Fantastic resort

We were very pleased with the resort, the staff, the food booze. Everything was clean and well maintained. The beach itself was a little lacking, a lot of seaweed but if you wandered down the beach, there are some better areas. The only issue we had was with food service. Due to some excursions leaving at 7am. There is really no way you can get a decent meal. We tried at the pool side restaurant. They had food sitting waiting but got belligerent with us when we wanted to grab some juice, fruit  [... read more]and a box of dry cereal. Pack a breakfast the night before to avoid this situation. We all felt the restaurant could have been a little more flexible and understanding.

O.k. resort for the money

The resort is massive in size. The food is great. The drinks are also good. The staff is very professional and hard-working. The beach is smelly and full of seaweed-big disappointment. There were limited areas that were air-conditioned. Not much to do at night-there needs to be more entertainment in the evenings-and it needs to be advertised in a better way.

No customer service

I would say this resort is very mediocre and I would not go back. The layout of the whole resort is not very smart. Some rooms are 10 minute walk to beach. The concierge is horrible they have no idea what service is!!! Our friend was injured which the resort was aware of when they came back from the hospital. Our friend could not move out of room due to injury and so could not get food and we were not allowed to bring food to her. So she had to order room service and they charged her $12 fee we  [... read more]had to go through two managers and our travel rep on site in order to have the fee's reversed. There is no understanding or service at all!!! They are also very rude!!!

Fantastic

I was nervous about booking the trip after reading the reviews. So happy that I ignored every one of them. It was everything I could want in a resort and fabulous vacation!!! Highly recommended!!!! There was more than enough space, pools, restaurants etc. for everyone.

Nice place

The hotel staff bothered us about time share several times during our stay. The free internet did not work and the paid upgrade did not work much better. The bars were understaffed and took more time than it should have to get service. The grounds were kept very nice and the people were friendly our weather was good so we had a good time anyway.

Good, but not impressive

I will start out by stating that this was our first trip to Mexico after 4 trips to Cuba and 2 to the DR. So many people told us how much "better" Mexico is, in particular the food. Yes, there is some more selection and they actually have Heinz Ketchup (big deal), but we were not overly impressed. We travelled with 4 other adults, 2 kids (4 and 6) and I was 27 weeks pregnant at the time, so keep that in mind. The resort over all was good, albeit not as clean as other places we visited. We did no [... read more]t see many workers tending to the grounds and the beach was quite littered with straws and cigarette butts. One day, there was an entire stack of cups by the smaller pool all day and we had already noticed them on our way to our room the night before. The only thing I was really impressed with was the cleanliness of the bathrooms. I am pretty sure someone was cleaning them at all times (the women's at least, my husband tells a different story about the men's...) The big pool by the beach was ok. Soooo many people! There are tons of chairs, but if you travel in a group, you may want to "reserve" chairs in the morning. I found the pool hard to get in and out of, as there is quite a step. The pool with the kiddie pool was not filled enough and the water didn't even reach the filters, which made the water a little dirty. The beach is great for the kids to play (minus the garbage mentioned above), but the water is mediocre for swimming. Part of the beach is banked by sandbags and it just looks bad. The water is not the gorgeous blue and turqouise colour we are used to from Cuba, but that appears to be the norm for the entire Mayan Riviera. There are some pieces of coral as you walk into the water, but only for a small strip. The buffets were well attended and there was a good selection of food, but it did get repetitive after a week. The salad bar was phenomenal in my opinion. We tried the steakhouse and dinner theater and both were good. MAKE SURE YOUR BEEF IS COOKED THROUGH!!! I cannot stress this enough! Both of my kids got a hamburger at the steakhouse which was COMPLETELY red on the inside and we also had several other incidents of undercooked hamburgers at the buffets. I did not drink and spent no time at the bars, but my hubby said that if you didn't have a tip in your hand, you waited a long time to be served. Drinks were good. I found the resort big and the walk to the beach was plenty far for me and the kids. They have shuttles, but they tend to be full at "peek times" to and from the beach. Room was ok (we had a standard gardenview with 2 doubles) but nothing fancy. No facecloths for most of the week. Water pressure is fantastic, temp is great and the showers are fabulous. The maids didn't get too crazy with towel art and didn't do any at all if no tip was left. Overall, the resort is good, but not what I expected from Mexico after what we heard. I did hear it is a lower standard compared to surrounding resorts. But it had everything we need for a great week.

Awesome resort!!

Reading the reviews before heading to blue bay grand Esmeralda I must say I was a bit apprehensive however as soon as I stepped foot on the resort I knew I was going to have a wonderful week! My boyfriend and I traveled to Mexico jan 12th-19th with air canada vacations. The bus was easy to find once we arrived in cancun and the trip to our resort was only about 40 mins with one stop at iberostar along the way. Check in at blue bay was pretty painless the staff worked hard to check in the 100 of  [... read more]us that arrived at the same time. My only complaint was that they generally told everyone the layout of the resort all at once and because everyone was excited to be there and doing other things it was hard to hear which resulted in us getting a little lost finding our room because the resort is HUGE. They did have golf carts to take you to your room however we opted to walk because the grounds were just so beautiful. Everything was immaculate and there was staff working constantly on the up keep everywhere you looked. Speaking of staff I was so supprised at how genuinely nice they were to everyone! From the groundskeepers to the bartenders, buffet staff and front desk everyone was so pleasant and always smiling and saying hello. We were happy with our room it was clean and the maids did a wonderful job everyday, fresh sheets and towels and little towel creations were on our bed daily. I found our room was cleaned in the morning which was great. Our shower was amazing never a shortage of hot water and our bed was heaven!! Our blowdryer didn't work but I called down to the front desk and someone was there to replace it within a half hour. Be careful when your out on the balcony the door will lock behind you! We were stuck on our third floor balcony for about 25 mins before we spotted a worker who radioed for someone to come save us! We were in building seven which was close to the smaller pool and festival buffet and black and white bar. It took us about ten mins to walk down to the main pool and beach area which was never a problem because it was such a beautiful resort. I was actually very supprised at the beach after reading such negative reviews. I thought it was great. Yes there is seaweed that constantly comes in but they had workers on the beach all day taking it up so unless our down there at 7am before they arrive the seaweed was never an issue. They had lots of beach chairs so finding them was never a problem. We weren't a vip guest and im ️glad because the cup section isn't directly on the beach, it's raised up and here are sandbags infront of it. We walked down to the left of the resort a couple times to a beautiful lagoon that had bright blue beautiful water!! It was breathtaking! We also took the kayaks out a couple times ( free of charge) and had a wonderful time as there are no time limits so we could explore the whole beach. The food was also great. We mostly ate at festival buffet for breakfast, the smaller pool buffet for lunch and for dinner we went to the steakhouse twice, Italian and Mexican a la cartes. They tell you to book your a la cartes 24 hours in advance however we made same day reservations and it was never a problem. The steakhouse was amazing!!! Luis was a wonderful server we were lucky enough to have both times. Our steak (the special cut) was awesome!!! The Italian was also very good, be prepared it is a lot of food!! I was actually very disappointed in the Mexican however. We rushed back from our all day excursion as xel- ha ( which was awesome) to make it on time only to have to wait by the door for 20 mins to get seated even though the restaurant was not busy at all. Another 20 mins to even get drink orders and a half hour after that for our main course. It was the only time on the trip the staff were rude and were not enjoying there jobs. The food wasnt the greatest either and was very cold. We ended up going to the biggest after. Other than that the rest of the food was great, the buffets always had a large selection you did see a few repeated items over the week but we didn't mind as they were excellent. There is also no shortage of alcohol! The drinks were fantastic!! We brought bubba jugs and they had no problem filling them with whatever we liked! Piña coladas at the smaller pool bar were great and the strawberry margaritas at black and white bar were so tasty!! It was also nice to have beer and run restocked in our room everyday so we could sit on our balcony and have some drinks before dinner. The swing bar was very fun during the day and after about 11pm! Until 11 we hung out at the black and white bar and watched the shows rode the mechanical bull and played cards. As for complaints I saw others making: Time share- I never once saw someone selling timeshare nor was I ever asked to purchase it or go to meetings. I don't know where other reviewers saw these people but I'm ️glad I didnt! Wifi- first of all your in mexico wifi shouldn't be a main priority however I never had an issue with it! It worked in my room, both pools and the beach. It was slower in the mornings but again, I never had a problem. Smokers- again never had a problem with this. They have designated smoking areas and the smokers stuck to them. If staff saw people smoking around the pool they kindly asked them to move to a designated area. Overall I had a wonderful week and would not hesitate to recommend this resort to anyone!! I've travelled south about 15 times and this was one of my favourites!!

Decent resort, great price

food was good... the staff were very friendly except the bartenders at the swing bar (although they are very busy) the beach wasn't anything special, but if you turn left and go down the beach there is an amazing lagoon with excellent swimming... this is the 4th resort we've stayed at in the area and did not compare to the other four (h10 ocean coral, grand riviera princess and adventura spa palace) but we got a fanatic price, so you get what you pay for! enjoyed my week but probably won't go ba [... read more]ck !

OK value for the money

The hotel is a solid three star. The food was fine. The guest service was OK. The rooms were nice. I found that the maid service was very good. The only frustrating issue I had was on the first night. The lock on the sliding door was broken. I called the operator, front desk and guest services five times in a span of 2 hours and was given the promise each time that they were sending someone right away. My son and I did not have lunch and were starving for dinner. The problem did not get addresse [... read more]d until 7pm with a man placing a piece of wood in the door frame. Upon our return from dinner, the lock was fixed. The nightly shows were OK. After attempting to watch three of the shows, we stopped going. Also, for people that like to watch tv at night, they do not have 10 English tv channels they have three at best.

Amazing stay at the Blue Bay

My girlfriend and I really enjoyed our stay at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda in December 2014. The hotel grounds were beautiful, staff were excellent, food was great. Before going, we were concerned about some of the reviews, which were negative about the beach. While it didn't compare to Varadero beach, it was fine. The resort is well situated, 10 mins away from Playa Del Carmen, which is easily accessible by shuttle or taxi. This is a nice 4 star resort where the staff work hard to give you [... read more] a relaxing and worry free vacation at a very reasonable price.

GREAT

It was good. Great alcarte food and always something to eat. Resort is big so always somewhere to go :) Lots of wildlife on the resort which was exciting. Lots of people there to tell you about excersions and help you book. Everyone is very helpful and friendly, staff is always very willing to help you with anything

The resort and staff were fantastic.

The rooms and food were great with volleyball by the beach daily. It was a family vacation with our two boy's (15 & 19) and we had a great time. As boys can be boys, they accidently left the safe open with $1000 of electronics in it. Chamber maid called surcurity, safe was locked emdiatley and a note was left for us to contact them upon our return. NOTHING missing and very professional

Excellent Resort!

Rooms were clean, food was good, staff were very friendly. I would definitely go back! The beach wasn't as "pretty" as other beaches in the area, but the pools were clean and refreshing. The staff were awesome!!!

Great Resort

Room was beautiful, food was great, grounds were always tended to. Front desk were always pleasant and helpful, Beach was nice but was expecting a much longer beach. All together had a great time and would go again

Not what I expected

The blue bay was not what I expected at all. They rate this hotel a 4-4+ but from our stay.....I would rate it a 3. The pictures are a little miss leading. It is all depending on what your going for. This is not a romantic resort. I would recommend this hotel to single younger people who want to hang out at what they call there sports bar. There is no night life, no real shows. The shows are on a screen like a movie. Very dissapointing. There are no lounges, no activities all around a boring res [... read more]ort. The pools were nice. One of the big main pool is under construction. I read that in one of the other reviews before I left and I spoke to my travel agent about this but she said it looks like it's open. It wasn't. They don't really serve u drinks pool side unless u r in a group and tipping big. I have been to the mayan before and I must say that we will never return to this resort again. The food was average. Buffet was bland, restaurants aren't that great either. You need to book your a la carts in advance because there are no drop ins. They are not fussy on how you dress either. Even though they say formal, u can as men....dress in short sleeve shirt with nice sandels. DONT FALL FOR THE SPECIAL TOUR/BREAKFAST! It's a sales pitch. They offer spa day. Well what it is is a day using there sauna and steam room. Who wants to use that when there in mexico. Lol. Garden view rooms are very basic. We stayed in building 6. Very clean and close to the small pool. Rooms are a nice size aswell. No tubs! Not sure if this helps anyone. I hope it does. If you get this place at a really good price maybe concider it otherwise keep looking. There are better ones out there.

So so hotel and beach

the hotel just so so, its beach is not good, too many stones, which injured my feet. On the beach there is not much activity. So the peoples just lie on the chair for sunbath to get the color. their room, service and food just general.

Clean, Great Service

The resort is extremely clean throughout. Rooms were cleaned daily and mini fridge stocked daily as well. Part of the main pool was being cleaned and repaired during my stay but with the other half of the main pool as well as the quiet pool there was no hardship due to the reno. The ala carte Restauarants were fabulous and no trouble making reservations for the same day or day after. I think my favorite was the Italian but I only ate there on my last day so I didn't get to enjoy it twice. It is  [... read more]a very large spread out resort but the carts go about every 8-10 minutes in between stops so if you don't like walking make sure you are close to one of the stops. The snack bars probably don't have quite as much food as the main buffet but there is still lots of items to pick from. Room blocks 1-4 are closest to the beach and main pool, building 5 is a little bit off on its own but has the best beach access and is closest to the swing bar. Room blocks 6-8 are near the quiet pool and main buffet and ala carte restaurants, as well as the 24 hour sports bar. Over all this resort should satisfy most everyones needs, as it has a little bit of everything, The biggest downfall is probably the beach as it has a few rocks and sandbags.

A poor choice

Been to The Mayan 10 times now. Love it but this is not the place to stay. Very dated. A lack of ownership from the management although the front line staff are good. Spend a couple of hundred extra for a better experience. Very disappointed in general

Better than what we expected...

expectedly good food. special theme every night. friendly staffs. clean environment...only complain is: if the shuttle car between buildings will pick people up on the way (not at designated spots) , that would be great.

Ok Resort, Roaches!!!

The overall experience was good, however our room at least had an infestation of cockroaches. It was really bad! Besides that the food was good, the pools and beaches were nice and the experience was good. The only other notable concern was the lack of friendliness of the staff. Generally when we had any issues with the room that needed to be addressed, the staff would agree to fix it and never contact us back.