Good resort but very large/spread out

First of all, here is what we prefer in a resort. We are beach babies, so a nice beach, adequate loungers and beach view is a must. As well as swimming in the ocean. Swimming, not wading (will get to that, LOL). Swim up room, and everything within a comfortable distance of our room. Lots of sun and friendly service. Otherwise, we are pretty adaptive... On to the review! Resort Staff: Overall did not find them overly engaging/enthusiastic HOWEVER for the first time in my extensive travels, [... read more] noted that 2/3 of the guests were not tipping service, were cold towards the staff so I cannot blame them for not putting forth best effort. We managed to get to know a few of them and once we engaged/tipped they were wonderful. Hard to do that with the expanse of the resort and rotating staff... I tip well in the room, the cleaning staff were excellent and complied with my note that I left requesting fridge be stocked with certain items daily. Room: We booked a swim up room (our preference), and due to a leak in the pool fell short of advertised expectations. The water level was below the skimmers when we arrived, and continued to drop for about 3 days. Which turned it into a very loud waterfall as the return jets were above water. Not the tranquil pool advertised/expected. Management were well aware and did not add water to the pool (witnessed manger/maintenance/someone else inspecting it and taking pictures. Water level stopped dropping just under the night time accent lights/vacuum opening, attempted to explain to maintenance that was where the leak was, fell on deaf ears... Other swim ups looked fine, avoid building 63 for now... Resort layout: BIG complex, expect a lot of walking and lots of rides on the shuttle "trains". Add ons: Lots of add on charges. First time ever we had to pay to attend shows. Having said that, what we paid for was very very good! Kids: They have an extremely good good kids club, many activities we observed, they kept the kids engaged from early day until late evening. Daytime in the lobby/pool areas until up till 9 PM they had the kids doing stuff like decorating heart shaped cookies on valentine's day (for mom and dad?) to dance shows at 8 pm. Our grand kids would have loved that (kids on a resort don't bother us unless they are totally obnoxious). We Very entertaining to watch in the mid evening. That was great to see, and I am sure they dropped into bed extremely exhausted to the joy of the parents... LOL! Beach/ocean: We were able to secure loungers in decent areas of the main beach every day. Beach area was very good, white sand (a little course but it was not uncomfortable) and lots of Palapas. NEGATIVE for us, water in the ocean was at best waist deep out to the breakwater, we like to swim! Positive: We bring our snorkel gear with us and around the end of the breakwater there was lots of colorful fish! Grounds were filled with lots of tropical vegetation, Agoutis, Coatis, Iguanas, a few geckos & birds in abundance as well as a few racoons (?) running around to make us feel like back home. I highly recommend downloading the resort app and doing a pre-check in. Which allows you to book Al La Carte restaurants ahead of time. Not that I ever saw the restaurants actually full, but you get your choices booked ahead of time. Restaurants: Found the menus very similar (?) for example they all had some kind of seafood item that was tweaked in a different way. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS OUR CULINARY PREFERENCE TASTES We could not book our first choice (Alux), so that one I won't comment on, lets just say that considering we tried to book it a week before our departure and it was was already full probably makes it a go-to. BUFFET had lots of selection, but very repetitive, themes seemed limited. Actual Mexican cuisine was limited, repetitive and "Americanized". ***Best Mexican food we had was off site during an excursion at a local town restaurant.*** We had breakfasts at KATOK close to our villa, was a decent breakfast buffet, no complaints there. Tikalito beach restaurant, no love on that one, went there for lunch and selection was limited... Best choice was the Maiko. Unbelievable cuisine. Start to finish Portofino, Just slightly below the Maiko. Dolce Vita was running a close third behind Portofino. Frutos Del Mar seafood restaurant was disappointing. No exceptional tastes beyond the appetizer. better seafood dishes elsewhere on the resort. Tequila, total disappointment, more tex-mex than Mexican, selection not so great...

Great trip!

We had a wonderful time at this resort. The staff were all very professional, friendly, and accomodating. It was just my husband and I on the trip and we had requested a room with a king bed, but when we arrived we were given a room with two doubles. They moved us to a new room as soon as a king bed became available, which only took a day. They were great! The first few days on the resort were extremely windy so we weren't able to get in the water but when the wind finally died down, it was  [... read more]great. We got out parasailing, which we did find much more expensive than other resorts/islands we've been to. But it was fun, and the staff running the parasailing were very nice. I got a massage at the spa one day and I have nothing but good things to say. My massage therapist, Luisa, did a great deep tissue massage. It was a full body massage from my toes to my head. Very relaxing! The food was one of the best parts of our vacation. The a la carte restaurants were really great. It's worth noting that you must make your reservations 10 days before your trip at the time you check-in. We knew this in advance, but we spoke to some people who were unaware of this and weren't able to get reservations. So make sure to take a look at restaurants and menus in advance and get your reservations booked. There are no a la carte for breakfast and lunch but the buffet was surprisingly good! Tons of options and good quality. You have access to all Bahia resorts (Coba, Tulum, and Sian Ka'an) when you stay at Akumal. Akumal is by far the best of the 4 so we only ventured on to the others for dinners. All in all, we had a wonderful trip and would definitely recommend this resort.

Fun times.

We took our family to this resort for a week. Age range 3-66. There were 10 of us. Good: fantastic tasty,amazing variety of food at the buffet. Service was awesome. Tables accommodated us all at 1 table. The beach club had great fish and chicken fingers also with many others fresh options for lunch. Delicious. Also great service. So many places to explore. Lots of pools and chairs. Beach was awesome with snorkeling and fish in the protected swim area. Lots of activity made the water murky  [... read more]at times. Beach was perfect for our 3,7,8,9 year olds. Pools were cool but swimmable. Ocean was warmer than the pool. All areas were very clean. Entertainment was very good. Kids participated in the Moana show. Trolleys were plentiful and reliable. There was a lot of walking and as the week progressed we found shorter routes to the places we wanted to go. The walk on the beach from Akumal to Tulum resorts was easy and enjoyable about 10 minutes. Swimming with dolphins was at Tulum. Bonus. Staff was amazing everywhere. Helpful and friendly. The kids really enjoyed the animals. Iguanas, coatis, and little brown no tailed “wumps” we called them. Were everywhere. They ran if approached so didn’t bother anyone. Fun to watch. People fed them and the coatis would get close with feeding. We did not feed them. Down side: big resort that had lots of walking. We love to walk so it was fine and the walkways are well kept and maintained so no issues with getting around. Trolleys were available and reliable arriving about every 15 minutes and picked up along the way if you decided not to walk. Priority was provided for those with mobility issues, the young and old we found. Rooms were a bit tired but clean. Our bed was comfortable but our daughter found hers hard. The sitting area turned into a bed so was great for the kids. Overall great resort that we were happy to experience for the 2nd time. Great kids pool areas at Tulum and Coba resorts which were accessible by trolley or on foot. Our group divided and did Ek Balan tour which was amazing. Deep sea fishing also good and dolphin swim-amazing. Should you require medical attention it is available at the market, also accessible by trolley on the resort. It was very good too. We really enjoyed our stay. We will return.

Amazing place, wonderful people!

The room was amazing, the grounds beautiful and well kept. The staff are always friendly and go above and beyond. I had sore muscles after a long flight, so booked a massage at the spa. Maria easily found the knots and gently but firmly worked them out, always ensuring my comfort. Regardless of where we ate, the food was amazing! Patricia made us feel very welcome at the evening buffet, like coming home and the outdoor patio was the perfect setting for dinner. Staff at Katok were professi [... read more]onal and the food was amazing. Edlizar and Jesus made us feel like family.

I will be returning

My second stay at the Bahai Principe and it will remain as one of my favorites. Akumal is the luxury and beach side area of the 4 Bahai Principe resorts located together. Im going to rate this and the other Bahai areas very high, as we visited all but the Adult resort on our recent trip. I have previously stayed at the adult Sian Kaan area and it is beautiful and quiet, you have to shuttle to the beach from there. First Akumal, we were fortunate to stay in one of the recently renovated modern [... read more] units and they are comfortable, a good size and the AC is perfect. There are first floor swim out units with a small semi private pool, may explore these units for our next visit. A good choice if you prefer quiet, not necessary if you plan to be in the action at the pool or beach. Did hear the older units are a bit dated and the AC less powerful. Akumal has an adult area away from the main pools, that has a beautiful infinity pool, adult restaurant KATOK and a private beach access. If you want quiet, request a room in this area, there are shuttles to take you to the lobby. As for the main pool areas (separate from the adult area) , there are three areas to choose from. The main action area near the lobby, pool with the swim up bar, and a third quieter area with limited bar service. We spent most of our time at the first two where there is music, bar service to your seat, easy beach access. The pools are weave around the area and have seating and lounging options in the water. There is plenty of seats around the pool area, no need to save a spot. Shaded spots are a bit more limited at the pools but abundant at the beach. The beach is busy and seems to be where most people tend to hang out. there is bar service, some activities and a lot of chairs/umbrellas available. COBA is the kids area but really nice and still caters to the adults. We didn't spend much time here outside of restaurants but it is a very comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. Nice sports bar and wide open nighttime area. Pool looks great for young kids. TULUM is a bit further from Akumal but there are shuttles available, not too far if you walk along the beach. TULUM is huge, and renovated. The pools are very large and open, it is louder then AKUMAL. TULUM is a beautiful looking resort. Has beach access but much smaller then AKUMALs beach area. If traveling with just adults I would choose Sian Kaan. With older teens really tough choice between Akumal or Tulum (no bad choice here). Maybe Akumal if I was going to access an adult only area or prefer beach over pool, otherwise Tulum if I want pools more then beach. Coba or Tulum with kids. Coba is budget friendly. Now the best part. The food. Prebook your a la cartes using the Bahai App a week ahead of time. There is an amazing selection of restaurants some focusing on great food and other on an experience. You will not be disappointed. If you are staying at Akumal, Sian Kaan, and I think Tulum, you can book at any of the restaurants on any resort. Some are adult only. The Coba restaurants definitely have a kid focus on menu items but the Mikado experience with the cook top is worth it. I also recommended the Brazilian Steakhouse and Tequila at Tulum for a bit of an experience while dining. All the restaurants at Akumal and Sian Kaan are excellent. You will have a tough time deciding which restaurants to book. Great selection at the breakfast and lunch buffets at all locations, again the COBA features a few more kid friendly options. The only bad thing, is the drive out from the airport. It is a long way and traffic can be an issue. If you are using the transfer bus then you may have stops along the way and you will be the last stop of the journey. My daughters review was, that is a long drive but totally worth it for this resort.

Amazing place

The hotel was cleaned at all times. Very friendly staff. Very good food and variety of options. Glad that we went there. Had a great time.we had adults only beach area which was great for us. The pool we didn’t use because of a lot of sunscreen in the water even they cleaned it every night. We will go again there for sure.

Amazing resort!

This resort surpassed our expectations. We had tried to find a place that offered better food than a previous trip at a different location and the food was great. Lots of variety at the buffet and the reserved restaurants felt like we were eating in fine dining venues. The staff was always helpful and welcoming. The entertainment staff always had something going on and we’re very energetic and friendly. The resort itself is quite large and offers many different things to do. There are also troll [... read more]eys that take you around that come by within 5-10 mins anywhere in the resort. We will definitely be coming back with more friends.

More than expected

This resort is well maintained, (Akumal) the grounds are impeccable, the staff courteous and attentive. The little shuttle carts run often during the day and often enough at night. There is access to food and drink 24/7. Snack bar is open from 11 pm to 5 am. The restaurants available were good and had something for everyone. We were only disappointed in one. Pools close early (7pm) which was disappointing if you would like a late night dip. There are plenty of umbrellas on the beach and a [... read more]t the pool if you want shade. Lots of sun too! Fun activities and places to be quiet. Something for everyone. I was impressed at check in when I walked up with a cane and the desk staff said there is no elevator. I said no problem. They said let me get you a room on the ground floor, you are currently on the second floor. I said I am not worried but they moved me around and got me on the first floor. This was all done by the front staff noticing my cane. I had said nothing!!! That is impressive. The live bands at the bar were very talented. Drinks generous and premium liquor available. We'd go back!!

Amazing Trip at Akumal

My husband and I went to Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal for one week over the holidays. We had an amazing trip and I’m honestly surprised by the recent negative reviews! The only complaint we had was that the pools were quite cold for the majority of our stay. They warmed up on our second last day, but it was unfortunate that we could not enjoy the pool. Fortunately the resort is right on the beach. You could always find chairs and there were a few bars along the beach too. The beach is nice an [... read more]d we went on a few beach walks to visit the other Bahia resorts. It is true that the ride from the airport is long (around 2 hours). We also happened to be the last stop. There were delays at the airport and we didn’t arrive at the hotel until midnight. The check-in process was easy though. My husband and I were given an upgrade (building 82 in the adults only section - very nice!) upon arrival. The room had two singles instead of a king, but they pushed the beds together and put on a mattress topper so we were happy with that. Especially since the room was much nicer than the standard room and it was in a great area! The bed was comfortable and we were given memory foam pillows. The bathroom was large and our room had a nice view. We were pleased that the manager Brian tried to help us figure out our room situation. He was so kind! The grounds are beautiful. There are four Bahia resorts in total and Akumal is definitely the nicest. You can take a trolley to get from one resort to the other or to get around this resort. We rarely used the trolley since you could easily walk the grounds. Akumal has three large pools (one is adults only). There is a swim-up bar in the main pool closest to the lobby and bars right by all of the other pools. My husband and I thought the food was incredible. I am not a foodie and I can be a picky eater, but I was so happy with the food options. My parents and some family friends joined us for our trip and they also really enjoyed the food. When you stay at Akumal, you can eat at all of the ‘a la carte’ restaurants. TIP: download the app and book your dinners in advance! It’s super simple to sign-up and download their app. We made reservations three days before our stay and booked all of our dinners. I’d recommend booking within a week of your departure. The people that work at Akumal are very friendly. I ended up falling on my trip and had to go to the hospital. The staff were very accommodating, got us a taxi to the hospital (the fees at the hospital were incredibly reasonable, even though we were worried about the cost!) and checked in on me a lot in the days following my accident. We were treated so well and everyone was happy and kind. I would highly recommend Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal for a vacation. I’d be happy to answer any questions about the resort. I can’t wait to go back!

Beautiful resort, some policies not so good

Beautiful resort, grounds were beautiful and well kept. We didn’t get an updated room but our friends got upgraded to one with a swim up pool, they were gorgeous. Buffets were good, the 2 a la Cartes we got were delicious. The staff and entertainment at all resorts were great. Highly recommend the silent disco! The beach at Akumal was enjoyable, although if you’re looking for sandy beaches, this isn’t the one to choose. Take note, although only an hour from Cancun airport, add in all the drop of [... read more]fs along the way, our commute one way was almost 3 hours! When we booked, we were under the assumption we were in Adults only but we weren’t; might have been our mistake, maybe we should have requested it the AO block? Our agent Candice (who was great!) requested a few things: honeymoon, king bed, close to beach and pools. When we checked in they gave us double beds so we asked for king. We ended up at the very back of the resort, furthest from everything. Not a huge deal, just not sure why we have requests if it’s not an option. I thought maybe we’d get a congratulations basket or a bottle or champagne or something for our honeymoon. We saw banners at other rooms celebrating birthdays, anniversaries etc. I guess it depends on who at the resort deals with your agent. Biggest disappointment was the a la Cartes. We found out a few days before we left that we had to book dinners 10 days in advance on their app. We were only able to get 2 online. When we arrived, we tried to book more and they were completely full. We were advised to show up and hope for no-shows. We did this twice at two different restaurants and although tables were empty, we were told we could get a table if we paid $480 pesos (or more) for wine. We denied that, our package should’ve included 7 dinners and we only got 2, why would we pay more? So that’s disappointing. We are lucky we found the Facebook group, if we didn’t, we would’ve arrived to all A la Cartes fully booked. So fyi, if you don’t book the dinners in advance you’ll be eating buffets every day which is not what we’re paying for. A little disappointing since this was our honeymoon. For a ‘Luxury’ resort, it wasn’t very luxury. We honestly would’ve received the same services, food, experiences paying significantly less a person at a different resort in Mexico. Overall, we had a great time and didn’t let the hiccups upset our vacation.

Wonderful relaxation

I liked the staff, the beach, the ambiance, the scenery. I liked the staff and the entertainment programs. It was a great time to reboot my energy and feel like I had been away for a month in one week.

Use to be great, but even the sand has gone!

The grounds are very nice, well kept! The rooms have seen better days, cleaning was not very good. Service was slow not like it use to be, had to get your drinks most of the time yourself. Very hard to get reservations for dinner, all booked up unless you want a 9 o'clock dinner. Was told to book them online , but that would not work for a lot of people we talked to. The construction was loud and dusty, did not know it was going on before we booked. Lobby's bathroom ceiling was falling down and [... read more] water dropped on my head from the pipes! This was our forth trip and don't think we would go again.

Nice Resort

1. Rooms were dated but nice 2.pools were clean 3. Beach was nicer at Tulum vs Akumal 4. We spent most of our trip at Tulum instead of Akumal better for our kids 5. Buffets were ok but food options were repetitive

Awesome Resort

Bahia Principe Akumel is one of my favorite resorts, the staff are always smiling and willing to help, they go above and beyond. The customer service was oustanding. The atmosphere in Akumel was so relaxing and soothing to all on our trip. The rooms were very clean and fully stocked with towels, drinks, etc. every day. Many a la carte restaurants to choose from. Buffett foods was good as well. would recommend this hotel.

Luxury Akumal - 2 Thumbs up

Ok, my personal opinion. The rooms are dated but I understand they are working on this. The resort was very clean. The buffet wasn't bad. Having access to the A La Cartes was a nice option. They know how to make a mean mojitho unfortunatley they ran out of mint at the beach bars all the time. The main beach area was beautiful, no seaweed! The staff was wonderful. If you have a family this seems to be a popular option for Brits travelling with kiddos. If you don't have kids like myself it was al [... read more]l good, no need to worry about it if you have a concern.

Great resort.

Grounds were beautiful ,rooms were clean ,hotel staff were friendly and the food was plentiful with lots of variety.Entertainment staff did a great job and pool area had lots of chairs and loungers.Beach area had lots of loungers.

Amazing, as usual

We just completed our third stay at Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal, and once again had a wonderful experience. Clean resort, friendly staff, delicious food! We are already planning out next trip back.:)

Momo

The hotel rooms are old and need of repair. They are doing renovations. Our room was ocean front and damp and musty smelling. We transferred to the newer building at 56 dollars a day more. They are doing their best with what they have. The cleaning staff went on strike as well so other staff had to fill in.

Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - An outstanding vacation destination

The hotel is incredible. It's made up of 4 resorts and if you book your stay at Akumal, you have access to all of them. Great pools and the hotel is right on the beach. Every night there is entertainment (including a dj that plays amazing music until 2pm). Food was good... They have several restaurants that serve a variety of foods from cultures around the world but you have to reserve these in advance or you won't be able to get a table. Book your dinner reservations 5 days before you head out  [... read more]to the resort. Staff are very friendly and helpful. It was a great stay.

Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - An outstanding vacation destination

The hotel is incredible. It's made up of 4 resorts and if you book your stay at Akumal, you have access to all of them. Great pools and the hotel is right on the beach. Every night there is entertainment (including a dj that plays amazing music until 2pm). Food was good... They have several restaurants that serve a variety of foods from cultures around the world but you have to reserve these in advance or you won't be able to get a table. Book your dinner reservations 5 days before you head out  [... read more]to the resort. Staff are very friendly and helpful. It was a great stay.