My wife and I made the trip to the Golden Parnassus the week of Jan 23-30 2015. We booked through Sunwing vacations and flew direct from Toronto to Cancun. Flights Not much to say here. We arrived on time and had seats next to each other. The food was on par with most airline food. Wine was free during lunch but I didn't have any. Transfer/Check In We took the Sunwing transfer from the Airport to the hotel. There was only one other couple in the van with us so it was a quick trip, maybe 20 minutes (although our driver Scared us by turning into the Great Parnassus by mistake) Check In was smooth but a little long. We were so ready to get into our room, change into swim suits and get to the pool so if it was a little quicker that would've helped. One REALLY nice surprise was we were upgraded to a suite on the 6th floor (rm 601). Room The room was great. We were in room 601, which is a suite on the 6th floor facing the lagoon. The room was a good size. The bed was VERY comfortable. The fridge didn't work very well, but it wasn't a big deal. The room had a 2 person jacuzzi tub that we used once, but not with the jets. The balcony was really nice for hanging out on and the sunsets were beautiful. The bathroom was nice. Only once did we not have hot water for a shower. The in room safe was large enough for my mac book. I will say that being on the 6th floor was nice as there was no issue with noise. Also, rooms 1-14 are in my opinion on the quiet end of the hotel. Food/Booze We ate at all the a la carte restaurants at least once. My wife's favourite was the Old Barn because of their soup. I liked the Shangri-la best. But all restaurants, the buffet, and the snack bar were all good. My wife has a sensitive stomach and a gluten allergy and loved the food. As for the bars, we spent time at all the different bars throughout the week. There isn't any top shelf liquor so if you're looking for something special, you will have to bring it with you. I'm not a big Bacardi fan, but they did have Appletons as an alternative. Oh and Dos Equis is the beer on the resort. The pool bar was always a busy place and fun to hang out at during the day or late at night. The lobby bar was usually busy just before dinner. The 60's bar was on and off, but when it was busy there were people playing pool, cards, ping pong and dancing. One place we didn't hang out was the beach bar. Pool/Hot Tub Both the pool and hot tub were busy spots. It was sometimes difficult to get a lounge chair, meaning you could just hang out on the pool edge until a couple opened up. The hot tub really got going around 4:00pm when the sun was setting behind the resort. The temperature wasn't really hot, more warm but it was nice to sit in during the late afternoon. Unfortunately the pool didn't have a swim up bar, but getting a drink wasn't much of a problem as they had drink service around the pool or you could walk up to the pool bar. Spa We visited the spa one day for a massage and my wife got a facial. We attended the 'vacation club' presentation at the Great Parnassus which gave us a 2 for 1 voucher for the spa. The services were really well done. The whole spa experience was really relaxing for us...I almost went back for a second massage. Entertainment If you're bored at this resort it's your own fault. There is always something on the go if you want to keep busy, or if you want to just relax they won't hound you to participate. We enjoyed the target shooting (both BB and Paint guns), the horse shoe throwing, and the water aerobics. We would've played water and/or beach volleyball but I rolled my ankle on some wet steps and couldn't participate. The night entertainment at the show was also well done. The dance routines were fun to watch and not too long (about an hour). TIP: If you are going to one of the shows bring at least one drink with you as they don't serve during the shows. Staff Best staff I have ever seen at an all inclusive resort. Everyone from the Guest Services guy (Eric) to the Entertainment Staff (Denise and Mexican Burrito) to the bar and wait staff (Fonzy), and the cleaning and maintenance crew do a wonderful job. The resort isn't the newest around, but this staff makes up for a lot. Misc The resort doesn't have free internet. I heard that you could tap into the Secrets wifi but we weren't able to get it on our iPhones. They wanted a room number and last name to prove you were guests. There were a bank of computers on the main floor that had 'pay as you go' internet. I think we paid $5US for a half hour, which you didn't have to use all at once. As for WIFI, it was $15US for 24 hours, or $30US for a week. There were 2 shops that we visited. One was mainly for women and had dresses, and swim wear. The other had souvenirs, gifts, and personal items. Both do not give you the best exchange for your US$$ so try to pay pesos. The location of the resort was nice. There was a lot of things within walking distance, or you could hop on the bus for $1. We did the 'Jungle Cruise' excursion which included a 1 hour boat ride out to a coral reef for snorkelling. I would recommend this but try to go on a calm day as the power boats aren't overly big and they bounce around in the waves. I think this cost $70US/person. We did visit the Great Parnassus twice. Eric from guests services promised us a bunch of stuff to go take the vacation club tour which we did. It was about 90 minutes and they took 'no' for an answer when we didn't buy into the club. It is a really nice resort and ate at their buffet for lunch while we were there. There is definitely more choice for food at their buffet. We also went out for dinner at their Mexican restaurant one night. It was really good and worth the trip. The resort is much larger than the Great Parnassus, and really caters to families. Overall, I would say we were satisfied with our trip and plan to return again.
So how was the beach? How were you upgraded to a suite? Did you ask to be upgraded? So many questions!
we went here last year and if we wrote a TR. it would be just like this one,except you failed to say the beach was amazing way better then TTR,,,,we would def go back .TTR is a first choice but if you really dont want to party like rock stars GP is the place....cheers,,,,,,april 26/2015 TTR 5th time cant wait
Answers to Questions: The Tiki bar was busy most nights, but not ALL night every night. What I mean by that is some nights I would get busy around 10:00 and be done by 12:00. Other nights it wouldn't get going until 12:00 and be busy until 2:00 or later. The one night when it wasn't very busy at all was when a bunch of people went to Coco Bongo's The Beach was really nice. It was groomed everyday. The lounge chairs on the beach were nicer than the pool loungers. We didn't spend a lot of time on the beach because it was windy all week. That was fine with me, I liked the pool. I'm not sure how we got the upgrade. We just showed up and they had us sign for the room key and informed us of the free upgrade. It was really nice of them. Here's a link to my Youtube vid of the trip. I hope you enjoy.
I am going to guess the night life is still no where near the Paty-O's experience? Vodkatonic nailed it - we are only considering this place in April due to the beach (may split few nights between TTR and GP). Everytime we go to TTR we end up taking the bus to Dolphin Beach and walking the big beach down to the Hilton (miles) and bus back to TTR.
Thanks for answering our questions and for the awesome video! Looks like a blast, can't wait until March 11!
