Grand Sunset/Grand Riviera Princess? - Page 9

mxpower · 12-13-2007

No update today?
What other forum was that pulled from?

brandn · 12-13-2007

The updates are coming from tripadvisor. A girl called lazygal is posting them. Just go to tripadvisor.com and type in "lazygal" under search and you should be able to see all of her posts.

faykoko · 12-14-2007

new posts on TA today from rockriver
I'm not sure if we're checked into the Sunset or the Riviera - we booked the Riviera but at the front desk they said we would have to go over to the Sunset because we were staying in a Villas suite - so I'm not sure how that works at this point. Wireless is great in the lobby and so/so in the room - I have asked for an ethernet cable so I'll see if the plug in the room works.

Staff has been very friendly and helpful. Dinner in the Miso (asian) restaurant was pleasant - we were 2 of 4 in the whole dinning room. The food quality was superior, the flavor was adequate but needs some fine tuning. What I mean by that is that the shrimp, chicken and vegetables in the Phad Thai were excellent but the seasoning was that of soy-stir-fry rather than Thai seasoning. I am interested to go back next week and see how it tastes.

The air conditioning is not working but they say it should come back on by 1:00 am. When we got to the room the water was off but I think that was a problem with Playa de Carmen utilities more than the hotel. The water came on within 20 minutes.

The pools were still filling when we walked down to the beach and I'm sure they will be finished by morning. At the beach there were tons of chairs out but no water sports equipment (this is going to be really disappointing if it is not available tomorrow. The spa is not likely to be fully functional till next week they say though I think they are offering some services now.

The Villas room is awesome - but we had to wait 30 minutes on arrival for it to get ready. I think they had to get some guys to bring in the mattress - they forgot the DVD player, room service menus, coffee for the coffee maker, soap dishes, etc... But I think all will be straightened out in the morning.

Not all of the restaurants were open tonight but they have been promised for tomorrow. This was really surprising to me because I had asked a travel agent that stayed at the property last weekend about the restaurants and she was certain that they were all open and others had reported they were all open. I don't mind that they won't be open until tomorrow - just wish I would have gotten a straight story.
Room service for some chocolate cake and milk was prompt, friendly and tasty.
The property is just as nice as the animations if not prettier. I have a very good feeling that we are going to enjoy our stay and will share more as events unfold. I knew coming to a brand new place would be an adventure of sorts so I'm not disappointed yet - we'll see about the water sports in the morning. I'll try and get some real photos up tomorrow and I see that the princess-hotels site now has a few actual photos rather than the photoshop pictures they used to have.

faykoko · 12-15-2007

oops

brandn · 12-15-2007

Why the opps? Did you recieve some updated info from lazygal?

sonofdob · 12-15-2007

faykoko...understand that you may have photos from "lazygal" ... that may or may not involve the period "Sorry - posting drumk -amazing what that can do to improve situation. Husband nakekdand pestering me " ...but nonetheless...we are curious...O.K. ? sonofdob.

brandn · 12-15-2007

Those could be some interesting pictures!!

faykoko · 12-15-2007

explaining the oops, I did receive some updated info from Lazy gal, but she then asked me not to share all of it with the group so I took the info back off. Apparently some of the TA forums "good natured ribbing" (i place quotes because some , while pleading that they are just trying to be funny, can be very mean) really bothered her and she fears being attacked for posting anything negative.
I do not have any picture from her yet. She tried to send them but apparently the wireless connection is running at dial up speed and she was unable to send any larger files or attachments. She is still at the hotel, but I think she would like to leave. She appears to be on somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster.

brandn · 12-15-2007

Yeah, I noticed that she was getting alittle upset with some of the people over on TA. I personally didnt see read anything to be upset about, but obviously she did. She added a couple of other updates this morning. They sound pretty positive.

KC Arrowhead · 12-15-2007

If anyone is interested I found 3 pics taken on 12/15 on T. A. posted by someone named rockriver

KC Arrowhead · 12-15-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandn

Yeah, I noticed that she was getting alittle upset with some of the people over on TA. I personally didnt see read anything to be upset about, but obviously she did. She added a couple of other updates this morning. They sound pretty positive.

I can relate to that . If you go out of the AI forum and ask some things in another forum here, the "Playa groupies", aka "peeps" will be all over you . I sometimes wonder if certain people have "real" jobs/lives?? I mean people who have been a member for 2 years and have 3,00 or 5,000 plus posts??

trip advisor the same way... I'll most likely catch some crap for saying that

slhb · 12-16-2007

Another poster at TA stated some people have waited two days to get a room. They personally waited 6 hours. They are having plumbing issues and recommend going to another resort. They said the staff is great but the management is the problem. This is a new report under the Lazygal post.

brandn · 12-17-2007

Sorry. Didnt realize that was a "no no". Sheesh.

faykoko · 12-17-2007

Picasa Web Albums - Mike - grand sunset ...
Pictures sent to me by lazygal

**Shammy** · 12-17-2007

I would vote for leaving comments posted on Trip Advisor ON Trip Advisor rather than cutting and pasting them all over here. If folks want a review of the resort or to read all of these comments, they can go there to read. If those that are writing the reviews want to post them on this board, they are free to do so.

As far as what's going on at this hotel - not that it should happen, but whenever a new resort opens, there are always "issues". Sometimes the issues are no big deal, some resorts really have their act together and don't open before they are truly ready, but small problems are still bound to pop up. But for some reason, there are resorts that open before they should, and some of the problems they have are quite serious. No hotel opens expecting their issues to be serious, I'm sure the Princess didn't expect to have water and A/C problems - but stuff happens. Their staff obviously needs more experience/training, but that's exactly what a soft opening is for. Those staying at the resort right now did pay a very low price. Not that their basic needs shouldn't be met, of course they should, but when booking a brand new resort for opening week (or month), you should know that you may possibly encounter employees who are not totally familiar with the policies and/or procedures, incomplete facilities, lack of some amenities, etc. Again, not saying it's right, just saying when it comes to openings of new resorts - it's reality.

My dos pesos is this hotel opened too early, it was originally supposed to open in Feb.'08. I spoke with a Princess rep at a trade show a few months ago and when he said they were going to open in Dec, having driven past the entrance just a few weeks before that, I more or less knew they were not going to have their s*^t together by Dec. I do think this the hotel will eventually pull itself together and be a very nice resort, but I will continue to stick to my policy of not booking someone at a new resort during the first few months of it being opened. I do have an exception to that rule however - the Barcelo resorts have always shown that when they open the door of any of their new resorts in Riviera Maya, they are 99.9% ready for guests.

12-15-2007	#124 (permalink)
faykoko toe in water Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 41	oops Last edited by faykoko; 12-15-2007 at 12:44 AM.. Reason: oops

12-15-2007	#130 (permalink)
KC Arrowhead beachaholic Join Date: May 2004 Location: 15 minutes east of Arrowhead stadium Posts: 314	Pics of the Pincess info If anyone is interested I found 3 pics taken on 12/15 on T. A. posted by someone named rockriver

12-17-2007	#133 (permalink)
brandn into ruins Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Richlands, Va Posts: 65	Sorry. Didnt realize that was a "no no". Sheesh. Last edited by brandn; 12-17-2007 at 01:21 PM..

12-17-2007	#134 (permalink)
faykoko toe in water Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 41	Picasa Web Albums - Mike - grand sunset ... Pictures sent to me by lazygal Attached Images

12-17-2007	#135 (permalink)
Shammy Travel Insurance Tester Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: The Joisey Shore Posts: 11,014	I would vote for leaving comments posted on Trip Advisor ON Trip Advisor rather than cutting and pasting them all over here. If folks want a review of the resort or to read all of these comments, they can go there to read. If those that are writing the reviews want to post them on this board, they are free to do so. As far as what's going on at this hotel - not that it should happen, but whenever a new resort opens, there are always "issues". Sometimes the issues are no big deal, some resorts really have their act together and don't open before they are truly ready, but small problems are still bound to pop up. But for some reason, there are resorts that open before they should, and some of the problems they have are quite serious. No hotel opens expecting their issues to be serious, I'm sure the Princess didn't expect to have water and A/C problems - but stuff happens. Their staff obviously needs more experience/training, but that's exactly what a soft opening is for. Those staying at the resort right now did pay a very low price. Not that their basic needs shouldn't be met, of course they should, but when booking a brand new resort for opening week (or month), you should know that you may possibly encounter employees who are not totally familiar with the policies and/or procedures, incomplete facilities, lack of some amenities, etc. Again, not saying it's right, just saying when it comes to openings of new resorts - it's reality. My dos pesos is this hotel opened too early, it was originally supposed to open in Feb.'08. I spoke with a Princess rep at a trade show a few months ago and when he said they were going to open in Dec, having driven past the entrance just a few weeks before that, I more or less knew they were not going to have their s*^t together by Dec. I do think this the hotel will eventually pull itself together and be a very nice resort, but I will continue to stick to my policy of not booking someone at a new resort during the first few months of it being opened. I do have an exception to that rule however - the Barcelo resorts have always shown that when they open the door of any of their new resorts in Riviera Maya, they are 99.9% ready for guests. __________________

12-13-2007	#121 (permalink)
mxpower sandflea Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4	No update today? What other forum was that pulled from?

12-13-2007	#122 (permalink)
brandn into ruins Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Richlands, Va Posts: 65	The updates are coming from tripadvisor. A girl called lazygal is posting them. Just go to tripadvisor.com and type in "lazygal" under search and you should be able to see all of her posts.

12-14-2007	#123 (permalink)
faykoko toe in water Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 41	new posts on TA today from rockriver I'm not sure if we're checked into the Sunset or the Riviera - we booked the Riviera but at the front desk they said we would have to go over to the Sunset because we were staying in a Villas suite - so I'm not sure how that works at this point. Wireless is great in the lobby and so/so in the room - I have asked for an ethernet cable so I'll see if the plug in the room works. Staff has been very friendly and helpful. Dinner in the Miso (asian) restaurant was pleasant - we were 2 of 4 in the whole dinning room. The food quality was superior, the flavor was adequate but needs some fine tuning. What I mean by that is that the shrimp, chicken and vegetables in the Phad Thai were excellent but the seasoning was that of soy-stir-fry rather than Thai seasoning. I am interested to go back next week and see how it tastes. The air conditioning is not working but they say it should come back on by 1:00 am. When we got to the room the water was off but I think that was a problem with Playa de Carmen utilities more than the hotel. The water came on within 20 minutes. The pools were still filling when we walked down to the beach and I'm sure they will be finished by morning. At the beach there were tons of chairs out but no water sports equipment (this is going to be really disappointing if it is not available tomorrow. The spa is not likely to be fully functional till next week they say though I think they are offering some services now. The Villas room is awesome - but we had to wait 30 minutes on arrival for it to get ready. I think they had to get some guys to bring in the mattress - they forgot the DVD player, room service menus, coffee for the coffee maker, soap dishes, etc... But I think all will be straightened out in the morning. Not all of the restaurants were open tonight but they have been promised for tomorrow. This was really surprising to me because I had asked a travel agent that stayed at the property last weekend about the restaurants and she was certain that they were all open and others had reported they were all open. I don't mind that they won't be open until tomorrow - just wish I would have gotten a straight story. Room service for some chocolate cake and milk was prompt, friendly and tasty. The property is just as nice as the animations if not prettier. I have a very good feeling that we are going to enjoy our stay and will share more as events unfold. I knew coming to a brand new place would be an adventure of sorts so I'm not disappointed yet - we'll see about the water sports in the morning. I'll try and get some real photos up tomorrow and I see that the princess-hotels site now has a few actual photos rather than the photoshop pictures they used to have.

12-15-2007	#125 (permalink)
brandn into ruins Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Richlands, Va Posts: 65	Why the opps? Did you recieve some updated info from lazygal?

12-15-2007	#126 (permalink)
sonofdob beachaholic Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: White Rock, B.C. Posts: 287	faykoko...understand that you may have photos from "lazygal" ... that may or may not involve the period "Sorry - posting drumk -amazing what that can do to improve situation. Husband nakekdand pestering me " ...but nonetheless...we are curious...O.K. ? sonofdob.

12-15-2007	#127 (permalink)
brandn into ruins Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Richlands, Va Posts: 65	Those could be some interesting pictures!!

12-15-2007	#128 (permalink)
faykoko toe in water Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 41	explaining the oops, I did receive some updated info from Lazy gal, but she then asked me not to share all of it with the group so I took the info back off. Apparently some of the TA forums "good natured ribbing" (i place quotes because some , while pleading that they are just trying to be funny, can be very mean) really bothered her and she fears being attacked for posting anything negative. I do not have any picture from her yet. She tried to send them but apparently the wireless connection is running at dial up speed and she was unable to send any larger files or attachments. She is still at the hotel, but I think she would like to leave. She appears to be on somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster.

12-15-2007	#129 (permalink)
brandn into ruins Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Richlands, Va Posts: 65	Yeah, I noticed that she was getting alittle upset with some of the people over on TA. I personally didnt see read anything to be upset about, but obviously she did. She added a couple of other updates this morning. They sound pretty positive.

12-16-2007	#132 (permalink)
slhb into ruins Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 62	Another poster at TA stated some people have waited two days to get a room. They personally waited 6 hours. They are having plumbing issues and recommend going to another resort. They said the staff is great but the management is the problem. This is a new report under the Lazygal post.

register to remove these adverts