Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

14392 reviews

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  2 weeks of heaven

  This is our 3rd stay at Akumel and we love it. The staff are amazing and always very friendly. Everyone we walked past said Hola. Special mention to our favourite waiter Jesus who never failed to keep our drinks topped up. During our last few days the hotel was just starting with renovations which they are hoping to have finished by November, this meant that there was some noise early morning but not enough to disturb us We booked a swim up room which was beautiful however we didn't feel there was enough privacy between our room and the one next door especially when the neighbours were groups of young people who often shared our pool and were seen standing on our balcony multiple times. Due to this we didn't get much use of the private pool but it didn't spoil the holiday for us If you're from the UK then be prepared for the overwhelming amount of Canadians, most of whom were absolutely lovely however some left a lot to be desired. We had issues with large groups reserving sun loungers and parasols by tying them together with scarves from around 8am and there was still no sign of them by 1pm and then threw a hissy fit when they turned up and pool staff had given their parasols to other people. They also seem to have no sense of personal space and will stand so close to your lounger that you may as well be sharing one, good if you're a people person 🤣 The food was beautiful and there was always something to eat from the buffet. While there we booked 2 a la cartes dolce vita and thali and both were exceptional however neither myself or my partner are fussy when it comes to food which helps The weather was beautiful and we only had one day where it rained for about an hour Special mention to the beach staff that cleared the beach every morning. Those guys and girls were there from the crack of dawn clearing the seaweed and debris. In fact all of the maintenance staff were excellent I noticed that some of the other reviews complained that ground staff were out cutting grass early. In the 2 weeks we were there we had 1 day where they arrived outside our room at around 7.30am but the grounds are massive so i don't blame them getting an early start, again this didn't bother us as we're usually already awake We went as a couple and didn't have young children but the entertainmemt staff looked to be doing a great job at the kids club and we often saw them out and about doing activities, especially on Easter Sunday they had a whole day planned for them and the buffet was set up beautifully with kinder eggs and sweets etc The night entertainment is what it is, if you go and watch without expecting Oscar worthy performances then you'll enjoy it. We watched most of the shows twice and enjoyed them. We also booked the Mexican Fiesta however don't think we'd do it again as it just wasn't for me but i know a lot of people enjoyed it I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel. We've had an amazing 2 weeks and hope to be back again next year

  Apr 23, 2025
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  Great resort

  Excellent place to be. Service is amazing and the place is really nice. Lots of activities to enjoy and good food. Make sure you book some shows-circus, fiesta Mexicana, Magic show. The whole experience was top notch, the only thing I regret is gaining like 7 lbs in a week🤨

  Apr 22, 2025
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  Disappointed Return to What Used to Be a Favourite Resort – Not Worth the Price Anymore

  As a travel agent who has personally visited Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal five times—always bringing groups with me—I had high hopes for this trip to celebrate my sister’s 40th birthday. Each of us spent over $2,600 CAD expecting a luxury experience that this resort has delivered in the past. Unfortunately, this visit left us deeply disappointed. Lack of Recognition or Effort for Loyal Guests Despite my loyalty and history with this resort, there was no acknowledgement of my regular stays—not even a simple welcome back. Even more upsetting, my sister’s milestone birthday was entirely overlooked. No room décor, no special touches—nothing that other resorts typically offer with ease for such occasions. A La Carte Fail & Tech Troubles One of the main reasons we booked luxury rooms was for the unlimited à la carte dining. We couldn’t book any. The system heavily relies on guests using their phones for everything—dining reservations, spa bookings, viewing menus—but the Wi-Fi was unreliable at best. Constantly dropping out, with long periods where we couldn’t reconnect, it made planning on-site nearly impossible. Room Access Issues & Lockouts Instead of traditional key cards, the resort uses chip-enabled wristbands to access rooms. These were more frustrating than helpful, often failing to work and locking us out. After voicing concerns about the disappointing experience, all four of us were locked out of our rooms entirely. Not exactly the resolution we were hoping for. Paid Entertainment & Gag Order Nightly entertainment—usually a highlight—was not always included, with several events requiring additional payment. As a gesture for the troubles, we were offered one complimentary event only if we signed a non-disclosure agreement. That alone speaks volumes. Some Positives, But Not Enough To be fair, many staff members were friendly and worked hard to ensure guests had a good time. The resort grounds and pools remain beautiful. But that alone can’t make up for the lack of service, organization, and consideration we encountered. Bottom Line This is not a luxury resort experience—at least not anymore. It may look the part on the surface, but the lack of care for loyal guests, technical issues, inaccessible amenities, and overall poor customer service do not justify the cost. I won’t be recommending this property again, and I’ll be steering my future clients elsewhere.

  Apr 22, 2025
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  Never Again! Spend your money elsewhere.

  Oh boy, where do I start? We choose this resort to celebrate my 40th birthday as we have stayed their other properties numerous times and really looked forward to unlimited a la cartes. All of our previous experiences with Bahia Coba, Sian Ka'an and Tulum have been great, The cost of the trip was over $2600 CAD/person so it was definitely a splurge but I wanted to celebrate! The hotel did nothing to acknowledge my birthday even though many requests were made by others in my group. The rooms were never cleaned fully, the cleaners took our robes on the 2nd day and despite many notes left, were never replaced. We blew through towels due to the leaking shower door and had to borrow towels from the adjoining room. The rooms are anything but soundproof. The gardeners had their power equipment going outside the rooms at 7:30am! Beds are hard as a rock and the pillows were garbage. Everything at the resort is now done through an app and as someone who despises being on my phone on holidays, this was a massive disappointment, but not nearly as disappointing as the a la cartes being completely booked up for the entire week! I was livid. Apparently you can/should book your dinners up to 10 days before you even arrive in the country! For almost $3000/person I did not expect to be eating at buffet all week. The buffet was dicey to say the least. Nothing was labeled correctly and as someone who has a severe intolerance to seafood , this could actually be deadly to someone who is anaphylactic. Access to the rooms is via a chip on your wrist band and they do not work well. After my sister and I had complained about our experience, we were both locked out of our rooms. We had to come down to the customer service rep to discuss our experiences and the rep offered to comp an event that we had paid for. It was a small gesture to compensate for our troubles but we reluctantly agreed. When we went to check out of the hotel they tried to make us sign NDA's! That was the only way we could get our $25 event comped and we both refused! They wouldn't refund us for the event because we wouldn't sign the NDA papers and we had shuttles waiting to take us to the airport , we didn't have time to dispute the charges. I have never wanted to go home so badly. Other negative mentionables include male staff from the resort standing in bushes outside of our swim up rooms and walking through the bushes with headlamps at night. The games in the sports bar cost money. There was often no toilet paper in the hotel washrooms. The booze was disgusting. I drank canned beer for most of the week because the cocktails tasted like chemicals. I spent the last day and a half of my trip riddled with anxiety and stress. After all that said, the resort IS beautiful, pool are great and the beach is decent but I will never ever go back.

  Apr 20, 2025
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  Second time around

  This time, we went with extended family. There were 5 of us in total. The rooms were clean. Food was plentiful. One of our party has celiac, the main buffet chef made her pancakes every morning! They had lots of options at the a la cartes for her too! We enjoyed the adults only beach. Sea grass season was starting just as we were leaving. Those staff that clean the beach were working hard to keep it to a minimum but it is the OCEAN!

  Apr 20, 2025