Bahia Principe Explore Tulum

We booked this experience in March, before the 10 day check in period. The resort is being taken over by World Hyatt. You would think this would be a positive but we have not been able to check in on line nor have we been able to book restaurant reservations. This despite buying our rooms directly from Bahía Príncipe (not a third party). We initially were told the issue was the change to World of Hyatt. Then we were able to check in only 2 of our party of 4. When we call the only way you can speak to a human being is by pressing “1” for a new reservation. Any other option gets you to a voice recording telling you that you can make requests on line then hangs up on you. The 1 star is for the people in booking who were kind enough to at least confirm that we have two separate rooms and 4 guests, but are unable to help us beyond that with getting checked in or getting reservations. At this point I anticipate that I will not be able to check in before arriving and I will not get a single dinner reservation. This is disappointing because it is a birthday trip and so far it has been nothing but frustrating. Also we booked this resort because the food is supposed to be good. Guess I will never know. I will come back and review our stay so that people know. Hopefully when we arrive at the resort we will have a smooth check in and someone will help us book our restaurant reservations since this is a technical issue on their issue.

If you care about your safety, do not stay here. Someone entered our room despite a “do not enter” sign, and money went missing. The worst part? The hotel did nothing and just closed the case. You are on your own here. Would not recommend.

Pros: All areas: lobby, pools, walkways, all kept beautiful and very clean. You will hardly see a piece of trash around. Beyond friendly staff. Everyone was great to speak to. The buffet had a great selection daily and everything tasted so great. It is close to the beach (just do your research for times during the year when the seaweed might be high, which isn't their fault. In fact, they do their best to clean it up despite it being out of their control). They have an app which is very useful in booking things, seeing restaurant hours, activities, etc. Cons: older resort, rooms are outdated and certain features in them don't make sense like a very bright automatic light in the bathroom that you can't turn off. So if you use the bathroom in the middle of the night, it wakes up others in the room. Almost zero privacy in the bathroom - the door to the toilet and shower and exposed and no lock. They are opaque, but you can still see silhouettes and you can't turn off the automatic lights in the bathroom. The door to the toilet has no lock, so everything feels very exposed which is awkward unless you're sharing with a partner you are very comfortable with. Our biggest complain are the restaurant reservations system. We stayed 6 days and had access to 2 premiere restaurants for dinner which had to be booked in advance. If you are not familiar with family resorts in Mexico, most do come with a buffet that is accessible to all and then a handful of specialized restaurants (like a Japanese restaurant, a steakhouse, etc.) that you make reservations for. So that itself is fine. However, upon checking in at Bahia, we asked if we can make our dinner reservations and they said everything was booked all days we were there. So they didn't want to give us any type of access to specialized restaurants that should be included in our stay. They then told us the least popular Indian restaurant on one night only at 9:30pm was available which was a little late for our liking but we had to take it. We asked every day if anything else can be reserved for dinner and were constantly told no. HOWEVER, a few employees told us things like if we buy a bottle of alcohol, we could get a table. Another told us if we paid $25 each, we could get a table. So, basically, it's all "booked up" unless you magically pay for something that should already be included in your stay? That was shady as hell. We were able to finally get a dinner reservation at the gourmet restaurant late at night as well. At both premiere restaurants, there were many empty tables. This tells me that the app will show everything is booked and they'll tell you everything is booked UNLESS you pay something. So, if you are given the option to pay for a dinner reservation, say no because it should be included with your stay and it's not right that they just try to hustle more money out of you. We also didn't know we had to prebook dinner BEFORE we even got there? I did see an email from them to check in about a week before our stay, and I may have missed it, but it didn't day to reserve dinner befofe even arriving. Even if that were the case, that is an odd thing to prebook before you've even gotten there. At other resorts, you just head on down to the lobby or call from your hotel room to make a reservation. So I thought the whole telling us "everything is booked throughout your entire stay unless you pay us something" was very dishonest. For the dishonesty of the restaurants and for being pretty outdated with awkward bathrooms, I probably wouldn't recommend it which is a shame because it was enjoyable and the staff is great. Not the best, but enjoyable enough of a stay for my family and I.

I first came to this resort when it opened in 2000. At that time, the place was brand new and the beach was turquoise with so many options for water activities. I didn’t bother to do my homework about the condition of the ocean, considering I had been here before and it was paradise. Unbeknownst to me, climate change has contributed to a very serious seaweed issue. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, as you can still sit by the ocean and enjoy the sounds of the waves…. But there were days when the smell was truly intolerable. I specifically booked this resort as a mid level option with beach access. If i was to do this again, I’d definitely book a place without a beach and save some money, or go to an area where the seaweed is not such a substantial issue. Other than this, the resort and staff are truly lovely. The grounds are basically one giant well-kept garden. Just stunning! Considering that the staff are constantly dealing with privileged white people non-stop, it’s remarkable how they continue to smile, say Hello when passing you on the path, and keep a positive attitude. A few other things to comment on: À la cartes - yes. Booking these is a genuine thorn in one’s side. When I came in 2000, you’d book the restaurants with the representative associated with the company you booked with. It was never a problem getting in. Now that there are several resorts that can access the same restaurants, it’s definitely more challenging and the app, where you can book in advance, really needs to be updated. With a lot of patience, I was able to figure it out. We very much enjoyed these meals. When people are complaining about the food or service at an à la carte restaurant within an all inclusive resort, I just shake my head. If you want high end, book at the Four Seasons and pay the Four Seasons price. It’s comical to me that people think they can come to Mexico and receive the US / Canadian / European equivalent to a 5-star resort. Rooms - we stayed in a junior suite and it was likely an original room from 26 years ago. While it was dated, the staff kept it clean and it served its purpose. If you want something more modern, pay the fee to upgrade. The Buffet — so many options! I truly don’t understand how people who complain about the buffet. For every meal, there are a variety of different types of food available — nachos, various Mexican dishes, fresh salads, pizza, pasta, fresh grilled meat, sushi, various vegetable and/or rice dishes, various meats & fish, breads, cheeses, burgers, hot dogs, and an assortment of kids foods and desserts. My observation is that people don’t plan their meals very well. If you fill your plate with everything that looks good, you’ll get sick of the buffet. But if you approach it like a meal at home, and choose a central theme for each night (e.g. pasta one night, Mexican the next, pizza on another, etc), there’s no reason to get bored. As others have observed, there are times when things go empty and it’s not refilled, but when you’re feeding thousands of people every day, you have to figure out a way to address food waste. Pools - they close early but are immaculately kept. Very clean and the temperature was perfect for being in the hot sun. It was sometimes difficult to find a chair but we just rolled with it…. Putting our stuff at the side of the pool and enjoying the water. When we were done in the pool, sometimes beach chairs came available and other times we just sat at the lounge chairs in the sun while we dried off. Kids Club - my 9-year old had a great time over a couple of days. Lots of different activities and the staff were so welcoming. Entertainment - we found that things could be a bit loud, but we are sensitive that way. The shows we attended were entertaining and gave us things to do in the evenings. Again, check your expectations. This is not Cirque du Soleil or another high end show you’d pay hundreds of dollars to see. Overall, my only disappointment was with the beach, and paying more for beach access when it’s no longer a usable beach resort. If I were to come to this side of Mexico again, I’d likely stay in Cozumel or Isla Mujeres. Or book at a resort that’s not on the water and pay less money. I think it’s important to look at the big picture and recognize that the staff working in this resort could never afford a holiday like this and yet they are busting their butts trying to please people who sometimes have unrealistic expectations.

Holiday off a lifetime, can’t fault this hotel so clean staff Amazing so nice and helpful rooms are big and clean the surrounding are beautiful we had a fantastic holiday Thanks to management and staff for making it an unforgettable holiday