We booked at the GOV knowing that it had just changed over to the new concept and that it would be a slow and gradual change. This review is on our experience this visit, and for the benefit of anyone who is considering booking instead of going TTR in the near future. We cannot say what it will be or is going to be in the future. Last year we went to TTR for 2 weeks and decided that was a bit too long. This year we decided we would go for 10 days, and find a more relaxed adults only venue for the last 4 days. When we found out about GOV we thought this would be perfect. It is still a topless optional, adult resort, but would be less crazy all the time. Despite how every year we say we will take days to relax at TTR it just never seems to happen. The hotel is very nice. The rooms are big, clean and have very large bathrooms. All the rooms have an ocean view. Our fridge and air conditioning didn’t work, and neither were fixed even though we let them know about it and were told a maintenance person would be up to fix it, but that is typical of any hotel in Mexico. The staff is all very nice, efficient and very professional. We received a LOT of information about the hotel immediately, and definitely felt that they were trying to make their guests feel welcome. We arrived with another couple and they immediately attempted to accommodate us getting rooms close together. However, within minutes we realized that if any one of these people spent 1 hour at TTR they would most likely be traumatized! The minute you walk into the building it feels like you are at a high end, almost business type hotel. Which is great if that is what you want. It is definitely a place to go if you want great customer service (well, unless your fridge and air conditioning isn’t working) and a very relaxing vacation. We really did think all the staff was amazing. The four of us realized within half an hour that we were going to be extremely bored for the rest of our trip. The atmosphere is very similar to that of any other boring adult resort we have been to. People keep to themselves and there really is nothing fun going on at all during the day. We saw maybe 2 people in the pool the entire 4 days we were there. There are about 12 chairs at the pool, and it is extremely cold. It isn’t really set up well at all. Everyone lounged on chairs at the beach most of the time. There was absolutely no entertainment during the day on the days we were at the pool. We asked one of the staff if there were any shows that afternoon and he looked at us like we were crazy. Later on that day a couple staff members were bouncing a soccer ball on their heads on the stage. Nobody was topless at all, other than a small group of girls the first day, and that was only for a short while. I was the only one topless on the beach (and nobody was at the pool as usual) the whole next day. On the second day my friend and I decided that after 10 days of being topless, we were just going to go ahead and take the plunge and be the only ones. We sat in one of the hot tubs topless for a couple hours and the looks we got from people were the same you would expect at your local beach. We would have thought that nobody expected anyone to be topless. Some people walked by twice to get another look and others were pointing and whispering and were looking absolutely shocked. It was funny at first, but after a while it really got to be annoying. We talked to some of the staff and they seem to think the resort changeover has made a huge change in the atmosphere and people. Again, if they were subjected to even a mild day at TTR I’m not sure they would recover. The staff is so mild mannered and professional, I can honestly say it would be uncomfortable being crazy and wild around them. We talked to the entertainment staff, and were told specifically that they are very tired of hearing that it is not anything like Temptation, that they NEVER want it to be anything like Temptation, and that if people are looking for that they should go to Temptation. We were told that what they are looking for is “classy” but open-minded. Not exactly sure what that is, but so far it seems like that means very boring. The entire time we were at the resort we didn’t see one indication that they were promoting the new concept whatsoever. There was no mention of theme nights, no mention of topless optional and no day time entertainment. The first night we saw a show at the Coyote Bar that was definitely adult themed, and the dancers were good, but the stage is very small, and the bar is set up in a way that it is hard for many people to even see the show. There were not many people watching the show anyway, which we found odd considering the hotel is so big and it was at full capacity. The second show we saw was a drum/fire show which could have been shown at any resort, including a family resort. It seemed worth watching, but it was set up on a tiny square of the beach in front of the stage, and the only people that could see it were the people that got the 20 or so chairs that were set up ON THE STAGE facing the show. People that were trying to find a spot to see anything were getting frustrated and leaving (including us) because there was no place to stand that you could see if you weren’t sitting on the chairs on the stage. After the show they announced they would have another show in the Coyote Bar. We walked over there to get a good seat...only to find that would not be a problem. There were about 10 people in the bar. The show initially seemed like it would be good, but it consisted of getting 3 guys up to do a very tame pole dancing contest, which ended in about 10 minutes. And that was it for entertainment for the evening. The bars also all close at 1:00 a.m. And there is no food available at that time except for room service. There are also lines for EVERYTHING because there are so many people at the resort. You can’t even go to the buffet and sit down. You have to line up and wait to be seated, and almost always have to wait no matter where you go. There are single line ups for the bars, line ups for the restaurants, and line ups for the elevators (which fit about 4 people – seriously – and are either pitch dark (very awkward and creepy) or not working. Most of the restaurants have very limited seating so the wait time is very long to get in. We realize that a resort is not going to change overnight, but the four of us agreed that it really would be hard to imagine this ever being a TTR alternative for anyone that loves the TTR atmosphere. Even if there were groups of open minded people, because the hotel is so big, there will always be a large portion of guests who are way more reserved and most likely offended by any crazy behavior. I am not sure anything other than just being topless would even be tolerated there. It’s easy to say you wouldn’t care and would just be crazy anyway, but when you have people looking horrified at you constantly (and just for being topless) it really would get old quickly. We didn’t meet or talk to anyone the entire time we were there, which has never happened at TTR. You can’t help but meet someone even just grabbing a drink at TTR. People really stick to their own groups, and you get the impression that it would seem weird to just start talking to people randomly. There are so many people at this resort, that even if you did talk to someone at the bar or on the beach, you most likely would never run into them again. We found the age group a little odd as well. There were lots of people in their late 50s and 60s +, and lots of groups of early 20 year olds running around trying to hook up with each other. One thing we also didn’t like was that almost nobody dressed up EVER. 95% of the people went to the restaurants, shows and bars in shorts, beachwear or jeans and t-shirts or sweat shirts. We love that everyone at TTR always dresses up in the evenings. So, if you are looking for a relaxing adults only resort that you can just lay around by the beach and not be around kids this would be a great place to go. If you love the TTR atmosphere, and can’t imagine just sitting around at the beach and not talking to anyone unless you already know them, this probably isn’t the place you want to be. For now anyway.
Thanks for the TR..not sure if I'm happy about what I've read, we're booked for a few days in May... I don't think I want to cancel, will give it a try.. but thanks for the heads up..
I agree with Jeff and Deb, we are hoping to book tomorrow. Thanks for your review and candid thoughts.
April will be better. Have a good group going If people look at us funny. Oh well. I'm sure I will laugh or with my humour invite them over Lol Btw. Were the hotubs free. Or 11 bucks ?
Let us know how it goes! They were free when we were there. I think they just changed it before we got there.
Very good trip report. Its appears to be honest and objective. From what I've heard, its hard to believe GOV would ever become the type of adult all-inclusive resort we like to visit in the spring. They appear to be struggling with their identity and it may take months to figure that out. In the meantime, we are glad to be booked at TTR this April.
Thanks for the review. Looking forward to our trip getting out of the freezing cold. So we will enjoy our time and give it our best.
Thanks. I have a feeling they will calm down any crazyness that's about to happen as to not be compared to Temptation
