room.....no lunch....but it would cover your entire family. However, I hear now that the Sheraton is only $25 per person. I would check out the Nassau boards and ask a poster named Scubagirrl for her help. She is a local who knows Nassau well.

 

I have been to St. Thomas twice. The first time I went on Sonny Liston tours. You can find his contact info on the St. Thomas boards. This tour cost us $25 per person. We got 2 hours of shopping, about an hour and a half of tour with stops for photos and a famous banana daiquiri....and the last 2 hours we were dropped at a beach to enjoy the sunshine. The tour was fabulous. The driver sings and gets you singing on the open air bus the entire trip. Its a ton of fun....great for kids too. Even though shopping is involved, my kids enjoyed it at the time. The second time I went to St. Thomas we took a taxi to Emerald Beach Resort. This is a beach for the day.....no fee to enter, however, you have to pay for chair and umbrella....I think $10 each. There is a waiter who will serve you drinks, etc. for the day you spend on the beach. It is an extremely quiet day on the beach with literally no crowd....only a few others. But if you enjoy quiet days just playing in the sand and water, its a great day.

 

I have been to San Juan. For me, I was not crazy about it. We took a group bus to El Morro. I refer to it as the giant rock. My husband who enjoys history, etc. loved this trip.....me, not so much. I just wanted to get back to the sun and water.

 

In Grand Turk I got off the ship and went to the ship area which includes a free beach (just ok)....and an area with shopping. Also, there is Margaritaville.....which has a big pool, swim up bar, food, etc. and entertainment. It was a lot of fun.

 

My next trip includes Cozumel, Roatan and Belize.....I can tell you what our plans are for these ports, although I have never been there.

 

In Cozumel we are going to Mr. Sanchos. This is a beach, pool, food, drink area. You can pay as you go or reserve the all inclusive package for $45 per person.

 

In Roatan we are going with Victor Boden tours. We are going ziplining (which they say is good for all ages), and then we are going to visit the monkeys next door. This tour is approximately $65 per person total.

 

In Belize we are going cave tubing with cave-tubing dot com. My sister went on this tour in the past and said it was fabulous and safe for the little ones.

 

I hope I was some help to you......I know you are helping me!

[jmdive]

Thank you for the quick reply. Our family is now discussing our options. My wife likes your picks of the Sonny Liston tour for St. Thomas, Margaritaville in Grand Turk (big surprise there:rolleyes:) , Cave Tubing in Belize and Mr Sanchos in Cozumel ( even bigger shock:rolleyes:;):D). As I stated earlier, she is a sun lizard and that is her domain. For Nassau, she has not decided, but I will take your suggestion of contacting Scubagirl for further choices. I will most likely be scuba-diving at all the ports except for Puerto Rico where I plan on taking it easy. I hope I helped you out and thanks again for your assistance. Here's to great vacations.:)

[Brenda33]

You're very welcome....and yes, you have been a big help. If I think of anymore questions, believe me I will ask!! Have a great trip. Let me know all about it, when you return. Oh, and tell your wife to get the BIG margarita at Margaritaville.......it comes in a huge tall souvenir plastic cup in many colors....I have neon pink!!!

[Brenda33]

Well I am leaving in a matter of hours for the GR Solaris. I have read some not so great reviews lately and I am a bit nervous. I am crossing my fingers!!! Also, the weather looks not so good for the week.....but hopefully that will change. I'll let you know how it was when I get back....wish me luck!!!

[Brenda33]

I recently returned from the GR Solaris, and just wanted to let anyone know who is reading this that it was a wonderful trip!!!! I worried for nothing!!! The food was good, the hotel was clean and it was tons of fun. I laughed for days!!!!

[jmdive]

I am glad you had a good time! Where is the reveiw or a quick summary of the trip?

[Brenda33]

This is a copy of my review I posted on tripadvisor.....

 

 

GR Solaris Cancun

 

 

 

 

 

My husband and I stayed at the GR Solaris January 4th through January 11th, 2010. It was a fabulous vacation. I was soooooo scared before I went after reading so many recent negative reviews. I am a real foodie so food was very important to me. Most of the reviews were saying that it was not even edible. This is so the opposite!!!

 

When we first arrived we were greeted promptly by the bellman who took care of our luggage. At check in we were offered an upgrade to an ocean view for $30 per night, but then were told she would only have us pay for 4 out of the 7 nights. So we took the upgrade for $120. I was so glad we did. We had room 8610 which was the top floor directly in the middle overlooking the pool and ocean. It was great to be able to see everything going on and hear the waves. It was also great to watch my husband getting chairs every morning at 6 a.m. .....LOL. Yes, this was a bad thing about the hotel. If you wanted a chair by the pool you had to get up very early and put your towels out. It was a bit crazy in my opinion, but we went along with it or we wouldn't have chairs. The other thing that wasn't so great was that if you wanted to eat in Marco Polo, which is the reservation only sit down dinner restaurant, you have to be in line before 7 a.m. and they start taking reservations at 8 a.m. They only take very limited reservations each day and since I wanted to eat there on all nights my husband got down there early every day.

 

So back to the food. The first thing we tried was the snack stand at the pool area. Most days I had things like burgers, fries, chicken and nachos. I think I look like a nacho....I ate so many. It was all really good. The first night we had to eat in the buffet area because we did not arrive early enough to get a reservation in Marco Polo....which I will never understand because the tables are never full in there. Anyhow, it was Mexican night at the buffet and it was really good. They were making pork tacos that night at the carving station. There were many things to choose from. Of course, like any buffet, there were things I felt didn't look like it would be so good, so you stay away from that stuff. When at a buffet if you keep it simple its the best way to go and enjoy. On the way into the buffet they had a table set with shot glasses and bottles of tequila. I tried my first tequila shot......at 45 years old....lol. To my surprise it was good!!! Then at dinner the waiter who brought us many margaritas without us asking said he had a special surprise for us after dinner. He then brought out these drinks which he banged on the table, they fizzed up and then you drank it while he spun your head around and yelled. I later was told it was a shot of tequila with 7up and grenadine. It was a ton of fun!!! Now onto other food. Breakfast was always good. I ate the basics. I had eggs over every morning at the fresh egg station. Also they have a mimosa and bloody mary bar where you can help yourself. I really enjoyed the mimosas!!! Dinners all other nights except the first for us were at the Marco Polo. All the food I ate was good. Have I had better? OF COURSE!!!.....but it was still really good. First they have what they call a salad bar....but it was more like an appetizer bar with tons on it. This was before you even ordered off the menu. You could order many courses also. The one thing we thought was funny was that one night my husband ordered pork chops and he got spare ribs and another night he ordered pork spare ribs and got boneless pork chops. But hey they tasted good. Another thing I will mention that was strange is that any steak we got, except the filet mignon was cut paper thin. But again flavor was still good. We had the best waiter, Gilberto. He was always very kind and catered to our every need. He couldn't stop thanking us for coming. I really missed the night he had off....we had Freddy, who was not very attentive. Tipping goes a long way, although not required. We gave Gilberto a tip every night and could tell he looked forward to our arrival.

 

The drinks were good and there were so many different choices. They had a chart over the pool bar with pictures and descriptions of a ton of different drinks. I tried so many of them......it was like dessert in a glass!

 

The pool was nice. The main pool is heated, but not the other 2. In January heated is very important. The weather was not what I was hoping for. Every morning we needed sweat jackets and it didn't start to warm up til after 11 each day. Then it only stays warm til around 3:30 or 4:00 when the sun starts to go down. It was warm enough for bathing suits, but I didn't always want to be in the water.

 

The beach was what everyone says, very small, but still there. The ocean was extremely rough and very rocky. I only put my feet in because it was kind of scary looking. There were several people who went in though. They will be rebuilding the beach and I am sure it will be wonderful then. We walked down the beach and looked at other hotels. I can tell you that I wasn't impressed at what I saw. So many places were beat up, etc. I'm certainly glad I didn't pick those hotels!!!! We did walk to the sister hotel, the Royal Solaris and we had a couple drinks there. Noone questioned us and it was alot of fun.

 

I enjoyed watching the games and entertainment all the time around the pool. This makes the day alot more fun than just staring at the water. I seemed to always be laughing....especially when they tricked my husband and he came back with red toe nails!!!!! It was too funny....he had no clue they were even doing it!!!! All I know is he was running around after that looking for nail polish remover!! The fun just was always happening. I was exactly what I needed for the week. We saw a couple of the shows at night that were good, but I am not really a night time person so most nights I turned in early. If you do like to party the hotel will take you to a different club every night for $40 which includes all you can drink. Its not my thing, but to any who were into it, it seemed like a good deal. A negative was on the rainy day I felt that the entertainment staff slacked off. They could have done alot more stuff inside than they did. They only did Bingo and Trivia. It was definitely a bit boring inside. The entertainment staff this day basically sat in the corner eating. So on a rainy day I would suggest possibly traveling outside the hotel for fun....but other than that it was alot of fun.

 

My room was always cleaned very early, which I love. I had plenty of towels too. A couple days I even got a towel animal which was a nice touch. One thing I need to let you know is that if the balcony door is not shut tightly the air conditioner will not turn on....so be careful with that. Also, it is very true that if you have loud neighbors....or even if they are just very talkative you can hear everything. The walls are THAT THIN. It only affected me the first 2 nights for a bit. Our neighbors were very loud. I am thinking they moved out after that because I never had anymore problems.

 

You can get the bus into town right out front of the hotel.....cheap too....7.5 pesos. Best way to get around. The bus was kind of fun too. Some guy got on with his guitar and sang for tips.

 

Overall, this was an absolutely fabulous vacation with good food......Enjoy and don't be strayed by negative reviews!!!....believe me, noone cares about food more than I do and I enjoyed it. Go and have a great time. I can't wait until I can go again!!!

[JPhotoz]

Thank you for all the time you put into this review. We will be going to the GR Solaris in April and will use your information to make our vacation a better time.

 

Jordan

[Brenda33]

Have a wonderful time Jordan. Let me know how you liked it....

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is a very nice place ,food is OK.