Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

14402 reviews

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  Beautiful Resort, But Disappointing Wedding Experience

  My husband and I chose a Mayan wedding at Bahia Principe in Akumal for our destination wedding, aiming for a memorable experience with our closest friends. Akumal was the perfect location, and we also wanted to visit Chichen Itza. We were looking for an affordable, all-inclusive resort that could accommodate our wedding and our guests while keeping within budget. The Resort & Staff: The resort itself was beautiful and well-laid-out, and the staff were exceptional. They made us feel right at home and treated us with the utmost respect. By the second day, they even remembered our names! The hospitality was certainly a highlight. The Food: There were several cuisine options, though making reservations for larger groups was difficult, so we didn’t get to try as many places. The portions were small, especially for my husband, who often left still hungry. That said, the food was tasty, and the drinks were always flowing. Room service was a huge plus, especially for late-night snacks after dinner. The Wedding: This part of the experience was a bit more challenging. We booked 7 rooms, but didn’t receive any special recognition for our wedding—no discount, no upgrade, not even a simple welcome gesture. It felt like the resort overlooked the significance of our special event, especially when we saw "Happy Birthday" or “Happy Anniversary” banners on other rooms. My wedding was not acknowledged in the way I had hoped. I had some back-and-forth with the group team before arriving in Mexico, but once I got in touch with Nekane, she was wonderful and kept communication open. However, the event planning process was incredibly slow. I started months in advance, but responses took 6-8 weeks, and I was switched between wedding coordinators multiple times—ultimately, it was a week before our wedding when we had our final coordinator, Alx. Thankfully, Alx was fantastic, managing to pull everything together last-minute with patience and professionalism. We had paid for a cocktail hour, a 3-hour reception, and other add-ons, but things didn’t go as planned. The reception was rained out for over an hour, and there was no compensation for the inconvenience. The lights we paid for didn’t work, and my “LOVE” sign couldn’t be set up. The cocktail hour with an open bar was not fully honored, and no refunds or adjustments were made despite these issues. The event was also shut down exactly at the scheduled time, which was frustrating. The hors d’oeuvres were served with dinner, which felt like a missed opportunity for a proper reception vibe. We also encountered some issues with the guests being able to access our private area, as there were no clear signs indicating it was reserved for our event. This created a bit of tension, as some guests were upset when they were told to leave. Wedding Packages & Pricing: While the resort's wedding packages seemed appealing, the poor communication and delays led us to book our ceremony outside the resort, which ended up costing more. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of the included perks that came with the packages—things like free breakfasts, a couple’s massage, or a stay at a sister resort. I was told those weren’t available to us, which added to the disappointment. What Went Right: Despite the challenges, there were a few standout experiences. JJ Studios, including Ivonne at the front desk, Emilio the videographer, and Nicolas flying the drone, went above and beyond. They were so understanding of our delays and worked tirelessly to ensure we had beautiful memories captured on film. The video turned out amazing, and I wholeheartedly recommend their services. They even left the resort to film our ceremony, so feel free to ask about off-site filming. Final Thoughts: Overall, my wedding wasn’t the dream I had hoped for, primarily due to Bahia Principe's lack of attention to special events. The team on the ground, especially Alx, JJ Studios, and the reception staff, were wonderful, but the corporate-level service and communication were sorely lacking. If you're planning a wedding, I recommend looking elsewhere, though if you're just coming for a vacation, the resort might be a better fit. If you stay here, be sure to use the app to book your restaurant reservations immediately.

  Apr 28, 2025
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  5 Star

  It was one of the best holidays we’ve had so far and stayed for the whole month at Bahia Principe Akumal. We enjoyed pretty much everything and cannot wait to come back. A special thank you to Lizeth at guest services. Such a lovely, friendly and helpful lady! 🥰 As well as Gloria at Dolce Vita restaurant! 🥰 Amazing service!! Thank you very much for all your help. We are looking forward to coming back to your hotel. 🩷🩷🩷

  Apr 27, 2025
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  Great stay- but I have some tips

  Overall our experience wasn’t bad? Service was wonderful, everything was clean and for the most part staff was lovely. The grounds and beach were stunning. Be careful during spring time with sea grass. It can smell pretty bad. We know it’s not always there but warning there. We really enjoyed our stay but somethings to think about before selecting this resort; Adults only is pretty limited to a corner pretty far from everything. And isn’t “poppin” it was pretty low key. Which we liked sometimes but the pool closed at 5. The main pools closed at 6 which was disappointing. Not all the bars were open all the time either. We felt as though there wasn’t a lot to do from 5-10pm other than eat dinner. Knowing what amenities you had access to was difficult unless you asked around. We didn’t even know there was adults only restaurant near us. TIP! Make your dinner reservations ten days in advance!!!! We didn’t know and ate at the buffet most of the time which was fine. But as a friend group we wanted to get all fancy and do dinner as a family. If you’re looking for an adults only resort this isn’t the best choice. Overall wonderful stay! But just a little bummed.

  Apr 26, 2025
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  Great trip, average resort

  We visited Bahia Principe Coba in 2018, so were happy to return to Akumal this time around. We had a great experience at Coba. Our experience at Akumal was pleasant and a wonderful trip was had by all, however there are definitely some needed improvements. The hotel was starting renovations the day we left to further update the remainder of the villas. This probably wouldn't have changed our opinions as we were fine with our room. It was outdated most definitely, but when you're just there to sleep in it - it did the trick. The grounds of the hotel were beautiful, but lacked upkeep. We were so disappointed to see constant garbage thrown to the sides of the pathways and in the vegetation. This is not the fault of the hotel - ignorant hotel guests littering - however, SO many staff members walked past that garbage only to leave it there the entire duration of our stay. We were at the resort for 9 days and for 7 of those days we walked past a broken wine glass on the pathway to our villa. Empty cups, cans, water bottles and other garbage were strewn in multiple places, not just the main thoroughfares. Another con was the lack of main lobby bar and the complete lack of food places between the lunch/supper buffet. At any other resort we've been too there's been a beach hut or snack bar but this was not the case at Akumal. We were allowed to use the adjoining hotels, but the food trucks at Coba were closed. We booked our suppers late to make the most of the day, but it was hard to tide the kids over till 8-830, when there was nothing to eat. A definite plus of this chain is the unlimited a la carte bookings. We made the most of this every night. The Italian (Dolce Vita) was fabulous, Mikado Tepanyaki is fun (shout out to Jose!), but stay away from the Indian and the Mexican (named Tequila). They were awful! The buffet at Akumal had tons of variety and Eric our morning/lunch waiter was fabulous. The entertainment staff deserves a shout out. Erik was my son's best friend helping him participating in water polo, volleyball, and crazy games. Thank you Erik! We adored him. Alexa, the Zumba and aquafit instructor, was amazing. I loved taking her classes daily. She is adorable and fun. Snorkeling is fabulous! So good for the entire family even kids as it's shallow and the fish are everywhere. This was the best part of the trip for some of our family! All in all, none of the cons ruined our vacation by any means. We still had a fabulous time. Our families however have been to enough locations in Mexico to similar chain resorts, and agreed that "luxury" should not have been in the title of this resort. There's definitely room for improvement for the price we paid for this resort.

  Apr 25, 2025
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  Excellent 7 night all inclusive experience!

  Excellent experience from the beauty of the resort, activities and entertainment to the quality of service, variety and quality of food and the friendliness of staff. My husband and I felt welcome, catered to and valued. We highly recommend this resort!

  Apr 25, 2025