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Celebrating Jewish holidays with family and friends is fun—as long as you’re not the one cooking, cleaning, and carrying everyone’s expectations. Don’t get me wrong—I love having family and friends over to celebrate special occasions. Sometimes, though, I wish I could celebrate, too.
We had heard about a five-star resort in the beautiful Mexican Riviera that catered to its Jewish guests by celebrating the Jewish holidays. Really, we were shocked. In Mexico? But yes. The Grand Velas Riviera Maya Mexico makes it easy to celebrate the Jewish holidays of Passover and Chanukah and skip all the hard stuff so everyone feels spiritually rejuvenated, including the host(ess). Plus, it’s hard not to feel uplifted when you’re celebrating in a beachfront resort with ocean views instead of scenes in a dirty kitchen with a sink piled high, which will be round two of hosting work.
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What is Passover?
The celebration of Passover first alerted us to the existence of this program at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya and when they invited us to experience it, we couldn’t say no. Even though we had to pull our kids out of school to visit.
Now, for those unfamiliar with this Jewish holiday, Passover involves a lot of cleaning. One might call it a good spring cleaning, but it also entails getting rid of any bread-like product called chametz (Hebrew).
We do this to remember the Jewish slaves’ exodus from their oppression in Egypt. Moses worked it out with the Egyptian king, called the Pharoah, to let his people go (after G-d tortured the reluctant Egyptians with 10 terrible plagues). But they knew the Pharoah might change his mind (he did), so they had to pack all their stuff up fast and didn’t have time to let their bread rise as they fled. Not sure why the sages picked this particular moment to commemorate but not eating bread products for eight days is part of the celebration.
Running for their lives Photo © Getty Images
Now, that is a lot of food possibilities. In the past, we’ve actually thrown it all away. Then, feeling wasteful, we started “selling” it to our non-Jewish neighbors (for a $1), so it technically wouldn’t be ours anymore and buying it back at the end of the 8 days of Passover (There are a lot of loopholes to following the Jewish laws called mitzvot). Now, we just throw it into a corner of our own garage and pretend it’s not there. Still, that’s a lot of time and effort.
Why Grand Velas Is A Great Place To Celebrate Jewish Holidays
Besides the aforementioned absence of cleaning and cooking, the Grand Velas Riviera Maya Mexico Resort Passover experience was lovely. Hosted in the round beachfront restaurant Azul, we had floor-to-ceiling ocean views wrapped around our entire sedar.
Low maintenance, high satisfaction. © Rina Nehdar
Why Does The Grand Velas Celebrate Passover?
Let’s get this pressing question out of the way. We needed to know, and we’re sure our readers are just as curious. It started in 2018 when a Jewish family asked Guest Services Manager Amy Negrete about celebrating Passover at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya Mexico all inclusive resort. They had brought their own matzah (unleavened bread), Haggadahs (Passover prayer books), and candles. Now, Amy, being Jewish herself, loved the idea and consulted with the local rabbi at Chabad Playa del Carmen, just a few minutes drive from the resort. Confirming it was possible, Amy set up a sedar for the family at the resort’s oceanfront restaurant, Azul.
The following year, the resort bought matzo and candles and borrowed Haggadahs from Chabad. Since then, they’ve conducted seders every year. Passover seders are a complimentary experience at the all-inclusive resort.
Scene of the sedar. © Grand Velas Resorts
Passover Sedar At Azul
Jewish holidays start when the sun goes down. After a full day on the beach and at the pool, we headed back to our room to get ready for the evening’s festivities. I signed us up for the 6 pm sedar time slot because I wanted to see the sunset over the ocean while we prayed and ate.
We walked along the beach-bordered pathway connecting our section of the Grand Class to the Ambassador area, where Azul is located.
The spiritual path. © Grand Velas Resorts
We walked into the restaurant reserved for the event and saw other families already enjoying their sedars. By the end of our night, about seven other families sat around the restaurant. Each family got their own formally set table stocked with matzah, candles, and Haggadahs. Bowls of salted water and a Passover plate waited to be called upon for the ritual dinner. An uncorked bottle of kosher Mexican wine sat ready to be poured four times. The servers brought yarmulkes (head coverings) for the boys and Howard.
We followed tradition and took turns reading the English portions of the Haggadah. We lit candles. We stopped and discussed modern events that mirrored the ancient troubles the Jewish people faced. And then it was time to eat.
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The Passover Dinner
The servers brought kosher-style dishes, though Amy informed us it was possible to have the food completely kosher if a family requested this in advance. Of course, every good Jewish meal contains matzo ball soup, and we were pleasantly surprised when the servers brought a robust-looking version after our salad.
Is it really a holiday if there’s no matzo ball soup? © Rina Nehdar
A lovely fish dish followed this, and since my husband is Sephardic, it had a creamy side of parmesan risotto.
Nothing fishy here! © Rina Nehdar
Worn out by all the cerebral activity, the boys left the table, and Howard and I got to enjoy candlelight, wine, and dessert by ourselves. When we left, we felt tired but elated. We got to walk around the resort and take in the moon and the lit-up buildings.
Grand Velas Riviera Maya Mexico Review
We wouldn’t have traveled all that way to the Cancun area of Mexico for only a dinner. It’s not just the Jewish-friendly atmosphere that made our stay incredible. As a AAA five-star all-inclusive, there is nothing at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya Mexico resort that is presented as just an opportunity to check the boxes. Everything is first class.
The entire resort sparkles within 205 acres of lush lagoons, mangroves and cenotes incorporated into the build of the property.
A river runs through the Sé Spa as the resort is built around the natural features of the land. © Rina Nehdar
There is over 1,000 feet of ocean and sand to play, swim and lounge around.
White sand, blue water, and lots of it! © Grand Velas Resorts
The staff made us feel like we were the only ones staying there. When we arrived at the hotel, we received damp, lavender-scented wash clothes to freshen up and a welcome drink. Then, our personal concierge walked us to our oceanfront room in the Grand Class section of the hotel and made sure we knew how to contact him through text in case we needed him to do anything for us, like make dinner reservations, arrange a tour, or even fill up our bathtub for our return to our room.
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Grand Velas Rooms
There are three sections or ambiances in the Grand Velas Riviera Maya with 520 ultra-luxury suites, each with more than 1000 square feet of space, some with private terraces and personal plunge pools, and all with public pool areas. The most spacious and luxurious are in the Grand Class section.
There is a swim-up bar here and the pool is open to older kids. The Ambassador section has the biggest pool, another swim-up bar, and this is where all resort aqua activities take place. (I tried to take an Aquafitness class here but I was the only one – not sure if the other guests knew it was an option – so after a while I felt silly and left, lol.) The Zen section is immersed in jungle and flowing rivers.
Our Grand Class Room Reveal Video
As our personal concierge opened our room in the grand class suites, we walked in, dazzled by the size and view from our accommodations. Our private terrace included a double lounge chair, a bistro area, and a heated private plunge pool.
The boys naturally videotaped the experience with their phones and immediately posted on their Snapchat accounts because if they didn’t, did it really happen? Here is the room tour conducted by a very excited teenager:
Grand Velas Restaurants
Included in the all-inclusive experience are eight restaurants, five of which are gourmet and one of which has a Michelin star!
Cocina de Autor, a presentation of art on food platters, earned a Michelin star in Mexico’s inaugural presentation of culinary recognition. It is one of the only all-inclusive resort restaurants to receive this honor.
Tasty and pretty, what a combo.
Not to be outdone, the other seven restaurants combine creativity and local flavor to stimulate palates from the most discerning to the indifferently impressed. We enjoyed most of our breakfasts in the Bistro at the outdoor tables facing the ocean and pool. The Bistro serves international dishes and familiar comforts. We also regularly ordered room service, which is available 24/7 and that was a treat every time for the boys. And me.
Breakfast of champions. © Rina Nehdar
Other restaurants are:
- Azul is where we enjoyed our Passover sedar inside a round restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the beach. This casual eatery offers all meals throughout the day.
- Piaf, a formal restaurant that offers French-inspired cuisine and is open to older kids.
- Frida, a creative take on Mexican with handcrafted cocktails is available in the evening to all families.
- Chaka, an elegant open-air restaurant surrounded by mangroves. Chaka combines ethnic flavors and is open for all meals to all families.
- Sen Lin has an Asian-inspired food and drink menu that serves dinner to all families, though the older ones have to follow the dress code.
- Lucca is Italian Mediterranian also open for dinners with an expectation of resort casual outfits for those over the age of 16.
Grand Velas Bars
There are sports bars, a karaoke bar, a nightclub, and a rooftop lounge. Parents with younger kids can get away by booking babysitting services (for an additional fee) but we brought our teens with us to the karaoke bar and nightclub. It was super fun embarrassing them while mom and dad shimmied their bazookas on the dance floor! The line to sing was too long but that would have been a great method to also get back at them for having to regularly deal with their teenage angst!
Who needs a bar for a cocktail? © Rina Nehdar
Sé Spa
At over 89,000 square feet, the spa is a world of its own. Aside from reserving treatments, guests are welcome to begin their healing journey in the zen area of the hydrotherapy pools in the main area. There is a whirlpool, a cold plunge and a pool with fountains that target trigger points in the body. There is even a stone bed with gentle jets.
All the hydra therapy you’ll ever need. © Rina Nehdar
The best part of the spa experience is that Sé Spa also presents a complimentary Water Ceremony available with any spa services before a massage or facial treatment. This is an experience unlike any other I’ve enjoyed in a spa. The Water Ceremony is a collection of physical sensory cubicles and tiled rooms. It includes:
- Sauna with cucumber slices
- Ice room with aloe vera facial lotion
- Scented steam room
- Lime-scented rain shower
- Exfoliation and clay room: body scrub and hair conditioner with personal shower heads
Detoxing the fun way. © Rina Nehdar
Then we started the treatment in a private room. My healer, Loren, lit incense and put my feet into a raw millet bucket before starting a Mayan blessing for purification and healing. Then she proceeded to lay me out on the massage table and rub an anti-inflammatory poultice of herbs all over my body before taming all my trouble spots with her magic hands. This was a definite highlight of our stay.
The start of something magic. © Rina Nehdar
Kids Club
The kids’ clubs at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya are divided by age. The younger kid’s club is for guests ages 4-12, and there is another teen’s club that looks modern and hip, very inviting for those who are particular about everything. I didn’t think the boys would want to tear themselves away from the water sports and beach to sit inside a club, but I was wrong. I guess they needed a little bit of a sun break.
Kiddie heaven. © Grand Velas Resorts
Stocked with Xboxs, Playstations, and video games inside private cubicles with game chairs facing 40-inch flat-screen TVs, the boys were in heaven. I found them in a Fortnight tournament, with other kids and a counselor calling coordinates to each other, spread through the other booths. There are also foosball, ping pong tables. billiard tables, and crafts activities.
Too cool teen club. © Rina Nehdar
Other Grand Velas Properties
There are two other luxury resort Grand Velas properties, one in Los Cabos and the other in Riviera Nayarit, near Puerto Vallarta. Voyagers looking for a unique family travel experience will want to seek out the water journey, gourmet restaurants, much-needed fitness center, kids’ clubs, and even a beach bag to use for the duration of a family’s unforgettable visit for one inclusive rate. I guess we have our exploratory work cut out for us!
When You Go
Getting To Riviera Maya From Los Angeles
Direct nonstop flight from LAX to Cancun International Airport (CUN) take about 4.5–5 hours on airlines like American, Delta, United, or Aeromexico. From CUN, the resort is approximately 35 minutes away (around 30 km/19 miles south, near Playa del Carmen), depending on traffic. The most convenient and comfortable option is a pre-arranged private transfer—either through the resort’s own shuttle service (contact them directly to arrange, often available for a fee) or a reputable third-party provider offering door-to-door service in air-conditioned vehicles with meet-and-greet at arrivals. There are also ride shares, shuttles, taxis, and rental cars, but they may involve more hassle, stops, or negotiation; private transfers are widely recommended for a seamless, stress-free arrival at this luxury all-inclusive property.
An excellent discount site for rental cars and flights is Booking! We literally save hundreds using it.
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