BlueBay Grand Esmeralda - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17631 reviews

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  January 2025 trip with my husband

  We have been coming to this resort since 2009. Although some things have changed over the years, it continues to be a great spot for us! We were disappointed by the lack of lounge chairs around the pool but we still managed to get a chair each day. Our room was comfortable and always cleaned daily! The staff at this resort are amazing and this trip we were thrilled to connect with an accommodating and helpful Le Sommelier Rodrigo! He helped us select wines for our dinners - always attentive and reliable! This was a real plus for us. There are so many amazing members of the team here - Alonzo, Andres, Ruperta, Candido, Miriam, Estelle, Alberto, Romiro, Gustavo, Rogaciano, Samuel, Jose, Joel, Willie - too many to list! The managers at every restaurant were very welcoming and accommodating.Our a la carte dinners and the buffets did not disappoint! We also love the convenience of the DiveX shop and the very professional scuba team. Thank you Blue Bay for another amazing vacation!

  Jan 18, 2025
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  French restaurant experience

  The French restaurant experience was enhanced and made amazing by Alberto and the rest of the team including Juan the chef. Very attentive, the passion for the job clearly shows. Would highly recommend asking for Alberto when you visit. He is amazing.

  Jan 16, 2025
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  HFM, DIRTY, MOLDY and UNPROFESSIONAL

  We booked a last minute trip to this resort thinking it was a 5 star resort. Boy were we wrong… we arrived late and hungry, the front desk agent told us that there was no food available unless we paid for room service. A kind guest at the resort overheard her tell us this and got very angry with her. “She said tell them the truth there is a buffet open until 1am” if this lady hadn’t told us about the buffet we would have paid a lot of money for room service. The agent then gave us the map to the resort and didn’t even show us where the buffet building was and that other guest demanded she show us as we have never been to this resort before. The late night buffet was not good at all. We checked into our room and the first thing we said was “this place is a hole”. There was mold on the ceiling, the shower glass was dirty, the sink was falling apart and the head board had some questionable stains on it. See attached pictures. We then complained to the front desk and demanded to speak to the manager. He was very unhelpful and reminded my husband that he was in another country, so he told him that he was going to warn other guests of the conditions of the room unless he moved us. He told us there were no rooms to move us to so my husband started warning others and showing people pictures of our room. All of a sudden there were multiple other rooms available. We have two young kids so couldn’t risk staying in that room and demanded to see the new rooms before we moved. The new room was night and day from what we had. There are no chairs at the pool or beach unless you get up at 6 am to get a spot. People were actually taking chairs back to their rooms so they had a chair in the morning. Ridiculous!! Also there is no chlorine in the pool and my whole family got hand food and mouth disease. We flew home in the most pain I have ever been in, in my life. My 7 month old baby had sores all over her mouth, hands and feet it was disgusting. My husband and I hand sores on our scalp, mouth, throat, tongue, hands and feet. I felt like I had arthritis and could barely move. My whole family was puking and had fevers too. DO NOT STAY HERE AT ALL COSTS !! Also the animals run ramped at the resort, climbing in the garbage, trying to steal your food, running under your table while you are trying to eat a nice dinner. We even saw a raccoon steal a guys pizza and no one cleaned the table after!! You also have to close your doors to the patio or else the wild animals will enter your room.

  Jan 14, 2025
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  Wilfredo

  Wilfredo was absolutely amazing. This resort was not to my expectations. It is not all inclusive. Wifredo revived my experience. He is absolutely great. He did an amazing job. Im glad I came here tonight. We needed this. He was attentive he knew exactly what to do to make us happy.

  Jan 14, 2025
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  Staff Doing the Best with what Ownership Gives Them

  Staff were A+++++. Waiters/Waitresses were fantastic, personable, great english. The Entertainment Team around the pool and resort were fun, energetic and kept everyone engaged throughout the day. Kids Club had lots of activities for all children throughout the week in a relaxed environment where they can jump in and out of activities as you please. Food was B-. There was plenty of selection, enough staples that everyone in the family was able to eat throughout the week. Flavours were pretty bland, our kids survived off of hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and pizza all week, they thought is was awesome. Parents struggled a bit more to find things we enjoyed. Al a Carte restaurants required bookings ahead of time. If you book through the concierge there was pretty much nothing left. Rooms C. Rooms were dated, we had some issues, but we weren't alone. It is what you make it, our bathroom door never closed shut properly and there was some dirt. We did not fly to Mexico to sit in a hotel room, the staff were very good about cleaning it daily, making the beds, and the rooms were plenty big. They weren't special, but who cares. Beach/Pool B+ - Main pool was fantastic. it was 3.93 feet deep the entire length of the pool with exception of a little splash area on one end that was 1.5 feet deep. Beach was much nicer than reviews or social media would lead you to believe. Seaweed is an issue everywhere in Playa Del Carmen. But the "issue" is overblown, its extremely healthy for the environment, beaches longevity and ecosystem, and it really wasn't an issue. BlueBay was out every morning cleaning off the beach. Beach Chairs were limited, we would head out around 7:30 every morning and had no problem getting a spot for the day. by 9:00 the chairs were full and by 10:00 the concrete chairs in pool were also full. This resort has al the bones to be a fantastic resort in Playa Del Carmen and you can tell it was in its hayday. My guess is ownership is waiting for new buyers to swoop in and invest into this place because it could be so good.

  Jan 14, 2025