Grand Oasis Viva: Ricky - November, 2013
We visited Grand Oasis Viva for 5 days in Late November. We had
visited Temptation
in Cancun and while we really enjoyed it, we wanted something with
a better beach.
I am from a farm Background and LOVE the smell of #2 Desiel,
HOWEVER, my wife complained
that after every swim in the ocean, I smelled like I had just
changed the fuel
filter on a John Deere 4020. (that was a long time ago).
Temptations beach sits between
2 Marinas.
we used to like to visit Breezes Grand in Negril and getting day
passes over to Hedo,
However, BGN has now sold out.I suppose those days are over
Last day pass to Hedo, my wife didn't care at all for the open
PDAs.
That was a real deal breaker for her!! (I could probably get used
to it). We found out
that we were not True Hedo types, so we decided to move on.
USA transfers did a great job getting us there in spite of all of
the repaving.
GOV is only about 15 minutes from the very nice CUN airport.
Check in was very smooth!!! Charged us $7 a day for the lock,
but we knew that ahead of time. Internet was $30 for 5 days (pretty
similar to TTR).
Didn't charge for the Balcony rooms.
The hotel itself is much nicer than TTR !!! Very much so. Some of
the bathrooms
at TTR were really a step above an outhouse. GOVs were great.Really
big Tub shower,
dual sinks, etc. Everything is laid out very well, none of twists
and turns or
hidden passages like TTR. On the 6 th floor there was a very low
ceiling near one elevator!!!
I'm 6 ft and barely passed thru, anyone taller might get a BIG
headache!!
An improvement would be to add an "office type" chair to each room
for the internet crowd.
Employees were excellent. Our favorite employees were a father/son
combo. The Dads name was
Erico (I think), he and his son went out of their way to get
anything you wanted.
Didn't see one employee that didn't smile and say hello. And they
all recall what you like
to drink !!!And they make the drinks STRONG !!! Don't recall if
they had "top shelf"
liquor. They did have Bicardi and Dos Equis so we were happy !!!
Our favorite Bartender was named Daniel and was practicing serving
topless gals
by simply "looking everyone straight in the eye". LOL, Good luck !!
The security men were all rather stern faced!!! I asked one about
the Ganja thing
and he just frowned a little harder. I would guest it be OK in your
room. I assumed
most of senior security guys were ex(retired) Mexican Military.
They are all looking forward to the big change next month !!
GOVS biggest plus to us was the beach and water. Its is everything
TTRs beach is not.
Very clear water, few waves and almost 6 ft deep at the ropes. My
wife and I
spent at least 3 hours a day out in the water. Bring you own
floats.
GOV is going to have a chore pulling people away from the 'water'.
There are a LOT
more vendors than a TTR,to escape them somewhat, I think you can
move higher on the beach,
behind the white ropes. But, at least the Vendors are just selling
Jewelry, clothes, hats,
etc and not anything else.
There is a jet ski rental place directly adjacent to GOV.
We have stayed at both Breezes Grand and Riu Tropical Palace in
Negril, Jamaica and
can honestly say that GOVs beach is on par with those. Really!! If
you want to see a
bad beach just stroll down to Riu Palace Las Americas.
The water is SO ROUGH that the US Navy should use that place for
its SEAL training.
You can walk north at least 1/2 mile with no problem,
However South is a different story, Very little beach and a lot of
steps,rocks, etc.
It is very curious how GOV is going to handle being topless on the
beach.
Not a lot of kids, but Sunday at least 10-15 came by. The resort
directly
North seemed totally vacant. If that fills up, could be a LOT of
kiddies around.
The pools are very good. However, there is very little in pool
seating like a TTR
(with all of the whirlpools and underwater tables).
The new area(above the restaurants) is supposed to become a
"special area" for all guests.
That will be interesting !!! They are spending lots of $$$ on that
area. Lots of hot tubs
!!!
The niteclub (Coyote) is located on the south side and while it was
mainly dead while
we were there, it does have potential, Its pretty large with two
stripper pools
and a fairly good sized stage !!! I thing a few of the TTR regulars
could find great use
with that !!!
The food was the only low point !!! Another reviewer called it
"Uninspired" and that was
pretty much spot on. We enjoyed the Moroccan restaurant and the
others were okay.
They did have a little grill adjacent to the swimup bar with
bargers, hot dogs, etc.
I think it closed around 6pm. The beach bar also had a Sushi bar,
but we didn't eat there.
I would say just hire a TTR type EC team, but without the TTR type
crowd,
I don't think it would help.
I don't think we spoke to but 4 Americans the whole time,
However, we met some really great folks from Canada who more that
made up for that !!
I was tempted to suggest the gals get topless, but didn't want to
cause an international
incident!!!
Did notice a couple of the 25-30 year old drunk British guys that
were up to no good.
Similar to TTR, unfortunately .
Temptation is just like Hedo II in Jamaica in that the "faithful"
would stay even if
they had to eat micorwaved bolonga and sleep in Pup Tents. However
I think things have
went downhill at Temptations so fast (and all of the sellout
rumors)
and the price has increased so much, that they will be
a huge market for a GOV type resort. No open sex and no Ganga, but
a real party place.
If you like a great beach with great swimming, you will love GOV.
With an improvement in the food and more of "us" in attendance,
this place could be great !!!