Grand Review After reading reviews that were all over the place, I was determined to write a review after our 4 night stay Jan 14-18. Most people may be aware, but I will reiterate that this resort is new and was supposed to open in October last year 2022. I know they were struggling to get that accomplished when the resort got hit by a hurricane so they pushed back the opening until December and have kept the resort at restricted capacity while they try and finish up some loose ends. We are Premier members and have stayed multiple times at both Temptation Cancun and Desire Riviera Maya. We are not LS, but we love the atmosphere and people at these resorts. That being said, here’s our 2 cents… Transportation: American asked to see our Dominican QR code when we checked in, but no one else asked for it. Arrived PUJ Saturday. I had heard the wait times at the airport were long. We got off the plane, got to customs, and there was no wait. Went to the bathroom and waited for my man. Unbeknownst to me he decided to change his clothes. As I’m waiting, the line continued to grow and grow. Finally he came out and we got in line. It took us about 20-25 minutes to get through. Words of wisdom. If there is a short line, wait until after customs to go to the bathroom. Wasn’t a huge deal though, since we still had to wait about 5 min for our bags. We had scheduled transportation through the resort, and it was easy. Just go all the way outside to where the transportation actually is and there are kiosks on the left with numbers under the counter. Then they checked us in and took us to where our vehicle would pick us up. It was about an 1 hour 20 min to the resort. It was raining, but it is a beautiful ride. Temptation Grand: Room types: We decided to try 2 different room types, the Tropical Fantasy for 2 nights and the Affair Jacuzzi Suite for 2 nights. We also did a tour of a Lovers Swim Out. The basic rooms here are much nicer than any in Cancun, even though you can see the construction was rushed. Much bigger, more modern and have great lighting. The main difference between the basic Tropical room and the Affair Suite, is that it is a bigger room, with a bigger couch, a jacuzzi tub, and a slightly different layout. There are also extra amenities that come with the Affair Suite (such as a butler), but if you’re a Premier member these things are already included. We never use the jacuzzi tub, so for more than double the money, we will probably always pick the Tropical Fantasy. The Swimout is a beautiful 2 story room, with the bedroom and bath upstairs and entertaining area and 2nd bathroom and swim out pool on the main level. If you like to entertain or have a group of people, it would be perfect. Because it just the 2 of us and we don’t have prepaid rooms (we only have discounted rooms) The tropical fantasy is our room preference. Also as a side note, there really weren’t any rooms with a view. There were only two views. Garden or a pool view. None of them really had a view of the ocean. Adjoining Resorts: So if you are staying at the Grand, you have access to both resorts, Temptation & the Grand. You can either walk over the bridge or someone in the lobby can take you via golf cart. We walked most of the time. Temptation has a great layout, and the beach area is beautiful. We also preferred the style of entertainment. Rooms are much bigger than Cancun’s. Definitely a younger crown. Because Temptation is so big and had limited capacity, it felt empty, but Mochafest was coming in the day after we left so I’m sure things will pick up. We liked staying at the Grand and having the option to go to Temptation. It added a lot more options for entertainment, vibe and food. Pools and Beaches: So there are 2 pools. Main Pool and Hot Pool upstairs. Originally both pools were supposed to be “au natural”, but right before the resort opened the main pool became topless only, leaving just the upstairs area the only nude section. Not really a deal breaker for us but I think some people were disappointed. Hoping this is just a temporary restriction. The main pool struggled most days because of how cold it was and definitely needs a heater, but one of the playmakers said they were working on it. Went to a regular resort after our Grand stay that had the same problem so this is not just a 1 resort problem. On the cold rainy days, the “hot pool” was where everyone congregated. Chill vibe, great bartender Sonia. On the sunny days, it would be nice to have some shaded pool areas for us “muy blanco” people and even the bartenders. All in all, though, great layout and play to hang. I also heard they had problems with the temperature before we arrived, but it seems to be fine now. The beach is a virgin beach, newly cleared for this resort and not much around. Water is very calm but more green than blue. The grand beach is more secluded and it’s hard to see the water. They did a good job with the beach area but it’s not really on the water. It’s behind a row of vegetation, beautiful but not typical beachfront area. Temptation beach area is actually more of a typical beach area, so it’s easy to just walk next door and hang on their beach. Food: The food is very similar to their Mexican counterparts. Above average and the people that frequented Hedonism said it was better here. We had a few meals at Temptation, one at the pool restaurant and one at She. They were fine, but the food at the Grand was better. Overall we would say the Grand food is about a 7 of 10. Atmosphere: The first 1 1/2 days, we were a little meh. I’m not really sure if it was the rain, or the fact that the resort was only at 30% capacity, but there just wasn’t much energy, even though the playmakers were trying their hardest. Finally the weather broke and more people started arriving and things picked up. So there is usually a “cadence” at DRM, where you go to the pool, go to dinner, dress up, go to the show, go to the disco, then the hot tub, then the main bar for late night cocktails and pizza. Slightly different here, but there were a lot of first timers too, many from Hedonism. Not as many people dressing up yet, but we didn’t let that stop us. The entertainment was similar each night. Really good band and dancers at 9:30, followed by playmaker and guest dancing. We started going next door after the Grand entertainment for the 10:30 show at Temptation which was a little more “show-like” such as belly dancers, fire dancers, acrobatics, etc. followed by more guest/playmaker dancing. Unfortunately no one really used the disco, which was a shame because that’s one of my favorite things at DDR. It was empty most of the time. Not sure if it’s because many people were tired after dancing at both the Grand and Temptation entertainment, or what. It was beautiful, but I did miss the big video screen and pole at DRM disco. The playroom at DRM has a slightly better ambiance. I prefer soft or colored lights and the sheer curtains. The tv screens were distracting to me, but that’s just a personal preference. The 3rd and 4th days things picked up and we really started having fun. The sun came out and more people braved the chilly pool for activities. The playmakers were very enthusiastic and welcoming, greeting us every day. Especially Coffee & Mick. They greeted us every day and sat and talked with smiles. The fourth night was awesome! More people, more people dressing up, more people partying. Service: The employees were all very friendly, even with a slight language barrier. We were told the resorts are working with employees to better their English, but having the translate ap on you phone is helpful. The Grand playmakers are even more energetic and enthusiastic than DRM. All in all we had a great experience. If you would have asked us the during 2nd day, I’m not sure we would have said we wanted to come back, but by day 4 we were planning our next trip : ) Like with any new resort, it has its bugs to work out, but I really believe as capacity increases and the workers get more experienced, this place is going to be amazing. We talked to a quite a few couples that felt the same way, so I think our impression is fairly accurate. It’s a raw Diamond that just needs a little more polishing.
Great trip report! Can I ask, if you weren't Premier, would you still have had a good time? I ask because while we have visited Temptation and Desire over a dozen times, altogether. We are not members and it's been getting harder & harder to find decent seating (at both the Sexy Pool and at Bash; not too bad with Desire)
So sorry for the delayed response. I didn’t get a notification on your post. I don’t think the Premier was a big advantage here. There were plenty of seats, but I’m not 100% sure if that was because we were at limited capacity or if that would be like that normally.
We went to Miches Grand in late February for a week and immediately booked another trip. We’ll be there again on May 3 - 9. We had so much fun and we loved how you could walk back and forth between the two resorts, since we booked at Grand. The restaurants are fantastic on both sides of the resort. We’ve been to TTR CUN 30+ times and actually prefer Miches over TTR Cancun. Sure the drive is longer than CUN but the road is new and it’s a scenic drive. We got a private shuttle and told our driver to have beers iced and ready. He delivered! Overall, the resort far exceeds the amenities in Cancun at TTR. If you like the rooms at DesirePearl and Riveria Maya, then you’ll be right at home at Miches Grand. The beach at Miches is better than Cancun and Riveria Maya. Also, the hot tub and pool at Grand are better than anything at Desire. The “fun factor” at the TemptationCancun pool will hopefully be matched and exceeded when the crowd size at both resorts is the same. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.
