Summary: Modest hotel, but fun and relaxing.

We stayed at the Grand Royal Lagoon Hotel (aka el Gran Laguna Real)
because it was one of the cheapest hotels I could find in Cancun ­ about
US$38 after tax through travelocity.com, including breakfast for two. There are four of us (two adults and two children), which makes it less
than US$10 per person, quite a bargain in my book.

http://www.marga.org/fun/travel/hotels/
The hotel is located on the lagoon side of Kukulcan Blvd in the Zona
Hotelera. It's right after the golf course, if you are coming from the
center of town, on the other side of the boulevard from the
Intercontinental hotel. It's probably not a long walk to the beach ­
though you will have to find a place to cross the boulevard and then a
walkway to the beach. The lagoon itself is too full of seaweed and
refuse (waste water flows to it) to make it swimming-friendly.

The hotel is quite small (comparably speaking, given the mega resorts
that mostly inhabit Cancun) but comfortable. A few three story
buildings surround a rather small, but very clean, pool. It was a
perfect size for the kids, however, as they could easily swim across it
(Mika by herself, Camila wearing a life jacket).

We stayed at the hotel twice, for one night each time. Our first room
was, very fortunately, located on the ground floor, a few steps from the
pool.

The room itself was very modest and pretty dark. It had two double
beds, a night table, a large desk, a TV, a mini-fridge and a closet.
The room, like the bathroom (shower, not tub), was very clean. The AC
was turned on to 16 when we came in, and clearly it had been for a
while, as the room was wonderfully cool. It became quite cold at night,
however, so I'd recommend turning it to 20 or so before you go to sleep.

The beds were quite hard, as were some of the pillows (Mike was not a
happy camper when he woke up), but I thought comfortable enough. The
only light in the room is a fluorescent bulb on the ceiling, not very
strong, which makes reading quite hard.

Our second room, also in the first floor, but of another building, was
similarly furnished but did not have a refrigerator. It was also
smaller. We asked for a change to a room with a fridge, and we got one
in the third floor of another building. This room was larger and better
lit, but also by a single fluorescent bulb.

Whether you get toiletries will depend on the room. Our first one had soap and shampoo, the second one neither, and the third soap and shaving supplies (!?). I'm sure you can ask for whatever is missing.

The rooms have a safe in the closets.

The grounds of the hotel are pretty small. The pool is centrally located and there are lounge chairs around it. Beyond it, towards the lagoon, there is a restaurant under a palapa, and another palapa with a large table. There are a few hammocks hanging up, and then the dock. We saw our first iguana at said dock.

The restaurant serves basic foods at prices that are not outrageous for Cancun. Breakfast includes eggs, fruit, toast, coffee and juice.

Grand Royal Lagoon
Boulevard Kukulcán Km. 7.5 Zona Hotelera
Cancún
Mexico
+52 998 883 2899
Marga's Hotel Reviews