TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Very Disappointed!! We stayed at Sian Khan 2 years ago and thought The Coba would be great to take my daughter’s family with 2 small kids because of the kids waterpark. The kids enjoyed it very much! I will say that and the pools. The staff are all great and I’m sure it’s the this place is managed. We felt like we were second class guests there, we didn’t pay enough to get top service. ($7500 for 4 adults and 2 toddlers) There’s no restaurant or food of any type at the beach for Coba guests. My bad for not discovering that before we went. There’s only 1 bar at the beach and the day we were there 2 bartenders but only 1 was serving drinks the other guy was farting around not helping even though the line was 30 ppl deep all getting multiple drinks because of how long it was and we didn’t pay enough this twice same line same 1 bartender and slacker but I’m sure that’s the way management wants it to operate to get you to upgrade. So we visited the beach 1 day that’s it. The pool bars weren’t much better but occasionally the second bartender would jump in and help. Overall I don’t recommend this resort because your money could be spent somewhere where they actually appreciate it! We will never be back to a Bahía for this reason!

Disappointed doesn’t begin to cover our experience. We have stayed with this chain before, and the decline within 4 years is incredible. The rooms are in disrepair, uncomfortable and smell like mold and mildew. Staff does what they can to keep up and keep it clean, but it is visibly falling apart and not being maintained. The food is subpar and repetitive. Reservations are very hard to get at the alacart restaurants and honestly disappointing once there. The vibe and service is almost hostile in the Portofino restaurant, with wait staff leading with restrictions to the menu and host behaving like guests are a nuisance. Food again is subpar. Buffet is decent, but no matter the “theme” of the night, the only change I saw in what was offered throughout the week was the welcome drink. Alcohol is either bottom shelf, migraine inducing or watered down. But the absolute biggest disappointment was the advertised allowance of free rein throughout the connecting chains of sister resorts is no longer allowed without additional costs. And if you’re caught walking through the adjacent same-name resort you are treated like a criminal trespassing. You want to see the advertised beach? You now have to pay for that. Family of 10 that visits this destination annually, and we will NEVER be returning to this chain!

After visiting Akumal for the sixth time, we decided to try Bahia Principe Gran Coba, largely because the room cost was more affordable. However, this affordability came with a major trade-off: Gran Coba doesn’t have direct beach access. You have to walk about half a mile to reach the beach area. Once you get to the beach, the space allocated for Gran Coba guests is quite limited and crowded. It’s tough to find a beach chair with enough personal space. On top of that, there’s only one bar serving the beach area, and it always has a line because there’s just one person working there. If you want a drink, be prepared to wait. Another inconvenience is that if you want a snack or lunch, you have to go all the way back to the Gran Coba area. That means another half-mile walk or waiting for a cart. Plus, other bars in the resort outside the Gran Coba zone won’t serve you, which makes things even more restrictive. Overall, after driving an hour from the airport and experiencing these service issues, we’ve decided that we won’t return to Bahia Principe Gran Coba. Next time, we’ll choose a resort like Riu that’s closer to the airport and offers a smoother and more convenient experience. It’s just not worth the hassle.

Disappointed. Have stayed at Bahía chains many times but this resort was old, run down, understaffed. Pool bar took too long for drinks, only one bartender. No chair side service. Buffet is picked over and the same everyday. Very large resort, 15 min walk to the beach. No signs to guide you in the right direction so it’ll take a few days to figure out where to go. You can catch shuttles throughout but they are very busy. Foods is mediocre, but ok for the price. Portion of the resort is under construction, smells like septic in some areas. You have to pay an additional amount to receive another bracelet in order to eat and use the beaches or pools at the newer Bahía azul. It cost us 228.00 usd for 5 days. There were 6 of us on this trip.

My husband and I stayed here from the 13th to the 24th of November 2025. Before leaving we were worried about the negative reviews and the fact that there were renovations going on for the new Tequilla resort opening on Dec 1st. Check in was seamless, no issues when we arrived at 1pm. Our room was not ready but we were able to go to the buffet to get something to eat while it was being prepared for us. We were able to get into our room at 3pm and the room was spotless. Yes, it is an older building and did smell a little musty but we only went to the room to get ready for dinner and to sleep. The matress was a little hard but when I mentioned it to the girl that cleaned our room, she was able to add a matress topper which helped a lot. Buffet always had something to eat and breakfast was really good. Eggs made the way you like, lots of fresh fruit and bacon everyday. For lunch we ate at the snack bar near the pool where the servers there were wonderful. They remembered what we liked to drink and made sure we were taken care of everyday. A la carte dinners were good, we ate at the Brazilian, Japanese a la carte and tempinaki, also ate at the Italian. Service was great in all of them and food was really good as well! Pools were warm and kept pretty clean, only issue we saw when there were that the steps to go in were a little slippery so you had to be careful when entering and exiting the pool. Foam party was fun and entertainment at the pool was good. Staff were really friendly and would go around trying to engage people to participate in the activities. Lots of chairs at the pool every day, did not have any issues getting seats. Beach was small and chairs were very crowded and pushed together but we only went there twice. You have to take a tram to get there as its a pretty far walk. Night life was really good. Dancing every night which was so much fun outside of the lobby and staff that worked in the lobby and outside of the lobby were so attentive and brought drinks to us. Maria in the lobby bar served us every night and she was so friendly and efficient. Staff outside of the lobby bar, Daniel, Miguel and Yalily were also fantastic and made sure we were taken care of every night. All in all, we had a great time and have nothing to complain about. Do not listen to the negative reviews! We had a wonderful time and we will be back!! Gracias to all the staff and hope to be back soon!!