We just returned from our first trip to Cancun and before I forgot anything, I wanted to submit a review.

I carried out considerable research for this trip and making a choice was difficult. My wife and I were looking for a resort that had it all and my research paid off. At poolside, I learned from guests that have stayed at multiple other resorts in Cancun over the years that among them all, the GR Solaris was the best overall.

We found the GR Solaris (not to be confused with their other properties in Cancun, Royal Solaris or Solaris) was an excellent choice. We decided that the best way to control/insure costs was to book at an “all inclusive resort”. There were many choices and choosing was difficult because one review would say the food at a resort was good while another said it was terrible. I have always found that it depends on what “you” consider good food. I am originally from the New York metropolitan area where some of the best restaurants in the world can be found. Therefore, I believe that I have a tendency to be more critical the most..

The all inclusive food offering at GR Solaris was “good”. I don’t believe you can expect much more than “good” food from any all inclusive resort. On a scale of 1 (Lowest) to 10 (Highest), I would rate the meals as follows: Breakfast = 7, Lunch = 6 and Dinner = 8*. With regard to dinner, I highly recommend choosing the Marco Polo Restaurant for your meals, I can’t understand why anyone (unless you have noisy, antsy, children who are picky eaters) would go to any of the other dinner restaurant choices. The food in the other two restaurants is “hit and miss” (* 5 rating overall, while Marco Polo is an 8). Each evening, all menu choices change from restaurant to restaurant. The great thing about the GR Solaris Restaurant choices (other than Marco Polo’s limited menu each evening) is that anyone could find something that they like.

The property/grounds are well kept, clean and very attractive. The rooms are “fair to good” however, they can be very noisy. I don’t know if this is because the rooms all have tile floors or because the walls are paper thin. We were lucky and did not have noisy neighbors; however from conversations with other vacationers’ poolside, some were not so lucky. They had to call down to the front desk, however to the hotel’s credit; they were very prompt in addressing the issue.

There are three pools, however only “two pool areas”. Two of the pools are connected and comprise the “family area”. As expected, these pools are more crowded (however, I would not necessarily say too crowded) while the third pool, which is designated for “Adults Only” was really very nice. Towards the end of our stay, I did notice that the pool was not looking as clean as it was in the earlier days of our stay and I wondered if the filtration system stopped working properly. There is also a Jacuzzi in the “Adults Only Area”; however I found that the jets on the far side of the Jacuzzi were not working the entire time we were there.

The “Family Pool Area” had activities going on almost throughout the day, both for adults and children. Interestingly enough and I thought this was very strange, the only “swim-up bar” on the grounds was located in the “family pool”. You would think it would be in the “Adult Only Pool”. Nevertheless, the drinks were easy to get at anytime (both by walking up to the bar(s) or from the waiter/waitresses), so the bar not being in the pool was not that big of an issue.

If you are going to Cancun for the “beach”… this is NOT the resort for you. Their beach was very small. Other properties (though not near the GR Solaris) appeared to have larger beaches. However, I believe many of the beaches have been washed away by storms.

The entertainment was ok from evening to evening; again it all depends on what you are looking for. Going into the “entertainment area” of Cancun is not difficult, the buses run all the time and it only costs 6 pesos per person to ride.

Speaking for pesos, tips are supposedly included in the all inclusive fees, however, most people appeared to be tipping (a dollar or two for food and/or drinks) so although it is not necessary, you may want to bring 30 to 50 singles depending on the length of your stay. The staff never hesitated to accept a tip, in fact, even though tips are supposedly included; the maid left a “tip envelope” in our room.

From what I saw (we did not bring children), children appeared to enjoy the GR Solaris and I can probably recommend the resort for families (especially since it IS all inclusive). There are both free and extra charge activities that can be enjoyed for all. We did take the Chichen Itza tour and all I can say is the day is very long and very hot. The tour bus we took was great, but it still left the hotel at 7:10AM and we did not get back until 7PM. I have to say it was worth it only because Chichen Itza is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. But, if you are not into archeological sites, then by all means don’t bother. By the way, if you do go on the tour, bring your own toilet paper and sanitary wipes.

Now, with GR Solaris and from what I understand other properties in Cancun (but not all), there is a hitch. If you are strong willed, there is not a problem, however, if you can be talked into buying, it could be a problem. They have some sort of “Vacation Club” that they pitch to you while you are there. The minute you check in, they ask you to schedule 90 minutes for a presentation that they would like to make. They offer upgrades and some additional perks if you agree to attended their 90 minute (which is actually 2 hours) presentation. They are not pushy during the presentation; however they do take three shots at you before it is finally all over. If you are interested, and it really does not sound like a horrible program, just don’t say “yes” until the third pitch. The best deals can be had at the end when you are about to walk away.

Overall, I would definitely recommend the GR Solaris and from what I heard from other guests who have been to other properties, they agree.

My girlfriend and I had a stay at the GR Solaris from July 13-17th 2008. This was our 2nd straight year staying at the GR Solaris. We had such a good time last year that we decided to book again at the GR Solaris since our expectations were raised so high after last year.

We got to the GR Solaris around 10:00AM and were told that our ocean view room was not ready yet. This was a little bit of a letdown since last year we were able to go straight to our room. We were told to come back to the front desk at 1:00 PM for check in. We decided to hang out around the resort and at the lobby bar area because we were pretty tired from our trip down and our lack of sleep the night before. At 1:00PM we ventured to the desk again and was told that check in is at 3:00PM and that we could not check in yet because the room was not ready yet. I was quite mad because we were told that the room would be ready at 1PM not 3PM. The person who told us the room was not ready was not the same person who quoted the 1:00PM time. I then told this man, the front desk supervisor, that his worker standing next to him quoted this time to us. He asked this worker about the situation and he denied that he ever told us a 1:00PM time. I was quite outraged over this and told them about our frustrations. The front desk was very unsympathetic and told us to come back in 1 more hour and it would be ready. At this point I was ready to go to another resort because I did not appreciate being called a liar by someone working there.

We came back at the quoted 2:00PM time and the supervisor said it would be ready in another 5 minutes. He handed us the room keys and we went straight up. The room was very nice & clean and what we expected. Water pressure was good and the AC was nice and cold. The room was just as good as last year.

We were in Cancun last year right before Hurricane Dean forced us to evacuate back to Pittsburgh. Clearly Dean did some damage to the beaches and waterfront all around Cancun. I was very surprised about the difficulty at times at getting in & out of the water. This difficulty was caused by the rocks that were hard to see from the beach level. After getting through this area which is rather small the water was excellent and warm.

The pool was just as great as last year and the service was splendid and always was with a smile. The entertainment staff was awesome again but only 2 faces from last years staff was still there this year. Alian and Christian were awesome. Alian was there last year as well. They were great at the pool side entertainment.

The food at the restaurants isn't world class but you have to remember that it is a resort. We made Marco Polo reservations our 1st night there and enjoyed it. The service of the staff was wonderful. This is by far the best place to eat at the resort. Since we are not picky eaters we didn't have any problems finding any food that we didn't like. My personal favorite at GR Solaris is the quality of the food at breakfast. Whether you get room service or go to Cafe Solaris it is just wonderful.


Our night outs every night began at the lobby bar at 9:00PM. It is recommended that you get there before 10:00PM if you want to have a place to sit to enjoy the dancing and drinking that the lobby bar provides every night. There is a mixture of local music and some American music played every night. I found that the strongest drinks came from the lobby bar. Around 11:00PM came the departure to the nightly bar of choice. For around $40 you can get an open bar, one way transportation and cover for great clubs like Senor Frogs, Daddy O's, Basic and Coco Bongo. Out of all of the places that we stayed we found Coco Bongo to be the absolute best. The poolside staff go with you on your night out and make sure that you get to your designated VIP area. The VIP area is nice because you really never have to leave that spot to have a good night and you never have to leave to go and get drinks. The drinks just keep on coming without even having to get them yourselves. People of all ages from the resort went out at night. Don't be scared off if your 40+. Go out and enjoy these places because they are packed full of people of all ages.

The housekeeping was always on time and always done very nicely. If you leave a tip they will do your towels in a cute animal arrangement. Our mini bar was also always restocked everyday for us.

The spa services are very nice. The both of us got a massage and the therapists were amazing. They took good care of us and were very professional.


Other than the poor/slow check in there were no complaints at all with GR Solaris. Everything was at or above the levels of service & fun we had last year during our stay.

The package price was great. All inclusive: food, drinks!
The staff were very hospitable... The only problem we had was after a long day, we had to lay on the hardest bed and listen to our next door neighbor through the connecting door all night long. If you need a good night sleep, do not stay here.

We stayed at the GR Solaris for 6 days on our honeymoon and it was great. There is plenty of options for restaurants, mostly buffets though. You can make reservations in the nicer restaurants very easily. The all-inclusive is the way to go! The drinks were really good and easily accessible, with waiters even taking orders down by the beach while you suntan! The staff is excellent and really takes care of it's guests and keeping their property neat and clean. This is the perfect vacation spot for R & R. You can take the bus down the strip to the flea markets (the bus stops every 5 minutes right in front of the hotel, and is only 65 cents.) We will definitely return to the GR Solaris.