BlueBay Grand Esmeralda

Mary L Giesbrecht

The BlueBay Grand Esmeralda, Riveria Maya, Cancun, Mexico needs more sun loungers! There was so much empty space around the pool and beach area to nicely accommodate all of us but there were not enough loungers. Tourists would wake up early, reserve their spot with their hotel towels and only return hours later causing frustration for the rest of us who were ready to use loungers but couldn’t because they were reserved. This caused the issue of towels to be removed or stolen because there was a $30 fee for towels not returned at check out. This problem could so easily be solved inexpensively by having more loungers. This is a complaint I’ve read online and heard at the resort, so the resort should listen to comments to promote word of mouth advertising and so they have repeat customers. The resort itself was beautiful, food and entertainment was great, service was great, servers went above and beyond! Clean and well taken care of. We travelled with my sons and their room had a bad sewer smell all week. Our rooms were older as well but clean. The walking to the beach was also quite the hike. If you’re having trouble walking, this is probably not the resort for you.

Bozena Latko

Dear Sir or Madam, We stayed at your resort from January 18 to January 24. As frequent travelers who have visited many resorts across Mexico and other parts of the world, we feel it is important to share our honest feedback. While the resort itself has a lot of potential and the rooms appear to be updated, the overall condition and cleanliness did not meet acceptable standards. Our room had a strong unpleasant smell, the towels had holes, and the bedsheets were worn and not properly clean. These issues made our stay uncomfortable from the beginning. More seriously, three members of our group suffered from food poisoning during our stay. We were extremely ill for two days, and even after returning home, all three of us are still sick. Based on our observations, we are very concerned about the sanitation practices at the beach bar, particularly how drinking glasses were washed. Rinsing with running water only is not sanitary and poses a serious health risk to guests. It is disappointing, because the resort is beautiful and has great potential. However, the lack of proper hygiene and attention to cleanliness significantly impacted our experience. Unfortunately, due to these issues, we do not plan to return. We hope you take this feedback seriously and make the necessary improvements for the safety and comfort of future guests.

James

This resort is advertised as a 5 star. I'm sure at some point it was a 5 star resort. I want to say that the staff here are great, I have no complaints about the customer service. The resort itself needs work. Our room was kept clean but there was a hole in shower just below the faucet. The shower head has a hose coming off it to a "wand". The hose going to wand was leaking and the water was going directly into the hole in the tile. I imagine this could cause mold and the wall and floor to deteriorate. The bottom of the tub felt spongy (I'm guessing from the leak). The room had 2 electrical outlets on the walls that were visible. One had only 1 plug and the other had 2 but was in the bathroom. I moved one of the beds and found another one. There is 4 people staying in the room so this was very inconvenient. Our room was a swim up, the pool was missing tiles and even a chunk of the patio was missing. In the hallways there is holes in the ceilings and after a rain there was a water bubble in one of the ceilings. The buffet food was good but there was holes in the roof and wildlife everywhere. The landscaping was well done. Lot's of loungers by the big pool and they weren't all taken in the morning which is nice. The restaurants are ok depending on what you like. Overall this hotel is a 3 star in my books. There needs to be a lot of money invested into the buildings to keep them maintained and upgraded.

Bryson Worden

This is NOT a 5 Star All Inclusive/Hotel. I'm starting with this up front because I want people to understand there ARE issues with Blue Bay. However, it is a 4 star at most. You can tell this when at the hotel but also with the price paid being the lowest of available options around. The buffet food is decent, the beach is beautiful, and all the bartenders make the drinks very strong (Mucho gracias amigos). The staff in general also do their best to care for guests, but my partner and I did find a lot wasn't explained extremely well such as where food for inclusive guests is ("Festival" isn't on the website at all), amenities availability and times, and overall layout as well. Our room was clean and serviced each day aside from when we indicated such (we slept in one day) and do come multiple times (at least two) to service the rooms. The room we had was a single king size with a coffee maker a TV with basic cable and internet access (through the wifi, this is not advertised as it is VERY slow but can run YouTube) and a safe for storing items in. Several light switches didn't operate anything and one of our faucets had absurdly high pressure. However: the water was warm and cold and all facilities worked as expected. Entertainment is available and is impressive occasionally. We watched the Africa ("afro"), Mexican and Pop show. The Africa show and parts of the pop show were impressive, but we both found the Mexico show confusing and overstimulating at points as well. It also showed footage from places not in Mexico which was strange. But the performers for each show were outstanding and deserve applause. Other entertainment are some fitness and dance classes and a Spanish class, none of which my partner or I participated in. When reviewing Grand Esmeralda my wife and I don't have much to compare it to, hence my feelings of it being at most a 4-star. It was fine for us as a couple who wanted beach, pool and sun, but if families are expecting more from their resort they may be left disappointed. However: we had a wonderful time and would recommend it to couples looking for Mexico vacation on a budget as well.

M F

We love it here! The dining room, housekeeping and lobby staff are always genuinely warm and cheerful. Food is seriously YUMMY — and quite varied EACH DAY and MEAL. I loved their seafood dishes, every single one! You can easily go home chubby, no worries. Drinks are delish! — except the beachside pool bar had a couple of sickly sweet drinks. But the north pool bar was awesome as well as the amazing coffee shop baristas and other drink/snack bars. We had a promo room at the north end of resort — pool atmosphere is calmer and more chill here than at the beachside pool in the south where there are more people. Consistency is BlueBay Esmeralda’s forte — they treat you like royalty every day! Only word of caution is when arriving at Cancun airport DO GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR RESORT SHUTTLE BUS otherwise you will be “caught” by the timeshare sellers who masquerade as “excursion tour operators” just as you exit the airport. We had such an awesome time here and it is a great memory for us already…! Thanks BlueBay.