This was our First AI. Did'nt expect much but was amazed at the quality of everything. Only thing we did'nt like was the beach. Sea weed was everywhere. Cleaners were constantly cleaning up. Unfortunately, can't fault the Resort for it.
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Twolittlebirds -
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Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: A solid 4.5 star resort!
I've never done a review before but decided I would this time around. It's a bit long but, in my opinion, fair. You can be the judge.
I stayed at the Ambar side (Older side and Adults only). Overall, it was a nice resort and the grounds were well kept.
Arrival was a bit rocky as the bus dropped a bunch of us off in front of the Esmeralda and told us we would get a cart to take us to the Ambar. After waiting 25 minutes, I had to go to the front desk to inquire what was going on and only then di[... read more]d someone come shortly thereafter. I tried to inform the front desk at the Ambar of the issue and it was dismissed like no one understood what we were saying and no apology was made.
Entertainment: Since this is an adult's only side, they should have had more activities and music playing. The music in the foyer kept skipping (need new music and/or CDs) and entertainment was quite limited.
Pool: Very nice. This was the only place with music throughout the day, except when an entertainer performed in the lobby.
Beach: It had a lot of potential but the seaweed was quite bad at that time of year (June). If you weren't out there early, you didn't get a hut and/or chair. Same for the pool. When on vacation, in my opinion, I don't believe I should have to set an alarm to get up just to complete this task. Obviously, this is out of the resort's hands.
Food: In the buffet, good but not great and a bit on the cold side. Desserts had potential but, due to mass production, well you know, it didn't taste that great except for the ice-cream, jello, tapioca and fruits :). I also loved the seafood pasta station at the restaurant close to the pool. That's pretty much what I ate for lunch for the remaining three days of my stay.
A la Carte: Great experience and top notch service!! I would go back there again and only go to the specialty restaurants each night for sure. I ate at Don Pablo, El Olivio and Bella Italia.
Junior Suite issues: Liquor - I stayed in a Junior Suite wherein liquor was supposed to be provided daily, it also said so on the flyer in the room, but I had to call continuously to request same and also for soda. The phone didn't work properly (had a lot of static which I called about but nothing came of it) and had some issues with the tv.
Liquor was a bit on the weak side. Most mixed drinks tasted like medicine, except the little bottles put in your room, Kahlua, Baileys and their local rum, Mama Juana, which didn't have aphrodisiac qualities claimed but did give you a good night's sleep so that's why people dissappear.... :)
The rooms were very clean. A huge cockroach did show up to say hi, which wasn't good, but I guess you can't avoid these things in the tropics....lol (when I should be crying).
There were no mats in the room at all because the floor got quite dusty throughout the day.
Beds: Harrrrd. Even with a mattress topper, it was still uncomfortable.
Customer Service/Staff: I must say that Albania M. (front desk) was a wonderful person to deal with. She did her best to accommodate and assist in whatever way possible and her English was quite good. This is how customer service should be.
As for the staff, that's where the problem set in. At this resort, I understand that Spanish is their native language but, given that soooo many people come from overseas, I felt ignored or dismissed as they couldn't understand my requests because I didn't speak Spanish, especially the buffet and when calling the front desk. For example, I asked for gingerale and got gin and tonic (which would have been ok if I drank that). I get the impression from this resort that, if I didn't have a tip all the time, the service and follow-through lacked. Most times, I was the one who would have to call back, after quite a bit of time had passed, and usually by then they would have forgotten, so make sure you follow-up continuously.
Value: I've been at numerous hotels in different places, but I would not pay what I did to go back there. If there was a deal - perhaps.
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Raida86 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Overall a good experience
We had first arrived to a downpour of rain, a hectic time at the Cancun airport and finally an arrival at the Bahia Principe Coba. Upon arrival we were informed that we were a part of a "Special promotion" that upgraded us to the luxury adults only resort "Sian Ka'an". We later found out that they really just over booked rooms and were picking and choosing who they would send to the more mature resort of the 4 available for booking. Upon arrival at Sian Ka'an, check in was quick and easy, we wer[... read more]e even driven to the front door of our villa with our bags which was really nice. The rooms were more spacious than your regular hotel rooms considering they were Villa setups. I am still trying to understand what the difference between the "Junior suites" at all the other 3 resorts and our "Master suite" at Sian Ka'an". I'll assume ours were just a tad bit larger in size. The area that we were located in was the top right hand side of the villas. Although this area was generally quiet, the walk all the way around and through the main lobby felt inconvenient after a few days. It would be very strategic to add a path from that section of the villas to directly connect with the main pool area in the center section of the resort. The walls were thin when there was noise, but very little since it was a more mature crowd. With this resort you have an unlimited amount of a la carte restaurants which is nice in comparisons to the other resorts that only allow 3 per week from what I understood. The food was much better than other resorts that I have stayed at in the Caribbean. The Japanese restaurant in the Sian Ka'an is a must try, the a la carte food at that restaurant was amazing! There is quite a few pools and we never had an issue finding a spot to enjoy some sun. Although this resort is not directly located on the beach, they offer a "VIP" section to the guests at the Sian Ka'an which seemed to look much cleaner than the other beaches. Note that there is a bit of sea weed build up that has happened this year from what I have heard from regular guests isn't a norm and it is due the hurricanes during the last few weeks. You will randomly find some people trying to steal the better spots in the VIP section of the beach. Although it is not regularly patrolled, you will find that sometimes people will be asked to move. Even though the Sian Ka'an isn't directly on the beach, it is nice that they accommodate their guests with their own section on the beach with a private bar. I have to send out a special shout out to the pool and beach animador/cheerleaders Ruben and Fredie who were non-stop entertaining during my entire trip. They go all day with a boost of energy that I have never seen. 8am-11pm of constant cheer leading and boosting moral and the energy of the quests, great job guys! Jaime, although you were quite the snob, you were great to look at and I didn't mind how easy you were on the eyes! The fire and cirque shows were much better than your average all inclusive entertainment but I would suggest getting rid of the MJ routine. Make sure you make it to the gala night at the buffet, they have lobster and crab! Yum! The interesting thing is that these 4 resorts entertainment shut down around 10:30 nightly and they have a central area called the hacienda. You will need to catch a shuttle to this area. You will find a plaza that has tables set up for live band, shops for souvenirs and the disco/nightclub. I really liked this concept because you got to meet different people from the other resorts in once central area and I am sure that this was probably easier for security to manage if the crowd got rowdy. Although I am sure that you will read reviews that suggest the resort is too big, I will have to disagree, I actually enjoyed that once you were a bit bored with your own resort for the day, you could explore the other resorts. Staying at Sian Ka'an allows you to experience every other hotel. I could understand how the trolleys that take you from resort to resort could be annoying to some, it was always an adventure for us. Also bring bug spray if you are heading there over the next few weeks. It is a more tropical setting and since there has been quite a bit of rain over the last few weeks, the mosquitoes are quite aggressive. Note that this resort offers free wifi 24 hours a day which also works in the rooms. The other resorts offer an hour a day and you must stay in the lobby. Check out was quick and easy and the staff was overall very pleasant. This resort really catered to couples but I enjoyed it being with there with my best friend. It's a quieter more mature resort of the 4 if you are trying to choose where to stay.
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Jenny0707 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Beautiful Resort.
Big and beauty resort, room very clean, food was good. Great A La Carte restaurant.Beach at this time wasn't good with a lot of seaweed and too much mosquito...But very good staff and reasonable price ....
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ASoares -
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Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Beautiful resort!
The Bahia Principe Coba is a beautiful resort, great for kids with the waterpark and kids activities all day. Too bad Coba vacationers can no longer use Akumal beach and facilities this was a huge let down. We have stayed at this resort many times and Akumal beach was by far the nicest place to situate for the day and now it is exclusive so no drinks or food for Coba people. We were also disappointed that the bars in the lobby close at 11pm every night. We have small children who go to bed at 10[... read more]pm (the latest) so one of us would sneak out for drinks to bring back to the room but only until 11pm - not good! We were told that if we wanted drinks past 11pm to head to the Hacienda, that is a good trek on a trolly (about 1/2 hour, total time) and what they are really trying to do is force you to the new casino and pay for drinks at one of the fancy (non-inclusive) bars - not good!
We have stayed at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico about 15 times and compared to the Iberostar Lindo we would say the Bahia has a lot to learn about what all-inclusive means. I would recommend this resort to families who are not looking to go to the beach and are looking for good bang for their buck. The food is good and the service in the buffet is sketchy. There were times we didnt even get served wine at dinner or coffee at breakfast.
We will most likely stay here again as the price is always right especially when traveling with kids but our expectations of this resort have begun to dwindle.
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Rvs007 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda: Our first time and now we're hooked!
This was our first stay at the Gran Bahia Principe Esmeralda and we're definitely coming back. The resort is clean, beautiful and just steps from the beach. It was nice to not have to take a shuttle to the beach. The two pools are big and not too busy as they are exclusive to Esmeralda guests. There's also an adult-only whirlpool in between. The buffet and A la carte restaurants are very good, but at peak times they may be under-staffed. Food selection is huge and should satisfy everyone from yo[... read more]ung to old. The hotel staff is friendly, helpful and eager to cater to your every needs. This was our first sun vacation and we will be coming back again for our next escape to the sun.
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Carla -
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Bahia Principe Escape Sian Ka'an: Great Trip!
My husband and I stayed at the Sian Ka'an from June 14th to 21th and we had a great trip. The property was beautiful and the staff were very efficient and professional. I wouldn't say anyone went out of their way for us, but they did their jobs well and worked hard. Our room was 41201 which was on the bottom floor, but looked out at the pool, pool bar/towel exchange and was very close to the snack bar. We would have prefered to been up higher, because we always felt that we had to keep our drape[... read more]s closed, but it was OK and in a convenient location. We had no issues with the trams for the first few days, but near the end of the week we never seemed to be able to find one that was going where we wanted to go. I seen empty trans drive away and leave 10 people standing there because they weren't going where it was heading and 3 trams stop in a row that were going to the same place? Seriously the resorts are only minutes apart, would it not make more sense to take the group of people where they wanted to go then drive an empty tran around? Anyway, that was minor, and would not stop me from going back. The tram to the beach was no issue, but I was a little dissappointed with the beach after being to the beaches in DR and Cuba, but it was OK. I would say that if you are a beach person that perhaps this resort is not for you, but the resort facilities, drinks and food were definitely way better than we have seen in DR or Cuba, so I guess you have to decide what you want. Also not a huge problem, but we were dissapointed that we were travelling for our 20th Anniversary and our travel agent had advised the resort when we booked and then we told them when we got there and actually tried to pay for an upgrade and it was never acknowledged and were brushed off by the front desk staff about the upgrade. Then I read where people were treated to free upgrades and special treats for their anniversary's? Maybe we didn't tip enough? I don't know. The service at the pool and beach was a nice treat and we never waited long for drinks and we enjoyed room service 3 times and we always received fresh hot food. I was a little worried it would be too hot in June, but the weather was beautiful and we hardly seen a bug the whole time and we would go back in a minute, especially if we got it for the same price we paid this time.
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Kassandre -
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Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: Great resort, great people!
The hotel was very nice, very well up-kept, the food at the buffet was very good, a little bit for everyone, the buffet was huge so never went hungry! Every day there was something different at the buffet so it made for a nice change. The restaurant choices were equally excellent. Activities at the resort were great. Very relaxing stay. Staff was friendly, nice gift shops around, excellent alcohol! Location is great! Would go back for sure!!
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Mvmoran -
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Bahia Principe Grand Bavaro: FANTASTIC
Absolutely stunning resort. Easily satisfies all types of groups including families and party groups. Buffet was great but the a la carte restaurants were my favourite! The service was great to. Dont shy away because of the size of the resort because they have buggies that run every 2 minutes to take you from the point A to point B. Also, with the size of the resort comes more things to do because everything is on site (casino, club, kids water park/pool, jungle gym, basket ball courts and a gym[... read more] just to name a few that we used). Easily the best resort I've been to.
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OysterOnion911 -
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Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Very very happy
My girlfriend and I had a very good time here. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The food was great and the hotel was kept in good shape. The pool was nice but the with all the people, it got dirty as seen from underwater. There was extremely noisy construction happening on site which was really a buzzkill - waking up to early morning power tool noise. Most rooms have an ocean view and have nice views. The maids kept the room very tidy. The room itself was a good size as well.
Plent[... read more]y of opportunity for romance. Highly recommended.
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Lgolas -
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Cayo Levantado Resort: relaxing and great
great hotel. very clean. excellent service, staff went out of their way to improve your stay. great beaches and activities. lots of snorkeling from the main and public beaches. food was excellent and beautifully presented.
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Genomac -
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Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Fantastic Vacation
It was our first time to an all exclusive resort and we were unbelievably impressed. The Coba resort was huge and very clean plus you also got access to the Tulum resort. Food was great at both but id give the win to Coba. All staff were extremely
friendly and really appreciated when you tipped. We had a few days of bad weather but there were so many things to do that we didnt mind that much. The one bad thing was that the beach was covered in seawood from the big storm. There are a wide variety[... read more] of pools to take our minds of that though. The night time shows in the theatre were also very good. I'll definately be coming back next year.
This is our 7th vacation to this resort complex. They exceed in customer service. Truly a 5 star resort. We wouldn't go to any other resort to celebrate our 40th. Great staff, wonderful bar service by the pool and beach. The food is amazing, bed very comfortable, it is a 1.5 hr from the airport, but once you arrive, you are treated like family.
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Toronto Traveller -
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Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: Good resort
The hotel was a great resort, very big, interactive, lots of pools and activities to explore throughout the day. The only issue we had was upon arrival the hotel staff advised they didn't have 2 rooms for our group of 4 adults and 1 child. They offered us 1 suite with 2 beds and would bring in another bed or the other option was to move us to Bahia Principe which was across the street. I was not impressed with either or option because I booked 2 rooms so I expected 2 rooms and I wanted to stay a[... read more]t Tulum not the resort across the street, also it's their fault for not having the rooms to accommodate. We ended up taking the 1 room option cause it was taking too long to speak to the front desk and we were just going back and forth. Aside from the room situation the resort itself had great staff, very clean, friendly and everyone works really hard. When we landed there was a major tropical storm happening and the beach was filled with seaweed and parts of the resort was flooded, but the staff worked hard to clean it up as quickly as possible throughout the whole week. Food was good, entertainment was good, overall I'd give the resort a good rating aside from the check in and room situation. If they were over booked they should have been prepared or organized it better.
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Ed dc -
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Bahia Principe Explore Tulum: the best vacation
I would've given them 5 stars but when it rained the roof leaked but they took care of us anyways.
Entertainment are good we have no time to get bored.
Just be careful and watch where you step there are iguanas all over.
Services are excellent
Beautiful resort! Grounds were well kept. Room was beautiful! We upgraded to the Golden suites and found that it was definitely worth it. Our room was on the third floor. King sized bed. Balcony overlooking the garden. 2 min walk from the beach. Beach was clean, clear turquoise water. Service was great. Nightly entertainment was great, especially the Michael Jackson and the circus shows
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Tmisloved -
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Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Nice resorts but with cons
I had been here in 2012 and was expecting upgrades after the 'changes' to LUXURY. Sadly, I found no major changes for the better. Except for one thing only - they now offer specialty coffees in all their areas. However, perhaps they did that before and I was not aware of it. Overall, the place is beautiful. They have made the main beach swim-able, and for those of us who are beach lovers, it is a plus. There is also a smaller protected beach at the end of the property, that is less busy.
Howeve[... read more]r, not all the rooms have been renovated. The first room we were in, in Bldg. 65, had a bed as hard as a rock. The tiles were cracked and broken, the tub was chipped, and the worst part, because it rained all week while we were there (NEVER AGAIN TO GO IN JUNE - these were no 10 minute showers, but torrential rains 24/7), our roof leaked in various places, including above our bed. They did change us rooms, and gave us a $150 credit to use in the resort. The second room had a much nicer bed (had I known..) and in kind of a better shape. Although the bath tub was still filthy. The rain did not affect just our room. Every public area was flooded and dangerously slippery. Plus, because nobody could be outdoors, the public areas were so crowded, it was next to impossible to find anywhere to sit. Plus, service relaxed with the rains. So their top notch service, also became almost negligible.
My personal ratings for this resort:
Resort grounds - 5 stars (beautiful and well maintained)
Rooms - 3 stars (although "renovated" I didn't observe any such thing since my last visit in 2012, except for the softer bed in the second room)
Beach - 3.5 stars (very rocky and tons of seaweeds)
Service - 4.5 stars (sometimes 5 stars depending on person)
Food (buffets) - 4 stars
Dining a la carte - 4 stars
Reception - 4 stars
Pools - 4.5 stars
Shuttle cars - 3 stars (not consistent and they made us walk in the torrential rain to one of the restaurants. Thank God the Manager of that restaurants called one for our return, who picked us up in front of the door, as it is supposed to be, and as we saw some others do)
Spa - 5 stars (beautiful environment, massage was top rate)
Room service - 3 to 4.5 stars depending on person. However, they have reduced the choices on the room service menu, especially for breakfast. They have, however, elevated the kind of sandwiches offered. So it's a toss up.
Pillow menu: 2 stars (I requested a traditional pillow 3 times and they brought me the wrong one each time. Meanwhile, I could see them being delivered to other rooms. The concierge was really nice, but somehow that never happened). Their regular pillows are a bunch of rolled up balls put together in a tiny pillow. Not comfortable. Again, this is different from 2012 when they had the traditional pillows (North American style).
Policy: 1 star - even though they had rooms available, they still did not allow people to check in until 3 p.m. For those of us who arrived there at 11 a.m. it was a long, hot wait to endure. Especially since it turned out that the day we arrived was the ONLY sunny day we had there all week, so we missed out on some good beach/pool time. Personally, although we had paid for ocean view room, and had the e-ticket to prove it, they had initially assigned us a regular room and as a result they didn't give us a room until 4:15 that afternoon. This did not help in starting our week off well.
Internet - 2 stars - always busy, can only be used in main lobby. They no longer have the complimentary computers for guests to use in a separate lobby, and if our phones/tablets don't work so well, then we can't have any access. This is a downgrade, not an upgrade.
Bars - 4.5 for service. However, one of the lobby bars was never open. In 2012 I used to enjoy going into that one when the louder entertainment show was on in the main theater/lobby bar. That one used to have a one or two person show, doing oldie tunes or nicer, less chaotic music. They did not have that this time, and kept that bar closed...
Entertainment - 2 - the animation team this time were not as good as last time I went. Plus all their shows are tailored to the young people. Even their Michael Jackson show only included the latest songs from that artist. Those of us older folks stopped listening to his stuff as we became parents, etc. I was looking forward to some nostalgic songs but the oldest one they offered was Billy Jean, and not even in completion, but as a part of a medley which did not include any other older song. In 2012 this same show was amazing!! It was interesting to watch most people in the 45-90 range leave after the first 15 minutes. Their other shows are also truly tailored to the younger crowd. They really need to bring back the solo artists in that other bar, for those of us who want to relax while enjoying the entertainment and not get aggravated by loudness and cacophony!!! Too bad. With the rain all week long, this was something to look forward to, but totally disappointing.
Luggage: 1 - Even after making arrangement the night before to pick up our luggage, nobody showed up. Upon calling them, they told us it would be a 45 minute wait, and our bus was leaving in 40 minutes. We ended up lugging our luggage ourselves, which wasn't that tremendous of a problem since our room was close to the lobby. However, there are rooms that are much, much further and those would be a problem. So something to keep in mind. We travel light, but a lot of people don't!
Travel agent - 5 - I will always book my travel with you guys in the future (if I travel again after this nightmare trip)!!! The rain did us in. We both got back with Montezuma's revenge, which we are still suffering. I've never had this happen before in Mexico, so I think the rains had something to do with them being unable to keep things as hygienic as they normally would. In any case, thank you to Shauna and Teresa for your help in arranging this trip. Next year, it will be an earlier time of year, that is for sure!! No more rain trips for me!!
Location - 2 - it is the farthest hotel on the Mayan Strip. Therefore, travel time to and from the airport is ridiculously long, almost 1.5 hours. This also means losing hours on your departure day as they pick you up over 4 hours before your scheduled departure time. So, we basically had 5.25 days there, instead of the 7 we paid for. (First day shot because of late room check in. Last day non-existent because of travel, left hotel at 6:50 a.m.).
Regards.
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Lito Coy -
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Bahia Principe Explore Coba: Wonderful Vacation at Grand Bahia Principe Coba
This was our first family trip to Mexico. Our stay at Grand Bahia Principe Coba did not disappoint us. Amazing resort! Selection of foods are great & service of the staff is impeccable. We will plan our next trip to this resort.
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Gverrier -
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Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo: amazing vacation from start to finish
We arrived with plenty of day left to start our vacation! Had an amazing time taking advantage of all the exciting things to do; our favourite being snorkeling. Flight home was midday so no rush. Left us time to relax and enjoy our favourite spots one last time. Would recommend this trip to anyone desiring a relaxing getaway with beautiful scenery, gorgeous oceanviews, and fantastic food!