Grand Palladium White Sand Resort & Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

7378 reviews

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  Used to be a Great Vacation Place

  We have been "members" of the Palladium Travel Club for 11 years. Initially we were happy with our investment. Unfortunately, the services we were promised have dwindled. The food quality has declined. Our "welcome" gifts have diminished from rechargeable phone batteries to straw hats. We no longer get the promised alcohol in our rooms. Making reservations has turned into a nightmare. My husband is a 100% disabled Veteran and I specifically told them we required a ground floor room since he walks with a cane and can't walk steps. When we arrived at 11 pm we were told we were on the 3rd floor. I had to get a manager to come to the reservation lounge to get our room moved. We pay for the privilege of getting upgraded rooms. We ended up in a Junior Suite with no view. One of the reasons we bought into the Palladium Travel Club was because they have golf carts (taxi service) that we can call to get picked up and delivered to other parts of the resort. We were unable to get in touch with them, the phone rang and rang. We are no longer allowed to swim in the ocean at the Member's Only club we have to walk down the beach. Our Palladium Dollars ($100 in $25 increments) can only be used in the shop for one item at least $40 for each $25 increment. In order to use them you have to pay the difference between your item and $25 so for every $40 item we would have to pay $15. So much for their motto "From guests to family". We used to be offered six excursions. This time we were offered three and two of them were high adventure and we couldn't participate. So disappointed about all the changes. Thy have started a new club, Family of Palladium and I guess they are going to phase the Travel Club out. Maybe we received the "cold shoulder" because we haven't invested more money in three years. I don't know but I'm extremely disappointed.

  Jan 28, 2025
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  Avoid. No many better options. Not a 5 star

  Didn’t have one good meal, food was terrible. When we arrived we couldn’t get a dinner reservation for three days! And when you could try it was 8am in the morning with a line up of people, some being told by 8:03 they were booked solid and left to have the buffet yet again (which was horrible). Our room was very spacious however had broken AC, broken TV, no room service (they don’t answer the phone), and didn’t get our room properly cleaned once. This was so far from a five star experience. We went for a wedding and all 40 of us agreed we wouldn’t go back.

  Jan 27, 2025
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  Caution

  Friendly staff and poor systems. Disappointing beach. In room phone did not work, large spider in the room. Food was disappointing outside of specialty restaurants.

  Jan 27, 2025
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  Wonderful vacation

  We went for a family vacation and for my birthday. Check in and check out was fast. The resort is nice with lot of view. The pool is really beautiful. The beach is a little rocky but if you walk to kantenah, the beach is nicer. The food at the buffet was good and the a la carte too. We loved El dorado and Bahia e Brasa. The room was perfect for us. We had a junior suite garden view. We saw some animals walking on the garden. We love it. The staff are nice, they always have a smile . We had a nice vacation. Thank you to all the staff who made our vacation wonderful .

  Jan 26, 2025
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  Not a 5-star resort, extremely underwhelming

  I was debating between 2 and 3 stars, but I went with three because if you've never been to other resorts, you'd probably think the service, food, and drink were okay. I will start with the positives - the room was very nice and clean. The grounds are beautiful and well-maintained. The pools are quite expansive and beautiful. We never struggled to find seating. There is also a walkable beach - though there are quite a few rocks (big and small). Overall, we had no major issues and that was obviously a plus, however, everything about this resort is just underwhelming. The service is lackluster, though this is likely due to the large amounts of people at this resort and their inability to keep up. I kept repeating to my husband "I didn't leave the rat race to join another one." Our first experience with this was when we arrived to the hotel and the bellhops were running all over the place because they couldn't keep track of who was coming and going and who needed a ride where. Total chaos, but perhaps that's normal on a Saturday. Anyways, we decided to navigate our way around and walk to the Xtra Time bar for a light snack before checking into our room. But, we were impacted the most in regard to dining. I don't believe this hotel should advertise all of their al-a-carte options when they have no intention of getting you into these places. In order to get a reservation, you have to reserve in the app two days in advance or go wait in line at the concierge at 7AM. They prefer funneling everyone to the buffets, and making you wait in line just to get seated and eat below average food. When we did arrive to our 5:30 reservation at Poseidon, they acted confused and didn't have their tables ready. They ushered us to the bar where they only had limited liquor, juices, and one variety of canned beer available. Very bizarre. Buffets are what you will likely eat for every meal - especially breakfast and lunch as that is all that's open. The 24 hours bar "Xtra Time" is an alternate option but is nothing to write home about in terms of quality of food or service. The drinks were below average. Way more limited liquor choices than what we are accustomed to at other resorts, and they were very light on their pours. We had to ask for doubles and triples of everything. The bartenders also weren't familiar with a lot of the drinks we had requested of them - again, all drinks I've had at other resorts in Cancun. Lastly, in terms of entertainment, we did enjoy the local bands and artists they brought in. Bingo was extremely bizarre (gimmicky prizes, suggestive dancing every 5 calls, dance contests, etc) and lasted two hours. Casino night was unorganized and didn't have any actual prizes. Other than that, the entertainment was drinking in the lobby. Overall, I wouldn't suggest going to this place nor would I go back. It's massive, requires a lot of walking, serves below average food and drink, and the general service is subpar. I would much rather pay more for a better experience.

  Jan 26, 2025