Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

14492 reviews

• 

  Not 5 star

  I wanted to like this place so much! Despite building works going on we decided to go ahead with the booking still and to be honest the construction work was not disruptive in the least the issues were far more, I contacted the hotel prior to request an accessible room I was told on arrival that we had been allocated one only to get to the room to a over bath shower, big step, no grab rails slippy tiles, bath didn’t hold water to even get in that, went to reception to ask and was told they couldn’t do anything. room was extremely dated the glass didn’t even sit properly in the frame of the patio doors, dirty towels thrown over the balcony also by with half a rat, I went to reception 3 times to raise this to no avail. On day 5 came down with awful stomach cramps and diarrhoea, still like this now a week on, only ever ate in the hotel. What I will say is staff are lovley service in the al la cartes is second to none and we had no problems getting booked into them.

  Jul 02, 2025
• 

  Average & fairly disappointing :(

  Let me start by saying the amazing staff are the jewel in the crown for this hotel. Not one issue raised is aimed at them ! They work extremely hard with a smile on their face even when they are understaffed due to other staff being laid off to due to the work going on. I don't believe they are valued by higher management which is a disgrace and proven with one fabulous Guest Experience concierge walking out after 3 years at resort due the extreme demands put on her and her colleagues. It's definitely their loss Marianne as you were absolutely wonderful ! We arrived for a 2 week stay after being advised the hotel would have building works. We decided to carry on with our holiday as we thought the hotel would be quieter, with more opportunity to book A La Cartes and find space around the resort, pools and buffets. The building works proved to be the least of our worries and we really couldn't hear anything from them that affected us. The only issue we encountered with that was our trolley occasionally had to wait while a truck backed into the building works area. It was our 10th Wedding anniversary & my 60th birthday while we were there & this was the reason we booked a 'Luxury' resort, to experience something special. There was a lovely touch of an Anniversary banner on the door but unfortunately, we were given twin beds which wasn't ideal so guest experience offered to push them together with a topper but then we couldn't reach the lights and plug sockets as they were behind the headboard. So we pushed them apart again and had to make do. We were offered a room change but not for 4 days later so we declined as I didnt want to live out of a case or pack and unpack again. Then came the COBA fire ! Everything went downhill from there, we had very limited Wifi access so had problems looking at the App to book restaurants unless we kept going to reception. I said I'd pay for Premium Wifi but this was out of range so I just had to hope for pot luck connecting somewhere. I've seen others comment that people shouldn't be bothered about Wifi as they're on their holidays. Not really sure why those people try and force their preferred holiday options on others as tbh you have no idea why Wifi is so important whist being away from home, especially as there was a major incident in Liverpool and we needed to check on family and friends that were there. Coba issues were apparent from the moment we arrived. The poor Coba guests had to eat so I had absolutely no issue with sharing buffet facilities but they were given access to the whole resort including unlimited A La Cartes. With 50% of Akumal staff laid off this meant the hotel and it's facilities were overwhelmed. Yet still TUI were advertising Coba holidays and transferring new guests to the hotel This was really unfair to them and also Akumal guests. The 50% staff left at Coba (due to their building works ) had to stay over there as not all guests chose to be at Akumal all the time. There was no issue with Coba pools or snack bars so to grant full access seemed over generous considering they were putting Akumal guests at a disadvantage. When my kids were small Coba would have been my number one choice as it a lovely resort on a budget price but I paid Premium and expected service that matched the price and this was considerably more costly than a budget holiday. My reasons for being unhappy were : Buffet food trays not being replenished quickly so any food on your plate would be cold by the time the tray was filled again. Queueing to get in the buffet areas. Vegetables were extremely undercooked, not Al Dente (raw) Meat was a very poor quality with the exception of the Gran Tortuga and Katok. Booking A la Cartes became impossible due to the extra bookings Coba had been allocated. Restroom facilities were not checked and cleaned as regularly with toilet roll, paper towels not refilled, a blocked sink, a toilet full of human waste with toilet paper strewn on the floor. The wait for transport buggies were much longer as extra buggies were laid on for Coba quests to come to Akumal and back. No proper queuing system for the buggies so it was a fight for survival to hop on one. No thought given to elderly , disabled or parent / child guests. I've never been to an All Inclusive resort where you had to pay extra for 2 nights of entertainment shows Origin and Fiesta night and Ive never had the same entertainment duplicated the 2nd week of a long haul holiday. The Blackbird & 80's nights were good, as were the circus and Magic Show but once you've seen them, you've seen them. So we ventured into the Sports Bar but it was difficult to find a seat due to the extra guests from the other hotel. We stood at the bar instead but they ran out of Vodka and there was quite a wait to replenish this. One of the worst issues was the altercations round the adult pool as guests from the other hotel became embroiled in arguments over music, shade and sunbeds. There were 4 altercations with one being serious enough for security to come and stand by the bar watching for over an hour until the complaining Coba guests went back to their own hotel and this was quite frightening I know this is a holiday hazard and can happen anywhere but as there issues were between Coba and Akumal guests there was a definite sense of misplaced entitlement going on due to the free upgrade. After being patient for a week and hoping things would settle down I waited in a long line to speak to the Rep. She said she would investigate matters and arrange something nice for our Anniversary. We're still waiting to see what that is ! Anyway, I was sent a generic text message the next day apologising but it was hotel terms and conditions. Whatever that means. Although we did have all these issues we managed to have a good holiday, just not the special holiday we planned & paid for. As I mentioned at the start of my review a special thank you must go out to all the staff of the hotel. They work tirelessly and with a smile on their face. The management of the hotel should sit up and take notice of what people are saying. It was my first and last time here but if new and long standing Privilege guests don't want to return due to the drop in standards then you've got an issue. I have completed my Bahia survey and received another generic apologetic response as they weren't really interested. TUI did take it more seriously on my return and have refunded a small proportion of the holiday. It's such a shame as I was really looking forward to an experience I'd never had before but it just turned out to be pretty ordinary :(

  Jul 01, 2025
• 

  Couple getaway

  One of the things we enjoyed most about this resort was the entertainment. Esteban, our yoga and aqua fitness instructor was amazing and one of the best staff members we came across during our stay. Sebastian was a great bartender outside at the pool bar and the shows at night in the theater were really impressive filled with talented and enthusiastic staff members. The resort itself is a bit outdated and we did run into a few issues in terms of maintenance and hotel concierge and guest experience services.

  Jun 30, 2025
• 

  Construction and Chaos

  I really wanted to like this place, but there was just so much wrong. Starting prior to arrival, attempting to pre-book restaurants was a disaster even though they acted like it was easy. There were major renovations creating extensive smoke, dust and noise all over the resort. The restaurants seemed to be understaffed, even for the smaller number of available rooms. Availability of tram service was spotty- which would not have been a problem except for the renovations which turned the walkways into a mess. Don't even get me started on the glitchiness of the app and website...

  Jun 30, 2025
• 

  Definitely not a 5 Star venue…Shoddy venue, mediocre food, and raccoons in the room

  Terrible experience and definitely not 5 star accommodations. Average rooms. Some are still old and some are being renovated. Food is average buffet…looks good but taste is mediocre. The main hotel lobby floods during rain due to old thatched roofs. Final day we reserved a taxi and baggage pick up. Neither arrived. IN fact the baggage person passed us with his cart as we were walking to the lobby. Then he gave us a hard time for noting he did not show up? We had to reorder the taxi. NONE OF THIS IS 5 STAR… THE 1 STAR IS DUE TO THE FOLLOWING… I will start with the raccoons that were found living in the HVAC vent in the ceiling of our room. After the first couple days of hearing scratching in the ducts and all out screeching fighting noise. We videoed the event and reported realizing it was in the rooms duct. After a couple hour some staff came to review. They found the raccoons then left stating some one would be back to remove. No one came. We slept in our friends and grand parents rooms to keep the kids comfortable. The next morning a recorded again and called…still there. They came later that day to remove. They never offered any assistance. Last day of our week the night before we left a raccoon walked in our rear door. We called the front desk as requested and they were very dismissive. It was at that point I requested to speak with a manager. I noted We had been very accommodating through all of the above, but this was over the top. AND lastly…fraudulent charge on the account. We canceled and event in person, then followed up on their app per their direction. In addition confirmed in person with the manager that was removed. He agreed that it was the night before our departure. Charges at check out added it back in and the person on staff at 6am said they were the only person available when asked for a manager. BASICALLY…this place is not only shoddy, they also knowingly over charge people. We had a party of 10, 3 rooms, and our best time was spent off property. See the ruins in Tulum, visit Playa del Carmen, eat in Akumal Bueno Vida, swim with wale sharks. Find a cool Cenote. Save your money and skip packaged hotel tours…we did them for a fraction of the hotel price. We Viva Mexico and the people…but not Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal.

  Jun 29, 2025