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Gala Beach Resort Playacar Traveler Review :: "Gala Resort Trip review"

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Summary of All Property Reviews Ratings based on answers from a total of 3 reviews (All Reviews) 10 is best 1 is worst
Feature	Ranking	Feature	Ranking
Cleanliness of Property	8.67	Quality of Property	8.67
Privacy & Quietness	7.67	Quality of Service	8.00
Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff	9.00	Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience	6.33
Food and Dining Experience	7.00	Price/Value of Property	8.00
Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property)	6.00	Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach)	6.67
Total Property Score: 7.60 | Average Star Rating: 3.33 out of 5

• 33% (1 visitors of 3) said they would go back to Gala Beach Resort Playacar again.
• 67% (2 visitors of 3) said they would recommend Gala Beach Resort Playacar to friends.

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We just returned from a week at the Gala Resort Playacar. We had a group of 12 – 9 adults and 3 kids (ages 7,7 & 11). Check in was very smooth – they had everything ready. We had requested to have all five rooms close and they were all in a line with only 2 rooms in between us. We were in Room Tower 2 close to the pool and Ola-la restaurant – very convenient. The rooms are large and clean but definitely not five star – but after reading the reviews, we did not expect that so were quite happy with them. The king bed is wider than the ones we have in California, which was nice, but they are as hard as a rock!!! I like firm beds but by the end of the week, my hips hurt (I am a side sleeper). The maids do come twice a day – once to clean and then turn down. We always seem to be missing something small after cleaning (a washcloth, hand towel, extra towel) but the linen closet was across from us and I just got use to helping myself. It is no problem to call and they will bring it but I found it faster to do it myself. The minibar is a joke. It isn’t very cold and is very leaky. In fact, the minibar in the room next to ours leaked under the wall and into our closet – luckily, it did not ruin my shoes. There were minor maintenance items that I noticed – paint on dressers, closet door sticks, etc. but again, my expectation were not that high. The bathrooms were larger than I was expecting with nice size showers. Great hot water pressure but the cold trickled out – the opposite of what you normally encounter in a hotel! They advertise four pools which is a little misleading. There is the adult pool and the other “three pools” are really one big pool with connecting shallow areas. But there was plenty of room in the pools. Not so with the chairs – you really do need to get out early and put towels out to reserve chairs. No umbrellas around the chairs – just the tables so very little shade at the pool. On the beach, however, the palaypas provides great shade – but again, you must get out early to reserve them. The beach was spectacular!! White, soft sand with turquoise green water – my dive computer said the temperature was 82 degrees – really wonderful!! It was very shallow and great for the kids. We only had one day with a red flag that had a very strong current. Bargain with any beach activity you want to do – they said Banana boat ride was $15 a person – we got him down to $12 and then watched as the next group got him to agree to $10! We never saw any peddlers on the beach selling items like I am use to all over Mexico – a part of me sort of missed it – not sure why!!The food at the buffets was okay to good – depending on what you got. I am extremely picky about food but could always find something to eat. Again, I was not expecting gourmet food so was not overly disappointed. We did not eat at the Italian restaurant since it didn’t seem like any one like it but ate at the Mexican one twice. The food was much better than the buffets and you really do have to get in line at 8 in the morning to make reservations two days in advance. My husband did get food poisoning the first time we ate there – he had the Flan for dessert and was sick all night!! Yes, we ate there again and no, he did not have the Flan so we are giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was a one shot occurrence. We were there when the hotel was oversold and expected to have long waits for drinks at the beach or pool. Never happened – there always seemed to be some one there to take your orders. We did order two drinks at a time to save time but found the service to be efficient and friendly. Yes, we did tip for drinks and at meals, but only if a waiter had to bring us something. If we got it ourselves, we did not tip.For scuba divers – the diving is right from the hotel and I felt very comfortable with the dive master. He checked and doubled checked everyone’s tanks and regulators. Beautiful and easy dives – about 10 minutes by boat from beach. One couple diving with us were staying at one of the RIU hotels and said they were quoted $160 each for a one tank dive – our hotel was $68 each for a two tank dive!! First dive had tons of turtles – I stopped counting after 10! Second dive – beautiful coral walls – a few swim throughs, lots of fish. If you have the time, Cozumel is only a ferry ride away and has spectacular diving.
The staff is at the Gala are extremely enthusiastic and hard working. They have water basketball, aerobics, bingo, music trivia, ping-pong tournament, etc. all day long. I now know why several reviews mentioned - AAYAH, AAYAH.... OOOOOH, OOOOH!!! It gets on your nerves but you learn to ignore it! The activities were great and kept the kids occupied. Now, would I go back to the Gala – maybe! We talked with a lot of quests that have been coming there for years and most seem to think the Gala is the best on that stretch of beach, primarily for its location and size. PLUSES – Best beach, medium size so not too spread out, Good waiters/waitresses, decent (not great) food, nice size rooms, friendly staff, extremely kid friendly, Security very evident. MINUSES – older hotel so more run down, rock hard beds, Front desk not good with details, little to no shade at pool, buffet food got very repetitive. All in all, at the price that we paid, we more than felt like we got our money’s worth. No, this is not a five star hotel by American standards (more like a 3 1/2) but more than adequate to enjoy the beautiful Mayan Riviera.

Property Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you stay at this property again?: ... No
Would you recommend this property to your friends?: ... No
In your opinion, how would you classify the "style" of this property: ... Family Oriented
Possible Anwswers: Family Oriented, Couples Oriented, Mixed/Diverse in a Good Way, Mixed/Diverse in a Bad Way

• Cleanliness of Property: ... 8
• Quality of Property: ... 7
• Privacy and Quietness: ... 5
• Quality of Service: ... 7
• Courtesy and Hospitality of Staff: ... 9
• Accuracy of Website VS. Actual Experience: ... 4
  
• Food and Dining Experience: ... 6
• Price/Value of Property: ... 9
  
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property): ... 8
• Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach): ... 10

Destination/Island Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you visit this destination/island again?: ... Yes
Would you recommend this destination/island to your friends?: ... Yes

• Cleanliness of Destination/Island: ... 8
• Options of Activities in the Area: ... 9
• Ease of Transportation (air, taxi, bus, shuttle): ... 9
• Quality of Beaches in the Area: ... 9
• Courtesy & Hospitality of Locals: ... 9
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe in the Area): ... 9
  
• Local Restaurant Experience/Options: ... 8
• Price/Value of Destination (Does your dollar stretch?): ... 8
  

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