BookIt.com Verified Traveler Linda from Montclair, Nj

"We just spent 4 nights at the Blue Bay G Esmeralda and loved it! The staff was great! They were very attentive and made us feel at home right away! They remembered our special drinks and brought them to us as soon as they saw us coming! The beach was nice and the facilities were clean and neat.

After leaving our safe box open when we went to town, the maintenance person left a note saying it was left open and closed it. When security came to reset the password, all the contents were there and nothing was disturbed. We were genuinely impressed and relieved by the honesty and caring of the person who found it open. That says a lot about the character of the staff at Blue Bay and made our short vacation that much more relaxing and memorable.

The grounds are spotless and beautiful to walk through. We looked forward to walking the path to the beach each morning...

Yes, we would definitely return to the resort and our friends who took such good care of us!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Teresa from Moab, Ut

"We booked this trip after researching all-inclusive hotels. It was a very pretty setting, but aside from that, nothing special. Food was ok, but the hotel required reservations for nicer restaurants and they were booked several days in advance. The buffet was just so-so. Drinks were far and few between pool-side. Room service was not included in the all-inclusive price. The pools were clean and the rooms neat. The worst part was the location of the hotel rooms. They are open air hallways and had tons, really tons of critters scavenging at night. We had 2 fights (things being thrown adn yelling, swearing, etc) break out in the hallway outside our room at 3 am. When I called security, they took forever to arrive and I was too scared to leave my room to investigate. I will not return. Try the Now Sapphire instead. I wish we would have returned there instead of Blue Bay."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Natalia from Vancouver, Bc

"Actually this resort is 3.0. Very crowded. Lines to the washrooms at the beach and restaurants. Lacks tents: to find a place under a tent we had to get up at 8am and rush to the beach. The sea there is shallow and very-very dirty. The food was the same every day, and moreover, in the restaurants a la carte they would give you the same meals as in the buffet. The quality of food is far from being perfect.
They lack staff as well. Only once we were able to place an order for drinks at the beach, and they delivered the order in an hour. We hadn't seen any beach boys/girls since then. In the buffet restaurant you have to remind a waiter several times to bring you coffee or a spoon.
Never would come here again!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Dan from Eau Claire, Wi

"Well...A couple of years ago we spent some time at the Hacenda Tres Rios and wanted to stay in the same area so we selected Blue Bay. Overall, we had a good time and honestly, it is really what you make of it...Unfortunately, we ran into a little patchy weather during our stay. With respect to the facilities, here are the pros and cons:

Pros - Fantastic meal staff, they were very friendly and made our day/nights, beach was fine, drinks were overflowing, kids enjoyed ice cream, facilities were nice, liked the pools and they had entertainment, night time meals were great! Booked an excursion package to Xel-Ha ...well worth it.

Cons - When they say Queen bed, they mean double...feels like a twin...wifi...forget it...it is lousy, daytime meals - if you like the same stuff everyday, this is your place!...daytime drinks - just ok, when they say they have transportation, good luck - pack your shoes. They killed the room keys on the day before we checked out and getting replacement was a pain. Don't waste your time on the illusive coupon garbage. Oh, they have a VIP area...nobody told us and they were a little snippy about that when we sat down for 'beverages'. One thing that was irritating was the promising of certain special items that were never delivered (spa package, bottle of wine, fruit...etc.).

Overall, we had fun!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Edward from Sigourney, Iowa

"We arrived at the resort exhausted from flying and checked in and then we had to sit with a conceirge who told us we had to come to a welcome breakfast the next morning. He told us it was very important and we NEEDED to be there. I had asked if it was about a time share with the resort and he said NO! That night on our way to dinner I asked another couple about the welcome breakfast and they said don't go, it is about buying a timeshare with the resort. I was so upset with the selling tactics of this place and was not going to go to it.
We ate dinner the first night at the buffet and we were so unimpressed with the food! It was cold and there was no selection at all. If you stay, I would highly recommend getting reservations at their other restuarants as the food was exceptional.
"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Christine from Grand Island, Ny

"We arrived early, our room was not ready but went for lunch & a drink while we waited. (only flaw on arrival - an 'employee' approached us to give us info about the resort - he was in fact a representative for a 'time share') This resort was by far the best all-inclusive we have been to. Very relaxing, which is exactly what we needed. Food & drinks were all good. All the wait staff & bartenders work non-stop - a tip goes a long way. All the employees went out of their to help and all with a smile. Lots of walking but enjoyed the daily walks. Nightly entertainment is nice. Enjoyed the little 'market' that was set up one night, no need to leave the resort to shop. The pool & beach were awesome and if you can't find a lounge chair, then you didn't look hard enough. There is a beach (some say there isn't) it has a lounge chairs & lots of them. The water sports are plenty - jet ski, para-sailing, banana boats, scuba diving and swimming. Our room was great. (just wish we had a bigger bed) Building 5 we had an ocean & rain forest view. Enjoyed the entertainment of the wildlife each morning. Everything was very clean, manicured and maintained. We will be back next year!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Frank Medeiros from New Bedford, Ma.

"Everything was wonderful. Food, room, staff, but as I put on the suggestion form on leaving, the place lacked entertainment. A dance club, karoke, a band where the guests could get up with the house band and play or sing I think would have been great. Friends of mine that go to other places have played with the bands and have multipule cllubs. I found the prices at the ONE gift shop way too high. $8.00 ad for a deck of cards? really? Cozumel was nice, but then again pricey. Not all americans can afford $65 for a belt! BUT we are planning to go back, maybe in October, or November. Again all the staff, ALL OF THEM, were wonderful, and the food was plenitful and very good everywhere."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler

"Overall, a nice resort. Very friendly and helpful staff. Weren't happy with the first room we were given, shower did not work properly and the room had two small double beds for my wife and I. We were moved to a room with a king bed and working shower the next day.
Resort was clean overall, but there was a strong smell of garbage around certain areas walking about the resort.
Food was not the best we've had at an all-inclusive, and was likely the one thing that may prevent us from coming back to this resort. Everything was okay, but not great."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Brandon Kuhn from Fall City, Wa

"We bought a 5 night package for our 3 year anniversary. I have been to cancun and the riviera mayan more than 5 times and this was the worst trip so far. the staff gave us the run around and never got to make dinner reservations 2 nights because they were 'booked' full and there were tons of empty tables.. the buffets sucked except maybe 2 or 3 dishes with the same food every day at every buffet. the 2 nights we did get to the nice restaurants, the food was top notch. The bed was very uncomfortable.. I had to go to the concierge about complaints more than 4 times about things in the room from leaking showers with water to the front door, tables outside that constantly rattled from wind, leaks in the sliding glass door with wind whistling all night every day. the only room they offered to change us to was away from everything and had no view. I ordered a special 'romantic' flower package to the room and set it up for a certain time.. when I came back from dinner It was supposed to be done so I went to say something and guess what? they forgot about it... OOPS!! so Every time prior to the 1st visit, they were very rude and one time just walked away from me. I am usually not a complainer but this was ridiculous especially for a 3 year anniversary trip. I will never go there again and will tell everyone that I know not to go there and to stay at the next resort down with h10 hotels."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Phyllis Jesso from Saint John, N.B.

"my Husband got sick on our last day and was sent to the hospital, its been 4 days now that he has been in the hospital and the staff @ the resort have been looking after me. they have been great. i would recommend this resort, giving it a 10 for all they have done for me. we r still here and mayb here for another week.. i hope not but maybee."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Joyce from Minneapolis, Minnesota

"I've seen some really bad reviews about service at this hotel and I just don't get it. The serve was great, and the staff always made it a point to make sure you got what you wanted. I think some people expected a five star resort where you are waited on hand and foot. I have had that experience before, but it costs about three times more than this place. Think about what you paid and be realistic. This was a very good experience for the money. And the transportation around the resort was never more than 5 or 10 minutes. The service ran routes through the resort all day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Even if you walked, it was not more than a 10 minute walk from the lobby to the beach. Loved my concierge and housekeeping staff, room always clean, fridge always stocked, very helpful. People must remember when visiting Mexico, it is a different pace. You are supposed to slow down and relax."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Charles Harth from Palm Bay, Fl

"Food was sub par at all restaurants . The buffets where always the same thing . The drinks were gut rot liqueur . The entertainment was horrible and The kids in high school would've put on a better show . Entertainment like night life was non existent ! Staff was friendly and helped out as much as the could . Cleanliness of the rooms and rooms was really good . The room bar was 4 beers a day and a few sodas . if you wanted anything else ! there was a charge even for a extra coke or beers ! Not my Favorite place at all !"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Robert Veros from Salisbury, Nc

"The resort is very clean and service was excellent. The food was also very good with many different options to choose from. The rooms were average and in need of remoldeling or just a facelift. The airconditioner didn't get the room very cool, and it leaked water onto the tile floor making it very slippery. Upon check in I felt that it is very tasteless to try and get visitors to attend what appears to be a timeshare breakfast when really all we want to do is check into our room, hit the beach or pool and have a drink. And to top it off, when the staff member found out that my girlfriend and I could not prove that we lived together he told me that next time I should bring my wife, and this is why I will not stay at Blue Bay again. Not only did he say this in front of my girlfriend but he also said this in front of my 70 year old parents. It's not good business to insult guests upon arrival."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Dean from Livonia, Mi

"This place is a great value for the amount you spend. Food is good, especially dinner. You have many great options for dinner such as French, Italian, steak, seafood, asian, but you will have to make a reservation. You only have snack bars and the two buffets for breakfast and lunch. However, these are both decent for those meals. Bar service is great, however it is a larger resort so you may have a longer wait if you want poolside waitresses to come to you. All of the staff were very friendly and in particular the entertainment staff went above and beyond to make our stay a fun experience. You will miss out on some things like free room service and more food choices during breakfast and lunch that you may get at a higher priced resort. The resort is very spaced out, but everyone should be walking a little after stuffing yourself and pounding drinks all day. This is not like a compact resort in Cancun, where you can run back and forth to the room all the time. Riviera Maya does not have the same incredible beaches like Cancun, but I found I like looking at the Ocean more than swimming in it. There is a really cool lagoon about a 10 minute walk North where two small Mangrove rivers flow out into the ocean. Overall, if you are looking to save a little money, this resort offers a great value for your dollar."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Shelly from St. Louis, Mo

"If you are wanting a nice resort for your family to enjoy - do not go here! The resort itself is great. However, the clientele it brings is is not. If you want to party all day and listen to loud obnoxious guests, book here. We were at the 'quiet' pool as well as the beach and the large pool and had to remove ourselves at all places with a 12 year old. The resort did nothing to fix the situation. The food was fabulous on a plus side! Employees all very nice and efficient except the bartenders."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler David Pryce from Gilbert, Az

"We returned yesterdayfrom a wonderful 7 day stay at the Blue Bay Esmeralda Resort and Spa. We found the staff friendly and very helpful. The variety of food and drinks available was outstanding. The a la carte resturants were very nice and the variety of food was outstanding. We found the serice impecable and the staff very friendly. Our room was spacious and kept clean, although occassionally the room was cleaned late in the day. We would definately return and hope to do so soon."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Leta from Ballston Spa, Ny

"We had a great, relaxing 5 day vacation. Almost too relaxing. This place was fabulous as far as cleanliness, food and service. No real night life. I didn't not expect a party club atmosphere, however, did expect an occasional band in one of the bars or by the pool. Very quiet and boring most of the time. We ate, sat in sun and slept. That's really all there is to do there.

I would recommend, but do not expect music anywhere. They had a band one night that we found in one of the restaurants. It was excellent, but by the time we found it, it was almost over. They really need some kind of calendar delivered to each room to let people know what is going on where. There were two beautiful pools, but didn't know which one had anything going on and seemed to go to wrong one and missed what little entertainment they had."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Jana from Loganville, Ga

"This resort was not all it was advertised to be. First, the partial ocean view of my room's balcony faced the opposite direction of the ocean, and even though we were on the top floor (3rd floor), my view was 100% bamboo trees that were 25-30 feet from the balcony. The 'stocked bar' was out dated diet coke, out dated coke, out dated fanta and out dated sprite zero. The bottled water was bottled in Mexico, which defeats the purpose of 'don't drink the water', however, I did not refrain from eating the ice and drinking any and all water, no sickness. Online specifically states that the resort offers water sports and bath robes. The water sports I can only guess was a volleyball net stretching across a portion of the pool that no one seemed to use for the 5 days I spent there. The bath robes are NON EXISTENT!!!! The concierge was puzzled when I asked for one and stated that they DO NOT OFFER ROBES!!! The sun was great the resort was decent, online falsely up sells the amenities."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Alain Belair from Gatineau, Quebec

"If you like to swim at the beach, this is not the place for you. The water was full of weeds for 5 days and was black...So we stayed mostly at the pool. A lagoon is close by if you want to see clear water.
We reserved a Superior Deluxe Partial Ocean View Room in building 1, which was not well cleaned at our arrival, had broken shower handle and was facing a smelly swamp (nothing superior about that room). We paid extra and switch to a suite in building 5 which was alot nicer but the phone was not working, we had trouble getting face cloths and we were without water for a couple of hours during dinner time. The concierge at building 5 and the staff at the reception offfice only gave us the run around and never offered to compensate us for our misfortune.
They also do not serve coffee at any of A la Carte restaurant...
But the food at the bufffet is good and the staff there is very nice and helpfull."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Jim Haynes from Liberty, Sc

"A very nice resort. Had a great time. Enjoyed the food and drinks (more so the food rather than the drinks) Not a lot of top shelf available. Staff was great. Resort is very large but fairly easy to get around especially with the golf carts picking up and dropping off every fifteen minutes. Beach was rather narrow but the rain forrest and local wild life made up for that. Swimming pool area was huge but you have to reserve a chair very early to get a good place to enjoy the day (not unusual at any resort) . First time at Blue Bay. Have been to the Catalonia Riviera Maya resort several times along with the Barcelo Maya resort and rank Blue Bay above Barcelo and below Catalonia. Personal preference of course. Animation team could have been a little better. Their shows were not as good as I have seen at the other resorts."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Jessica from Farmington, Mn

"DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE FROM 'CIRCLE' OR AGREE TO GO TO THE '90' MINUTE PRESENTATION- REFUSE. Rooms were nice...even though we were on our honeymoon and requested a king, but had 2 double beds our entire stay.. on our HONEYMOON. Food everywhere was great, and drinks were also good. I wish the beach was nicer (go into Playa and go to the beach instead-- MUCH nicer). Check out the lagoon. Oh, and DO NOT lose your TOWEL CARD, or leave your towels by the pool!!!! They will charge you $30 per towel card if they get lost.. Still not sure why those towels are treated like gold? If someone wanted to take towels, they would take them from the room.. not the beach towels. Overall, nice hotel for the price."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Dale & Debbie from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

"We've been to several all-inclusive vacation to Mexico and in our opinion, Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda rates a 10 out 10 from us exceeding all of our expectations. Superb happy smiling staff, excellent service, spotless clean rooms, immaculate grounds and buildings. Blue Bay can boast about their incredible world-class chefs especially those at the Seafood, Steak and Oriental restaurants. I definitely recommend the Steak Restaurant %u2013 I was served the most perfectly prepared steak I've ever experienced (and I grew up eating beef!) Although not in our (my) original plans, we signed up for PADI scuba diving certification with Dive-X on the resort. All the Staff, our instructors, right down to the boat captain and his crew were the most amazing people we have ever met. They were patient beyond words with a terrified-of-water, claustrophobic, seasick, girl and got her to certification! The Dive-X staff were so caring, kept us laughing, earned our trust and were more than accommodating with all my hang ups. You know you are dealing with excellent professionals when people come from other resorts plus those that drove in daily from Playa del Carmen to take their diving course from them. We give Dive-X Team at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda a 10 . If I can make it to certification with this team's expertise, anybody can. This year was 2 weeks, next year we are aiming for a month."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Steve from Jamesville, Ny

"Food was good. No problem in getting reservations. Problem was with staff and service. My mini-fridge did not work and it took 12 hours, 6 contacts with staff (phone calls and personal visits to lobby desk) and personal interaction with staff member who finally arrived to get a simple exchange for one that worked. Also, I arranged bell boy service for luggage at check out through the building concierge and no one ever arrived. I assume it was because of the early hour and bell boys might not have been working yet but I should have been informed of that when I arranged it in the first place. Overall I found the staff to be just going through the motions and not following through on pretty simple requests. Also was disappointed with overall communications about activities at resort, for example nightly entertainment and availability and means of accessing watersports. You had to discover that for yourself. A newsletter explaining some of that would have been very helpful, either on admission or in a daily form. Finally, the appearance of toilet paper and human waste in the waterways adjacent to walkways to the beach following a rain shower was pretty disgusting. There were a lot of maintenance workers around all the time and I'm not sure if it was a matter of scrambling to patch holes in a lot of things that were broken or a sincere push towards an overall facilities upgrade, I would hope it is the latter. The resort itself is quite nice and if staff issues and the hygienic issue noted above are addressed the overall rating would rise dramatically."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Kris from Frankfort, Illinois

"Good: People are very nice. Rooms were cleaned everyday. Clean pool.
Bad: Mold in the shower corners, rusted shelf in the shower,balcony doors were really hard to open and eventually handle broke from pulling so hard. Also to get from our building to swimming pool area you have to walk thru a bridge which goes over some kind of wet area which smells like sewage. Elevator broke every day. But there was other one which is little further. You have to walk a long distance to get to main area where all the main events take place. It was a shuttle but it's hard to catch it."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Michelle from Ely, Mn

"Had read tons of review on this place and the good seemed to heavily outweigh the bad. Well, not so great on this one. I mean the place is beautiful, HUGE and the pool area is amazing. There are plenty of good things to say; staff was nice, housekeeping made little towel animals for my daughter everyday, food was good. On the down side, we felt like herding cattle waiting to get into the restaurant at the pool, the poolside bar area and washrooms were pretty gross and not cleaned much. The washrooms were not maintained and there were a total of MAYBE five stalls total for a pool side that easily lounges 300 sunbathers. I have been to resorts that the staff is there cleaning up after your flip flops drag sand into the washroom floor... NOT this place. In one of the TWO washrooms poolside, the toilet paper hanger was ripped off wall and the door handle was broken ALL WEEK! Hey, washrooms are important when you have a five year old! LOL. The A LA CARTE restaurants were good, even though the Seafood one doesn't offer lobster or crab unless you are willing to pay extra. The mosquitoes were not great (obviously NOT the hotels fault), carts driving guests back and forth from lobby to rooms use the same path as the walkers... Leaving little room for the walkers. We had to literally GRAB the kids out of the way at times. Not a good set up. I know, I sound like one of those picky sickening reviewers that even I right off as 'high maintenance' BUT I am not, I swear! I give this place a 6 out of 10."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Handicapped Traveler from Texas

"Food was good. Staff overall great. Sewer odor pretty repulsive in areas. Beach not very good. So much walking! Yes they have a shuttle but it does not go everywhere, You still have a long walk to get to and from shuttle. Handrails are almost nonexistant. If you have mobility issues, I would advise you to consider these things. Anyone who likes to walk and are in good shape I would say itcould be for you."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler from Maple Grove, Mn

"Just returned from Riviera Maya February 1st, 2013. National drinks for all-inclusive were less than desireable. They didn't even have juice for basic rail drinks - vodka pineapple or screwdriver were sprite with a squirt of flavoring? I thought the majority of the drinks were nasty. Also, they will try hound you at check in to come to their welcome meeting the following morning to find out all the benefits the hotel has to offer. They will insist it is not a timeshare or sales presentation but it is a 'membership' sales presentation to purchase weeks of vacation in advance. Decent grounds and rooms but a little dated but very clean and staff was excellent. Ocean rough in this area. Would probably stay somewhere else more protected nearer to Playa del Carmen next time and spend a little more for better all inclusive drinks. food was good."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Phil And Daphne from Boston, Ma/02132

"Feel the same as the other reviews, many more positive than negative things going for it."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler

"Great stay and resort. We had 8 people in our group and it was always easy to find chairs by the pool or the beach. The food was the best food I've eaten in Mexico- loved the French restaurant. I recommend reservations be made as soon as you arrive for your dinners to ensure variety and preffered times. The staff was very friendly and always happy to help!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Cher Ricci from Coquitlam, British Columbia

"Sometimes hard to book a good time for dinner in the restaurants. Food was very good at all places. Nice large rooms. No garden view only rainforest. Too many people hogging(reserving) chairs with towels at the beach and by the pool never using them. Shouldn't be able to do that. Get your own drinks, much faster than waiting for a waiter/waitress. Beach could be nicer. Had a very nice time all in all."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler

"Overall experience is excellent"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Amela from Indianapolis, In

"We just returned 3 days ago. Everything was amazing EXCEPT this: the 'personal concierge' that work for both Circle or something (travel angecy) and Blue Bay - are PAIN IN THE BUTT. She acted all nice at first, although trashing the ppl at the airport who signed us up for swiming with dolphines experience. She said we'll give you credit for deposit you gave them, and a discount for the same excursion through the hotel. You just have to have 90 min breakfast/presentation with our agency ppl about 'vacation homes' (read 'timeshare,' they just call it different, but it's the same stuff.) The 90 min turned into 2.5 hrs, and when we refused to buy the 'vacation home', that OBNOXIOUS woman started following and harrasing us, actually trying to get back the vouchers she gave us. REFUSE YOUR 'PERSONAL CONCIERGE' REFUSE IF THEY HAVE 'CIRCLE OR CYCLUS OR SOMETHING ON THEIR UNIFORM, RIGHT ABOVE WORDS 'BLUE BAY.' She went from super nice oh-I'm-here-for-you, to I-want-my-stinking-voucher-back-and-will-harras-you-all-the-time. Never gave her the voucher back, of course. Other than that pain in the butt, the vacation, food, accomodation - everything was amazing."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Annie from Arlington, Virginia

"Blue Bay was perfect for us. Thank you for making us feel at home. The quality of the food was amazing even in the buffet and the staff was welcoming and accommodating. We will return soon."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler from Nj

"I am so upset, my family and I had gone away for my mothers 50th birthday.
To start we booked Superior Deluxe Garden View rooms', in the pictures the rooms were beautiful, in person they were small, out dated and stunk of wet mildew! From there it got worse, my mothers room had no air conditioning and instead of switching her room asap they told her she didn't know how to work the remote, two days later they switched her. Then the bloe dryer in the room caught fire, the door lock broke. There is NO WIFI in any of the buildings except for the lobby and sports bar...not even if you pay it just does not exist! Then from there we bought phone cards to call home and they didnt work. We called the company and they said that they were cloned basically the numbers had been stolen and the cards were not valid and we needed to go back to the store we bought then for a refund, when I exlpained it was a machine they claimed within 24hrs they would contact me to reimburse me, that never happened. There is not a swim up bar, the resort is very dingy, and the food was very very plain (burgers and hot dogs) and the lunch and breakfast buffet (only one choice) was the same food all week, and the 24 snack shop is false its only open from 7am to 5pm....The day before we left our whole building lost power and we were without tv, and air conditioning for hours. The sports bar bartenders are as nasty as they come. dID i MENTION THAT THE BEACH DOESN'T EXIST and the only bar close to it is basically on the border of the other resort."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Guillo from Houston, Tx

"Good: Water clarity, proximity to Playa del Carmen, fine sand, VIP service (add'l charge $25/person , bfast buffet

Bad: All food besides bfast buffet (especially seafood a la carte restaurant, literally not-edible), all drinks made with the worst liquor imaginable and overly sweet (plastic cups are simply dunked in soapy water without any rinse at all, disgusting and makes me cringe to think i even had one of these drinks), noisiest room ever (we were woken up at approx. 7:30am to the sound of the housekeeping cart that sounds like a siege engine rumbling down the hall), septic system (obviously undersized), phone/internet access ($5 USD to use their business center comp., $6 connection for local call, $24 for US connection call, really?!?!?), concierge (struggled to give me the name of one decent restaurant in Playa), beach activities (piecemeal and worn out equipment)

My girlfriend and I had a great trip despite all the shortcomings of the Blue Bay. We managed to only have dinner there once, and we typically skipped lunch because it was so bad. The last day we found out that you could pay extra to be on the 'VIP' portion of the beach, complete with its own MUCH better stocked bar and cabanas. Compared to the regular service, VIP was well worth the extra $50 a day for the two of us. I would not wish a vacation here upon any of my friends or family. You are better off a) spending more money to stay somewhere with better food/drink or b) spending less money to stay at a boutique hotel and fend for yourself for booze and food. I would hardly say that I have champagne tastes, I can put down a case of natty light or mccormick's vodka with anyone. Words cannot describe how awful an alcoholic beverage can actually be until you've had one prepared by one of Blue Bay's finest."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Kelly from Oakfield

"Well I was very overwhelmed to see how huge this resort was, which in my opinion is not a great thing.. too far to get to places, long waits for trollies, hard to meet people, if you want to see the whole resort, you dont tend to hang out in the same area. We were in Bld 8, facing the woods, no view, and miles from the Beach. the Sand was nice, water was horrible, nothing like our ocean experience in Jamaica. Positive was the food, Buffet was pretty good,,, Specialty resturants were great... Staff was excellent for most part, except the conciere in Bld 8, who was never there."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler September from Toronto, Ontario

"I loved blue bay grand Esmeralda except for one thing...the maid service was awful. Twice my room was never made up, the maid service didn't show until between 4-6pm, just when I wanted to get ready for dinner, and all they ever did was make the bed and give me new towels. They did not take the dirty towels by the end of our stay we had at least 30 towels. On the first day I used the ironing board and they never put it away, out dirty glasses were never replaced , our room service tray stayed in our room for 2 days until I handed to a staff member in the hallways. The food was great, the resort was fun, and the staff were so friendly , loved everything but the maid service, it was not up to a two star standard in my opinion."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Amit Parmar from Calgary, Alberta

"' We stayed at Blue bay grand esmeralda and I must say it must be the best vacation we ever had. The staff was awesome, always smiling and ready for help.
Food was fantastic, staff made every effort to make sure that there is a lots of variety in food even though most buffets were 90% similar all the time.
Pool side activities were fun, night time theatre shows are nice as well.
Overall I would rate this hotel 4.5 out of 5 and would definitely logve to go back to this resort in the future. '"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Kristine Knapp from Indianapolis

"We paid for an upgrade and did not get it.
Food mediocre at best, greasy. Dinners were cold. Not cooked well.
Most amazing, and disappointing were the chairs, all uncomfortable.
The drinks were tasty but lacked alcohol.
Work out facility was too hot and no TV and not enough equipment.
beach was still damaged from hurricane.
Didn't clean our room for 2 days, had to beg for extra towels, they knew there were three of us in the room
Water is apparently turned off intermittently. Never convent, especially when we were getting ready to leave on morning of last day, couldn't wash your face or brush teeth. Disgusting..
I could go on but ill stop here, I'm tired of thinking about how they ruined my 60 th birthday."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Denise Tomas from Shrewsbury, Massa

"Excelente , cleaning , Vers good restaurant , buffett good. I Will be back."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Andrea from Rosemont, Il

"We had an enjoyable stay. Rooms were nice, not luxurious, but clean and comfortable. The pools were amazing. The resort was impecaably maintained. Shuttle service was slow so we did quite a bit of walking, but enjoyed the exercise. Staff was accomodating, pleasant, helpful, and friendly. This resort is great for families, with the exception of the topless women here and there. The beach was not what we expected, but there are gorgoeus beaches nearby. I would bring my family back for a few days for the all the wondeerful activities they offered. Spa facilities were nice, but not included. Food was good. Overall, very pleased with the experience."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Castellanos from Beach Park, Il

"I've been to the Riviera Maya multiple times and stayed at various resorts and I'm sorry to say this was the worst place i've ever stayed. Although the grounds and entrance are grand...thats about it. Rooms were dirty with moldy grout. My daughters room still had previous guest clothing..yuck! Not much diversity in their food and there is no night time entertainment. If you want to go and sit by a pool and be bored..that is the place to go...otherwise go somewhere else. I have to say the staff is very nice and can only do so much..but our fan, AC didn't work and after multiple calls we just gave up...my final word of advise..the rest of the posts are not exaggerating..don't disregard them.."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Donna Treney from Weeki Wachee, Florida

"my husband and i spent one week there 10/10/12 to 10/17/12. in our first room the air conditioner did not work. not a problem. they moved us up to the top floor. that room was much nicer. we did not have an ocean view, but we were close to the pool and breakfast and lunch buffets. we were in building 1. we understood that all buildings were not open due to the time of year. not a problem to us. the buffets were basically the same every day for breakfast and lunch. there was alot to choose from. if you went hungry it was your own fault. we really enjoyed dinner at the ala carte restaurants. our favorite was the italian rest. the antipasta bar was wonderful. the service exceptional. we ate there 3 nights. all of the staff was very friendly and went out of their way to please us. we would go back in a heartbeat. just say NO to belonging to a timeshare and you will be fine. overall what we paid was well worth it. now on the other hand we went from tampa to ft. lauderdale to cancun. on our return it was reversed with a 6 1/2 hour layover in ft. lauderdale.the flight back to tampa was only 46 minutes. i can not see any reason for this. i booked with book it.com who used spirit air for this trip. big mistake on our part. in the future i would be more choosy in airlines. overall a great vacation."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Javier

"Beach-small, dirty and full of large sandbags. The water at the beach is not what you would expect eg. blue, turquoise, instead it is dark green with seaweed (photos are deceiving).
Food- One is forced to eat the buffet most of the time since you have to make reservations by 7AM for the following day (who wakes up at 7am while on vacation to eat ?). Be careful eating buffet (I spent one day sick with a stomach virus) front desk told me to walk to lobby and pay a doctor $109 USD for him to see me.( instead just bought gatorade and slept it out)
Cleanliness/service - room was kept clean through out stay, no issue requesting items (towels, toiletries, etc). Some details in rooms can be paid attention to (rusty metal hardware, and cracked glass doors in bathrooms. Resort is kept clean, however because it does sit in the middle of swamp like gardens there is a foul sewer like smell on occasion when walking through the resort paths.
Staff - Very friendly and pleasant, helpful, and accommodating. Most speak and understand english.
"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Angela Persaud from Ozone Park, NY

"Let me start out by saying customer service is very important. I think it can truly make or break any experience, but especially a vacation. I have been to Mexico 3 times now. I did not expect as vast of a difference in service, cleanliness and the overall maintenance of property as I experienced at a five star property. I mean its one star for the love of God. On to the details of my trip: I arrived at the front desk (no air condition) met a woman who was supposed to help us b/c we book a superior package which meant that we had a special check. She however was not VIP hostess. She was on the phone talking to other people throughout the entire checkin. She passed us our card and gave us a map of the resort (which is huge) telling us we would have to leave our bags with the bell boys, walk over to front of a gift shop and take a trolley to our room. After waiting in the sweltering heat for 15 minutes the trolley finally came. We made our way to the room, walked upstairs only for the key not to work. As we fussed with the door someone opened the door. We ran off to tell the concierge for our building. We then had to wait another 10 minutes for concierge to figure something out. She walked us to another room, and opened the door %u2013 this room reeked of the most horrible cigarette smell ever. I literally smelled like someone just finished smoking 2 seconds before we walked. After saying this was not acceptable, she instructed us to go back to the front lobby. When I got back there, she acted as though she didn't believe us, ignored my request to speak with the manager, and when I insisted with strong tone she told me not to speak to her like that and that there was no manager available. After I looked shocked and asked if I should ask someone else for the manager she finally said she would get me a supervisor. The supervisor came out and ignored my complain about the girl's behavior. He did however try his best to help resolve the room issue and gave me an upgrade to an ocean view. Onto the ocean view room: My shower flooded my bathroom and the hallway several times (I have pictures). When I called they did nothing to fix the issue with the room, and simply had a maid wipe up the place. It turns out that the door of the shower just did not close correctly and the drain was positioned in the wrong place so the water would not go down. Onto the pool: it was disgusting. There was mold and mildew everywhere. You say leaves and bugs and all sorts of disgusting things floating in the pool water. I got there on a Wednesday and it was not until Sunday that I saw people trying to clean the pool area. Onto the grounds: the landscape was nice, but there were animals all over the place (deers, squirrels, some long tail weird animal I've never seen before) . This I accept b/c the resort was surrounded by jungle and mangrove swamps, so I have to accept that there will be tons of animals, but I do not think it was fair to have the place smell like a sewer dump. I had to hold my breath when walking through certain parts of the resort! It was disgusting!!! Now Restaurants: They lie and say there are 6 A La carte restaurants, but there are only 3 places for the A La Carte dining. The French and Oriental are in one location and they trade off every other night (one night French one night Oriental). Same thing with the Seafood and Steakhouse. It's false advertisement. When we arrived we were starving, but b/c it was 4:30 PM there was not where to eat. They suggested that I order roomservice, which you have to pay for. The food itself at every restaurant (we ate seafood, Mexican, Italian, and the al la carte) was simply horrible (either too salted). Also, this was not a true all inclusive b/c when I did not like a meal at the seafood they told me that they will allow me to order another, but this is not allowed. The worst part of this all is you had to make reservations for your A la carte dinning, but when you would try they would say they were all booked (we had to eat Italian twice b/c of this), and when you would arrive at the actual restaurant it would be about 80% empty (we dined at all hours and this remained true). The beach: the beach water was black/YES I WAS AT A BEACH FRONT PROPERTY AND COULD NOT GO TO THE BEACH! It was completely get black/looking like mud filled it. You should have to walk through maybe 4 feet of black mud water before getting to some blue. They said it was b/c of the mangrove. It was absolutely disgusting! I had to travel to the Playa Del Carmen beach to actually go into the ocean. I could not have been more disappointed!! The overall service: SUCKED SUCKED SUCKED! There were only 2 people who seemed to care about your liking them or enjoying your stay, and they were the waiter & front desk clerk. We were one of the few people who tipped and tipped well and that did not seem to matter either. There was no such thing as customer service, which is very shocking for Mexico. These people don't typically make a ton of money so they are typically overly nice in hopes of tips. This was not the case at Blue Bay. About the only thing I would say was on point, was the alcohol. It was one of the best top shelf all inclusives I've ever seen. Over all, if I did not venture off the resort my stay would have been horrible. I was very lucky that 2 out of the 4 days we were out there was spent off the resort itself or my trip to beautiful Mexico would have been ruined!!! "

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Patricia from Merida, Yucatan

"Overall, we found the property to be good value for the price we paid. The beach is good for sunbathing but it is shallow and rocky and therefore did not meet our expectations for a Riviera Maya resort. Unfortunately, the large pool is very shallow and was a disappointment. There were always plenty of lounges available on the beach and by the pool. The grounds were very well maintained so we enjoyed our morning walks. We arrived on a Monday and all the speciality restaurants were booked but passing by during that evening there were many free tables at the restaurants. The main dining room which serves the evening buffet meal is very noisy with cafeteria style food not up to the standards of the breakfast and luncheon buffets. We ate at the Italian and Seafood Restaurants and enjoyed our three course meals. Our room was large and well appointed and clean. We found the staff very pleasant and helpful -- they contributed to our enjoyment in a big way."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Lynn Hunt from Longmont, Colorado

"The employees were so friendly and helpful at first. The food was really good. The grounds are vey beautiful.
I was there Late Saturday afternoon and left early Wednesday. By Monday the employees were more into talking to each other instead of their customers. My room was not cleaned every day. I was told that I had an upgrade to my room and recieved with that a 5% discount to the Spa. The Spa never honored that. The front desk employee said I had to talk to the Spa personal and they said they didn't understand.
And then there is the sell team for'Circle One' not very honorable, like most use car salesman.
"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Jose from San Francisco, Ca

"We just returned from our trip to Cancun. This resort requires alot of walking to get around. I would say 80% of the staff are not friendly at all and make you feel unwelcomed. The bar staff not so friendly and under staffed to handle the crowd ordering drinks (need patience to wait for your turn) in the hot, humid weather. The resort's entertainment shows not worth it! The rooms where we stayed were in great condition. They were cleaned daily and the mini bar frige restocked daily (sodas, water bottle, beer). Need reservations for all the restaurants except buffets. Upon dining at one of their buffet restaurants, i found a big butcher knife under the seat cushion (while adjusting it). Spoke to the floor manager and they apologized. Got back to my room later that night and found a chilled champagne bottle waiting for the earlier restaurant episode. The beach not so great. After this experience i would not go back to Blue Bay."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler

"I had a great time. The resort is very luxary. The staff was very friendly and hospitalic."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Vickie from Kentucky

"Just returned from our vacation at Bluebay do not let the bad reviews discourage you. We had excellent service the staff was great our room was cleaned everyday and our mini bar was stocked daily. The buffet was mediocre however, the restaurants were great just limited choices of food. Would recommend the VIP section of the beach a little extra cost but worth it."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Justo Castillo from Farmingdale, Ny

"HOTEL QUALITY WAS POOR, THE STAFF WAS VERY FRIENDLY. BUT THE WORSE OF ALL WAS THAT THE CIRCLE ONE RECEPTION ON THE MAIN ENTRANCE LABBY STOL FROM OUR BAG ON THE VERY FIRST DAY OUR CELL PHONE AND THE DIGITAL CAMERA THAT WE BROUG FOR THAT TRIP. THEN THERE ATTITUDE TOWARD THE SITUATION WAS OH WELL TO BAD. WE WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO ANY BADDY. STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOTEL."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Cristina from IN

"This Resort is the most nasty and unfriendly resosrt in Cancun, the food was the same every single day, the customer service was so slow, it took me 2 hour just to get a drink. I will never go back!!!!!!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Sheldon from Brooklyn, New York

"Visited July 24 to Aug 1st, 2012 - Definitely will not recommend this resort. If I begin to list the things that was not good it will take me a very long time.

I don't know how other folks enjoyed this hotel. Everyone I spoke with the entire week was not having a good vacation...

Disappointing.... :("

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Suzanne from Charlottesville, Virginia

"Clean, courteous, good food, beautiful!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Annabel & Jose Soto from Pennsauken, NJ

"Property beautiful but service was sub standard....Large property under staffed and not able to take care of the demand of the traveler.
We where disappointed when on our first day we where attacked by the Circle one attacker team.... The hotel's 'Timeshare' oh let me correct this the vacation club...that does not take NO as an answer. Oh yes they treat you so well prior to the presentation and then dump you like a sack of potatoes once you don't take any of their 5 options by each of their Circle one tag team. They want you to buy. Be careful they say they want only 90 minutes We could not get away it took us 3 hours yes you read it right 3 hours to be able to collect the promised promotional gift for sitting and listening to the presentation. There was another couple that timed them and wanted to conclude the presentation after 90 minutes...can you believe they didn't give them any of the promised promotions...the was really bad.
Because of the understaffed...our room got cleaned only 3 times and we where there 6 nights 7 days. Food was the same everyday and cold and not of good quality...I lost interest in the food options because there was nothing worth eating. If you like to drink well get ready to track them down to get you a drink again they are so short staffed that it is impossible to service a complex as big as Blue Bay.
If you live to surf the internet No internet for you...They say there is FREE Wi-Fi in Lobby no...there is not.. you end up paying 5.00 US for an hour in their Internet center only problem the computers are not serviced and don't work well...they freeze and you waste your money waiting for the computer to search and reload. It took me 2 hours to try to print our boarding passes and when we finally got the passes on the screen the computer froze and our airline link shutdown so no boarding passes for me.... When I brought it up to the front desk representative they had an 'Oh Well' attribute...I know it's not them but dame if you have a 5 star resort keep it up to date put a printer in the internet center and please update the dame computers....As for me I won't go back I will research more . I'm the TRAVELER spending my money and all I look for is great service, delicious hot food, entertainment and a soft comfortable clean bed to lye my head. BLUE BAY you need to make sure you can secure repeat visitors. Truly a shame.
"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Mark Russo from Elmwood Park, Nj

"Ok so we stayed here and I was so disgusted at how the beach looked. It was dirty and brown. You couldn't even walk without hitting rocks on your feet. Totally upset me. By the third night that we stayed not only did they shut the water off and no water for and hour and a half. Also killed a million ants that were crawling all over the room. I was afraid of bringing those suckers home!! The manager at the festival restaurant was rude!! My five dàys there were ridiculous . I so want my money back!!! Different prices to change your money into pesos!! Oh and the way they wash the cups out I swear if I get any type of disease I'm a freak out. They put cups after being used in a clear plastic box rinse them out and put them up to reuse again!! Simply gross omg I was mortified!! It was nasty. My boyfriend got sick real bad when we got home!! People stay AWAY!!!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A Recent Traveler

"The resort was extremely clean and the food was fantastic! BUT..... I am a beach-goer and the beautiful Caribbean beach water is one of the things I value and look most forward to. The beach is loaded with seaweed which makes the beautiful blue Caribbean water appear BROWN and quite difficult to swim in. I did not think it was possible to find brown beach water anywhere in the Riviera Maya, but I found it at here. As much as I absolutely LOVED the resort and staff, I will not be returning on account of the unattractive beach water that is difficult to swim in. If that did not matter to me so much, I would return in a heart beat. It was still a great deal and an awesome trip!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Angelica, Jesse, & Gabe from Nipomo, Ca

"We enjoyed our time at this resort. Room was great & everything worked properly. Staff members were all very friendly and remembered our names. The beach wasn't so great, it was very dark, not crystal clear as expected & as shown on the pictures but there is a beautiful lagoon passed the 2 resorts with clear water.There is a lot of walking around the resort but they had carts that took us around. We do wish the beach parties lasted longer, the only thing that was 24 hrs, was the sports bar and that place was very hot & no music to continue the party passed 1 am. I would not return to this hotel as I didn't enjoy the buffet food or drinks, if anyone chooses to stay be sure to make reservations for dinner at all restaurants (food is better). Overall we made friends from all over & was able to relax. Next year we will try something new."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Mary

"Best food out of all the resorts we have ever stayed at.... The resort was clean staff were great... the only thing that was terrible was the beach... It did get better after we had a storm... but we had a lagoon on the next resort a nature one so no one can clean the area.. Had a great time drinks were good... pool was fantastic lots to do all day...Would go back in a heart beat if the beach was much better.."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Dennis from Avon, Ohio

"We were very disappointed. No one ever told us their beach was destroyed by storms. We lost the ability to walk the beach and pick up shells. the beach was filthy and you could not walk in the water without having shoes on because of all the debris on the bottom. The food in the main restaurants was absolutely terrible and the buffet was the same every day. We wanted to do excursions, but know one had ant idea of how to book these events. The first night we were invited to a dinner show that served the worse steak we have ever had. There were some employees that took great care of us, but the majority of the staff was clueless to anything we asked. When we arrived and checked in, we were given our room key and a map to find our unit. No assistance was given to assist us to our room and when we checked out we had to bring our luggage to the main lobby instead of someone coming to get it from our room. We will not return ever and we would appreciate some return of our monies for not being able to enjoy a beach where they advertize a beautiful romantic walk on the beach:("

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Almir And Jen from St Louis, Mo

"Don't get fooled by all the negative comments on here , the place is fantastic , I don't know where to start but , from the first to the last day we had a great time , the staff is friendly , the food is great , the hotel is clean , I was afraid to book this place after reading the negative comments , there where a few good comments that made us decide to go there and we did not make a mistake by going there . We have already decided for next year staying 10 days again and I hope we get the same room !!!!!
A"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Yvette Sanyiago from Bronx, Newyork

"my stay was great, at the beginning we didn't really like where our room was located but with the help from front desk we were upgraded to a vip room. it had a pool outside of our room for us and two other rooms surrounding our area. We were lucky that their were no other guest next door due to the room was out of order, and therefore we had the pool to ourself.The restaurants were lovely and the food was delicious. The buffet restaurants were equally as good with major varieties in food. The staff all over were friendly and helpful. Our stay was from july13-19. I would recommend this resort to everyone especially if you're looking for rest and tranquility"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Zzepeda from Lawrenceville, GA

"Where do I begin? My experience at this hotel was absolutely horrible. I would not return here even if they offered a free stay. From the moment we arrived, until the moment we left, our stay was extremely uncomfortable. With the exception of a few employees at the restaurants, they all lacked customer service skills. It seemed as if everyone had an attitude problem. No one at the concierge had any idea of the daily rates, they are all full of confusion and rudeness. A nice simple smile ALWAYS goes a long way. They promise one thing online before you book, but once you get there is a whole new nightmare. The Hotel is pretty much divided into two sections, they sell you the pretty side online, but trust me, there is no upgrades or nice cleaning rooms upon your arrival. Do not be deceived. I travel with my husband, my sister, my niece and my three children. I will never in a million years recommend this place to anyone. The food was gross, my room was full of ants and if you are looking forward to enjoy a nice margarita, save your energy, they serve the cheapest alcohol possible. Oh, and if rain is in your horizon, make sure to take your own umbrella, they only offer one umbrella per room. My best advice would be to pay more for your stay at a different hotel, rather than saving a few bucks and be aggravated your entire vacation. STAY AWAY from Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Gonzalo Munoz from Carrollton, Texas

"enjoyed my trip, the place was good and secluded away from eveything, just good enough to rest and relax. Food was great I think I gained about 10 lbs. The gym was well equiped."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler A & M from Staten Island, New York

"the ratings on this hotel is not correct this should be considered a 1 star hotel. there was nothing but issues in this hotel. the shower head was coming out of the wall and fell on my boyfriend. the rooms dont have flat screen tvs as they show on the pictures. there was a HUGE hole in the hallway ceiling outside my room that was leaking so bad that the water was coming into my room from outside. the hotel NEVER fixed the leak all they did was put towels outside my door to absorb the water. the outlets were hanging out the wall of the hotel room airconditioners didnt work well always felt warm in the room. My boyfriend and me wanted to go home after the 2nd day that we were there. the beaches is disgusting the sand is dirty the water looks black. We werent the only couple that experienced issues, we met a couple that was at the resort for 2 weeks and went through similar issues there room was changed 4 times and still had issues! I WILL NEVER RETURN TO THIS HOTEL!!!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Mark Gervais from Red Lake Falls, MN

"Staff was good but some not as friendly as others. Don't get me wrong it's a nice resort but HUGE! we are coming back through the membership we purchased however now we are having our doubts about that decision we made to do that. Service for getting drinks could be MUCH better and the quality of liquor was not there. VIP had the same or less then the regular bars as far as top shelp booze goes. Pools nice but kids everywhere when we went.Would go to an all adult resort next time if possible. Spa is good."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Suzanne Petrone from Pittsburgh, PA

"On arriving our room was not ready. Upon getting room it took over an hour to get luggage and get to room. When finally get to room it was very dirty, dead bugs on floor, hair & tooth paste in bathroom sink, bedding such as comforter and sham very dirty. Request new room but was told none available to next day. We vwere promised the room would be completely cleaned while at dinner, it never was. The next morning we were told to see concierge to have keys changed because the people had not checked of room yet. We spend day at pool which is beautiful. We went to new room around 3pm. Still not luggage from old room. My cousin stayed iin room to get a shower, while I went to see about luggage, a family walked in on Her in the shower. They had given two people keys to the same room. The manager did not want to do anything for her embarrasement. We finally got a nice room after being moved three times."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Mercedes from Camby, Indiana

"Since the beginning we were not received welcome. The person in front of the door didnt even introduce who he was, he told us to wait next to the glass door if we would know where was the glass door. The check in the person straight asked us what part of united states do we come from. He gave us only one KEY for the 3 of us and the key look old and dirtyy, mosquitoes everywhere, really bad people where at the hotel, none of the employees looked interested to help us or to make sure everything was ok. Walking to the room a guy was killing the mosquitos walking backwards spray gasoline almost in my face. We asked where our room was located this lady told us you just passed it and kind of laugh about it. When we got to the room the tv didnt work at all. We walk through the hall to ask for help they said to call the number (0) we called and they kind of were bored to hear that the tv wasnt working, after 45 minutes no one came we called back and the lady was kind of rude and said that she didnt know what the guys havent check our tv. A guy came after 2 hours, our tv was working for kind of 1-2 hours max and started to have trouble again, we called and explain that this was the 2nd time that the tv wasnt warking, a guy stated it that there is too many people at the hotel, it took 3 hours for us to call again and speak to a supervisor the manager supposed to called within 2 minutes and he didnt a lady knock in the door and said that we had to transfer to another room if we wanted to watch tv, they transfer to another room after 45 minutes, in the buffet the waitres were rude, no ORGANIZATION, NO CARE, RUDE, UNRESPECTFULL, animals all over the hotel, nasty beachh dark nobody was even swimming, this was a total nightmare horrible service, horrible hotel, just a whole disaster"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Andrew from Delta, BC

"Large property but small pools, crowded, people reserving chairs with towels at 530 in the morning !! Not as fancy as in the pictures. Smelly diesel tractors for shuttling folks around the property. Staff overall very good. Aside from the great mattresses the rooms are about a 3 star level. The beach was ruined by the hurricane so essentially a pool based resort. Food good but again 3-4 star level at best. In summary if you want a 3-4 star place with nice staff and no beach this is fine but at about 200 dollars a night you will feel underwhelmed and probably will not rush back. Cheers"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Deb from Green Bay, WI

"I have traveled to the Playa del Carmen area the last 12 years. Large hotel but they were able to accomidate the number of people there - never felt crowded. Hotel is worn but the staff keep the area and rooms very clean. Beach is nothing to write home about - one of the worse beach areas I have been at. Ended up spending the week at the pool. I was surprised with the timesharing sales/pressure within the resort. First time I experienced that while at a resort. Resturants were better than expected - only went to the dinner buffet once. Appreciated the fact everyone needed to make reservations the day before - have been at places where you can make up to 3 reservations at a time and everything is filled up. Lots of walking - which was fine .... but just be aware, they have shuttles but never there when you needed one. I would not go back .... only booked there because the price was right. Resort too big and too worn for my taste"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Sondra Evans from Cottonwood Heights, Utah

"The accomodations were excellent but THE FOOD WAS TERRIBLE!!!. Some things were truly inedible. We have been to several All Inclusive resorts and this was by far the worst food of any of them. We were told that it was a 5 minute walk to the pier in Playa del Carmen to go to Cozumel.......try a 30 minute taxi!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler H.Naujack from Barrie, Canada

"Every year we spend the entire month of February in Mexico. The last week of our stay we usually spend in a resort, this time in the B.B.G.E. It was a very pleasant experience: We made a lot of friends with the staff (as by know we can converse with them in Spanish quite well.) Also - with a bit of tipping - they showed their appreciation and usually went beyond our expectation. For us as 'fish lovers' - the food was superb. - They gave us the room we were supposed to get - a stone-throw away from the beach, which was very much to our delight. - The beach itself was a big disappointment (though we had some idea from 'on-line' comments. (But if you walked for 10 min to the left, a river leading to a 'senote' offered wonderful swimming.) - The problem is 'environmental' - plantons & algeas, seagrass etc. by the tons. I would call this 'a result of global warming and destruction of our beaiful oceans...') - For a 'first-time' R.M.vacationer I would not recommend it. - The property is beautifully kept, lots of flowers, trees and animals. BUT PLEASE: In the fall we can imagine there are millions of mosquitos!!! The pools were overloaded and not very clean (which was meaningless to us as we never use them). - Certain things one simply has to put up with, i.e. drunkeness & rowdiness & nightly disturbences, but you have that almost everywhere. - To somebody who enjoys to 'design' his own way of resting and vacationing - we certainly would recommend this place. That's how we honestly feel about this place. Harald Naujack"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Michelle Eggers from Sioux Falls, SD

"The resort was very large and nice. I was very unhappy with the food and no security. I would never refer a friend to this resort or go back there myself. I was actually glad to be out of Mexico."

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"Booked a room with a particial ocean view. The only way to see the ocean was handing over the balcony.

No poolside or ocean service."

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"If you're looking for some R & R then this is the place for you. It's pretty quiet and there's not much to do at night except an evening show and the bars stay open late. The Sports bar had the most action. During the day the action is at the pool by the beach. The resort is very large but there are shuttles every couple of minutes. The food was very good. I recommend making reservations to eat in the specialty restaurants. There are no additional charges to eat in them unless you want the chefs specialty. The drinks are soso. Nothing top shelf and your limited to 2 beer choices. We noticed most people had brought their own drink cups so they didn't have to refill as frequently. My only real complaint is the gift shop prices are too high. You can buy most stuff cheaper if you go into town for $5 each way. We had a very nice room in building 6 on the 4th floor. Overall the resort is lovely."

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"I stayed here back in 2008 and I loved it, people were friendly, food was very good, staff were very friendly, easy to get around and were able to book and eat at All 4 a-la-carte restaurants and most loved the family atmosphere Overall experience VERY GOOD and I so want to go back......................"

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"I traveled to Mexico with my boyfriend and two of our friends. The Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda was huge. It was our second time in Cancun so we had high expectations. The lobby was a bit messy and needed some updating. Our rooms were nice everything was clean so no complaint there. (Garden View) The resort was a bit to huge for me. We stayed there for 6 days and we basically needed all those days to explore the entire resort. There were little trains that passed by to take you further down but those trains took to long, so you might as well walk. There were two pools on different ends of the resort. One big one and a smaller quiet one. The food was good, nothing special. The Mexican restaurant was really good. The Italian one was horrible. (And I love Italian food) Now the beach. I read all the reviews about the beach before I booked this resort so I knew what to expect. It was bad. Muggy dark water. Sand bags everywhere..If you are looking for beautiful clear water this resort is not for you. Some waiters were extremely rude some were nice, so I guess it depends. Not much entertainment especially if you are in your 20's. And very far from the clubs scene area. I personally wouldn't recommend this resort for a younger crowd. It was average.
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"Having been at this resort a number of years ago just after it opened we thought we would try it again. The service and food quality have vastly improved from then, we enjoyed all the restaurants and would rate them 4.5 out of 5. Service for the most part was also excellant although week-end staff was not quite as good as during the week, especially around the pool and beach. Housekeeping services were excellant although we did hear of some problems from other guests and some maintenance issues were also evident, usually minor in nature. The resort should probably start replacing the outdoor furniture around the pool and beach as lack of maintenance is starting to take its toll, not service affecting yet but may become a problem in the future. Overall we had en excellant experience but the time share salesmen could be a pain if you didn't have a thick skin. Also used Bestday for airport transfers and were very happy with the service."

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"Very nice resort, agree beach could be nicer. Clean and friendly, agree that spots around the pool were saved and often vacant for the whole day. "

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"The resort was fantastic! The staff, food and accommodations exceeded our expectations. The resort was perfect for our family trip of 8 people!"

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"My husband and I vacationed here Feb 2012 our overall experience was good-the food was excellent-rooms very clean-the beach on our first day had a lot of seaweed but was raked daily and the water was beautiful-beach bar service was great-only two complaints and that was the sports bar was really the only place to sit and have a drink shy of the beach or pool and the chairs were not comfortable the other was the smell at the buildings with the swim up pools there seamed to be a sewage smell in this area-glad we were not staying in one of those buildings-overall for the price it was good"

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"My wife and I went here on our honeymoon. At first we were split 50/50 because of the reviews but once we got that quickly went away. For the money, you cannot beat the experience. The downside and the only downside we found was the beach which is beautiful and has a huge pool next to it. From the water edge on in was unusable but you can lay in the sand and if you walk farther down it gets better. Also as mentioned, Playa Del Carmen is a quick ride away and it is amazing. Food was awesome for an all inclusive and we never got bored or had to eat the same thing. Drinks were good, service was excellent. There was always someone within an arms reach more than happy to bend over backwards to help you. When we got there our room was next to where the load up the cleaning carts, noisy and did not get wifi. We went to the conceriege and were immediately given the choice of a new room (they even showed us the rooms and let us pick). Yes there are bugs, at night and there are mosquitos near the lights (and some really cute anteater things too), but this is mexico... get real, they are everywhere. If you plan on buying stuff, dont... wait for the weekend and the have a bazzar/fair thing where everything you wanted and more from the gift shop can be negotiated to more than half price. Bring lots of sunscreen as it's $20 at the gift shop and dont buy into all of the presentations. The only time we were approached was in the lobby and you can easily brush them off. We tipped out maid $5 the first day and a dollar every day after that and our room was always well stocked and cleaned on time. We would most definitely go back there and again, for the cost you cant beat it. We waited for a special and paid more for our plane ticket then we did the whole week. Bottom line, you are always going to find more negative than positive on a website review because most people dont bother posting unless they will generally post the negative experience more than the positive one but in this case, the only downside (the ocean at the beach) was FAR out shadowed by the positive. If you want a PERFECT experience, go stay at the places that will cost you double or tripple what bluebay costs and you'll probably end up close to what you would have gotten here. P.S. BRING PANTS.... the restaurants (minus the buffets) require it and if you happen to be reading this from mexico and forgot them already... there is a walmart right in Playa Del Carmen."

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"the overall rating i would give the resort would be a 3 ..i have been in better resorts .."

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"It is an excellent place to go and relax. The pool is nice and it is in front of the beach (the beach is not nice). You may need a car to go outside and explore or take several tours; otherwise you may get tire of the pool. The food is good and there is no additional charge for any good and/or drink. There is also a nice gym free of charge. IT IS A GOOD VALUE FOR THE PRICE!"

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"Lookng at the advertisment on the site, the place looked very nice. The listing for Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda tells you how nice the beach is and how blue the water is. Here's what we discovered when we got there - the beach did have nice white sand but the beach front had about a two foot drop/wall to the water. This wall was stacked with hundreds of sand bags and covered with fabric that was torn and ripped. Below that was piles of black, stinking seaweed that smelled like sewage. The water had a yellowish color and was brown farther out. Black debrish was floating in the water so that you couldn't really get in if you wanted to because you had to go through that first to get to clear brown water. You could not get in the water. My wife and I love the beach and the sea water and could not begin to get in that water which ruined our vacation.
We tried to work with customer service at the resort to find another resort. No luck. We had no choice but to stay there and vacation without a beach. The pools had a 12-18 inch low water level and the filtration system was not working. The water was hot and cloudy. We didn't want to get in because it wasn't clear and clean-looking.
The resort was huge with a lot of walking from the buffet to the rooms. The air on the walking trails always smelled like sewage - no good. The food was average. It was very hard to get a drink at the beach bar because it was under staffed and small. The experence overall was not good. Stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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"My boyfriend and I went to the Bluebay May 2012 and the trip was wonderful.After reading some bad reviews I questioned if we made a good decision when choosing this resort.Overall everything turned out Great.We had a wonderful time.The staff was so Friendly.You must eat at the Steakhouse the food there is fantasic.The pools are shallow,but I figure with unlimited free alcohol it must be for safety.The beach could be better,but overall for the price we paid I really couldnt ask for much more.We most definatly will return. Thank You Blue Bay : )"

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"worst vacation ever........everyday somebody trying to see u timeshare......good food.....there is nothing about this resort i can say good but food.....no activities and nobody promoting anythig but time share.......24 hr sports bar......transportion stops at 11pm....walk .................this is a $59 a night hotel with great pictures to get u there.......i wont go back and i recommen u go either"

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"It was a nice week, with plenty of sunshine and good food at the main buffet. The Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda resort and spa is a very beautiful and well kept resort with manicured lawns and it was very clean. It was a pleasure to walk the clean grounds and eat the excellent food in the main buffet were we had a huge variety of cooked food from all over the world. The theme restaurants were a big disappointment - no variety and no flavor. Buildings 6, 7, and 8 had excellent bathrooms with double sinks and no bathtub, which is something we really liked. Instead, we had a huge shower stall with glass doors and two shower heads; one was big and round, the other was smaller and hand held. Taking a shower in such a bathroom was comfortable and pleasurable . Buildings 1, 2 and 3 were very close to the beach. They were older buildings with huge bath tubs and hand held shower heads but the tubs were tall and that made it difficult to get in and out of them. Some had paint peeling off of the ceiling. The sea was very calm even when it was quite windy. It was shallow for at least 50 meters inward, so it is ideal for those who don't swim. The only downside is that there were seaweeds but you can avoid them by going to the light green areas of water. The light green/turquoise color of the water indicated that there the currents had cleared the weeds. Personnel were very polite and quite efficient. We had to call them to fix our sliding door, which didn't lock, and they responded right away. Then, one of the locks of our suitcases wouldn't close; it was kind of stuck and couldn't move. We called maintenance again and sure enough they showed up and fixed it for us. Another bonus at the resort is the free bar in each room. The small fridge contained distilled water, bottled beer and cokes, fanta and sprite which were replenished every day. This we haven't seen at any other resort. Actually, it is the first 5 star resort we have been to. All other 4 star resorts charge for that service. So we were given 4 bottles of beer, 3 one-litre bottles of distilled water and 6 cans of coke, fanta and sprite every single day of the week for free. That was awesome! We took only one tour - the Atlantis submarine adventure from Playa del Carmen, which was a lifetime experience. Yes, it is a real submarine, built in Vancouver in 1994, airconditioned, with two tour guides. One of them, the German speaking guide, spoke 5 different languages and did an excellent job in introducing to us the coral reef and all the different marine species. The English speaking tour guide was also very good and gave us interesting info about the fish and the reef, which we learned was the second biggest after the Australian one. This by far has been our most enjoyable tour ever because we went 125 feet deep and saw the sea bed and all the corals, etc. Besides, it is an easy tour and everybody can take it - no risk, no health hazard. Our overall experience at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda is very positive and we will definitely go back again."

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"Went to Blue Bay for 5 days with the girl friend. Long story short, we weren't going to let a resort that was less than expected ruin our good times, and it didn't. But... we were expecting more. The staff could not have been nicer, also couldn't have asked for better weather. The food was pretty good, can't complain there, but the drinks... not good. They say the beer is 'dos xx', as a beer drinker, I know this was NOT dos XX. The liquor also was sub-par. It had this odd taste/smell to it. Again, this didn't stop us from getting good and buzzed. But by day 4 we were sick of drinking that stuff and ended up going to town to buy cans of 'real' beer and a bottle of rum and tequila and ordered virgin drinks and mixed our own 'normal' drinks w/bacardi and jose. We actually crashed the resort down the beach a couple times to enjoy some good beer/tropical drinks. The pool was great. Our room was good except.... it smelled like mold, had some huge cockroaches and one small lizard. The beach was very nice, but the water has all this black sea weed stuff in it that makes the water murky and there is staff working all day to rake it off the beach when it washes up. So overall I feel bad saying that this wasn't all it was cracked up to be because the staff was SO nice and I'd like them to stay busy and make money... we still had a nice time but next time we'll try the resort a few down from blue bay"

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"Unfortunately our room was not ready at 3:00 pm the day e arrived.

Hotel is very large and our ocean view room was only a side glimpse from our balcony of the ocean.

The food was a notch above our expectations for this area.

We have made many trips into the area and found that as long as the resort keeps chairs, towels, beach and pool area's hopping (and they did) you can have a good time

The spa was massive and great but you would never know this because they do not instruct very well on how to use these facilities. We discovered the spa basically on our own nd really liked it.

Fire ants and mosquitoes got me on the beach and at dusk but these ants apparently come out only during rainy season.

There were some strange odours around the low areas that were wet but hey we didn't hang around these areas much.

Circle one time share for VIPs was a bit of a hassle but not that bad.

We would go again.

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"Had a great time. Very clean, large rooms. Shower is huge. The food at all the restaurants was fabulous & so was the buffet. Only one thing I would suggest is more umbrellas for shad at the beach. Would definitely go back again."

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"
Last year i went to Jamaica and stayed at Grand Palladium. The staff was much more friendlier over there and it was a wow feeling. We got the wow feeling at some places (especially the staff at the restaurant at beach and also the entertainment crew at the pool)..

The shows were OK. Not the greatest. The show with the International Dance was good. Rest shows boring. Shows make a HUGE difference to the trip.

The pool tables in the sports bar required 4 coins.. Seriously.. On top of that the coin machine was not working for couple of nights and the bar does not have change.. I would rather pay $50 extra while booking for the trip to cover such things than pay $2 every time we have to pay. (Its an ALL INCLUSIVE RESORT)

Restaurants - We had to get couple of bananas for the kids and the restaurant people told us that we cannot carry banana out of the restaurant coz its the policy. (I am sure there is a reason for the policy but kids were hungry and didn't knew what to do).. I request the policy to be reconsidered.

Hence my rating of the trip is just OK.

At the same time i do want to mention that besides above it was a great vacation. The pool entertainers were amazing, the pool itself is beautiful, the hotel and everything else was great. Above all food was superb.

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"After many trips to Mexico & several different resorts I have to say I would not give this one high marks. The resort was ok, some staff friendly, some not, but we had room problems including no hot water & a broken elevator immediately upon arriving on afternoon of December 20th, 2011. We were clld at midnight to change rooms only to move everything & room still not correct. They wanted to move us again but we were exhausted & sd, No! They were apologetic & informed us to come pickup our spa passes the following day (day 2) for a $200 spa credit for each guest due to the problems. Went to pick them up & were told whoever we spoke to told us wrong or we misunderstood because we would receive only a $200 dllr credit to be divided between the three of us.Tried to redeem them by getting a massage on the beach but informed we couldnt use them on the beach. Food was ok but most resorts have someplace to find burgers, nachos, ice cream all day & early evening. All the restraunts closed for 1 hr between bkfst & lunch, then lunch to dinner. Not good after lying in sun all day & u show up at 4pm & they had just closed to get ready for dinner. The day we left our ride to airport was at 1:10. We askd if we cld come in to grab anything before we left as we hadnt eaten today(burger, etc) & were told No, No one can come in til 1pm, no exceptions. The sand was very beautiful but you could see all the sandbags trying to hold the sand in place and had to climb over bags to get to water & back. Also, the water was by far the worst water Ive ever seen at a resort from Cancun to Tulum. We were 3 girlfiends who went together to relax & lay in sand next to water & not one of us got into water. Spoke to concierge, & front office of our disappointment. We were asked to attend a 90 minute VIP seminar (an attempt to get you to buy into all their resorts). After being held cative for 3 hrs one girlfriend sd IM done & wanna go back to my room. We were also promised (for going to seminar) by VIP group we would get an additiinal $200 credit to be used anywhere on resort; but then werent allowed to use at the spa. So sorry Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda but for the same amount of money I cld have had a shower outside & inside, a 2 person tub, plus a 6 person hot tub on a private patio @ The White Sands Grand Palladium Resort & Spa in the adult only section. Dont believe I would go back."

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"WOW, what can I say except HORRIBLE!!!!! The walls and ceilings are falling apart, the place just stinks like mold, and filth. They have roaches and bed bugs. BAD!! The place is HORRIBLE!! I dont know the last time you reviewed this place, but the only nice thing was the entrance and the grounds. Even the pools and the pool towels were horrible. AND they let people smoke anywhere and everywhere. which was horrible. WOW, what a rip off. I would never reccomend this place, and I hope that no one has to endure what we did. Thanks"

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"My Trip to Grand Esmeralda became a nightmare as our rooms weren't what we were promised, the activities listed are a joke and aren't all inclusive as you pretty much have to pay for everything. The management has changed in the past year or so as a friend I went with went before and was appalled at what was going on. This is no longer a 4 star resort that they advertise and maybe a 2.5 at best as confirmed with other guests while I was there.

This coupled with the fact that their rooms are some of the dirtiest, un-functioning rooms that I have ever been to in my years of travel, made my trip to Grand Esmeralda a waste of money and time. I would NEVER visit this resort again or recommend this resort to anyone."

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"We go to Mexico every year. Always stay at a new place. Never had a bad experience or resort before:

Property is beautful. Food is good. That's the end of the good news.

Day 1: Maintenance staff woke us @ 7:00 a.m.moving furniture in room above us (lasted over an hour). Phone didn't work. Asked for a pillow. Never got it. AC could not be adjusted - up or down (we froze in there.) Hostess took 20 minutes to find our dinner reservation (which was there all along.)

Day 2: No bath mat, not enough towels left by housekeeping.

Day 3: The floor in our room began to buckle - yes the tiles popped up, my husband tripped, could have fallen through the plate glass doors. Went to the lobby. Passed around to 3 people who 'couldn't help us.' Finally asked for manager. I was polite. He was not: He was rude and condescending. He said it would be fixed in 1 - 2 hours. We were there another 3 days. It was NEVER fixed.

New Year's Eve - lines were long to eat.

WOULD NOT GO BACK. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE!"

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"We had a wonderful time until the day we departed.Our room was great,the food was fine,service ,for the most part,very good.We had a late flight outso we asked for a late check out.We were offered another room than ours at $10 per hour,which we accepted.When we got there,the exterior door would not lock-was held closed by a stick.The TV didn't work,and the room was full of bugs.I spoke to a clerk at the front desk,and I understood that the room would ne discounted by $50,which seemed OK as we only used the room for about 6 hours as we went to the beach.When we went to check out,we were told that there would be a charge of $50.When I asked to speak to a manager,he was extraordinarily rude,basically called me a liar,and refused to reduce the room rate.It pretty much ruined an otherwise good trip.I don't want to put down the whole resort for 1 isolated experience,but as there are several other resorts in this area,I would not return to this one,or recommend it to others.Too bad-otherwise it was good."

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"Unfortunately, I have nothing good to say about this resort. I had reservations at another resort and was not happy with its location so I called Bookit to find another resort. This one was highly recommended by the customer service rep as being one of the top three requested resorts in the area. Foolish of me for not doing more research on the recommendation but I rebooked since I hated my current location.

In hindsight, I would have stayed at the other location. This was not my type of resort. I have never taken a cruise (for a reason) and this felt like a bad cruise on land. The property is huge (and not in a good way), the pools are so crowded and extremely loud, the beach is small and dirty with no menu service and horrible, watered-down drinks. The 'sports club' feels like an extremely large garage - it's not fun and almost feels dirty. The staff is horrible not friendly or personable at all.
The only good thing I have to say about the resort is the food was decent.

Lesson learned, I probably should have been more specific when requesting a new location but I was so disappointed that I moved again. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of money but I could not see myself staying the next seven days at this location. This may be for some but definitely wasn't the experience I was looking for. I'd definitely do my research before selecting this resort.
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"We spend 6 days at Blue Bay Esmeralda. The resort is very large and has beautiful landscaping. If you can afford oceanview choose the deluxe option because those are the buildings that directly face the beach. We chose economy oceanview, and it was nice but the beach was far away.
I loved the contact with nature. They badgers (tejones) live in the mangroves that surround the property but they are inoffensive, you can feed them :)
The beach is small and full of algae, but you can walk around 10 minutes and find a breathtaking view.
In the morning and if you go to the buffet go to Jeel-ha which is a restaurant by the beach. They cook good food and has more variety. The servers are helpful. Dont forget to tip them at least $1, they get a very low salary around $100 per month and survive with the tips.
During lunch we always went to Jeel-ha as well, you can find traditional food such as tacos and quesadillas, wraps. The natural juices are fantastic.
I dont recommend eating in the main buffet which is in a building by the front desk. The servers are rude and the food is not good.
At night you can make reservations to eat in the different restaurants. We tried the mexican, steak, and the seafood restaurant. The food was ok.
From the lobby to the beach is around 8 minutes so be prepared to walk. Dont bother waiting for the bell boys that drive the bus to the front desk, because they will never pick up your luggage or take very long.
The internet is free in the main lobby and the italian and french restaurant. If you paid extra you may have internet but there is no signal in building 5. I paid for the internet and was never able to sign in, but they refunded my payment.
The rooms are very clean and spacious, the refrigerator is full with drinks and beer.
We stayed for the new year and they had a great dinner and a celebration in the beach.
On the main road from the beach to the lobby, there is a cat that lives in the bushes, blue bay cat, please feed him, he is very malnourished, so please bring him some food.
Oh and before I forget, DO NOT FORGET THE REPELENT. There are many mosquitoes at night. I read the reviews that said the same and ignored them. I came back with 40 mosquito bites :(
I would definitely go back for the same price in high season!
"

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"I just had an all around bad experience, too many Mosquitos, poor quality food, the rooms are seriously terrible I requested a jacuzzi suite, no jacuzzi, hardly a suite, I would never ever stay in this 0 star resort"

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"Dinner A La Carte was perfect and excellent! Buffet was also very good quality.

Rooms were also nice, but looked like they had kind of been built in a hurry and sloppy (but hey, I do home improvements so I'll notice that stuff).

Went for a walk along the beach and was able to compare to other surrounding resorts - Blue Bay definitely stood out to be a nicer set up. This resort was also nice because of all the set up that went into decorating for Christmas."

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"To the most part an enjoyable stay .. Resort was nice and the staff friendly. A rather small resort in size compared to the many others we have stayed in. The staff was extremely helpful thruoughout our 5 day stay. The beach is rather small and if one is looking for a large beach area there are many other properties in the area with better beach access. They had organized a variety of activities all day to keep the guests occupied if one wanted to be more active than just lying by the pool.

Two areas that were lacking ... most any mixed cocktail drink ordered in any of the bar locations had hardly any alcohol in them ... just watered down sweet drinks even after we told the bartender of the issue. Beer and wine were the best choice. The other issue that was concerning was the dinner reservations at the specialty restaurants .. they supposedly take reservations only 1 day in advance and even when trying to make them first thing in the morning for the following day, it was very difficult to get good timings .. only the very early or the very late slots were open most of the time. Yet whenever we went by the restaurant (no matter which time it was) most of them were about 70-80% vacant. After we had a hard time getting the prime dinner spots we walked by the specialty restaurants on many nights to verify this fact after we had seen them nearly empty when we were dining. They probably do this to direct guests towards the buffet choices which is probably less expensive for them to maintain.

Nightly entertainment was very good most nights (especially the Michael Jackson show) and few more shows would have been welcome earlier in the evenings as well for more entertainment activity."

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"We rented 2 rooms. Check in took a ridiculous amount of time during which luggage porters moved the bags out of the covered area to the open where they were soaked by gushing rain. Several days no facecloths stocked in one room and the other was given 2 towels daily for 4 ppl and was very poorly cleaned and stocked.Ground floor rooms do not have a private patio. No dividers between rooms at all. Patio door in one room was broken and was very difficult to open and close and wasn't fixed until day of departure. Both rooms had sticks in patio door track as locks didn't work. Resort transportation was almost non-existant. Some staff friendly but most were not. It was clear that tipping was expected. Our adult daughter was reprimanded by a waiter in the sports bar for not tipping when actually we had all been tipping rather generously throughout the entire stay. The food was just ok and you can only book an ala carte meal the day prior and each time we booked one, it took about a half hour for them to find an available table for 6. Rooms were VERY VERY NOISY!!!! Woken constantly by noise from people and service carts in corridor outside room at 1am, 3am, 6am. We would never go back or recommend. It paled in comparison to our previous experience at the Grand Bahia Principe Tulum and we are sorry we didn't go back there but wanted to be closer to Playa Del Carmen on this trip."

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"This resort was very nice! Rooms are kept very clean, plenty of places to get food, and the staff is very friendly!"

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"2ND Time to go to Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda and it was the best. The only thing you have to watch for are the time share people and you have to be just a little rude to make them go away but they will go away. I cant think of a better resort to go to, this one is 5 star."

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"First it should not be rated as 4 star. Very below that. I was given a free upgrade through book it.com and the hotel wouldnt honor that. all inclusive didnt apply here=3 out of 5 resturants you had to pay for. the 4th restaurant you had to pay for the wine and certain items on the menu-over half the menu. Had to walk everywhere- very few golfcarts and they were mostly used for staff to work I will never go back and I dont know if I will use book it.com"

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"we had to change rooms the first day we arrive and the third day as well rooms need work but the rest was fine. but no corona or different find of beer only superior
it was our university and the first tree days it was a disaster to give us the right room as we order ocean view."

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"Had a great time there, resort was simple décor but clean & well maintained. Staff were excellent, friendly and very hard working. We had to switch rooms because we had room with a cheater door to the next room and the family next to us literally sounded like they were in our room with us, yelling and carrying on till 12am. Then they were up yelling & running back & forth in their room at sun up, who are these people?!?! The new room was much better(no cheater door), the halls in the buildings are a ruff textured concrete that make the housekeeping carts rattle quite loudly as they travel thru the building, easily fixed with soft rubber wheels but I guess they haven't figured that out yet. Our bathroom smelled of mold but none was visible, the power goes out when you remove your room key so the exaust fan turns of, but I think the real problem is the door to the bathroom it closes on it's own trapping moisture never allowing to completely dry after showering. We kept blocking the door open & after a day or 2 the smell was gone. The trolley and big golf carts shuttling people back n' forth from the beach area to the main buildings was excellent, I've been to other big resorts like this that don't have that service after a long day of swimming snorkeling etc. this is nice.
We knew the water infront of the resort was usually cloudy and that a short walk down the beach to Tres Rios was preferred for ocean swimmers, out 9 days only the last 2 days was the water infront of the resort fairly clear. The resort is in a bay and has long pier structures sticking out into the ocean that trap the organic matter from the mangle trees and the 3 rivers that empty into the ocean up the coast. My wife was very disappointed with the water in front of the resort, so we won't be back here for that reason. Tres Rios is a beautiful area by the way spent alot of time there swimming & snorkelling.
The buffet is the best we've sampled in the area so far(Better then Iberostar Quetzel & Lindo , frozen drinks were excellent!"

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"Great time! Only a 1 hour and 20 minute direct flight from Fort Lauderdale. Staff was great! Spa was beautiful! All- inclusive is the way to go if you just want to kick back and relax with no worries :)"

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"In general a good trip, however I have two major complaints, one of which falls directly on you. About a week or two after booking the trip in late August I received a couple of emails with flight changes. The new flight itinerary wouldn't work because you didn't allow sufficient time at the airport to switch planes. I ignored those emails and finally got a call from you two days before departure trying to get me to confirm them. I told you that I wanted to keep original times and you said that wasn't possible, so I then pointed out that the change in flight times wouldn't work, since you gave me only 35 minutes from arrival from Cancun until departure in Houston, and I had to go through Customs, security again, and travel about a mile to the next gate. You guys need to be better at looking at things!! When I got to hotel I checked with the airline for the original flight I had requested and they said it was available. I then emailed you to say that I still wanted the original flight itinerary for return trip. You sent me a form email back to say that I would be responsible for any changes. Where is your responsibility in this matter? It's pretty poor response in my mind.

The second complaint had to do with misrepresenting that free wifi was available in the rooms, when it was clearly not. It was only free in lobby and bar area and that was about a quarter mile from my room. You need to improve on details and double check what they give you. Randy Renander"

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"Very good. The only thing i would wish the resort should do good entrance into the see It was really hard to get into the see because of bottom rocks."

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"It would take PAGES to relate this B'Day Trip to Riviera Maya,Mexico. Jet Blue changed res. 3 times thus we left P.R. at 4:25 A.M. We had to stay at the Airport Hotel previous evening !! The De Luxe Ocean View ?? Room was in a dilapidated Bldg. finally we moved to a nicer room at this resort The Time Sharing Recruiters at the Bldg. a concierge, after we INFORMED WE had 3 Mayor suppliers insisted we went. We did and after declining.. this Lady?? and staff TOTALLY ignored us where as a simple common courtesy would suffice.After a Red Eye layover and flight leaving Ft. Lauderdale we arrived in San Juan,P.R. at around midnight. My Wife had received a Very Serious Insect Bite and had an enormous swelling on both ankles. We were provided a Wheelchair since my she could NOT walk of the plane. The chair operator Flatly Refused to wait for our luggage and see Us out of the Terminal. I proceeded to the Jet Blue Office at the Luggage Area who SIMPLY refused The SLIGHTEST and most urgent HELP. She expressed that Jet Blue Contracts this Service and case closed. Luckily there was a GENTLEMAN from the Gov. Airport Authority who helped Us. Today is Nov.30 We arrived on the 25 of Nov. and my Wife is still in the Hospital suffering from the insect bite that was aggravated by undue pressure from walking and waiting standing up victim of the above explained.chaotic experiences."

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"Friendly, clean.
Low priced, but the beach is the worst in Riviera Maya.
If the gust uses the beach- not a place to go."

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"Everything... Everything was absolutely perfect. The water was not as blue as I thought but was really hot. A really nice resort."

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"We had a great trip! The resort was lovely and everyone working there was great! The only things that we would have liked (and this is just nit-picking) would be more than one beer option (no Carona = sad face!) and breakfast options on the room service menu. That was one thing we were looking forward to, but is not offered. The buffets are actually pretty good so that we had to get out of bed to get breakfast was only mildly annoying! For the money that we spent, I feel it was a great deal!"

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"This resort was okay , staff they were wonderfull ,meals were good in the main lobby and by the pool ,could work on the ones that you have to book expect the Mexican one it was very good. We changed rooms and we were in building 5 and it really needs some work done on it . Would we go back maybe would ask for rooms in the 1st or 2nd.

They also need a place were you could go and lesson to music and dance ."

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"loved it, great experience, very grateful to the people"

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"The resort was beautiful. Plenty of choices to dine and drink. However, the resort was under staffed. My room did not get cleaned for two days and the pick-up service from bldg to bldg was very slow."

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"All in all I'd say this was a very nice hotel. The only major complaint I had was that you had to make reservations for the fine dining 24 hours in advanced so when we got to the resort there wasn't any reservations for that day. We had to eat at the buffet that night and it really was sub par. Other than that great pool, great bars and a great place to stay."

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"It was a very good vacation altogether. Hurricane Rina came on our last night, but we were still entertained by the staff and crew with security on stand by. We lost power that night so it was a bit hot in the room we were at. The operator guy we spoke to said there's no A/C in the building we were at, but turns out our kids' room had A/C so they slept well. Food was fanstastic."

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"The hotel is clean, and the staff is friendly and efficient. The food is good, and the serving staff is friendly. There are three specialty restaurants which needed reservations; we experienced the seafood restaurant which was very good. The tropical storm, Rina, went through the resort, but the staff was extra efficient in taking care of the guests getting food to the rooms when it was not possible to venture out. The sales staff for time share was pushy, and the extra services such as massages are pricey. However, we would get back there if there are reasonable sale packages."

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"We arrived at the Blue Bay Resort on Oct. 20/11 for an 8 night stay. We were greeted by such wonderful people at the resort. The rooms were very well kept by all the staff. While we were there we were faced with something that we Canadians have never had to endure and that was the onset of a category 3 Hurricane. By the time it did get to us it was JUST a very bad TROPICAL STORM. I will say that they were very well prepared and had us very well prepared for the pnenomenom. They made all of us feel very much ease with what we were facing.
There is a couple of things that I have to say in contrast to the excellent service and care that we received and they are these: (1) We found that the buffets very rarely had much variance from beginning to end. I would of thought that there would be differences in the food on a daily basis. (2) When purchasing anything at the resort with American money, they only offer to give you the change in PESOS, We didn't understand why they wouldn't allow you to have your change in US dollars. Our feelings are that should you pay with American money you should be able to have your change in American money and not have to get money back that you can't use in the country from which you came."

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"The overall experience was great. A very beautiful place. Great pool area, great food, beach where chairs are is good. Our only problem was hot water in our room. First night we had none, the rest of the nights it was warm, never hot. There were double sinks in the bath and one had standing water in it for the last two days we were there. The maid was there every day and apparently never had it fixed. We told the staff about the hot water issue several times and never got hot water.

These are small issues. We had a wonderful time and would do it again. It's just part of the adventure."

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"We were a little usure of what to expect, however we were very surprised and pleased when we arrived. We upgraded to the Emerald ocean view package and we had a great room in building four Uxmal.. We were on the third floor and our room looked right out onto the main pool. Our room was cleaned every day and with our package not only did we get our minibar refilled every day, but each night we were brought a bottle of champage or wine as well as either a meat and cheese platter or candies. We had a fresh fruit basket that was restocked, as well as 8 larger bottles of alcohol - Rums, tequila, whiskey, etc.. when we drank some of this they replaced the bottles so we always had more alcohol than we could drink.
The grounds were amazing, and yes there is a smell a from the mangroves, but it seemed only to be present early in the morning and not overpowering like some people have complained about. We went with our two kids, and by no means are we prudes, but were a little surpassed by some of the women who decided to sunbathe topless where ever they felt like it regardless of small children being around. All in all though the resort was amazing. Bring insect repellent if you tend to be one of those who mosiquites tove. I didn't get bit, however my daughter did get bit a few times, but only when she forgot to put some repellent on. The swing bar is amazing and by the end of the first day the bartender knew what my husband wanted to drink with out even asking. One of the waitresses from the swing bar was awesome and always walking around and and refilling drinks. One of the employess at the buffet for breakfast and lunch by the main pool was hysterical and a good server. We would definitely go back."

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"The resort staff were great- everyone from grounds keepers to management were very friendly and helpful, The food in the restaurants was excellent as far as quality and variety - if a person couldn't find something they like then they're not looking.

Service throughout the complex was great - when you asked, someone listened and took care of the request. 4.9 overall.



Some initial booking snags (not resort related) were finally worked out. The airline, Spirit, was the least enjoyable part of the trip. Find another way to get there."

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"For the most part, the trip was great. The food and staff were excellent. The pools were nice but the beach was not. The water is shallow and usually dirty. We stayed in one of the swim up suites that were very nice but not much privacy during the day. The maid and others would just walk in and there is not a do not disturb sign for the door. I would recommend this resort for the price but I think I will try some resorts with better beaches next time. One last thing. Ice cream was not allowed until noon but you can have any mixed drinks 24/7"

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"We had a really good time. Plenty of stuff to do and only left the Resort once to go snorkeling and to the Spinnaker."

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"My girlfriend and I planned this trip only because of the deal Bookit had going on. We could not find flights to anywhere in Mexico for under 600 bucks. Our all inclusive package included flight, room, alcohol, food, and a shuttle that took us to and from the airport. All that for right around 650/person (50 bucks more than just a flight!)

Now that you know what we we paid for and how we planned it, I would totally visit Blue Bay again! The pool by the beach was great. The beach itself worked for us, though the mangroves do produce about 5-10ft. of gross stuff to walk through before you get to the crystal clear water. The room was very nice and clean. It seemed to have been updated fairly recently. The restaurants were good, but they have a weird policy where you have to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. After making these reservations we notice that not even half of the restaurants were full when we were seated. This was irritating b/c some nights the only reservations they had available were at 9:30 and the staff was cleaning up before we were even finished. The buffet was nothing special, but it was convenient. Be sure to bring pants the for the restaurants b/c shorts are not allowed!

The 'entertainment' at night in the sports bar was 'entertaining' but only b/c they were so bad. The dancing was great, but the singing/acting was humorous to us b/c it was so bad.

They only have 1 kind of beer you can order, and the frozen drinks are so-so. We started ordering ours with Name brand alcohol and telling them how much to put in it (if you don't they were kind of weak). We had a great time and would definitely go back! Very relaxing!"

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"It was the greatest vacation that my husband and I had. The rooms, the food, (all inclusive) the activities, the shows and the price were excellent. We want to go back. The staff was very freindly, too. Cancun is a paradise, we never would forget this vacations, it was just perfect. The best of all we didn't spend a fortune. Thank you, Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda."

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"Everything was perfect. 6 days was not enough to do all the resort had to offer, let alone participate in all the tours that we wanted to. All I can say is watch for the time-share pushers. They are all over - even at the resort and they are very pushy."

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"I've been to many nice resorts for vacation, and BB Esmeralda was among the best. Plenty of activities, good food, all you can drink and a goreous ocean. I will be going again soon."

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"The hotel was ok except the room keys would not work, I think we had to get them fixed at least twice a day and there was no swim up bar in any of the pools. The beach looks nothing like the photos, it was dirty and rocky, we spent most of out time in the pool. I would not go back to this hotel"

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"Enjoyed this resort very much. The food was great (at the ala carte restaurants). The buffet was good, mostly for breakfast and lunch. We had no problems booking a reservation for dinner so I would highly recommend doing so. We booked the reservations every morning around 9:30 am before heading to breakfast.

Highly recommend the spa!!! As a bday gift from my friend, we spent an afternoon at the spa, we both got a marine scrub - beneficial on a beach trip with lots of sun. It was a fabulous experience, we had so much fun!!!

This resort is huge so bring comfortable shoes. We walked around most of the time; good since we ate so much! We tried to get into the ocean but the water was rough. One downside, we got bit a lot by mosquitoes - despite using bug spray every day! "

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"Did not get the upgrade as advertised on BookIt. Grounds not always kept clean of rubbish. Money and jewellery missing from my handbag. Transport to and from our room was very scarce, they seem to miss out our building regularly and use the buggy's for staff use only."

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"All excellent, friendly staff a spectacular setting and very good food, the beach is not very attractive but I understand that in the future can be improved."

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"My trip was memorable. I've stayed at other similar hotels in the area and by far this hotel has the highest quality standards for the price paid. The food has an excellent quality and taste, very friendly staff and well maintained iinstallations. On the downside the beach has seaweed although the staff cleans it daily, and there were many mosquitoes in the building I stayed at. I really enjoyed the fact the hotel is eco-friendly and some of the mexican folklore night shows. I'd definitely come back and recommend this hotel."

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"I just want to say that it has been one of the best vacations I've had. And I am a seasoned traveler. The landscaping is perfect, rooms are clean, food is good and the staff members are fantastic
I am going back as soon as I can have ti e off from work..... Also my family loved it. Good place if you travel with children or senior citizens"

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"Great place to stay, food is excellent, the staff is friendly and helpful, i would go there again next year for sure. We had a hard time deciding ware to stay, we are glad we stayed here, if you are unsure, take my word for it, take Blue Bay.



Regards.



Miguel."

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"Beautiful resort. Staff very friendly and very helpful. Rooms and all areas very clean and tidy. Entertainment we found a little weak in the evening, but plenty of activities around the pool everyday. Nice BBQ during the day at the pool too. All restaurant food was fantastic, but you have too reserve for the restaurants early in the day to get a decent time reservation. They also do take up a good two hours of your time. The bad side of this resort is that the sun chairs are very very uncomfortable, probably need new ones with more support, and the sea is quite disgusting. We were told it is run off from the Mangroves/swamps, which also where a little smelly at times. So if you really like the beach and swimming in the ocean this is not the place for you. We also found a Walmart in Playa del Carmen that we booked all of our trips through at half the price and both trips we took where fantastic. I would not return to this hotel mainly as I never go anywhere twice, but I would return to the area and stay south of playa del carmen where the sea is blue."

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"Had a real great time at Blue Bay, the staff was very friendly, the games were fun and entertaining around the resort. Met some wonderful people also, 60 % of the resort was Canadian during my stay which was fun. The cleanliness was good,food was excellent. Beach was good but water was more dirty than average but what can you expect beside the ocean ? and wave crashing in ? I grew up along the ocean so that was nothing new to me.



The only annoying problem I can think off is the magnetic card to open your room, I had to go to the office 3 times magnetize it and I got mad at my 3 rd time, they gave me a brand new card which took care of this and never had any other problem during my stay.



I almost went there again this year but decided to go somewhere else at the last minute, I would return anytime. Was there in 2010. during the end of February which was nice at an average temperature 75 to 80 degree.



Del Carmen which is close by was also fun as we went there on the weekend for shopping and entertainment, Xplor,Xcaret were not far neither and we took the cab to go there which was fairly priced."

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"Our trip to Blue Bay was amazing, anyone thinking about booking this as their destination should do it. The grounds are beautiful, the beach is clean and peaceful and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The only note I would make is the ocean water isn't clear, so don't think you will be able to snorkle but there is a fresh water lagoon just a 5-10 min walk to your left down the beach that is crystal clear with fish and plant life to see. The rooms are very nice, we got upgraded to a king and the shower was the nicest shower I have ever been in, vacation or at home. Also wait to book any excursions and do it at the hotel, they have a whole area with the different companies to do so that are very knowledgeable about the area and the details about the trips. Book this resort!"

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"It's been a few years since we visited, but still have fond memories. The staff was helpful and friendly. We didn't even leave the resort property for the entire week. Had a great time."

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"The resort is absolutely amazing! Its very nice, clean, the staff is very friendly and helpful with whatever you need. The food and the pools were also great! It was my first time there but I would love to come back again I would definitely recommend this resort, it is beautiful and definitely worth the trip! "

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"Best family vacation ever. The resort and restaurants are lovely. The staff very nice, working very hard every day to make your vacation great. Entertainment at the pool every day and every day different. Very clean resort. We looking forward to come back there again. Would totally recommend this place.... "

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