Hello all! My husband and I are planning a Cancun vacation for mid April and have become interested in the Golden Parnassus. I have a few questions though before we book.. I have read quite a bit about a booking problem with this hotel. Is this a common problem? I do not want to book and fly down only to be sent somewhere else because they accidentally overbooked! If anyone can offer any info and help ease my mind on this, I'd greatly appreciate it! We are very strict on our hotel's beach. Does the Golden Parnassus have a nice beach (meaning not too many rocks.. can you actually walk without hurting yourself and swim in the ocean form their access point)? Some reviews I've read lead me to believe that there is waitstaff on the beach who bring you drinks. Is this true? Or do you have to go back up to the bar for every round? That's all for now. I am sure I will have more questions soon though! We appreciate your help! We are down to the Golden Parnassus and the Riu Palace Peninsula (as both the Riu Cancun and the Riu Caribe are not available during our dates) and we would love to widdle these two down to just one and finally make our reservations. Thanks again!
Check out the beach on youtube.... It looks pretty good. The wind looks to be the biggest negative. Was planning on going to GP ourselves this year but didn't book over a silly little reason like not all rooms have a fridge with bottle water... Still going to Cancun but just not at GP.... Still would like to try it sometime...
Hi and welcome to the board. Being sent over to the Great does happen. It seems that March and April are the biggest times this happens, usually it's for a night or two. You can still go to the golden on the shuttles provided by the hotel. The beach at the Golden is nice, no rocks, there is wait staff and a bar down on the sand by the chairs at the ocean. I'm not sure how far out toward the water they go though.
Bumping usually happens end of feb to end of March. In April there isn't really any worry of being bumped. I've been there 7 times.... 3 of those in April. We were only asked to be bumped twice.... one was March 11th and the following year on March 20th. The second time we asked very nicely, stayed calm, and they were able to find a room for us. The first year we were supposed to be bumped only for 1-2 days... they called to tell us that our room was ready and we liked it so much at Great that we turned it down. We slept at great and partied at golden during the day. Of the times that I have been in April I have never been bumped or heard of anyone being bumped. It really only happens mid feb to like March 26th ish. It'll certainly decrease by Easter. The fact that in 19 days it will be my 8th visit should say something about the hotel. It's more than just a hotel. The staff is family. I'll never stay anywhere else even if they offer to wipe my butt and spoon feed me! lol There is waitstaff on the beach and by the pool. I have been told numerous times that GP has the best strip of beach. However.... something that is fairly common no matter what hotel you stay at on the right side of the "7" .... there is a strong undertow/rip current. A lot of times the flag is red. This is only for your safety. It doesnt mean that you can't swim.... but it does mean that you should not swim. I wouldn't go into the ocean without swim shoes. Ever since 2009 or so..... all of the hurricanes destroyed the beaches. They spent like 15 million dredging and restoring.... but a good amount of that has already eroded. If you are looking for calm shores... try Playa norte on Isla Mujeres or at the right tip of the "7". It's beautiful, calm, and you can walk out pretty far and it's not that deep!
