My family and I just returned from our trip to Q. Roo, Mexico where we planned on staying in Playa del Carmen for most of our stay. Before I made reservations at the Mayan Palace Resort, I called their staff and asked just how far it was from Playa del Carmen. The woman on the other end of the line informed me it was only 15 minutes walking distance from the resort, and since it was our desire to walk to town during the day and at night to explore the city, I made reservations based on this feature.
When we got there, it turns out you're lucky to get there by car in 20 minutes, as it's much closer to Puerto Adventura and even closer to Cancun than Playa del Carmen. After a lengthy check-in from the clerk obviously trying to fix some problem, we attempted going to our room. The key would not work, so I returned to the desk to see what the problem was. Apparently, even though we were assigned to room 1121, our keys were made for room 2011. The man at the desk reprogrammed the key and we got in the room. The bellboy had just arrived at our room with our luggage, confused at why we couldn't get in the room. It was clear the room was not prepared to be assigned, as there was water all over the hallway floor, the hallway light did not work, and we had no information package that included the facility map or activities information. The bellboy confirmed there was obviously some problem, so he said he would request someone to come to our room to straighten it out. We waited while my husband went out onto the resort grounds to search for some ice. We had just traveled all day and were very hungry. While my husband was gone for over half an hour on foot, a maintenance man came to the door and tried to get in. He felt very embarrassed and surprised we were there, saying the room was not supposed to be occupied and he had a work order for repairs. Since we were very hungry, my son and I were getting ready for dinner and were just about to leave to look for my husband when he finally returned. He had just apparently walked all over the facility looking for the ice bins and a place to eat, and had just found a snack shop. We left to go eat, thinking the maintenance man would fix the problems while we were gone.
We sat at the concierge desk and asked about places to eat. After much conversation, she finally gave us a map and described the shuttle service, because it was "too far to walk anywhere." We rode the shuttle, had a good dinner, and returned to our room where nothing was fixed and the wet tile floor was still soaking wet and very slippery. I threw towels down on the floor and went to ask at the front desk about repairs and mentioned that this room was not ready for occupancy, and the woman at the desk said maintenance would be there soon.
So, I put my son to bed and we watched TV, waiting for someone to come by. We finally went to bed about 11:30pm, with no changes made.
After getting up in the morning and my husband leaving to go spend a day at Playa del Carmen to cool off from a frustrating night, I checked with the facility staff about the room. They said maintenance should be there soon. My son and I went to the pool and spent about six hours there since it was so far from our room. Housekeeping had cleaned the floor and attended to the mess, but the light was still not fixed. I complained to staff, and then left with my husband, taking most but not all of our things with me to stay at a place in Playa del Carmen. We stayed there a couple of nights and then returned to Mayan Palace Resort after we were actually able to enjoy some of our vacation time (except for arguing over the Mayan Palace who had lied to me about where they were located and the fact that we wasted a timeshare week on a place that seemed to do its best to keep visitors inside their limited facility).
So, we returned and guess what - my key did not open the door. I went to the desk to figure out what the problem was, and while we were gone, they had emptied the room of our things and rented it out to someone else! I asked to check out of the facility, and they tried charging me for phone calls to Guadalajara, transportation from the airport (we rented a car), and meals I had not eaten - charges the couple who was staying there had amassed. I was livid and asked to speak to a manager. She said we checked out, so the room was rented to someone else. I explained the whole above situation to her and how ridiculous this while situation was (to which the original clerk I talked to agreed with everything and was very sympathetic). She then explained that when housekeeping said there was no activity in the room, they checked us out. I said I had traded in for the whole week and was due the full week, and it was not for them to rent out as they pleased and clear out my things from the room. She said she didn't know where my things were, and that they had to do that if no one was using the room. She offered to give me another room, but do you think I felt like staying one more minute there? I declined. She showed me the 980+ pesos they charged me for a dinner, a lunch, and a much-needed drink for the night and day we did actually get to use the facilities and my current 0 balance, and I got out of there.
I cannot believe this is a Gold Crown Resort! Sure the pool is beautiful, but it's about a mile away from the room, it's obviously poorly run, and they'll throw your possessions away (or run off with them) in a heartbeat with no apologies.