The Grand at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun is not safe for families, especially those with young kids. The free and abundant alcohol, and general lack of any safety protocols or safety staff, means that there is always an accident waiting to happen. In fact, up to 3 deaths have been reported at the resort by various news outlets over the last decade.
Actually, lets start with some of the things that are good at the Moon Palace properties, and why many people from around the globe, especially Americans, choose this all-inclusive resort over others. Moon Palace has multiple all-inclusive resorts spread across Mexico and Jamaica, and offers their guests a variety of amenities and activities. The resorts have many pools, including many with swim-up bars, access to the beach, and The Grand even boasts a water park. The water park has slides and a wave pool, and some even offer a kids' club with supervised activities for kids. Generally, the resorts offer multiple cuisines at their many restaurants and bars, and almost all of them also have nightclubs. Depending on the location, there is golf, tennis, yoga and access to a beach. The all-you-can-eat concept basically means most food at restaurants is free, food ordered into your room via room service is free, and almost at every location there are bars offering unlimited alcoholic drinks. There's even hard liquor of choice on-tap (figuratively speaking) in your room. All-in-all it’s a pretty good deal - although this means the prices per night are steep, and they do try to charge you for some things here and there, and get you to sign-up for their demo tours.
The reason these resorts exist is because Mexico has access to the Caribbean Ocean, offers warm weather during the particularly cold months in the northern hemisphere, and wage difference between US/EU and Mexico mean that the service cost of offering resorts like these isn't prohibitive.
But now let’s get to the dark side. Excess of alcohol with no restrictions means that some guests aren't on their best behavior (not all - most people know how to hold their alcohol). And while this might be fine in a big city, in a small controlled resort with finite number of people, this means safety and security issues. In fact, there have been more than 3 deaths reported at the Moon Palace resorts over the past few years. See some of these articles/posts below:
Personally, we visited The Grand at Moon Palace in February of 2024 and stayed for a few nights. On the second day, while we we were at the water park, a 250-300 pound man between the age of 25-30 yrs old came down a slide meant for toddlers and almost crushed my daughter. She could’ve been seriously injured was she even a few inches closer to where the man landed. Upon realizing how close he was to my daughter, he just pushed her aside, and the man along with his partner just started hysterically laughing, like it was a joke to them. I'm speculating here but its possible they were drunk. After making sure my daughter was safe, when I confronted them, the partner blamed the 3 year old for being next to the slide - in an area meant only for toddlers. Of course there was no apology. And 2 grown people, after promptly blaming a child for not being more safety aware - walked away. When we complained to the staff, they asked us to write it down and by the time the couple left. And when we asked them what they were going to do about it, they immediately began blaming us, and explaining how they can't police other guests. In fact, some of the language they were using felt coached - likely provided by the legal team to gaslight people bringing up safety incidents in order to avoid any accountability.
While this was one incident, we noticed a couple while we were there, and after some basic searching, very quickly realized this wasn't a safe place for us to be. Let me be precise, it’s not unsafe like a secluded public park at night or anything. But its unsafe in the sense that you are responsible for your kids. You have to mind them, and if anything were to happen, only you are to blame. So, if you had a relaxing vacation in mind where you knocked down a couple of drinks, relaxed, while your kids ran around the park or the pool - I would recommend you to look elsewhere, and not at The Grand at the Moon Palace. Or any Moon Palace property for that matter, because they are all operated by the same management, similarly trained staff, and likely same policies and code of conduct which focusses on getting as many people drunk, but not as many people safe.
Positives of Moon Palace Resorts:
Multiple locations: Offer variety across Mexico and Jamaica.
Wide range of amenities: Pools, swim-up bars, water parks, kids' clubs, restaurants, bars, nightclubs.
Diverse dining options: Many restaurants cover multiple cuisines.
Activities: Golf, tennis, yoga, beach access.
All-inclusive concept: Food, drinks (including alcohol), and room service included (with some limitations).
Reasons for Popularity:
Caribbean access: Mexico's location offers beautiful beaches and warm weather.
Cost-effectiveness: Lower wages in Mexico make all-inclusive resorts feasible.
Safety Concerns:
Unrestricted alcohol: Can lead to disruptive behavior and safety issues.
Reported deaths: Multiple incidents raise concerns about resort safety measures. (However, links provided don't directly connect deaths to alcohol or lack of staff intervention.)
Personal experience: Encounter with intoxicated guest highlights potential dangers, particularly for children.
Staff response: Perceived lack of concern and attempt to shift blame raises further concerns.
Conclusion:
While Moon Palace offers attractive amenities and value, potential safety issues due to excessive alcohol consumption and staff response require careful consideration, especially for families with young children.
Consider alternative resorts prioritizing safety if a relaxing, worry-free vacation is your priority.