Hello, My boyfriend and I are going to stay at the Gran Costa Real May 2006. I found these photos of the damage caused by Wilma. Copy this link into browser http://www.tacodip.net/Wilma/wilma6.html its from someone who got evacuated from the Gran Caribe.
New update for the Costa We have good news...... The Costa will reopen on the 1st!! We talked with Alex last night and made reservations for the 3rd-8th. I can't wait!!! My husband and I have our annual employee (Costa Real) employee party scheduled for the evening of the 6th. I am cooking and my husband and kids are serving. This is an annual event where we can give back to the employees that have made us feel so special for years and years. I am so glad that Wilma didn't ruin our annual get-together. If anyone would like to join us, let me know. We would love to have you.
January 4-8, 2006 I’m so glad to have found this message board! I am traveling to Cancun January 4-8th and staying at the Costa Real. I will be celebrating my 21st Birthday :happy birthday: with 5 other women. I have some burning questions that I hope some of you regulars to the hotel and Cancun can answer for me: 1. What is the current state of the hotel after Wilma? I’ve heard it was open 100% on December 1st, but other sites don’t say the same thing. Wondering especially how the beach, pool, restaurants, service, etc compare since then. The pictures I saw off a link from this board looked like the damage was pretty bad. 2. What are some of the biggest downsides to the hotel? Any words of advise: how to get an awesome upgrade to celebrate my birthday in style, where to eat, or where NOT to eat at the hotel. :beerdrink: 3. With the All-Inclusive plan, what alcoholic drinks are NOT included? :dave: I am one who enjoys the malted beverages or fruity drinks. I’m wondering if there are included in the all-inclusive package. Also, I’ve heard there are mini-bars in the rooms…but are these typical mini-bars where you pay big bucks to drink from? Or is this also included with All-Inclusive plans? 4. How are the rooms at the Costa? Particularly since Wilma. 5. How easy is the transportation to local nightclubs to use? Is it reasonably priced? How late does the transportation run? How far of walk are most of the clubs from the hotel?:cdncat: 6. Do you recommend any shopping centers in Cancun while we are there? 7. Has anyone used the services at the Caribe Real hotel? I’ve heard you can use your All-Inclusive plan there. Can you eat, drink, beach, and do anything there just as you can at the Costa or can you only use certain services at the Caribe? 8. Is January typically a busy time for Cancun, especially given the recent Hurricane damage? 9. Any of words of advice, ways to celebrate artytime:, etc would be much appreciated!!! :lotsofmichaelf: We originally were booked a Melia Turquesa, but the hotel was apparently heavily damaged and won’t be open for our trip, so we had to switch hotels. After much research, we decided on this one. My concern is that Cancun is really back up and running and the trip is as great as is sounded like it would be when we first booked in April 2005. I would greatly appreciate any and all comments on the hotel, conditions, and answers to the above questions! Thanks a lot….. Stephanie
Post wilma Pics? I am wondering if anyone has any pics of the Gran costa andor its beach post wilma. Their website acts like nothing ever happend in Cancun Thanks
I found some post-Wilma photos at this site: http://www.tacodip.net/Wilma/wilma2.html. This is the days immediately following the Hurricane, so obviously it has changed much since. I don't know of others, but someone may have some out there. Things seem to be sounding better....heading there in less than 7 days!!!!
Stayed at the Gran Coasta January 4-8th, 2006. The service was wonderful. We had a beautiful room, first floor- one pool side and the other ocean / beach side. Both were within steps of a bar! The hotel itself seemed very put together considering the devistation evident throughout Cancun. The pool was a bit smaller than expected and a bit crowded and noisey at times, but there were tons of little ones there while we were- possibly due to the time we were there (end of winter break). I think the biggest complaint is that you can't really sit in the lobby at the tables or bar at night and try to carry on a conversation with the people you are with. Entertainment was VERY loud and almost too much. Maria's restaurant at the hotel was fabulous! I was celebrating my 21st Birthday with some friends and we made reservations there for 830pm...they throw a WONDERFUL party and we didn't leave there until after 1030pm, though it didn't seem like we were there more than an hour or so. Staff was excellent. Try the Mayan Coffee after dinner-- I am not a coffee drinker, but that was some darn good coffee! Too bad we can't drink it every morning!!! Let me know if there's other questions I didn't answer... Stephanie
Stephanie I stayed there two years ago ... I found it awesome .. Remember u are on vacation ... The noise level what i excepted!! ITs canun!! But all and all Im glad u had a great time .. Lisa
true it is Cancun, but we weren't at a nightclub so I guess we expected a more relaxed atmosphere at the hotel in the evening to sit in the lobby and chat with. Nonetheless it was a good trip! stephanie
Gran Costa Real Pics: Views of hotel: and Views from room over looking ocean: Gran Costa Real Beach Bar: Inside the Room....and Yes I know its Messy ok: Some of the Food in the Restaurant:
LOCATION: I thought the location of the hotel was great. It was handy if you did go to La boom as it is just across the road. Easy distance home. But hey it was only a 10 minute bus ride if that to main clubbing area. The buses stop out the front all the time and from memory I think it was like 85c. There is also a big tower next door to the hotel which over looks all the Cancun district. It is unreal views and a must for all. THE HOTEL ITS SELF: From the moment we arrived we had that wow factor. It really is a quality hotel. It has a decent sized lagoon style swimming pool as you can see in the photos. There is a nice indoor bar and the ever popular beach bar. This is where I spent most of my time. The rooms were a decent size and were cleaned daily for us. If you can ask for an Ocean view room at check in. The views from my room compared to some of the others were out of this world. I think I was very fortunate with room I got. FOOD: As mentioned earlier there are 2 main restaurants at the hotel. 1 consists of sitting down all al a carte style food and the other was buffet. The be honest I only ate at the buffet restaurant as I could never be bothered making a reservation at the other restaurant. The food from the buffet restarant was amazing anyway. They had all your typical buffet style foods but also a guy working a BBQ. That was also. He would cook up scotch fillet steak and chops and other things. I just lived off the BBQ. Also you are allowed Room service once a day. I did not use this facility. I had a few mates staying at the hotel as well that were not on All Inclusive. Therefor there food was hell expensive. I gave them my key and they would go and sit in my room and order room service. I think they had things like burgers & fries, Pizza...all your usual take out food. I think 1 of the guys also ordered a lobster on 1 day. DRINKS: The most Important part of this hotel. Well that what I thought personally. If you are staying here make sure you are ALL INCLUSIVE. The drinks are quite expensive at this hotel also. If you have ALL INCLUSIVE you do not have to worry about anything. You can also order just about anything you want. Hence why I drank cocktails for a majority of the time I was there. They have all your hosue spirits there as well (Jim Beam,Bicardi,Vodka,Obviously Tequilla....etc.) Service: The staff at the hotel will bend over backwards for you. If your sitting on the beach and you are feeling hungry you can just call a staff member over and they will arrange for some food for you. I would normally get a burger or pizza to snack on. They are friendly and will always have a yarn to you. If you need anything they will help you out straight away. Activities: Each morning I woke up I would look out on my balcony and there were people in the pool doing water aerobics. It looked like a hell of fun......but I could never be bothered. They would set up Beach Volleyball Tournaments and Beach Soccer tournaments which was always a heap of fun....especially after a few drinks. Being springbreak they also had a few other activities on as well. Such as the Beer drinking contest, the Belly Flop Beach Body Contest and the Tequilla Volleyball. These were hillarious to watch and participate in. The other thing I noticed is when they do have some kind of activity running....alot of people at the hotel get involved which I think is important. Downside: To be honest there was not much I could fault about the hotel. The only thing I didnt appreciate was having to pay $40USD to bring a lady friend into the hotel late at night. But I think you will find these are common fees for most hotels around Cancun for guests after hours.
