Review - The Pyramid at Grand Oasis

Summary

Grand Oasis Cancun

The Pyramid at Grand Oasis is a gorgeous all-inclusive property on the beach in Cancun, Mexico. The expansive grounds are well kept and clean, allowing vacationers to the freedom to choose between a beach party atmosphere or a relaxing retreat by the longest pool in Cancun. The rooms are spacious and well appointed, with the oceanfront upgrade being well worth the price. The food and drinks are plentiful and varied, from standard buffet options to specialty restaurants and bars that are next level experiences. We highly recommend this property for couples or adult groups interested in a quality vacation that won’t disappoint.

What follows is a very thorough review and recounting of our amazing experience at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis, complete with pictures. For more information about planning your own stay at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis click here!

Check-In/Check-Out
While arriving at a large resort is always exciting, it can also be a bit hectic. The front portico at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis was some of the most controlled chaos I’ve seen anywhere. Despite all of the action, our shuttle was immediately greeted by a warm and friendly porter who insisted on carrying my luggage as he personally showed us into the VIP lounge.

Check-in for the entire resort is through the lobby in the Grand Pyramid, but guests staying at The Pyramid have their own VIP check-in room. There was a large family group checking in when we arrived, so we waited about 10 minutes. Once we were seated with the hotel employee the actual check-in process took another 10 minutes or so, with the employee able to answer all of our questions. There was water and juice available during our wait. We also spied some empty champagne bottles, so at one point those waiting were offered champagne as well. The overall check-in process was very smooth for us. We were a bit worried about long lines based on some of the reviews we’d read, but we had no issues.

As easy as check-in, check-out was even easier through a self-serve computer kiosk in the lobby. Once outside another porter directed us to the right spot to wait for our shuttle back to the airport. He noticed that another couple using our shuttle service company was a no show and took it upon himself to get us onto their shuttle, instead of us having to continue to wait. This was just another example of the excellent service we found throughout the resort.

This is from the resort website, but our room looked EXACTLY like this! 

The Room
My first thought when we opened the door to our room was "wow, this looks exactly like the pictures on the hotel website!". Although this is not always the case when you travel, at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis what you see online is what you get in real life and it does not disappoint. Our room was decorated in what I would describe as “upscale beach” colors and decor; creams and browns with greens accents. The robes and slippers in the closet were a nice touch since like many beach properties, the floors are tile or marble. The room also had a mini-bar stocked with soda, water and beer, a coffee station and a safe.

While the rest of the room felt newly renovated, I got the sense that the bathroom was a bit older since it had a darker green granite and older fixtures. It wasn’t an issue for us as it was clean and fully functional, with a large tub/shower combo with a glass wall (no gross shower curtain here!). Although it had just a single sink, the bathroom vanity was large enough to accommodate my multitude of bathroom products with enough room leftover for my husband’s 3 items. The hotel also provided more than just complimentary shampoo, with expanded toiletries including a shoe shine kit, a sewing kit, shower cap, etc. We never use any of these things, but they always impress me none the less.

As lovely as we found the rest of the room, the view from the oceanfront balcony was the real highlight. The Pyramid is situated in the middle of the resort, so we were able to see both the lush greenery of the grounds and the carribean blue of the ocean. The balcony is small, with just enough room for 2 chairs and an end table, but it was more than enough for us. Each balcony has a small flower box with pink flowers, which really added a nice feeling when sitting on the balcony. We left the curtains open most of the time so we could see the view through the slider from anywhere in the room.

Our view from the balcony

The lovely, but noisy, atrium

The only negative we encountered in regards to the room was that, as we’d read in several reviews, it’s not at all sound proofed. The Pyramid is shaped like a pyramid, with all of the interior corridors open to the plant filled atrium of the hotel below. The room doors are wooden, which (while very pretty) are not the best sound barriers. The result is that when shows are going on in the lobby (sometimes until as late as 10pm) it sounds like it’s right outside your door. Once the shows end things do quiet down, but as people come back to their room throughout the night even normal speaking voices outside your door seem very loud. If you’re a light sleeper this might be an issue, but if not you probably won’t mind. I’m a light sleeper, but the positives outweigh the negatives for me and I’d stay here again.

The Amenities and Grounds
Beautiful. Large. Immaculate. Lush. There are not enough adjectives to describe how beautiful the grounds of this property are. The Pyramid at Grand Oasis is a perfect balance of beach retreat, jungle-esque hidden walkways, sparkling, meandering pool and serene koi ponds. And all of it is perfectly kept and clean - at all times.

The peacocks love to pose for pictures

When you walk from the lobby of The Pyramid out into the resort you immediate feel like you are in paradise. There are colorful plants and birds and peacocks everywhere you look. The grass is verdant green and always seems to be freshly mowed (though we never saw a mower in our 5 day stay). Not in the mood for the beach or the pool? Have a lazy swing in a hammock. Or grab a cocktail and sit by the large koi pond. Or simply stroll through the grounds of the property and people watch. There is never a shortage of something to do, even when you’re doing nothing at all.

We loved the large koi pond and jungle-like walkways

If you are in the mood for the beach or pool, however, you are very much in luck. The pool is the largest in Cancun (I think I read ⅓ mile long!) with twists and turns, bridges to swim under and bars to swim up to. Surrounding the pool are loungers with cushions, in either sun or shade depending on your preference. Depending on your preference you can also pick a quiet, secluded section or find a livelier portion (near the bars, beach club or at either of the ends where there is a beach-like gradual entry). There are even some first come, first serve Bali beds.

My happy place 

If Bali beds are your thing, there are plenty more at either the Oasis Beach Club or the Sian Ka’an Beach Club. The Oasis Beach Club is the beach facing, outdoor entertainment area. One side is reserved for those purchasing bottle service, while the other side is first come, first serve with a bar where you can order drinks. Both sides have plenty of beach beds, wading pools and a party atmosphere. The Beach Club opened at noon when we were there, but we found that lining up 15 minutes early was worth it to get the bed we wanted. There is limited shade, but the wading pools were mostly shaded and proved to be a good spot to cool down, drink in hand. The party music got started at noon, with music and standard entertainment (guests partaking in drinking and dancing contests on stage, etc) lasting until the main entertainment of the day (if scheduled). While we stayed there was a foam party and a colorful Holi Party. It was a blast, even the day it down poured!

The Oasis Beach Club

The Holi Party at the Oasis Beach Club

We also spent a more relaxed day right on the beach at the Sian Ka’an Beach Club. We were told that this was exclusively reserved for Pyramid Guests and that it too didn’t open until noon, but we found that not to be the case. It seemed to us that anyone could reserve a bed as early as they wanted. We walked through around 8am one morning and found all of the beds to be already reserved. A perusing of wrist bands later in the day did not indicate that they were limiting use to only the Pyramid guests with the black wrist bands, either. This was somewhat disappointing since this is the only outdoor area that offered wait staff serving you drinks, as opposed to lining up at the bar. We also found out that the only way to access Cerviche and Wraps, one of the advertised lunch spots, was if you were in one of the beds. As a lover of ceviche, this was a disappointment. We did manage to get two lounge chairs in this area on our first day, and noticed that while the waitstaff still served us, preference was given to those in beds. After that we decided the Oasis Beach Club was more to our liking and spent the rest of our days there.

In addition to the pools and beach, there is also a 9 hole golf course (free to use, cost to rent clubs), a tennis court (for a fee), a kids club, a casino (the only one in a resort in Cancun), and a spa. We didn’t use any of these, but they all looked nice when we walked by. Ladies from the spa were often out by the pool giving 5 minute demo massages and offering coupons. I like a massage as much as the next girl, but I just can’t stomach paying resort prices so I forwent that particular pleasure on this trip. We did use the gym, which had treadmills, free weights and a few weight machines. The air conditioning was mediocre in the gym and some of the equipment was rusty, but it was enough to satisfy us. If you’re really into the gym, you’ll probably be disappointed. Should you forget anything crucial, there is a store in the lobby with anything you might need. It won’t be bargain prices, but convenience rarely is. 

Dining and Bars
And now we come to one of the highlights of our experience, the eating and drinking! The Pyramid at Grand Oasis offers a total of 24 restaurants (7 exclusive to Pyramid guests) and 27 bars (3 swim up). The dining is a mix of buffets, food court-style lunch service, and full service sit down venues. The buffet options were standard fare, with a mix of cuisines offered ranging from American to Mexican to Italian. The lunch spot, La Placita, was right near the pool and offered tacos, chicken and a beer bar. The full service restaurants we most enjoyed were Careyes (overlooking the ocean, seafood grill), Ibiza (overlooking the beach, seafood and sushi), and Bahia Rodizzio (Brazillian-style steak house). 

Our view from lunch at Ibiza

And then there was the specialty dining. Pyramid guests get one visit per stay to each of the 2 high-end specialty restaurants, Benazuza and Black Hole. Benazuza is served in 22 one or two bite courses. We found the food to be amazing, with unexpected and original ingredients. The service and atmosphere is top notch, we enjoyed our meal very much. The only caveat is that no drinks (even water!) are offered here without paying extra. We’d read this in the reviews before going and were prepared, but if we hadn’t known that going in we’d have been miffed. They offer a wine tasting with the meal if you want to purchase that, or any other drink you’d like.

The other specialty restaurant is Black Hole. The entire meal is served and eaten in the dark. As someone who spooks easily and does not especially enjoy it, I wasn’t sure if this was something I wanted to do. However, my husband and my “we’re on vacation, let’s try new things” attitude prevailed and I gave it a shot. I’m so glad I did! This was truly one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. I don’t want to give any of the fun away, so I’ll just say that the staff is very kind and gentle, nothing is scary or uncomfortable in anyway. The food is great, the experience is unlike anything else you’ve probably ever encountered and you need to do this if you stay at The Pyramid.

Reservations are required for both Benazuza and The Black Hole. We did this early in the morning in the VIP Lounge, right next to Bar LaFontainebleau in the lobby. You need to wear dark colors when visiting Black Hole, preferably black or dark blue. Both restaurants are entered through the casino - it took us a minute to figure this out from the resort map.

Speaking of La Fontainebleau, let’s talk about bars and alcohol. La Fontainebleau is the only bar exclusively for Pyramid guests and it’s the bar that has the top shelf alcohol. They serve drinks there or in plastic cups to go. The service was excellent, with bartenders who really set out to give guests a good experience. We tended to start our mornings there with mimosas (they also serve continental breakfast) and end our evenings there with margaritas. We also stopped here during the day for to-go drinks as we went to and from our room. One evening they offered a tequila tasting, which we highly recommend. This was hands-down our bar of choice.

There are also beach bars which serve island drinks that tend to be pre-mixed, swim up bars, and a martini bar. We only ever saw 1 of the swim up bars open and the martini bar only served those eating in Ibiza. The beach bar drinks were great while we were at the beach club, we never waited in line for more than a couple minutes. We read many reviews about watered down drinks but we didn’t have an issue with that - they sure did the job for us!

One last note - if you are looking for more than just a standard cup of coffee, stop by Coffee and Me. They offer specialty coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, iced coffee drinks, etc. We loved stopping in there everyday, the coffee is great and all of the baristas were incredibly kind and friendly.

Entertainment

There was more entertainment at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis than we could have ever hoped to experience. We did as much as we could and still felt as if we missed out on a ton!

As I mentioned earlier, they have theme parties at the Oasis Beach Club several times a week. The Beach Club also sometimes hosts musicians and concerts, which I assume cost extra. They also have nightclubs with cabaret and burlesque shows (I’m still mad at myself for never making it until 11pm to catch this), a venue in the lobby called Red Circus which hosts acrobatic performances, and an arena which hosts an up-charge cabaret dinner show and other occasional events, such as boxing. On a daily basis throughout the resort there are pop-up performances of many types which are fun to watch. I won’t spoil any surprises, but there is always something fun going on somewhere.

Final Thoughts

We’ve visited 2 other all-inclusives in Mexico during cruises and vacationed at another Oasis property in Cancun last year. Of the 4 all-inclusives we’ve experienced, The Pyramid at Grand Oasis is far and away the best. The service, the resort and amenities and the dining far outweigh any of the minor complaints we had. We cannot wait to go back and highly recommend this property to anyone.

Ready for more information about planning your own stay at The Pyramid at Grand Oasis? Click here!