We stayed in the Grand Mayan Nuevo Vallarta in Mexico with our children who are aged 9 and 12. I had first heard about the Grand Mayan, because a colleague said it was one of the great honeymoon spots in Mexico, but when he had been there, he said it would make a perfect 5 star family vacation, one of the good family vacation spots in Mexico, because of the number of things for kids to do.

So we read several Grand Mayan NuevoVallarta reviews and made the decision

Sufficient to say, we weren’t disappointed, although we had a golf course view suite. I hadn’t realised that time-share was such a big deal here, and something about sea view being for members was said. I’m not sue what that meant, except we had one approach at the beginning of our vacation, which we politely but firmly declined, and we weren’t bothered again.

The suite was impressively large, very clean, and very colourful.

There was lots of space for our family of four, and their beds were very comfortable, as was our king-sized bed, in our large master bedroom. The maids came in twice a day, and put the beds away, and then took them out at night for the children. Our bedroom had a large sitting area, settee, TV, and a great bathroom with Jacuzzi and separate shower.

We were high up, which meant we had a good view, and we didn’t have to look out over the building works, or hear the noises.

The swimming pools at the Grand Mayan were a highlight of our vacation, certainly plenty warm. The real star attraction is the lazy river which runs through the resort. You could rent tubes for next to nothing, and then spend hours drifting around the resort. There is a pool with waves, which was very popular with the children and grown ups too!!

Sunbeds on the beach were a bit of an issue, as in so many hotels, but I have to confess to arriving down there at around 7am to make sure we had beds. I hate this, but you have to fight fire with fire, and in Europe we are all used to it!!

The food was of variable quality, although the breakfast buffets at Samba were excellent.

There is a kitchen of sorts in the suite, but we don’t come on vacation to shop in supermarkets to save money, so it’s a question of finding a restaurant inside or outside of the resort that you like, and going there. I would recommend you dine at El Palomar. Also take a very short taxi ride, making sure you agree the price first, and try Fajitas Republic and Guido’s, plus a nice outdoor restaurant called Los Almendritos. Slightly further away is the Vista Grill, which has glorious views of the bay  and Puerto Vallarta, and is very good, but a bit expensive!!

My wife enjoyed the Brio Spa, and even I used it to work out in, although I did play some golf on the very well laid out golf course.

We had a good time at the Grand Mayan NuevoVallarta. It is a bit too American and brash really for us Europeans, but the facilities are second to none, and the children loved it.