going to GPR in Sept?

melissaNEBRASKA · 06-23-2004

hello everyone!

I am new to this site and wanted to know any new updates with things going on at the Grand Porto Real? I have read dozens of things about the place both, good and bad. Just not to many recent things going on there. It is me and my boyfriend goin there. We are in our mid 20's. Just going to have a nice vacation. Any info you could give me would be greatly appriciated!! Like some fun thing for us to do there too!

thanx!

Weave · 06-25-2004

Hi Melissa N-
FYI: Opus' thread "Just Back-Had a Great Time" (I think posted same day as yours...) includes the following...note GPR reference in paragraph #2.
Good luck! Weave

"Stayed at Club Bananas - We really like the property. Not 4 star but nice. They have recently been purchased by the "Real Resort" chain which is the same chain that owns the Gran Porto Real. They are currently bringing in all new furniture within all the guest rooms. They are also raising their rates considerably in July.
We ran into at least 5 couples who had "reservations" at the Gran Porto Real and were bumped to Club Bananas. The horror stories about that place are true. If you are going to the Gran Porto Real, then be prepared to stay "somewhere else" the first night or two."

gbcokc · 06-25-2004

On the other hand melissa I was there last June and I am also in my mid twenties and I couldn't have had a better time. The rooms were great, the food was o.k. except for the Italian resturaunt. It is excellent. Also hit the spa it is great as well. Don't listen to any of the negative reports: weather, bad reviews, etc. Go drink and relax and have fun!

opus · 06-25-2004

As stated above, we just returned from Playa. The Porto Real hotel itself is very nice. My big concern would be whether or not your reservation will hold. I have already been emailed several times from people asking about the completion of the new Porto Royal wing. Apparently, the travel agents are being told that "everything is on schedule" for a July opening. Well, lets just say, the roof isn't even on the structure yet, so it may be completed by Dec.

That said, there will be lots of people showing up at the Gran Porto Real thinking they are staying at the Porto Royal and then finding the thing only half complete. The Porto Real already has a horrible reputation for bumping people. (just go to tripadvisor.com and search on the hotel) When all of the Porto Royal people start arriving it will be a mess. (Which is why I think they will stick them all at Club Bananas)

Feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions.

melissaNEBRASKA · 06-28-2004

cool thanks for the info. What did you do while you were there? Any fun things we should check out. Sometimes places in resort areas are geared to different age groups ya, know. Did you snorkle or scuba?
thanks again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbcokc

On the other hand melissa I was there last June and I am also in my mid twenties and I couldn't have had a better time. The rooms were great, the food was o.k. except for the Italian resturaunt. It is excellent. Also hit the spa it is great as well. Don't listen to any of the negative reports: weather, bad reviews, etc. Go drink and relax and have fun!

melissaNEBRASKA · 06-28-2004

Well lets just say i hope we dont get bumped out. Me and my boyfriend had thought about staying the last 2 days were there at one of the "real" resorts in cancun. Just so we could hang out there too. Were not sure yet though. So is there a lot of noise from the construction there? We just got the regular standard room. We fiured that might be best with all the noise people are complaining about. What kind of room did you have? I am getting so excited to go counting down the days and yeah there are still over 60 days....ha-ha. Any fun things we shoudl check out while we are there?

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

As stated above, we just returned from Playa. The Porto Real hotel itself is very nice. My big concern would be whether or not your reservation will hold. I have already been emailed several times from people asking about the completion of the new Porto Royal wing. Apparently, the travel agents are being told that "everything is on schedule" for a July opening. Well, lets just say, the roof isn't even on the structure yet, so it may be completed by Dec.

That said, there will be lots of people showing up at the Gran Porto Real thinking they are staying at the Porto Royal and then finding the thing only half complete. The Porto Real already has a horrible reputation for bumping people. (just go to tripadvisor.com and search on the hotel) When all of the Porto Royal people start arriving it will be a mess. (Which is why I think they will stick them all at Club Bananas)

Feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions.

gbcokc · 06-28-2004

We thought about the whole cancun thing too, but trust me you will not want to leave playa, it is perfect. We did go to Xel-ha one day and that was pretty cool. It is pretty similar to water park here in the states, but ten times better. Other than that one excursion we just layed out on the beach a hung out on fifth Ave. Oh yeah and make sure you eat breakfast at hot one day, the cinammon rolls and apple juice are awesome.

melissaNEBRASKA · 06-28-2004

yeah were not sure if thats really what we wanted to do. I have been to cancun before so it really dont matter to me. People say the beaches are nicer in cancun than at the GPR. So that was the only reason. We plan to go to one of those parks. I want to swim with the dolphins and we both want to snorkel. For the restaurants at the hotel are men required to dress up and women also? There have been different post about that, so i am not sure. We were not planning on bringing any long pants, but we might need to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbcokc

We thought about the whole cancun thing too, but trust me you will not want to leave playa, it is perfect. We did go to Xel-ha one day and that was pretty cool. It is pretty similar to water park here in the states, but ten times better. Other than that one excursion we just layed out on the beach a hung out on fifth Ave. Oh yeah and make sure you eat breakfast at hot one day, the cinammon rolls and apple juice are awesome.

Runaway Bride · 07-07-2004

Any suggestions, aside from calling a couple of days prior to your departure, on making sure you don't get bumped? We're staying there in October and we booked our trip through Hotels.com which makes me even more nervous since it wasn't directly booked.

melissaNEBRASKA · 07-07-2004

WE BOOKED THROUGH A COMPANY HERE IN NE THAT WORKS WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS. I THINK FOR US WE SHOUDL BE ALRIGHT. I DONT EVEN KNOW IF WE WILL CALL TO SEE IF WE GET BUMPED. WE SHOUDLN'T I WOULD THINK. BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET ANY KIND OF FANCY ROOM, JUST STANDARD. BUT I KNOW I HAVE HEARD ABOUT BOOKING WITH SMALLER COMPANIES OR SMALLER PLACES ONLINE. FROM WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID THEY HAVE THERE SELECT FEW PLACES THAT BRING THEM BUSNIESS SO THEY PLEASE THEM FIRST. I DONT KNOW FOR SURE BUT THAT IS WHAT I GATHER. I WOULD CALL LIKE YOU SAID, JUST TO MAKE SURE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runaway Bride

Any suggestions, aside from calling a couple of days prior to your departure, on making sure you don't get bumped? We're staying there in October and we booked our trip through Hotels.com which makes me even more nervous since it wasn't directly booked.

**Shammy** · 07-07-2004

In general, but not always the case by any means, people booking their trips with Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity and the like are the first to get bumped.
No hotel wants to p*ss off a major vacation company like Apple or Funjet and jeapordize that kind of contract.
Sometimes, it's also about the time that you check in.
But in the case of the GPR...there is no rhyme or reason to their bumping habits. They just do wayyy to much of it and no phone call before arrival will do much good as they won't know if they have a room for you until the minute you arrive.
Go with an open mind and be prepared that this just may happen.

06-23-2004	#1 (permalink)
melissaNEBRASKA lost on fifth Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 24	going to GPR in Sept? hello everyone! I am new to this site and wanted to know any new updates with things going on at the Grand Porto Real? I have read dozens of things about the place both, good and bad. Just not to many recent things going on there. It is me and my boyfriend goin there. We are in our mid 20's. Just going to have a nice vacation. Any info you could give me would be greatly appriciated!! Like some fun thing for us to do there too! thanx!

06-25-2004	#4 (permalink)
opus sandflea Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: CA Posts: 9	Nice Hotel - Lousy Reservation Practices As stated above, we just returned from Playa. The Porto Real hotel itself is very nice. My big concern would be whether or not your reservation will hold. I have already been emailed several times from people asking about the completion of the new Porto Royal wing. Apparently, the travel agents are being told that "everything is on schedule" for a July opening. Well, lets just say, the roof isn't even on the structure yet, so it may be completed by Dec. That said, there will be lots of people showing up at the Gran Porto Real thinking they are staying at the Porto Royal and then finding the thing only half complete. The Porto Real already has a horrible reputation for bumping people. (just go to tripadvisor.com and search on the hotel) When all of the Porto Royal people start arriving it will be a mess. (Which is why I think they will stick them all at Club Bananas) Feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions.

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06-25-2004	#2 (permalink)
Weave way into it Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 236	Hi Melissa N- FYI: Opus' thread "Just Back-Had a Great Time" (I think posted same day as yours...) includes the following...note GPR reference in paragraph #2. Good luck! Weave "Stayed at Club Bananas - We really like the property. Not 4 star but nice. They have recently been purchased by the "Real Resort" chain which is the same chain that owns the Gran Porto Real. They are currently bringing in all new furniture within all the guest rooms. They are also raising their rates considerably in July. We ran into at least 5 couples who had "reservations" at the Gran Porto Real and were bumped to Club Bananas. The horror stories about that place are true. If you are going to the Gran Porto Real, then be prepared to stay "somewhere else" the first night or two."

06-25-2004	#3 (permalink)
gbcokc way into it Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 103	On the other hand melissa I was there last June and I am also in my mid twenties and I couldn't have had a better time. The rooms were great, the food was o.k. except for the Italian resturaunt. It is excellent. Also hit the spa it is great as well. Don't listen to any of the negative reports: weather, bad reviews, etc. Go drink and relax and have fun!

06-28-2004	#7 (permalink)
gbcokc way into it Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 103	We thought about the whole cancun thing too, but trust me you will not want to leave playa, it is perfect. We did go to Xel-ha one day and that was pretty cool. It is pretty similar to water park here in the states, but ten times better. Other than that one excursion we just layed out on the beach a hung out on fifth Ave. Oh yeah and make sure you eat breakfast at hot one day, the cinammon rolls and apple juice are awesome.

07-07-2004	#9 (permalink)
Runaway Bride toe in water Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: in my own world most of the time Posts: 48	Any suggestions, aside from calling a couple of days prior to your departure, on making sure you don't get bumped? We're staying there in October and we booked our trip through Hotels.com which makes me even more nervous since it wasn't directly booked.

07-07-2004	#11 (permalink)
Shammy Moderator Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: The Joisey Shore Posts: 10,268	In general, but not always the case by any means, people booking their trips with Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity and the like are the first to get bumped. No hotel wants to p*ss off a major vacation company like Apple or Funjet and jeapordize that kind of contract. Sometimes, it's also about the time that you check in. But in the case of the GPR...there is no rhyme or reason to their bumping habits. They just do wayyy to much of it and no phone call before arrival will do much good as they won't know if they have a room for you until the minute you arrive. Go with an open mind and be prepared that this just may happen.

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