Fantastic hotel, four times now planning a fifth. Be sure to check out the band Proccer every Thursday night. Beating Pearl Jam at their own game. Every cover perfect: Radiohead, REM, Steppenwolf, Kinks and more. Guys put some Zeppelin on the list and we’re all good.
This place is an absolute gem. We were fortunate enough to stay at the resort in June as part of our honey/babymoon, following in the footsteps of our family who have become regulars at the resort.
This is a beautiful resort with all the positives one should expect but that is not what makes this place -- it's the people.
The people are who makes this resort special. They are caring, thoughtful and focused on providing a great experience.
Carlos is an absolute superstar. He made our trip so special, arranging for many highlights that we did not expect or arrange, catering specifically to our honey/baby moon.
Jesus always brought a smile and was quick to find a way to accommodate any request we could dream of as the attendant for the Fidelity Club. My wife saw the coconuts hanging from a tree and arranged with one of the facility workers to cut down one and have it waiting for her to enjoy, checking something off her bucket list! He consistently kept me supplied with Pina coladas and was eager to help.
Conrado was more then just the photographer for the resort, his transportation service was vital in our going and coming from the Cancun airport. We greatly enjoyed getting to know him and his wonderful wife on our drive to the resort and were grateful for the tremendous effort he put into making the photos of our trip special. He spent over an hour doing a photo shoot with us that we will cherish forever. He is a tremendous asset for the resort.
These are just a few of the folks who became like family to us for a week. We're going back in July and can't wait to spend time with them. But is wasn't just them, the whole resort is full of friendly, selfless and caring humans. Their attitude and willingness to help their guests have a great experience is what makes this place special. It was an honor to spend a week with them.
Not quite sure if people writing these reviews have ever been to a five-star resort a four-star resort or a three-star resort in Mexico. For starters the entertainment staff should all be fired, the head chef should go work at McDonald's, and the management go work at a red roof inn ! For starters at check-in only one key card was allowed per room ( we had a group of 8 ) The cold food was warm and hot food was cold and completely flavorless. Non-existent entertainment staff during the day and the evening "salsa" keyboard player/disc jockey played his favorites and could care less if the people were bored to tears ! I give credit to the seaweed staff for the relentless attempt to clean up the beach. I've snorkled in Akumal Bay many many times and the reef is basically dead due to overuse by people. Another positive where the bartenders tried their best with what they had to serve their visitors. For the price you paid to stay here it seemed every turn was about cutting cost to maximize profit. In the future I will pay a few dollars more to get five star service not three !!!
This was our first time at ABBWR and I am not sure we would come back. We read all the amazingly positive reviews and were super excited to spend my birthday there. We have traveled to many places in Mexico and wanted something smaller and more intimate since we came with two young children and my mom. The positives are: the hotel is much smaller and it has a nice layout. The four buildings are all connected with the lobby via wooden bridges. In front of each building there is a pool (quiet pools in front of buildings 3 and 4). I would recommend building one as it is nicer and quieter than B2. The beach has a lot of potential when the water is clear of seaweed. Staff is very nice and they really tried to accommodate. With that said, I would move to the more unpleasant part of our stay. It was a combination of rain 5 out of the 7 days, excessive amounts of seaweed which hired staff was not able to clear and bland food. The restaurants are nice and food is much better but be prepared to spend 2:30-3 hours there. Buffet had variety of food but almost no spices were used making the food bland. They had entertainment few nights while we were there, trivia night, salsa lessons and live bands. The two live bands we saw were amazing,however incoherent for Mexico. We were hoping for authenticity of Mexican food and music and we didn't get any of that. Marco, the food and beverage manager was all over the place trying to assist the servers, Wilbert at the main bar was very good, Luis at the 24 snack bar was always around though he would always forget at least one item from our order. Jorge and Francisco, Guadelupe and the entertainment staff tried their best to mingle and talk to people as the activities were very limited because of the rain. I would definitely recommend the paddle boarding ( free of charge but tip is highly appreciated) as well as snorkeling. For snorkeling I would suggest you bring your own snorkel equipment and walk to the point on the beach where there is a turtle;s nest and then swim towards the boat unless you plan to pay for snorkeling with turtles experience. I saw 8-9 turtles and loved it though because of the seaweed the water was mirky and I would spend half hour every night picking out the seaweed from my long hair. They have wonderful selection of soaps and shampoos though we had to remind them a few times to stock them and the mini bar. The hotel is quite dated so when it rained , it rained in the lobby, main bar area, buffet and snack bar. The smell from dekaying seaweed was horrible and it spread all over the place and because of all the rain our clothes would dry so we came back home with a suitcase fully of stinky clothes. The main pool is where most of the action takes place though we only enjoyed two morning water aerobics, as the others were canceled because of the rain. A kid pooped in the pool one of the days so they had to close the pool for 24 hrs. Also, I never saw anyone really clean the pool. The beds and adirondak chairs ( really didn't go well with the place) around the pool are old and if and when it rains the beds become unusable as they soak up all the water and cannot dry, also making them stinky.
The hallways in all the buildings are made of marble so when there is rain and wind, walking without falling becomes an adventure. They have yoga and spinning though no one really advertises on place and hours. Drinks are watered down and even so, some people got drunk and loud. If the sun was out most of the time, I probably would have felt a bit better about the hotel, but because of al the rain, the seaweed and the incoherence of the place about music, entertainment ( Mexican bands) , we left with a bitter tastein our mouth. I, would recommend if you do visit, to book an airport transfer with USA transfer ($160 for round trip), they are secure and reliable.
We recently returned from our fourth visit to ABBWR and are already trying to decide when to return. By now it feels like we are returning home.
As always the staff was amazing. There are too many to list by name so I apologize to those I’ve missed. Carlos at the front desk is a fixer of any problems. Cortina in guest relations always smiled and waved even though we weren’t celebrating a special event this trip. Adriana and Jesus at the main buffet made us feel more like friends than patrons. Lemuel, Carlos, Aurora, and Aricella all did the same. Truly everyone at the buffet is a treat. Holli went out of her way to say hi even when we weren’t dining at the Mexican restaurant that day. Carlos with his hawk and falcon spent significant chunks of his day talking with my wife and me about his passion, falconry. Jorge and Francisco and Mariel entertained us with music trivia, Aqua aerobics, and watched our daughter so we could snorkel. They all work so hard to entertain. Joel and Sebas from the Fidelity club helped with a few issues and stopped by to chat.
The week wasn’t without some disappointments, several key staff were on vacation which led to some challenges. The food was inconsistent this trip, room service and the snack bar were sometimes good and sometimes bad. The
Buffet also had good days and not so good days. I’ve communicated our experiences to the resort and they’ve apologized and assured me that the feedback had been passed along to the departments.
In general our vacation was great, we enjoyed the resort and the excursions. We returned home feeling relaxed and ready for our next visit. Thank you ABBWR!
