BlueBay Grand Esmeralda-All Inclusive

I wanted to share our recent experience at this resort. It honestly has to be one of the worst that I have ever been to. I don't even know where to begin. When we checked into our upgraded 'partial oceanview" room, our view was a construction site and smelled like sewage and dead fish. The room was very run down and dirty, the sheets had cigarette burns in them and, we could not find an electric outlet that worked to charge our phones, the toilet did not flush and the water flowed from the taps intermittently. It took us HOURS of waiting and being given the run around only to be told that we may get a new room the next day - just want we wanted to do on our first day of vacation. We eventually did get a new room the next day with a much better view but that room was marginally better, we never could get hot water in the shower, they never changed the sheets the entire week we were there and no blankets on the bed or in the closets. There was not enough staff to adequately support the amount of people at the resorts so, there were constant long line ups for coffee (the coffee shop didn't open until 10am), drinks and food, hard to get a seat on a shuttle cart (if it even came around). None of the elevators in our building (#5) worked the entire 7 days we were there and did not see anyone even trying to fix them. There was no mention in the resort description that most of the alcohol were brands you never heard of and tasted horrible. Cocktails were put together with cheap mixes. In a country that has an abundance of mangoes and avocados, I rarely saw any guacamole (and when I did, it was the processed kind) and no mangoes to be seen. The fruit was of minimal variety and bitter/unripe. The food was pretty processed and poor quality. The use plastic cups for the drinks and we witnessed the bartenders just "rinsing" them with water and reusing. This resort would have been fine if you were on a budget and rated accordingly but, I just wanted to let everyone know that it is not worth the money that they charge - there are way better resorts out there for the same money. Air Canada Vacations should really vett these places before rating them.

I travelled here with my immediate family and a large group of friends in mid-March. The resort was a HUGE disappointment. I'll break this review down in a few categories; Facilities: Extremely dated, falling apart. From the moment we arrived at the front lobby we realized we were going to have to lower our expectations. The only thing that's ever been updated on the property is the shopping areas (they want you to spend more money). The rooms were horrendous. Many doors and closets do not close or lock properly. The beds are as hard as a rock and there is close to zero water pressure in the bathrooms. Thankfully the A/C worked. Food: The food was pretty dismal. You won't starve but you may have to survive on bread. Two simple dishes at any resort breakfast buffets are bacon and home fries. They had no home fries and the bacon was inedible. The buffets were laid out in reverse so you would be for instance grabbing burger patty first then the bun and then the condiments which lead to confusion and long lines. A couple of the à la cart restaurants were actually good (steakhouse and Mexican) but the other ones we tried were terrible. The seafood restaurant was a disgrace and the service was non existent. Pool Area: The lack of shade and seating around the pool is alarming. The ratio of people to chairs is maybe 6:1. People were getting absolutely torched left, right and center. Beach: Forget it. The worst beach I've ever seen. I get that it's seaweed season, but no effort was made to even clean it up. The water was murky and smelly. Service: The staff were very friendly, however the service was atrocious. There were only 2 bars accessible to the general patrons at the entire pool/beach area and most times only 1 bartender working each side. Waiting in line with 40 people every time you want to get a drink is ridiculous! Never saw anybody fixing anything on the property. Fortunately we've been to enough resorts where we know to avoid the time share presentations but we saw plenty of people getting bamboozled into "special breakfast" sales tactics. Summary: The weather was beautiful and we made the most of the time away, but overall this resort was terrible and we will not be returning. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

Special thanks to Alex and Yulissa from the VIP concierge for taking care of us during our stay - really brought the experience to the next level for us!

I will start by saying I don't usually leave bad reviews, however this resort was the worst we have ever stayed at. Below are our experiences, good and bad. Food: Decent, not the best we've had but certainly not the worst. The Festival Buffet always had something we enjoyed. The Italian and Steakhouse restaurants were good, French was okay, Seafood not great. We didn't go to the Mexican. Some menu items (food) at the a la cart restaurants you have to pay for, which is a first for me, and we have stayed at many different resorts. There were 3 buffet type restaurants open for Breakfast and lunch, the Festival was the best. Rooms: Dated, but ours was clean. Patio door was very sticky with no outside handle. We had air conditioning issues on the first day, but they fixed that quickly. The hallways are very noisy, we noticed most doors to rooms had gaps between door and door jam, you can pretty much hear everyone just walking down the hall. Pool Chair Situation: This was ridiculous! There are not enough chairs and little shaded areas. I honestly dislike those people who get up at 4 or 5 am to save chairs, but I became one of them after day 3 of no shade. The beach pool area is huge, more chairs and adding umbrellas would go a long way. Bar/Lounge areas: There is only one main bar that you can go hang out in and it is loud and crowded. They have pool and air hockey tables but you have to pay to use them. Any other resort we have been to there is no charge. There is another smaller lounge attached to the lobby area of the French and Italian restaurants but it is only open from 6 pm to 10 pm, and is sometimes used for their members only. Coffee Shop: The coffee shop is definitely the best part of this place, but doesn't open until 10 am. Shows: The shows don't start till 9:30, which we find too late with little kids. Staff: The staff were great, always very friendly! Booking dinner reservations at the concierge was quick and easy. The concierge staff were good at hearing any issues we had, however the follow thru was poor. I asked for a blanket as our bed only came with sheets, after the third time I gave up. I asked for umbrellas for rain as we didn't receive any and again we received nothing. Victor in the Festival Buffet was amazing, he always knew our morning coffee/tea routines and what our grandaughters wanted to drink. Many times he would see us walk in and follow us to the table with our coffee and tea. Beach area: the pictures are very deceiving. If you are going to the Mayan to walk along the beach, this resort is not the one to go to. There is very little in either direction of the resort that you can actually walk along, as they attach directly to other resorts. Shuttles: The shuttles ran all the time, so there was no issue if you wanted a ride down to the beach area. Overall: We learned while we were there that the Blue Bay is for sale, so I guess that explains why they are unwilling to update, maintain and take to heart the many many complaints that we have heard and read. Sadly I wouldn't recommend this resort to anyone.

There were 8 of us that travelled here for 7 days on March 7 to celebrate my 60th birthday and a retirement for another traveller with us. Pros: Nice location. Food was great including the buffets. Our favorite A La Carte was the steakhouse, the worst being the seafood. Drinks were great at all bars, long lineups at the pool/beach bar though. Rooms were very clean. Staff did a great job decorating our room for my Birthday. Stall all very friendly and always followed through with most requests. Con’s: Our fridge didn’t work all week, had to grab ice from the black and white bar which is quite a ways from building 5. Our garden view was a forest of trees with no dividers between 3 balconies (no privacy). Didn’t sit out there at all, which is not like us. Not enough chairs or shade at the beach or pool. We brought our own chairs we bought from Amazon and used the umbrellas from our rooms for shade. On vacation I am not getting up at 5 to reserve chairs, sorry. The ocean and beach was not what we were used to full of sargassum and stunk (not the resorts fault). We are Cuban travellers so this was not what we are used to. All in all we did enjoy ourselves as we are not picky people and made the most of everything. Would I return here again? Not if the price wasn’t right, if they didn’t provide more chairs and shade, and if the climate didn’t changed at the beach for less sargassum.

Be scared be very very scared One night stay courtesy of sunwing due to flight cancelation Was placed at this resort well below the standard of the the Royalton splash which we just vacated

This resort had lots to do and we really enjoyed the food. The staff were so friendly and helpful! We had a great time!

The beach wasn’t very usable as there was a ton of seaweed in the water and along the water line. The staff try to clear it each day, but more comes. I understand that it is all along the coast at this time of year. Also, the sales team does try to sell you their vacation club. This took 3 hours one morning when we could have been relaxing at the pool.

BEWARE-MULTIPLE CASH THEFTS AT BLUEBAY . Since posting this, several other have come forward with the same experiences. Just returned from this resort on Wednesday and want to make everyone aware that I had $200 USD stolen out of my safe. We had a code set, took all proper precautions. The resort let on that they were doing an investigation but the last three days I was there they kept putting me off saying it was not completed and the super visor was always busy and unavailable to talk to me. My last day there I went down in the morning and they promised me if I came back before I left at 3pm they would have a resolution for me and shockingly when I went back at 230pm they still had not completed the investigation . Every staff member I talked to had a different story and one actually admitted that they knew someone had entered my safe Not only am I out money but I wasted a lot of time dealing with this on my vacation and not to mention the fact that I had to sit in my room for an hour and half the day it happened while security went through every inch of my room including all of my belongings making me feel like I had done something wrong. Needless to say myself and the 5 other members of my group will never return to this resort and I will never recommend it to anyone . I could get past the lack of chairs and the beach not being great but being stolen from is a deal breaker for me .Blue Bay should be ashamed of the shady ,unprofessional way they handled the entire situation.

Bonne nourriture

Pas suffisamment de chaises