Our 3rd trip to Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort was fabulous. The renovations are great, from our sweet penthouse to the new gourmet restaurants to the awesome beach bar. But, as in our previous trips to this resort, the attribute that makes it soar above the rest is the service! The employees take the level of service personally. From Emanuelle, front desk manager, to Felipe and Oscar, outstanding bartenders, to Alejandro, restaurants supervisor, to the events personnel led by Alex, these employees are wonderful. And yes, it is one of the best beaches in the caribbean and yes, the snorkeling is great, right off of the beach there are giant sea turtles, stingrays and 1000's of fish. Fun volleyball, nice new tennis courts and now top shelf liquor. And yes you need to get up early if you want to reserve a palapa in great proximity to the beach bar/volleyball court/beach restaurant, but that is how it is everywhere we've gone in the caribbean. See you next year, Akumal!!
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Date of stay: April 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Building 4 was great, penthouses are amazing
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from AKUMALBR, Guest Relations Manager at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort
Responded May 10, 2015
Dear racer61, We would like to express our gratitude for the time you spent to send us your review, we are glad to hear you had, once again, a wonderful time in Akumal Bay - Beach & Wellness Resort . We also greatly appreciate you mentioned the staff, they are hard working friends always with a smile to make you feel like at home. Looking forward to see you again again anytime soon.
Best regards, E.B. I'NA YANA KIN (my home under the sun)
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First time to an all inclusive resort in 16 yrs. We booked this resort based on the positive reviews on here. The resort did not disappoint. From the moment you arrive, you are truly spoiled. We were met by Abel with a big smile and a cold towel. Next while checking in, a tequila was given to us. Then Abel took us to our room, where our luggage was delivered. The room was spacious, with so many amenities. There is an iron, a safe, umbrella a small blowdryer. A cooler that is supplied with pop and beer, a small chocolate bar and a small bag of chips daily. There is a ceiling fan, which is very much needed with the air conditioning. Could have been colder for me, and one day while we were there, it got shut off for about 8 hrs for maintenance. The balcony has your tub, and two chairs. The view was amazing and you are very close to the ocean. All rooms face the ocean. We were on the 2nd floor, which was great. There are 4 levels and there is an elevator in each building. The whole resort is handicap friendly. The bottom garden suites have a bit of a berm in front except for a few at the end of building 4. They are perfect for being right there, with bigger deck and lounge beds in front of you, and being able to walk right out. Food was pretty good. Buffet food was repetitious, and one evrning we felt like we couldn't find anything to eat. Speciality restaurants were good. Tried all but Japanese one. Presentation is everything, small portions and it can take up to 2 hrs to complete meal. Only one restaurant was air conditioned, and that night we hard to sit outside as their was a waitlist. However we saw two tables sit empty, while we are outside ,as obviously people put their name on the waitlist, then go eat elsewhere. All of the staff couldn't be more friendly. The staff seem very happy with their jobs and everything was done with a big smile, and at their pleasure. The resort can almost be too quiet at times. Evening entertainment was music every night. Some small activities included pool Zumba everyday, yoga, Spanish lessons, tequila tasting, craft market, dance lessons one day. There are excursion desks, use Tim and Juan, not the ones through the travel companies. There is a laundry service here, very cheap, apparently, washers and dryers were located behind building two. There is a spa, not cheap. You can use the shower there for a quick shower if you have a late flight. $10 per person per day if you want to use the whirlpool, sauna and steam room. There also is a sports bar/disco. Extremely hot, no air. Never really saw or heard of anyone using it. There are also tennis courts, and beach volleyball gets going once a day. Lots of pool towels provided. No need to give your card or room number. Snorkelling was awesome. Again, like said before in front of buildings one and two. We rented fins from dive shop, yes free snorkeling gear, is only mask and tube. Fee were $3 per day. Wished we would have brought our own, as these supposedly short fins looked no shorter than what we had. They also offered life vests but they were big, not the appropriate snorkel vests. We walked over to Secrets, no one bothered us, as beach is federal. Finally on last day, we went early at 8, dive shop doesn't open until 8.30 although front desk told us 8. We managed to get fins and we are glad we went. We had given up seeing turtles and were heading back to Akumal resort when we came across 2 turtles. So nice to see. There were only about 10 kids at resort but on our plane there and back we had about 20 screaming, crying kids both ways. All the bar service wax great. They bring you drinks on the beach, around pools. We also used the room service twice. The set menu is in your room. It took about 45 minutes each time, but it was very good. They also brought us ice several times, for a chronic pain issue. Our room sometimes took a bit to get made up everyday, which was a little annoying at times. We had to always call after and ask for extra towels. Once we called for them to wash the floor, as it was sandy. The staff is so remarkable here. Everything was done with a smile,and no expectation of a tip. We did top, here and there, brought cold drinks to workers and it was all appreciated not expected. Clientele was mainly older, with some young couples, and a few families. Lots of Brits, Canadians and Germans. Very few Americans. Premium liquors were included along with every kind of cocktail, shooters available. They did have a 0.5 per cent beer, for my hubby, but use very little of it. There is a little gift shop which carries, souvenirs, clothing, sundries, first aid, like pepto bismo, tums, bandaids, etc. There is also a jewelry store and a wedding planner. I will post lists of salon services and laundry. A lot of this info has been posted before, but thought, I would cover a wide variety. We had a great time, jet lovely people. I found the heat overwhelming and hard to tolerate. I spent a lot of time in the shower and pool. We found the Air conditioned room off the buffet on the second last day. What a relief. I would highly recommend this resort. Big shout out to Abel and Marianna, on the entertainment team.
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Date of stay: September 2018Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Buildings three and four for quiet and privacy!
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from ABBWR, Guest Relations Manager at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort
Responded Sep 24, 2018
Dear readytobook,
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience with us.
It is very pleasant to read reviews like yours that highlight with details every little thing that you have enjoyed in Akumal Bay – Beach & Wellness Resort and please rest assured that the staff mentioned will be recognized for the excellent service provided to you and will be receiving the kind comments you shared.
We look forward to welcoming you back to your home under the sun for your next visit anytime soon.
Warm regards,
Emanuele B.
I'NA YANA KIN (my home under the sun)
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This was our first time at this resort and heading into it we had heard/read some great things, and post our say I can say that it more than justified all the great reviews. Here's our review by category:
Location - Excellent: Idyllic and beautiful; at a good distance from Cancun (thankfully). Close to charming Akumal village. Great place to walk/hike on the beach. Not commercial at all.
Restaurants - Excellent: Great good and spread. We are vegetarians, but found enough to eat. The drinks were great as well. 24 hour snack bar was great. Room service is offered as well (24 hrs) with a selected menu - but we didn't end up using it.
Room - Good: We were in a garden suite and was easily accessible. The patio was great with sun beds, chairs and Jacuzzi. The room is relatively basic, can be spruced up. In all honesty, the resort has so much to do that we were hardly at our room except to sleep and get dressed.
Beach and pool - Excellent. Great setting. Never felt too crowded even though we went during peak season. Plenty of cabanas (no extra charge) and beach beds/chairs. Great towel service.
Activities - Excellent - so many activities offered, for all age groups and interests. Jorge is going great job. Can't recommend the Kids club enough -Mariel and Fernanda are simply awesome - our daughter absolutely loved all the activities and the fact that she could go for lunch/dinner with other friends. Evening entertainment at lobby bar is great as well.
Other amenities: Very reasonable wash and fold service (no brainier in our view). We didn't end up using Yoga but looked great. Didn't get to tennis courts or snorkeling - but next time for sure. Spa was strictly average though. They also offer a photo service (paid) which is awesome as well.
And best for the last... The Staff - Excellent - this place is made special by the warm, hospitable and attentive staff - the best bunch we've ever come across (and we take 3-4 trips each year). Too many to name here but every single person from the bar tender, to the restaurant staff, reception, from the towel guys to those at the reception - everyone is great! Not a single person tried to up-sell or seemed upset at any point. We emailed them a bunch and they were super responsive and helpful.
Bottom-line: one of our best experiences ever. Not for people looking a kids-free place or opulence. For those looking at a nice, warm and welcoming place to enjoy a relaxing vacation, this is the place. Many people we met have ABBWR as part of their annual ritual (one family was 14 years in a row), and it may just become ours too. Keep up the great work guys!
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from ABBWR, Guest Relations Manager at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort
Responded Jan 4, 2020
Dear Dm,
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience with us.
It is very pleasant to read reviews like yours that highlight with details every little thing that you have enjoyed in Akumal Bay – Beach & Wellness Resort and the staff willl be recognized for the excellent service provided to you and will be receiving the kind comments you shared.
We look forward to welcoming you back to your home under the sun for your next visit anytime soon.
Warm regards,
Emanuele B.
I'NA YANA KIN (my home under the sun)
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Oveview: This is the perfect resort if you want to relax and de-stress.This resort is a little different than others. It is small - just 240 rooms or so. Other than snorkelling, there is very little action here either.
The Food: There are 4 al la carte restuarants. Mexican, French, Japanese and Brazillian. There are all small, the service is impecible at all of them and the food is very good and incredibly well presented. I have never even thought about taking photos of my food, but at least considered it at the French and Japanese places. The buffet was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Honestly, I did not think it was that great compared to others I have been to. Good but nothing very interesting. There is small buffet by the beach as well - again OK but about what you'd get anywhere. The gem that I think few people took advantage of is the Sushi bar by the pool/beach. Great food, made to order it you'd like and great people.
Alcohol First, I did not see even one drunk person the whole time we were there. I am sure there must have been but this is not that kind of place. For beer they have a pale ale (Dos Exeus) everywhere, The only other beer was a dark verson of the Dos Exeus and that was only at the lobby bar. If you like flavourful beer, this is not the resort for you. There was a good variety of good alcohol otherwise. I will put it here because it seems to fit. There is bar with tvs at this resort. I do like going in to a bar, have a drink and watch some football occasionally. Nothing like that here.
Beach The beach is nice. They have a real problem with seaweed this year but put some effort into cleaning it up. What surprised me though was that it was not unpleasant to walk on so it is not a big deal. The entire beach is sandy. Once in the water, the north portion (3/4 of hte beach) is sandy too. On the south portion it is rocks. As quiet as this resort is, the south portion of the beach (in front of buildings 3 and 4) are really quiet. It is like it's own little oasis of calm in an already zen like resort. There is also a bar set up by building 4 which is little used.
Pools There is one main pool in front of buildings 1/2. Kind of active but not much going on. Our fav was the little (like 30 x 30 feet) pool in front of building 3. Very few people there and it got some shade even during the day.
Rooms Building 1 and 2 are louder as that is where the big pool is. Buildings 3 and 4 are quiet. As the walk is only a few minutes, I'd go for building 3 or 4. The rooms are large. Others have complained about the lack of privacy in the bathroom and that is clearly an issue. I love my wife dearly and I recognize that she sometimes deficates loudly but I would really rahter not hear it. Aside from anything else, the door to the toilet is not a full door and noise and odors travel. There is a 4-5 foot archway that seperates the bathroom end of the room from the bedroom end.I think if you brought a sheet and some clothes pegs, you could hang the sheet from the door of the safe closet to the towel hook by the sink and create some visual barrier. I would not want the penthouse rooms. There was no shade. The ground floor rooms opened right onto the grounds. In building 3/4 that would be OK. Room service was great.
Building Design Each building has four floors, are not connected,and only has one set of stairs and one elevator. If you have mobility problems, get a ground floor room otherwise there is no way to get up to your room if an elevator breaks - ours was out for most of one day. OK for us as we take the stairs but be aware. What surprises me is that, with the one stairwell in the middle of each building, if there was fire between your room and the stairwell, there would be no way to get out of the building.
Snorkelling The turtles are in the water to the north of the resort. Just a 3 minute walk or so. Walk down the beach until you get to the rocky area at the waters edge and go in there and travel out and away from the resort. The turtles are great and all but really, they all look the same and do the same thing - eat and very occasionally come up for air. The amazing snorkellig is in front of building 2 and a bit north of there. Swim out and explore the vast coral reefs that go out for 700m or so. That was amazing.
Activities There is snorkeling. That is why you are here. Beach volleyball 2-3 times per day. Guided paddleboarding in front of the resort I think 6 times a day. Staff do a few things around the pool but almost nothing. Yoga on a schedule and massages. That is it. There is a tennis court back towards the highway You can walk into Akumal in 10 minutes but aside from a cool bar at the beach, a couple of restaurants, a variety store and a few gift stalls, there is nothing much there. There is a couple of dive shops. Go to the resort for snorkelling and relaxing.
The One Man Band There is a guy who comes daily and wanders around performing. He is a sweet guy and fairly talented. Please support him by asking him to perform and then give him a tip. When his hips start moving to the beat of his music, women want him and men want to be him.
Staff Yup. They are all awesome. Attentive, efficient and happy. This matters. Please tip them, they deserve it.
Wifi Free everywhere. Weirdly, I could not get it to work in the public areas but got great reception in my room.
Conclusion This is the first resort that I have been to that I will likely go back to. Other resorts are good or great but they are all much the same so I like to try new places. This place is special though. It is designed to be relaxing and by god it is.
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Date of stay: May 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
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Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from AKUMALBR, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort
Responded Jun 2, 2015
Thank you very much for taking the time of thoroughly reviewing our hotel and your great comments about our services. Abel our "one man band" will get your comments of his unique style. It encourages us to know that this is one of the places you are considering on coming back to and that the concept of tranquility and relaxation we has been accomplished! We hope to have you soon as our repetitive guest.
Zenia Aldana
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This was the best hotel for our family (2 parents and 3 older teens). We loved so many things about this place. There were just a couple aspects that we thought needed improvement (Some of the box springs and mattresses are in need of an upgrade. The bathrooms don’t have doors that close completely; it sure would be nice to have privacy!). But the positive points far outweighed the few negatives.
The LOCATION ! This hotel is about 1 1/2 hours from Cancun and that was ideal for us because we didn’t want the loud crowds and massive concrete resorts. It’s got a gorgeous beach, offering fantastic snorkeling,swimming and long walks.
The STAFF! Everyone was so friendly, from the restaurant and bar staff to the cleaning people. We loved exchanging an Hola and a smile with everyone we saw each day. The wait staff at the formal restaurants were extremely warm and efficient.
The FOOD! So many choices with a huge buffet, fancy restaurants and great pool-side snack bar. Breakfast was outstanding, with tons of sweet and savory options. The woman who prepared the delicious omelettes was so friendly !
The ROOMS! Nice, large beds with mattress toppers. A mini bar that gets filled for free every day. And a big private jacuzzi on the terrace. The only drawback is those darn glass doors for the toilet area....very poor design choice.
The YOGA! I tried the morning classes with Hiram and it was a fantastic way to begin the day. The yoga studio is amazing, right on the beach, with the beautiful view and soothing sound of the waves. Hiram is wonderful, overflowing with positive vibes and offering helpful advice throughout the class.
Other plusses : the many pools, tennis court (they lend equipment) the gym, the free hour of snorkeling, the relaxing lobby space and the excursion service.
We were so sad to leave and truly hope to return one day.
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Date of stay: December 2018Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Response from ABBWR, Guest Relations Manager at Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort
Responded Jan 7, 2019
Dear christine m,
We would like to thank you for the kind comments, we are glad you have enjoyed your stay with us and hope you found in Akumal Bay - Beach & Wellness Resort the perfect spot for your next vacation, we are “your home under the sun”.
Looking forward to seeing you again anytime soon.
Warm regards,
Emanuele B.
I'NA YANA KIN (my home under the sun)
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Stoney Creek, Canada12 contributions51 helpful votes
There were a few "teens" at the resort when we were there & they seemed to have be having a good time during the day even though there are not a lot of activities during the day & the pool is pretty quiet. We spent our evenings at the lobby bar listening & dancing to the nightly entertainment. One of our group did find out that there was a sports bar & disco area (the temple building in front of the lobby) but we never went there to see what or how it was being used.
Not sure what other resorts you've vacationed at with you teens so not sure what they are looking for re night life/entertainment. This resort is not a "high energy", something always happening type of place but would be great for some good family time together.
There are many different types of day trips the whole family can take (depending on what you want to spend) ie Xplor, Xel-Ha, Xcaret & more that will more than make up for no late nights at the disco.
Enjoy the family time together where ever you decide.
