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My husband and I came to Blue Bay for our honeymoon, This was my first time in Mexico. The resort is truely amazing!! Its huge and kept very clean and organized! The staff really do a good job of taking care of you. We were never bother by timeshare people but thanks to reading many reviews before we left, we knew how to avoid them. Tips really do go along way, even if its a $1 or two. Yes the hotel is spread apart but the walk is great and shuttles go around very often. We were in building 7 room 7316 with a view of the smaller pool. We loved it here, it was close to everything except the beach. Yes the beach in front of the hotel isnt that great, murky, dark and rocky and the sand turns to clay quickly but if you walk 10mins either way its beautiful. To the right you can find spots without resorts so its your on private beach with perfect teal water. To the left 10 min is a river, water is like glass. Mixed salt and fresh water. Really nice snorkaling here. Lots of kids in this area when we went there though. You will also see the dead trees due to the hurricane. They were hit really hard. We recommend the Tulum/Akumal tour, Its really amazing, our guides were awsome! Bring Straws, we did and I was a hero everytime I gave one away. Just be responsible with them, throw them away. Birds pick them up and make a huge mess. You will see lots of wildlife, Monkey racoons, racoon and lots of iguanas and the occational wild cat and gecko. Everthing is pretty harmless. We would love to go back one day but for now we will explore mexico a bit. Food is great, drinks are good and plentiful! (Mango tango, maimi vice, and blue hawaiians are the best) Entertainment was alright. At the VIP bar there is a DJ there every night from 11-1, this is a blast! Reserve a spot at the pool before 7 in the morning or you wont get a spot. Have a good time, you will love it!
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Date of stay: March 2011Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
We have just come back from another annual holiday at BBGE and while we wouldn’t have thought it possible, our visits impress us more each time. Our first stay at this resort was in 2009 and we were so happy with everything that we decided to buy into their time share program. People like Geny and Esteban have made this decision one that we have never regretted and we have since introduced this membership to family and friends who have also agreed. Circle One/Blue Bay has followed through on everything that they promised us, and to our surprise, have provided some extras as well. From day one (even before the time share) the staff have treated us royally and this is the reason that we keep coming back. This was the first time that we spent Christmas holidays at the resort and it was amazing. The fireworks on New Years’ Eve are the best we have ever seen – especially since we could enjoy not only the wonderful display from Blue Bay, but from the neighboring resorts as well. While we enjoy some preferential treatment as members, all guests seem to enjoy a high quality of service. There are three buffet restaurants open for breakfast and lunch and we prefer the buffet on the beach. This restaurant offers numerous cuisine choices; some standard items are offered every day with specialty selections depending on the day of the week. However, it is the service provided in this restaurant that makes it our favorite. Everyone is friendly and eager to please and over the years we have gotten to know the staff and especially appreciate the service from some of the regulars – Ruperta & Candido, Juan and Augustin - who always take the time to greet us and provide exceptional service. Our favorite dining experiences are in the evening though. With six a la cart restaurants to choose from (as well as a buffet), we have always been pleased with the variety offered. There is a lobby and bar between the French and Italian restaurants that opens at 6:00 p.m., offering a full selection of drinks and appetizers. We enjoy meeting friends and family here for a cocktail before dinner. Our dining experiences are always enjoyable and this is largely due to the extraordinary efforts of the various maître des. In particular Angel, Hugo and Jose Antonio always greet us like we’re family and go out of their way to ensure that everything exceeds our expectations. This service combined with the gourmet delights prepared by head chef, Alex, and his team results in this being the favorite part of my holiday. We have access to a private beach with our membership and again we receive exceptional service, with our concierge, Montserrat, ensuring that we were well taken care of on this visit. We have had various concierges on this beach over the years, but I found Montserrat to be the best and I thank her for taking such good care of us. While I prefer to sit quietly in this area during the day, my husband prefers sitting in the public area by the volleyball court. Between his volleyball games he enjoys the service provided by the wait staff on the beach and has positive comments on the speed and accuracy of the bartenders who tend the busy swing bar in this area. There is a Black-and-White themed bar near the lobby which offers food and drinks 24 hours a day. I find it a nice place to stop during the day when in this area, but we find the service very slow here in the evenings so don’t tend to frequent it too often. Still, it is a nice place to sit and visit or have a game of cards if you do not mind waiting for drink service. We are not late night people so we have not watched many of the shows performed in the theatre area of this bar, but the ones we have seen have been very good. Without hesitation we would recommend Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda to anyone looking for a family friendly resort. They provide a quality vacation at an affordable price. While we have enjoyed other resorts in the Mayan Riveria that we would probably rate a bit above BBGE, these are adult only resorts with a much higher price tag. Value for your dollar, we think this resort is the best!
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Date of stay: December 2015Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:We find rooms in Building 5 to be the best, as they are close to the beach.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from Frederic C, Gerente at BlueBay Grand Esmeralda
Responded Jun 1, 2017
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your nice comments,
See you soon,
Frederic
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I am a 26 year old single girl, and I traveled to this resort at the end of September 2006. I went with my friend, and we had a blast!!
We arrived at the resort mid afternoon, so it was hot. It was striking and beautiful, walking into a open foyer. We were greeted with smiles, and our bags were looked after right away. After taking a short time to register, they transported us via cart to our room. They are always ready to take you where you need to go. First thing I noticed was the swim up rooms, very cool idea because they looked like fun!! We stayed on the second floor and shared a balcony with our neighbors.
The rooms were fabulous!! The beds are new and the sheets are incredible!! You have access to music stations on TV, local news, international news and choice of Spanish and English channels. The bathrooms are marble, taps are eligant and the bathtubs are huge with telephone showers. Everything was replaced daily, towels and bar fridge :)
The staff is incredible. They cater to your every need. They go above and beyond. Yes sometimes there can be language barriers, but that is expected. It is easy to get by. The Entertainment Staff, what to say, they are fun and entertaining!! Special cudos to the Sports Programming and PR Staff - everyone of them Corrina, Amanda and Nikki, Candy, Juan, Luis, Jose, and Gerry. They hold classes in the water (for all), play bingo, beach volleyball and interact with everyone to create a very friendly atmosphere. It was my friends birthday while we were there, and they organized a night out for everyone and we partied all night at "The City" in Cancun. It was a fabulous beach party, with a dance floor and free flowing bar. There were lots of people to meet and the location offered a great atmosphere (it was like a private beach party).
On the resort, they do have a show in the theater, and they have some good shows. Some (not all) are interactive, so you should have fun getting involved. You can play pool, or even have a competitive game of Connect 5 :) And who doesn't have fun doing the traditional evening dance!!
We swam with the dolphins one day. This can be organized by the gentleman who works at the front entrance. He is extremely helpful with booking day trips or cars. We booked a day trip to Dolphinus, and spent an hour in the water with our very own pregnant dolphin. She was so sweet!! And the staff there is great too. This makes for a fun day in the sun, plus they video tape and photograph it all, if you want a souvenier.
We spent time in Playa Del Carmen, only a short $12 cab ride away. This offers a wonderful shopping, the locals are fun to talk to and they are always up for a "good deal". The silver for purchase is endless, but great. The shopping is fun, and the deals for lunch are excellent food and good beer. Mmmm!!
Back at the resort... food is enjoyable, they have three restaurants Mexican, French and Italian. All three are nice, though I could have used a bit more variety. The morning buffet offers variety with fresh fruit, baked goods and your usual morning options. The service is impecible. Everyone on staff pays attention to everything.
A couple draw backs that the entire region is suffering from: 1) Beaches are being worked on... you can walk down the beach and find some beautiful water... it is worth the short walk 2) Locusts... they spray every evening for bugs... it stinks for 5 seconds, frankly I would rather they spray than not 3) Construction... is still happening but so much is accomplished daily... I saw them build a kids area by hand (with a manual cement mixer and tools)... there is something to be said for workmanship
One more thing!! I went to the spa and recieved a full body massage. This was world class great for me!! The rooms are ocean view because they are in the Presidential Suite for now. Not sure where or if it will move. Who cares were you get the massage, just get one.
We were sad to say good bye, to our "Circle of Heaven". We made good friends, had great laughs and were entertained all week long!! This is a great location for relaxation, the pool is fantastic and it never rains - it seems (we would always watch the storm pass over/by us). This is a fantastic resort because of its location, if you want quiet time you can have it, if you wanna party you can go party anywhere (Cancun or Playa) plus I would think it is a fantastic romantic getaway.
It comes highly recommended by me!!
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Date of stay: September 2006Trip type: Travelled with friends
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello followers! We went back to Bluebay for the 7th time last week. So, you can tell we like this place. Again, it is not rated a 5 star but 5 star employees work here. We are part of their vacation club. This enables us to go back 2x per year and enjoy ourselves. There was no seaweed on the beach this time and the water was clear and nice to swim in. They have resurfaced one of their pools and put in water spray features in the 0 depth area. This resort has the most amazing people. We always feel like we are in our 2nd home. I like to give kudos to Ruperta and Candito in the buffet restaurant. They know us by name, bring us our drink of choice automatically because they remember. The food is good and it is so much fun to see them again. They are wonderful and their service is above and beyond. Another person is Andre on the private beach. He always remembers us. He works very hard to make sure we have drinks in our hands, towels and pillows, and a fun time. Everyone loves Andre. There was another person there raking the beach. I wish I could remember his name. He didn't have to talk to us but he made a point, every day, to come up an say good morning. He was a nice addition this time and I really appreciated his hard work and his friendlyness. Also we work with Erin a lot. She is one of the concierges'. (if that is a word :-) ) She wasn't assigned to us this time so who we had was great. (again can't remember his name but he was awesome) But Erin still came up to us and said if we needed anything, we could call. I just love this place. And the fact that we can come back so often is something I never thought we'd be able to do on a middle class income. I highly recommend the vacation club it you want to return to mexico regularly. You don't have to stay at this resort, there are many others in the club. This is not a deeded time share so you don't have to worry about selling it some day. You get a number of weeks and when they are up, you are able to cut ties. It has worked well for us and if anyone has questions about, feel free to message me. Oh and one more thing. We met a couple from Canada a few years ago. We were there at the same time again. We have made several friends here that we keep in touch with. It is fun to be in a club where you know the visitors.
Bluebay you are wonderful! Thank you again for this amazing trip! See you in the fall!
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Upper floors are quieter.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from JOSE V, Gerente at BlueBay Grand Esmeralda
Responded Apr 2, 2019
Dear Ms White Molly:
Thank you for sharing this great review of our hotel. I am delighted to learn that the effort we make in taking care of our guests contributed to make your stay unforgettable.
We are very glad you enjoyed your stay, specially the service provided by our staff, your encouraging words have definetely made their hard work worth the effort.
It is also rewarding to realize that you enjoyed your dining experience at our restaurants.
I will share your praises with my colleagues specially with Ruperta, Candido & Andres!! and will be looking forward to welcoming you again in a near future.
Sincerely:
Jose Vargas
Room Division Manager.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I see a lot of negative reviews about this hotel but I honestly can't understand why unless these people are unrealistic and just want something to moan about. I came here with my boyfriend for my 27th birthday and had a great time. The hotel grounds were so big we got lost a few times on the first couple of days, the hotel staff were very pleasant, there were hotel buggys to take you anywhere you liked around the hotel if you wanted to be lazy. Its situated among the jungle, private beach (which I admit wasn't the best when you compare it to some of the more secluded beaches when you go on excursions, as its man made) but it was ideal if you want to laze by the sea. We had a few days of rain but this was welcomed as it got so hot (nearly 40 degrees one day), and it didnt really ruin the holiday at all as the rain didnt last long plus it was so warm! We went to the mayan ruins, saw the under water museum, swam and snorkelled across the 2nd biggest reef in the world, zip lined across the jungle and abseiled into the Cenotes (underwater caves), took a catamaran to Isla Muejres and drove around in a buggy slightly tipsy around the island. This was all booked from the hotel with Thomas Cook and very convenient. The variety of food in the 6 restaurants was great and my only issue if I had to be really picky, is the pizza wasn't so great and the alcohol seemed a little watered down so ask for not so much ice but their measures are big!! The room was big and I loved it, we left the maid a few tips and got extra towels and nice bedding and the tips were only about 23 pesos (about £1.20?) so its not much. My only problem was going to Playa Del Carmen and haggling the prices. Its gets annoying having to barter with people all the time and it can be quite intimidating but you learn to toughen up and not be so polite, they don't take offence. Overall this was a great deal and very happy with this hotel. It was good to get out a few nights and have food at some more authentic places in playa del carmen too! We took a local bus to Cancun for 30 pesos and had drinks and food at Bubba Gump Shrimp and Senor Frogs (highly recommend both). Coco Bongos was great but completely full! Do not recommend TC Projects and suggest you make you own booking with the club directly.
Ignore the negative reviews, these people are probably cranky "typical english" folk who should just go to Spain if they want their burgers and chips OR its the over the top, dramatic americans who love the sound of their own voice. You will meet these types, so be warned. This was a great 1st time to Mexico, excellent location between play del carmen and cancun and I would definitely go back.
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Date of stay: August 2014Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:We stayed in block number 5 which was great for access to the beach and pool and beach bars and 1...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
