I’m not particularly outdoorsy. I like nature in the same way I like children: perfectly lovely, provided they don’t get too close to me while I’m eating. So arriving at Grand Palladium Select White Sand, where iguanas roam freely and raccoon-like creatures attempt to steal your lunch, was something of an adjustment.
The creatures in question are coatis, relatives of the raccoon, and they are absolutely shameless. One minute you’re enjoying lunch, the next you’re negotiating with something that looks like a raccoon crossed with an anteater and has clearly never heard the word no. They’re quite funny once you get over the initial shock of being mugged by local wildlife.
And then there are the iguanas. Enormous things, lounging around as though they’ve paid for the most expensive suite. Apparently, they’re sometimes referred to as Mexican chickens, which feels a little optimistic given that I wouldn’t fancy encountering one on a dinner plate.
Welcome to the jungle. Grand Palladium Select White Sand sits on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, within an enormous complex that also includes Grand Palladium Kantenah, Colonial and the adults-only TRS Yucatan. And when I say enormous, I mean the sort of place where you could genuinely lose a member of your family and not notice until dinner.
The lobby is magnificent. Huge, impressive and immediately reminiscent of those American films where an affluent family heads to Mexico for a holiday, the teenage daughter falls for a local boy and somebody inevitably learns an important lesson about themselves. It’s all very White Lotus, minus the murder investigation.
There’s something rather wonderful about the scale of it. The resort feels like an entire tropical village, with pathways winding through dense greenery, pools appearing between palm trees and little pockets of activity everywhere you look. It is, admittedly, very family-oriented, but that’s part of its character. This is a place where people come to have a proper holiday, with all the swimming, eating, drinking and organised fun that entails.
White Sand itself has 425 rooms and suites, with Junior Suites as the starting category. Expect generous proportions, furnished balconies or terraces, well-stocked minibars and room service. There are also private areas for Select guests, including a dedicated beach section and pool with concierge service.
The beach is particularly lovely. Beautiful Caribbean water, soft sand and a relaxed atmosphere that reminded me of BodyHoliday in Saint Lucia. It feels distinctly Mexican, rather than like somebody has attempted to recreate a beach club from Mykonos. Sometimes all you want is a beautiful stretch of coastline and somewhere comfortable to spend the afternoon.
The neighbouring TRS Yucatan offers a livelier alternative. We had access during our stay and spent time around its infinity pool, where the atmosphere was considerably more sociable. Music, drinks and people very much enjoying being on holiday. It’s worth checking access arrangements when booking, as TRS facilities aren’t automatically included with every White Sand reservation.
Now, the food. All-inclusive dining can be a gamble. I’ve eaten at enough resorts to know that an impressive number of restaurants doesn’t necessarily translate into impressive food. Fortunately, White Sand delivered some genuinely enjoyable meals.
The Select offering includes à la carte restaurants serving everything from Italian to Asian cuisine, alongside beachside dining, show-cooking venues and the inevitable opportunities to eat ice cream at entirely inappropriate times of day.
Our teppanyaki evening was particularly good fun. We sat around a hot griddle while the chef cooked directly in front of us, producing enormous flames, throwing utensils about and occasionally launching pieces of food towards people’s mouths. The idea was to catch them. Some guests were considerably better at this than others. It was theatrical, slightly ridiculous and thoroughly entertaining. Most importantly, the food was good. A reassuring detail when your dinner has spent part of the evening airborne.
There is also plenty happening beyond the restaurants. Swimming pools, sports facilities, entertainment, children’s clubs and a spa mean you could easily spend an entire week here without leaving the grounds. Although with Mexico outside the gates, that would be a bit of a shame.
My husband previously lived in Mexico and was determined to show me some of the country’s natural and historical attractions. He suggested the Maya ruins at Tulum and a cenote. I suggested we consider whether the beach might be equally educational. He won.
Tulum is spectacular. The ancient Maya ruins sit above the Caribbean, with crumbling stone structures against a backdrop of ridiculously blue water. It’s the sort of place where even people who don’t usually get excited about archaeological sites find themselves taking approximately 400 photographs.
We also visited Cenote Taak Bi Ha, an underground freshwater pool surrounded by limestone formations. Cenotes are a distinctive feature of the Yucatán Peninsula, formed over thousands of years as limestone gives way to reveal the water beneath. They’re also deeply connected to Maya culture and history.
Another excursion took us to La Buena Vida in North Akumal, a restaurant and bar with wonderful sea views and food that made the trip worthwhile. It’s exactly the sort of place I love discovering on holiday. Somewhere you can sit overlooking the water, eat something delicious and wonder why you don’t do this for a living. Oh, wait.
What I particularly enjoyed about White Sand was that it never felt short of life. There were families making memories, couples finding quieter corners, people enjoying the pools and, somewhere in the undergrowth, a coati plotting its next robbery.
It has the atmosphere of a proper Mexican holiday, rather than an international luxury hotel that could just as easily be in Dubai or the Maldives. The setting is lush, the beach is beautiful, the dining pleasantly surprised us and there’s an infectious sense that everybody is there to have a good time.
Would I describe myself as a newly converted wildlife enthusiast? Absolutely not. But I did develop a grudging affection for the coatis. Just don’t leave your lunch unattended.
@grandpalladiumrivieramaya | palladiumhotelgroup.com
Carretera Federal Chetumal Pto-Juarez Km 256-100, Cp 77734 Municipio Solidaridad – Quintana Roo
