We have stayed at GPR twice and Cozumel Palace and Fiesta American once each. It is hard to really judge Fiesta Americana since it is post-covid, and the others were pre-covid. Coz Palace is definitely the poshest resort, and I thought the food there was probably a tad better than the others. The service was excellent, but they did push hard for a time-share presentation. It does not have a 'beach' area per se'. They have dumped some sand on the terrace by the water, but it is definitely not a beach. I am melanin challenged, so I don't spend a lot of time laying in the sun, but my family does like to have a bit of a beach. They did have shows, and they were mostly good. Location is good, you can walk to downtown, Mega, Chedraui, etc. without too much trouble. We really liked the resort overall, but I am sure they have made some cutbacks now due to Covid. The price was almost exactly double that of GPR and 1.5 times the cost of Fiesta Americana.
GPR has a great little beach area. You walk through an underpass below the roadway and reach the waterfront seafood restaurant, beach, and pools. You can walk down the sandy beach to a shallow area for snorkeling and wading, and you can swim out further to snorkel in the deeper water. There is a nice bar between the pool and the ocean and they have a beach volleyball court. We took our two adult kids both trips to GPR, and we spent a lot of after-dive time playing volleyball and trivia games by the water. They also have an outdoor theater in back of the resort, but we only went once to see the show and it was a quiz show thing that wasn't the best. I am sure they have other shows, but we didn't go to any others. The food was probably just a tad below that at the Coz Palace and FA. Breakfast buffet was large and food was good. We usually ate lunch at the seafood restaurant by the water which was excellent, and the dinner meals were always good, but not spectacular. Rooms were nice and overall layout of the resort was great. One advantage for GPR is they have a coffee shop that serves beverages, sandwiches, postres, and best of all, ice cream. Their coconut ice cream is fantastic. We did walk to town from GPR, but it is more of a hike than the Coz Palace and not something I would do with small kids.
Fiesta Americana was very good. A little run-down as mentioned in the trip report, but food is good and a little better than GPR. The same artificial beach as Coz Palace, but the overwater beds and access to the water is better. They only run 2 restaurants in the evening due to low occupancy, so you have to plan ahead if you want to eat at a specific restaurant. They would rotate the restaurants so that the same restaurant was not closed two days in a row. The location is furthest south of the three, which made for shorter boat rides to the dive sites. I would not try to walk from FA to downtown as it is a much further distance away. Cab rides were $10 each way and easy to get. They have a sister resort behind FA called the Explorean. It is a 'jungle' resort, and they are able to use all of the facilities of FA. We walked back to take a look, but I would not consider staying on that side of the property.
Overall, I would say Grand Park Royal is my favorite. The food was good, location and amenities great, and cost is very affordable. If money is no object, Coz Palace is definitely nicer. We like the convenience of all inclusive properties, but we do still go out to eat in town. At Coz Palace the cost was so high you felt like you should stay on the property more to help cover your costs. At GPR, we didn't hesitate to go to one of the restaurants we mentioned in the original post.
We have also stayed at the El Cozumeleno, Coral Princess, and Casa Mexicana a few times. Of those, the only one I would not return to is the El Cozumeleno. We had fun, but we went out for dinner every night as the onsite restaurants were not the best. The cost is almost the same as Casa Mexicana though, so if you want free drinks, breakfast and lunch, maybe it isn't a bad choice. Hope this helps. J
