Gran Bahia Principe Tulum Hotel

Visited Mexico for the first time the week of Sept.25, 2004. Although I was a little worried because of things I had heard about people getting sick on the food, I felt great the whole time. The Bahia Principe is an excellent hotel.The hotel rooms, grounds, and restaurants are kept very clean. The food is great with lots of selection. The restaurant personnel is always friendly. The beach is a little rocky but the Carribean is always beautiful. Beautiful fish in the water. There is always plenty of chairs and room around the pool areas, which are also very clean. My only problem was at the bars where women are last to be served. Have your spouse or boyfriend get the drinks, he'll be served quicker. There is a shopping plaza on site which is very practical when shopping for souvenirs. The weather is beautiful, sometimes even too hot ! The shows are so-so, perhaps they should put a little more effort in making them a notch better. The animation team is not as entertaining as you would find in other Caribbean islands such as Dominican Rep. or Cuba, but when you are there to rest, it does'nt really matter. I would definately recommend this resort. Sunshine definately guarenteed.

We stayed at the tulum side of this hotel in october and felt that it was probably more 4 than 5 star. We were however amazed at how friendly the staff are compared to other caribbean islands, there were also no flies/ birds in your food and although there were mozzies at dusk, we were bitten less than usual!? My main advice is that the beach is rocky/ sandy and although appears to be a long stretch of white sand the coral is just beneath the surface - I stubbed and broke my toe on the first day. My boyfriend thought this was great as he didn't have to play any tennis and it was an excuse to get the shuttle everywhere! We watched loads of other people tripping over but I prob should have been more careful. Overall you will not be disappointed.

My girlfriend and I stayed in the Tulum resort from 16th September 04 for two weeks. We were lucky to get there because of all the hurricane activity at the time, one day earlier and our holiday would have been cancelled! Thank god we did get there, it was by far the best holiday i have ever been on. I read some negative reviews about service ec before going and was a little worried, but i cant understand it as all the staff were excellent and very polite, they will do anything for you, even though i never carried any cash with me to tip. One thing no-one can dispute is the grounds, could they be more maintained?! It is a pleasure walking around the resort in the gardens, but DO NOT walk barefoot, your feet will burn off. The beach is definatley better at the tulum end, better sand and sea to swim in. The rocks are a little tricky at first, but neither me or my girlfriend wore water shoes and we didnt have any cuts or problems at all. Just lift your feet high when walking so you step DOWN onto them, not stubbing your toes and tripping up getting cut. Anyway at about 20 feet out there are no rocks so youre fine. Swimming is gorgeous, my god i wish i was there. I recommend very early morning when the sun is just rising out to sea, it is spectacular and really sets you up for the day. Also you need to put your towels on the best sunbeds because after breakfast they WILL all be taken. FOOD: I also read mixed reveiws of the food here but again dont know why. The food is brilliant, trust me. Breakfast at the main buffet res is great, so much choice. But if you want fried foods like bacon sausages eggs (full english) go to the grill bar, (which was conviently placed right outside my room - building 23) They make your eggs fresh in both places, and also omlettes, pancakes etc. As for lunch and dinner, well, we ate at the buffet 12 days out of 14 and enjoyed it every time, you can have something new each day since they have different themes each night (repeated each week though) You can have a chef make pasta or noodles with whatever you like fresh, there are joints of meat being carved by chefs, fresh pizzas made all the time, fresh fish, burgers, steaks all freshly made all the time. And there is a selection of real hot salsas and nahos to snack on which i loved. The 24hour snack bar does its job. You can sit with a gorgeous view of the beach and eat burger, hot dog, cheesy nachos (my favourite) tacos (horrible) ribs (no meat) and chips with all. It can get busy but youl get what you want in a reasonble time, and it is quite nice. The ala carte restaurants did not appeal much we only went to one, the steak house. And that night my girlfriend was sick, real sick. We're not sure it was that mind, but she had a steak which was supposed to be well done and came bleeding all over the plate. We thought it could be the blue beakers so we bought a couple of cups for ourselves which kept drinks cool, and we wernt sick again. (Really unsure what made her sick though.) That brings me to the toilet. not to get too graphic here, but the toilet WILL block. But all you need do is ring the office and while it is cleaned they'll fix it for you. The flush was just not good enough to deal will my english content. Our room was great otherwie, the bed was so big it could sleep six, tv was watchable with sports and some american channels. And for the record, i didnt tip the cleaner as i never had any cash apart from for 2 trips out. And our room was still spotless. BUGS'N'ANIMALS: We did get some bites but never saw the culprits, some other people seemed to be covered so guess we were lucky. The beach has lots of little holes which are home to crabs. They took us by surprise a couple of times when scurrying from under our sunbeds, but they are harmless. Also, lizards are unavoidable. Big ones, small ones, spotty ones, you name it. They arnt much use though since they run as soon as you get your camera out. Try throwing bread to entice them near (i saw others doing it), but its hard to grab their attention. I was bouncing bread off ones' head from 10mtrs and it didnt flinch. in conclusion, id say the best thing about going here is the place itself, it is gorgeous. So hot and sunny, the grounds are immaculate, beach is really good, bars have nice views etc. Trips out are a must. Xel-Ha is awesome, you MUST go at all costs. And Xcaret was a very nice day out too, though quite far. Book the trips either on the net before you go, or just get the bus or taxi and pay in. The reps will rip you off something rotten. (Xcaret was double the price by the rep as it was to bus and pay at entrance!) Tip-You can take food from the buffet with you and drinks from the mini-bar. IVE RAMBLED ON A LOT HERE, MY REVEIWS' A BIT ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT TRUST ME, ITS BEAUTIFUL, SPECTACULAR, AWESOME, GORGEOUS,AND MOST OF ALL HOT AS HELL! (And just for all those who like me at first dont have a clue how to say Xel-Ha and Xcaret, its 'Eshel-Har', and 'Eshcaray'.)

Booked up an all incluive just weeks before and all these reviews really are spot on. The food is fantastic the staff are helpfull and not in your face at all. Go Go Go -and take me with you really really a great well run clean fun place-enjoy

We just wanted to write a review dispelling all those nasty rumours about the Bahia Principe Tulum. Before going on 23 September 2004, there seemed to be a spate of not so good reviews but we were very pleasantly surprised on our arrival. We agree that the hotel is very big and not to everyone's taste but you could get around pretty quickly by taking the Shuttle bus, though finding out which bus went in which direction was a bit hit and miss as the drivers didn't speak very good English! If you said you wanted to go to Tulum rooms pronounced Tooloom they said yes and headed off in the other direction, but hey your on holiday so what does it matter! FOOD We found this to be plentiful and there was lots of choice, though after 2 weeks it did get a bit predictable. But there were other speciality restaurants to choose from especially the ORIENTAL which seemed to be a bit of a well kept secret. It was definitely the best, well we went there 3 nights on the trot, so we can thorough recommend it and it’s also air-conditioned. POOL I have to admit I thought the pool was much more attractive on the Akumal side, lots of plants everywhere and loads of umbrellas to sit under though may be a bit too many and you had to sit very close to the next person. Going from one extreme to another the large pool on the Tulum side which we used daily, as it was nearest to our Block, (No. 37, Block 35 is even nearer just in case you want to request it) was woefully short of umbrellas. If you didn't get there by around 8.00 a.m. you didn't get one and had to rely on the few palm trees for shade. Only in this area would I say it needs to be changed, more umbrellas and more plants would make this fantastic, it still wouldn't be overcrowded. ROOMS We had a room that had a connecting door (locked on the other side), though if we chose to open our door at the same time as the couple next door we could have met and shook hands. The problem with this was the fact that you could hear everything next door. The person in the next room had a cough and it sounded as if he was in the same room. We asked to move to another room and the reception desk happily agreed. After a lot of thought we decided to stay where we were as the people next door were relatively quiet (apart from the cough) and we thought we may end up somewhere worse, though the next week we had some extremely noisy Italians for 2 days but thankfully they moved on. Rooms were clean and the maid left a different towel art every day. Air conditioning wasn't that good but sufferable. Our TV had a satellite box on top, we found out later that others didn't, so we had loads of channels (films in English) which others didn't. MOSSIES Beware of these. I've never been bitten on holiday before but got lots of bites on the first day. The mossies seem to be worse around about 5 p.m. until dark. We sprayed ourselves every night before we went to dinner which really helped. I had no trouble with them by the pool, just when I was walking around the grounds. We used Mosiguard (brought this from home, bring at least 2 cans for 2 weeks) and when we got bitten we used a gel in a small tube that they sold in the souvenir shop near the main buffet restaurant. Sorry, just looked for it but can't find it, but it was excellent for when you get bitten. We carried it around all the time and dabbed it on immediately. We didn’t' seem to itch nearly as much with this, though after 2 weeks they didn't seem to be biting as much. Overall we thought this hotel was excellent, the grounds immaculate, very clean everywhere (no birds flying around in the buffet restaurant, thank god). It’s in a good spot as you could walk out onto the main road and normally a Collectivo (white mini bus) would appear and you could go to Tulum Ruins, 20 minutes away for $3.00 for 2 people. Xel-ha pronounced Shal-ha was also 15 minutes away. We used the Collectivo for this, also for the same price, though we did get a taxi on the way back as the walk from the main road to the entrance is half a mile, it was US$8.00 in a taxi to get back. We were a little bit disappointed with the snorkeling at Xel-ha as the water is not as crystal clear as it appears. It is sort of hazy due to the different temperatures coming in from the sea but this didn’t spoil our enjoyment. We also swam with the Dolphins. If we had known, we would have booked the "Be a trainer for the Day" (10 a.m – 4.30 p.m), much more cost effective than swimming with Dolphins for only one hour, entrance fee and food is included in the price if you choose to do this but you must book in advance by telephone (look on the Xel-ha web site). We also went to Cozumel. You have to go to Playa del Carmen, we used the Collectivo (US$4 for 2 again one way), then caught the ferry to Cozumel (goes every hour). US$18 each, return, I think. Be prepared for a rough ride, I felt terribly sea sick. We then went on a glass bottom boat and a guide took us to 3 places to snorkel which was amazing. This cost US$56 for the two of us, we may have paid too much for this, so shop around as soon as you get off the ferry, I wasn't feeling up to it as I still felt sick so went with the first guy who approached us. The girls at the Information desk (right next to reception) are fantastic, they can give you loads of tips on how to get to places and are really friendly and helpful. The only tri p we booked through the Tour Operators (Sol Tours) was to Chichin Itza, fantastic but a four hour coach ride away each way. GETTING OUT OF MEXICO AND BAGGAGE Our travel agent did not tell us that you MUST HAVE US$42.00 CASH EACH to get out of Mexico. We were only told this on our arrival at Cancun airport, so please make sure you have enough money to cover this, THEY DO NOT TAKE CREDIT CARDS or STERLING. Also DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN 20 KILOS OF LUGGAGE. We were charged US$156, yes US$156 excess baggage which had to be paid in cash as we were over the 20 Kilos limit. Yes, its our fault but if Britannia Airways staff had at least mentioned this when checking in our luggage at Gatwick we would have felt a bit better. Anyway, it’s an expensive lesson learnt and hopefully if you are reading this you will not make the same mistake. On the whole we thorough enjoyed this holiday and have lovely memories of the hotel and very friendly staff. Though, if I went back, I would go to the Akumal side. Next year we shall try Cuba.

Me and my Wife took our Trip from Sept 29th - Oct 4th Once we approached the Hotel desk we were given some Orange Juice and Champagne. We were quickly attened to and we received the Keys to our Ocean View room (not much of an Ocean view unfortunately) But still a nice room We stayed in building 3 and were on the 3rd floor. The building itself was close enough to the Main pools and Bar. The Animations team did a good job and was fun. having set time for activities like Volleyball, Water Volleyball, Water Polo and other stuff. The theatre was a great experience as well. Having a themed show almost every night. When we were there they didn't have a show at the theatre on Wednesday night. They had some Mexican fiesta going on and wanted you to pay additional to see that. At night at the Lobby bar they also had some live Mexican Band play almost every night and they were really good! They played some Bob Marley and other good mexican music. Now the food. The all you can eat buffet is where its at. They had a little of a lot and I could always find something I liked. Every night they had a special thing they would cook up and my favorite night was the Pasta night. I would suggest it! We made reservations at the 3 resturantes on our side of the resort. The La Gran Tortuga, Tequila, and Don Pablo. My Favorite of the 3 was the Tequila which had Mexican Food. Don Pablo was ok, I had the steak, (they had a awesome Apple/Ice cream dessert though) and the La Gran Tortuga. If I would go back I would rather go to the Yucatan nightly buffet. Which they have breakfast and lunch there as well. Night Life, after the theatre we made our way to the DOÑA ISABEL HACIENDA, there they had live music, Mexican shops, Bars. At about 12am they would open the Disco and that was fun. They had a Full Monty contest to entertain the Ladies, and a Swim Suit contest to entertain the guys. They were on different nights. All of the Staff were very nice, almost everyone that we walked past said hello or Hola. They kept our room clean, and had a towel animal everyday in the room. The Weather was beautiful! It rained a couple of times but it was early in the Morning and afternoon and it didn't last very long. Don't pay any attention to the weather forecast. it called for rain everyday and like I said it was beautiful 90% of the time. The Only Bad (minor) Mosquitos. At night they were slightly pesky. Nothing much to do but maybe bring some bug spray in case you are unlucky enough to have them by you. This was our Second time to the Mayan Riviera area, we stayed last year at the Palladium Resort. We liked the Bahia Principe resort a lot better. The Palladium was nice but if we were to go again it would be Bahia for sure. Last we did the Snorkel thing with the Resort. Bahia Divers. $35us per person. They take you on about a 20min boat ride to a nice part with no waves. We started out looking at sand on the bottom of the Ocean and then we saw huge turtles. They were close enough that you can touch them. It was awesome! Then we went and saw the Coral area, saw a sting ray, a huge school of fish probably about 1000 of them (No Lie) they were swimming around our group. Also saw other tropical fish of different colors. It was great and I would suggest it! Before our trip I was looking at the reviews and was almost afraid to try this resort. But the good reviews out numbered the Bad. So We tried it. Some of the complaints I read were so petty, your on Vacation just enjoy being away from home.

We were there in May, we stayed for 3 weeks most of the group stayed for 2 weeks, 4 stayed for 1 week and 2 stayed for 10 days. We loved it, and so did all the rest. The place is massive, and unbelievebly clean. There must be hundreds of people working 24 hours cleaning and maintaining the place. It's not like a hotel, more like a village, and not a small village. The rooms were imaculate and cleaned every day. The fridge was refilled every day. The food was great, enough choice to suit everyone, varied everyday, repeating weekly! Our room was right next door to the 24 hour snack bar which we used a lot, there wasn't any noise at night from the 24 hour bar, mainly as we were always the last group there EVERY night. Getting drinks was sometimes slow for us as a group, but other times we didn't even have to order and the drinks came. On our 3rd week the group had gone home and we sat at the bar and never had to ask for drinks. The beech was rocky until you got to the snack bar, then became the gorgeous sand you dream of, again right outside our room!! And the further down towards the twin hotel it got better. I think that is the only difference between the 2 hotels. But you don't even know you have gone onto the other hotel, it all blends into 1. If you are thinking of swimming with dolphins the Xel-Ha park is just 10 mins down the road, we all did the dolphins and then the snorkling too, both amazing!! Great day out !! And finally, for anyone planning on getting married there, we couldn't fault it, so glad we decided to go there, but then again our friends and family made it perfect for us in the perfect surroundings. Anyone who is tempted to go, DO IT.

THIS RESORT WAS GREAT....My boyfriend and I have never been to an all inclusive resort before - we loved this place. After 6 days, we wished we had booked 2 more. The best thing about this place is the beach and pools. Also, its nice and clean. I highly recommend it. That being said, here's some tips: 1. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY - bring the strongest mosquito repellent you can find!!!! I didn't and was eaten alive. 2. You really need rubber water shoes too, parts of the beach are rocky. Akumal side is nicer beach. Water and sand are beautiful 3. Make your dinner reservations as soon as you get there as the restaurants get booked. The deal seems to be you're only allowed reservations for 1/2 your stay. (i.e, we stayed 6 days and were allowed 3 dinner reservations at restaurants other than our "home" restaurant Yucatan). 4. Staff is very nice but don't speak much english. Its good if you can ask some basic questions in spanish 5. Make reservations for the $10 snorkeling trip at the Bahia Divers shack. We didn't do it in advance and it was booked by the time we tried to go. 6. Shopping at Hacienda was good enough for souvenirs. Nice not to have to go to town. 7. Tons of food, you won't be hungry. It is decent enough but not really anything great. If you're all about delicious gourmet food, you'll be disappointed. Breakfast and desserts were good. Atmosphere in restaurants was great though. 8. Cute evening activities and club at Hacienda and theaters to keep you entertained if you weren't ready for bed. If you go on day excursions though, you will probably be exhausted! 9. To my fellow Americans, don't be shocked, theres topless sunbathing on the beach but its not allowed in the pools.

My husband and I visited the Bahia Principe - Tulum - Club Hacienda from Sept.18 to 25, 2004 and had a wonderful time. We needed a good rest, and boy did we get one. Talk about no worries and no stress! Thankfully there was no hurricane damage, as a matter of fact, some people had been diverted to the hotel that were going to other destinations. The weather was great, it only rained a few times. The last night we were there it really poured! We took refuge in the bar at the Hacienda Donna Isabella and ended up having a great time. We used Air Canada, and they were great. The only problem was that there were guys in front of the airport with Air Canada signs (But no Air Canada shirts). We had to travel through them to get to our bus. This was confusing and we could have gotten on the wrong bus. Our rep did come in to the airport and told us to come find him, thankfully. Enough complaints - the bus ride wasn't bad, air conditioned bus, beer and water for sale and nice people to talk to. Tulum is about 1/2 way down so it took about 1 1/2 hours. When we got to the hotel - it looked so beautiful, I love the main lobby! We were at the Club part so one of the bell boys drove us over in the golf cart and waited while we checked in, then helped us with the luggage. Candida was a great guy and was great fun for the whole week. As I know alittle Spanish, I enjoyed speaking to the people. The way their faces light up when you say hello, how are you, etc. is very nice. The had no problem correcting me and helping with words. I found all the staff to be very friendly and hard working. Our room was very nice with a view of the pool and the beach (just what we asked for). I love the towel creations and have pictures of eash day's surprise. I liked the bed so much I slept 8 - 10 hours without moving a muscle. The mini bar was very convenient; however they did not put the large water in it so I put them in the ice machine and picked them up on the way to the pool. A hint about the toilet (I had to get the maintenance man in to plunge). Do not flush the toilet paper, I know it sounds wierd, but it works. It was defintely up early and to the pool, our side didn't have the greatest beach - but we didn't mind - it was closer to the bar. Our bar man was excellent - very nice older man. We met lots of great people from all over the world and language did not seem to be a barrier at all. The grounds were lovely and you never knew when an iguana might be around. I enjoyed walking arounf the grounds with the beautiful flowers and meandering pathways, it felt like a small village. Make sure you bring comfortable shoes, flip flops, etc. I had to buy a pair as my feet swelled up due to the heat. We did find it to be pretty hot at this time of year - especially first thing in the morning, which is not what you would expect. The buffet was certainly my husband's favorite. He enjoyed all the varieities and the theme nights. I loved the pasta salads and the breads. In the morning - the homemade yogurt and granola where fab! We actually cancelled some of the a la cartes as he wanted to go to the buffet. We had "our table" and the waiters and wairtresses were great. The activities were fun -Tequila BOOM BOOM is something you have to experience. We did go to Don Pablo ( not super great), the Oriental (at the Donna Isabella Hacienda) - was wonderful - love the atmosphere. The Tequila restaurant was also very nive with a great staff. it was a very close place to go for lunch and the food was great. We took the collectivos (white, air -conditioned vans) $1 to Xel-ha (only 5 -1 0 min. drive)and spent a wonderful day. To get the collectivos, just go to the main road and cross over. They will pull over when they see you. What a beautiful place - I swam with the dolphins and hubby took the inner tube ride down the river. Warning - it is not as relaxing as it looks - so don't jump in if you are already tired. Also don't forget the sunscreen! The other trip we took was a free of charge ride on a bus to Playa Del Carmen (Not sure if this is included in every package). We went to a silver factory first, then arrived in the heat of the day on a small street with no wind. Take a hat and lots of water!. I enjoyed the 2 hours shopping, it was just enough and I did find some things that I couldn't get at the Hacienda Donna Isabella so it was worth it. The lobby bar was great and they have a long list of drinks for you to try. Also in the morning, there is coffee, tea and rolls set up in thsi area. This was great for the morning we had to leave before the buffet opened. I drank the water, ate most of the food and only had a small case of upset stomache, and yes the drinks had a lot to do with it. I am not a tequila drinker, however the way they have the tequila with all different types of additions ie. cinnamon sticks was actually really good. I would recommend this place to anyone. This was the best, most relaxing vacation I have ever had. The hotel was clean, staff lots of fun and they seemed to have activities to suit any age group. The Bingo was a nice surprise and the Stretching exercises in the pool, the salsa lessons, the list goes on. Like anywhere else you go, there are the odd bugs. They seemed to like hubby more than me, but they certainly pack a mean bite. We used Deep Woods Off and that worked pretty good. We had no problems in the rooms at all. Writing all this down makes me what to go back as there are lots of areas, bars, restaurants, etc. we never got to because it is such a hugh property.

I have nothing but high praise for this resort. My wife and I just returned from "7 days of heaven" on Oct 9, and I would, without a doubt, recommend this resort to anyone. From our arrival to our departure the staff at Bahia Principe Tulum treat you like royalty. I have read other reviews, and although most are excellent, some give this resort a bad rap and I have no idea where they are coming from. The rooms are very clean and have everything you need. The maids do an excellent job and the much publicized towel figurines are great. (I always left a dollar or two everyday and I'm not sure whether it helped, but it certainly didn't hurt) All the restuarants are great. Even if you didn't like one of the al a carte's, you could leave and go to the buffet. We had excellent dinners at the Gran Tortuga and Don Pablo. The Oriental was OK, but others we talked to raved about it. So there is something for everyones tastebuds. We had breakfast most mornings at the Tequlia and the chef made your eggs anyway you wanted them and fresh. His omlettes were excellent. All the buffet's have enough variety for even the fussy eater. Neither of us got sick. I read numerous times that the bugs were bad, I think I had to swat a misquito twice the whole week we were there. We stayed in the Club Hacienda section and it was nice. A little quieter at our pool and restuarant which was nice for a relaxing vacation. You can still go to the main pool if you wanted more action and activities during the day and walking was no big deal. If fact it was kind of nice to walk after a big meal. The shuttle bus was always around if you were too tired to walk and they would always stop for you or drop you off close to your room. Sometimes they were full later in the evenings which was no big deal. The grounds were incredible and the landscaping beautiful. We went to the Tulum ruins and Xel-Ha. The ruins were OK, but we really didn't care for Xel-Ha. Couple hours at the ruins is enough, escpecally if it's a hot day and you really have to like snorkelling to enjoy Xel-Ha. To each his own! Swimming with the dolphins looked incredible, but it was an extra $100+ US. Alot of people complain about the beach being too rocky. I found it worth while taking water shoes, and besides a few little rocks was not going to spoil what I saw as part of the natural beauty of the Carribean Sea. There was plenty of spots without rocks to swim. Overall I can't think of anything that I did not like about the Bahia Principe Tulum. Everyone will find little things to complain about, "so what" your on vacation..... so enjoy. I would go back tomorrow!