Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - All Inclusive

It was our first visit to Mexico, the hotel was recommended by our friends. We had a wonderful time on our visit to the Akumal hotel. The service was first class and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Firstly, thank you so much for the room upgrade. We really appreciated it, and the room was lovely. I would like to mention some of the names of the staff who helped make our stay special : Buffet Staff: Fabian Margarito Jesus Jose Rafael Edgar Alexandra Pool waitress Sandy We also had the pleasure of meeting the manager Miguel. I did have one small suggestion about the steps to the restaurants. Many had long staircases and no handrail. There are walls on each side of the staircases, but a handrail on one of the sides would help navigate the steps up and down easier and safer for people. I'm glad to say that we will be returning to see you all again. Kind regards K Simpson

Great Staff and service , clean, modern and nice beaches. All 5 "hotels" in the resort are available for use, including their restaurants and buffets, although only Acumel and Tulum Hotels are by the beach. Booking a restaurant, is required, one can do this on the app, after checking in 10 days prior to arrival - BUT - I found very little availability, with most showing as fully booked even 10 days out. Finding something is hit and miss, many folk did not even get one reservation out of the 7 nights. Very disapointing and becaus eof this I would not recommend booking here if paying for the optio of eating in a speciality resturant, and not the buffer, for the 7 nights of your stay is important. You'll be lucky to get any booking, letalone in one of the better quality ones, even online and 10 day out. If this is important, and you dont want to be stuck in the buffet every night book a different resort, outside of that the actual hotel was great.

Huge Safety concerns re: wheelchair ramp near the infinity pool going down to the beach. We watched several people slip and fall on this ramp in the past few days. There is currently no grip tape to help prevent falls. There was grip tape last year when we visited. The buildup of sand makes it even more hazardous. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured. This is a huge liability.

We visited the Akumal Luxury resort just last week. It was really quite nice. The stay at the Akumal resort means that we had access to all resorts in the area. BIG plus. The Akumal beach was ok but walking down the beach to the Tulum beach meant a better beach experience completely. There’s a sand bar out past the shore that’s perfect for kids. And we didn’t need water shoes at all. Nice and shallow with soft sand. The staff were all fantastic. The only down side trying to get reservations in the restaurants. We managed to get 3 - Tequila (Mexican), La Tortuga (Brazilian) and the seafood restaurant. All were excellent. All in all, we had a fantastic stay and I highly recommend!

Hotel was much further from airport than expected and took 1 hour 20 mins in a private transfer with no traffic hold ups. Described as being in Cancun but actually in Tulum so an hour away from Cancun and 30 mins from Playa Del Carmen. Quite remote but a large complex so great if you don’t want to explore. We opted for an upgrade offered at check in and were glad we did as many rooms outdated and waiting refurb. Hold out for a good price as initial offer reduced significantly. Had swim up room which was lovely but several pools on site anyway and plenty of sunbeds with good availability. Beach is ok but nothing special. Sea quite rocky but good for snorkelling. Don’t bother trying to book the speciality restaurants unless you manage to before you arrive on the app as they’re all full, didn’t hear any great reviews about them anyway. Buffet is average but food more on the warm than hot side. Plenty of choice but same old same old as the week went by. Not good for allergy or gluten sufferers. No clear labelling with some dishes not labelled at all (in that you don’t even know what it is let alone what’s in it). Rooms clean with great coffee machine , resort itself clean and well laid out with plenty of wildlife roaming freely including raccoons and coatis. Gym good. Shopping area and market on site called the Hacienda. Had all the usual souvenirs. This was my second visit to Mexico and preferred my first hotel which was much closer to Cancun. Tip get your drink from the sports bar as much better choice than in the buffet.

Gr8 place can not wait to go back. Staff so friendly and the property is so clean. The best place to stay in Mexico..........

Return visit and disappointed beyond belief. On arrival no dinner à la carte reservations available. The Booked Oceanfront room not supplied. Bars not stocked well, running out of beer at beach bar or having none at all, limited base bar bottles past 8pm. Buffett restaurant had same food nightly and no hot food. For the high price and long bus ride to the resort there is much better in Mexico (8th visit). Also a small portion of the resort has renovated rooms, the others are old and dated.

While the hotel is great, the new owners show a complete disregard for their regular guests by ending the loyalty program. The "luxury" title is not accurate, the purchase of a top up band allows access to the property for any guest staying in other parts of the site. These bands are oversold which causes overcrowding and queueing issues, it was a struggle to get a sun bed after 10.30am

We are looking forward to our visit to Bahia Principe next month. We have been going to the complex every year since 2006 apart from during covid and one year when we moved house. So it is fair to say that we love it especially coming all the way from Scotland. Since the check in and restaurant booking app started I have had to ask for help with booking our restaurant choices. Think it is a combination of old tablet and possibly old age. For the past several years guest services have made our bookings and confirmed them to us before we travelled (thank you Ahiram and others). However this year I have been told that this is not possible. I have replied to say that if we leave booking our choices when we arrive it is unlikely that any slots will be available. I have passed previous emails with our reservations made by guest services in previous years and reiterated that the number and selection of restaurants if one of the main reasons we return to Akumal. I haven't received a reply and tomorrow is check in day so I now realise that the holiday will not been as much of a culinary experience and that's 10 days before departure.

I am coming to the end of my stay here, and sadly, although the resort has a lot to offer, we would not return nor recommend it to our family or friends. We have previously stayed at the Bahia Principe in Tenerife and was looking forward to coming but are leaving here a little underwhelmed to be honest. The gardens are immaculate and the hotel is lovely and clean so no worries there but something seems to be missing. It's a real shame, because the location is good and the ability to use all the facilities across the resort (including the adults only Sian Ka'an and Tequila Hotel if you don't have kids with you) is great, we have found the buffet to be very average and the entertainment somewhat lacking. Don't get me wrong, the newly refurbished rooms are very comfortable and there is an iron and good hairdryer so no need to bring your own, and a coffee machine and mini bar but bring a travel kettle if you want to make tea. The hotel provides mugs and teaspoons in the room and we could easily get cold milk at the coffee shop or bars. The staff here are mostly friendly and work hard. We did have an issue at the beginning of our stay with one member of staff which was dealt with by the hotel management, but I would advise that whilst staff are able to accept tips, please be cautious if anyone asks you to upgrade services or rooms for a tip, and I will leave it there. Otherwise, if you are coming here are some of my observations:Although it is not immediately obvious I would advise that you check out what entertainment, in particular, is on at the different locations as you can move around easily on the fabulous trolley cart system to avoid repetive stuff in one location and definitely, definitely download the app and book your al la carte choices before you get here. And if you are travelling without children you can use the facilities at the newly opened Tequila Hotel which is a very short walk from the Akumal. This has a great lobby bar, and outside courtyard with a small stage a few shops and evening music etc. The buffet has similar food to be honest but it's less mad and it became our ' go to' place for breakfast in particular. The pool here is also lovely, with loads of sunbeds around a massive pool but be aware that the music gets louder and lounder as the day goes on and for us, unacceptably loud by about 2pm onwards.I am not quite sure they have the vibe quite right here for the majority of normal guests! Great if you are looking for a rave but not for us, and judging by the amount of other guests leaving around 2-3pm, we are not alone and also not just old and boring :) I personally also liked the Sian Ka'an hotel and although it is very shaded by the trees during the daytime, the pool feels serene and there is a brilliant pool side restaurant there with lovely lunch options. The evening there was also nice, as the guests are condensed into a smaller bar and entertainment area but this seemed to improve the atmosphere, which is somewhat lost in the bigger hotel. Overall, I would say that the 'Luxury' element was missing for us at the Akumal and for that reason we would return to Mexico but to another hotel.