Arrival: Nov 25 to Nov 28, 2009 Airport arrival was uneventful. We took a taxi for $30 and we arrived at the Grand in under 30min. Checkin was 3pm, but they allowed us to register and have lunch/drinks early – room was ready by 1pm. We were greated with a drink while at the registration desk, and a cool cloth hand towel to ‘cool’ yourself.
Rooms:
We stayed in an oceanview room (not ocean front). It was fantastic – the room was clean and looked exactly like the pictures on the website. We had a king sized bed, linen sheets, A/C was perfect, beautiful bathroom. There was nothing to complain about, and if you put the ‘do not disturb’ card in your key slot they really did respect that. People were very friendly – including the butlers. A++.
Restaurants and Bars:
We ate at the Surf/Turf resturaunt – food was ‘good’ and nice atmosphere. Another night we ate at the Japanese resturaunt, it was also ‘good to better’. We ordered room service one night, it was fair (food was luke warm). Bars were stocked well, good drinks, service was slow at times – but that is to be expected. The buffet was clean – breakfast was super, lots of variety. Only sub-par feature for us was there was not much variety for lunch buffett and there was not as much fruit as expected.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: Grounds were very clean. Pool was perfect! Beach was sub-par – it was rocky and the waters were not clear. They roped off a swimming / snorkel area for you to use to avoid getting hit by motorized craft. On a positive note, they palm lined beach umbrelas were a hit, and the reclining chairs were great. We’ve been to other beaches in the caribbean (St.Thomas, St. John, Bahamas, Punta Cana, etc..) but the BEST beach we’ve seen was in Punta Cana, DR. The other thing to note is that from 12noon to 3pm they did activities on the beach (water arobics, volleyball, horse shoes) and played LOUD dance music so you had better bring your iPOD with you or come early or later to enjoy the somewhat silence of the ocean waves. I wouldn’t say this was ‘bad’ – it is just worth noting for those who wanted a different beach experience. On the beach, the staff came around asking if you wanted drinks or small sandwiches.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We were only there a few days, no excursions this time. We enjoyed the beach and pool, and many drinks. We did try out the spa, had a sweedish massage that was perfect – prices were reasonable..
Other Comments:
This was a brief trip to celebrate my wife and my 10yr wedding anniversary. We stayed at the Grand to avoid the familys; it is adult only. We were treated like royalty by the friendly staff – by the time you leave you will swear every staff member is trained to leave you with a wide smile and say ‘yes sir’ and ‘yes ma’am’ as if you were a VIP. It was a treat – come to this resort and you will see what we are talking about. We were given a bottle of champaigne for our anniversary day ( bring a copy of your marriage certificate and make sure it is for during your stay period of days ). – This is the 2nd time we stayed in an Iberostar resort, and we were not dissapointed. We will continue to stay here as we were treated so kindly.
– One more thing – this resort caters to Europeans, so you are allowed to smoke and the beach was friendly to topless bathers (we only saw one). The other guests were friendly and seemed to have a nice time too. Overall, rate: A
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