BlueBay Grand Esmeralda

Traci Watson

We stayed here last year and loved it. It is a bit older and so the rooms are kept up with love. Any issues we had were dealt with and the staff were super friendly and helpful. The resort is located quietly off the highway so a rental car was great as we were able to get out and explore without the buses. Lots of parking. Great entertainment if you want to stick around the resort and was family friendly. The beach wasn’t amazing but they said it was a bad time of year. The resort has everything you need if you chose to stay but is a quick drive to everything as well if you want to explore.

Jessica Holden

The entertainment team are all amazing, keeping everyone in the holiday spirit and getting everyone involved. Especially Arturo and Wilbert bringing the energy and good vibes every single day! Cleaners have the room looking beautiful daily. The restaurant staff have all been polite and accommodating. The beach bar staff have all been exceptional. Very attentive and keeping everyone happy ! By far my favourite bar out of the choices. The only downside so far is the seaweed on the beach which is natural and cannot be helped, but a short walk left down the beach you can find a lovely little lagoon! As an independent travel agent, I would highly recommend this hotel to my clients. I couldn’t fault it in the slightest and definitely living up to its 5* reputation.

Alexandra Schmidt

Just returned from a 4 night stay at BlueBay Grand Esmeralda. Our biggest issue was health concerns due to visible black mold all over our bathroom. We have had respiratory symptoms since the first night of the trip. We expressed concerns about this to management and through the third party booking company and BlueBay refused to refund us the second 2 nights so that we could leave the hotel early. This is NOT a five star resort. It is very rundown and there are tarps on multiple buildings. The condition of the rooms were not great, and there were broken sinks, mirrors were very old, and furniture and patio chairs were falling apart. Bathrooms were filthy and they tried to cover foul with incense, however there is not amount of incense that can mask the unsanitary conditions. There is very minimal shade around the pool and beach area. There are about 20 chairs for the beach area, so unless you have a towel out around 7 AM you will not get a chair. People rotate chairs around trees for the minimal shade. The hotel seems to sell day passes, and the main pool was PACKED and felt more like a community pool. Overall, it seems that with the run down condition of the hotel, minimal management, and sub par beach and pool area that they are catering toward a partying crowd. If you are looking for a relaxing atmosphere this is not the hotel to stay at. There is no A/C in any of the dining areas, so meals were VERY hot, including in the a la carte restaurants. Though individual employees are kind and are working hard, management is horrible. We had to make multiple phone calls for repairs in the room (our fan made a loud noise) and there was not tracking across the phone calls. The shuttle service is minimal and did not arrive even when we had a scheduled time and made multiple phone calls for reminders. Concierge and front desk staff give inaccurate information and don't know much about the services. I strongly caution anyone looking into staying here to read reviews thoroughly. There are many reviews that are clearly fake or utilized bribery for high reviews.

Matthew Crouch

BlueBay Grand Esmeralda…overall, we were happy with our experience. If it wasn’t for the deferred maintenance and lack of beach/ocean area, I would have given a 4/5. Other low points - The facility is lacking some conveniences our family is used to that weren’t available here. For example, be prepared to SWEAT at every dinner…no matter which restaurant you choose. Not being able to comfortably enjoy a single dinner was a bummer. Also, the lack of poolside eating/drinking wasn’t on par with any of our other all-inclusive experiences. One of the highlights was the service we received at the buffet down by the beach/pool - Juana, Miriam & Micaela were amazing! They took incredible care of us during our breakfast & lunch visits…very personable, and attentive the needs of our family of eight. Their service was one of the highlights of our trip.

Estelly Ramirez

Food and drinks were delicious! Great service, Aaron at the buffet restaurant was fantastic, Super friendly staff overall. Entertainment team is amazing, and provide great activities. The unfortunate part is if your wanting the best Beach front, this wasn't the best. Beach is quite dirty but the staff do there best to keep up with it. Also it was very hard to find beach chairs during the day. They need to find a way to have more for all tourist. Rooms were clean, beds were comfortable however in our room the AC didn't work too well even at full blast. But overall great place to get away.