Bahia Principe Explore Akumal

We stayed at Bahia Principe Explore Akumal for 14 nights in October 2026, Overall, we enjoyed our holiday. The resort is set in beautiful surroundings, the pools are excellent, the food is generally very good and many of the staff work incredibly hard to provide an enjoyable experience. However, we were disappointed by several changes to the holiday we had originally booked. When making our reservation, the hotel was marketed as Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal, and we paid an additional supplement for accommodation within the adults-only section. Before departure, we were advised that this room category was being removed and that we would instead receive a Premium Junior Suite. Although the replacement room was comfortable, spacious and generally of a good standard, it was showing signs of wear despite being described as recently renovated. Interestingly, adults-only accommodation signage remained visible around parts of the resort, leaving us uncertain about the actual status of these facilities. Housekeeping was generally good, although our room was missed on a couple of occasions. More frustrating was the minibar service, which was advertised as being replenished daily but frequently wasn’t, even after repeated requests through the hotel app and Guest Relations. Food was one of the highlights of our holiday. The main buffet offered good variety and quality, and there were numerous à la carte restaurants available across the complex. We particularly enjoyed the Smokehouse and Dolce Vita Italian restaurants. The Brazilian steakhouse didn’t quite deliver the traditional rodizio experience we expected, while the Mexican restaurant at Tequila felt somewhat underwhelming for a speciality dining venue. Booking the à la carte restaurants through the app could also be frustrating, requiring considerable rearranging of reservations to secure suitable times. The pools were clean and well maintained, with plenty of sunbeds available. The resort felt relatively quiet during our stay, and finding a lounger was never an issue. Umbrellas were more limited, however, and some around the infinity pool required maintenance. The poolside drinks service was excellent, with attentive staff regularly checking on guests throughout the day. The beachfront was less impressive, with areas of very thin sand and exposed rock. Seaweed was also present, although staff worked tirelessly to clear it each day. Evening facilities within Akumal were surprisingly limited, with the Sports Bar effectively serving as the main evening bar and entertainment venue. Although the Sports Bar could feel understaffed during busy periods, the waitresses providing table service were consistently attentive. We would particularly like to recognise Erika from the Sports Bar for her excellent service. We also found that some of the other hotels within the complex, particularly Tequila, appeared to have better-presented lobby areas than Akumal. Our biggest disappointment was the reduction in the branded drinks offering. Several branded spirits that we had expected as part of the premium all-inclusive experience were no longer available, despite still being listed on some of the resort’s all-inclusive bar menus. This, combined with the inconsistent minibar service and reduced facilities, left us feeling that the premium offering had been scaled back from what we had originally booked. During heavy rainfall, we also experienced significant leaks within the main hotel buildings, with large sections of the breakfast buffet and lunchtime restaurant areas becoming unusable. A special mention must go to Miguel from Guest Relations, who was our first point of contact on arrival and also listened to our concerns before departure. We appreciated his willingness to hear our feedback. Having previously stayed at Bahia Principe in Jamaica and heard excellent reports from previous Akumal guests, we arrived with high expectations. This holiday had originally been planned for 2020, and we had specifically chosen Luxury Akumal for the experience it advertised. Had we arrived without those expectations, we would probably have considered it a very good resort. Unfortunately, the rebranding to Explore Akumal, change in accommodation and apparent reduction in premium services meant that the holiday didn’t entirely match what we had originally chosen. We enjoyed our holiday and would recommend the resort, but prospective guests should be aware that the current Explore Akumal experience may differ from the former Luxury Akumal offering.

A wonderful stay in a wonderful place. The service is top-notch. Everyone feels like the most important guest in your hotel. Thanks to all the staff; Oscar, the animator, was very dedicated and friendly. Special thanks to the staff at the buffet and sports bar at Bahia Akumal. I will definitely be back next year. Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making our stay at the hotel the best vacation of my life. The ladies at the Akumal lobby cafe are wonderful!

Really great experience at this hotel! Client service is excellent, we felt welcomed and appreciated, I would definitely go back! We got an all inclusive package that allowed us to use all 3 hotel pools and restaurants in the complex and it was great! You could move between these by foot (a very nice walk) or take the trolley that came every 10/15 minutes at your hotel’s reception. Some are more for adults, others for families, and a mix of both. Great vibes all around! The pools in Akumal were big, clean, and not too crowded! The bar service at and around the pool and beach areas was fantastic as well. I was expecting a lot of sargassum but the hotel clearly takes care of its property and has people removing it daily it seemed. The room was clean, with a nice balcony, and a mini bar that got refilled everyday with sodas, water bottles, and chips. There’s also a little filter coffee machine that does the job while you wait for your partner to wake up & go down for breakfast! We barely used the mini bar because the buffet restaurant was just so good we mostly just ate there. They also have a snack bar/restaurant for when the buffet is closed, so you never go hungry or thirsty! There’s also a bunch of restaurants but you have to reserve in advance and we were too late doing that so we just didn’t go to any but they all seemed nice and had a very interesting menu I would’ve liked to explore. Next time! You will also see a lot of wildlife at this hotel, like coatís, agoutis (like a mini capybara), racoons, deer, etc. and lots of different types of birds! It truly is a magical place. Thanks to Italia, Roberto, and every other staff member who made us feel welcome during our stay!

What is with the restaurants here? You book a reservation for a group of four people and when you get there they claim the reservation is for 1 person lol. After 30 mins of arguing with the people at the restaurant we are going nowhere!! We are a large group and they wanted us to spread out our reservations so we did. Now we have to go back to the buffet again for an amazing eating experience lol. People at the Kuuk restaurant - thumbs down don’t go. As a matter of fact just stay away from the Bahia Pricipe!!

Currently at hotel after being here on at least 6 previous occasions. Had many great holidays here but the changes at hotel since change of ownership convince me that I will not ever return. Buffet restaurant is very poor, service is poor and no transport to rooms which involves a lot of walking. Entertainment is of a low standard and is currently held outside due to works ongoing on a roof? Not ideal in thunder storms??