7 days in Mexico at The Grand Moon Palace

Do you ever have certain hotels or holiday destinations you just have to visit ? Well the Moon Palace in Cancun is one of those resorts, and I have waited 17 years to get there. We went on our honeymoon to Mexico back in 2001, and I still have a slight regret we didn’t book the Moon Palace. Don’t get me wrong, we had an amazing honeymoon, but in the back of my mind I knew I had to visit The Grand Moon Palace one day.

Booking The Grand Moon Palace

With the kids getting older, I know our family holidays are very much on borrowed time, so last September I finally booked our flights, and our stay at The Grand Moon Palace. We just had a very long 350 day holiday countdown to wait, but as the saying goes, all good things come to those that wait.

And wait we did, and before we knew it we were in the taxi heading to Manchester airport. This was our 5th time travelling long haul, and the first time going indirect. We went Manchester to Heathrow, and then Gatwick to Cancun, which seems a crazy journey but I can honestly say everything worked out really well. Plus the 1k saving I made on the flights will go towards our next holiday.

Of course we were shattered by the time we reached Mexico, but walking into the breathtaking lobby of The Grand Moon Palace, being handed a cold towel and a refreshing drink, certainly made us forget how tired we were. Once in the room we ordered room service, and not long after that we crawled into bed.

Day One – Exploring The Grand Moon Palace

Our first day was spent exploring The Grand Moon Palace, and there is no mistaking that it is a huge hotel. The lobby itself is an impressive size, and this is where you will find countless restaurants, bars, shops, reception and guest services, the Wired lounge which is full of arcade games, and the 24 hour coffee and cake lounge. It was lovely to get our bearings and stroll around the grounds, and then have a dip in our swim up suite which was amazing. Katie and I also went for a manicure and pedicure in the Moon Palace AWE Spa, which I had booked prior to us going. That night we ate in the Mexican restaurant (of course).

Day Two – The Cancun Strip

It was time to visit the famous Cancun strip, which is around 15 minutes drive from the hotel and cost us $25 each way. We visited a few shopping malls, got dragged into Bath and Body Works AND Forever 21 by the 12 year old, and enjoyed a very welcome cold drink in the Hard Rock Café. That evening we dined at Jade which was the Aisian restaurant in the lobby. Hands down this was my favourite restaurant, and as we had the tasting menu it meant we all tried a variety of dishes.

Day Three – The Moon Palace Swimming Pools

The husband and kids disappeared for a few hours to do Zip Lining, which meant I had the hard job of sitting in the lobby bar with a book and several cocktails. The afternoon was spent in one of the many pools, and of course it would be rude not to sit at the swim up bar and order a Pina Colada. In the evening we ate at Cusco, which is the Peruvian restaurant near to the beach. This was probably our least favourite out of all the restaurants we ate at.

Day Four – Ventura Water Park in Cancun

As the waterpark at The Grand Moon Palace is only half operational, you are offered complimentary tickets to visit a nearby Waterpark called Ventura. After being enveloped in the luxury of the Moon Palace, we didn’t have high hopes for the waterpark, but we actually had a fun packed 4 hours there. After a much needed chill out in the room when we got back, that evening’s dinner was at Tavola, the Italian restaurant in the lobby. We had a great evening, partly down to the teenager raiding the mini bar when we weren’t looking, and drinking 3 cans of lager. Of course I don’t condone underage drinking, but my goodness he was funny that evening.

Day Five – The Spa at The Moon Palace

Today was all about getting pampered, as the hubby was booked in for a massage in the morning, and I went for a facial in the afternoon. The Moon Palace AWE Spa is out of this world, and probably one of the best spas I have ever visited. You get your own personal host that walks you around the spa, explaining the various rooms and the water journey. I could have spent the rest of the holiday in there. However it was back to reality, and we left The Grand for the evening and went over to Nizuc, which is one of the other hotels at the Moon Palace. We dined at the Brazilian restaurant which serve various meats on skewers, and wow what a meal we had. After that it was time for Katie to sing a few songs, as it was karaoke night over at Nizuc.

Day Six – The Beach at The Moon Palace

It was our last full day and we spent a few hours at the waterpark at The Grand Moon Palace, followed by a stroll to the beach. The beach at the Moon Palace gets bad press due to the amount of seaweed that gets washed up every day. But the hotel work tirelessly to clear it, and as you can see from these pictures it is certainly a beautiful beach at times. Our final evening meal was at Habibi, the Lebanese restaurant at The Grand. Again another wonderful meal with 5* service.

Day Seven – Time to go home

Our last day and we returned to Cusco, and whilst we hadn’t enjoyed the restaurant in the evening, breakfast was much better. After that we had a final stroll around the resort, and at last we spotted an iguana chilling out by one of the pools. All too soon it was time to be collected from our room, have a final drink in the lobby, and check out of this amazing hotel.

Our stay at The Grand Moon Palace had totally exceeded my expectations, and the service we received from every single member of staff was amazing. They really do work exceptionally hard to make sure that you have the best vacation. Hopefully we won’t leave it another 17 years until we return to Mexico.

How much was our holiday to the Moon Palace ?

We booked our holiday back in September 2017 and we visited from the 25th August to the 1st September 2018. Thomas Cook is the only UK tour operator who offer The Grand Moon Palace, so after getting a quote of over 5k from them, I decided to book our holiday separately. We paid £1800 for our swim up suite direct with The Grand, and our flights were £2300 with British Airways, flying back Premium Economy. As our flights were indirect, we had to book a taxi between Heathrow and Gatwick which was £142 return. For everything that The Grand offers, I was exceptionally happy with what we paid for our Summer holiday.

Have you ever been to The Moon Palace ?