Bahia Principe Explore Tulum

My wife and I last stayed at this resort in 2018 and, to be fair, it was fantastic. The resort, staff, food and beach were all excellent, which is why we were happy to book another holiday here through TUI for my wife's birthday in October 2026. Since our last visit, both my wife and I have experienced health issues requiring surgery, and I suffered a stroke in 2023. We were really looking forward to a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. The journey itself was excellent. We upgraded to TUI Premium seats, and the flight was very comfortable. On arrival in Cancun, we were collected by a private transfer that I had paid extra for, and the journey to the resort was smooth and enjoyable. We arrived on 8 October and spent the first day recovering from the journey and adjusting to the time difference. On 9 October, we walked around the resort and initially thought we had made a great choice. Unfortunately, our opinion changed dramatically at breakfast. The buffet at the Yucatan Restaurant has changed significantly since our previous visit. The selection and quality of food were very disappointing. The salad consisted mainly of a few wilted lettuce leaves, the sausages were small and cold, the beans were poor quality, and the bacon was thin and burnt. Much of the buffet seemed to focus on Mexican bean dishes, which simply were not to our taste. The problems did not stop there. During one day of heavy rain, water was pouring into the restaurant through the ceiling near the hot food area and light fittings. Staff appeared unconcerned despite what looked like a serious safety hazard. Water and electricity are not a good combination, and I was surprised that more action was not taken. Lunch and dinner were equally disappointing. Basic, familiar food options were extremely limited and, on several occasions, the only thing I felt able to eat was fruit. For a resort of this supposed standard, the food offering was far below expectations. The snack bar was another major frustration. Orders are now placed using a touchscreen system, but the menu choices are extremely limited. Typical options were burgers, hot dogs or chicken burgers, with very little variety available throughout our stay. Waiting times were often excessive, sometimes approaching an hour, and the portions provided rarely justified the wait. For a large all-inclusive resort, the food options were extremely disappointing. We also paid extra for a Premium Ocean Front Room. Unfortunately, our room was located next to the snack bar area, where loud music continued until around 5am most nights. As a result, getting a decent night's sleep was almost impossible. Considering we paid approximately £6,500 for a two-week holiday, the combination of poor food quality and lack of sleep has been extremely disappointing. I raised my concerns with TUI and was offered a 10% voucher, which does not reflect the scale of the issues experienced. With only a few days of our holiday remaining, I am considering asking the TUI representative about returning home early. The resort itself is pleasant and most staff members are friendly and hardworking, which is why I would rate the resort and staff around 3 to 4 stars. However, the food is, at best, 1 to 2 stars. While queuing for the main restaurant, I overheard a family from Newcastle describing the food as "pig swill", which summed up the level of frustration being expressed by most guests. Sadly, this holiday has been a huge disappointment compared to our excellent stay in 2018. Based on our experience, I would not return and would recommend that others carefully consider alternative destinations before spending their hard-earned money here. Resort & Staff: 3/5 to 4/5 Food: 1/5 to 2/5 Value for Money: 1/5 Overall: 2/5 Save your money and go elsewhere. What was once a fantastic resort has, in our opinion, declined significantly since our last visit, particularly in terms of food quality and guest comfort. For £6,500, we expected so much more.

We had a fantastic trip to **Bahía Príncipe Explore Tulum, Mexico, in October 2026** and would happily return! We found the **premium room upgrade well worth it**, and our room was in a great location for our son, being close to the kids’ water park. The hotel was generally quiet enough for us to relax and enjoy our holiday, although it did get busier in certain areas over the weekend when more local guests arrived. One of the biggest positives was the staff. The vast majority were incredibly friendly, hardworking and attentive. A special mention goes to **Airam (breakfast waitress at Yucatán), Samuel (Lobby Bar), Ventura, Reinaldo and Benjamin (waiters)**. They always recognised us and often remembered our usual drinks orders, which made us feel really welcome. All the staff worked extremely hard, and we never had any trouble getting drinks with dinner. Their efforts really helped make our stay special. The à la carte restaurants were excellent, with **Tequila (Mexican) and La Gran Tortuga (Brazilian)** being our favourites. We also regularly visited The Truck snack bar, which came to the rescue on several occasions with some lovely tacos. Unfortunately, the burgers were a real disappointment! The main issue around The Truck area was the animals, which could become a nuisance. However, this was made worse by some guests feeding them and leaving food lying around, so a little more consideration from visitors would certainly help. Our biggest disappointment, though, was the behaviour of some fellow guests. Sadly, quite a few seemed miserable, were impatient and lacked basic manners towards the staff, despite how hard everyone was working. The mess left around the pool areas was also frustrating to see. This is no reflection on the hotel team, who did their best, but a reminder that guests also have a responsibility to treat staff and shared spaces with respect. Overall, we had a brilliant family holiday. The friendly staff, great à la carte restaurants, premium room and convenient location for the kids’ water park all made for a very enjoyable stay. There is a problem with seaweed on the beach but a short walk down is a beautiful clear section. We snorkelled and saw many fish. The resort shops are massively over priced which was frustrating when just wanting the convenience to pick something up. 500Peso/£4 for a packet of crisps. We needed some after sun and a basic tube of Aloe was 24USD! **We would definitely love to return and would recommend the resort to other families looking for a great holiday in Mexico!**

Bahia Principe Grand Tulum – A Beautiful Property With Tremendous Potential, but Management Needs Improvement Our stay at Bahia Principe Grand Tulum was a mixed experience. This resort has tremendous potential. The grounds are beautiful and well-maintained, the pools are enjoyable, and the food was generally good. However, several operational and management issues prevent the property from delivering the experience it is capable of providing. I genuinely want to see this resort succeed, which is why I’m sharing constructive feedback rather than simply criticizing it. The Positives The property itself is attractive, with beautiful landscaping, enjoyable pools, and a pleasant overall atmosphere. We also enjoyed the food throughout much of our stay. Special Recognition: Francisco at the Yucatan Breakfast Buffet I especially want to recognize Francisco, who took excellent care of us at breakfast two mornings in a row. Despite the restaurant being extremely busy and noticeably understaffed, Francisco remained attentive, hardworking, professional, and genuinely committed to providing excellent service. His hospitality was so exceptional that I personally got up from our table to shake his hand and thank him. I sincerely hope management recognizes Francisco for his outstanding work. He is an asset to this resort and represents the type of hospitality that makes guests feel appreciated. I also want to recognize the pool bartender, who provided excellent service despite working alone during busy periods when additional help was clearly needed. He was attentive, friendly, and even remembered our drink preferences. These employees demonstrated that the resort has dedicated people who genuinely care about their guests. Areas That Need Improvement 1. All-Inclusive or Semi-All-Inclusive? The Resort Needs to Decide This was probably my biggest frustration. Bahia Principe Grand Tulum needs to decide exactly what type of experience it wants to offer. Is it a fully all-inclusive resort or a semi-all-inclusive property with limitations? The restrictions on à la carte dining are frustrating, particularly when combined with the restaurant reservation process. We were informed that some guests reserve restaurants weeks in advance, leaving limited availability for other guests. There is absolutely nothing wrong with offering a budget-conscious vacation or limiting specialty dining. However, those restrictions should be communicated clearly and prominently before guests book. Guests deserve to know exactly what they are purchasing, including how many specialty restaurant visits are included and how reservations are handled. My suggestion is simple: Decide what experience you want to deliver, communicate it transparently, and execute it consistently. 2. Restaurant Service and Execution We visited the Brazilian steakhouse, where the food was good but the service was poorly coordinated. At times, we waited approximately 7–10 minutes between servings of meat. We also observed employees walking around without skewers instead of continuously serving guests. The issue wasn’t the food selection. It was the execution. A Brazilian steakhouse should offer a steady, coordinated dining experience, and unfortunately, that wasn’t consistently delivered. 3. Understaffing and Management Oversight The Yucatan breakfast buffet was another example of an operational problem. The employees were working extremely hard to accommodate the volume of guests. Tables generally did not remain dirty for long, and the staff was constantly moving. However, there simply did not appear to be enough employees to handle the demand comfortably. What concerned me most was the apparent lack of active management assistance during these busy periods. When employees are overwhelmed, supervisors should be actively coordinating service, helping where necessary, and ensuring appropriate staffing. This is not a criticism of the frontline employees. They were doing their best with the resources available. 4. Beach Conditions and Sargassum Removal The beach was disappointing due to a significant amount of sargassum seaweed along the shoreline. I want to be fair about this: I do not hold the presence of sargassum against the resort. It is a natural, regional issue that no resort can completely control. However, what management can control is its response. During our stay, there did not appear to be enough workers assigned to remove the accumulated seaweed effectively. The cleanup effort seemed insufficient for the amount washing ashore. Additional staffing and a more proactive cleanup operation would help improve the beach experience, even during periods of heavy sargassum. The resort cannot control nature, but it can improve how it responds to it. 5. Pool Towel Availability The resort ran out of pool towels by approximately 10 a.m. For a property of this size, that is an avoidable operational inconvenience. Guests should not have difficulty obtaining something as basic as a pool towel early in the morning Final Thoughts My overall impression is that Bahia Principe Grand Tulum is experiencing something of an identity crisis. The property appears to want to position itself as an upscale resort, but some of its policies and operational practices create an experience that feels more budget-oriented. There is nothing wrong with being an affordable all-inclusive resort. In fact, offering good value can be a major competitive advantage. However, guests should clearly understand the experience they are purchasing, and the resort should consistently deliver on those expectations. I don’t believe this resort has an employee problem. I believe it has a management, staffing, training, communication, and execution problem. The employees who stood out during our visit proved that excellent hospitality is possible here. Unfortunately, that level of service was not consistent throughout the property. With stronger management involvement, improved restaurant reservations, clearer dining policies, adequate staffing, better beach maintenance, and more consistent service standards, this property could become an outstanding destination. I hope management takes this feedback constructively because I genuinely believe the resort has the potential to be much better. Finally, Francisco at the Yucatan breakfast buffet deserves special recognition. His exceptional hospitality was one of the highlights of our stay, and I sincerely hope management acknowledges his efforts.

They did not honor our request for bed types (2 double beds) even though we were asked well in advance what type we wanted. We have 4 children so this hindered things. We had my wife’s purse stolen from our room along with our cash, credit cards, and all items within it. They took a report but we never heard anything else about it. They didn’t try to make it right at all.

We had an absolutely wonderful and blessed stay at this resort! From the moment we arrived until the time we left, our experience was amazing. The resort was fantastic, but what truly made our stay so special was the incredible staff. Everyone we encountered was welcoming, kind, helpful, and genuinely made us feel taken care of. I would especially like to recognize Ivan and Zahory at the front desk, Saul at the truck spot, Airam and Francisco at the buffet, Yolanda at the lobby bar. Each of them stood out for their outstanding service, warm personalities, and kindness. They made our experience even more memorable, and their efforts deserve to be recognized and appreciated. I would also like to give a special thank you to the wonderful housekeeper Maria who took care of Suite 1512-1513. Their hard work and attention to detail did not go unnoticed and we truly appreciated everything they did to make our suite comfortable and welcoming. Honestly everyone we encountered throughout the resort was amazing. It is clear that the staff play such a huge role in creating a positive and memorable vacation experience, and they did exactly that for us. Thank you to the entire team for your hospitality, kindness, and exceptional service. We left with wonderful memories and so much appreciation for everyone who made our stay special. We would absolutely love to return and highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a fantastic vacation♥️