Grand Palladium Colonial: The best!

This is my second time at the Grand Palladium! Love this place! The jungle-the cute little animals everywhere! The staff are amazing and the saltwater pool on the ocean is a piece of heaven. It is large, but that is awesome because you never get Bored, always something new to see and a surprise around every corner.

Grand Palladium Palace: Great Resort

The rooms were clean and inviting, great view. Maid service was good clean towels every day. Bar fridge stocked everyday. Beach was wonderful, walked and swam in ocean everyday. Entertainment good. Great vacation will go again.

TRS Turquesa: Dissapointing vacation

Let me start this off by stating that my wife and I are seasoned travelers and that we have rarely offered written reviews. We do however make it a practice to offer our immediate feedback (good and bad) to the hotel staff. Over the years, we have benefited from the written feedback of others and we felt that this time we should do our part. For us, the following factors were important for this trip: nice clean beach with ample room for activities and lounging, good food, decent accommodations  [... read more]and good service. BEACH: Extremely disappointing. While long enough to walk, it isn't very deep. In addition, it is crowded with lounge chairs and huts leaving very little real estate to move around. If you are a sun worshiper, getting a spot with sun anytime during the day is almost impossible since the beach faces north east. Since there are many trees and huts on the beach, finding sun is even more difficult. To add insult to injury, the tide seemed rather high for our entire 2-week vacation and there were a lot of algae being brought in by the surf. It simply accumulated on the beach making it even more difficult to walk or find a spot to sit. Not once did we see anyone clean this up. FOOD: By staying at the Royal Suites, we had access to 2 additional "a la carte" restaurants as well as booking privileges at all of the other restaurants on the Palladium grounds. Of course, there is a premium for this privilege. All of the bookings were coordinated with our concierge and this worked very well. The food in the "a la carte" restaurants was good for the most part, but we did return our lobster meal at the Royal Gourmet restaurant one evening as it was inedible. The lobster Termidor was overcooked and the "au gratin" was just atrocious. It looked as though someone had simply dropped a thick slab of cheese on it ... and it was terribly salty. We returned our food and spoke to Miguel (the restaurant manage) about immediately. Oddly enough, we were sitting right next to another couple that evening who also returned their meal. At every restaurant, every meal comes with a salad bar. After a few days, this gets repetitive. With the exception of the 2 "a la carte" restaurants (Royal Gourmet and the Chanterelle) and the Tapeo resturant (Spanish cuisine), our experiences at the other restaurants (for which we had advance reservation privileges) were disappointing. Our experience at the Japanese restaurant was mixed: our first meal was atrocious, to the point where we left half-way through our meal and then ordered room service which was much better. Our second attempt was a bit better. This was a "cooking show" with a chef at our table (of 10). While entertaining, the food was plenty (way too much) and very salty. My wife and I both had to get up in the middle of the night to re-hydrate. ACCOMMODATIONS: The room was fine and spacious. We had a room on the third (last) floor of bloc 56 (in the Royal Suites section) that overlooked the pool. Upon check-in, we immediately reported the following problems: the closet doors were very difficult to open, the DVD player did not work and there was no hot water in the second bathroom sink. We also noticed that there was no hot water in the shower the next morning. The closet door, the lack of hot water in the shower and the broken DVD player were resolved within 24 hours. However, it took close to 4 days to fix the lack of hot water in the second bathroom sink. We did notice that AC temperature control seems to be a widespread issue. The only way that we could control the temperature in our room was if we either turned the AC ON or OFF. I had to get up in the middle of the night on several occasions to prevent us from either suffocating or contracting frostbite (I exaggerate slightly here, but you get my point). Restaurants were the worse. We quickly learned that we had to bring a sweater if you ate indoors. The alternative was to eat outside on the terrace, but then you had to contend with the smokers which were plentiful (the most that we have seen on all of our travels). If you are a smoker, then this should be of no concern to you. The pools were nice and the tranquility and space of the Royal pools were appreciated. SERVICE: When you stay at the Royal Suites, you benefit from a concierge. Our experience with Angel was extremely positive and he was responsible for saving what could have been a disastrous holiday. We also interacted many times with Miguel at the Royal Gourmet/Chanterelle and he bent over backwards to accommodate. Extremely satisfied with both of them and we let them know. There were others like Emmanuel at the Royal Gourmet and Marie at the Tapeo which were very good at their job and it showed. The same can be said of the extremely competent and charming hostess at the Tapeo restaurant (we did not catch her name). On the down side, we did notice that a large proportion of staff – even in Guest Services – spoke limited English. While my wife and I always try to augment our travelling experience by doing the best that we can to speak to language of the country that we visit, we are still novices in the Spanish language. When we frequented the Italian restaurant, the server could not speak a word of English and did not offer to bring someone else to assist. We resorted to pointing to items in the menu and could not get any details regarding our order. We also noticed that the translation in English and French is very poor. We saw this throughout on food menus and signs on the hotel premises. In many cases, you have to read between the lines. We even overheard a conversation one evening in the Chanterelle restaurant where a German-speaking patron told the restaurant manager that the German translation was also wrong. We had no expectations regarding the nightly entertainment. This was a good thing because the only time that we caught a show (some ‘80s show) we were stunned to learn that they were simply lip-syncing to the original tracks. We left 10 after minutes … Summary: My wife and I are unanimous in our decision that we will not return to this hotel and that we would not recommend it to any of our friends. While we did come across some quite exceptional staff, it would seem that they were in a minority group. For the amount of money that we spent (about $5,800 Cdn for 2 weeks), we could have done much better.

TRS Turquesa: Punta Cana Surpirse

I have been to Punta Cana three times - the last visit was to the Royal Suites Turquesa by Palladium and this was certainly a step above what one would expect from a Punta Cana resort. I never thought I would use the words fine dining and Punta Cana in the same sentence but their French ala carte restaurant was terrific. The pool bar drinks were good - had booze in them and weren't too sweet. Staff were lovely and willing to please. Room was gorgeous. The seaweed was raked every morning so the b [... read more]each was lovely. Kudos to the management of this resort. They have set a new standard for Punta Cana.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: Better than expected!

I went to Punta Cana 13 years ago, and had an AWFUL experience. When my friend said she was getting married in Punta Cana, I literally shuttered, but decided to go as she's my bff. It was 100% better than my first time! Even though the resort(s) is MASSIVE, it was pretty easy to find our way, and shuttles to help when we got lost. Will definitely consider again.

Grand Palladium Palace: Bad experience at the Grand Palladium Palace

I stayed at the Grand Palladium Palace in Punta Cana with 7 friends for a week in November. Overall it was a very frustrating, non-relaxing hotel experience, but I was honestly just happy to be on a beach somewhere. That said, I wouldn't recommend this place. Pros: - Nice pools - Rooms close to the beach/buffet/lobby Cons: - The toilets in 2/4 of the rooms backflowed into the rooms, there was sewage everywhere. We were moved to new rooms after complaining. Then right away they moved new people [... read more] into our old rooms and we heard they had the same issues - Phones didn't work - TVs didn't work - Mini fridges didn't work - Safes and locks on the doors didn't work - Generally bad customer service, we often had to argue a LOT to get even the most basic service, like being switched out of our sewer rooms - The regular buffet didn't have very good food, a lot of it was old - the VIP buffet had good food, I'd suggest paying extra for that - Room service food was very gross and we never got what we actually ordered - Very aggressive salespeople all over the resort and beach, one guy actually grabbed me

Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton: Great resort, the villas are amazing!

We've travelled to many all inclusive resorts in Cuba, Mexico and the D.R. This was our 2nd time at the Grand Palladium in Jamaica. We were in paradise. The villas are amazing, food great, will return.

Grand Palladium Palace: Very nice resort.

We loved how everything was so close. We could get to the pool, beach, lobby and restaurants in less than five minutes. We would have liked it better if the beach was a little deeper. Everyone was so close to one another.

Grand Palladium Palace: Wonderful Retreat

The hotel and grounds were very well maintained. Everything is very close - beach, pool, restaurants. The selection at the buffet was plentiful and you could eat there everyday and always find something. Beach was small but you could walk along the beach to the other areas of the resort. The only small thing I could complain about is that there was no coffee available in the lobby first thing in the morning if you get up early ie 5:30/6:00 am.

Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton: Terrible customer service

This resort is lovely - nice beaches and lots of space, clean rooms and good food. The kids loved the water slides. However the customer service is so bad that we would not return. An enormous lack of service at the buffet restaurant (and we tipped!!), absolutely no response when we requested items in our room (water!!!) and we asked several times. I finally had to go to the front desk and beg for water to feed my infant son his formula. Not acceptable. Every thing about this resort in terms of [... read more] a response or wait time was a logistical nightmare. We arrived at restaurants/spa/buffet on time and always ended up waiting for 20 mins past opening times or appt time. We arrived at noon and our room wasn't ready. We waited around boiling hot until 3:30!! When they finally gave us our key. The resort was half empty. My sister in law requested a room change because the neighbour's pot smoke was coming into her room the whole time and throughout the night and she has a child. She was told to check out at 11 and check into her new room at 3. By 4 pm - nothing. We called reception many times and we were told they're cleaning the room. Finally someone came to the new room (on the other side of us and her old room) at 4:15 and tidied it up -- it was empty the entire time but they were just too lazy to let her in it!!! Ridiculous. We have been to Jamaica lots of times and to many resorts all over. Poor customer service makes for a negative experience all together no matter how nice the beaches are.

Grand Palladium Kantenah: Great resort

This resort has excellent a la carte restaurants (steaks and duck are amazing). You only have to book 2 of the restaurants Japanese and Seafood. The buffet is also super. There were 10 different jugs of freshly squeezed combination fruits every morning and they never run out. They also offered a BBQ night on the beach with folks playing the bongos which was nice. Entertainment is superb! Mon, Tues night is just OK but then the rest of the week is great. They have people zip-lining onto stage, ac [... read more]robats, pole dancers, fire show, trapeze girls, ballet, tap dancers of a very high quality! Don't miss the Rock Forever show. From 8-9 is the kiddy show, 9-10 there is a show at the Colonial, then you can jump on the train and make the 10:15-11:15 show at the Riviera resort, come back to the Colonial for a 3 piece live band playing in the open air lobby. Pool activities were also fun - drinking contest, big ball you can get in for the pool, aerobics, volleyball, etc. They've redone the sports bar so that looks great and the air-con is nice. One of the resorts (5 in total) also offers a Disco. We like a large resort as you have lots to explore. They also have a 'ocean salt water' pool which is cool. I snorkeled in here as the small fish can get in past the bolders. There is also good snorkeling available at the resort - I found a small coral reef straight out from one of the flag poles. It's like being in the jungle at this resort with all the lush trees/plants/wildlife. Very well maintained resort. A few rocks in the swim area and a little dip when you first get in the ocean so be careful.

Grand Palladium Punta Cana: It was good

Everything was OK, nothing really over the top but nothing at the bottom. Only issue is with the vendors on the resort constantly harassing to buy stuff even after you purchase already. The beach towel card thing is annoying also.

Grand Palladium Jamaica: Great Vacation

We stayed at Grand Palladium Jamaica Spa. Our friends stayed on the other side, Lady Hamilton. To keep it simple, I will use point form. 1-Clean hotel. 2-Clean room. We did have trouble with our patio door not locking, fridge not cool enough and shower leaking. However, a stop into the front desk had someone up in our room quickly and everything was resolved with no more issues. 3-Huge resort. If you have issues with walking, you will have problems. There are 2 elevators, at the end of each s [... read more]ide. You still have to walk a lot to get to anywhere. 4-Food. Fantastic!! Very flavourful. Decent variety. I don't understand how the Mexican restaurant ran out of Guacamole or the sports bar ran out of Jerk Chicken. 5-Beach-The best beach Sandy Cove, very hard to get to if you have problems walking. Very steep hill to get down and climb up to get to the washrooms and drinks. 6-Staff. Overall very friendly and helpful. The spa people are annoying. As you walk along the lower level by the buffets, they offer their services. I stopped to ask a question about beads and next thing I know, I'm signed up for a full head, with no cancellation options. I was very annoyed with that. On the day of, I wasn't feeling well and the lady who booked me was able to cancel me, but only because she was the one that wrote the ticket up. DO NOT sign for anything in the hallways. 7-Pools-I only went to the main pool but LOVED it!! Its huge! Overall, I would recommend this resort and may return. Jamaica is a beautiful country and the Grand Palladium was a great place to experience it.

Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton: Amazing resort

It was our first time in jamica. We had wonderful experience. Quality of service is very good. Food was very testy. Sunset beach was the best pleasure at all.we spent wonderful time and definetly coming back.

Grand Palladium Select White Sand: Amazing-Definately will be back!

Grand Palladium is well maintained and a gorgeous place to stay. With the four resorts all together it makes it a great experience being able to do things at all four of them, from the shows, listening to the amazing band Conclasse Band or just asking to watch a football game in the sports bar and having Francisco know your drink orders and have them ready for you before your drink is empty. We had an amazing experience at the spa, our massages were to die for, and if we could have gone for anot [... read more]her one we would have the cost was very reasonable. The spa area has great whirlpools, and was very relaxing. The pool area wasn't busy probably because of the four resorts and the beach that people have access to go to, made it great to just go down to the pool and be able to grab any chair. Our waiter that would run with trays of drinks was entertaining and made our relaxing by the pool just that relaxing, he would bring whatever we wanted including some special shots. The atmosphere around the entire resort was amazing, the people are friendly, the staff exceptional, the food at the buffet and a la carte restaurants, were exceptional. The variety of food, and the multiple options of a la carte restaurants to go to, our favorites are too many to list. We did alot of walking between resorts because that was our choice, had to work off that food, but the option to hop onto the train or have the staff stop in their white carts to ask us where we were going, and take us to the resort we were heading to was wonderful. There is so much to say about this resort, and I'm running out of characters to do so. Thanks for our stay and we will be back!

Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton: Fantastic Vacation

Absolutely beautitful resort. Grounds are well kept. Great pool to lounge around in. Plenty of sunbeds, both at the pool and the beach (in November). Awesome staff who were always smiling. Small beach, which was a little disappointing. There are some areas that have rocks, so you have to be careful in the water. Beautiful large rooms. The food was very good. Lots of selection at the buffet. The a la carte restaurants were great. We enjoyed every minute of our vacation.

Grand Palladium Jamaica: Grand Palladium Jamaica

Very clean, friendly staff, great food. Pools & beaches were very clean. lots of activities on the resort. Can't complain. Price was good too. Hotel room was clean, thank god for AC in the rooms. the only thing I didn't try was the spa (didn't have time) and the gym is great too.

Grand Palladium Select Bavaro: awesome resort

The Palladium Bavaro was very well kept the grounds were clean service was great and everyone was so polite. Rooms were always made up and cleaned for us. There was plenty of places to eat. Would defenitly go back again!

Grand Palladium Jamaica: Beautiful experience, kind and caring staff.

Everything was absolutely fabulous!!! I'd go again tomorrow. I loved every part and have no complaints, except for the afternoon downpours. That is something nobody can control. Lol The staff in every prat of the resort were so accommodating.

Grand Palladium Jamaica: Beautiful wedding, smooth ceremony!

The wedding was beautiful and a dream come true! The wedding coordinator did a great job following the instructions for the decorations, also she was standing by just in case... the photographer was amazing! When we arrived, everything was ready and it felt intimate even if people were close by. The reception at the Blue Lagoon was very well organized and the staff was very pleasant, and we all had fun when it was time to dance. It is a very large resort, the grounds themselves are beautiful. Th [... read more]ere are workers cleaning up or landscaping to keep it maintained. All the pools have a lots of chairs available and clean. The staff is very friendly and kind and love a chat when passing by with no hidden agenda. The restaurant are pretty good too. The beaches were ok (all the bartender were very nice). The best one is Sunset cove, it is the farthest away, and is where the catamarans, paddle boats, kayaks are. It is nice area to relax in with a lovely outlook. The jerk pork & chicken was delicious.The set up is pretty good and the beach is very well kept! You can wait for the buggy to take you there, and the wait is between 5 to 15 minutes. Depending on where is your village, you have to do a lot of walking!