BlueBay Grand Esmeralda - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

19076 reviews

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  Not the Five-Star Experience We Expected

  I don’t usually leave negative reviews, but I feel it’s important to share this while still here, as future guests deserve an honest and balanced picture. Our first nights at the hotel were extremely difficult due to a strong and persistent mould smell in the room. This was present from arrival and became progressively worse. As the issue is related to air quality, it couldn’t be captured in photos, but it affected me significantly, particularly as I am very sensitive to strong odours. I struggled to sleep and had difficulty breathing, to the point where I had to cover my face at night. The issue was raised immediately with both the hotel and our booking agency. Only after returning to reception and requesting a room change did the situation improve. The rooms are outdated, and in our case, bed linen and pillowcases did not appear to have been changed before or during our stay. Some areas of the building are in need of maintenance, and at times elevators were not working, which could be very challenging for guests with mobility needs. The food is varied and plentiful — no one will go hungry, and there is a wide choice available. However, in some restaurant areas, animals such as coatis roam freely, and food can be taken directly from plates, which may be uncomfortable for some guests. Regarding the specialty restaurants, most staff were hardworking, polite, and professional, and they deserve credit for maintaining a positive attitude. However, in one restaurant we experienced poor front-of-house organisation, which led to unnecessary queues and delays. Overall, this stay could have been far less stressful. While there were positive aspects, the condition of the rooms and the handling of serious comfort and air-quality issues fell short of what we expected from a five-star hotel. With improvements to maintenance, cleanliness, and guest support, this could be a much better experience.

  Jan 29, 2026
• 

  Nice, but we wouldn't return

  We chose this resort as a last-minute get-away on a budget. We were content and happy to get into warmth, but wouldn’t stay again. These are our pro’s and con’s of our visit: Pro’s: The resort and our room were clean (and the room well stocked). The pools were in good shape and had room not to feel crowded. The staff were very friendly. They have the cutest little coatis on the resort which were entertaining to watch. If you’re a meat eater, per my husband, the buffet food was great with a lot of variety each night. There’s a pretty little lagoon about a 10 minute walk down the beach (off the resort) for a cool water dip, fish-watching and people-watching. However, not an ideal pro of the resort when it’s off resort. It’s a bit of a walk to the beach, but they have continuous carts driving to and from the buildings to the beach to catch. And if you feel like a walk, the route is pleasant with flowers and foliage. Con’s: Too much pressure to spend extra money (time-sharing, excursions): we eventually found ourselves hiding from the lobby staff as we weren’t interested in excursions on this trip (we’d done that on prior trips) and just wanted to relax. We received the most pressure at this resort than any other we’ve been to in the past. Very limited shade seating: there’s a lot of places to sit in the sun, but not enough shade options for the quantity of guests, which was quite apparent by people (including us) trying to find places every day. A lot of people had brought their own blow-up seats/beds, which we recommend (and wish we had done). I know a lot of resort’s shade seats get taken early, but this resort had the most limited seating that we’ve ever experienced. We didn’t feel like making restaurant reservations (plus having a short stay), so went to the buffet each night. For myself as a vegetarian, I didn’t find as many options to have that were enjoyable (though I understand I’m in a smaller food-preference group). Again, it was a relaxing stay, but if/when going to Mexico again, we would choose another resort.

  Jan 28, 2026
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  Good Weather and Great food

  Travelled from Jan 10-17. Ate at all of the restaurants. The food was good. The buffet was lacking and the food was average. For the a-la-carte, mexican was the best. Service at the restaurants was excellent. We had a swim up room, but there wasn't much sun, as it was facing west and there was a lot of bushes. We asked for a different location and they moved us. Pools were good. Service at the bars was long and there was very few wait staff. They did not always replace stuff in the mini fridge. Overall, it was a great vacation. Shuttle service(golf carts) was good. The coffee bar staff was great and beverages were good. The coffee bar was small.

  Jan 28, 2026
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  Kids Club is great

  The Kids Club was fantastic. The staff were very welcoming. My boys aged 11 and 10 spent most of the vacation there. Highly recommend!

  Jan 28, 2026
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  Jan4-18/26 Two weeks in paradise

  When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by David. He gave our luggage to the bellhop took us to the front check-in desk. There was no lineup they let us check in around noon . then he explained tomorrow he would give us a bottle of tequila and a $50 resort credit and he would give us a tour tomorrow morning at 9:30. They took our luggage in a golf cart to building six and they had one working elevator. 915 the following morning we got a phone call that the golf cart and David was coming to pick us up and we politely declined and that was the end of that. ( we have no interest in club 21 or RCI. We are cruisers. We have our 17th cruise booked for May 27 out of Rotterdam and have travelled extensively around Europe. ) We liked our room. It was on the fourth floor overlooking the small pool which I had sent an email and request it. We had hot water every day. There was no mould the AC TV and refrigerator and plumbing all worked. there is a chair problem, but we brought our own portable chairs to eliminate that problem so we could sit at the beach or at the small pool, which we preferred or in the shade or the sun . We went to the breakfast buffet three times once having a cheese omelet second time pancakes and the third time French toast all with some bacon and a mimosa but the most mornings we went to the coffee shop which opens at 10am great coffee, muffins, or croissants and different pastries. We went to the festival buffet most days for a light lunch . The evening buffet was your typical buffet. I liked the pasta station and the barbeque ribs were good also the chicken wings. We went to the Italian restaurant three times. It was our favorite. The anti pasta was good first time I had lamb chops, second time lasagna and third time shrimp with Alfredo. My wife liked the spinach and cheese ravioli . The seafood restaurant we had the salmon which was good. The steakhouse we went twice and I had the New York strip first time was really good. The second time not so good. I guess it depends on the cook. We went to the French restaurant. It was good. The presentation was nice. The only problem is they should heat the plates because the food was cold by the time you get it. Checkout time is at noon, but they held our luggage so we got to hang around in the lobby until 6 PM.

  Jan 27, 2026