Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - All Inclusive

“Fab”

We had stayed at sian ka'an In 2020 and had a lovely holiday so thought we would go back, but when reading the current reviews I was hesitant. However due to your previous experience I booked away, stayed from 31st of May to 15th of June and we had a fantastic time. I honestly do not understand t... more

We had stayed at sian ka'an In 2020 and had a lovely holiday so thought we would go back, but when reading the current reviews I was hesitant. However due to your previous experience I booked away, stayed from 31st of May to 15th of June and we had a fantastic time. I honestly do not understand the negative comments from previous reviews, yes the rooms could do with updating but they are not bad quality rooms. Front desk are always available and extremely helpful. The staff are amazing and genuinely friendly and helpful and go out of their way to provide a quality service, the food was really good and as you are staying at Sain Ka'an you have access to all the restaurants in the other 3 hotels onsite. We could not fault this hotel it was absolutely fabulous. We spent our 2 weeks literally going around all the pools, beach areas (again you have access to the 3 other hotels and they're facilities) there was always something to do. Beach areas were so relaxing sian Ka'an has a private adults only part of the beach but we went along all beach areas. Please don't let the bad reviews stop you from booking this hotel it really is an amazing place. I honestly am a very seasoned traveller so definitely know good from bad, we are happily going to book Sian Ka'an again next but do an extended stay 😁

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“Not a 5* experience - but with tweaks it could be!”

We visited at the end of June for 2 weeks as a couple. My initial review of the hotel would be that it isn’t a 5* resort… but it could be. Firstly we didn’t have the greatest weather during our visit, and were evacuated from the hotel due to hurricane Beryl, and moved to Coba. The way this was ... more

We visited at the end of June for 2 weeks as a couple. My initial review of the hotel would be that it isn’t a 5* resort… but it could be. Firstly we didn’t have the greatest weather during our visit, and were evacuated from the hotel due to hurricane Beryl, and moved to Coba. The way this was handled by staff was absolutely exemplary, Carlos in particular was truly excellent in explaining everything. We felt extremely well looked after and cared for. On first impression the lobby was nice and we were checked in easily and offered a glass of bubbly and taken by cart to the room. We were in block 20 on the second floor - the main walkways were clear and pretty but the walk up to block 20 off the main path was tatty, and had loose cabelling - it didn’t feel like a nice walk at all during our visit, and the path and stairs were never cleared. We had a room looking out over trees, and it was quickly apparent that you could never use the balcony without fear of being eaten alive by mosquitos and spiders… we literally never went out there. Some rooms had jacuzzis but I never saw them being used, as they were extremely overlooked and full of leaves - some literally next to the path people walked next to, hardly a relaxing environment! The room was a good size, with king bed, table and chairs, a large sink area with coffee machine and fridge, and a tatty sofa bed, with a small tv - a larger tv would be better for the size of the room though. The fridge was stocked daily with water, crisps, beer, soft drinks and miniatures. The bathroom was a good size, with toiletries and dressing gowns and slippers, but the shower always took about 10 minutes to heat up, and the sink area was sticky, I presume due to people using deet near it and it eating the surface away. One morning I placed my hands on it and actually got stuck to it! The blinds were tatty and old and sometimes got stuck - they could really do with replacing. The room however was cleaned well every day. In our opinion the rooms are in desperate need of a makeover. The air con on the first evening was nice and cool, we actually used a blanket on the bed! The remainder of the holiday though it didn’t cool the room at all, even after requesting a maintenance visit. I actually overheard another couple talking about this in the their room too. The first couple of days we used the quiet pool, but found we were absolutely eaten alive by mosquitos. We have visited the area before and brought 4 cans of “Off” with us - and ending up buying a further 2 cans during the holiday! I would never have imagined we’d need 6 cans of the stuff for a 2 weeks holiday but we really did, and still got bitten. This is in no way the hotels fault, they did try fumigating a few times while we were there, and at the end of the day we did book a holiday in the jungle basically. I just feel more could be done by clearing leaves by the pool and sweeping up standing water, as this definitely made the mosquitos worse by the pool areas. The evenings were pretty much the same by the stage, you could just sit and watch people constantly wafting the mosquitos away - even staff carried a cloth napkin to try and waft them away… it really was truly relentless and didn’t make for a comfortable evening at all. The remainder of the holiday we travelled by the trolley to the Sian Ka’an part of the beach at Akumal, and had a much more relaxed time away from the mosquitoes. It is advertised as a private beach for Sian Kaan adult residents only but isn’t, as anyone can visit, wristbands aren’t checked, children also use that part of the beach, and the last week of the holiday people were using it with no wristbands at all. You do have a deluge of sellers daily, but as long as you are polite to them, they aren’t a bother at all. There is a nice bar there, but bed service is sporadic, and we tip every drink which made no difference. We made reservations for the restaurants we wanted 10 days before we visited on the app, which you really do need to do, otherwise you would struggle to get in the majority of them. We managed to get in Alux, Maiko, Katok, Tequila, Frutos del Mar, Gran Tortuga, Le Gourmet and Don Pablo. None of the restaurants were air conditioned so were pretty uncomfortable. Food was generally good, very good indeed in Gran Tortuga and Le Gourmet. Lobster was overcooked in Alux and the steak inedible in Katok - it was like jelly. The buffet food in the Sian Kaan restaurant was very good for breakfast, apart from the eggs which were always rock hard. Evening meals it depended upon the “theme” - the Canadian night was strange, the Chinese night was excellent, and the seafood night was not good at all - all the shellfish was not prepared, eg prawns still had roe and back veins in them. We also visited the buffet for dinner at Coba and Akumal which offered more choice but were obviously a lot more busy. We found the trolley service to other parts of the complex good - we never waited longer than 10 minutes, sometimes they were busy and it was a mad rush to get on them though! One of the main issues in Sian Kaan is the timing of the main bar - it’s an adult only bar and from 22:30 you can only get beer, and from 22:50 nothing is served as they’re closing down. It’s really too early. You can go to the snack bar later on, but they don’t serve the same drinks, only really beer and wine, so it’s not the same at all, and the mosquitos have a banquet eating you. We booked for all 3 extra shows which you need to pay for, for us the best was the Mexican night at the Hacienda, the food stalls were lovely and it was nice to wander around the shops - the show was good too and lasted all night! Blackbird was held in the theatre at Akumal and was insanely hot inside, it actually made me feel a little nauseous, and you weren’t allowed a drink whilst in there. I’d have enjoyed the show better if air con was on or windows were opened. The Origen show was ok, but only really contained parts of the other shows they offer for free - we booked VIP seats and still could not really see the show as the seating is not tiered at all. Again, the theatre was extremely hot, but not as bad as the Blackbird show. The majority of evenings we preferred to sit in Akumal outside listening to the live acts, as it was cooler and less mosquitos. Tulum had a nice bar area around a central stage, but we got eaten by mosquitos there. The only internal place we found on the entire complex which was air conditioned was the sports bar at Coba - the worst was probably the sports bar at Akumal …. There is air con but it was never used when we visited and it was extremely uncomfortable. The entire complex would be so much better if air con were used in all the restaurants and internal bars and buffets. We did have a good holiday, but just feel we booked a 5* holiday, and it really wasn’t. It was uncomfortable in the evenings due to no air con and the mosquitos, the walkways off the main tracks were tatty and not well kept, the rooms desperately need updating, with decoration, new sofa, larger tv and new sink units. Staff were good, gave good service whether you tipped or not (we did every round and service, but you didn’t HAVE to) and the room and communal areas were cleaned well. With a few little changes this could have been a 5* holiday easily, but for us this time it really wasn’t.

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“Hot Jungle Fever! ”

Plus points: Very quiet relaxing resort, out the way of the hustle and bustle of the other 3 resorts. Access to 3 other hotel resorts, including all beaches and restaurants. The best restaurants are Alux(2 x times) Maiko(4x), La Gourmet2x) and Don Pablo(1x) Buffet Breakfast wide range of sel... more

Plus points: Very quiet relaxing resort, out the way of the hustle and bustle of the other 3 resorts. Access to 3 other hotel resorts, including all beaches and restaurants. The best restaurants are Alux(2 x times) Maiko(4x), La Gourmet2x) and Don Pablo(1x) Buffet Breakfast wide range of selection. Adults Only Infinity Pool and Ku Uk restaurant for lunch. Nice little cove with fishes to see at the end of the Infinity Pool + beach bar. Waiters pool / beach service regularly drop off repeatedly drinks orders. Sian Ka'an has its own private beach bar and loungers shared with the Privilege Club. The bedroom was cleaned daily, and the fridge was well stocked up. Big shout out to Alejandro - guess services, very helpful, meet n greet every time he sees us, polite gentleman! Negative Points: SK is in the jungle, can get very hot n humid, and lacks a breeze. Due to the frequent thunderstorms (we stayed 17th - 1st July), this attracts the mosquitos. They were out in full, even prey on the seasoned staff! The Tolllys from Tulum, Akumal, and back to SK can be slow! Especially when it's raining hard! Lack of entertainment in all resorts! Like to see more varied activities such as archery, air pistol riffles, cooking classes, tequila tasting classes! The theme entertainment shows at the Hasienda is chargable- should be free! Silent Disco is a waste of time that should be as loud as possible to create a vibe. My biggest complaint was the Tulum Resort Gym. As i regularly used the gym facilities there, it had the best kit for a hotel gym on the BP Complex (avearge compare to a regular gym) One day, the bathroom flooded with an overblocked toilet, which caused fasces running down part of the gym floor! The complaint went straight into management, and it was dealt with. The next day, the gym bathroom was spotless! However, that was beside the point. I wouldn't expect the bar / restaurant toilets to be flooded and not dealt with.

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“Do not get tricked by laundry service”

Do not order the laundry service as it is not free but its an extortionate price. The complex itself is pretty and very green. The trolleys are a bit hit and miss at night as so many people trying to get on them. Wildlife better at the other 3 hotels. Food is good. Waiters are friendly and very h... more

Do not order the laundry service as it is not free but its an extortionate price. The complex itself is pretty and very green. The trolleys are a bit hit and miss at night as so many people trying to get on them. Wildlife better at the other 3 hotels. Food is good. Waiters are friendly and very hard working. Drinks are nice. The plus side is its quieter than the other 3 hotels.

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