Bahia Principe Explore Coba

Excellent resort. We stayed at Explore Coba for two weeks for our summer holiday. We couldn’t have asked for any more. The service we received was epic. The staff, food, entertainment and overall experience were fantastic. Special thanks to a few members of staff that went above and beyond. Eder, the entertainment boss and his team. Wilder, the pool barman. Arron and Ernesto the evening barmen. What a great holiday and we look forward to visiting again. Thanks team Coba, keep up the good work!

This was my second stay at Bahia, and I returned because my first visit was genuinely wonderful. Unfortunately, this experience was very different. Guests can no longer access the resort restaurants—only the buffet, which had long lines, overwhelmed staff, and food that disappeared almost immediately. The room’s Wi-Fi was extremely limited, and the entertainment felt noticeably reduced. Last time, there was a full team of 4–5 members running activities and engaging with guests; this time, there were only 1–2, and the overall energy was not the same. A staff member shared that hundreds of employees were laid off after Hyatt took over, and many new policies were put in place. The workers themselves remain kind, hardworking, and welcoming—they are not the issue. But the changes have significantly impacted the guest experience. Because of this, I would not return to this resort, nor would I recommend it.

I enjoyed my stay,this is the 3rd time I have been and I was not disappointed the room was clean and I had my television reset to English so in the late night l was able to watch movies in English the mini bar in the fridge was fully stocked entertainment was great staff and polite really great time

Honestly, I was truly disappointed. We have been here last year and it truly changed for the worst. The food is terrible, fast food and no variety once so ever. The service was also not good because they treated you like your trash. Only a few workers were actually nice to us. Plus, you have to wait 15-30 minutes for the stupid car carts to pick you up just to drive you to the beach or something for only 5 minutes. When we were also leaving early in the morning, we have asked concierge services to send someone to help us with our suitcase since my mom had a bad back. We waited 30 minutes and they never came. We had to bring it down ourselves from the second floor. I put two stars instead of one because the ocean was alright, a little seaweed but that’s nature. Would not recommend honestly. Much better places out there.

Beware the sudden flurry of Google reviews. We were cornered and asked to get our phones and scan a QR code. This took us to a review page where the staff member asked us to leave a positive review as it really helped them. We had stayed here at Coba previously and also stayed at the Tulum hotel side. They have now taken a chunk of Coba and turned it into the adults only Tequila hotel. If you stay at Coba you do not have access to facilities at the other hotels on the resort bar booking the restaurants. You will not even be served a drink at the bars. Changes are definitely needed: *More shade around the main pool in the form of palapas or umbrella/parasols. There is a real lack of this at Coba considering it is aimed at families. It was baking hot around the pool this August. Akumal had the parasols you can open if needed. Why not Coba? *Shade over the babies pool area. A large sail parasol would be fantastic. Far too hot for very young children in there without shade. *Free use of all snack bars for all guests regardless of which hotel you are in. If you are a beach person (it is too hot around the pool anyway), you will need to leave the beach and get the trolley back up to Coba just to use their snack bar or the main buffet. Then wait for a trolley and travel back again. You are not able to use the snack bars at Tulum or Akumal. This seems very unfair. I can understand not using the main buffets BUT free use of just the snack bars for all would make a huge difference. At Tulum and Akumal hotels you order at the snack bars and its made ready to order, which cuts down on wastage so I fail to see any real issue with putting this into practice. *Coba snack bar. It has mesh around the sides but unlike the Akumal snack bar there are no rope curtains over the entrances to put off the birds from entering. They fly in and out, landing on the food area and taking food. We witnessed them physically stood inside the fruit trays, in the juice, eating the fruit in the dessert section. This is a bio hazard and unacceptable. They walk over the tables and cutlery, mess over the furniture and steal food from plates. Just putting up the rope curtains would be a huge help. It works both ways as left over pizza isn't a good diet for a bird either. Everyone loves the wildlife - just not in their food. *A small station in the lobbies that tells you about all the wildlife that you may see on site and the surrounding area. What they are, what they eat etc. A section about the turtles nesting. Plus a reminder not to feed wildlife or disturb nests on the beach. This would be a really interesting addition for guests and there is plenty room for this in all the lobbies. *A better variety of food. Desserts taste of nothing anymore, they just look pretty. The menu in August was limited with stations shut and the same dishes being served each night. As a vegetarian I lived off pizza, pasta/noodles, potatoes and rice at lunch and evenings. I like chickpeas but didnt want the same chickpea curry every night. Breakfast was by far the best. Lots of choice there. The good points: *Our room was clean and tidy each day. I could not fault our cleaner at all. *Main buffet staff were superb. A big shout out to the amazing Rosa at the breakfast service. A real asset to Bahia and so efficient. We will really miss her. Also Joshua. *Coba beach area. Beautiful. Far less sargassum seaweed on this section. Users of the other hotels can also use this section though Coba residents are not supposed to use theirs. We were lucky in that it was apparently low season so plenty chairs but I can imagine it being an issue in high season if other users are taking the Coba chairs. The beach however is beautiful with all the turtle nests marked out and someone checking daily from the eco team. * Public transport available right outside on the main highway above the casino/hacienda. The large white Collectivo vans are their version of taking the bus. It cost us around 55 pesos per person into Playa Del Carmen centre or around 40 pesos per person into Tulum centre using the regular Collectivo vans that travel up and down this highway. They flash their lights to see if you want them to stop. Hop on, tell them where you want to go and pay when you get off. Much, much more expensive in a taxi. There are also Collectivo depots in both towns so easy to get back. Just keep track of your journey on Google maps so you can shout out to remind them where to stop on the way back (just call Bahia por favor). They will drop you on the highway. Having been here previously, I would love to come back. I just wish they would make the simple changes needed. I understand the hotels are now in partnership with Hyatt and our stay was very mixed feelings to be honest. A shame as it costs so much. I can only hope things get better.