a few weeks ago we took our first vacation as a family of 5! we brought all 3 babies, and also brought my mom along for an extra set of hands haha. we went to grand velas cabo a little over a year ago with the girls and absolutely LOVED it. so we were really excited to try out another one of their properties and went to grand velas riviera maya!
why we picked it + traveling there
one of the reasons why we chose grand velas for our first family vacation was because of how kid-friendly grand velas cabo was! traveling with 3 kids is no joke but the resort really does make having kids there as easy as possible! it’s also a quick flight to go from dallas to cancun! and then grand velas has their own transportation so we just got in a private car and drove straight to the resort! it was about a 45min drive!
we also chose grand velas because it’s all-inclusive which is the WAY to go for a family vacation in my opinion! you’re not pinching pennies at each meal or worrying about getting a drink or not. it’s just one less thing you need to stress about!
the rooms + amenities
our room at grand velas was honestly a DREAM and the perfect setup for traveling with kids. we stayed in one of their ambassador suites with a beautiful ocean view. so michael and i had our own bedroom to sleep in, and then the girls slept in a separate room attached to ours! it was more than enough space.
another amazing thing about grand velas is all of the kid + baby amenities they bring to the room! they had the cutest tent set up for shiloh & lyla with lights and stuffed animals. they also had 2 cribs in our room (for landon and lyla), bottles, a bottle warmer, kid snacks, and so much more! truly made traveling with a baby SO seamless!
like i mentioned our room had a beautiful ocean view, and we were also super close to everything we needed – the pools, restaurants etc! a lot of times in mexico your room gets super hot and humid but we didn’t have any of those issues here! our rooms were so lux, spacious, and comfortable!
restaurants + the food
okayyyy now the REAL reason why we love grand velas hahah. their food is OUT OF THIS WORLD. sometimes you might hear ‘all-inclusive’ and think the food is ‘meh’ but oh my word…every single restaurant blew us away! we ate at the breakfast buffet everyday and tried a different restaurant every night for dinner. we usually ate lunch by the pool and let me tell ya…we were never disappointed with a meal.
all of the food was so fresh, unique, and super flavorful. we also loved their cocktails and thought they had such a good variety of options! our favorite restaurant was probably Chaka but all 3 of them were incredible.
even though most of the restaurants felt pretty ‘fancy’, they were still super kid-friendly. they always had colors for shiloh and having a crying baby in the restaurant was no big deal.
michael & i have been to several all-inclusive resorts and were pretty underwhelmed by the food but i think its safe to say grand velas has THE best food out of any all-inclusive (and even non all inclusive) resort that we have ever stayed at! you will not be disappointed!
kid-friendly perks
grand velas cabo & riviera maya both have AMAZING kids clubs with TONS of activities for kiddos! if your kid is older than 4 (i think?) you can actually drop them off there, and then go enjoy a date night dinner or hang out at the adults only pool. and they have so many fun things planned for kids – from pool games to pottery, painting, soccer on the beach and more! shiloh loved the painting activity!
all of the staff there too is SO kind to kids and super accommodating. landon had his own tiny cabana to nap in haha and they were always offering to bring the girls a drink or ice cream!
the pools, spa + adult amenities
michael and i did a couple’s massage on our last day there and oh my word. you cannot come to grand velas riviera maya without visiting their spa!!! they do something called a ‘water ceremony’ before your treatment…and i thought ‘meh, i don’t need to do that. i’ll just show up for the massage’. so i only got there like 30mins early vs an hour early which is what they recommend. so i could only do part of the water ceremony but oh my goodness it was AMAZING!! you have your own spa assistant who walks you through all of these water therapies like a sauna, an experiential shower, an ice room, a cold plunge, hot tub etc. it was soo relaxing + rejuvenating and i’m still kicking myself for not getting there earlier! michael did the whole water ceremony and said it was incredible.
then our massage was so much more than a massage! it was like a full mind & body somatic experience. super relaxing and really sweet to get to do together! (and i’ll be honest – we are pretty picky when it comes to spas / treatments. and this one really blew us away!)
overall review
we have stayed at A LOT of resorts over the years so believe me when I say…grand velas riviera maya is truly worth all the hype and the most ideal place for a family vacation. shiloh had a BLAST in the pool, at the beach, doing all the kid activities. we loved the food, the staff, our room…i truly cannot recommend it enough and don’t have one negative thing to say about it.
let me know if you’re thinking about booking or if there’s any questions i can answer for y’all!
follow along @laurenkaysims
thanks for reading!
xo Lauren
