TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

About us . A senior couple paying for most expensive swimup room. Staying for 11 days second time this year. From the very beginning things went wrong We,were very unlucky with our timing because on that day the new hotel management taok over. Lots of things did not work including our room keys we were locked until we got key card. Room was fine except it was not the one we requested long in advance. .Then on our first morning a big truck arrived next to our room and started tearing the next block apart destroying our privacy. Our lovely adults breakfast place by the beach closed for good that morning making us go to the main buffet.. we were promised a new room so we could not unpack for tro days.Two nights later we had a new room but still in the construction zone. It's huge and all at once 15 whole blocks 260 rooms blocked off . Big trucks using the narrow paths and at least 100 men working. Then the biggest problem Restaurants were all full whan people tried to book. The phone app you use to book in 10 days before arrival was not work ing. We did get some a la carte dinners but all very early or 9pm. We asked and we told that the Privilege club got all of those prime time spots . The staff at the front desk and the customer service were very helpful. the room is clean the AC works we got a free late check-out but we are not getting the 5 star experience we were promised .

My first 5-star resort AND first time in Mexico!! Such a beautiful place to spend a week (though I'd stay longer next time). The beautiful thing about this resort is that ONLY while staying at Akumal, you have access to all the resorts under their umbrella. A trolley will take you to Coba, Tequila, Tulum, and Sian Ka'an. You have access to their restaurants, buffet and pools. Try to fly into the Tulum airport if possible. Closer to the resort and was less chaotic. It's a relatively new airport as well, with less foot traffic! ROOM We stayed in the junior suite superior (their base level room). Air conditioning was working so well that we had to ask for more blankets! We were in building 69, which was right near the adult infinity pool and adult buffet. The showers had great water pressure, and they have shampoo, body wash and conditioner that's better than usual hotel quality. One thing I really appreciated about this resort was its attention to being eco-friendly. There are many signs around the room making you aware of what they're doing to help the earth last a little longer. We were about a 6-10 minute walk from the main pools and lobby. If you weren't up for the walk, they had trolleys that would come by every 10-15 minutes that would bring you to the front. POOLS I think online it says 3 pools, but they're so massive and curve quite a bit throughout the main part of the resort, it feels more like 7. Numerous bridges go over them, which makes it feel like separate entities. 1 swim up bar in the main pool, but the bars in general were not very far at all from the main action. They had activities daily in the main pool (dance lessons, water aerobics, football throwing games, water polo, etc). It was fairly easy to get a spot; almost all had the option of sun or shade. DO NOT FORGET SUNSCREEN! My boyfriend and I got the sun pretty well by day two, very strong this time of year. The infinity pool is beautiful and less crowded. I wouldn't say this is the spot to read a book in peace, as there's lots of chatter and drinks. The staff were also constantly working hard on clearing the seaweed from the beach that connects with the cove. Often, people would sit at the end of the pool and watch the hard work being done. It's fascinating, a great view of the waves as well. People don't swim at this portion of the beach, but it's cool to watch. If you're looking for a quieter place, the pool by the restaurants was the quiet family area. Lots of space available for people looking to tan in peace or pump through a good book. BEACH We didn't spend a lot of time here; the seaweed wasn't bad to the left of the resort, and many people were in the ocean. Water was warm and beautiful during the day. We would often end our night sitting in some of the chairs at the edge of the beach, watching the moon. The sun rises right over the water; ours was around 6:30, which made for a lovely morning walk. FOOD Best. Food. By. Far. Their buffet had a different theme every night and was never out of food. They had safer options for less adventurous eaters, like burgers/hotdogs/pasta, and fresh pizza. If you're looking for a taste of Mexico, this place will not disappoint. We ate at 3 à la carte. You can book your dinners 10 days before your trip through the Bahia app. That's definitely the way to go, as many reservations came to a close quickly when we booked at that time. We ate at Beach Restaurant Katok... their steakhouse. By far the best meal of the trip, highly recommend. This is also where the adult breakfast and lunch buffet were. To start, the breakfast buffet here was significantly less crowded, making the omelette lines very short! Fresh fruit, hash browns, etc, everything was awesome. The steakhouse through... that meal was to die for. We also ate at Ku'uk gourmet restaurant, which was a little interesting but delish, no doubt! Very small portions, i suggest having a later lunch so you can feel full afterwards. The presentation was picture-worthy for sure. Beet salad is recommended. Finally, we ate at Le Gourmet at Coba. The seafood appetiser was amazing! Our meals were delicious as well. Pretty establishment. ENTERTAINMENT The shows were every night at 9 pm. My suggestion is to keep this in mind when you go to book your dinners. They are worth watching for sure. We were constantly amazed by the talent in singing, dancing, acrobatics, and magic. They often had live music in the main lobby and outdoor area around 7 pm. Lots of seating available and a great way to spend your pre/post dinner. This was also where the silent disco took place! For us, it was Wednesday night - you sign out headphones based on your room number and have a choice between 3 channels (oldies, modern and Spanish). This was the most people I've seen in one place at one time, and it was fantastic. Another great way to spend your evenings is at the Hacienda. The trolleys will take you there right from the lobby. Here, there are many tents offering shopping opportunities for all ages. I believe 8 pm was the perfect time to go BUT we often went around 9:30 so we could shop around and start dancing. There was a DJ there every night at 11 pm, and he did not disappoint. Everyone from all the resorts mentioned that the beginning of this review can attend; drinks are included at the on-site bar. Definitely suggest checking it out. Overall, this trip was a 10/10. It felt like luxury met party time with a sprinkle of relaxation. If you're looking for something more relaxed, I heard Sian Ka'an was the place to be. With that being said, there are many quiet places within this resort that you'll have no problem finding P.S! JOSE!!! Our trolley driver for the majority of our late-night trips. He took care of our family, had music going and made us laugh the whole ride. By far our favourite driver throughout the week, you can tell he loves what he does and enjoys making connections with the guests :) It was my boyfriend's birthday while we were there and he played " Happy Birthday " as we were leaving the hacienda! Made sure the party didn't stop, and also made him feel very special. Small touches like that will make us come back to this resort for sure. On our last day, they started renovating some of the buildings in our area, and it looked like the buffet as well. Not sure how long the renovations will take, but I'll be very interested in seeing what they do to the place!

This resort actually exceeded my expectations after reading previous reviews in the lead up to our trip. The property was extremely well kept and had the feeling of luxury with the ambiance of the trees a vegetation. The staff were all so nice and accommodating to all our needs. They stood out each and every day. However…the food and drinks were really just awful. The a la cart restaurants are as hard as everyone says they are to get into and even when you get reservations they underwhelm your already low expectations. The buffets are bland and cold. The drinks are watered down and unflavorful. The rooms were pretty average. Recently remodeled and worth of what we paid for but definitely nothing spectacular. The staff and the beauty of the property gives it a 3 star but with plenty to be desired on the food and drink side of things. Definitely not a ‘luxury’ resort, but you get what you pay for. We still had an amazing time here with our friends. The experience is what you make it.

Overall had a good time; had been 6-7 yrs since I had been here so kinda knew what to expect. Fun and a pretty place to stay, some issues come to mind however. 1. Drinks are mixed with sugar substitute and have distinct and unpleasant taste (? aspartame). I had to bring fresh fruit and real sugar to make a drink that was of decent quality at the bars. Alcohol quality not the best so don't expect much. This is pretty standard for similar all-inclusive hotels in the area unfortunately. The only thing that was good was the Dos Equis, at least they have a good beer! My wife will not be going back because she loves Coke and there is only Pepsi available...or $4 for a small can of coke?? This is way too expensive and taking advantage of customers. Would be nice to have Coke products available. 2. The website transitioning to Hyatt was a nightmare (and lost all my points for Bahia, not fair and no recompensation). I had to look elsewhere for an airport transfer since the new website would not recognize my reservation code (worked before website transitioned) and I called multiple times trying to remedy this. Also, the Bahia App worked but would only allow me to make dinner reservations for 2 when I had 4 people (my daughter in the other room I booked) in 2 rooms. All of this would have been solvable if I could reach anyone in customer service on the phone to help fix this and help make reservations ahead of time. I called multiple times over 10 days and placed written requests (which allegedly was the approved process to handle questions). When I occasionally did reach somebody, they hung up on me multiple times and nobody ever responded to my written requests for assistance. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to fix this but to no avail. I understand there was problems with the website during transition in March, things happen, but it was the lack of responsiveness to help fix things that was lacking. As predicted, when I arrived, all the dinner reservations for the week were booked. With much effort, I was able to get some of my reservations extended for my family of 4, but the entire process was very frustrating, which is the last feeling you want to be having on a relaxing vacation. Victoria in guest services did a great job trying to help us; shout out to her, however there should be a better way to remediate problems like this when they arise. I was hung up on a daily basis when I called for help ahead of time and asked for assistance in English. This was rude and very annoying. This problem was created by a problem with the website/app, and compounded by a lack of customer service on hotel's end. To be told that nothing can be done when I arrived, and insinuated it was something I wasn't doing correctly on the website, was even more maddening. If I hadn't raised a fuss and been extremely demanding, we would not have had a single reserved dinner together as a family. 3. Despite this, we enjoyed our stay and felt the service and people helping out in bars/restaurants were pleasant and helpful. Had fun playing beach and pool volleyball and using the gym in the mornings. Bahia used to have decent entertainment; not nearly as good as I recalled 7-8 yrs ago...and now you have to pay and make reservations??!! I don't know if it was the timing or fewer people traveling because of concerns of violence in MX, but unlike the last resort we stayed, we were always able to find a chair by the pool or beach up/down the beach. Maybe not the "choicest" spots but could always find something and it was nice that I didn't have to wake up at 5am to reserve a spot with towel, Great to have enough chairs/lounges. Very beautiful and well-kept gardens/ grounds and, even though we stayed in the older villas, they were clean and comfortable. I felt the variety of food was nice and we could always find something to eat on the line that was good. The meat was overcooked and the fish/squid was way too salty and overcooked at buffet. I was literally begging them to pull the meat/fish off the grill early and sometimes they would. More cooks/space for omelets and cooked eggs in the morning would help with long lines. The experience at Katok restaurant was great; the steaks were cooked well to order but unfortunately quality was low and tough and gristly. But the service was great and nice ocean view there. The Gourmet restaurant at Sian Kahn was very good as well, the gourmet restaurant at Coba was underwhelming...had great memories of this on our last visit but ambience and food definitely took a downturn. Enjoyed watching March Madness at Sports Bar...they had hockey, soccer and basketball with fans from all over Europe and Americas watching games in different parts of the bar. Would be nice if they served some snacks/nachos etc.. at sportsbar. They were very helpful finding requested channels of your favorite sports team.

The location is great. The online reservation system for booking speciality restaurants was not working and by the time we got there all the reservations were full. When online they say to fill out questions on email form and somebody would get back to me. I filled out form four different times before my stay and never received a response. Despite that, What really ruined the experience is the presence of artificial sweetener in every single drink. Even the fruit juices , all mixed drinks frozen or otherwise, even regular sodas from fountain contain it. So all inclusive drinks really just include beer and water. I came to Mexico hoping I would have a real Coke made from cane sugar. I don’t want drinks that contain artificial sweeteners that make my joints ache and are known to cause health problems without my knowledge.