Denny T.
Yelp
First time staying at an all inclusive resort, and it was an eye opener. My sister and brother in law treated the family to a vacation during spring break, and we stayed at the Sunrise. If you're not familiar, this place includes Sunrise, Nizuc, and the Grand. If you're staying at Sunrise or Nizuc, you cannot go to the restaurants or water park or other amenities at the Grand (more on that later in this review).
Really no major issues throughout our stay at sunrise. During check in, they're going to tell you to download the App and it makes things so much easier. You can look at the entertainment schedules, restaurants, events available, and order room service, cleaning, and supplies. Room was showing some wear and tear, but it was still pretty nice. Shower pressure was good, bathroom was clean, and it was just so relaxing sitting out in the balcony every morning. The maids will come everyday, so if you don't want them cleaning, make sure you put up the do not disturb sign. They did a really good job of cleaning the room. In room dining usually took about 40 minutes to an hour, so if you're impatient or have somewhere to be, make sure you pre order breakfast the night before with a time you want it delivered. You can order in room dining for the next day on the app, but that menu is a little more limited. We didn't have any issues with room service until the last day when the app said they delivered the food, but we never got it.
Lots of different restaurants to eat at and they have buffets, seafood, Italian, Indian, and Chinese. Food was good and we actually didn't even get a chance to try all of them during our 7 day stay. A negative is that some restaurants require reservations and it was pretty hard to get a table at some of them unless you call really early or at midnight. There are also a bunch of dessert, coffee, and bars all around the resort and they also set up buffets outside during the live shows at night.
Some nice pools where you can swim and lounge around, but again, you either have to get there pretty early or later in the day to reserve a lounger.
I was expecting those beaches with clear and pristine water, but that is not what you'll find here. Dark and murky water and a bunch of seaweed. It's nice to lounge on the beach, but you rarely see anyone swimming in the water here.
Employees were all very nice and friendly. There are buses that will take you from lobby to lobby to Nizuc and Grand, and also a bunch of golf carts driving around all day to transport you to different parts of the resort.
Playroom is nice for the kids. There is also a wired lounge where they have pool, air hockey, video games, basketball, etc. to keep kids (and parents!) busy. There is a synthetic ice skating rink that I thought would be cool to try, but I would stay away from it as it is pretty much unskateable and there is a good chance you will get hurt if you try to skate on it. The flow rider is pretty cool and fun where can try surfing or body boarding on the man made waves.
There is also a gym and spa that I didn't even have time to check out. Nightly shows that are pretty fun and entertaining.
As I alluded to earlier, the Grand is the newer and more expensive resort. They have better restaurants, the huge water park for the kids, and is overall just a better resort. The only way to get a pass (I think) is to go on a little 3 to 5 hour presentation with a hotel rep who will try to sell you on becoming one of their elite members. They will take you on a tour of the Grand and will sit down with you and discuss numbers and benefits and will try to make you pay like $10,000 and up for a membership. Stay strong and just say no, unless you really want to do it. They will still honor their commitment to give you a pass to the Grand and you should ask for a three day pass. With the pass, you can enjoy their restaurants and if you have kids, they will most likely enjoy the huge water park and kids playroom.
Overall, it was a really nice and relaxing vacation. The workers in the green shirts will keep trying to sell you vacation packages up until the minute you're checking out, but again, just stay polite and strong and tell them you're not interested. I unfortunately visited The Grand for three days so I saw how much better of a resort that place is than the Sunrise. However, cant really complain too much about my stay at Sunrise.