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Overview
The BlueBay Grand Esmeralda, conveniently located a short distance north of Playa del Carmen, is a resort surrounded by lush jungle, mangrove swamps and outstanding views of the sea. Enjoy all of the facilities that this property has to offer including their full spa, three swimming pools, private beach and fitness centre.
Other fees include
- Government of Quintana Roo environmental tax
Check in
3 p.m.
Check out
12 p.m.
Rooms
980
Inclusions
- Daily activities
- Round-trip airport transfers
- All taxes
Rooms
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Garden view
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Garden view
- Maximum 3 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Ceiling fan
- 24 hour room service ($)
- A/C
- Alarm clock
- Coffee maker
- Crib (on request)
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Rollaway bed (on request)
- Safe
- TV
- Full bathroom (choice of tub & shower or only shower – request at time of booking)
- Balcony or terrace
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Partial ocean view
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- 1 king bed, or 2 double beds
- Partial ocean view
- Maximum 3 adults
- Maximum 2 children
- No more than 4 guests in the room
- Ceiling fan
- 24 hour room service ($)
- A/C
- Alarm clock
- Coffee maker
- Crib (on request)
- Hair dryer
- Housekeeping
- Iron/Ironing board
- Mini-bar stocked daily
- Rollaway bed (on request)
- Safe
- TV
- Full bathroom (choice of tub & shower or only shower – request at time of booking)
- Balcony or terrace
Amenities
Accessibility
- Public areas wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible rooms
Accessibility features are based on request and availability, and are not guaranteed. Please contact WestJet Vacations at 1-877-737-7001 for further information.
Activities for children and teens
- Child care services available ($)
- Children’s pool
- Playground
Kids club
Open daily
Age ranges
- Children ages: 2 to 12
Bars and entertainment
| Type | Amenities | |
|---|---|---|
| Bar Los Columpios | Bar, Beach bar | |
| Sports Bar | Bar, Sports bar | |
| Lounge Bar | Bar, Lounge | |
| Pool Bar | Bar, Pool bar | |
| Black & White Bar | Bar | Food options available |
Check-in and check-out times
Check-out time: 12 p.m.
Connectivity
Wi-Fi
- Lobby
- Room
- Complimentary Wi-Fi in rooms limited to 1 device per room
Dining
| Type of restaurant | Type of cuisine | Open for | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Festival Restaurant | Buffet | International | Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch | |
| Jaal-Ha Restaurant | Buffet | International | Breakfast, Lunch | |
| Don Isi Restaurant | À la carte | Mexican | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Il Cuore Di Rossi Restaurant | À la carte | Italian | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Restaurant L'Atelier | À la carte | French | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| El Pescador | À la carte | Seafood | Dinner | Reservations required |
| Steak House Restaurant | À la carte | Grill/steak house | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Asian Restaurant | À la carte | Asian | Dinner | Dress code, Reservations required |
| Snack Bar | Snack bar | International | Breakfast, Lunch |
Facilities
- Rooms: 980
Health and wellness
- Fitness centre: on site
- Salon: on site ($)
- Sauna steam room: on site ($)
- Spa: on site ($)
- Spa treatments: on site ($)
Location
Meal and plan options
-
All-inclusive: Included
- Dinner can be à la carte (reservations required, dress code in effect)
- Unlimited domestic drinks
Pools and recreation
Pools
- Kids pools: 1
- Outdoor pools: 3
Water sports
- Motorized watersports: on site ($)
- Non-motorized watersports: on site
- Snorkeling: on site
- Watersports centre: on site
Other sports
- Aerobics: on site
- Tennis courts: on site
Other activities
- Beach activities: on site
- Daily activities: on site
- Games room: on site
- Nightly entertainment: on site
Shops and services
- 24 hour front desk
- ATM
- Baggage check
- Business centre available ($)
- Concierge
- Currency exchange
- Dry cleaning available ($)
- Giftshop available ($)
- Laundry services available ($)
- Meeting facilities available ($)
- Multilingual staff
- Parking
- Tour desk
- Wedding facilities available ($)
Restaurant
Restaurant
Lounge
Exterior
Exterior
Kids Club
Fitness centre
Spa
Pool
Pool
Pool
Location
Reviews
Definitely not 5 star
Jade_holpin on Jul 01, 2022
We came out here for a 2 week holiday after falling in love with Mexico the first time I came. Let’s just say I wouldn’t rush back! This hotel is supposed to be 5 star and to be honest I’d be hard pushed to give it 3 stars!! - The main pool is quite far away and for us was a 15 minute walk. There are supposed to be golf carts to take you around the resort but you’re lucky if you see one you could walk most places (and back) quicker! - the entertainment by the main pool is very hit and miss. If something is due to start at 10 I’d add on at least half hour and half the time you don’t even know what’s on. - the music is very repetitive I think one of the days we heard the same song 3 times and some had some very bad language in (which didn’t bother me but there are a lot of kids and it was quite inappropriate songs) - the ‘nightly’ DJ and beach party isn’t a thing so don’t get your hopes up. There are no beach parties. The only ‘beach’ party is Friday at 3 (or 3:30) and it’s basically just the entertainers teaching you dance moves not really a party - there is NO shade by the pool. Their version of shade is a bit of material over some wood which gaps so you still get burnt it’s just patchy. Loungers are reserved from about 5am so you’re lucky to get any ‘shade’ and there’s no umbrellas around the pool. - there isn’t enough loungers by the pool either people were having to bring loungers from the beach up to the pool - the pool is cleared during the day while people are in it, the workers will have tubes etc in the pool that you have to dodgy if you want to swim. They ‘clean’ the sides but then put it all back in the pool which to me defeats the object of cleaning the pool - the showers round the pools don’t work - the ‘shade’ areas are cornered off for their bbq when they feel like it, they’ll just move the loungers that we’re there at around 10 so limits those areas even more - the floor around the pool is absolutely lethal when wet and I knew of 2 people that fell and had very bad cuts due to this! (The floor is cracked and not well kept too) - the seaweed is an awful thing which the hotel can’t help but the digger is just dumping the seaweed round the back of one of the hotel blocks and the smell is awful. - the rooms are very basic, they also have ants or insects and the walls and ceilings are very thin it sounds like elephants are in the rooms around you - the black and white bar (snack bar) is not 24 hours at all. It’s 5am-1am and snacks are hit and miss. - the nightly entertainment starts at 9:30 and there’s pretty much nothing to do before. The kids club is supposed to be at 8;30 and only happened on one of the 14 nights we was here. You also get absolutely eaten alive in there and there’s pretty much no lights so it’s always dark in there! To the point we played table football and couldn’t see the balls as it was so dark. It was also incredibly hot in there as they only had very very weak ceiling fans! (It was often colder outside than in that bar!) - the food is very repetitive and by week two I was quite sick of it. The theme nights weren’t really themes. Italian night had no pasta or pizza or anything like that it was just pork in a sauce or beef in a sauce and was pretty much the same every night - the rooms sometimes don’t get cleaned till around 5pm and by cleaned it’s a quick mop around the floor and make the bed. The beds aren’t changed and we had to ask for towels on a few days as they took the dirty towels but didn’t give us clean towels so we had none. - the mini bar isn’t always filled up or they’ll come at like 6 to fill it up - snacks are a no go. $8 for ONE bag of crisps! $5 for a bag of M&Ms or $8 for a bag of skittles. It’s an absolute rip off in the shop! Was so disappointing - when we checked in we got no map, it was just a room key and 2 towel keys we had to try and find everything ourselves which is hard when everything has a ‘name’. For example the buffet restaurant is called festival which we worked out after a while. Jaal-Hal also does breakfast and lunch but again you figure that out as you go. It’s quite hard to navigate around until you realise what all the names actually are Positives- - The staff are super friendly and will always get you drinks/take your plates - the wild life is amazing, we got to see raccoons, monkeys, deers it was super cute and a highlight of the trip - if you walk along the beach for about 10 minutes you come across this beautiful lagoon! It’s breathtaking! - the drinks are good and they do pretty much any cocktail you want - you get a cute welcome fruit basket and bottle of wine in your room as you arrive - on Fridays they get kids inflatable slides by the main pool which is fun for the kids
Kind of a so so place
Tracy C on Jul 01, 2022
Just returned from a five day stay at BlueBay Grand Esmeralda. Upon arrival, given room keys and a welcome juice. Sent to Concierge only to be told we are only able to make dinner reservations for the next day and only offered two choices. Later found out the resort only has two ala carte restaurants that change their offerings each day, so the 5 restaurants advertised is not exactly right. There is a buffet option each day. One of the nightly restaurants is open for breakfast and lunch as a buffet. Also, no dress codes if there are any, are enforced. So wear what you want to dinner. Drinks were mixed on the light side. So ask for an extra shot or two when ordering. Most everything on the drink side we requested was made-- usually with local products. Superior brand beer and Coke products in the room fridge. Water bottles restocked each day. Room bed was comfortable but a little on the hard side. Room condition was dated, a lot of cracked floor tiles, bath room sink repainted in places to cover the rust, dark wood trim and doors. Patio door hardware must have been wore out due to the "stick" in the door being used as a lock. TV is good sized. A lot of cable channels. Most of them in Spanish I can't understand, but some English. Maid service did a good job of cleaning room and remaking the bed as well as restocking towels. However, coffee not restocked and hand clothes not restocked each day either. The room is a fair walk, approximately 15 minutes from the front office/bar/gift shop area at the front of the resort. There is a tram type of bus service that is supposed to run from one end of the resort to another. Most of the time, it was a long wait and apparently at least one of the days we were there, it was broke. Nothing to tell us that at the bus stop, so we were just sitting there wasting our time. The pool area was nice. The beach was nice as well except for the seaweed that continually beaches itself. Kind of nasty walking in the water, felt like you were walking through mud. We were hassled repeatedly for the first few days about needing to go through the "orientation tour" which was some kind of membership offering. Being a member does get you a golf cart ride. The drivers were very clear not to pick you up if not a member of the club. We were joined by my Sister and Brother-in-law. They booked directly through the hotel website. Oddly enough, they were given a far worse room than our Expedia room. They asked to change twice, before the resort finally moved them to a room like ours. Only to have another hotel guest walk in on them. Apparently, the room was given to two customers... I would suggest using a third party website to book. At least that way you have someone to complain to other than the person at the front desk unwilling to try to fix the issue. We are all pretty easy going so we made the best of it. The restaurant staff did a great job of serving us subpar food and tough meat with dull knives. We finally got smart enough to ask for a hot tea and a glass of ice so we could make our own sweet tea on the last night. Also, at least one feral cat in the dining room well fed by the steak gristle.
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