Thoughts on Occidental Grand Xcaret?

[sgbrown]

I, too, am trying to decide between OGX and Dreams Tulum (and a couple other resorts). Although I'm still waiting for my travel agent to come back with prices, I'm leaning pretty heavily towards Dreams Tulum because of the beach. OGX looks really beautiful, but I really relate to the post that mentions worrying about some family/friends being dissapointed with the small beach. I think that if you're aiming for a resort in this price range, you'll probably have to compromise a little somewhere. If you're not too concerned with a large beach, then I think OGX would be great.

[nat4crim]

I stayed at the OGX with my mom a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful resort. The service was great..pool and beach waiter service. The drinks were sooo good as was the food. Granted I'm used to going to the Dominican Republic and Cuba where the food is just ok. They have a Mayan ceremony in the lobby every afternoon where a boat comes up the river from XCaret park with men dressed in Mayan outfits. It's really cool to see. The free admission to the park next door was an added bonus. The OGX actually has a disco that people use. Of the 6 resorts I've stayed at this was the only one where I have seen alot of people at the disco. I had a great night there with some people I met there. I had no problems making reservations but there were only 2 of us, not a large group. Oh the location of the wedding is stunning. It overlooks the open ocean.

 

The only downsides I can think of is:

 

-the beach...but if you know in advance then it is not that bad. I'm a beach person and was fine. Besides if any of your guests really want a typicall mile long beach you can visit public ones. We went on an excursion to Tulum which included a stop at a gorgeous beach.

 

-Lack of shade around the pools. I could never find any. It seems everyone reserved quite early in the morning. But I remember being constantly annoyed that I could not get out of the blazing heat.