I just came back from my vacation in Mexico, staying at the 5-star Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal, which is a part of the Grand Bahia Principe family of resorts. This resort is a part of the compound that also has three other Bahia Principe resorts in the same area (Coba, Tulum, and Sian Ka'an). Here's my review:
Check-In
The check-in process was a bit chaotic. We arrived at 12pm, and when we checked in, our rooms weren't ready until 3pm, so we had to wait. It also didn't help that many people in our group were booked in different villas, so the resort had to book us closer together. The staff did bring some welcome drinks to help to alleviate the frustrating experience.
Rating: 5/10
Room
I was impressed with the room. Because of the marble floor and lack of unnecessary furnishings, the room felt bigger than it looked and sound traveled far. The king-size bed was decently comfortable. The room came standard with a TV, iron, bathrobes, coffee machine, and a sofa (which can convert into a bed). The room safe was free and easy to use. The air conditioner worked perfectly with no moisture in the air. The mini fridge was well stocked with water, soft drinks, snacks, beer, and mini bottles of liquor, which was replenished every day. The back terrace was standard with a table and chairs.
One thing I would improve in the room is the lighting. With all of the lamps on, the room still felt quite dark if you closed the curtains.
Rating: 8/10
Bonus Video: Room Tour
Bathroom
Bathroom looked nice with the marble. Had the standard bathtub with shower, sink, and toilet. Resort leaves a lot of towels (including body, face, and hand towels) and toiletries. The shower had no pressure, which isn't much of a big deal. The toilet didn't really work all that properly. I had to hold the flush button in order for the toilet to flush.
Rating: 6.5/10
Food
Note: I am a vegetarian. My review of the food may not reflect those who are not vegetarians.
The main place to get food is at the buffet restaurant next to the lobby where you can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food was plentiful and served all dietary needs. The servers were attentive and did their best to cater to all needs. The food was actually quite good (especially the breakfast items), and much better than food that I tasted at other resorts. The staff also took great care with hygiene and contamination (hairnets, food being inside instead of outside).
There is also a 24-hour snack bar, which serves pub and finger foods, pasta, fruits, vegetables, and ice cream. Food was just as good as the buffet. I wish there was a TV, so I could watch World Cup matches.
I would also recommend the 'a la carte' restaurants (if you're not a vegetarian). If you are a vegetarian, I would not recommend the restaurants, as the vegetarian options don't taste as good as the buffet/snack bar. There are many restaurants around the Bahia Principe properties (including seafood, Mediterranean, Brazilian, Japanese, and French restaurants, among others), and you can take one of the many trolleys to get there.
Ratings:
Buffet Restaurant (Breakfast): 8/10
Buffet Restaurant (Lunch/Dinner): 7/10
Snack Bar: 6.5/10
A la carte restaurants (overall): 4.5/10
Shops/Vendors
In the Akumal resort, there is a shop that sells consumer goods, as well as a jewelry store, but I wouldn't recommend shopping there unless truly necessary.
Most of the souvenir shopping is at the Hacienda Dona Isabel (which is an entertainment complex on the Bahia Principe grounds). Many vendors are selling a variety of souvenir goods. With a bit of haggling, you can get souvenirs at a decent price, but you can get goods outside the resort at a cheaper price.
Beach
The Akumal beach is quite large with numerous lounge chairs and huts for shade. There are designated areas for swimming and there are a few beach bars around the area so guests can grab some drinks. The swimming area itself is quite shallow (probably about 3.5 feet deep at the most), and I wish there were some deeper water to swim into, but this is just a minor gripe. There is also a lot of seaweed in the water, but I always see employees trying to clean up the water by removing the collected seaweed. There are various games on the beach as well such as volleyball, chess, and archery. Overall, a good place to relax.
Rating: 7/10
Pool
The lobby pool is probably the busiest area in the resort. There's two river-style pools with two bars (one of them is a swim-up bar) and various sporting equipment in the water (basketball net, volleyball net, water polo nets). There's also lounge chairs and various games that the staff host throughout the day for entertainment. A personal wish of mine is that the swim up bar should have a TV so that people can watch World Cup matches.
There's also a smaller and quieter pool just up the beach with a bar and deck chairs, which is right next to the snack bar.
The best pool to go to in my opinion is the infinity pool at the far end of the resort. This is an 'adults only' pool, so no kids allowed. The pool is cut off at the end of the beach to give the illusion of the pool continuing into the ocean. The infinity pool has the same amenities as the other pools (bar, lounge chairs), but there is also a restaurant right beside it which serves as a snack bar. This pool is usually busy as there are people who want to escape the noise of children. I liked coming here most often.
Rating (all pools): 7.5/10
Entertainment
The resort has shows every night at the theater on the other side of the lobby, and the theater is usually full when the show starts. I watched some of the shows and they weren't all that entertaining. Some were okay (like the Michael Jackson show, which EVERY resort seems to have), while others were outright terrible.
After the theater show, by the main lobby pool, there is a stage where performers sing various songs. Performers range from a Jersey Boys tribute band, to a rock band, to an Elvis impersonator. In my opinion, it was good entertainment for the older guests of the resort.
The best entertainment is at the Hacienda at night. There's karaoke nights where guests can come up on stage and sing a song for the crowd. There's also live bands at night and various bars, including a sports bar which has pool, foosball, and darts.
Ratings:
Theater/Lobby Shows: 5/10
Hacienda Entertainment: 7.5/10
Nightlife
There's a disco at the Hacienda, but it doesn't open until 12am, which is much too late, and then the club closes at 2am, which only gives party-goers just 2 hours to enjoy the disco. The music selection was poor as well and the DJ didn't really know how to mix songs.
There's a casino at the Hacienda as well. The casino was much smaller than I expected, with only about 40 slot machines, and a few blackjack and roulette tables. You can get money on a casino card (to play slots) or obtain chips (for blackjack/roulette) at the casino counter. Staff was always attentive and always asking if you wanted a drink. I actually really liked the intimacy of the casino and it was one of the more memorable casinos I have visited.
Ratings:
Disco: 5.5/10
Casino: 8/10
Internet
The Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal resort had free WiFi throughout the whole resort, and the WiFi speeds weren't actually terrible. The speeds were really only suitable for checking low-usage apps such as Twitter, while going on Instagram/Youtube resulted in slow loading times. This was a pleasant surprise, as normally, resorts only usually had WiFi in their lobby, and the speeds were painfully slow. Obviously, I wish the WiFi was a bit better, but the fact that there was decent WiFi at all at all parts of the resort is astounding.
Rating: 7.5/10
Other Notes
- Because the Bahia Principe property is so big, there are trolleys that can take you between different Bahia Principe resorts, the Hacienda, and your room. They usually come to the resort lobby every 10-15 minutes, but the resort needs to increase service, especially at night when people are leaving the Hacienda and trying to get to their rooms.
- There is a kids room under the lobby with table, video, and board games.
- I highly recommend buying a ticket for the Mexican Fiesta that is held every Thursday night at the Hacienda. There is an entertaining show with fireworks, carnival games, pinata, and finger foods.
- There is a dolphinarium on the Bahia Principe grounds, which I went for about 10 minutes to check out, and then left because it was a bit boring.
- Between the lobby and theater, there is a room with a bar and a stage that has good air conditioning.
- I haven't used any of the spa services as I thought the prices were a bit expensive.
Final Verdict
The Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal is a great all-around resort that doesn't have one thing that was really terrible. The rooms were cozy, the pools and beach were well maintained, and the overall service from the Akumal staff was satisfactory. I would definitely improve the theater shows, as they were probably the worst thing about the resort. The WiFi could be a bit faster, and there should be more TVs around for people to watch sporting events, but this is just wishful thinking. It costs a little bit more money to stay at this resort compared to other resorts, but it is well worth it. I would definitely come back here again to stay at this resort.
Final Rating: 8/10
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