TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We were excited to try the Baha Mar after an awesome stay at the Royal in Atlantis last year. We wish we hadn’t. As soon as we arrived, we realized this was not the same sort of resort. Checkin was a long process with big lines, staff at the reception desk were miserable, and we were told our room was not ready - and it was after 4pm. The hotel reception had long lines every day we were there, so this looked like business as usual. Compare that to the delightful staff, private checkin room and welcome cocktail offered at the Royal, and there’s just no contest. When we did get our room, we were impressed with how nice it was, so the facilities are quite good. That said, housekeeping never bothered to visit our room at all unless we went down to reception and specifically requested our room to be freshened. Seriously? That’s an extra? Any time we asked anyone for anything, we were treated like a nuisance at best. Our first day, we headed out to the pools only to find every single chair covered in towels. We politely asked one of the many yellow-shirted attendants where we might find a chair and he immediately tried to shake us down for money. I guess the exorbitant resort fee you pay for each day is not enough? If you go down to the beach, you can see groups of staff hanging out in the shade on their phones - by leaving all the old towels where people have vacated seats hours ago, it gives them the opportunity to shake down anyone looking for help or a spot to sit, so I guess it’s a good gig. We watched many times as attendants continuously asked for money, then simply pulled towels off chairs that had been sitting empty all day. By comparison, even at the height of spring break at Atlantis, we never had a problem finding chairs and umbrellas no matter what time of day it was. The sign saying it’s Baha Mar hotel policy to remove belongings from un-used chairs after 45 minutes is great in theory. In practice, the staff have worked out a great way to use this policy to make a lot of extra money, with little regard for how guests are treated. I expect this and all the other inconveniences will add up for most guests to never returning to a place where you have to pay luxury prices for, at best, a 1 star experience. The resort is not restricted to guests, sells loads of day passes, and nobody even remotely checks wristbands on the beach or pool areas; we saw people every day on the Baha Mar beach and pool areas wearing Breezes wristbands. Nobody cares. If you are contemplating this resort or Atlantis, it’s a no-brainer. There’s no comparison. We would have left after the first day if we hadn’t already paid months ago.

This is a great resort for kids and adults. We had a great time. The only thing I wished was that the food rivaled the drinks there. The flavor profile just miss the mark for someone from the New York area. Overall, it was one of our most favorite vacation.

The facilities are great, crowded but still nice. The service and food/bev experience was just ok. I called 2x to get a second chair for our balcony (all other balconies had 2 chairs) both times I was told they’d bring it right up and neither time it came. Just an example of what to expect.

Overall my experience was good! The grounds are huge, so be prepared to walk— a lot!! The staff was okay, but weren’t very accommodating. I stayed for 1 week and my room was not cleaned once. To be fair, housekeeping did come and ask if we needed service, however we were still occupying the space so when asked if they could come back, they told me they would not be able to? Very disappointing considering how expensive this place is. And yes… this place is expensive and they charge for EVERYTHING, so be prepared!!

Resort is beautiful and clean but the customer service is terrible. Staff acts like guests are a bother to them. Most of them don’t even acknowledge you even after you thank them . You pay for the tip ahead of time when you book the room so they have no reason to be nice to you at all. I would not go back as I feel we deserve to be treated better when you pay almost $1000 just for the room .