The all new Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa is a modern and stylish 5-star beachfront all- inclusive resort located on a beautiful unspoiled Costa Mujeres beach located 20 minutes north of Cancun along the shores of the Mexican Caribbean. My family had the opportunity to visit and stay at the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa last week between Christmas and New Year’s (2018) and experience the “Infinite Indulgence” provided by the resort and its staff.

The Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa is an ideal all-inclusive resort for families, couples, destination weddings and large groups. The property is located near Isla Holbox, Isla Blanca and Isla Mujeres with plenty of options for day time excursions. However, there is so much within the resort, there is little reason to leave.

The Grand Palladium Resort & Spa

The Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa is comprised of 670 rooms located in six separate buildings a restaurant village, a spectacular gym and spa, two main pools, and an amazing white sand beach. A man-made canal winds through the property with electric boats to shuttle guests between restaurants, rooms, the beach and spa.

Restaurants and Bars

Resort guests have choice of 7 ala carte and 2 show cooking restaurants. In addition, there is a grill station set up poolside each afternoon. Isla Blanca, the main restaurant with buffet and cook to order (show cooking) stations is located within what I refer to as the Main Resort Building along with the resort reception, front desk and lobby bar. Isla Blanca also features a smoothie, Bloody Mary and mimosa bar. A short walk away is the Village Mall which is accessible by walk ways or canal boat from other sections of the hotel.

Village Mall

The Village Mall is an area set away from the guest rooms that is home to restaurants, bars, convention center/ballroom, shops, chapel and theater. Ala carte restaurants include Italian, Mexican, Thai, Japanese including Sushi Bar and Teppanyaki, Mexican, Steakhouse and Sports Bar. Within each restaurant is a small bar. Guests of the Family Selection, TRS and members of the Palladium Club can make reservations. For guest of the Grand Palladium, dining can be a little tricky during peak dining times as the more popular restaurants tend to be booked. We arrived early around 6pm and had no problem getting in to our first choice each night. In addition, the Village contains the teen center, coffee shop, Aqua Bar (a cool bar sunk into the canal), Theater Bar and shops.

Oceanfront Dining

“The Poseidon” provides open air dining overlooking the beach and sea. This restaurant is behind the Family Selection and for that reason appeared to be much less crowded. We enjoyed both relaxing breakfasts and lunches at the Poseidon. The restaurant offers both ala carte service and a show cooking buffet with fresh fish, meat and Mexican specialties.

Chic Cabarate

The Chic Cabarate is an adult only dining experience that include vibrant nightlife surprising guests with amazing shows which is quite popular. There is an extra charge for Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa guests. TRS Coral and Family Selection guests have one night included per stay.

Bars

With 19 bars and a cool coffee shop located throughout the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa, one does not need to venture far to find a watering hole. The Aqua Bar is a unique bar set down below the surface of the canal next to the Village Mall. This is an excellent place to stop for a pre or post meal cocktail. The 24-hour sports bar features a salad bar and made to order sandwiches and snacks. Within the sports bar is a game area with gaming stations, pinball pool and table soccer tables. As a avid sports fan during football bowl season, I was glad to see they had no issues finding whatever game I wanted to watch. Both pools have pool side bars with the main pool featuring a swim up bar. This was quite popular with adults and kids a like.

Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa – Pools

In the center of the property is a large swimming pool, featuring daily activities and entertainment. Next to the main pool is the kids club and water park geared toward kids 4-12 years old. Guests enjoy poolside waiter service or can keep cool at the swim up Splash pool bar. There are plenty of lounge chairs and day beds around the pool. However, the prime spots did tend to get claimed by 9am. One of the nicest features for traveling in December was the pool are heated. That few extra degrees really makes a big difference.

Each afternoon live bands played poolside and elevated the energy. Throughout the day there are poolside activities including a jump class, yoga an in water aqua bike.

Closer to the beach, the beach pool provides a more relaxed atmosphere. There is a seafront jacuzzi as well. The Fizz Pool Bar provides easy access to cool refreshments.

The Beach

What I find really nice about the resorts in Costa Mujeres is the buildings are set back from the beach. The Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa provides a boardwalk to walk over the sand to the beach area. The beach has a very natural feel and appears to have escaped the seaweed issues other Caribbean resorts are currently dealing with. There are plenty of beach front activities including volleyball and soccer. There is a beachfront bar and waiter service is provided to the beach.

Zentropia Spa and Gym

The Zentropia Spa and Gym are located within a free-standing building near the Family Selection are of the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa. The Gym is included for all guests and is well stocked with Aerobic machines, a full circuit of weight machines and free weights. In addition, the gym has areas for stretching and mat workouts. During the day there are fitness class offered poolside including morning stretching, pool bike, water aerobics and afternoon yoga.

The Zentropia Spa is spacious and is highlighted by the large hydrotherapy areas (hot tubs, hydrotherapy pool, sauna, cold room, cold plunge and steam baths). Access is included with Spa Treatments and for guests staying in the Family Selection. There is a $85 USD fee per guest, per day for Grand Palladium´s guests.

The Family Selection

If you’re traveling as a family, the Family Selection is well worth the upgrade. The hotel within a hotel provides families exclusive access to additional services, amenities and exclusive access to certain areas of the resort in addition to the full facilities of the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa.

Guests can enjoy 24-hour room service, priority restaurant reservations and complimentary access to the hydrotherapy area of the resort’s Zentropia Palladium Spa & Wellness center. Within the Family Selection is a private pool with snack bar. “The Nest” restaurant provides a convenient dinner location with full service bar and show cooking buffet. We found the food to be fantastic with fresh fish grilled on the spot.

Kids will be treated with special amenities like mini-bathrobes and slippers, a prepared bubble bath with water toys, milk and cookies turndown service and so much more throughout the duration of their vacation.

Adults have free access to all facilities of TRS Coral Hotel, as well as its 6 a la carte restaurants, which include an Ibizan style beach club, a spectacular dinner-show. Guests of Family Selection at Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa have 1 free access per person and stay at Chic Cabaret & Restaurant. Adults only.

Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre

The Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa is home to the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre. Guests can enjoy professional tennis instruction through a variety of programs, available for both adults and children between the ages of 5 and 18. Classes of all levels are offered to guests. Facilities includes 8 illuminated clay courts, 3 of which are covered, 1 7 vs 7 soccer field, 1 paddle tennis court, a Sport Café, warm up gym, tennis shop and Rafa Nadal Museum Xperience.

Rooms

We stayed in a Junior Suite with two full sized beds and a fold out couch. There was ample room for 2 adults and two children. Room service may be ordered through the TV or an app you can download to your phone. The TV offered a full range of channels including some premium channels with movies. More recent movies at available on demand for a reasonable charge. Strong Wi-Fi access is available throughout the resort with no limit to devices. The balcony offers a nice seating area. The mini fridge is stocked daily with soda, snacks, water and beer.

Swim-Up Suites are available throughout the property and provide a semi-private environment to cool off and relax right outside your room.

For larger families, the Connecting Suites which joins two Junior Suites (One King and on Double/Double) provides a more spacious vacation environment.

Costa Mujeres

Costa Mujeres beach, about 20 minutes away from the town of Cancún and 40 minutes from the airport. The main attraction are the unspoiled beaches. Outside of the resort, there is nothing except for a couple other resorts and some under construction. To the north is Isla Blanca, a haven for Kite Surfers and a popular beach for the locals. To the South 10 minutes is Puerto Juarez and ferries to Isla Mujeres which makes for a nice day trip. In the Spring, some of the best Sail fishing in the world is right in front of the resort. The nightclubs and nightlife of Cancun are about a 30-minute cab ride away.

Conclusion

The Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa got it right for the American traveler. For families, there is plenty to keep the kids happy. For foodies, the restaurants provide a great variety of options and for those who like to party their way through vacation, the ample bars will keep you smiling. For corporate groups there is plenty of event space and areas for private functions. Same goes for destination weddings, the wedding chapel is gorgeous and suitable for Catholic weddings.

The Grand Palladium Resort & Spa is large, which provides more than enough daily options to keep you happy during your stay. The main pool is fun and active, the beach front pool more relaxed and the beach offers a great relaxing scene.

For those looking for a more upgraded vacations, the TRS Coral for adults and Family Selection are worth the upgrade. If you have any further questions, please email me at jeff@stsvacations.com.