Comments about LocoGringo Gran Porto Real:

Our stay at Gran Porto Real in Playa del Carmen was, as always, perfect. Perhaps the most ideal thing about this resort is its staff, all of whom make guests feel valued and appreciated. You will be treated with wonderful warmth and hospitality from staff members who work tirelessly to make sure your every need is catered to. In addition to their personal touch, you will notice that they work continuously to keep the resort spotless and well maintained.

This resort has the feel of real luxury yet it is casual enough to be unpretentious. You will see people in shorts and sandals and those who prefer to dress with more elegance. There is also an interesting mixture of young and old, families and singles. We saw several lovely indoor and outdoor weddings while we were at Gran Porto and noticed that many large families came to reunite from around the country and, no doubt, from around the world. While in the 24 hour snack bar, I took some time to watch the young women working in the daycare and was impressed with the constant care and attention given to the children of the guests. It seems that no matter what your age, you are treated like royalty when you are at Gran Porto Real!

One of the things we like best about the resort is the location. It is within easy walking distance of downtown Playa del Carmen. However, once inside the resort or beachside on the grounds, you feel that you are away from anything resembling a city and truly in a beachside paradise. The rooms, the common areas and the pool area are close enough to the beach so that almost anywhere in the resort you can either see the beach or, at the very least, hear the ocean and feel of ocean breezes.

What a choice in food! You can choose from the Albatross Restaurant (elegant and extensive buffet), Maria's Restaurant (Mexican), Pescatore Restaurant (Italian) and numerous snack bars. The resort food is amazing, in all restaurants the presentation is something out of a magazine and your wait staff will be the icing on the cake. We chose to go to the buffet for most meals and were blessed to usually have a marvelous waiter by the name of Dion. His service was impeccable. Dion was a charming young man with a warm smile and cheerful attitude. He never seemed to tire of giving us Spanish lessons when we asked or answering our many questions about the Mexican Riviera or Mexico in general. The other wait staff was marvelous as well but we tried our best to have Dion as our server whenever possible.

The junior suites are very spacious and, if an unobstructed view of the ocean is important to you, make certain you get an ocean front suite. An ocean view room may have some view of the ocean but it can be either from a distance or with some building obstruction or both. I spoke with several people who had the least expensive rooms (not suites and without any beach view). They all stated that because they spent very little time in their rooms, they were quite happy with their rooms and felt that, due to the lower room fares, they were getting an excellent value for their accommodations.

Our housekeeper, Patricia, was phenomenal. In addition to keeping the room in perfect condition, she also left us lovely swans sculpted out of towels and made certain our refrigerator was full of the drinks we preferred. As with other staff members, she made us feel welcome and completely at home.

At the resort you will probably have the pleasure of meeting Monserat, the patient woman who works at the money exchange. Despite my repeated math errors and inability to accurately ask for change, Monserat never lost her smile or her sense of humor.

I have no qualms about recommending the Gran Porto Real. The experience from beginning to end was a true pleasure. The one thing nicer than the accommodations and the location is the staff; you will never meet a finer group of people anywhere. The only problem I encountered during my stay was feeling incredibly sad to leave and knowing that I will not be able to return until next year.