Great Resort!!

I found that the grounds were very well maintained Rooms were very clean and modern Air conditioning worked fantastic Food was fantastic Pool service requires improvement for supplying refreshments. No swim up pool bar. No 24hr snack Bar Cool wildlife around the resort Beach was good. rough when we were there Great zip lining, ATV, cave exploration Huge resort, round the clock taxi around the resort Dont buy the booze at the resort. Duty free at airport on the way out is 1/2 the pri [... read more]ce.

Perfect Getaway for Family

Everything was clean and immaculate, staff were friendly, resources helpful in trip planning excursions - if you want to come to a resort where everything is taken care of Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda is the place. This is especially a great place for vegetarian diets - both me and my husband are vegetarians and everything food-wise was to our liking.

Good resort

We are a retired couple who went to relax & we did just that. Wasn't busy at this time (Nov. 8 - 18th) so there was plenty of spots around the pool area or beach area to hang your hat. The buffet had a variety of different foods to choose from & the other restaurants at the resort were also great. Rooms were big. Trollies came around every 10 minutes to take you to different places at the resort which was very nice. The only thing that was annoying were the raccoon type animals that were runnin [... read more]g around everywhere looking for food/drinks.

Beautiful Blue Bay !!

Hotel. WEll kept grounds .. larger resort so the larger pool and beach is a five minute walk or you can wait for the carts. Be aware sometimes it is frustrating waiting for them and you might as well walk Bars. Beach bars..No swim up but no worries you really need to get out of the pool occasionally to go to the washroom and get yourself a drink or you do have waiters and waitresses serving you as well! The swing bar is by the beach is so fun!! not just sitting but swingging. Cool idea and  [... read more]it's open until 1 am. Large pool also has two more bars ! Beautiful pool !! Beach. lots of lounge chairs and go early to put your towel down. I think there should be a time limit on towels however this is a problem with all resorts. It is a respect thing..if you aren't going to use the chair don't put your towel there. Mabye until after you eat but then come get it . the water is murky and the bottom is rocky and roots however if you go a little further down you can find a sandy bottom. there is a lagoon further down the beach about ten minute walk. Rooms .. very well kept and beautiful showers~ no problems with water !! Third floor was much preferred for musty smell which you will get in most resort due to the climate . Safe worked perfectly ! well stocked fridge and lovely balcony ! Bed was too hard for me however I need a softer bed with my back issues. my daughter had no issues. NO disco but the Black and White bar/lounge area is open 24 hours. Yes you can get a drink anytime however the music stops at 1 so you can bring your own if you want to listen to tunes. I still think they need a disco. Things go quiet and then dead at 1. A disco would help for sure. WE didn't take in excursions as we have done these in the past but instead went to Coco Bongo as Gloria and Jorge had recommended this and though we were very hesitant with the cost considering the exchange we were both so happy we did~ What a night ~~ absolute blast and we were not disappointed with the show and our staff !! We did Italian, Mexican and Oriental a la cartes. We were not disappointed in any .. I was so impressed with Italian having gluten free hot bread. Careful though I don't think sometimes the fish is cooked enough

Good time

We had a great time, grounds are very clean and well kept. Service perfect ! Lobby excursion hassle, too much. The Grease (vasalina) show was the worst !! Left my dinner early to watch it, thought I'd be singing Grease songs but for some reason Ganga Stile song was played :( THE WORST SHOW ! I would go back in a heart beat !

Great resort

Food : 10/10 Everything I ate was awesome both buffets always had something I wanted and sometimes I didn't have enough room for more! Rooms: 9/10 Clean rooms, great room service, awesome shower , bed was suitable, elevator on one end of the building we were in was broken for a couple days. But it wasn't much of an issue. A la cart : 9/10 Always had selection, amazing service and delicious food, I've never had better steak than at the Italian ! Bars: 7/10 Had a the 24hr "black and whit [... read more]e bar" always people to integrate with and lots to do. Beach: 5/10 Water on the beach was below par, cloudy, clay/mucky "sand" in the water. Although the actual beach sand was great with lots of lounger chairs to choose from . Pool :7/10 Quiet pool at the upper end was slightly less maintained than the larger busier pool by the lower. Each end of the resort. Lower pool was clear and great design. Good selection of music at the busier pool with kids section as well. Entertainment: 8/10 Show we're average for down south I didn't go much, but that's just me. Resort is large but the shuttle service that looped every 10 minutes worked well for moving easily around. Spa: AMAZING that's all lol

AMAZING RESORT 5*

We were greeted upon arrival with cocktails. We requested King Size on the 4th floor and that is exactly what we received. The room was amazing. Some of the best food. We had the romantica package on the beach for dinner, very delicious! Beach was small but who cares, there were many pools. If you wanted to go swimming, there was a lagoon with a really strong current 7 min walk to the (north east). Entertainment was poor... kind of wish they had a disco. Waiters were not pushy with the tips. We  [... read more]would only tip tops.. a dollar or 2.

Pleasantly surprised!

One of best resorts we have been to for food and service. The staff were friendly, attentive and hard working. The food at the buffets and the a la carte restaurants was very good. The grounds were well maintained and very lush. The beach was not as bad as many people made out, we spent every day there. The pools are nice, but the one at the beach needs maintenance. The rooms were well appointed and well kept. Our only real complaint were the mosquitoes which we realize are part of an Eco-friend [... read more]ly resort, but bothersome just the same and potentially a health threat.

Average resort

Grounds and public areas were well kept Living quarters were average. We paid top dollar but were housed in the older part of the resort away from most of the resort life. Public hallways were dirty and not well kept. I was woken several times (In the middle of the night and in the early morning hrs by rowdy and noisy guests. Food at buffets was average. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Food at specialty restaurants was at a higher level then the buffet. Staff was efficient and friendly. [... read more] Hard workers. Perhaps overworked. Hotel reception not very accommodating when informed that they had assigned us a different type of room than requested. Three families, but we were not housed next to each other even though we booked a year in advance.

Good times in Mexico

Pros: This is a beautiful hotel on huge and lush grounds. The rooms were clean and spacious, loved the large stand up shower. Each suite has a balcony or outdoor space. Safe is provided free of charge. There is a shuttle that runs throughout the resort. The food is absolutely amazing! The Mexican fare at the Mexican a la carte is authentic, freshly prepared and delicious! The pool by the beach is busy, full of activities, it is large and beautiful. The pool by buildings 6,7,8 is more quiet and  [... read more]private. There are deer, coati, capybaras and iguanas that roam the resort. Cons: the wifi is not great, cuts in and out and is limited to one device per room. It was really difficult for our family to communicate when trying to find each other throughout this large resort without reliable wifi. if you're looking for a spectacular beach this is not the place for you. The beach was just ok. Quite rocky and not the beautiful turquoise blue you expect from the Caribbean. Really liked the swing bar, where you sit on swings and order your drinks. The resort is really large and requires a lot of walking if you don't want to wait for the shuttle. Also, there is no swim up bar. Highly recommend the excursion to XCaret park.

Average resort

Resort was average in many aspects.Food was ok, but difficult to find something to eat late at night.Enjoyed the bbq by the pool area.Nice not to have to dry off and cover up for the dining room.Ice cream outside the main pool area would have been nice too.The steak house was unbearably hot, so it was difficult to enjoy the great steak.The Italian dinner was amazing.The best service we got, anywhere on the resort.We were a party of 10 and everyone tried to accommodate us. We were not pleased wi [... read more]th our room.We requested 2 beds but got a queen.They could not find us one till possibly the nexr day.We unpacked and stayed where we were.We had a terrible view of trees, whereas our daughter, who was put away from us, had a pool view.The room was cleaned very late in the day, sometimes at 5pm we had to wait to change for dinner.They were very quick to fix the broken lock on our patio doors.They did not always pick up the dirty towels off the floor orleave us a bathmat. The main pool was gorgeous.The bridges were great for getting some shade while still being in the water.Lounges were always readily available. The beach was nice but the water was not.I did not go in. The animation team was not overly friendly or visible.The shows were amatuerish at best.We are used to a higher caliber of performance, having been on many cruise ships.The clientele at the resort was mostly Spanish.They were catered to much more than the Englidh-speaking guests.They were also very loud and rude. r.

Your average all-inclusive.

Everything was average. The food was average. The service was average. The ambiance was average. The rooms were average. The shows were average to mediocre. The sand was lovely but the water was rough, dirty and murky. Gorgeous shower in the room. Issues in our room we cleared up the same day (broken hairdryer, broken bed...). Plentiful a la carte bookings. Front desk was always pleasant and helpful. No real problems or negatives, but nothing really amazing either. Deco was on the mo [... read more]dern side, which lacked the Caribbean feel to it. Animation staff was nice enough but yet detached from the guests.

Excellent stay!

Great food, pool options, restaurants, service and a beautiful resort. Room amenities were kept well stocked and rooms clean. Highly recommend! There is also an awesome place to snorkel or swim 5minutes left on the beach.

Amazing vacation

We had an amazing stay in Grand Esmerelda. Staff was so courteous and food was simply amazing. Restaurant à la carte were delicious. Beach was ok, we had to walk 5 mins either sides of the resort to get better spot. But since the pool was so ginormous, it's not like we were running out of options. Rooms were nice, but we had an issue with a leaking sealing, the safe and the A/C... Overall, we had an amazing vacation and would go back anytime

Amazing Resort!

Went to this fabulous resort the first week of July. Yes it was hot, but so worth the trip in July. The grounds were very well kept, the rooms very clean, the food was absolutely fabulous and the staff were amazing. Especially Victor and Carlos in the buffet near the beach! Really made us feel welcome. I found the resort to be a bit big for my liking, but there were trolley's that took you around. The beach was not so great only because there was a lot of seaweed and not much of a flat a [... read more]rea for walking, but the view was still spectacular. Not too far down from the beach we found a cold water crystal blue lagoon. It was very refreshing and so beautiful. Only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel down the beach. Overall, we had a fantastic time. Would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone.

Great resort!

We had a great time staying at the Blue Bay Esmeralda. The staff was amazing. The food was incredible. Our room was very clean and modern. Our room was a 10-15 minute walk to the beach but there's a little golf cart shuttle that will bring you there. The beach itself wasn't the greatest but still ok. Plus there are two large pools close to the beach as an option. There's always a large variety of activities to do there. I liked that Playa de Carmen was only a 15 minute shuttle away. It's a great [... read more] place for shopping. Overall, we had a great vacation!

Good resort

Very nice resort! Clean, lots of great food choices, good pool and night entertainment. The Mexican a la carte was the best!!! However, we were very disappointed with the beach!! It was full of seaweed!! Had to go couple of resorts down to swim in the ocean 😞

Simple resort...but not a nice beach

Love the simplicity of the resort. Staff was amazing, especially Luis at black and white, food was excellent, clean resort, and overall great place. The rooms were simple and bathroom was beautiful! However the beach isn't anything special so I'd you are looking for a nice beach area this wouldn't be a recommendation.

Awesome Experience

The hotel was really great.Food was awesome.If you don't want to go out from the resort , you still will have lots of fun. They have many activities and night show everyday. The staffs are hardworking but welcoming with a smile on their face all the time.We had a little issue with out washroom but it was fixed right away ( I am not complaining rather I am trying to say how great their customer service is!) We got everything that was included in out vacation. We are looking forward to g [... read more]o back there again!

Fantastic resort with a terrible beach

The rooms were clean, the food was great. They had many restaurants to choose from. I liked festival the best as it was fully covered and the selection was great. The pool area was sooo big and beautiful with plenty of chairs. But the beach was absolutely terrible. If you walked next door to the right of the hotel (facing the ocean -right) their beach was great. We went there one day.