Tara McKinnon
**edited at bottom**
We have been coming to Palace Resorts since our honeymoon in January 2014. This is the first time we have been to this property where we have not been absolutely blown away by the service, food and overall quality. We are so saddened by the state of the property during this visit. We had originally booked 9 nights at sunrise, but because this was the first trip our 3 kids have had the opportunity to have together and the fact that we were celebrating beating CANCER, we decided to splurge on The Grand. NOT WORTH DOUBLE THE COST -even at the reduced member rate that we are guaranteed as elite members.
This is not the same company it once was. If you have been here in the past; do not be fooled things, are changing.
We shared our concerns with the membership sales team when we went to renew and they offered to upgrade us and give us credits to use on our stay. The benefits they offered were intended to try and remind us why we love coming here, but they come with the condition that if you take the upgrade and still end up leaving unhappy, they don’t offer refunds or discounts, they will make you pay back the cost difference of the upgrade. “Nothing is for free” Randy, our sales agent told us. Why would we just give you a great experience you have already paid close to 20k for? Also the upgrade to remind us why we love Palace resorts was only if we invested in our membership, so we actually had to put our deposit down on our new membership before they even gave us the upgrades and then when we went to sign the contract and read the fine print we realize that that was not just an upgrade to show us they care, it was an upgrade with the conditions that if we still were not convinced, we would have to pay back $7000 USD plus the resort credits; that are really not worth anything in the real world because the company give them away constantly to everyone all the time throughout the year. Except us apparently, even though we booked 2 rooms for 9 nights 🤷🏼♀️
Now Internet, please don’t come at me telling me this is first world problems because you’re exactly right. It is first world problems. This is a five star resort charging us five star prices and providing us 3 to 4 star accommodation if I was staying at a three or four star resort then I would have the expectations of that property to provide service and accommodation of that level. I guess they just assumed that you’re so happy to be in a tropical climate eating and drinking that you should just be thankful for what they’re giving you? In my experience in my 25+ years in client facing services that rely on customer relations in public relations and customer service. This is not how you treat people.
We are still here and they have six nights to remind us why we come here, however at this rate, I don’t foresee another palace trip in the future which they don’t seem to care about because the sales people told us several times that they don’t need our money and don’t have to do anything to make up for unacceptable incidents during our trip because they have people buying $2 million residences and mansions therefore, really don’t need us regular folk. According to the documentation that they shared with us, we are just baby investors and although they sell hard to get you to invest, we’re really not any concern to them and they don’t need to do anything to improve our stay because they don’t need our 120 K 40 K 50 K membership that we could have potentially invested in.
We are going to put this behind us and we are going to try to have the most amazing family vacation that we have ever had and just put our blinders on and just appreciate the time that we have together.
I really hope no one else has had this similar experience. Hopefully we’re outliers and this is a weird one off.
**edit**
Thanks so much for that lip service Carlos but we didn’t hear from you today and our daughter was assaulted in your arcade tonight, so forgive me if I’m not convinced. It doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything about anything.
Lynda Alvarado
Top-Notch Experience — No Need to Leave the Resort
This resort truly offers everything you need for a great vacation. There’s an abundance of food, a wide variety of activities, and plenty of options to keep everyone entertained. It’s an excellent choice for families traveling with kids and teens—a perfect mix for all ages.
Our children especially loved the circus-themed restaurant, the massive slides, and the arcade. We enjoyed relaxing in the lazy river and appreciated the overall elegance of the hotel. A standout feature was the complimentary shuttle service to nearby sister hotels, which were just a short ride away. The Japanese restaurant at one of the sister properties was fantastic, offering flavorful sushi and a great selection.
Juliet Lopez
I stayed at Moon Palace Grand for my daughter’s birthday with family, and unfortunately, the experience was very underwhelming. While the resort looks beautiful at first glance, there are several things that made our stay less than enjoyable.
First, the resort is massive—so large that you have to rely on golf carts to get around, which takes forever. This might sound fun, but it ends up being a major inconvenience, especially with kids. The app is supposed to help you navigate with an interactive map, but it barely works, and everything is done through that app. If you’re not tech-savvy, you’re out of luck because staff aren’t proactive about helping or guiding you.
The food was just okay—nothing special. Most restaurants felt very average, and there wasn’t anything that stood out as exceptional. The water park and pools close ridiculously early, which left us with nothing to do with the kids after a certain time. Only one small pool stays open until 8 PM, and even that felt limiting for a resort of this size and price point.
The beach is dirty and I would not recommend swimming. The water is very murky. Stay elsewhere if you’re looking for nice beach views.
The Wired Lounge, which is meant to be a fun space for kids and teens, was chaotic. There’s no structure or staff enforcing any kind of order, so some kids hog the games for hours while others don’t get a turn.
On top of all that, the entire place feels like a sales pitch. From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, staff constantly push promotions and offers for a future stay. Even at checkout, when I was in a rush to gather my family and check out, I was being cornered with a pitch to book again. When I declined, the attitude changed quickly—they act like they’re helping, but it’s all about the sale.
All in all, I expected so much more for the cost. There was very little genuine hospitality, too much focus on upselling, and not enough to justify returning. I won’t be coming back.
Yelaine Bartolome Sierra
We had an amazing stay at Moon Palace! Excellent food, pools, room service, and beautiful amenities. Top restaurants: Riviera Maya (thank you Eugenio!) and La Cantina (José was fantastic). Buffets were great—thanks to Erick and Suguedy at breakfast.
We celebrated our kids’ birthday with mariachis at La Cantina—a beautiful surprise! The staff throughout the resort was kind and helpful. Everything felt safe and clean, and excursions were easy to book.
The entire experience in Mexico was unforgettable—so many warm and kind people. We can’t wait to come back!
Only downsides: limited use of resort credits, sales offers, and some beach odor—but nothing that affected our amazing trip.
Overall, highly recommended!
Maruthu Chandrasekaran
We stayed at Moon Palace Sunrise for 3 days and 3 nights, and unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations — especially as the final stop of our 2-week trip across the U.S. and Mexico.
To start with the positives: the resort is large, clean, and well-maintained. The breakfast and lunch buffets were good, with plenty of variety. There are several restaurants on-site, though most of the à la carte meals we tried were quite average for a resort of this level.
One highlight was the evening entertainment — the shows were well-organized, lively, and a pleasant way to end the day. The effort the entertainment team put in definitely added some value to the overall experience.
However, the biggest letdown was the “tour” offered to us at check-in. We were told it would be a short visit to promote Moon Palace Grand, in exchange for breakfast, a day pass, and $300 in resort credit — just 90 minutes of our time. It sounded like a decent complimentary offer, especially during a short stay.
In reality, it turned into a high-pressure sales pitch for their membership program that lasted well over 3 hours. We ended up wasting nearly half a day of our vacation — time we couldn’t afford to lose. I understand the resort may respond with a standard reply, but I’m sharing this to warn others who may be offered the same.
We also got a chance to explore the Grand, and honestly, it wasn’t very impressive. Having stayed in other all-inclusive/luxury resorts during our trip — including in New York, Mexico City, and Tulum — we found Moon Palace to be the most underwhelming. When booking, I had considered choosing the Grand instead of Sunrise, but I’m glad I didn’t spend the extra money.
Overall, while the resort has some strengths — particularly the well-kept grounds and enjoyable shows — the average dining and misleading promotional tactics made this a disappointing end to an otherwise great trip. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t return or recommend it.
My Booking
