BlueBay Grand Esmeralda - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

19015 reviews

• 

  You get what you pay for so don’t overpay to travel here

  I’ll start with the good- beach is beautiful. Grounds are lush, lots of walking on beach and resort. We averaged 15 thousand a day. Drinks are good, food is good but not fantastic. Staff are fun and helpful ( if you speak to a manager during the day) if not they are dismissive. If you walk to end of the beach to the left there is a bay to swim in with calm turquoise water, very cool for swimming and pictures. The bad- non upgraded rooms smell like mold - no shower pressure- sometimes no water!! 😯 lots of line ups for everything, sometimes a 30 minute wait for a drink. They are understaffed. No chairs on beach unless you reserve by 7:30am. Lots of people sitting in sand. This is a problem, there are not enough chairs for the amount of guests. We had a great vacation but would not return to this hotel. If you book this hotel get a deal and don’t be surprised of the issues

  Jan 03, 2026
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  Bluebay December 23-30, 2025

  Travelled to Bluebay in December 2025. Overall our experience was very good. The rooms (building 6) were very clean and in better shape than what I was expecting based off the pictures and reviews. The rooms were cleaned spotless everyday, with towels, tissues and beverages also being topped up daily. The service and the staff are some of the best I’ve experienced, every staff member went above and beyond expectations to made our stay enjoyable. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Special shoutout to: Vincent, Angel, Fernando, German and Andrea! The resort grounds were beautiful and very well kept, lots of wild life! The resort is huge so get ready to get those steps in, and if that’s not your style there are transportation carts all over the place. Food was good, the breakfast and lunch buffets were very good, lots of variety and everyone always left satisfied. The pizza at the snack bar was delicious as well. We ate mostly at the beach buffet for breakfast and lunch. The À la carte restaurants were spectacular but quite hard to get a reservation at, definitely have to get on the app atleast the day before. The pools were huge and refreshing, but pretty much impossible to get a lounger at after 10:00. Everyone just reserved the chairs with a towel or various random belongings, so we did too lol. Overall the experience was great and would definitely recommend!

  Jan 03, 2026
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  It's a dump - for the love of god don't go.

  The good news is that you probably won't gain weight and you definitely won't have that dreaded feeling as your departure day grows near. The bad news is everything else. We chose this place, despite some concerning reviews, only because (Air) Transat vacations rated it a four star. I don't know what the Air Transat employee who gave this a four star rating was smoking, but he or she should be fired - or worse, made to spend their vacation there (for shame Air Transat, the group of eight who went there agree Air Transat simply can't be trusted). For Air Transat's edification, the following has no place at a 4 star rated resort: - water leaking from ceiling (see pic). We called at 11:30 pm to say that there was water leaking from the ceiling onto the floor (my wife got out of bed and slipped on the wet title). We put a garbage can under it and towels around. It took an hour for someone to come to our room - and they did nothing but wait for it to stop (lucky it wasn't dripping on our bed). Judging from all the water stains on the ceiling and wall, this clearly wasn't the first time; - one sink would not drain - and stuff came up from the drain into the sink (see pic); - shower had either NO water or minimal water. Take a 2 litre bottle of water, poke a few holes in the bottom, hold it over your head - that is what it was like to shower; Often the water flow would stop completely, for minutes on end. My wife left her room in her robe, with shampoo in her hair, and went to a family member's room. We were on the top floor of building 5, we had family in building 4 and the pressure was better. Presumably when at capacity the resort does not have enough water and if you are in the wrong building you are screwed. We have video of shower on full, with no water coming out for minutes, then trickling out, then nothing. Will be happy to share video with BlueBay/Air Transat -if they think I'm exaggerating; - very unhygienic. Drinks are served in single use plastic cups - that are re-used over and over. They don't go through the dishwasher (they are thin and bendable and would not survive a dish washer) but are collected, given a brief dip in soapy water at the bar, and put in use. They will serve a drink in a personal mug/thermos - but they will put the spoon/pestle into someone's mug and then use it to make drinks for other people. I think I only saw one waterless soap dispenser in the entire buffet, and it was hidden. Typically the washrooms will have three sinks and one soap dispenser in the corner - they definitely don't encourage guests to wash up before going to the buffet; - it is all you can drink in theory only - if you are willing to wait a while. It is a big resort, with one large pool. There are no swim up bars and only two bars to serve the entire pool and beach area (excluding the VIP club bar). Typically the lines had around 15 people, but during peak times was usually low 20s (although I did count 28). It created a cycle: long lines = people ordering as many drinks as they can carry = bartender taking longer = longer lines. - breakfast and lunch buffets were awful. I'm not picky, give me a chicken/turkey dish, even sliced deli meat, and I'll get by. There was often not a single chicken/turkey dish, how do you have a lunch buffet without a single chicken dish??? Hamburgers were also awful - cooked well in advance, left in an unheated pan to cool; - no staff to take drink orders on the beach (but to be fair this may not be typical for a "4 star" resort). The only staff you will find on the beach or those collecting the "reusable" cups; - if you love swimming in the ocean this is definitely not the place for you. The roped off swimming area is very small and the lifeguard looked at me like I was speaking French when I politely told him (after first ensuring that he spoke English) that under no circumstances should he allow a sea doo to be operated in the swimming area; - other issues (which all seem minor): no iron, no tv remote, fridge didn't work, balcony door didn't work, no alcohol (aside from beer) in the room, poor service, see pic of toilet paper that was left in our room - AFTER it was cleaned. Basically, this is a very old place that has been neglected for some time. It will likely continue to limp along, with the help of ridiculous ratings from companies like Air Transat, until they conclude that it is more profitable to tear it down and build something modern. On the bright side, you will think you've gone to heaven when you go to a place that it really a four star.

  Jan 02, 2026
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  Extreme Musty, moldy smells at building 6-7

  Pro: cleanliness- they tried their best to keep the resort clean, side walk, pool, beach Very friendly staffs I am from Canada, so 80% guests are Canadian- sometimes I forget I was in Mexico Buffet was so so. Repetition but I still found something to eat. I like their bakery areas, deserts were not too sweet. I was allowed to book 3 restaurants for 6 nights stay . I liked the lam chop at Italian restaurant, the salmon at seafood and got the best New York steak at the steakhouse. Con: Outdated rooms. Be aware of the strong moldy smells if you are sensitive to scents like me. Avoid building 6 and 7. I couldn’t sleep at all for the first night because of the smells. It was so strong for my sensitive noses that I would rather sleep at the balcony. Luckily I was upgraded to newer building 1-5, still smells musty, moldy but bearable. Limited sun bed: I have to wake up at 7 am to get a sun bed that had shade. Beach: not much seaweed but brown water. There is a no smoking sign but people still smoking at the beach. There was very limited of fruits: water melon, grapefruit, pineapple ( only one times banana and apple) Two nights I was woken up at 1 am because of the next door neighbour. They were drunk, screaming, kicking doors, cursing after getting back from the bar Wifi is so bad. Only work around restaurants areas

  Jan 01, 2026
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  Worst Beach and Food Experience — Not Worth It

  This was one of the most disappointing resort stays I’ve ever had. The beach is terrible — the water is murky, brown, and often full of seaweed, with an unpleasant smell. It’s not inviting or swimmable at all, and definitely not what you expect from a resort in Mexico. There is almost no shade at the beach or around the pools. The few umbrellas and loungers are far too limited, so unless you wake up very early to reserve a spot, you’re left sitting in direct sun or standing in the pool just to cool off. There are not enough chairs for the number of guests. The food was another major letdown. For an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, the lack of fresh fruit was shocking — mostly just basic melon and pineapple, and even those were limited. The buffet food was repetitive, bland, and often cold. Overall quality was very poor. Our room smelled bad, like mildew or dampness, from the moment we walked in. The smell never fully went away and made the room uncomfortable. The resort feels old, poorly maintained, and overcrowded. In summary: bad beach water, no shade, not enough seating, poor food with very limited fruit, and smelly rooms. This resort does not meet expectations and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing beach vacation.

  Dec 31, 2025