Bahia Principe Explore Tulum

I will try to keep to the points good and bad. We booked Grand Bahia Pricipe Tulum explore Apr 8-15 a 2br suite as a family of 4 we specifically wanted to 2 bathrooms. Biggest tip if you book a trip here. Make sure you create an account and book dinner reservations in adavance, not a fan but Westjet Vacations never informed me of this. I arrived and every single resturant is booked in the Tulum and Coba in which you have access. My son was really looking forward to a nice meal instead snacks and buffet only. Was very let down. Checkin as the airport and transfer caused delays we arrived much later than expected but check in was very easy no lines. I was informed to come to customer service desk in the morning as it was too late to book it that night or download the app????? no idea what app this is. Its a dead qr code. But they have 2 Tablets setup right next to check in which we didnt know about to make our dinner reservations. Arrived right at 9 am next day to book reservations.." ohhh sorry all booked for our entire 7 day stay, and can put you on a cancelation list" ( btw waste of time never once had sit down mean which was my 2nd reason I chose this resort. Recomendation they have lots of choices either book 10 days early have no idea how to navigate the booking system and make it work or just live with buffet. Next they have a cash exchange in the lobby do not expect to break Peso bills. I got a bunch of 500's from Canada and cant request small bills at my bank. DO NOT EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO BREAK EM. They recomend peso for tipping if you want to tip in 10$ cad approx increments your in luck. Or just bring USD and be done with it. Room was clean and ready for most part we had to move furniture to split 2 beds. As stated in listing each room as a tv. Ours did not we had 1. Most people shouldnt matter( my sons phone shorted out so he last option was tv) Well our single tv had no channels. I had to report to front desk was fixed before returning from day trip.Shower worked good and had shampoo,cond and body wash. Buffet I actally for what it was happy with it and found it tasty and satisfied. I see people complain but almost all items were good but we did eat at opening most times. Pools were nice and had some fun pools and quieter pools and was very HOT out. Beach was almost unuseable was windy and that weed washing up makes a mess but if you want to go out you MUST bring water shoes the rocks only 20 feet out will twist and ankle Service overall was really good. the restaurant thing was a I blame a vacation booking issue and but was very dissapointed about it. Checkout was smooth. Atmosphere family experience lots of kids. If that is a concern Akumal might be a better option. Noise level no issues at night all fun and games near main lobby and pool. At the rooms was quiet never heard a peep really Fridge stocked daily leave a tip inside you get a ton of what ever you like, either ask front desk or just inform him yourself.

With the exception of the guacamole, the food was average at best. That was probably the most disappointing thing about the trip. The best restaurant (though not that good) was Tortuga, while the others were terrible - especially the Mexican one. And you had to book days in advance for some other restaurants. It could get cold in the evenings and there was just two blankets in our room (5 of us- 3 kids, 2 adults), so I called asking for a few more blankets and was told they were out of blankets. The room was fine, but just fine. The bed in the additional room was very uncomfortable and kind of old. Some of the nightlife was fun for kids and adults alike. Highlight was the magician for sure- for all of us. The general vibe is people who've been doing this kinda thing for a while- walking around with to-go cups of margaritas, etc. 10 days was too long. The staff were all friendly. The pools were super cold but fine. The yoga/movement teacher was lovely but the classes were not really very good at all. The beach is beautiful and the water was heaven. But I would not stay here again. I would find a smaller hotel or rent a house and find our own meals. This was an expensive holiday and I don't think it lived up.

Overall Impression Our one-week stay was mediocre at best. Having stayed at El Cid Marina the week prior for a lower price, the difference was night and day. Despite the higher cost at Bahia Principe, the room quality and service fell short of expectations. I personally would not be returning. The Rooms: A Struggle for Sleep We initially stayed in a Premium Superior Ocean View room. While the view was lovely and the size was adequate, the room itself was incredibly dated. The Issues: The fridge was rusted, the shower doors lacked seals, and the bedding felt cheap and smelled damp. The Lighting Nightmare: The most frustrating part was the bathroom's one-way mirror door. It featured an auto-detection light that malfunctioned and stayed on all night. We spent two nights sleeping with the lights on. Service: It took three failed repair attempts before they finally moved us. Our second room was actually a "downgrade" in category, yet it felt better because the TV and shower actually functioned properly. Hotel Grounds & Pools The resort is showing its age and is in desperate need of some DIY and TLC. Maintenance: Both the Tulum and Akumal lobbies had visible repairs "patched" with unsightly blue plastic sheets. Pool Hygiene: The pools are dated and often had hair and debris floating in them. Most disturbingly, we witnessed a guest vomiting in the pool while his wife held a bucket for him—all while remaining in the water. We reported this to staff immediately, but no action was taken to clear or sanitize the area. Beach Comparison: Tulum’s beach was heavily impacted by seaweed. However, the beach at Akumal was much cleaner, family-friendly, and offered great snorkeling near the rocks. Dining & Buffet Buffet: Breakfast and lunch are very basic. Dinner is hit-or-miss depending on the theme. Pro-tip: Go early. If you arrive late in the service, the food quality drops and the atmosphere becomes chaotic. À La Carte Issues: Although our booking promised three reservations, the hotel only honored two. Even then, availability was so poor we were forced into restaurants we didn’t originally want. Thali vs. Don Pablo: Thali was a unique and pleasant experience. Don Pablo, however, was disappointing. The "Premium" Rip-off: We attempted to order a "premier" shrimp dish for 750 Pesos. It was advertised as large U-8 shrimps, but they served three measly, small shrimps. We rejected the dish immediately. For comparison, we had a much better meal at Funky Geisha in Cancun for a lower price. Final Verdict The hotel is clean enough in the common areas, but the lack of maintenance, poor pool hygiene protocols, and subpar room quality make it hard to recommend—especially when cheaper nearby resorts offer a far superior experience.

Great hotel, pools, food & staff. The beach was however horrendous for most of our 2 week stay due to tonnes & tonnes of seaweed. Also often ran out of wine & bubbly in the restaurant which we’ve never ever had in an AI before. This was however rectified after mentioning 4 times.

this is the fifth time My husband and I have visited the Bahia Tulum and the first time in 15 years. This time with our two teenage daughters. Unfortunately our experience was not as good as previous years. The refurbishment all in all I think has spoilt the hotel. The main bar area is now generally moved to outside the pool area which means every cocktail you have is from a small plastic cup which kind of ruins the cocktail experience and makes you feel like you are at a kids party instead. I get the plastic cups but please, maybe something more interesting!! Also, the bar area used to be in the centre so you could sit around it and meet and chat to other guests now you just tend to sit on your own (if you can find any seats). Some of the staff are amazing - a particular thankyou to Edwin and Lydia who served us for breakfast and lunch in the Yucatan Buffet, they were both amazing, hardworking and very friendly. Some staff however seemed to be determined to tell us everything we were not allowed to do. My girls were constantly being kicked out of the teen area just as they were getting into playing a game of pool because they seemed to have very odd opening hours. for some reason I wasn't even allowed to walk from the buffet area to the lobby with a non plastic cup of coffee!! Even though my girls are very small and slim for their age and smaller than a lot of much younger children they were told by some staff they couldn't go on the slides. It just got annoying to keep being told we couldn't do things. The best restaurant was the Brazilian one and the Gourmet in Coba. The main buffet was good on most nights - some nights very good. The pool bar also served good food. All in all it was an average to good experience but definately does not have the same feel as it did 20 years ago but i Guess then it was smaller and didn't seem to be all about making money! It was also a shame that there had just been a fire in the Coba lobby so not only had we been told a few weeks before our trip the some of the restaurants were being re furbished and therefore unable to be booked, but others were now damaged by fire and a lot of the Coba guests came to use Tulum buffet which made ours very crowded especially at breakfast time!! Unfortunately Tui offered us no compensation for any of the inconvenience. I probably would not travel here again unless it had a very good offer on it.