Would not recommend

Rooms smelled too musty Service was not very good À la carte restaurants took over an hour to be served not enough staff to look after all the guests Definitely not enough loungers at the pool and beach area too many people complaining that they don’t have enough loungers and there were even altercations due to not enough loungers I will not be returning to that resort

Ok resort

The food was good, friendly staff. This resort requires more maintenance upkeep. There were not enough pool loungers and people were fighting over them because of this problem. There were no chairs or umbrellas around the pool areas, had to carry own chairs from our room to these areas. Not enough shaded areas around pools. Main check-in, not enough staff present to handle the arriving guests and the process took way too long.

Nice Resort

Most Staff were good and very thankful us tourists. Some Staff in Lobby were not that helpful and not always helpful, language could of played part possibly. The Staff that shuttled us around when was good especially Antonio our peep, peep guys we loved. NOT ENOUGH LOUNGERS AT POOL SIDE, along with no shade should be lots of umbrellas available if people needed to get out of sun without leaving the pool area. Also no chairs if you could not get a loungers. Had to carry down our chairs from our  [... read more]balconies to sit on. Nevermind Staff in early morning removed our towels and bag but left lots if others people's (was the first time we were able to get loungers under shade out of 7 to 8 days.) Food was good, room was clean. Beach was not the greatest but we enjoyed being around the pool.

Good Resort - Beach Lacking

Just returned from 11 days at Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda. Overall it is a good resort - family friendly. Pool was awesome although do prefer a pool that has a deep section as well. Staff friendly and provided great service. On the negative side, if you are used to the beaches in Cuba this one was horrible - full of sargassum which i understand is a problem right now so might improve. Stayed at the pool. Overall cleanliness was good except for the washroom near the pool - need more washrooms.  [... read more]Room was overall nice however the bathrooms need updating as it is impossible to just step into the tub to take a shower - need to sit and swing legs over. Some rooms had showers only so recommend booking one of those. Food was plentiful and good. I was surprised that there was not more variety of fruit. If you are on a budget, I would recommend this resort.

Beautiful spot, incredible view. But…

This resort was amazing! The food was incredible, the views were stunning, the staff were very friendly. My only complaint, twice while I was in the shower at 4pm getting ready for dinner, housekeeping came in to clean the room. Meanwhile, I come out in just a towel unknowing that they were there. It’s too late in the day to be cleaning the rooms. Even though that happened, I would definitely return. The place was wonderful.

3 Star at best

This hotel is a 3 star at best. After check in the time was around 10pm and there was absolutely nothing to eat. We were tired and hungry but when trying to ask no staff could speak English. When we got to our room (7106) the smell hit us like a ton of bricks. The smell of rotten cabbage and sewage was horrible. Not only the smell but we were missing a hairdryer, hangers, clean sheets and an extra cot that was ordered months in advance. I called the front desk right away and and was told we  [... read more]could move if we wanted to pay for an upgrade. I was not paying more to a hotel that was not willing to help in the first place. The room was also VERY outdated and full of mold. All the nobs on the closet doors fell off and same with the shower handle that was never fixed. Food was the typical 3 star resort food. Nothing 5 star about it! Chairs- If you want one get up very early to reserve one. I traveled with my mom who has mobility issues and there were times we couldn't enjoy the beach or pool because there was nowhere to sit. She also has a hard time with the loungers and there are no chairs. We ended up renting a mobility scooter so she could sit. I wouldn't go back and there are a ton of other places that are amazing for the same price.

BBay GE Resort – Great Fun, Food, Comfort and Value

The Blue-Bay Grand Esmeralda Resort (all-inclusive resort or room daily) is a large size property near Playa del Carmen, an hour south of Cancun city or 40 minutes from the airport, unless there’s a detour. We recommend this resort which offers many usual “all-inc” amenities for moderate cost. We're satisfied with clean sheets, good food, convenience and value. One of many Mayan Mex-Carib resorts, facilities include private beach, 3 large swimming pools, 6 restaurants, numerous sports facilities [... read more] and Miniclub for little ones, as well as complete services making your stay a pretty decent vaca. The buffet restaurant is white-tablecloth elegant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with excellent variety; we enjoyed all our meals there. Soup lovers like me appreciate cream soups of mushroom, spinach, carrots, tomato, potato, all which were nicely flavoured. Fish soup too. Desserts were delicious, daily variegated. Service for beverages was prompt and courteous. Five a-la-carte dinner restaurants offer excellent choices provided your selections are thoughtful. Reserve easily on the app. Examples: in the Steak restaurant, we liked filet-mignon, in the French restaurant, we liked something, in the seafood restaurant we liked the braised salmon steak; in the Italian we liked everything, especially the stuffed veal with prosciutto and cheese (Valdostana style); and the Mexican restaurant was passable. The Black & White bar scene in the hotel is happy, always active and intellectual (...just kidding!). And there's live music to compete with revelers' loudness. The Theatre Shows were serendipitously excellent, offering nightly different, entertaining shows: magic, mariachi, Mexican folklore, Disney, Broadway, Fire Show on the Beach, and more. After the show, there's live latin or other music for listening or dancing. It’s fun to watch fun dancing, and to join in if one likes to dance. We do! My vacation advice: don't retire to your room if you're not yet gently full, sloshed and tired. Three fresh pools are available. The usual pool-side lounge chair hide & seek situation prevails. Now don’t gird your bikini in a knot; same at many economy resorts. If you're challenged by walking, know there are long walks to get around and down to the beach. There are electric cart shuttles, if you can catch. The landscaping is beautiful and well groomed. Also, wildlife, by which I mean French Canadians and … coatis, agouti, iguanas, lizards, many kinds of birds, and (wait for it...) cats and dogs. Finally, regarding staff invitations to a “presentation”. Yes, annoying, distracting and time consuming when your time in the sun is limited. Calm..., don’t gird your bikini in a knot, just say politely no! Me, I’m empathetic, because resort workers are just trying to make a living by upselling you to their “club,” offering $50 per person gifts. I know people who have participated and survived and even purchased. Buy your friends $100 of gifts. Take it easy on your vacation.

Hmm I would go again

The room we were in was moldy smelling we did tell them but they didn’t care. No service around the pool at all. Would if been nice to have that at least and of course the chair game ever day, being a family resort you would think that the shows would be around 7took 3 days to get extra blanket I wouldn’t go there again

Hmm I would go again

The room we were in was moldy smelling we did tell them but they didn’t care. No service around the pool at all. Would if been nice to have that at least and of course the chair game ever day, being a family resort you would think that the shows would be around 7took 3 days to get extra blanket I wouldn’t go there again

Love the resort

The food was good service also but we didn't had ice cream nore guacamole. The interning was good drink and special café was cool. I woul recommend d this resort to everyone. Beach its wasn't cuba but nice and the lagoon wish is 10 min walk it amazing . Loves my experience ❤️

Very enjoyable bacation

We stayed for a week Feb 5th to 12. This is my second stay at the resort and I come because of the people. The resort staff are outstanding from the trolley drivers consideration to everyone's needs to the restaurant staff they are working hard but still approach with a smile and kind word The rooms are getting outdated it they are clean we needed some towels and within 10 minutes they were at the door We always had a full minibar and 3 bottles of water The other thing which was important  [... read more]to me as I have mobility issues there is a elevator in each building The food is good variety but if your picky it may challenge you There are 3 restaurants open for breakfast when we were there when I was there a little off season only 2 were open There is a coffee shop that is included that make great coffee and various drinks much like Starbucks Speciality restaurants are excellent there is a ap so you can sign up for your convenience just go to the concierge they will str you up Entertainment varies throughout the week There is a central bar in the evening with entertainment in the theatre right there The beach is smaller and there is during peak season loungers are required to be claimed early in the morning this in all resorts I have experienced There is the beach with a large pool where activities are all day long a restaurant for breakfast andunch A smaller Pool is at building 7 and is quieter you will have to put at 6 am to get a chair There is shuttles that run all day long as it is a big resort If you like walking you will definitely get your steps in As well a well appointed gym is available and the spa is in the same building I love this place but I am not high maintenance and what's important to me might not be for you I enjoy happy helpful friendly staff which with.a smile you will find here Oh yes don't forget to tip they work really hard

It’s ok, what you pay for

Rooms were not great, toilet ran the entire time we were there.Al a carte restaurants were great, Buffett was just ok. Bar service was very good, entertainment was good but the Black and White was very loud. Staff were friendly and most went the extra mile.

Get what you pay for

It's warm in the sun, but for cheap. Resort is dated and rooms are musky, there are no umbrellas around the pools so be up at 7 am to save your pool spot under a cabana. Staff friendly, rooms are clean, food is good. Positive is its warmer than at home.

Great resort

The hotel and grounds were immaculate, staff were friendly, food was good and lots of selection of drinks. The beach was disappointing, almost impossible to get a chair unless you were willing to pay for an upgrade, and a long walk to get there.

It was fine

The resort was fine. The grounds were beautiful. Our room was perfectly fine. Shower was good no mould as stated by other reviewers. Because the resort is a family resort I understand that they have to accommodate for kids eating, however, most of the food was not appealing to us. The fruit was adequate however, most of the time it was not ripe enough to eat, the food at the buffets was hardly ever hot. There were such a shortage of beach, loungers that people had to put their towels on the sand [... read more]. We enjoyed ourselves, but we would not return to the same resort.. also it was frustrating to find out so many people paid so much less for their trip and had much better rooms closer to the beach. We paid the most of anyone we spoke to and our room was the furthest away.

Friendly staf, very lush grounds

Staff very friendly at all times. A bit of a walk to other areas of the resort , but a cart service is available. Food was ok at the buffets , always found something to eat . A l carted was ok. Could use more seating along walkways as sone areas far to walk. Sad thing is the snack shacks were not open . On our side of the resort so we always had to go to the other buffet

Good value for money

The beach was very nice with almost white sand, seaweed like always but was cleaned as needed. Surprisingly the food was good and top notch service from young Maria, and the restaurant really good specially the Italian and the steak house, the bar service was very good and the coffee house was excellent, hats off to the guys who worked there. The front desk guys could not change rooms from first floor (noisy ) to higher floors. The room on first floor needs some upgrades like new mirrors an [... read more]d a fresh paint. There’s a 5-10 walk to the beach from the room which was fine for us, no shuttle taken.

Fantastic service!

Very nice pools and all the staff in the bars and restaurants were friendly and great to talk to. The room we had was showing its age, for sure. We got sick at the end, possibly from the clogged filter in the air conditioning, maybe there was mould in there? The Black & White bar and the Swing Bar were lots of fun, and the nighttime shows were very good. The food in the main restaurant was pretty good - we were impressed, as there was quite a variety over the time we were there. The Special  [... read more]restaurants were also good. As with most All-Inclusive places, there was a shortage of chairs at the pools, and no one followed the "do not reserve chairs" rule. They eventually brought out a few more chairs.

A good value for your stay

I would rate this place seven out of 10 we didn’t mind the walking at all. we found there was a lot of rude people people butting into lines where you get food and at the bar, they need to start doing something about this. There was a lot of fighting and arguments going on.In our room and around some of the buildings there is a foul odour, no hot water and some of the dated items in the room,

Okay resort

Staff provided great service! Resort is quite run down though. There was no hot water at all, just luke warm for showers. Be prepared for a lot of walking! The snack bar by the quiet pool was closed so it was quite far just to go get a snack. Probably wouldn’t return due to the amount of walking and the overall condition of the resort. We were told it is going through an ownership change so it may improve in the future.