Bahia Principe Reviews

we expected a great deal better as we had read the reviews here-all I can say is the last review was in 2006 and things have obviousely gone downhill.The hotels,grounds and rooms are kept immaculate,but what lets this hotel down big time was the service which was mostly very poor with staff,particulary in the buffets,either overworked or just plain not bothered about serving you-how hard is a cup of tea for goodness sake?Politeness and tipping made no difference.Cleaner was very good,but was tipped daily. The complex is aggravatingly huge,with trolly buses needed to get about-after 2 weeks we still were not sure which bus went where and had to ask each time. The beach is good but swimming areas have obviousely been hewn out of rocky areas and breakwaters have been added to make it safe to bathe at all times although the water is almost too shallow to swim in.Plenty of beds available on the beach. The food in the buffets was very uninspiring,lots of choice but most looked unappetizing,the food at the snack bars was pretty awful! Service at the bars was poor simply because there are too few staff-maybe 20 people and 1 bar man. I suppose its a great way for the hotel to save money-tell everyone you can eat and drink as much as you like-then fail to pay enough staff to work to give it out to you! Win win situation for the hotel! A la Carte restaurants hardly worth the bother-Mikardos being the exception provided you get a table where you can watch the chef work.We didn't bother with our last 2 reservations. Entertainment varied from poor to excellent,although the theatres only lasted 45 mins. We stayed at the Barcelo Maya hotel our last 2 visits to Mexico which was far superior,although again we noticed the service was poorer on our 2nd visit,so maybe thats the way its going,now this destination is so much more accessible. If you want to get away-and believe me you will-catch the mini bus to Akumel bay 5 mins away-there you will find nice restaurants-Lol Ha being one-and you will get good service,good food and sunbeds-all quite cheap,and you can swim out from the shore about 100m and meet the local turtles!And lots of other fish-including some huge and scary baracudas! I would go back to Mexico dispite this disappointment but obviousely not this hotel.

We had originally booked to go to the Catalonia Riviera Maya, but Thomas Cook advised us there were building works. Someone recommended we try the Bahia Principe, so we arranged for the holiday to be changed - and we are so glad we did!

We stayed at the Bahia Principe Akumal, which is on the beach, and one of three hotels in the resort. The main hotel is Tulum, which is also on the beach, and the newest hotel is Coba, which is not on the beach, but all rooms and hotels are serviced by regular golf-carts, so wherever you stay you can easily get about.

The food was incredible - I've never had so much choice for breakfast, and there was even freshly squeezed orange juice. Every night in the buffet was internationally themed, but if you didn't like that particular cuisine they always had trusty salad, pizza (freshly stone baked), sushi and pasta on the go, and loads more. The desserts were always fantastic - I recommend the carrot cake! Everything was fresh and hygienic; definitely 5-star stuff.

There are also 'a la carte' restaurants and you can pick three per week. We particularly like the gourmet restaurant in Akumal and the Oriental restaurant at Hacienda.

If you like snorkelling and diving (as I do) then this is the hotel for you. They have an onsite dive centre, which arranges all sorts of trips. I went snorkelling with 14m whale sharks and 3m manta rays in the wild - it was quite expensive and I had to get up at 4.00am but it really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I have a wonderful time. We also did snorkelling at Turtle Reef, where the turtles are huge and take no notice of you swimming around them. I also did my PADI scuba refresh and a dive there, and they were $US35 each so quite reasonable.

The beach is not the finest sand, and there are some rocks in the sea, but this makes really good snorkelling and there were often shoals of fish. There's a small lagoon-type bit at the Akumal end of the beach where they've taken most of the rocks out and put huge sandbags in the sea so there's hardly any tide in there, which is great for kids.

There are a few beach and pool bars; the beach bar at the Akumal end had swings hanging from the roof so you could swing away in the sea breeze with your cocktail! They used mainly local spirits at the beach, but in the indoor hotel bars they used branded stuff (Smirnoff vodka, etc).

The service was friendly, but you need to take quite a few dollar bills with you for tipping in the a la carte restaurants and in the bars in the evening. We gave our maid $US5 at the start of the holiday and then another $US5 halfway through, and she made us beautiful towel sculptures every day, including a vase (with flowers!), an elephant, a lobster and a woman in a skirt!

You can easily get a taxi from outside the resort, it's very safe, or you can ask them to come directly to reception to pick you up. Otherwise, there are very cheap taxi-vans which take you up to Playa del Carmen or down to Tulum for just $US2 each. They do tend to cram people into them, but they are air conditioned so it's not too bad. You can ask to be dropped off anywhere along the main road, but beware they do literally just drop you off at the side of the motorway, and you have to remind them of the hotel before they drive past it because if they forget they just leave you wherever it is you tell them they've gone wrong! Probably not ideal if you've got kids with you.

There are various cenotes (sink holes) in the area, some of which have been commercialised and cost a small fortune to get into , but we asked around and the Eden cenote was recommended to us. We took the taxi-van from outside the hotel and it took about 15 mins to get there - we just asked the driver to drop us off there. It cost only $MEX35 ($US3.50) to get in, but we recommend you take the right change as it's just a little old lady sitting in a hut. There's then a very hot 5-minute walk to the sink hole, but it really is worth it. We were the only people there apart from a couple of divers. It is very beautiful, and someone has put some wooden steps going down into it at various points. Take your snorkel gear as the rocks and fish are fantastic. It is very very deep in places, but perfectly clear fresh water.

Lastly, we weren't sure whether to take dollars or pesos, but it seemed that most people wanted tips in dollars, and payment for goods in pesos.

All in all, a fantastic holiday, and it comes highly recommended.

Most fantastic hoilday we've ever had.resort was briliant,staff could not do enough for you.there was so much choice of food,all good quailty and plenty of it.as much to drink as you could possibley want all brand names,lots of tequila as we found out,some carried to bed.Beaches beautiful sand,very clean,plenty of loungers to choose from,sea was very warm if a bit rocky in places.
trips out not to be missed swimming with dolphins and chichen itza,bit of a climb but well worth it.
despite all the bad reports we had heard about Cancun airport we had no trouble at all,comming home we were in the departure lounge within 15 minutes of arriving there.
we will definatley be going back

This resort and its sister hotel Tulum are not closed and never were they were hit by hurricane Emily mildly and the small amount damage bar one spot is fixed. It did not spoil any of the facilities or resort. This holiday was the best we have been on so far and we have had a few. This was our first all inclusive so were not quite sure what to expect. We were not disappointed. Would go back to this resort and would use Global Late deals at the drop of a hat.

It took us 45 minutes to clear the airport that was from touch down to leaving the airport on our coach. We had no hassle arriving or departing at the airport, they xray your bags going into the country and hand search them on exit. It cost $50 US Dollars or $500 pesos each to leave the country payable in Pesos or US dollars at the airport. You have to pay this before you check in. There is not alot in the airport abit basic, Burger King, Pizza place or sandwiches. A few shops. Cigarettes are cheaper on the plane.

The resort is 1 hour away from the airport.

The double rooms are clean, tidy, maid service daily, mini bar, balcony, bath, shower, TV and in room safe (the safe is not included and will cost $4.50 US dollars a day). Swimming pools are big, clean, and warm. The beach is right in front of the hotel. Word of warning if you go over the sand bags you will find the sea urchins like i did and they hurt. If you are stung by one you have to wee on it and do this for at least 3/4 times a day for 3/4 days to get the spine out. If you go into the sea where the kayals are with some bread you can feed the fish. We did that and had about 100 fish swimming around us i got some lovely photos. There are not allowed to do any motorised water sportis at this resort because of the reef. If you want to go on a jetski then the best place is Playa De Carmen on the right hand side of the ferry terminal. It cost $55 us dollars or $550 pesos you get half an hour which my son and husband thouhgt was great they would have stayed out there all day. The food well what can i say it was excellent there was something for everyone even if you have a fussy eater like mine is, he loved it.

We went to Xal Ha this is about a 15 minute bus ride from the resort its beautiful. I would recommend the all inclusive package its $83 US dollars each and everything is included except swimming with the dolphins which is anohter $155.00 US dollars each. We did swim with them it was fantastic you get an hour in the pool with them well worth it.

Buses you get a bus from the main road outside the resort. They are not like oour buses they are white transit mini buses. It cost 20 pesos each to go into Playa de Carmen about 30 minutes away. Excellent shopping, i would not use the hotel to exchange money i would go into playa del carmen the hotel exchange rate is very low. we took american dollar travels cheques. If you go into playa del carmen beware of the guys and girls in t shirts with Mayan Place on promising you cheap or free trips. They are timeshare or vacation package reps for a laugh we went on one it lasted 3 hours, yes the resort was nice but they want a lot of money and by the time we left i was ready to scream. I don't recommend you do this.

Mozzies - the mozzie man sprays the around the resort twice a day, we took insect repellent and found that we were biten more when we put it on then when we didn't work that one out. The worst place for mozzies is in the sports bar at the Hacienda which is were the internet cafe is.

This hoilday was well worth the money and we would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Thomson need to look at there in flight meals. Breakfast was the only meal i ate. I prebooked my seated and was told that they had abit of extra leg room. They lied we had no extra leg room and had the child from hell sitting behind us. The seat are small and you don't have tv screen in the back of the headrests.