Photo Tour of the Grand Riviera Princess (and Laguna Villas) | Playa Del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico

We enjoyed our recent stay at the Grand Riviera Princess so much, that I wanted to share these beautiful photos with you.  (I also included a map of the resort grounds at the very bottom of this post.)

We stayed at the end of May, 2014, in the Laguna Villa Suites.  The Grand Riviera Princess is a HUGE all-inclusive resort on the same grounds as the Grand Sunset Princess resort.  The Laguna Villas are beautiful adults-only suites with a private pool, exclusive pool bar and snacks, VIP concierge service, and free wi-fi.  There are only 24 villa suites on the entire property (which, as I mentioned, is HUGE!), so you are a part of a small and exclusive group when you stay in the Villas.  You also get “Platinum” status entitling you to higher-end drinks, access to the Platinum pools and lounges, reserved area on beach with drink service, VIP check-in, top priority restaurant reservations, and a lot more that I won’t go into…  When we booked our stay in the Villas we also got a free massage & exfoliation at the spa, and access to the spa’s awesome hydrotherapy circuit (and sauna, indoor pool, etc.).

We did one excursion to the Mayan Ruins and beach at Tulum.  I posted photos from that excursion here.  Tulum is beautiful and definitely worth visiting!

If you want more of the specific details on this hotel, check out my Trip Advisor review.

Here is the view from the lobby, looking towards the lobby bar.  The lobby bar is one of the nice places to sit back, relax, and have a drink after dinner.  TIP:There are filtered water coolers on the side of the Riviera Lobby Bar and the Sunset Lobby Bar.  You can get a cup of water or fill your water bottles there.

 

VIP check-in for Platinum & Villas (we didn’t have to wait in line), with champagne on arrival:

These stairs take you from the lobby down to the main resort area.

Once you head down the main path, this beautiful lagoon with shaded seating areas is to your right:

The main paths are lined with these pretty (Mayan-inspired) sculptures.

The Laguna Villas are situated around a beautiful lagoon, not too far from the lobby and most of the restaurants.  Here is the villa we stayed in:

The lagoon surrounded by villas:

Here is the view from the entrance of our 2nd-floor villa:

 

Entrance to our villa:

Seating area in the villa, with flat screen TV and mini bar:

King-size bed with light & fan controls right there at the bed:

Coffee machine under the window.  The orange thing on the chair is a complimentary beach bag.

Large walk-in closet with safe and robes:

Bathroom with “his and hers” sinks.  Notice the doorway that leads to…

A beautiful outdoor shower, complete with Spanish tile.  The 2nd-floor outdoor showers are covered with a thatched roof, while the 1st-floor suites have an outdoor shower with no roof.

Jacuzzi tub with bath salts, slippers, and incense for “aromatherapy”:

The seating area leads to a beautiful balcony overlooking the lagoon.

Balcony view.  You can see the private Laguna Villas pool and bar in the middle of the lagoon.

The Villas pool is surrounded by relaxing cabanas.  TIP:There are only 17 (or so) cabanas around the pool, and many of the Villas guests show up pretty early in the morning (before 9 am) to “reserve” a cabana by tossing a few towels and some personal belongings into their cabana of choice.  You can also see the private Villas bar in this photo.  We got the best drinks at this bar.

View of the main walkway from the entrance to our villa.

You enter a gate, and cross a bridge over the lagoon to reach the private pool, which is in the middle of the lagoon.

This roman-esque structure in the middle of the pool has jets, but it is not heated like a hot tub.  The pool water is a nice temperature, though.

The cabanas face the pool, and there is a beautiful lagoon view behind the cabanas.

The Villas pool has nicer lounge chairs with padded cushions.  The other resort pools have plain blue loungers.

The Villas pool has these awesome “loungers” built into the pool, so you can get your tan and stay cool at the same time.  The Villas concierge is located in the small building to the left in this photo.

Moving away from the Villas now, here is one of the main hotel pools.  I call it the “party pool.”  You can see the swim-up bar in the background.  The nice thing about staying in the Villas is that you can choose if you are in the mood to relax at the quieter Villa pool, or have fun at one of the “party” pools.

Here is another large pool (there are many!).  This one is in front of the Riviera Snack Buffet.

This swim-up bar is in the pool pictured above.

Here is the main walkway leading to the beach.  You can get spa services, including massage, right on the beach.  You can also sign up for scuba diving and other water activities.

The resort’s beach area is large and has plenty of lounge chairs for everyone.  There are also many shade palapas.  This photo is a very tiny section of the large beach.

Here is the beach bar.  Another awesome thing about this resort is the beach BBQ, which is right behind the bar.  You don’t have to leave the beach to get a snack (nachos, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos).

The beach is beautiful!

This is the view from the Platinum & Villas exclusive area of the beach.

Nighttime in the restaurant area of the resort:

In the same plaza shown above, there was a marketplace one night during our stay.  Local vendors brought their wares straight to the hotel.

The food at the resort was good, but not excellent.  We enjoyed the food throughout our stay, however.  This shot is from one of the dinner buffets:

View from the Sunset Snack Buffet (which, at night, becomes the La Fondue restaurant):

Dinner at “La Fondue”:

One of the salads at “La Fleur,” the fine dining restaurant.

Large selection at the Plaza Bar.

Here is the women’s locker room at the Spa:

Indoor pool at the Spa.  The windows overlook a beautiful lagoon.

Here are a few pictures of the beach, deserted in the rain.

And, finally, a map of the resort grounds (both the Grand Riviera Princess, and the Grand Sunset Princess).  Click map to enlarge.