Akumal Bay Resort

The hotel location was excellent, with beautiful weather throughout our stay. The hotel itself is set in lovely surroundings with an exotic look and feel. The newly renovated rooms in Building 3 were finished to good standard. That said, there are still a few improvements that could be made such as adding a full-length mirror and a second sink, which would make the room more practical. Unfortunately, the food was the weakest part of the experience. As an all-inclusive resort, we expected better variety and quality. The menu felt repetitive, and most dishes were consistently lukewarm. The service in the buffet area also needs improvement, staff seemed rushed, tables weren’t cleared promptly, and the overall atmosphere felt quite chaotic and disorganized particularly at breakfast. The specialty restaurant is a nice touch however they lacked atmosphere with overly bright lighting and in the Mexican restaurant the music inside was competing with the music from the live band. On a positive note, the entertainment was enjoyable, and several staff members really stood out. Alejandro was especially friendly and attentive, making a great impression. Loved his enthusiasm and his love for the turtles. Trinidad, the premier concierge, was exceptional and couldn’t do enough to help, and Omar was also incredibly warm and welcoming. We had no trouble getting pool chairs, which was a nice bonus especially after reading a lot of negative comments. Snorkeling in front of the Secrets resort was fantastic and definitely a highlight of the trip. The sargassum was quite bad during our stay, while this is, of course, beyond the hotel’s control, the smell near the buffet area was very unpleasant at times. The staff did their best to remove it, but impacted the overall holiday experience. While there were some strong positives, particularly some of the staff and resort setting, improvements in food quality and attention to detail from the waiting staff would make a big difference.

Overall Impression: A fantastic 1-week stay this April on our second return to the resort. The property is the perfect size—completely walkable without needing a golf cart, and every room faces the water so there isn't a bad view on site. Key Highlights: Accommodations: Stayed in Building 3, Premium Garden room and loved it. I enjoyed the iguanas that came to sun themselves on our deck. Customer Service: Exceptional across the board. Staff Recognition: Omar (Premium Concierge): Incredibly attentive and pleasant. I found an empty queen conch while snorkeling. The garden staff cleaned it and brought it to my room, and I left it with Omar. It is now displayed behind his desk for us to visit next year. Thanks, Omar! Juan: The go-to expert for excursions. He knows the best places to go and gives clear, detailed advice on what to do and avoid. Trini: Consistently helpful and always smiling. Wilbur: Made excellent morning lattes for my husband. Aurora: Served up excellent daily omelettes with a smile. Dining: Excellent food quality. The a la carte restaurants were very good, and the breakfast buffet offered something for everyone. Wellness & Activities: Loved the morning meditation at the Yoga Hut and Franco's sound meditations. Brand new gym with high quality equipment. Daily snorkeling and evening live music were great additions to our days. Highly recommended for its intimate layout and outstanding staff. We will be back next year!

Building 4 accommodation excellent. Immaculate throughout resort. Food excellent in a la cartes, buffet and snack bar. Service excellent. Yoga instructors amazing. Turtle talk by Alejandro a must for all. Sophia and Oscar did a wonderful job instructing us on the paddleboards. Abel the orchestra man absolutely amazing. Aquatic instructors made exercise so much fun!

This was our 15th year visiting this particular resort, and 20 years visiting the Riviera Maya. We love this resort, we always feel like we're home. So my review will be less general than most. We brought our son and new daughter in law for their honeymoon trip and seeing the resort through their eyes was helpful in writing this review. They had a very good time but there were points of frustration. The beach chair issue is ongoing and really does have a simple solution. To stop guests from holding palapas at the crack of dawn by putting towels on them and then leaving, require guests to request a palapa the same way they do going into a restaurant. They give their room number and how many guests, which can easily be confirmed if there seems to be too many chairs being requested. The palapa is only reserved when the guest is ready to use it. Sure, some people will find ways to game the system but most will not. Also, the practice of holding a palapa and then leaving the resort so you can be guaranteed a palapa when you come back would be halted. Your belongings, left unattended for more than a reasonable time, say 1 hour, would be removed and the palapa is open for another guest. If you're going snorkeling or swimming and expect to be out longer than the maximum time you could inform the beach attendant. We tend to stay further down the beach so normally can find an open palapa but our son and daughter in law wanted to be closer to the soft sand entry and for 6 days could not find an open palapa. The only other issues were shortages of beach towels, and no where to escape the kids. Even the infinity pools were occupied by kids. For a honeymoon couple, there should have been more of a romantic area. An adults only section. Buildings 3 and 4 could easily be adults only. And the beach activities don't take into account those that can't or don't want to pay volleyball or stand up paddle board. Introducing kayaks would be something fun for us. For us this resort fits us like a glove. While we probably can't return this year, we hope to in 2027.

we had a family trip in April 2026. Overall we highly recommend this resort for multi generational family trips. I will break this down into Pros & cons Pros: the size of this resort is perfect for larger family/group vacations, it is on the smaller side so no room is too far from another and easy to meet with amenities being in the middle. Bldg 2 & 3 are newly renovated and closest to amenities so try for those buildings when booking. Bldg 3 being the best option but a premium cost as it is not impacted by the noise of the pool or evening entertainment (musicians that play until 10:30 pm). Bldg 3 gives you premium reso bookings as well (but only for occupants of that bldg. & must be done by 2pm day prior). Rooms were nice and the garden level ones very convenient. Bldg 3 guests also get 2 large pool towels daily which is definitely a perk as towel service by the pool was scarce. There were often no towels to be seen. Fitness facility is outstanding; it’s a brand-new gym and whoever designed it and selected the equipment did an excellent job. Another amenity was the daily yoga/meditation classes (5/day) in beautiful hut overlooking ocean were also a great amenity (free). Cons - this resort is so remote there is no cellular reception (even if you have a Mexico data plan) Wi-Fi on the resort needs to be improved, it only worked in the rooms reliably which meant having to spend unnecessary time in room vs outside by the pool to deal with work items (biggest flaw of this resort). Pool loungers were challenging to obtain (if not up at 6 am), we were not even there in high season so this needs to be addressed by staff as well as limited beach/pool towels being available throughout the day. That being said there are a few smaller pools that were less busy and that could be options. The food was just so/so at buffet, often not warm (this could be fixed). Entertainment was lack luster - the female singers were good but others not great. There was definitely a language barrier and while we recognize we are in another country it would be good to have one or two staff that speak fluent English available to assist with inquiries.. not a deal breaker but be prepared, not a knock on the staff they were always friendly and helpful. Overall we would recommend this resort for multigenerational family trips, the size was great for families that don’t want to have to navigate huge resorts, staff were friendly and it is very relaxing if you don’t need to access the internet.